WPSL and WIRA share some programming, too, such as the Breakfast with Burchfield morning show. When Wyatt struck a deal last year to manage WIRA, he moved the Fort Pierce station into the WPSL facility in Port St. Lucie. He is about to buy the station outright. Many of the same voices, including News Director Charlie Neeld, are heard on both stations. News is shared, too, on Clear Channel stations.
Critics say such practices limit perspectives on news.
Beginning June 1, Clear Channel will grab two long-established syndicated talk programs from WPSL that are owned by Premiere Radio Networks, a Clear Channel subsidiary, and move them to two of their own stations. Bass said more changes on the two AM stations will be forthcoming in the next few months. The practice is a growing trend in radio, to cut costs. Disc jockeys, however, dislike the practice because it cuts back on the number of air shifts, especially in slots like overnights and weekends where young announcers get a chance to cut their teeth in broadcasting. It took a little getting used to.