Local talk radio stations under new ownership, part of new network

On Friday, Nov. 1, the sale became final that handed the reins of one of the larger local radio networks to a new owner.

Adrian Eddleman is one of the owners of that new group, Liberty Radio, who bought every station owned brothers Charles and Lacy Ennis including 93.1 WTJS-FM, 101.5 WNWS-FM, 105.3 WTJK-FM plus a couple other stations in Humboldt and Covington.

Liberty Radio began purchasing radio stations last year beginning with a couple in Camden and Corinth, Miss., with plans of putting together a statewide network of stations to fulfill a couple of objectives.

"I feel that radio is still a very viable means of communications, and there are others who think that too or George Soros wouldn't have worked to acquire more than 200 of them," Eddleman said. "And while there are plenty of news outlets - radio stations, tv stations and newspapers - who cover local news and others who cover national news. There's a lot of statewide news that I feel falls through the cracks.

"And we're called Liberty Radio for a reason. We want to provide a mechanism for all viewpoints and perspectives that can be expressed in an intelligent manner for constructive discussion that is more than multiple people who disagree on an issue yelling at each other."

For those markets like Jackson where Liberty Radio has bought more than one station, Eddleman said there will a station devoted to the statewide network and the other will be more focused locally.

"93.1 will be that network station for us since it has the larger signal," Eddleman said. "And 101.5 will still be focused on local news and happenings."

The network stations will also have a local focus as the plan is to have local programming on each station in the mornings and evenings during drive-time hours.

But there will be a nucleus of shows that will fill out the majority of the rest of the daily and weekly programming schedule.

Pamela Mirabella, who is a former editor of The Camden (Tenn.) Chronicle, has served as the vice-president of operations for Liberty Radio - Camden and Corinth. She will also add the new stations to her list of stations to manage.

So for listeners of 101.5, Eddleman said they hopefully won't notice many changes.

"It will still be Jackson-focused talk radio like it has been I guess ever since it started," Eddleman said. "But those who listen to 93.1 will notice some changes, most notably a local morning show.

"We already have a local evening show that we plan to keep with Frankie Lax."

That statement was made during an interview on Friday, Nov. 1. That following weekend, Mirabella received a handful of e-mails and calls from on-air talent and news-gathering staff, letting her know they were quitting and leaving the station.

“No reason was given to me about why they left,” Mirabella said. “But starting at 8 a.m. on Saturday morning and the last one coming in a little after 8 on Sunday night, we had some of the people let us know they would be reporting to work elsewhere the next day.

“I’m not sure why they chose to leave, but we’re continuing on without them.”

J.P. Stovall, who’s a member of the Jackson City Council and has been a radio personality in Jackson for nearly two years going by the nickname “The Patriot Pastor” has been on 101.5 in the mornings from 8-11 a.m. to help bridge the gap. Other local voices including Julie Cook, Justin White and Brittany Wood have been on the station as well.

Mirabella said they are putting together a lineup for 101.5 they hope to release by next week with some familiar voices and faces in negotiations now.

"Liberty Radio has Judeo-Christian values but just because you don't share those values doesn't mean your opinion or perspective is less valuable to us," Eddleman said. "This country is founded on the Freedom of Speech, and we invite everyone to be a part of the public discussions on our network."

Brandon Shields, brandon@jacksonpost.news