WGFT radio changes formats; boasts top national talk shows
Published:Thursday, April 24, 2008
By Guy D=92Astolfo
Skip Bednarczyk took over at the station last month.
YOUNGSTOWN =97 After switching formats, a Mahoning Valley radio station
is offering what its general manager calls the strongest lineup of
nationally syndicated talk shows in the country.
For years, WGFT AM 1330 was lacking a clear identity, mixing gospel,
talk and urban music in its daily programming.
Skip Bednarczyk, who took over as general manager March 3, has
reshaped it into 1330 Talk, which was unveiled March 17.
=93Reaction has been very positive,=94 said Bednarczyk.
Anchoring the lineup is Don Imus in the morning drive slot (6-10
a.m.). Imus resigned from radio last year in the wake of racist on-air
comments he made that set off a national brouhaha. He returned to the
airwaves later in the year. WGFT is the only Ohio station carrying his
show, said Bednarczyk.
The rest of the lineup is Laura Ingraham, who lends a woman=92s
viewpoint to politics, the media and Hollywood, 10 a.m. to noon; Dave
Ramsey, who offers advice on living debt-free and amassing wealth,
noon to 3 p.m.; Sean Hannity, Fox News pundit, 3 to 6 p.m.; and Mark
Levin, 6-8 p.m.
Bednarczyk said WGFT is not going head-to-head with WKBN AM-570, the
market=92s entrenched talk radio station. =93It=92s an alternative, in
that
it=92s all nationally syndicated programming,=94 he said. =93These
programs
have all been proven in other markets.=94
With the exception of =93The Rush Limbaugh Show,=94 WKBN=92s programming
is
local.
WGFT fills its night and weekend time slots with repeats of the
daytime programs, as well as shows on home improvement, pets, travel
and automobiles.
Bednarczyk is a native of Cuyahoga Falls, who has a long track record
in radio management, having worked in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Dallas,
Cleveland, Miami and Columbus. He and his wife, a Steubenville native,
wanted to return to Northeast Ohio to reconnect with their families
and get back to their roots.
He admitted bringing Imus to a station that previously had a mostly
black audience was a gutsy move. =93We got some complaints,=94 he said.
The move reflected a marketing philosophy imparted to Bednarczyk by
none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger, for whom he worked as publicity
manager in the late =9270s and early =9280s.
=93Arnold said, =91Always look at a situation at every angle that it is
not, instead of what it is,=92=94 said Bednarczyk.
Another change took effect this week at WGFT=92s sister station,
WRBP-101.9 Jamz.
Bednarczyk added the nationally syndicated Steve Harvey show, which is
one of the hottest urban shows in the country.
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