WVMO-LP WINS AWARD AS WISCONSIN’S TOP LARGE MARKET MUSIC STATION • FOREIGN OWNED LPFM LOOSES LICENSE

WVMO-LP – The Voice of Monona – was honored as Wisconsin’s   top large market music station at the 2019 Wisconsin Broadcasters Association (WBA) Awards Gala on May 4^th in Madison. Over 400 people attended the annual event where the WBA recognizes the top television and radio broadcasters in the state.

WVMO [link] is a hyper-local community station that features Americana music in addition to news and voices from Monona, a suburb of Madison with a population around 10,000. Spark News published a profile of WVMO in October 2017 [link].

Receiving the award was extra sweet for WVMO’s co-founders Lyndsay Wood Davis and Tom Teuber. 

The two commercial radio veterans built WVMO with a philosophy of excellence in all aspects of the station: The equipment and sound are top notch.  The programming and pacing are highly professional.  The service to the citizens of Monona is extraordinary.

Since WVMO-FM went on the air in August 2015, Davis and Teuber and other volunteers instilled a philosophy of “be the best you can be” into the entire operation. 

Davis and Teuber coached volunteers, most of whom had no previous radio experience, in the basics of formatics, announcing and how to connect with the audience. 

They also taught city folks about the infrastructure of broadcasting: Logs and schedules, underwriting sales and production.

The award was a competitive process. In Wisconsin, the large market category includes stations in Milwaukee and Madison. 

WVMO beat stations owned by iHeart, Saga, Entercom  and other big commercial station owners to win the top honors.

Lyndsay Wood Davis said after winning the WBA award:

Lyndsay Wood Davis

"So much thanks and gratitude for the recognition from the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association for awarding our community radio station the 2018 Large Market Music Station of The Year! All of our WVMO Volunteers are amazing and their passion for this station is incredible.

Thank you to all of our listeners, we love bringing you hyper-local, community entertainment each and everyday!

Community Owned, Locally Programmed and Volunteer Driven, 98.7 WVMO - The Voice of Monona. Thank you all!"

Will Nimmow

The timing of the WBA award could not have been better. Davis and Teuber both retired at the end of 2018, but will remain close to the station. The new leader of WVMO is Will Nimmow, who is also Monona’ Director of Community Media, the parent organization for WVMO.

Other public radio stations won awards at the WBA event. WUWM, Milwaukee received top honors for Lake Effect, honored as Wisconsin’s top radio program. Wisconsin Public Radio was recognized for having the top website [link] in the state.

MISSOURI LPFM LOSES LICENSE BECAUSE OF FOREIGN OWNERSHIP

According to a report in Inside Radio [link] the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has stripped KEJM-LP [link] in Carthage, Missouri, when it was revealed that the station was controlled by a group of non-U.S. citizens.

The operators of Ministerios El Jordan voluntarily surrendered the LPFM’s license. Acting on a tip, the FCC had been investigating KEJM-LP and had found that the station was not only controlled by non-U.S. citizens, the licensee had repeatedly lied about it when filing reports with the FCC.

Image from KEJM's Facebook page

KEJM-LP had broadcast a Spanish language religious format since 2013. The owners of the station got caught when, in January 2017, they filed a minor modification application. 

The application listed the names of five officers of the nonprofit organization that owned the license. None of the five were US citizens.