‘Soul Classics’ will flip to FOX Sports format
By Bernie Hayes For the St. Louis American
According to an internal memo obtained by the St. Louis American, WESL 1490 AM is on the verge of dropping its mix of soul, jazz and talk radio, which has a solid following in the local black community, to become 1490 FOX Sports.
Pending this change, WESL – also known as 1490 Soul Classics – is the only soul station left in the St. Louis area.
After the flip, the station will broadcast games by the Gateway Grizzlies, a team in the independent Frontier League that plays its home games in Sauget, Ill. The Grizzlies’ games currently are broadcast on KSLG 1380 ESPN Radio. The announcer for their games since the team’s beginning in 2001 has been Joe Pott, who also serves as corporate sales association for the Gateway Grizzlies.
In an email dated June 20, Pott told executives at KSLG 1380 ESPN, “We are good to go with the move” to 1490 provided a list of stipulations regarding internet stream, price per game, signage and broadcast parameters were met.
In a subsequent email, 1380 ESPN/1490 Soul Classics General Manager John H. Helmkamp delegated to his brother, station spokesman Darren Helmkamp, the responsibility that the changes in question “are accomplished” to facilitate the flip.
Both KSLG 1380 and WESL 1490 are owned by the Simmons Media Group of Salt Lake City, Utah, though there are reports that WESL will be sold.
Radio historian and media consultant Frank Absher reacted to news of the planned format flip with disbelief.
“WESL has enough listeners to show up in the Arbitron ratings. KSLG does not. WESL employs on-air staff of 100 percent minority broadcasters. KSLG does not. WESL serves a special audience with its unique format.
KSLG does not. WESL has a strong history serving the black community.
KSLG does not. WESL is making a profit. KSLG is not,” Absher said.
“So the logical thing to do is change WESL’s format?”
Absher added, “I began working in radio in 1966, and I have never seen a move that made so little sense. My only hope is that listeners and advertisers reward this business decision by ignoring both radio stations.”
“The loss of black-oriented programming on local radio in St. Louis is a real tragedy and a sad commentary on FCC rulings on ownership of broadcast properties in the United States,” said Harold Crumpton, president of the St. Louis Chapter of the NAACP.
“The end result will be narrow and distorted news and opinions broadcast to the African-American community.”
A few months ago, WESL fired on-air personalities Doug Eason, Denise Williams, Michael Tyrone Key, Terry Houston and Larry “Godfather” Sheppard.
The station’s call letters were WTMV, WBBR and WAMV before changing to WESL in the early 1960s. Former personalities on these stations included Rod “Dr.Jockenstein” King, Curtis “Soul-Boogie Man” Brown, “Sweet” Charlie Smith, Edie “Bee” Boatner, Decater Agnew, Bill “Fox Chaser” Moore, “Big Time” Frank Davis, E. Rodney Jones, Yvonne Daniels and Cheryl Winston.
Since 1977, Simmons Media has owned or operated radio stations, billboards and a travel agency in Utah, New Mexico, Idaho, Wyoming, Texas and Missouri.
