WLBG Radio is scheduled to leave the air Monday night, March 31st. This is a painful decision we came to after years of searching for possible future ownership for WLBG.
When my company purchased WLBG in 1983, it was operating at a financial loss, having slumped in business since WLBG-FM was sold and turned into a Greenville station. By focusing on Laurens County, covering our local community with news, sports and a wide variety of programs that uniquely served Laurens County, and with great, loyal employees, we were able to resurrect WLBG to again become an active, community-based radio station. In the 1980’s, when most AM stations were in decline, some leaving the air, we had wonderful growth in both listeners and advertisers to support our programming.
For the past eight years, our goal was to find new ownership to take over WLBG and take it to the next level, ensuring WLBG’s service to the community into the future. Over these years of searching, it has become obvious that social media is the focus for younger generations, to the detriment of more traditional media.
We are deeply grateful to all the organizations we were able to work with to serve the good of our community. We thank all our listeners for listening and contacting us with ideas for us to cover. We appreciate our staff and our Vice-President, Mike Johnson, for your efforts. We especially thank the business community who have supported WLBG by letting us advertise for them.
For any questions, the email: efinley@wlbg.com will remain active for a few months. Meanwhile, we will not immediately return our license to operate on 860 & 104.1 to the FCC; just in case our departure sparks an idea that has not yet occurred to a potential buyer.
Thank you,
Emil
Emil Finley
Southeastern Broadcast Associates, Inc.