In a small U.P. town, AM radio is still king

[WU8Y]

From Michigan's Detroit Free Press: In a small U.P. town, AM radio is still king. (U.P. means Upper Peninsula, the remote northern part of Michigan)

He was a caller on the "Trading Post" show on WNBY 1450 AM, in Newberry, population 1,489 or so. Locals call every weekday morning at 9:30 to this on-air swap meet to sell or trade something, or describe their breakfast, or share their feelings about the late November rain. It’s been on the air for 50 years, and it’s immensely popular.

People call the show not just to buy and sell, but also just to spread the word about something, like announcing that Ziggy, the elementary school’s iguana, had escaped (they located him in a tree not long after); or report a power drill they found in the road (the owner came forward after hearing this on the radio), or ask about the car that plowed into a local mom-and-pop hotel the night before.

 

[autovon]

There's is/was a program called Telephone time from around Iron River that was similar. On FM though.

 

[mmckenna]

I was stationed in Kodiak AK. for a while and the local station did the same thing. Really interesting to listen to, especially when I'd hear people I knew calling in to sell their old hunting rifles. It was a different time and place than it is now.

 

[DJ11DLN]

We used to have a local, probably 5kW, AM station that did that, the show was called, "Trading Post," I want to say it was from 11:00 AM-1:00 PM weekdays, with a 15-minute break for local news & weather at noon. Played country music the rest of the time they were on the air. I remember my folks listening to it when I was a kid back in the early '70s (which is why I'm a little vague about the details). Anyone could call in if they had something to sell, were looking to buy something, or had any kind of an announcement to make. I'm pretty sure it was gone by '74 or so, as was the station itself by sometime in the mid-'90s.

Nice to hear somebody is still doing this kind of useful public service. Everything seems to need to make max $$$ today and I doubt any of our local business owners could see sponsoring such a thing since it might take money out of their pockets.:roll: