01/28/2025
RABUN COUNTY RADIO STATIONS RELOCATING
Georgia-Carolina Radiocasting Companies, owner and operators of several radio stations in northeast Georgia, upstate South Carolina and western North Carolina, including Clayton's WRBN-96.3 FM and Real Country 100.3 FM has announced the two Rabun County stations will end operations on January 31, 2025, and relocate.
The 96.3 station has been granted permission by the Federal Communications Commission to relocate to Toccoa on 95.7 FM while the FCC has approved a relocation of the 100.3 station to 96.1FM at Clemson, South Carolina. The company has up to one year to begin broadcasting in the new community of licenses.
Caroll Lee brought radio broadcasting to Rabun County in 1961. His family sold WGHC(AM) to Dr. Richard Turner in 1982. Turner's family sold the station along with the sister FM station to Chase Broadcasting in 1996 which sold the stations to Georgia-Carolina in 2001. The AM station was relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina in 2008 and sold.
Art Sutton, President/Chief Executive Officer of the company said the stations still commanded the largest listening audience in Rabun County, but advertising revenue had declined substantially. "We had a big drop during the housing crisis in 2008 but were able to adjust overhead to remain profitable. The Covid Pandemic, however, resulted in another major hit and, frankly, we never really recovered. While the local business community has reshaped itself into a more upscale tourism and second home destination, businesses which cater to local residents have consolidated or become chain stores which do no local advertising. Until a few months ago, we were breaking even but the writing was on the wall, so we filed with the FCC to relocate to larger communities where there is a larger pool of local advertising revenue," said Sutton.
The stations' two full time employees impacted by the closure are General Manager, Gene Gihl, and News/Sports Director, Chad Dorsett. Sutton said both were offered transfers to other markets. "Gene has decided to retire, and Chad will be joining our Toccoa station, WNEG. We are grateful to both our listeners and advertisers for their support for the past 24 years we've operated in Rabun County," said Sutton. The company plans to sell its studio/office property at 745 North Main Street in Clayton.
WZTG 91.7 FM is a religious formatted station licensed to Clayton and Sutton said Highlands, NC station, WHLC, has applied with the FCC to build a repeater station on 94.9 in Clayton. Also, a low power FM station, WFJV-LP, has been permitted by the FCC to build a 1-watt FM station on 97.5. The Highlands station repeater and the low power FM station transmitters will be located on the same Black Rock Mountain tower used by WRBN and Real Country stations.