. ^
September 4, 191
Page B5
mmusisuumn
WAIRbr
c
JOHN HINTON
dfcronlcle Staff Writer
T
,4"The Motown soutid has arrived
iit Winston-Salem.
C:Radio station WAlR changed
ifi; format on Aug. 7 from urban
contemporary or rhythm and
bfcies music to ''Heart and Soul Motown
and More."
v"We decided to change the forJii
l ?-?
na*i occause we felt there was a
\&d of Motown music being
j&yed in this market," said Nick
P? Patella, owner of the station.
'f^Ve want to provide the black
itiarket with entertainment they
cjfn't get anywhere else."
& : 7-?-r,'\Black
music spans the sp
rpusic. We want a format th
black music."
4
Isaac "Zack" Wall, station,
itfanager at WAIR, said the new
fftrmat will increase the station's
listeners and advertisers.
"Other stations around the
country have adoDted a similar
format," Wall said. "Their
ratings have jumped."
-The new format will feature
- * . .
.black music with the Motown
libel and current hits, Wall said.
I"We will still play music by artists
such as Patti LaBelle, Diana
%oss, Billy Ocean and Stevie
tyonder," he said. "But 60 percent
to 70 percent of our music is
fjpm Motown."
*-**The format is intended for
Company re
CHARLOTTE ~ After more
than two years of voting,
America's longest-running election
reached a milestone Monday,
Sept. 1, but the voting will
go on.
Monday marked the date
established in 1982 by the Justice
Department for the local Bell
operating companies to have in
place "equal access" to longdistance
companies for most of
their customers. Equal access
means that customers can reach
their choice of a long-distance
company by simply dialing 1,
- plus an area code and number, as
they have always done with
AT&T.
Although Bell operating companies
? like Southern Bell - will
honor that date, the process will
continue, and customers will
forever have the right to choose
their preferred carrier.
Ever since the breakup of the
Bell system, customers have been
asked to choose a long-distance
company for calls out of their
area. Customers have had to
select their favorite from a field
off 475 companies nationwide.
Here in North Carolina, there
are more than a dozen longdistance
companies competing .
for customers. Since equal access
cbnversions began, about 70 percent
of all telephone customers in
Southern Bell territory in North
Carolina have been given the opportunity
to make a choice.
J j AT&T has surprised industry
Analysts by garnering three out of
iyery four votes cast in this election.
> ' By lowering rates for out-ofitate
long-distance calls by more
^tjian 21 percent in the past two
:?yfcars and launching an extensive
Marketing campaign to win
Customers, AT&T has become an
^aggressive competitor in an ex kjemely
competitive market.
E; "AT&T is pleased that contimers
have made the 'right
boice' in the balloting and have
Voted for AT&T," said John
poster, vice president in charge of
|feles for AT&T's Southern
^Region. "More Importantly, conV
I
>
36
ings Moto
adults 25 to 44 and women 18 to
49, Wall said.* "The format is
also intended for yuppies," he
said.
The station, which first went
on the &ir in 1938, is a 24-hoUr
operation with a 1,000-watt
tower. Its frequency is 1340-AM.
The station began broadcasting
black music in 1979, Wall said.
The station will no longer^lay^
rap music, Wall and Patella said.3'
'if people want to hear that kind
of music, then they will have to
listen to the other stations," Wall
said.
"We found that rap music was
yectrum from rap to gospel
at plays a specialized part of
? Nick P. Patella
antagonistic to some of our older
listeners," Patella said. "You
either love rap music or you hate
it."
The' Motown music comes
from the Satellite Music Net
work, Wall said. "Everything is
totally live, but we have local announcers
in the booth pushing
the buttons," he said.
"We have a product that no
one else has in this market," Wall
said. "Our goal is to expand our
listening audience to become 80
percent black and 20 percent
white."
The format is featured as the
"best music of yesterday, today
\aehasi vntino
sumers chose AT&T in a completely
competitive marketOce.
With the Justice Department's
original deadline approaching,
there are no longer any reasons
for anything less than full and
equal competition for all longdistance
companies/' Foster
said. -? ? ?
Foster points to the fact that
. AT&T remains the only fully
?regulated long-distance company.
And, although AT&T has
made great strides in bringing to
customers the benefits of competition,
like innovative new services
and lower long-distance
rates, future customer benefits
depend upon AT&T's ability to
fully compete with other providers
of long-distance services.
"Needless to sav. it will hp Hif
ficult for us to continue to bring
new services to our customers on
a timely basis if we are tied to
outdated and unncessary
regulatory practices," Foster
said. "Now that equal access is
available throughout most of the
country for all competitors, the
time has come for AT&T to be
allowed to compete equally.
When you consider that AT&T is
competing with hundreds of
other companies, many which are
large and powerful, it makes little
sense for AT&T alone to be subject
to regulatory constraint."
Among new services AT&T has
introduced during the election
period:
Reach Out America - a plan
allowing customers to buy long- *
distance service in volume at a
reduced rate. A special discount
is also available with this plan.
AT&T Opportunity Calling -similar
to a frequent flier pro
Unicap
...THE OFFICIAL V
THE NATIONAL Hi
Unicap vitamins and vital
ments for your kind of net
Senior, UnJcap 77 UnJcap C
UnJcap Plus Iron, and Unit
9
ENTER!
wn sound t
and forever," Wall said. ~1
Response from advertisers and
the community has been positive I
except from young listeners, Wall
and Patella said. "We are still
dedicated to serving the black I
community,1' Patella said. I
1 The new format has made the I
advertisers stand back and take I
notice of us," Wall said.
- The new format will not affect I
the ratines for aV?r\nt ffi Howe
VV UW^ J 9
Patella said. I
44We have been getting some I
telephone calls from kids who are
upset that we are no longer playing
rap music," Wall said. "We I
didn't play rap music in the past m
unless it was highly requested." I
The station changed its format I
to develop "a niche within black I
music," Patella said. . I
"Black music spans the spec- I
trum from rap to gospel music,"
he said. "We want a format that
plays a specialized part of black I
music."
The station decided to concen- jf
trate on Motown music because it yj
has gained widespread popularity j|
with blacks and whitesv
"It is easy to listen tt* and easy ?
to dance to," said Patella. "People
25 and older grew up listening
to Motown music."
Motown is the name of the
record company that began in
Detroit in the early 1960s and
produced music by such black artists
as Smokey Robinson, the
Temptations and the Four Tops.
Music frnm that pra ic nrtu/
WV rnmTmmm VIIMV VI M IJ IIVfT
known as the "Motown sound."
milestone
gram, this offering awards discounts
on name-brand goods and
services based upon the amount
of AT&T long-distance service
used by customers.
AT&T Pro America ? an opportunity
for large users of longdistance
service to purchase an
additional discount, applicable at
any time, day or night.
It is apparent that while some
analysts expected price alone to
be the major issue in the selection
process, consumers were more
concerned with quality and the
services provided by the longdistance
companies. That trend is
certain to continue, with the difference
in prices between all companies
becoming extremely nar
row.
Although important as an indicator
of the availability of
equal access for long-distance
companies and the opportunity
for customers to have a choice of
companies, the Sept. 1 milestone
does not mean an end to the election
process.
In the coming years, local
telephone companies will convert
smaller exchanges to equal access
as they upgrade older switching
equipment. Twenty percent of
the U.S. population moves/annually
and will need to make a
decision on long-distance service.
And there will be new customers
subscribing to telephone service
for the first time who will also
make a choice.
In addition, consumers will
always be able to change their
minds on their long-distance
companies, as they do with the
suppliers of other products and
services.
TTAiUNOF
7CKEY LEAGUE!
nin/mineral suppleids:
Unicap M* Unicap
apsules and Tablets,
:apJr'Cbewable.
i *
PRISE
o Twin City to
M*1
Pr^v,
fFWf]
ie music of the Temptations and other Motown ai
ie group is shown here in a performance in Win
100% - BHH VHIRj
g. 85 T-tl f" [ "* j ' - MQ
,, < i i M
d *5 " i?b-T " "j ~ "2 ~
Z +-4 -\ - t" I 1 >? jr -( H
? 60 .I I & f\ , -i
2 55 * ?r t- h- -f ]- 4
w 2" irnr~r 1 ~1 1 h
Z 45 ' ~i" // ?I i f--$
40 | 1,1 j - - 44 4 ;f?i
39 ?(?f?jf' / " '* *}- iuj
30- a.-jrx r V~: -+ ^ f -f2
25 1?I?t -)M -i I !- ^ .. , a.
O 20 . 4. r\ j. t + j j. ^
sS 15?j'- 1 ^ t LaL^f
0 i I i I I i I | I I
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14^
TERM OF LC
Our 15 Y<
T .nan Mat
juvuii lTian
W ith a Piedmont Fede
not only own your h<
also build equity at a
The difference in the payments
considering the tremendous arc
by making payments for only 1
years.
Even if you don't plan to live ir
term of your loan, the 15 year h
sense. In 5 years you have built
as you would in 15 years with a
For all the details call any Pied
IVMSIX savings and loan
16 West Third Street, P.O. Box 215
^RANCHES Northaide Shopping Center, Parkway Plaza Shopp
Shopping Center, Parkvieu. Mall Shopping Center, Kerr
725-53
. .
t
I
/
National, state
and local business news.
boost ratings
w ? ?,
< ** *W.,
;-^^igj|
' J
/
r
lists can now be heard on radio station WAIR.
ston-Salem (photo by James Parker).
___________________
v! I "
1-fl J
*ft- H + hU - h?!
17% Equity After 15 Years - - f - ? -I
With a 30 Year Loan I
g 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
>AN IN YEARS
iar Honrip
w
;es $ense.
ral 15 year home loan, you
)me in half the time, you
i much faster rate.
i is surprisingly small
lount of interest you save
5 years rather than 30
"i" *
i your home for the full
tome loan makes good
; up as much equity
30 year loan.
mnnt Forloro 1
A VVAV1 ai W/lllVCi
* - r
' Fsfjr
ASSOCIATION !
, W ins ton-Salem, N.C. 27102
ing Center, Thruuay Shopping Center, Sherwood Plaza
xertviUe, Boone, North Wilkesboro. Clemmons
71
I
.
1
i I