Local Radio Barely Alive......except in Kingston

Pamal Broadcasting Bringing Radio Back to Local Level
by Greg Draiss

Don Verity Station Manager of WGHQ and WBPM is no stranger to the broadcasting business in the Hudson Valley. Verity has been in the Hudson Valley market over the last twenty five years. He saw what happened to local radio when the FCC relaxed rules allowing broadcast companies to own more stations in the same market. It was then that Clear Channel began to gobble up over 1200 stations across the country. Verity said that while it forced the industry to” clean up our act” it made radio no longer local. With a large company like Clear Channel the focus became on the bottom line and the share holder with corporate dictates coming from far away.

Verity, with Pamal Broadcasting, is aiming to return radios focus to local markets. While Pamal owns stations in several markets including Albany and Vermont Verity says it’s “one guy” making decisions not a corporation many miles away. Verity says the Pamal treats each market differently and his job is to still make money and stimulate local commerce.

As an example of this philosophy Verity proudly said that WHUD their lead station with a killer signal has always focused on the Hudson Valley. Pamal inherited KCR (Kingston Community Radio) with the purchase of WBPM and WGHQ. Verity described KCR as the epitome of local radio delivering to the hometown audience. Clear Channel he said tried to bring GHQ into the Poughkeepsie market but failed because of the strong sentiment of Ulster County listeners.

In fact Verity plans on taking advantage of that sentiment with a series of ads entitled “Uniquely Ulster” in which local businesses get to tell of their Ulster County heritage. Verity spawned this idea with the help of Ulster County Chamber of Commerce President Ward Todd.

When Verity first took the helm of GHQ he dropped syndicated talk shows like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. Several listeners complained but Verity felt that these and other syndicated shows could be heard elsewhere n the market. In fact Limbaugh and Hannity both broadcast on stations in New York City and Albany. Currently the stations format is music from the past. Verity’s plans are to bring talk back to the stations but with a local flavor. Plans include a garden show, home improvement and a financial show. Hurdles to do so include the cost of having live personnel on the air and the need for the shows host not only to be an expert in their field but to communicate that to an audience. With that in mind Verity said the shows will be one hour in length as opposed to the three hour format of the syndicated shows. Verity also said while such shows are easy to get from satellite feeds who in the Hudson Valley really cares what is happening in San Diego?

Currently three stations make up what Pamal calls Hudson Valley Radio Network. WGHQ in Kingston, WLNA in Peekskill and WBNR in Beacon broadcast a modified news format focusing on the valley from 6AM to 10AM. At 7AM WGHQ broadcasts Kingston Community Radio’s The Morning Show until 9AM. At 9 GHQ re-joins the other two stations for day.

Verity says the GHQ and BPM enjoyed their best years ever in 2007 which he said is pretty good considering the state of the economy. He added that 2008 is expected to be turn around year for the industry. Listener response is strongest in Kingston in what Verity describes “unheard of” response levels. He attributes this to Ulster being politically active and a steady demographic and has maintained a local flavor and pride.