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WDVX
Submitted by Elrod on Sat, 2007/03/03 - 12:22am.
I'm a relative newcomer to the Knoxviews community and to East Tennessee. Well, I'm not even a Tennessee resident yet, but I will be this June. Anyway, I've been listening to WDVX over the web and I can honestly say that it is the best radio station I've ever heard. Period. Does this station come in all over the Knoxville area? In Maryville? Do any of you all go to the Blue Plate Specials? What's the inside scoop on this station? How do they stay afloat?
Submitted by bchesney on Sat, 2007/03/03 - 2:00am.
Yep, WDVX comes in all over Knoxville. They have some great stuff on there. Listeners were treated to the great sounds of Mountain Heart with their new lead vocalist today on the B.P.S. They "stay afloat" by playing great music and through the generosity of lots of folks; underwriters and pledgers.
I have trouble getting the signal in some parts of town. It is my station of choice in the car, but I have to switch between 105.9 and 89.9 sometimes. (Wish they had a stronger signal.) I listened to Mountain Heart yesterday in the car, and they were great!
Submitted by S Carpenter on Sun, 2007/03/04 - 9:15am.
We are really lucky to have WDVX in our area. They broadcast on a number of frequencies, 89.9, 102.9, 105.9 Each has it's area of coverage so try them all. I find 89.9 fm is strong in Blount County. As you mentioned, the station is also webcast.
I volunteer DJ'ed for WDVX about the time the station went live around 1997. I stayed on for almost 3 years, hosting the original Hillbilly Fever and a western swing/country jazz show every Thursday night from the little camper up at the Fox Inn Campground.
The City of Knoxville and the Sports & Tourism Corp. scored when they included the station studios in the visitor center at the corner of Gay and Summit. The weekday blue plate special performances are a great experience. Bring your lunch or get a bite there, settle in with fifty or so fellow music lovers for a lunch time treat. I try to catch at least one a month.
With the move, the station added DJ/staff like Red (who picked up Hillbilly Fever) and Matt Morelock. These additions to stalwarts Grace, Freddie and, of course, Tony only made the station better.
Listener supported WDVX stays on the air with a combination of underwriters, and listener contributions. The latter comes particularly during Fall and Spring fund drives.
We're not only lucky to have one great community based station but to have three - WUOT 91.9 fm, WUTK 90.3 fm, and WDVX.
Great to hear all around. WDVX is unique, even in the South. It's just so hard to hear true country and bluegrass on a regular basis on the radio. Eddie Stubbs used to broadcast up in DC on WAMU and now hosts the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville and has a show on WSM. He's a real treasure, but WSM only plays him and his style of old-school country music once a week. The rest of the time it's corporate country all the time.
The support that folks in the Knoxville community give to WDVX is honestly one of the things I look forward to most when I move there. Not every community in America will support a station like that. And it's good to see the Knoxville Tourism Bureau recognizes how special WDVX is as well.
Submitted by bob stepno on Sat, 2007/03/03 - 1:12pm.
Ditto... Four years ago, I tuned in online to WDVX (and a blogger named SKB) from Somerville, Mass., (The Un-Cambridge), and followed their signals to Knoxville, figuratively speaking. Since then, I've spread the word to Oxford (UK) and Gothenburg, Sweden, among other places.
Hmm... I just noticed that WDVX is only number 16 or so if you search for "best radio station in the world." I wonder how many bloggers using that phrase it would take to Googlebomb it into "are you feeling luck?" first place... Heh.
Submitted by Up Goose Creek on Sat, 2007/03/03 - 9:38pm.
Don't forget Falcon Radio (WKCH?) 91.1 broadcasted from Fulton High School. Since I am stuck in the '70s and late 60's it is the first on my dial. Where do the young kids find all these great oldies?
No commercials is an added bonus though some of the infomercials that masquerade as public service announcements get on my nerves.
____________________________________
Less is the new More - Karrie Jacobs
Submitted by talidapali on Sun, 2007/03/04 - 1:22am.
He was an uber DJ back in the fifties and early 60's.
Allen Johnson(?). I'm not sure about the first name because we always called him Mr. Johnson. I do know he was locally well-known in radio broadcasting...he had a dance show like American Bandstand locally on (I'm thinking) WBIR??? He is/was a totally cool guy and a good teacher.
Submitted by Tamara Shepherd on Sun, 2007/03/04 - 10:03am.
Sounds like you've got some real expertise in this area, S. What do you know about this recent trend to relax barriers to cross-ownership in media, shrinking the number of independently-owned radio and TV stations, newspapers, and such?
Back in '03, when the FCC approved a second round of deregulation detrimental to indys, I was keeping up through agencies like Untamed Media, The Media Access Project, Free Press, and the Free Expression Policy Project.
Is that trend slowed, stopped, or (not likely, I guess), reversed in recent years?
Submitted by S Carpenter on Sun, 2007/03/04 - 12:32pm.
I don't have much personal experience with the radio business (just a volunteer dj).
As for the trend, I think it got held up when the FCC announced it rules, lawsuit went to the 3rd Cir, once decided back to FCC for re-proposal. Now maybe it's about to happen? I don't find much commentary on how it's shaken out but I've only scratched the surface.
I found the webcast royalty news to be close to the discussion of WDVX's fortune because I believe that lots of folks outside the listening area are supporters. Were WDVX and similar niche stations to face curtailment of their web broadcasts, their support would suffer.
I'll have to disagree with bchesney here; I would rank WDVX reception as poor to lacking in many parts of Knoxville because of the station's highly directional antennas. If reception is a major concern when you relocate, I suggest you carry a radio with you before you decide on a place.
The station main antenna (89.9) is located in Anderson County so reception in north Knox County is good. The original translator is on Sharp's Ridge (102.9) which serves the north Knoxville to downtown area. When walking in Victor Ashe Park, I can see the tower but I can't pick up the station.
The new translator is located in downtown Knoxville (105.9) and is directed toward Western Ave/Oak Ridge Highway. Reception today has been very good; it's the first time I have been able to say that in the three or four years I have lived out here.
Yep, WDVX comes in all over Knoxville. They have some great stuff on there. Listeners were treated to the great sounds of Mountain Heart with their new lead vocalist today on the B.P.S. They "stay afloat" by playing great music and through the generosity of lots of folks; underwriters and pledgers.
Blue Plate Specials are great. Its very cool to see a concert at noon!
I have trouble getting the signal in some parts of town. It is my station of choice in the car, but I have to switch between 105.9 and 89.9 sometimes. (Wish they had a stronger signal.) I listened to Mountain Heart yesterday in the car, and they were great!
I am a big fan of WDVX, too.
We are really lucky to have WDVX in our area. They broadcast on a number of frequencies, 89.9, 102.9, 105.9 Each has it's area of coverage so try them all. I find 89.9 fm is strong in Blount County. As you mentioned, the station is also webcast.
I volunteer DJ'ed for WDVX about the time the station went live around 1997. I stayed on for almost 3 years, hosting the original Hillbilly Fever and a western swing/country jazz show every Thursday night from the little camper up at the Fox Inn Campground.
The City of Knoxville and the Sports & Tourism Corp. scored when they included the station studios in the visitor center at the corner of Gay and Summit. The weekday blue plate special performances are a great experience. Bring your lunch or get a bite there, settle in with fifty or so fellow music lovers for a lunch time treat. I try to catch at least one a month.
With the move, the station added DJ/staff like Red (who picked up Hillbilly Fever) and Matt Morelock. These additions to stalwarts Grace, Freddie and, of course, Tony only made the station better.
Listener supported WDVX stays on the air with a combination of underwriters, and listener contributions. The latter comes particularly during Fall and Spring fund drives.
We're not only lucky to have one great community based station but to have three - WUOT 91.9 fm, WUTK 90.3 fm, and WDVX.
Great to hear all around. WDVX is unique, even in the South. It's just so hard to hear true country and bluegrass on a regular basis on the radio. Eddie Stubbs used to broadcast up in DC on WAMU and now hosts the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville and has a show on WSM. He's a real treasure, but WSM only plays him and his style of old-school country music once a week. The rest of the time it's corporate country all the time.
The support that folks in the Knoxville community give to WDVX is honestly one of the things I look forward to most when I move there. Not every community in America will support a station like that. And it's good to see the Knoxville Tourism Bureau recognizes how special WDVX is as well.
Do any of you all go to the Blue Plate Specials?
It seems that you are one of us already, Elrod. Welcome to Knoxville, y'all.
_____________
Come See Us at
The Hill Online
Ditto... Four years ago, I tuned in online to WDVX (and a blogger named SKB) from Somerville, Mass., (The Un-Cambridge), and followed their signals to Knoxville, figuratively speaking. Since then, I've spread the word to Oxford (UK) and Gothenburg, Sweden, among other places.
Hmm... I just noticed that WDVX is only number 16 or so if you search for "best radio station in the world." I wonder how many bloggers using that phrase it would take to Googlebomb it into "are you feeling luck?" first place... Heh.
Don't forget Falcon Radio (WKCH?) 91.1 broadcasted from Fulton High School. Since I am stuck in the '70s and late 60's it is the first on my dial. Where do the young kids find all these great oldies?
No commercials is an added bonus though some of the infomercials that masquerade as public service announcements get on my nerves.
____________________________________
Less is the new More - Karrie Jacobs
He was an uber DJ back in the fifties and early 60's.
Allen Johnson(?). I'm not sure about the first name because we always called him Mr. Johnson. I do know he was locally well-known in radio broadcasting...he had a dance show like American Bandstand locally on (I'm thinking) WBIR??? He is/was a totally cool guy and a good teacher.
_________________________________________________________
"You can't fix stupid..." ~ Ron White"
"I never said I wasn't a brat..." ~ Talidapali
Knoxville does have great radio, and WDVX is especially amazing.
www.lesjones.com
New royalty fee structures will be very hard on webcasts. I hope they can figure it out. Being able to find the WDVX's of the world on the web is certainly one of the pleasures of the internets.
Sounds like you've got some real expertise in this area, S. What do you know about this recent trend to relax barriers to cross-ownership in media, shrinking the number of independently-owned radio and TV stations, newspapers, and such?
Back in '03, when the FCC approved a second round of deregulation detrimental to indys, I was keeping up through agencies like Untamed Media, The Media Access Project, Free Press, and the Free Expression Policy Project.
Is that trend slowed, stopped, or (not likely, I guess), reversed in recent years?
I don't have much personal experience with the radio business (just a volunteer dj).
As for the trend, I think it got held up when the FCC announced it rules, lawsuit went to the 3rd Cir, once decided back to FCC for re-proposal. Now maybe it's about to happen? I don't find much commentary on how it's shaken out but I've only scratched the surface.
I found the webcast royalty news to be close to the discussion of WDVX's fortune because I believe that lots of folks outside the listening area are supporters. Were WDVX and similar niche stations to face curtailment of their web broadcasts, their support would suffer.
I'll have to disagree with bchesney here; I would rank WDVX reception as poor to lacking in many parts of Knoxville because of the station's highly directional antennas. If reception is a major concern when you relocate, I suggest you carry a radio with you before you decide on a place.
The station main antenna (89.9) is located in Anderson County so reception in north Knox County is good. The original translator is on Sharp's Ridge (102.9) which serves the north Knoxville to downtown area. When walking in Victor Ashe Park, I can see the tower but I can't pick up the station.
The new translator is located in downtown Knoxville (105.9) and is directed toward Western Ave/Oak Ridge Highway. Reception today has been very good; it's the first time I have been able to say that in the three or four years I have lived out here.
Do any of you all go to the Blue Plate Specials?"
Do you? You would be shocked at some of the pickers there, reportedly a few have voted republican in the past!
I love your posts and your website. Is that you floating in the pond? Very cool. No really on a hot day I bet it is very c......
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