Myrtle Beach Magic Part Deux

While waiting for a hotel opportunity, Ocean Properties Management entered into an Agreement to purchase radio station WMYB in Myrtle Beach, SC from a prominent FCC Lawyer in Raleigh,NC and his partners. Wade Hargrove and a couple of other guys had invested in a radio station in Myrtle Beach to support two former radio newsmen from the Raleigh Market. The senior of the two was a long time, popular and well known newscaster in North Carolina's capital city. Wade and the other investors felt they were getting a known and experienced radio person in an attractive market that would be successful and it would allow them a legitimate business expense to go to the beach. Also the guy they were backing was bringing with him an able and experienced assistant of his from the well known Raleigh station.

 Just a few months after the Partnership took over the station they became disturbed by the dwindling sales and huge monthly losses. The investors took a trip to the station to have a heart to heart with the fellow they had invested in and find out the problem.

They found the truth to be that the prominent newsman they had placed their faith and money in was in fact the gay lover of the younger assistant and with the WMYB investment these guys had been funding a tropical love nest for these two.

With our shrewd entreprenuerial instincts we had found motivated sellers and a property that had a clear management problem that could be turned around easily, and of course we had the benefit of my successful turn around experience. This would be like shooting fish in a barrel and indeed we had the Myrtle Beach Magic on our side too. There was no such thing as a bad radio station, just bad management.

We agreed to pay them them $250,000 cash at closing signed the deal and eagerly waited the 120 days for the FCC transfer of license approval to allow us to take over the Station before its condition deterioated more. We were assured that the two guys would maintain the place during that period and this would not be a concern.

Instead what happened was the younger of the two Newsmen/Operators fell in love with a woman, infuriating the senior of the two. The younger man and his new female lover went on the lam leaving Myrtle Beach in fear of their lives. After learning this the senior of the two also left the Beach in pursuit of the lover who had scorned him. The radio station was left with nobody in charge.

I get a call from Wade informing me of the Love Triangle issue and the void it had created. The Federal Communications Commission rules do not allow an applicant for a license to have any input into the management of a station until they have given their final approval, so we were helpless. The sellers were able to rehire a former General Manager of the Station to take over until the closing. A Clarksburg, West Virginia native named Bill Allman. This seemed like a reasonable solution and we eagerly looked forward to the closing before anything else negative could possibly happen.

We weren't that fortunate. A week before the scheduled closing the Myrtle Beach Sun Times had a front page story detailing how the two gay lovers of WMYB had traveled around the Country just missing each other until the previous day the senior of the two found his former lover in a motel room in Salem, Virginia. Senior broke down the door to the room with pistol in hand, his estranged lover was also armed and they simultaneously shot and killed each other.

I was pretty certain from my college Public Relations classes that this incident called for what is known as "crisis management"

In this bizarre case though we decided to ignore the recent history and portray ourselves as the "White Knights" that were there to save Myrtle Beach's original radio station. The station had previously had an FM companion which had been sold off prior and now operated in a different facility. The station was WJYR, Beautiful "elevator" Music, but with the predominance of retirees in Myrtle Beach it was the number one ranked station in the Market. The other popular station was Myrtle Beach's Heritage Rock Station WKZQ, which I had always enjoyed when at the Beach. Also at about the same time a 100,000 watt sleepy FM station licensed to Conway,SC had been purchased and changed to a "flame throwing" pop format that they were calling "The Wave" WMYB did not even show up in the Arbitron Ratings. We were fearless, remember.

After a non scientific analysis of the Market, as to needs and voids in programming and knowing the station was the only stand alone AM in Myrtle Beach, which is tantamount to being an orphan at a family reunion. I brilliantly decided that WMYB would be Myrtle Beach's Community and News Station.

The only programming the Station had made any revenue with was Myrtle Beach High School
Football broadcasts. I felt we could build upon that with heavy localism and news and the natives and full time residents would love us.

The Voice of Myrtle Beach was launched with great fanfare. we had an affiliation with NBC Radio News and local news support. We were on our way to a huge success, what I felt would be a groundswell of community support, and perhaps even a key to the city.

With this quick turnaround and contribution to the community we knew the task of raising more money from investors to further exploit the Myrtle Beach Magic would be a breeze.

In the next episode we'll discover more about the characters involved in this fun filled adventure... 




Photo of WMYB courtesy of Tom Myslinski of New Martinsville, WV, who was a member of a party of golfers that visited the Beach during this time. During their visit I hosted a pig roast in their honor and offered other tourist tips to several in the group. Though well over 25 years have passed, I am pretty sure I could raise some "hush money" from them to not do a blog on that week's antics.