Nothing starts a week with more anger than...

the words on your "rollover" line,  "Hi, this is Heather from Account Services!  There's nothing wrong with your credit card account, but you must act now to lower your interest rates!" 

First of all, it's our rollover line which is unpublished. Secondly, I've TIME AND TIME AGAIN pressed the correct button to get us off the list of this VERY FAMILIAR voice and telemarketing scheme.  I've even politely tried to talk to a "real" person (most of them are not) to ask for WION to be removed....and what happens? They start being smart-asses and acting like it's a joke that they interrupted MY business day!  

If this had happened on a WED or THURS where we did the extended morning show, I'd have happily made fun of them live on the air.  Why?  Because the FCC says we can't air calls without permission, but THEY CAN BOTHER US through our on-air lines during business hours when we may just be doing live calls!  Plus, we run our "live phones" informational disclaimer regularly on the air about our morning show!  TOO DARN BAD if they can't hear it, being out of our market and a telemarketer!  Take that, FCC rules! If they can bother us, we can bother them, too!

Folks, last week or so the FCC sponsored "no fraud" week to help educate people in how NOT to be taken by telemarketers, bogus e-mails and websites. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE....hang up on these people.  Complain about them. Oh, and....by the way, the caller ID was spoofed, too. It read, "THOMSONREUTERS"....and in my world, "Thomson" is a consumer electronics company, and "REUTERS" is a news service with which we as a station are not affiliated.

If you read my other blog about the music industry, you'll find that even legitimate companies are "removing caller ID" when they call. The music industry is in such bad shape that when they call to see "if you received your invoice for music licensing this month" they don't even use THEIR OWN NAME in calls!  BMI, ASCAP and SESAC are all too embarrassed to do this when calling for a one-month bill that they must need to keep their beautiful offices kept with great lawns, plants, break rooms, and cushy jobs.
  
It's time that our list of priorities changes as a nation. Why NOT TELL YOUR FEDERAL REPRESENTATIVES you've had enough telemarketing?  Why is it LEGAL to bother businesses but not homes?  WHY are we not prosecuting companies that spoof or block caller ID when calling to solicit you?  Wouldn't we all be happier if this little  annoyance went away in our lives? I know I would be...and I'd be writing "happy" blogs, not ones like this!  

Well, back to my Monday......hopefully a normal one in radio-land....and one without telemarketers.  

Oh, and before you tell me that "everyone needs a job and to these people it's an income...."...(I've heard that before)...I DON'T CARE! Don't bother me. If I want your services, I have the whole darn internet at my disposal to find you....

And, if you call me enough......and annoy me enough...I WILL FIND YOU...and you won't be happy with what happens when you're reported to every authority possible.

THERE. I feel better. Now back to the kinder, gentler, Jim Carlyle who has a radio station to run, and much more productive things to do

I do have ONE thing to thank the telemarketer for....I was looking for BLOG material! 

-Carlyle

Conntected...and not by phones, internet, or skype. REAL connections!

...but it all STARTED there!

As many of you know, I'm a satellite geek. I enjoy the technology, the challenge, and the "finds" that exist for us to catch in our dishes. I also enjoy much more....the communications with friends of similar geekdom who have helped me grow in the satellite hobby.

This weekend, Satellite hobbyists, radio station employees, friends of radio people, and listeners all met in my town of Ionia, Michigan for a night of discussion, laughter, and fun as the cap to a weekend of showing off our historical features in town, with the help of the McCord family and other volunteers. New friendships were made, and old ones renewed as we all gathered at the Lamplight Grill.

The group which was the genesis of this wonderful gathering is called "satellite guys." It's a worldwide group of people who enjoy technology in home, phones, home theatre, satellite, internet, and more. The owner and operator of the site has known about WION for a few years through my membership and has inspired us to stream publicly, and has put Ionia on the map through a listener to listener forum they host for us as a service!

The weekend included a visit to the Ionia relay for life as well, and that was quite moving. The team WION helps, known as "volunteers for a cure" was given $811 by donations of WION listeners and satellite guys members....making it another tie between this online group and the people of our town.

I'd like you to read what Scott wrote about WION, and the people of Ionia after he and his wife Eva spent the weekend visiting us....Not an "event" weekend, either. Just your average Ionia county weekend. Enjoy Scott's post from Satelliteguys.us:

***************
Well folks...

As you know I travel a lot for SatelliteGuys, and I got to admit, this  is the first trip I can remember going home feeling happy and satisfied  about where we just left.  On this visit I feel we touched a number of  peoples lives, and they touched ours as well.

Last night its difficult to explain the night other than magical.  As I  sit here in the Bishop International Airport in Flint I am still riding  the high of the entire week.

First off I want to thank SatelliteGuys member "Radio" otherwise know as  Jim Carlyle of WION Radio for having us and bring our host for the 4  days we are here.  He made us feel like royalty while we were here...  but to make things more special the entire town of Ionia, Michigan  made  of feel welcome.  It was amazing and we saw some amazing things and  were giving access to some sites and things that nobody else ever gets  to see... and they were excited to have us.  It was so fun going down  Main Street and going into the local shops and doing some shopping, we  got great deals but in a few cases made some good friends who we will be  doing business with again going forward. Jim enjoyed taking our members  on tours of his radio station, and he also loved coming on the tours of  the town with us, he actually saw sites and places that he was never  able to see before.  I think that our visit was as much of a vacation  for him as it was for us.

We had the McCords give us tours of Ionias Historical landmarks and  they enjoyed giving them to us as much as we enjoyed going on them.  Its  hard to explain how happy it made me to see the joy in their faces as  they almost never get to show visitors these hidden treasures that Ionia  holds.

Everyone also took my wife under their wing and showed her a great time,  and on the day of her birthday showed up with cards and gifts.  I don't  know how my wife felt but I was amazed and humbled by the kindness  shown by these people we just met.

Then there was Rich Thompson the owner of the Lamplight Grill, which for  this trip was our home away from home.  Not only was his food at his  restaurant great, but Rich went out of his way to make us feel welcome,  including getting my wife a delicious chocolate birthday cake to help  celebrate her birthday.  Everyone who attended out get together last  night  all mentioned what a perfect spot it was to hold our event.  If  you are ever going to or driving through Ionia please do yourself a  favor and visit the Lamplight Grill.  

We got a amazing all access tour of the Historic Ionia Theater by Amy,  and she was so happy to show things off and was able to answer all of my  geeky questions that I threw her way.  She loves the theater and loves the  town and it shows.  For a theater of its age I have never seen one as  modern and clean inside.  It was interesting to see how the received the  digital movies and how they transferred those movies to their  projectors.

Another place you should visit when coming to the area is Danny Boy's  Drive In Theater.   Unannounced we surprised Bart the owner of Danny Boy's,  by just showing up to his drive in, in the middle of the day and he was  just ecstatic to have us there and gave us a deluxe tour of everything  that Danny Boy's offers.  Now;  Danny Boy's is not just a drive in  theater is it so much moreDanny Boy's does things before movie time  that will make memories for kids and adult alike that they will remember  for years.  Please if you are in the area go check it out, you will not  be disappointed. Make sure to check out the bathrooms!

Thank you to everyone who traveled to our event, we had people from as  far away as Kentucky and Chicago drive to our event, and I honestly  believe all of them went home last night as happy as we were.  Everyone  who came last night went away with a armful of goodies.  I was also  happy when we were doing our drawings for prizes  that Scott Beeman was the winner of  the FTA System donated to us by SatelliteAV.  Scott is the engineer for  WION radio and the entire time we were there he was talking about how  much he wanted to get into FTA but didn't have the resources to do so...  well now that's not a problem for him.  He was so happy when his ticket  was picked out of the basket!

The 4 days went quick, but we are now going home happy, we not only made  a lot of people happy by having us in their town and shopping in their  town, but we made some new friends. 

We didn't talk about them much here, but I want to say a quick "hi" and  thank you to some other people that I didn't have time to write about  here.  I could tell you great stories about each one of them, and  appreciate their kindness and the friendship they have shown.  These people  include, Vicky and her husband, Dan and his wife Bonnie, Bill from WION and  his wife, Phil, Devin,  Leftlane, Jason, Claude, Dave, the other Dave and his wife.  (A reminder  to all those we met... watch out for Channel 2... its a doozy!) (You  had to be there!) :D

Again thank you to everyone who made us feel welcome and to everyone who  joined us for the magical night last night, I truly hope you enjoyed it  as much as we did.

I will be posting pictures later today or tomorrow after we get home as the camera is in our checked baggage.

And now with that.. I think REO Speedwagon sang it best... "It's time for me to Fly!"  Thank you Ionia, Michigan!

Ladies and gentlemen of Ionia County, my friends and WION listeners, every one of us is an ambassador to our town.  I had the pleasure this last weekend. I hope you do someday, as well, and rise to the occasion.  It's wonderful having new friends who now know what Ionia looks like, and how it can welcome them!

-Carlyle

PS...it costs nothing to JOIN satelliteguys.us and post your questions, comments, ideas, and needs in cable TV, interenet, satellite TV, smartphones, streaming video, and more.  Please join us, and use the WION forum that satelliteguys.us has provided! There's a link on our main page at the top of www.i1430.com!

I don't "Like" the word "Like" anymore.

Facebook and other sites on the internet that solicit public input have made me realize that I should strike the word "like' from my vocabulary.

No, not because it's a 1980's cliche used to describe the "valley girl" or because it's "like the word I tend to use like when I need to....... like.....tell somebody that someone like...said something. 

No, it's not that at all.

It's because it has taken on a use all its own that doesn't fit it's true meaning.

From the dictionary:
Like:  (verb) To take pleasure-in or regard with favor.

Now that everyone is on Facebook and other social media, the "like" button is overused and often wrong. For instance, as I  began to write this in April of 2013, my town was  in the midst of a flooding emergency. There was  a page posting images and information about the flood,  and I wish there was an alternative way to indicate (online) "I have read this information and agree with it!"  Why? because the pictures and postings were getting "likes."  NOBODY LIKES A FLOOD!

Last week, for the second time in as many weeks, there was an interruption in the power grid in Ionia. Since  I reluctantly operate a Facebook page for WION radio,  I thought I'd put it to good use, and ask, "did the power outage affect anyone downtown?" Of course, I expected answers in English. What did I get on the posting?  LIKES!  Again, I ask...how do you answer a question with a "like?"  It's impossible! NOBODY answered the question, but it got LIKES!

I've seen postings of family tragedies and serious things that nobody should "like"...but, of course, instead of typing a reply, people hit, "LIKE!"  

I don't like LIKE.  I used to like LIKE when it meant something!  Back when it meant appreciation, affection, and not "yep, I saw this." 

My Advanced English class in high school had a very particular teacher. She liked good verbs. Good Adverbs. Good sentences, none of which I've used in this rant; however I do know, she'd be appalled at the use of "like" today.  She loved creative sentences such as (like) "The house boasted big awnings over the windows which overlooked the lake." The word boasted impressed her. I remember it as if it was yesterday.  

If I had written my papers back then in the manner that our Facebook public has butchered the English language today, I'd have received an "F" immediately and never passed high school.  

I don't like LIKE anymore.  If it has not been thrown out of the English language by the Unicorn Hunters at Lake Superior State University, I hope it will, and I'm going to nominate it right after I finish this blog. 

I don't like.....LIKE.  It's like the worst thing to happen to like the English language since like...the early days of the internet.  And, it's...like  getting worse all the time.

Please don't "like' this blog post.

-Carlyle

GARAGE SALE 101 REVISITED.....

It's nearly "Summer" 2013.  The garage sale season in west-central Michigan is off to a rocky start. Partly due to Mother Nature and her flooding, mood-swings in temperature, and taking national "kite flying month" to the extremes with wind.

It's also partly because many of you holding garage sales are not following the basic rules to make everyone happy...buyers and you, the sellers!  So, here we go, part of this blog thanks to a draft written mid-season last year but never published. 

There's been some real "dogs" where sales are concerned kicking off the season this year,  and real "dolts" who don't seem to know:  


First, the basicsl.

1) Advertise your sale. Craigslist is good, but...

2) Signs help us find you. GOOD signs. Large writing. Frequent signs if the turnoff takes more than a half mile. If you're using poster-board, don't let it turn into a "Taco Sign"  (one that absorbs moisture, gets hit by wind and folds over.)...and please, please.. make your letters W-I-D-E.  Drivers can't read sharpie markers from across the street.  Utility workers also remind you...it's not safe for them if you put signs on utility poles. Leftover nails can puncture their safety gear!  Let's keep them safe!

2a) If using a standard plastic "garage sale" sign, spring for some stick-on wide letters from the hardware for the address number and street. This makes getting to you much easier as a driver, and you'll make it back in more purchases when you make it easy for drivers to find you!

3) Removal of Signs when the sale is over. Please save us sale-fans a whole LOT of gasoline.

4) Pricing. Please price your items, and...don't price them like new. If we wanted new, we wouldn't be attending your sale. Most garage sale attendees like the excitement of the "find"...so help us "find" some deals. Don't just put things out and not price them hoping someone will ask. Attendees don't know if you want the item GONE or if you're just testing the waters!  Don't make the buyer ask the price. Sure, tags will fall off, and it's fine to categorize and price entire tables or bins of items, but as a whole, don't make buyers uncomfortable by asking.

5) If you published hours in the local media, stick to them.  This is the "hobby business syndrome" that is found in many small businesses, too of late. (opening for your own convenience, not for the customers'!)  When business is slow, and it's an hour to closing, stay open for that late sale.  There really are  people who drive to your sale based on your advertising.  Be open. Gosh, that seems simple.

Now, what should be the "No Brainers."  the "Duh!'s" if you will....

1) Electronics, DVD's CD's, records, and similar DON'T LIKE THE SUN. If you want to bake your items, put 'em in an oven, not out for sale to ruin them before we can buy them. You're not sitting in the sun for 12 hours straight... and if you want to sell electronics, media, and software, don't put things that melt and malfunction in the sun.  
Ever seen a record left in the sun? Well, the same can happen to CD's, DVD's, game consoles, DVD players, TV's, etc. ELECTRONICS HATE HEAT.   (Duh #1)

2) We, as a general public don't want your outdated food and half used underarm deodorant. Yes, readers, we reached a new low last year. Outdated pudding at an Ionia, MI manufactured housing community garage sale. It was right next to the two non-collectible empty beer cans.  One weekend later, Greenville, MI brought the sight of a half-used stick of deodorant, with a garage sale sticker on it, AND it was melting in the sun.  Ick!  Get a waste basket, and sort your stuff before the sale!  Oh, and...if you're going to sell decorative candles in the summer in Michigan, see No brainer #1 above. We've seen them melt, too. 

3) Have electricity available if you're selling electrical and electronics items.

4) TRY to have all the parts to electronics with the item. Yes, I know you're selling to get rid of it, but LOOK  for the remotes, battery covers, manuals, boxes, anything that helps a buyer know more and want the item.

5) Clean, Clean, Clean.... clean the area in which you hold the sale. Clean any clothing, clean everything put out for sale.  Don't think that's important?  Ever been on Craigslist and viewed something that sounds nice, but the picture shows smudges, dust, dirt, and a "not so clean" background?  It turns you off, right?  Well, so do garage sales with this environment.  Barn sales with bird poop on items are a REAL turnoff.

And finally some ideas.....

1) Want to be modern?  Have a smartphone?  Have you thought about taking credit cards?  I've attended one private sale where the modern card reader was used, plugged into a smartphone, making larger purchases easier!  This is a trend I think will be growing as these card readers become more in circulation to the general public. If you do this, put it in your advertising! 

2) Group "like" items together.....people like to "gravitate" to their favorite part of a sale.  This shows organization and thought....the mark of a well-run sale!

3) If it's a "guy" sale or a "kid" sale or a "Mom's Sale.....make it clear in your advertising. This saves time when reading ads and putting together the weekly "garage sale itinerary.

In closing, no, I don't live for garage sales.  I enjoy them, on the faint chance I may find something for my collection that is unique enough to bring to the museum.  Some odd radio, electrical device, antique, or...whatever.  When I do have the time to attend them, I find it enjoyable when a GREAT sale is held, and disappointing when I waste time tracking down one that is closed early, cancelled, or missing.  I'm sure I'm not alone. 

Garage sales are a great way for people to save money on necessities, and a fun way to find things for whatever it is you collect!  

Here's to a better garage sale season....ahead!

Oh, and NOBODY buys treadmills. There's really only one in the whole area, and it keeps following me from sale to sale!

I'm Truly Amazed!

...At the incredible response to our little AM Stereo radio station in the "Internet world."

Let me rewind.

People who know me and know Ionia, also know that I often write about WION, the radio station that my team resurrected in 2004 and proudly operate today. It was just February 1st of this year when we began internet streaming, on the actual 60th birthday of WION's debut. (1953 if you don't want to do the math.  We even stream a format that many stations are capable-of, but is rather rare, (AM stereo!) Give the stream a listen!  The sound is amazing. Streaming is one of the biggest and most positive things we've done!  (well, there was the bigger AM signal, our 24/7 operation of the station,  and  the addition of the FM signal) 

If you haven't done-so yet, or lately.....go to our station's website. Then, check out the link on the left, lower side of the page in "Contests and Fun"  You'll find a google map of our documented online listeners. These listeners and locations don't get posted until they've been tuned in for either a documented amount of time (no "just passing thru listeners here) or visit our stream repeatedly. The link still exists on the FAQ page, but we thought we'd bring it out front and show-off a little bit!

What really amazes me, is that in a day where almost everything is either instantly available to the listener/consumer, and the selection of entertainment is so wide, that so many people in SO many places are coming back-to and finding our little station for their 'net enjoyment! Stop and think for a moment.....would these people be looking at Ionia, Michigan anyway?  Some yes, but many, no!  Some may be family of people still here. Some may be transplants, but many who have written us simply say they like what we do with radio, since it's so "un-corporate" and unique to the industry these days.

I find myself even listening on the web. Because a convenient little "internet radio" makes it easy to enjoy FM, the internet stations & podcasts, and the content of my sansa fuze mp3 player! 

So, each time I see new towns on our listening map,  I'm always GRATEFUL and then AMAZED, but ultimately PROUD of our station and that it gets chosen by so many in so many far away places.

I'm also proud of our TEAM at the station. Most listeners will never meet the entire support staff, from sales and production to those who bring coffee, clean the station, surprise us with meals, and generally help keep our 'balance' (to use the word "balance"  loosely, given we're all "radio people.") 

Your tuning-in on the web is a huge compliment to us all.......and .......to each of our listening towns across Michigan, the Nation, and the world, we say, "thank you...."

Drop us a line when you can, wherever you listen, and let's make sure YOU'RE on our map!

Oh, and by the way, even though I am not a fan of facebook for the high price users pay in privacy for this "free" service, if you're one of those "gotta have facebook" people, the station has an official "fan" page now,  but...if you found this blog, you know the most recent updates to our information reside on our own website, and at our forum!

From "America's Biggest Little Radio Station"
(named by our good friends at satelliteguys.us.) 

Another Expo is "in the books" in Ionia....

And, by all indications, a very good one and well attended.

WION interviewed 15 Expo exhibitors, and had many more as "Expo Week" sponsors on the air, and our thanks goes out to them for helping spread the word of this "rite of spring."

The Expo is a huge effort, and without the Ionia Public Schools to host, Michigan One Community Credit Union, and the Ionia Area Chamber all working cooperatively, it would not be the huge event it is today. Please contact Maureen Meade of Ionia Schools, Tim Hemmenway at M1CCU or leave a message with the Ionia Chamber to say, "thank you" if you will...they work very hard to make the Expo happen.

Is it a rite of Spring?  It comes on the eve of Daylight Saving Time, (which had me up early checking on the many computers that run WION in our absence to make sure they moved properly) and....the early part of this week has a warmer forecast. Let's hope we have escaped the brunt of winter and can think warmer weather is just around the corner.

Helen Cook of Portland was the winner of our Logitech Internet radio on Saturday, and we congratulate her, as her name was drawn from the hundreds of entries....spun in the big hopper at our WION booth, just as Expo got set to close.

We're taking our microphones to the Lowell Expo next, in two weeks, and we hope you'll come over and learn more about Lowell's businesses, and enjoy our broadcast from there....with Liz Baker of the Lowell Chamber, our host.

Think Spring!

-Carlyle

Behind the Scenes..

This weekend, a huge event comes our way. It's a "rite of Spring" in Ionia, and it draws people from far and near.  It's "Ionia Expo 2013 at Ionia High School. There's no way to count-exactly how many people attend, but it's certainly a steadily busy and fun event.

WION takes it's microphones there on Saturday, and we'll talk with many Expo participants, and bring those interviews to you on the air. We also get to visit with many listeners each year at Expo, and put faces with the voices that we meet regularly on the phone, and the names we read in e-mails.

To pull off a broadcast like this, and quite honestly, to pull off what we do EVERY day takes many talented people.  This Saturday, Bob Flynn visits us from WCSR in HIllsdale to help with the interviews. He drives a couple hours because this expo is FUN for him and Ionia's expo is quite an experience.  Along with Bob, you'll see Phil Cloud "working the room" and lining up our interviews, telling his copyrighted stories and lies.  We'll register people for our $200 internet radio to be given away by drawing at the end of expo, and, we'll even help install our radio ' apps '  on your phones so you can take WION with you anywhere!

We have a "staff page" on our website as you know.....but as of yet, we haven't added the short bios to the pictures or described too much of what people do that work with our team at WION...so, ..here is a bit more of that information!

Other talented people (regularly helping WION make great programming)  include Branden Cooper in our Production room. He's the one who makes sure your weekend shows are ready to roll....that your daily features are here and air properly each day......and, that each day we have our programming lined up properly, along with being the latest voice of Berger Motor Sales, "Recycle your Pet Dot Info" and other regular WION advertisers.  Big Mike is still with us "behind the scenes" and providing voicework in commercials, so you'll be hearing him more as time goes on.  Bill Lynch lends his talents on Friday mornings to the round table with Phil, and is seen out and about in Lake Odessa, Lowell, South Ionia, Hubbardston and other areas bringing us new clients from those areas.  "Leftlane" is ....well.....he's "Leftlane" and joins us on Fridays whenever possible....plows our driveway, and adds his unique "spin" on Friday topics, and the occasional commercial for a local Realtor. 

Before you get to hear a single thing on your phone, PC, or radio, our music and information passes through the hands or electronic equipment of Scott Beeman our local engineer. Scott's responsible for refurbishing the classic analog equpment that I believe brings us the (overused phrase here) "signature sound" of WION on AM 1430 in stereo, and on FM 92-7.  Scott has spent hours at his workbench aligning equipment, and making "everything old: New again!"  Our transmitter room may be the best mix of classic and new equipment you'll ever see, and someday, we'll put a webcam on it so you can watch the lights and meters. (for the very bored in the world.)  Other engineers make sure our signal is strong, legal, and available 2/7.

Also on the regular WION roster is Dan Ferguson...seen each week visiting his advertisers and bringing new information to us, so you always know what's happening with them. He keeps me busy with writing commercials... and for that I'm grateful.  By the way, one frequent question posed to us is, "How does a radio station make money?" and, of course the answer is "those commercials you hear!"   We try to keep them creative enough that you'll enjoy and remember them, and we hope you tell our advertisers that you hear them on our station.  Then, there's Steve, our "voice guy"  who helps to tell you about your town, our station, and events with his promotional announcements and is really the hardest working of us all, since he's heard around the clock on WION, and yes, he's a real person, and lives in Mid-Michigan.   Oh, and let's rewind a moment.....on the topic of our friends at WCSR, we also borrow the voice of Russ Martin, their News Director for the occasional commercial to add voice variety.  Other voices include friends of ours in Indiana at WLKI  (Randy Edwards, Andy St. John) , and others across the United States. 

WION's got a remarkable staff!  Penny, my Wednesday cohost gives hours and hours to us and to the community in volunteerism.  Devin, a college student and longtime WION staffer is never afraid to take on a project here, and works from the grounds at WION  to our attic and does everything from maintenance to running audio wires and helping on remotes.  Bonnie Ferguson always sees that our events at WION and event guests have wonderful food, and Rocky helps with studios decoration, running errands, and attempts to provide general sanity for our staff. She also brings one of our two unofficial mascots to visit now and then, Brewster the very large dog, (who enjoys the couch in Branden's studio-office.)  The other unofficial mascot in my opinion is "Jaz", (Leftlane's puppy.)

You know the old phrase, "our people will contact your people?" Well now you know we DO have "people" here at WION. People who work hard at the station to maintain a great sound  and keep WION a big part of Ionia County. Then there's you....the listener.

Our listening area has  grown immensely in the last month with streaming on the web, and today thanks to streaming we welcomed Waterford, Ireland to WION. We enjoyed quite a few e-mails back and forth, and have some new ears tuned to Ionia. Also on our listener map is Cincinnati, and a new listening town added to the list,  Sugar Land, Texas. Our map of online listeners grows by the day.  Take a look at it and consider how many choices in listening all these distant places have...but they're tuned to a small station in Ionia, MIchigan.

We've said it on the air, and I'll repeat it here. It's not that people from Ireland, Ohio, or Texas are driving to Main Street Iona. We stream WION  so YOU can take us anywhere, and...we hope, in return, that our station, and our town sounds "interesting" enough for those far away to take a moment and learn about Ionia, Michigan.  Our advertisers, our callers, our music, our public service announcements, and our station in general is now a voice, representing Ionia as an on-air ambassador to a large audience.  We feel our listeners are also "our people."  We're honored to be chosen by our listening businesses, local residents, and now far-away listeners. We know that you all have choices, and we're fortunate and very happy you've chosen to tune in to us no matter WHAT the media carrying WION to you may be. Streaming is not cheap, but the response you've given us to it in just one month proves you want to take WION with you in your daily travels, and we love to tag along.


I know we're forgetting some people... But, that's the beauty of blogging. We can edit, add, and revisit.  

To make it simple,  WION is a team of people who enjoy making great radio. On the air. Behind the Scenes. On our streets, in our engineering department,  and all in support of what (my favorite website) satelliteguys has dubbed, "America's Biggest Little Radio Station."  We're proud, and we're grateful to be serving great radio to Ionia County and....worldwide!

See you at Expo this weekend!  Let's talk!


-Carlyle

I told you I wouldn't like a smartphone!

We live in the age where everybody and their brother says, "smartphone" is the answer.  Charles Osgood says, "close your garage door from around the world." My response: Close the damn door before you leave or call the neighbor. (No disrespect, Mr. Osgood, you're paid to say that on our station.)  Another TV ad on MeTV shows a guy locking his door with the phone as he walks out. My response? Turn around and use your HAND to lock it! Smartphones are making you a lazy public.

Facebook on a smartphone:  Uses data, tells you when friends go to the john. Who cares!  FB is free to you because you give up too much personal information anyway.

Twitter: Overused, and becoming what myspace and Facebook have become. Sad.

Calendars? Reminders?  If your memory's like mine and that means it's not too good, use your PC, a pocket calendar, or just don't over schedule yourself.

GPS on smartphone? Nice, and I'll admit...it helps when I'm heading to garage sales with friends, but again, not needed. There's one in the car and a co-pilot with his own smartphone.

Apps?  Well yes, WION radio has one, but I listen on the air and on my laptop.  WGLM, my sister station in our radio group has an app, too..but, again, laptop is good enough. If clients want to hear it, they can use THEIR smartphones.

My phone reaches me for real conversations. It's text-capable and I hate that, because I despise small keyboards. What a waste! I text FROM my PC, and receive them reluctantly on my phone. My DUMBphone.  My durable DUMBphone that can stand more accidents than anything with an exposed glass screen.

I thought it would be fun to try  a smartphone, and I despise contracts, so I bought an excellent USED phone. It's nice, well built, and annoying. My fingers are made for keys, not for dots. My eyes are made for a SCREEN...NOT A SCREEN.  I like pressing a button and FEELING that it did something. Glad I only tried this phone on wifi, not by transferring it to my account and no, I wouldn't have bought a newer one "with contract." I hate contracts, period. They lock you in for a term longer than the human condition allows you to stay the same in this day and age. Your needs change, and the contract doesn't.

We even tried to put my ham-radio involvement on the smartphone. Nope. If I don't like the phone, I'm not going to go out of my way to use that. Sorry, Scott...I know you're trying. (our engineer did that for me.) We'll put it on my laptop, (I think it already is, buried somewhere.)

I'll stick with my normal, everyday, NO DATA phone that lets you call me. It lets my transmitter and WION call me in a computer voice if something is wrong, and I'll go to my computer to check-in. And, if I'm not near that, I have employees and co-owners who ARE able to do it. That's why we don't have more than one person on vacation at a time.

So, you'll never track me with Google. You won't catch me texting while walking.  Hell, I was even in a grocery store yesterday, and a daughter couldn't get her nose out of the smartphone when her Mom asked her to go get some beans. She literally was more taken with video chatting. Me? I wanted to watch her walk into an immovable display and fall over. Not because I'm mean, but because it may teach her to get her nose out of the screen and into real life.

Until the day the smartphone is a transporter that can bring us physical things from the store, and move us around, I'll keep my nose in the real world, and use a real keyboard. Call me old fashioned, but....This blog got typed in minutes. Would have taken HOURS on a smartphone.

I still like technology. Don't get me wrong!  I watch Free to Air Satellite and maintain my own equipment. I have my own domains. I run an AM/FM station that does 'net streaming. I do web-editing. I like my ROKU box and netflix, amazon, and other video streaming services. I enjoy my mp3 player when walking and driving long distances.  I have a google number or three, and....I know what AM stereo is!  I like technology.

But...my phone is a PHONE.

Better stock up.  They're getting harder to find.
Gotta run. My (normal) ringer is going off on my old-fashioned cell phone.

DO IT.....YOURSELF!

Bet you thought this blog was going to be about home improvements. Or...car repair....or something similar.  Nope. It's about promotion. The promotion of events, non profits, and even businesses.

Why the title,  "Do it Yourself?"

My business, the business of radio is supported by advertisers who believe in the power of our station, and get results from their advertising. It's a loyalty that builds over time. And, it's one that should not be handed off to any third party.  After all, who knows your business better than YOU? Certainly not someone you're PAYING to represent you to media outlets. They have to learn all about you before helping, and you're paying them the whole time from your pocket!

So, here are my "thoughts" about promoting of the things that are important to you.

1) If you're in a group that is holding a non-profit event:  DON'T FORM A COMMITTEE for advertising.  Committee is another word for "point to someone else to do the work and get nothing done!"  For most events of small to medium size in our area, you need ONE WELL QUALIFIED PERSON to contact:  The newspaper, the Shopper's guide, Our radio station, and Ionia Host Dot Com!  There's 90 percent of the area's media!  A simple "5-W" press release does the job in most cases.  (Who, What, Where, When, Why.)  A committee only serves to give more people the chance to NOT do what the committee is charged with doing (advertising) and to reduce efficiency, usually because "someone" was supposed to do it and "nobody" actually DID.

2) If you're the average Main Street or similar business in our area, place ANY advertising YOURSELF as Owner or Manager. You DON'T need someone else to do it for you (commonly called the " advertising agency"...also known as the lowest form of life on the advertising chain) instead, you need to target your needs, your goals, and tell the trained sales representatives that same information so the media can help you to reach the audience you seek.  Agencies simply take your money to do a job that you, as a business owner or manager are well-qualified to do.

3) With the above in mind, always remember there is NOBODY better equipped to focus on the important messages for your business than you!  Be PROUD of what you have to tell our local audience, and tell your story! (Churches, clubs, organizations, and businesses, too..) On the radio! In Print, and, on social media!  It only takes a small amount of time to tell others about your successes, goals, sales, growth, and about YOU. Don't trust your reputation to anyone else.  You may even find you ENJOY promoting your business.  Your own enthusiasm may grow!

Our radio station deals one-on-one with our clients.  We despise agencies that complicate the business of promoting YOU. Why? Because they can't do for your business what you can do directly with (all) our local media including WION!  Save the money you'd pay an agency and spend more in all the forms of local media. You may be surprised at the results!

At WION, part of the "flavor" of  our station is that a portion  of  the "information you need" is information about our local businesses.  As of last week,  that information is going worldwide to listeners in Texas, Ohio, Nevada, Canada, New York City,  and other locations.   Put your best "promotional" foot forward as we take Ionia County, Michigan to the world via streaming of our station. Granted, people won't fly here for a dinner, banking, or small transactions, but you, as our advertisers help make up the flavor of our town and our county.  Let's work (directly) together to ensure that what the world hears is a busy Ionia County with many events on the air,  and many good, healthy, enthusiastic businesses!  If we do that, listeners will know by what they hear that we're proud of our city and county!

Now, disband the committee, fire the agency, and get down to the work of promoting yourselves!  We look forward to working with you!

We're here to help! ....One on One!

WION TURNS 60 ON FEBRUARY 1ST!

I get time to write these seldom-read blogs only now and then, and for that I'm sorry, because I enjoy writing so much. But, for the few of you who read this, I hope you'll enjoy our visit this time with special interest in the growth, acceptance, and longevity of your local radio station, WION. By the way, we get THREE birthdays this year. One for the station's existence and call letters, one for our FM, and one for our TEAM owning it. So yes, look for lots of celebrations this year to which you'll be invited!

WION radio turns 60 years old on February 1^st, 2013. SIXTY YEARS. Think about that! What changes have we seen in our economy, our world, and our technology in 60 years? Plenty! And, what's been there through all of it? (with the exception of the one year before we bought the station).....WION!

WION signed on at 500 watts in 1953 and was welcomed by the citizens of Ionia. It was welcomed by dignitaries from the State of Michigan, and by broadcasting dignitaries who today would be considered “competition” and would never be allowed to speak-at or congratulate a new media entry in the area. You see, in 1953, WION was welcomed to the Ionia community. The Ionia family. It was embraced as “new” and “exciting.” it was Ionia's radio station. And, it was exciting to have your town own its own broadcast radio station. In 1956-57, the station upped its power to 5 thousand watts and added the second and third towers. A “miracle” of that day and age, for sure.

Since then, the towers of WION have broadcast literally millions of songs. They've brought you news of battles overseas, of presidential inaugurations and, sadly, assassinations, they've made voices of the wind into friends that you welcomed into your homes and businesses, and, they've helped keep Ionia on the map. They've stood through hundreds of storm watches and warnings, and continued to keep you informed and entertained.

When, in 2004, the station was off the air for nearly a year, the license was nearly lost. By Federal law, any station “dark” for a full year loses its license, and sadly, that was coming close. With 2 weeks until the loss of license, our team of people stepped in and started work. We fired up a 20-plus year old transmitter, old control board, and cleaned the studios. We chopped down 3 feet of grass growing in every part of the lot, and we got all the “necessary” pieces of equipment tuned-up enough to prove the station was alive, and save the license! With nearly 40 years of combined experience in radio Jim Aaron and I had bought our very first radio station!

In some ways, the early years of WION are like our first (nearly nine) years here. They've been years of change. In the early days, staff came, staff went. The miracles back then were remote broadcasts for breaking news, concerts, and other events. Radio was still co-existing in the infancy of television, and every “first” broadcast on WION was a mini-miracle.

I'd like to look back at the miracles of our WION, since 2004 and our great team bought it!

Miracle number one: The saving of the license. With short notice, and the help of many engineers and close friends who wanted nothing but for me and my team to succeed, we did it! The old transmitter had been shut down for nearly a year, we bought it sight unseen, not knowing if it would run. It fired up with some coaxing, and got us by from September of 2004, until July of 2005. Not the “best” sound, but it was, indeed, “on the air” enough that we kept WION 's license. With E-T and Ralph Haines on-hand, the old transmitter sputtered and coughed, scaring me half to death with a huge BANG as it arced internally, but it eventually ran and played its first song as I listened in my Jeep with tears of joy in my eyes!

Miracle number two: The replacement of the 1980's, older, somewhat unstable transmitter, which finally happened when the Good Lord sent a lightning bolt through our power lines, and put the final nail in the coffin of the old Collins "Power Rock" tube-box. Our local insurance company was kind to us, and went to bat for our cause when insurance underwriters downplayed the need of our claim, and eventually, thanks to outside independent intervention, a new transmitter was ordered, and installed. Our new 6 kilowatt AM box went online in July of 2005, creating miracle number two, as it gave us better range and sound than WION had produced in many a year....with the potential for even better fidelity!

Miracle number three: By design and by law, our AM signal like most, reduces power at night. There's no way around that, and we also knew that we wanted more daytime coverage of I-96, and in South Ionia County, Portland, Lowell, and other areas not served by the “light bulb” shaped signal of 1956. So, we filed with the FCC to take our AM signal non-directional, and in 2009, again with the help of great engineers from Munn-Reese in Coldwater, we flipped the switch on a non-directional and much stronger daytime signal for everyone.

Miracle number four has to be the addition of our FM signal. At the time we bought WION, there was no FM associated with the station. And, given the way the FCC allocates new FM's today, even if we had the money to put a full-size FM on the air, the greedy bastards of corporate radio are allowed, in federal auction to outbid us on our own FCC application, and silence any hope of WION adding FM to to serve you 24/7! It's the way of the FCC! We know that AM has some limitations, and to some,people, even a “stigma” which we've overcome through public education and good programming, but here's the miracle:

In 2004, it was not legal for AM stations to own a small FM like ours, but, there was one small FM called a “translator” in Ionia, operating at very low power, owned by a nationwide religious group, and we had our eyes on it! By 2008, the FCC was beginning to allow AM stations to operate FM translators like this one. Our engineers approached the people broadcasting on the small 3-watt repeater, and found they had no interest in Ionia, but WE did. We found that if moved that signal to our own towers, we could up the power and cover most, if not all, of Ionia County. On March 10^th of 2010, the switch was flipped on, and FM 92-7, a full stereo version of WION was born! It's only 212 watts, residing on the middle of our 3 towers, but it sounds terrific, and its nothing short of a miracle! Miracle number four. Oh, and thanks to Scott Beeman, our “resident” engineer, we even offer “text” in many vehicles when tuned-in to our FM! Give it a read! …..When you're not in heavy traffic, of course!

Miracle number 5: Some of you have already heard it! It's “AM Stereo.” Older Chrysler, Jeep, and some other vehicles bring in AM stereo automatically. Jeep vehicles with 'RAZ” code on their radios pre-2003 can hear the full potential of AM stereo sound, and believe me, it's incredible. Some modern “HD” radios play AM stereo. You'll know if you have it because it'll jump right out of your speakers. It also helps our regular AM monophonic listeners to enjoy a wider range of sound with less dropouts. We added this in the autumn of 2012. I hope you get a chance to hear this great sound, a seldom-heard miracle, that many stations could opt to utilize, but don't. Oh, yes, it took hours of our engineer Scott aligning the special equipment to make it happen, but the results are FANTASTIC.

The latest in the series of miracles happens on February 1^st. We'll be announcing a new service from WION.....one that many folks will want to use and enjoy. A service that augments what we already do here every day. We hope you'll be with us as we debut Miracle number 6.

IT'S POLITICAL SEASON AGAIN....

What you need to know about Radio advertising by political candidates.

If you’re a regular listener to WION, you know how much I, as owner of the station despise political ads, and ALL advertising disclaimers. For instance, I believe that if you buy a product, be an educated consumer, make the decision, and…if you decide to buy something that turns your skin purple over time, but makes your smile wider, NOBODY FORCED YOU TO BUY IT. You should do your homework before buying, (or buying INTO) any product, individual, or campaign that requires more than casual attention.

So, when it comes to political candidates’ advertising on the radio, remember, they only believe in “Spending more money buys more voters.”

Let’s say this again in a different way. Politicians attempt to BUY your vote with advertising. At WION it is our hope, instead of being swayed by all the ads you’ll hear and see that you’ll be an educated voter in November, and not base your decisions on ADVERTISING ONLY. 

At WION radio, if you’re a regular listener, you already know that we REFUSE ALL political ads except….. (And there’s always a catch) those who are running for FEDERAL office. The FCC will not allow us to refuse these, and furthermore…..the FCC requires that they pay LESS than most, if not all our regular advertisers pay based on lowest per-commercial rate in any of our packages, regular sales or specials.

Thus, we ask you to keep in mind that if you hear ANY political advertising on WION, it is not by our choice. It’s FCC law.  And, you should RESEARCH any candidate heard on our airwaves, not take what they say as Gospel truth.  We endorse, back, and encourage you to visit our LOCAL clients, but we do NOT endorse political ads, PERIOD.

You should also know that the people who work PLACING those annoying ads (commonly called “agencies”) on WION for their respective candidates are as much an equal pain in the rear end as their candidates’ negative ads are to your ears.  Frequently, a candidate’s advertising agency will demand time on the air on short notice, shorter than standard for our station. This places our staff in a position of putting the work for OTHER regularly supportive clients of WION aside to attend to their politics. And, while paying the least, the candidate can demand placement WHEREVER THEY WANT on our station’s normal broadcast sales day of commercials.

The bottom line is this:

As an owner of radio media, I’m tired of these practices and policies favoring political candidates over our regular advertisers. I feel it unfair and demanding.  This is why we only run political ads which we have to by law.   

I also believe you, the listener should know that while most all of the commercial content on our stations is locally acquired, verified, written, produced, and presented to inform and entertain you, NONE of the content for candidates comes from the computer, pen, or mind of any of our station staff, and we are not responsible for their claims. 

Thus, as once said, “Buyer Beware.” After all, like the process of buying any product, aren’t you supposed to “buy into” what these mud slinging, unlimited spending politicians tell you? 

Do your homework before you go to the polls. And, take a minute to realize that should you hear any political ads on WION, they are not the opinions of the staff, management, or owners of our station.

Why can't radio manufacturers make a good AM radio?

A “Sound” Idea….

Believe it or not, local radio, even on the AM band can sound GREAT! At WION in Ionia, MI we’re mighty proud of our quality of sound. It comes from owners who care, and equipment properly chosen and maintained.

At  WION we do that very well. So much so that we get compliments fairly regularly that we “stand out” against even the bigger-city stations. People even hear details in their favorite songs that they haven’t heard before!  That’s how well we pay attention to our sound!

Over a weekend in September, however, I was made painfully aware of how many people, as they drive, may NOT know what our (AM) signal really sounds like! 

I love my Jeep. It drives well, it’s fun, gets great mileage with its stickshift transmission, and it came with a GREAT original sound system. Except… the original system has a weak link. The speakers in the front doors. They are unique to the system, make replacing expensive and difficult. So, when the second of two speakers died, it was time to upgrade. Or so I thought: to a new stereo receiver, and new speakers.

So, I chose a Jensen in-dash, “heavy duty” receiver. Chosen for its larger knobs and buttons, very VISIBLE display, and conveniences of dual inputs, I had faith that the sound would be at least as good as the price-tag which was not inexpensive.

Only two people are ever allowed to tear apart my car, and one of them got the short straw, so Bill tore into it. He had to custom-design new tweeter brackets, run some new wires, bypass the Jeep’s amplifier circuits built into the doors, and install extra boxes for “high frequency adjustment.” All of it went well, and when turned on, the FM sounded FANTASTIC. The Inputs from the mp3 player were sounding great, and the long drive home was exciting with tunes I choose for my personal player.

Then came the problem.  In the very town….and the very DRIVEWAY where WION radio originates, the AM sound was not the familiar “Jeep” full, wide sound, but rather, the sound of a phone call if patched through a small CB radio speaker. Yes, it was that bad.  FM remained beautiful, inputs from the player were beautiful, but AM literally “HOOVERED.” The AM couldn’t be made to sound good, let alone….GREAT. AM was at best, unlistenable.

Obviously Jensen put out a product that would turn you, my listeners and friends completely OFF to the potential great sound  that AM radio stations have to present. And, its just not fair. I wouldn’t have even listened to TALK programming on this AM receiver, let alone our music and “full-service” content.   I believe that this is not an isolated incident. 

On WION we often invite you to switch to our AM for  “longer distance listening” and our “quality of sound” and, we mean it!  We DON’T sound like a phone call through a CB radio, and our AM is the BEST sound AM can offer! Unfortunately, (some) manufacturers are leading you, the consumer to believe that AM radio sound literally sucks!  (If you’re offended by that term, so be it. I mean what I say.)  

Radio manufacturers have, by cutting corners and costs,  tossed aside a medium that can sound as good as FM, reach farther, and in many towns like Ionia, an (AM) station is the only LOCAL live media! It deeply angers me that public perception of what AM “sounds” like should be “crap” when in actuality, its potential goes far beyond what most people have ever heard!  I hope when you hear WION  proudly talking about our "sound" that you realize it's your RADIO that limits the quality of what you hear, not the AM band itself!

Who enjoys good AM?  People with Chrysler/Jeeps from the mid 90’s to mid 2000’s, with the familiar rounded corners and the 3-letter receiver codes on the front in white. (some are even AM Stereo!!)   Most NON-HD original equipment also sounds good. But, if the “HD” logo has been hung on it, the AM has likely been compromised. I have yet to OWN an HD capable radio that did justice to AM broadcasters. I hope that there actually are a “few” good HD radios in dashboards which give good (normal) AM sound.

I know that AM is not the first thing on your mind. I know we have a local  FM signal that sounds great. But, how would YOU feel if you put your heart and soul into a product, then found it was being diminished by forces beyond your control?  Our American economy is driven by purchases, and purchased by price, that’s a given. But, that DOESN’T mean that a few pennies here, or a dollar per unit to improve the quality of AM sound in radios would break the manufacturer, or the consumer.

Once you’re done reading this, please give a listen to this clip, posted on my website.  It’s taken from a REAL tuner “off air”. It’s REAL AM broadcasting, not audio piped into the recorder from our control room. It actually is a recording of a BROADCAST, edited for length. THIS is what AM radio is capable-of and this is what our local audience SHOULD be hearing, if the radio manufacturers would allow it!  And yes, in Ionia County, it’s what we offer on the air 24/7!

Enjoy the link below.

AM as it CAN sound, and how it DOES sound in Ionia County, MI

"This is ONLY a test...."

Remember those words?

We heard them in our younger years when local radio stations tested their "Emergency broadcast system." Today, its called the "Emergency alert system."

At the end of June, most radio and TV stations were mandated to have changed their old "EAS" boxes to a newer, updated box, still called the "Emergency Alert System" but this one offers "oh, so much more!".

And, for tech geeks, it does. In terms of keeping logs for (required) FCC rules, yes. In terms of its concept for access via a web browser for programming the options, yes. But, rating it based on:  relying on the 'net for part of the emergency messaging, cost, and overall concept, I give it an "F."

First of all, a box for a station carried a cost to the broadcaster of around $2000 each. Remember, this is mandated by the FCC and your federal government. THEN, take the fact that this box did not carry with it any offer for "zero percent financing" or "government backed loans" to the broadcaster, many of which operate on shoestring budgets in local markets. This is the same FCC which MANDATED  a change to digital TV all over the United States, but...somehow found the money to buy digital TV converter boxes for everyone, from the millionaire on down to the welfare recipient, just so they could CONTINUE TO WATCH TELEVISION.

What's wrong with this picture?  We, as broadcasters are charged with protecting the public. Being at our posts during everything from severe weather to National Emergencies. No offers of help to us. Banks certainly aren't jumping to help anyone right now, especially small business!  But, we can all go home to our "free" converter  boxes.

And then there's the "ecological" side of things.  How many TV stations do you suppose there are in the USA?  Then add-in radio stations, and cable system "head ends" which needed to replace these boxes.  All the old boxes are completely without use. There is no other purpose for them except to go to landfills. Did the FCC or the government even OFFER to head-up a recycling program? Maybe a "mail us your old one for $$CASH$$ discount on your next license regulatory fee or renewal fee? You know the answer. It's a loud "NO!"  So, in areas where there may not be electronics recycling, hundreds or thousands of these older metal boxes are going in landfills. BECAUSE OF AN UNFUNDED GOVERNMENT MANDATE.

Then, there's the day we got our box ready to put-in.  It's designed to take updates to its firmware over the internet. The PUBLIC internet. It's designed to poll state and Federal servers for emergencies and their "newer" style of testing as I understand it.  So, what happens the day our station's engineer was in to do the updates and install?  THE INTERNET IN MY TOWN SERVING OUR STATION WAS DOWN!

See the irony here?

In any case, the new system is "in". Many stations are still waiting for their back orders to come in I'm hearing through the grapevine, because even ordering well in advance, there weren't enough to go around.  

We're all used to the "quacking" sound of an EAS alert tone for weather and for testing.  Now, with the new technology, if given the chance, here's what my recorded message would say to our listeners about the new system. (As it assures you the world is NOT coming to an end during a test).....what do you think?

THIS IS A TEST OF THE GOVERNMENT MANDATED EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM, COMING TO YOU AT HIGH COST TO THIS BROADCASTER. THIS IS ONLY A TEST TO SATISFY A GOVERNMENT RULE.  IF THIS  WAS AN ACTUAL EMERGENCY, A REAL PERSON WOULD HAVE MADE EVERY EFFORT TO BE IN THE STUDIO, BECAUSE WE ARE CONSCIENTIOUS BROADCASTERS.  REMEMBER, THIS IS  ONLY A TEST.  THIS STATION PARTICIPATES IN THE EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM TO KEEP YOU BETTER INFORMED, WITH HIGH-TECH EQUIPMENT WHICH COST US A BUNDLE, MANDATED BY THE US GOVERNMENT WITH NO OFFER OF ZERO PERCENT FINANCING OR ANY FINANCIAL HELP.  WE’RE YOUR LOCAL STATION.  PLEASE SHOP LOCALLY WITH OUR ADVERTISERS SO WE CAN AFFORD THE LOAN FOR THIS NEW GIZMO.  NOW BACK TO OUR REGULAR PROGRAMMING.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled blog.

Hello!

It's July 1, 2012.  We've brought back the "Carlyle Comment" online here, and may resurrect it in its "blog" form at sometime soon, but YOU are my intended audience. The people who support, listen-to, and respond-over things on WION radio.

Much to tell, so we'll do it like a "lightning round."

1) Again this year, WION is taking NO political money from candidates at the local and state levels. We're also not accepting advertising from issues-related groups on our airwaves. Why?  You won't like the answer. The people who handle political advertisements are a pain in the butt for the most part. The paperwork they cause is unruly, and, we'd rather give our attention to advertisers who support us and need us every day of every year. While we can't stop our newscasts from containing politics, we CAN determine that WION will be a nice, quiet island in the middle of the ocean known as "Political Advertising Hell."  Please note, however: WION, being federally licensed IS required to carry Federal candidates' advertising, if placed directly on behalf of the campaign.  So, ENJOY the music you know and the information you need without the political arguing and mudslinging.

2) Summer's going Fast!  WION wants to say, "Thank you" to our Ionia City DDA for partnering with us and reducing the cost of advertising for DDA district businesses.  24 businesses and organizations joined us on the air July 1st, and we hope it will help you to "Shop locally" and realize that Ionia really DOES have diversity in business offerings. We all win when the businesses in our community thrive. Please listen to their ads, and thank THEM for being on the air, and in our midst. Being in business these days is NOT easy for anyone.

3)  WION is supporting "Relay for LIfe" in Ionia actively.  There's a contest between our morning and afternoon shows to see who can raise more funds, all of which are credited to the team known as "Volunteers for a cure." The morning show is winning as I write this, but the BIG winner is the ACS and cancer research. Please have fun with the fundraisers this month, and even if your business already donates, if a fun opportunity comes along to play with a new Relay for Life promotion, please DO!  It can only HELP you to look better!  Turn it into a POSITIVE thing for your business. Flocks of Flamingos and Toilets that travel are two ways some teams are doing this, its creative, its fun, and its all for a good cause.  Please play along in the spirit intended. We ALL know someone whose life was impacted by cancer.  The cause bonds us together.

4) WION's engineer has done some GREAT work recently on both our AM and FM signals. Here in Ionia County, our FM 92-7 has the "fullest" sound its ever had, and really sounds fantastic. It's sending out a signal bringing you music the way we believe it was meant to be heard. It's clear, clean, and not "in your face" with too much bass, or all the "loudness" that the big city stations put into their signals to war with each other. We want you to enjoy our station, not "tire of listening to it".  Our AM is also the best sound on the AM dial!  We recently changed processors, and are getting GREAT comments from our long-distance listeners and those who commute in the Grand Rapids and Lansing areas, while listening daytimes. Some receivers even pick us up in AM stereo. Your "HD" radio may render stereo AM as well. Some do, some don't.  We hope you'll notice the increase in sound quality on both our AM and FM signals, we do it "because we can" and because the quest for the BEST sound on the dial never stops. Thank you for listening to Ionia County's I-1430 and FM 92-7!

It's no fun being a responsible adult, but......we stay safe!

Well, it's Wednesday the first of February. The plan by now, (7AM) was to be about an hour on our way to Punxy, PA for groundhog day.  The traveling group included me, Scott B. and a friend from another Michigan radio station, Russ from WCSR in Hillsdale.  Certainly a fun group for travel!

As of last night, we had a "window of opportunity' to head east, and beat the incoming snowstorm that is scheduled for West Michigan and Pennsylvania, stay through it for our broadcast and return after it. 

Then, at 3:40 this morning, the weather service woke me with a "Blizzard Warning" for not only Ionia County but much of the area of Michigan we would travel, and that prompted a look at the weather maps for Pennsylvania.  PA had "pink" on the maps, meaning ice, and none of the TV stations online could agree on where the ice and snow was going to be the worst, all of them cover the area we were headed-to.  Certainly the maps are the most colorful they've been in quite some time. If one doesn't have travel plans, the (weather map)  colors are quite pleasant to look-at! They're like a 1960's "technicolor" movie.

So, we stay home. And, we thank the sponsors who (signed on to) sponsor our trip.  These are the people who believe in the uniqueness of our station, and the "out of the ordinary" things that WION AM and FM does!  Please, in your travels thank them: 

THE IONIA AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
MUIR VILLAGE MARKET ON M-21, MUIR
THE LAMPLIGHT GRILL, MAIN STREET IONIA
D.O.C. PROPERTIES, IONIA
DISCOUNT TIRE & BATTERY, M-66 NORTH OF IONIA
DOOD'S JEWELRY, MAIN STREET IONIA
IONIA DIAL-A-RIDE
PREMIER TRANSMISSIONS, IONIA

It's sponsors like these that make the fun of WION possible. We hope that our event has helped people be more aware of them through their fun advertising for groundhog day.

So, what's next on the list for WION?

Well, we've got our first anniversary of WION's FM signal on 92-7. We celebrate that on March 3rd at the Lamplight Grill, another Thursday night!  (and we celebrate for a whole week on the air.)...

Then, there's the Ionia Chamber expo on March 12th. We'll broadcast live from Ionia High School. This event is kind of a "rite of spring" and tells us all that spring is just around the corner, regardless of what the Groundhog would have said during our broadcast.

There are very few things we adults have happen that disappoint us like they did when we were kids. I can remember as a "geeky" kid wanting to meet Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock from Star Trek) at an event in Detroit. My father was going to drive me to it, a long 60 miles......and...the weather moved in, much like today. We didn't go. As a kid I was devastated. Never did meet Mr. Nimoy. Yes, I was a geek then, and a huge Star Trek fan....and still can say that today.

But, this trip being cancelled?  Yes, disappointing. Yes, hoped to go. No, its not quite the let-down I had as a kid. Its a minor setback, and we'll miss our broadcast for this year.  But..it also opens a new avenue....

Hmm....where can we take our microphones NEXT......."because we can?"  

Ideas welcomed.

Stay safe, stay warm as this storm moves through our area...and send me your ideas! Our microphones are packed and ready for a good road trip!  (in better weather.)



 

New Year's Tech "Housecleaning" (imported from my "tech" blog)

So, its 2011. You've made your resolutions. You're going to lose weight. Spend more time with the family. Make more money. GREAT. What are your "Tech" resolutions?

You could start with cleaning out your computer. I'm guilty. Too many old e-mails causing the program to take too long to load. Don't delete 'em yet, though...BACK THEM UP. My favorite backup application is called "Express Assist" because its simple, works well, and can backup your internet favorites and bookmarks, documents, mail, address book, mail rules and more. Do a backup. Save it to a folder on your PC....then burn a couple backups of that and store them safely somewhere. Then, you can delete all your old mail, speed up your system, and start "new" in 2011. If you're not ready to delete all your old mail, keep six months, a year, or so....and AFTER the backup, delete the rest.

Speaking of backups, there's a HUGE chance you can lose files this year. Your PC is on more. Your hard drive is a physically running device prone to eventual failure. Why not do an "offiste" backup of everything you don't want to lose? I got convinced to use Carbonite. There's many other backup programs, too..but this one works for me personally, and for my business. Let it work in the background, store your backups of mail on your PC, and they'll automatically be backed up offsite, too! It's a good investment.

How about a "communications audit" of your entertainment and communications budget? I'm a huge fan of the ROKU box, delivering lots of FREE entertainment to my television. I bought it to enjoy the basic NETFLIX subscription with one DVD at a time, but I find I don't watch the DVD's. Lucky for me, Netflix this year has introduced a "streaming only" option for a buck LESS than the basic unlimited plan-was. Sure, you're only going to save $12 a year, but that's 4 gallons of gas at today's rate! If you've got reasonably-priced internet service, the ROKU box is great entertainment, and there's more content each day, even local radio! (check out our sister station WGLM's feed.) Make sure your DSL speed is at least 3mb, higher is better...but that works with ROKU. I've tried it!

Speaking of "free" entertainment, have you ever heard of "free to air?" There's lots of free programming in the skies, some can be enjoyed on a small 18 to 30 inch dish, and basic systems are not that expensive! Public TV in great quality, Networks that some cable companies carry, new "up and coming networks" and other programming, no fees, and LEGALLY in your home with the proper free to air equipement. Learn more about FTA on my favorite satellite TV site, "satelliteguys.us" They're the 'net leader in information on programming and equipment on small dish subscription services, cable, internet, home theatre, free to air equipment, and much more. they're polite, paid membership to the site is only $20/year and, even as a "free" member, you'll learn how to best use your internet and entertainment options and how to better budget for them, too!

There's some classic TV now available on local station's subcarriers if you have a good antenna for your "over the air" (free TV) enjoyment. Don't skimp on your antenna, however. All the digital channels are in what's called the Upper VHF and UHF bands, regardless of what "virtual" channel shows on your TV. Research antennas available for your home, whether inside or outside, and you may find that an antenna investment combined with internet programming via a ROKU box (or similar) may just reduce your monthly subscription bills by leaps and bounds.

And, for those of you who still have the large dish satellite systems in your yard (like me)....check out how you can pick and choose programming on many of the most popular channels and networks with what's called a "DSR-410" receiver. No moving of the dish is required once its aimed at satellite W-5, and, the programming is cheaper than the small dish systems or cable. Its' STILL an option, and easy to install or add-on to your existing big dish. New systems with non-moving six foot dishes are under $300, and a very good option. The best part? NO CONTRACTS! There's no penalties if you want to shut down for a month or two. Good, friendly people. Check out more at the site above, satelliteguys.us and the programming that is available from "satellite receivers limited" known as SRL. Just recently a longer writeup on this showed up on wikipedia, too!

I'm toying with doing a short "tech" feature on WION in 2011, because I've been helping people lately with their PC's, satellite TV decisions, and other fun "tech" things. Let me know if you'd enjoy it. There's much good knowledge "out there" but, its always nice to sort through the garbage and get to the "real" information, too. We all have some "tech housecleaning" to do...make it one of your resolutions, and I'll see you along the way!

-Carlyle