10 AUG 05: CHASING DOWN THE FOX

Well, well - we may soon have a contest for the top-rated radio station in Columbus. New rating numbers show WFXE "Foxie 105 FM" losing listeners again, and getting close to losing the number-one position overall. This could be a "hip-hop" trend - the station's not hip, so people are hopping elsewhere.

The Arbitron spring numbers for Columbus are now posted online. They show Foxie 105 FM has lost about one-sixth of its listeners since last spring, and has lost almost half its audience from two years ago. Don't expect this station to give away free iPods anytime soon.

In only one year, WBFA "101.3 The Beat" has closed to within three rating points of Foxie 105. But both stations lost some listeners from last fall -- which only proves when spring comes to Columbus, people are more likely to take off their "raps."

But that's not the radio station threatening to knock Foxie 105 off the throne. WAGH "Magic 98.3 FM" came within 1.5 rating points of first place in the spring. Maybe some people are right, when they say young people are growing up faster all the time....

BIG PREDICTION UPDATE: We mentioned a couple of weeks ago K-92.7 FM was likely to make a big gain in the spring ratings. It indeed gained listeners - but to my surprise, rival "Magic 98" gained even more. Someone should tell K-92.7's Tom Joyner to double his jackpot to $2,000 an hour.

Davis Broadcasting also may be concerned about its gospel music station. WEAM-FM has lost nearly half its audience in the last year -- and during the spring, its AM gospel station was switched to sports talk. Maybe now their announcer will be told to pronounce Buena Vista "BYOO-nah."

Meanwhile, WHAL-AM has lost all the momentum it had when it started gospel music two years ago. It tied for last place among rated Columbus stations in the spring report. On some days, "Hallelujah 1460" may reflect the actual listener count.

(Clear Channel has similar "Hallelujah" radio stations in Memphis and Montgomery, and they're at or near the top. But they're on the FM band - while 1460 AM is having trouble even getting a witness.)

As for other radio races, here's what the spring ratings show:

+ WSTH "Rooster 106" keeps a narrow lead over country competition WKCN "Kissin' 99.3." I'm tempted to call them "country cousins" - except they fight each other much like real country cousins would on The Jerry Springer Show.

+ Davis Broadcasting's station swap of "The River 95.7" FM for K-92.7 cost the classic rock station about half its audience from a year ago. Harris County must have fewer aging hippies than we realized.

+ WRCG gained a bit in the ratings from last fall - which I think means about five new people called "TalkLine."

Are Columbus radio stations losing listeners to satellite and Internet programming? Based on my figuring, maybe not. The total percentage of the audience listening to Columbus stations went UP from spring 2004 -- so they're apparently not in "Sirius" trouble for now.

BLOG UPDATE: If you jumped on our best bet from Tuesday and drove to Phenix City to fill your gas tank, you may have been disappointed. The Big Cat station on U.S. 431 hiked its price four cents from Monday, to $2.28 a gallon. Change your name to Big Slap, why don'tcha?!

Now for plenty of other things which caught our attention on Tuesday:

+ Columbus community activist Lonnie Jackson was honored with a special evening at the Bradley Theater. It was a night filled with special tributes -- and perhaps the best one came at the end, when the entire audience picked up their trash and threw it away.

(Lonnie Jackson needed assistance in walking, because he's 76 and battling cancer. Someone should provide him with an electric scooter to get around town - but it would need a trailer hitch, to haul all those plaques he's received.)

+ Columbus Council approved $400,000 in emergency funds to fix a crumbling canal wall on Cherokee Avenue. Ground under part of the street is eroding, because of all the rain this year - so imagine what pounding posts for a heavy steel guardrail could do.

+ The state of Alabama declared Phenix City Central High School failed to make "adequate yearly progress." Under federal law, this means students can request transfers to other schools. But where else in Phenix City can you go? Is Glenwood offering free admission?!

+ The Ledger-Enquirer reported TSYS has closed the deal to handle Capital One credit cards. As long as the barbarians from those commercials don't show up downtown....

(Now that TSYS is handling Capital One credit cards, how many employee cubicles will receive giant "NO" signs for inspiration?)

+ Parts of three Columbus industrial parks were declared "foreign trade zones." This was stunning news - because none of them are along Victory Drive, where so many signs are in Spanish.

+ Delta Air Lines stock dropped below two dollars a share. Public radio's "Marketplace" reported AirTran now is worth more as a company -- so maybe Delta should change its slogan to, "Cheap goes around."

+ Georgia's repentant "runaway bride" Jennifer Wilbanks was spotted in Gwinnett County -- cutting lawns, to fulfill her community service sentence! Authorities were wise NOT to put her on a riding lawnmower, where she could escape again.

+ Instant Message to the Columbus Public Library: That's a joke, right? I mean, that DVD still on display in the popular materials section: "Albert Paley: Man of Steel."

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