March 24, 1999
Tiffin radio station tuning in changes
By Jefferson Wolfe
Staff Writer
Tiffin's radio station is to offer differing AM and FM broadcasts, but both are to stay locally oriented, the station manager says.
Chuck Poet, WTTF station manager, said the FM studio will be moving to a facility in Findlay, but the transmitter will remain in Tiffin. It is possible that the FM studio may return to Tiffin someday, but for now it will share quarters with other Jacor stations in Findlay. The AM studio will continue to be in Tiffin, he said.
Both stations will identify themselves on the air as Tiffin stations.
Poet said the move to Findlay is necessary because the current downtown Tiffin facility has a leaky roof and will not accommodate needed technological improvements for the FM station.
Despite the changes, programming for both stations will retain a local orientation, Poet said.
Many citizens have expressed concern over school closings and other locally oriented programming, Poet said,.
"We're still working out the details,'' he said. "It won't be as Tiffin-oriented. We will still carry Tiffin news, school closings and cover information that is important to the community."
He said the FM station will maintain a presence in Tiffin, despite having a studio about 24 miles away.
"There's still the office there, there's still contact with the community there,'' he said.
What the stations' formats will be like after the split has not been determined completely, he said, but they will be two separate entities.
The AM station still will be called WTTF and offer the same news and information content as it does now. There may be modifications to the music the station plays. Poet said he did not know what form the change will take, but the he hoped to make modifications to make the type and selection of the music more consistent.
There will be no power change for the AM station, Poet said. The wattage of the station is regulated by federal law and cannot be changed, he said.
The FM station, to be called WCKY, eventually will be operating 24 hours a day, he said. The programming has yet to be determined. He said the call-letter change has already been instituted.
"Everybody knew there were going to be some changes made,'' he said. "I understand people being concerned. Change doesn't always mean bad and terrible things."
Poet has heard many rumors circulating in the community about potential changes at the station.
"There is outlandish speculation on some people's parts," he said.
Citizens have also asked about the status of Frank Barber, who gives the morning news and sports. Poet said Barber will be staying at the station.
"We think he's one of the best assets of the organization,'' Poet said. "Frank's going to be the sports guy for Tiffin and Seneca County."
Barber will also be involved in the news department, he said. It is possible that Barber also could work at other Jacor stations, Poet said, but he will be concentrating his efforts in Tiffin.
"Frank's home base is going to be Tiffin," he said
Poet said local sports will continue, but he did not know to what extent. He said he did not know if city council broadcasts would continue.