By Rick Kaempfer
LOW POWER, DEEP CUTS
ark Zander has been around the le. "At first they looked me like, OK here's
Chicago radio block. Among his this rock guy. Is he going to be able to hanten stops along the dial, he has dle playing the Carpenters? Is he going to
hosted nights at the Loop and the old snicker? I think I surprised them. There are
WCKG, and programmed the River a lot of songs here I like that I've just never
95.9FM in Naperville. But none of those admitted I liked – but now I can admit it
previous gigs are like his current one. He's openly and publicly. (laughs) Yeah, I like
now the man behind the music at a radio "Snowbird" by Anne Murray. Got a probstation broadcasting on a low-power tele- lem with that? "
Me-TV FM is a streamlined operation –
vision/analog FM radio frequency,
attempting to provide a musical compan- only two employees are currently
ion to a television network. That's a new employed at the station: Zander and the
imaging director Michael Horn. There are
one.
Zander explains the origin of this a couple of very good reasons for that. The
first, is obviously
unusual operation,
financial. "WGN sank
MeTV, 87.7FM. "Neil
a lot of resources into
Sabin is the architect
The Game (the previof MeTV, the hugely
ous resident of this fresuccessful retro telequency) before they
vision network, and
were profitable, and
he comes from a
that's one of the rearadio background.
sons they only lasted a
He was at WLS and
year.
Weigel
WIND back in the
Broadcasting (owner
'70s and has radio
of Me-TV) is doing it
coursing through his
right – they're starting
veins. It's always
slow. It's a lean and
been an idea of his to
mean machine and
create this companthey're giving it time
ion to ME-TV on the
to grow. Nobody does
radio, music from the
that. Everyone wants
era of the retro shows
results and they want
Me-TV airs. That's
them now. Weigel
been bubbling under
knows it's not going to
for a long time, and
Mark Zander
work that way, and
when 87.7 became
available (it had previously aired "The they are perfectly willing to be patient."
There's also a potential sword hanging
Game") through Venture Technologies, he
over their heads; one that is completely
struck a deal and put on this format."
And while Zander has been program- out of their control. The F.C.C. has been
ming the station since early March, Sabin asked to make a decision regarding the
is still very much involved. "Neil and I future of low-powered television signals
come up with the music together," Zander like this one, and recently put it off again.
admits. "When I started he handed me