Say Goodbye To 87.7

When I was a kid growing up in Augusta, I used to turn on the radio and listen to WJBF programming. I remember vividly, listening to some of my favorite shows like Happy Days, the news and even the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. Nowadays, many of you drop the dial all the way to the far left to listen to our newscasts on your way to and/or from work. So it saddens me to tell you that those days will come to a very sudden end on February 17, 2009.

You've heard all about the "digital" transition in television. It's a complex thing to explain, but I'll try. The Federal Communications Commission insisted that all TV stations in the country move to a digital signal by that date. So, in the past decade, TV stations have poured millions of dollars into getting our programming to your set in a whole new way. In the old days, it was an analog broadcast. Essentially, over the air. If you can remember Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the explanation was simple - but accurate. You got a nice visual of the "signal" floating over the characters' heads and landing into a TV set. That's basically how it works.

Well, as a "perk," every TV station in the country that uses the analog channel 6 also provides a natural FM simulcast. It can't be controlled, it can't be altered. Whatever we sent out on TV goes there too. So as the analog signal flies over the air, a small portion of it can be picked up on any FM radio dial that drops to 87.7. Because it's just a "portion" of the signal, you often will have to turn up the volume on your radio to hear it. But it's there.

Digital transmissions can't be picked up by your radio. So when the clock strikes midnight on February 17, 2009 - your 87.7 will go silent. Just like we had no control over it when the station went on the air, the same goes when we move to a digital transmission.

Now, just because it's not our fault, doesn't mean we're not keenly aware of how many of you have come to rely on the radio signal. So we're working on expanding our media partnerships to get our newscasts simulcast for you. There are some challenges to be sure. For example, one cannot reproduce or rebroadcast any unlicensed image or audio. So, when you hear those commercials on the radio (local or national) or a network show (comedy, drama or even sports) - you're hearing something that, if we had any control of it, would have to pay for. Everything from music to performance fees would have to be paid for. Since the simulcast is natural, there's nothing that can be done about it at any "channel 6" in the U.S. to date.

So, if we are able to simulcast our news following the transition, we might have to remove the commercials (as they are only licensed for broadcast). And in the end, there is no way a local radio station would A) replace its current programming with WJBF/ABC programming 24/7 and B) pay the unimaginable licensing fees to cover all of that programming. So, no matter how you slice it, 87.7 will die on the 17th of February 2009.

But like I wrote above, we are working dilligently to find an alternative for you. So if you have any ideas, please register with WJBF.com and share them. And if you have any specific questions, you can ask them too. I put a link to the DTV website created by the government. It's in the related links section. We'll keep the DTV conversation going with explanations on how to make sure your TV is ready and what you can expect (beyond the radio) on February 17 2009.