Over the years, Brotha Ash Productions has had the opportunity to work with WAMO 106.7 FM as a photographer covering many important stories that the station had to offer such as the “Stop the Music to Stop the Violence” series. I also had the pleasure of covering the various Summer Jams, talent shows and clubs around the city. I was devastated when I heard about the sale of WAMO.

I will miss the station because it was an institution that kept African-Americans and others in the know of what was going on in and outside of Pittsburgh. Working with the WAMO staff over the years was a great experience for me and I am sorry that my colleagues lost their jobs and that the community no longer has a true urban voice.

Sheridan Broadcasting sold three Pittsburgh stations, including WAMO, to St. Joseph Missions.

WAMO has been a part of Pittsburgh’s history for 55 years. WAMO-AM began in Homestead in 1948 as WHOD. In 1956, the call letters were changed to WAMO (to represent the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers). WAMO-FM went on the air in 1960.

In 1973, the Sheridan Broadcasting Corp., owned by Ronald Davenport, purchased WAMO-AM/FM, WILD in Boston and WUFO in Buffalo from Dynamic Broadcasting. In 1974, WAMO-FM and WAMO-AM began separate programming. Gospel programming aired on WAMO-AM, Mondays through Fridays and on Saturdays and Sundays they were simulcast with WAMO-FM. WAMO-FM was formatted as an R&B station with gospel programming on Sunday.

DJ KODE WRED, KIKI BROWN and DJ J-CRUZ

In 1979, Sheridan Broadcasting Corp. acquired the assets of the Mutual Black Network and changed the name to the Sheridan Broadcasting Network, the first completely Black-owned news network in the nation. The network moved its operation from Florida to Pittsburgh in 1985.

WAMO-FM was an urban contemporary station, playing the hottest hits with special programming on Sundays: jazz in the morning and oldies in the evening. AM-860 played smooth R&B and classic soul, featured “The Steve Harvey Morning Show” and was the flagship station of  “The Bev Smith Show.”  Several generations have grown up with WAMO and, sadly, WAMO will no longer be part of Pittsburgh for future generations.

Lakeisha Brown, formerly known as “Kiki—The Midday Chick” of the FM side, says, “I feel bad for the people of Pittsburgh that had their hometown radio station for over 55 years. People have dedicated their craft to one talent meaning that you’ve had people who have done this one thing all their lives. It’s hard for some people to bounce from one craft to another. To true WAMO fans, it’s a heritage station.

“The things that WAMO has done for the community are phenomenal. It’s never personal, it’s always business. The people that lost their jobs need to take what they’ve learned and apply it somewhere else. Everybody’s worked hard and put in their all. Some employees have purchased homes and WAMO gave us that atmosphere,” she said. “When you have something that good and the economy goes bad, you should understand that it’s not in your control and you cannot take life for granted.”

The community has mixed opinions about the sale of the only Black radio station in the city of Pittsburgh. When word hit the airwaves, some people were very sad about the sale and others did not care one-way or the other.

SLY JOCK

Sly Jock, a former deejay of WAMO said they tried to fix things that were not broke. “They could never latch onto the community and when you lose the community you lose everything,” he said. “They completely shut out the old school.”

Sly Jock said he hopes Pittsburgh can get another station that will cater to the community because that’s what it is all about—the community. “Pittsburgh is not a city for syndication such as “The Steve Harvey Show” and St. Joseph Missions is not going to hold out. WAMO must not have cared because they did not even warn the public that this was going to happen. It just did.”

WAMO was known for the hip-hop and R&B music that was heard on the airwaves for years. It was also a great place for promoters to get the word out about their concerts, plays and other major events coming into the city. Local artists and promoters were just as shocked as everyone else when the news hit the public.

“They sold us out,”  said Lamont “Baby Geese” Joiner, CEO and founder of Baby Geese Productions. “As far as advertising it is going to make it harder for the promoters to reach the urban community. WAMO did not think about us when they sold out and they just got out as fast as they could without any warning to the community whatsoever.”

“I heard that it was sold for $9 million and it is definitely worth more than that.  I wonder if they thought about it when they decided to sell,” says songstress Teresa Hawthorne.

“I feel it’s a sad day in Pittsburgh and it will never be the same without WAMO,” said R&B singer Ira Soul. “They did a lot for the community. Now that WAMO is gone you can utilize Pitt’s radio station, Point Park University and Carnegie Mellon University.  Promoters in the city can still advertise with other radio stations and make their events successful.”

Employees at WAMO were informed of their termination around 4 p.m. at a mandatory staff meeting. Thirty-five employees were informed that they would no longer be employees of Sheridan Broadcasting. There will be a 90-day transition period for DJ Boogie and DJ Kode Kred because they are station programmers as well as on-air disc jockeys.

“I believe the community has lost its urban voice, but I’m cool,” says Tee Jay, a newly unemployed on-air WAMO disc jockey. “I have other endeavors that I’m involved in so I’m good. They have been rumors that this was going to happen, but no one knew exactly when it was going to happen.”

“The real rap is this is something that we saw coming for quite some time. We never knew that it would be a Christian station taking over. A lot of us thought that it would be another urban radio station, but never this,” said DJ Blakk Steel.

ORLANA DARKINS

“No matter if people had positive or negative opinions about Sheridan Broadcasting Corp. over the years, the one thing the station provided was a medium for African-American organizations and businesses to share what was happening in the city, and it provided a voice for city residents to discuss pertinent issues and successes in the African-American community. In my opinion, this is a wakeup call for us to rally around and financially support the New Pittsburgh Courier— our only remaining historically Black-owned company that supports and reports what is happening in Pittsburgh’s Black community and Black America as a whole,” said Orlana Darkins, CEO and founder of The Darkins Group, LLC.

Big D, vice president of Bluestar Records, home to Pretty Ricky, Butta Creame and Pleasure P., said, “It’s a sad day because it’s the end of era. The urban voice has been diminished. It’s just gone.”

Businesswoman Angela Stribling said, “I find it extremely unfortunate that the only African-American radio station in Pittsburgh will no longer be in existence. The loss of WAMO will be a detriment to our entire community, especially to our young people.  The young will no longer have a station that educates them socially as well as a forum of providing knowledge of our history within the Pittsburgh area.”

ANJI CORLEY

“I’m extremely saddened, disappointed and dumfounded at the fact of not having WAMO as a part of the Pittsburgh community,” said Mid Day Experience joc Anji Corley. “I feel it’s a lost for the urban community as well as the entire tri-state area. On a personal note, I don’t think words can describe how I and my co-workers felt at the meeting Friday afternoon. I think I’m having a bad dream and the city of Pittsburgh has lost a gem. I’m troubled that without a voice for the urban community it tells a story that we are not valuable enough. It shows that our values, music and other interests are not significant to be represented on the airwaves. No matter where I end up, I’m going to continue my on-air pursuit and Pittsburgh will always be a part of me. What’s next for me, everything. As of 4:30 p.m., May 15, 2009, I reclaimed the position of CEO.”

“I’ve been listening to WAMO well” over 36 years. I’ve seen and heard all types of changes, but it still remained as WAMO on Air,” said singer Dell Saunders.

“This is a complete “let down” to the entire Pittsburgh area.  I consider it and the persons involved a straight-up sell-out.  We deserve an explanation. I understand the economy is at hurt point, but the way it’s been handled is just terrible to its employees and its loyal listeners. Pittsburgh local talent begged WAMO to air their music and they let a lot of us down in that department as well.  Who will step up to the urban hip-hop, R&B, jazz plate and give us former WAMO listeners what we want to hear?”

“Personally I think it’s a loss to the city for the folks who used WAMO,” said Da Button Pusha—CEO and founder of JPBTV.com. “However, as an underground artist, I really didn’t see the love. We shouldn’t have had to battle each other to get air play. This is why I feel having your own media outlet is so important.”