Nominated as one of the best small-market alternative stations in the nation, 97X did a sound job of promoting local musicians and touring bands. Yet the station, formerly 97 Clear, lasted a mere four years. Entercom, which already owns 95.5 in Gainesville and about 37 other stations, is trying to diversify and gain more power in the area. They're doing what businesses do. The troubling part is that what's profitable in this college town is something other than an intelligent, creative format.
Listeners can settle for the lesser of many evils, or they can stop listening altogether.
The upshot of all this is Friends of Quality Radio, an advocacy group set on the resurgence of local radio. Friends of Quality Radio are busy compiling letters from some ex-97X sponsors and trying to find work for the displaced DJs. The group, composed of musicians, writers and fans, began after its favorite station went off the air. I have this much money in sponsors who are willing to come with me. The X DJs arranged songs with common themes, titles and tonality to form refined sets.