2013 flashback: 92.3 Comedy Channel no more, WGST returns

Posted June 3, 2013 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog

I wrote about these changes weeks ago but I figure I'll remind folks about two changes today on the Atlanta radio dial:

- After a mere eight months, the laughter is over at Comedy 92.3. Clear Channel Atlanta has moved its ESPN Deportes Hispanic sports talk format from 640/AM to its FM 92.3 slot. Matt  Scarano, general manager, said ESPN Deportes is more compatible with its overall lineup of stations, which includes El Patron at 105.3. The two stations could be paired together in sales pitches. Comedy, even on such a modest in-town, quickly drew a loyal following for folks who were seeking a chuckle instead of music, sports talk, news or politics. But it probably generate enough ad buys to justify its existence on the dial. You can still listen on the I Heart Radio app. (I do.) More details here.

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- 640/WGST-AM, the one-time monster news/talk station, spent many years fading into the sunset as its audience aged and moved away from where the signal was strongest into the suburbs. (Oh, and they got rid of Kim "The Kimmer" Petersen in 2006, which I wanted to mention before the blog commenters below did.) Last year, Clear Channel killed the station once and for all, dumping Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh (who quickly went to AM 750 and 95.5FM News/Talk WSB) and Rusty Humphries. But nine months later, with ESPN Deportes receiving virtually zero ratings, Clear Channel is bringing back WGST with an all-syndicated lineup. (The last incarnation included a local morning show and Humphries doing a local show in the afternoons.). Beck is back, along with Dave Ramsey, who used to be on WGST before a brief time at WSB. You can see the entire lineup here.

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The Writers Guild of America knows we lazy media writers love lists. I know I do. So they created a top 101 best-written TV shows of all time, based on member votes.

The top 12 are:

1. "The Sopranos"

2. "Seinfeld

3. "Twilight Zone"

4. "All in the Family"

5. "M*A*S*H"

6. "The Mary Tyler Moore Show"

7. "Mad Men"

8. "Cheers"

9. "The Wire"

10. "The West Wing"

11. "The Simpsons"

12. "I Love Lucy"

Check out the rest of the list here. It strikes me as a very nice balance of old ("The Honeymooners," "The Dick Van Dyke Show," "Star Trek") and new ("Justified," "Breaking Bad," "Game of Thrones"). "Gilligan's Island" and "Three's Company" somehow slipped through the cracks