By RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com, originally filed May 29, 2012
Atlanta-based Cumulus Media officially launched All News 106.7 at 5 a.m. this morning, the first FM 24/7 all-news station in metro Atlanta.
Until this launch, Atlanta was one of the largest markets without an all-news station. John Dickey, chief operating officer for Cumulus, said this format was "long overdue." WCNN-AM, now sports station 680/The Fan, attempted a local, all-news format in 1988 but it lasted only two years.
About half the news staff of 24 came from the recently disbanded CNN Radio operation, including the station's first two anchors Michelle Wright and Andy Rose. In its fast-paced first hour, All News 106.7 used Fox 5 for weather, the Fan for sports and ABC News for top-of-the-hour national and international news briefs. Greg Talmadge did traffic every 10 minutes. Commercial breaks were frequent but brief.
All News replaces an oldies format, Atlanta's Greatest Hits, which survived four years focused mostly on 1970s pop but included songs from the 1960s and 1980s. The format's final full songs before the switch were Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust," Donna Summer's "Last Dance"and the Beatles' "A Day in the Life." The signal at 106.7 for 24 years was a country format until 2008, when it became True Oldies, then the similar-sounding Atlanta's Greatest Hits in 2010.
More info from my original announcement of the format shift is here.
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By Rodney Ho, Radio & TV Talk
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By Rodney Ho, Radio & TV Talk
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