Dent on Susquehanna's Opening Day at WGBB. Not Knowing That the Station Had Just Changed Hands, an Unannounced FCC Field Inspector Showed up to Conduct an Inspection
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Mr. Lawrence, moreover, recalls an even more disquieting inci- dent on Susquehanna's opening day at WGBB. Not knowing that the station had just changed hands, an unannounced FCC field inspector showed up to conduct an inspection. "He found all sorts of offenses," Mr. Lawrence recalled. "Viola- tions of transmitter regulations and other equipment, program, and transmitter log discrepancies and problems, and goodness knows what else." Obviously, Susquehanna was not cited for these violations. The location was so poor that Bill Musser had trouble getting people to come to the station for job interviews: "They refused to stop in the neighborhood." Such unpleasantries were forgotten when, less than a year later, the operation moved to modern, spacious quarters at 1240 Broadcast Plaza in Merrick, and the Company installed state -of- the -art equip- ment. Initially, the station occupied two floors of the new Merrick building, but the subsequent expansion of station activities soon re- quired using the third floor as well. Just because Company plans had blueprinted WGBB as more of a "sales- oriented animal" than a program one did not mean program- ming was relegated to a subordinate function. Musically, the format was a blend of "Middle -of- the -Road" pop and pop- oriented Rock. Even if there was little or no chance of WGBB loosening the grip of WABC, still the sound needed to be contemporary. Although Long Islanders considered themselves a separate universe, culturally they identified with their sophisticated neighbors in Manhattan. The WGBB disc jockeys could by no means be second class entertain- ment. Susquehanna's charge to disc jockeys ( "What goes on between the records is the most important ingredient of your show ") applied in extra measure at WGBB. "Localization" was stressed during the first moment of a deejay's or newsperson's orientation. Manager Musser summed up the programming philosophy in one short sen- tence: "We had to localize everything." From day one, WGBB knew that a station competing with major New York City stations had to project a local image. During one pro- motional phase, WGBB's slogan was "The Key to Long Island." A symbolic gold key showed up in ads, station promotions, on the air, and in whatever tangible ways keys could be adapted to marketplace usage. Local governmental affairs, local civic activities, local service club doings -if it was provincially Long Island, WGBB tried to get in- volved. The station's longtime program director still marvels at what he calls WGBB's "distinctiveness." 98 Susquehanna Radio The First Fifty Years .