I’m a solid kapamilya that’s why I tend to watch Channel 2’s programs (most of them anyway), watch some of their films, and buy CDs from their recording artists (konti lang), and as well as buying magazines from their publishing arm. In the field of radio however, I switch from one station to another. At first I really enjoyed listening to ABS-CBN’s FM station but it was only 2 years ago that it somehow made itself much of a “pang-masa” station, which is not all that bad. Although, in aspects that I cannot thoroughly explain, they’ve made themselves so “baduy”. Now I really miss listening to radio!
97.1 DWLS-Fm is no exception. I remember when I was as young as 8 years old, GMA-7 would air plugs of its FM station, Campus Radio WLS-FM on TV. I’m not much of a Kapuso, I always enjoyed listening to its FM station since it was a perfect place for us, its niche target market, to really enjoy listening to. Like its namesake, Campus Radio is really aimed to the youth market, primarily those from demographics of high school to college students (I first heard of its existence when I was in Grade school).
Two years ago during summer vacation, I began to listen to the station after so many years. Even now, the same old same old was still there. I still remember one of their DJs, Joe Spinner, since I open the radio during morning rush hour. Even if they play contemporary RnB, Rock and Hiphop (they’re a pop station by the way), they occasionaly play OPM, primarily those from the band front like Sandwhich (Its song “Sugod” song most often played by Joe Spinner), Urbandub (Its breakout song “First of Summer” was also often played by the same DJ), and Itchyworms. And they speak good English although they can speak Filipino if the situation calls for it.
What made it so distinct from other youth-oriented counterpart is that, having students as its listeners, many of its features are student oriented like infoPop, frontDotCenter, etc. They also have Campus Aircheck where students from different colleges and universities could expereicne of being a DJ. It was on this endeavor that launched the careers of many DJs that are still active up to this day. I still remember from two years back that on one of Campus’ Aircheck, they had students from La Salle as guest DJs.
It was much of shocker, not only from me, but to many about last year’s reformatting of WLS-FM. I only knew abut it when I was browsing channels and chanced upon QTV-11, GMA-7’s so called “sister station”. They had a news flicker that reads of a new FM station called “Barangay LS Forever”. That was a Saturday, sometime after February 14, 207, the day Campus breathed it last. I was like “Oh my gosh!”. Its a pang-masa station and they have songs from GMA’s programs that plays every so often. The DJs are still there (Joe Spinner is now known as Boy Tisoy) but I could hear it from their voices that they feel uncomfortable plus they make “pilit” of having their English sound very much of a carabao English (based from the reactions of the former listeners).
The reaction about the reformat was tremendous, listeners made the headlines in local tabloid Balita last year as they complained on how the station became “one of them” and begged the management to bring back the now-old format. Forums from candymag.com and PInoy Exchange had threads talking about it. Eventually, I thought people gradually accepted the change.
Then it happened…
It was just January 16 of this year that it underwent another reformat but I didn’t noticed at first (the CSB bookstore had their radio set in 97.1). I only learned from now that many of the DJs were fired “daw” by Mike Enriquez for not making the station no. 1 in the ratings. So it was for ratings’s sake that led to Campus Radio’s reformatting in the first place. As i read from Wikipedia, one of the now-axed DJs, Jimmy Jam (under the Barangay LS callname “Atoong the Bomb”) made the first step of petitioning for the reinstatement of Campus Radio in Manila (GMA’s regional FM stations are still running under the name ‘Campus Radio’ but there rumors that they may all face posible reformatting similar to the Manila station).
I was able to get to one of their petition sites and was awestruck with the turnout, more than 2220 online signatures. I, of course, joined the petition for I wish to bring back the old format of WLS-FM.
If it is for ratings that they changed the image of their FM station, then it is for low ratings that will make them realize taht what they have done only made it worse!
