WASH-FM’s Short Life as a CHR
There isn’t much love in DC media circles for WASH-FM‘s brief shot at Contemporary Hit Radio, launched in 1983.
Up to then, WASH was a longtime Adult Contemporary mainstay, with the well-regarded Eddie Gallaher in morning drive.
The drastic format-shift, led by Program Director Bill Tanner and with a more rhythmic lean than its CHR competitors, was a ratings-and-revenue disappointment…further dented by a million-dollar cash-giveaway promotion that made little impact. It took years for the station to regain a strong position in the market.
Despite CHR WASH-FM’s lack of success, several good air-talents were part of the effort, including Dude Walker, Marilyn Thompson, and (featured on the aircheck) Steve Dreppard.
It’s also worth noting that a rhythmic approach to CHR (albeit a different one, under consultant Jerry Clifton) did eventually succeed in DC radio, starting in 1987, when then-struggling 95.5 WCLY switched back to the WPGC call-letters.
Hypothetically, would Clifton’s version of Rhythmic CHR have been more successful on WASH-FM than Tanner’s? Or was any departure from the station’s AC heritage a doomed enterprise?
