Party 99.5 has been dropping the bass on Gainesville for a month, but some listeners are still adjusting to the loss of conservative talk radio to electronic dance music.
At midnight May 31, The Star 99.5 WBXY-FM switched to an electronic dance music format, sending “Talk of the Town,” a local political talk show, to the Internet. The show went off the air and online after JVC Broadcasting of Long Island, N.Y., bought five Gainesville-area FM stations.
Jake Fuller and Ward Scott, co-hosts of “Talk of the Town,” can now be heard on www.alachuatalks.com or by tuning in to the station through the Live365 app on mobile devices.
“We don’t want any dead air time,” Scott said. “We want to be out there somehow with our voice in the community. If it comes from the Internet, then so be it.”
But Fuller said the transition has been a challenge, especially for attracting advertisers.
Because most of the political show’s listeners are older voters in the community, Fuller said it has been difficult for fans to adjust to the new technology.
Despite the obstacles, Fuller said he still believes in talk radio.
“We’ve done a pretty good job at getting local issues out,” Fuller said. “We’ve filled in a lot of gaps as far as information goes for the public.”
Although Fuller and Scott said there are things they miss about the radio format, having the show online has lifted Federal Communications Commission restrictions, creating a freer working environment.
While Scott said “Talk of the Town” is more in touch with the community than the electronic music, JVC Broadcasting CEO John Caracciolo said the changes have the community in mind.
“We have two locations picked out, and we are working with a local architect and contractor to develop and design a very cool-looking on-air facility that makes the station part of the fabric of the community,” he wrote in an email.
Caracciolo said the station was previously 80 percent automated with syndicated shows.
“We are adding local staff and creating local jobs,” he said.
For “Talk of the Town,” Caracciolo said he knows losing the talk format upset some members of the public, but the online podcast could still be successful.
“Internet formats work great with specialty programming that you can’t get on the AM or FM dial,” he said. “Internet stations are usually geared towards a small core audience of followers that love the programming.”
Caracciolo said that ultimately, switching to electronic dance music was the right choice.
“Radio is supposed to be local, fun and exciting. This format serves a very influential consumer in this market, so it’s good for the listeners, and it’s good for local business owners that need to reach and speak to those consumers,” he said. “This station is a new voice for a community of several thousand, and that’s always a good thing.”
Contact Alexa Volland at alexavolland@alligator.org.
