OUR VIEW

A community has many heartbeats, various things that define it, make it unique, give it its identity.

One of the heartbeats of Cherokee County was WAGI-FM.

Surely you know by now that the popular local FM station has been sold and its format drastically changed.

Now owned by Davidson Media Group, which calls itself "one of the largest multicultural radio groups in America today" on its Web site, WAGIFM has changed from what most felt was a fine-tuned balance of country/religious/sports/public service fare to a Spanish-speaking station.

The change meant millions of dollars to the sellers, a large and powerful frequency acquisition (100,000 watts is HUGE in the broadcast business, equivalent to the transmission power of stations in major cities) and a great deal of heartbreak to loyal WAGI-FM listeners not only in Cherokee County but in neighboring areas (it reached into parts of six states.)

Those of you who woke up Saturday morning and tuned in to what you thought would be the beginning of your regular weekend diet of WAGI-isms probably experienced a variety of emotions. You were no doubt initially confused, then maybe a little aggravated, then perhaps downright angry.

Maybe you thought you had tuned in to the wrong station by mistake. Perhaps you even rubbed your eyes and double-checked the numbers on your radio dial.

Or maybe you thought it was some sort of temporary broadcast of a specialty nature and, like the sniffles during cold and flu season, would run its course. Then when the Spanish language broadcasting persisted, maybe you called the station up and demanded to know what in the world was going on.

The station got a lot of calls Saturday from listeners outraged at what they felt was an unacceptable development.

As the hours droned on and, alas, no familiar local voice broke in to say that this was just a gag and the station would now resume its regular programming, the disturbing reality set in.

WAGI was gone.

At least the WAGI with which we had all become so familiar over the years, the WAGI we allowed into our homes every day, the WAGI we considered our next-door neighbor, the WAGI that entertained us with Swap and Shop while we rocked in the old wicker chair on our porch and the WAGI we stayed glued to on Friday nights in front of the fireplace in our dens to listen to the Gaffney High Indians do battle with a traditional rival. This was the WAGI that our mom listened to while she baked our biscuits in the morning and the WAGI our dad tuned in to while he changed the oil in the family station wagon on Saturday afternoon. WAGI was every bit as much Americana as any Norman Rockwell painting, as much a part of our lives as going to church on Sunday and having Thanksgiving dinner at grandma's house, as much a part of our lives as barbecue and sweet tea.

And now it was gone, torn from us in the name of the almighty dollar.

Now we are left to wonder how this could have happened. Why would anyone do this? Who would be so heartless?

Most folks in these parts feel like we weren't given enough advance notice. We never saw it coming. We were broadcastorily sucker-punched.

No warning. No grace period to adjust to the change. No opportunity for us to escape the withdrawal symptoms. No prescribed cure or remedy. Just - BOOM - the WAGI we all know and love one day and an entirely different WAGI the next.

Somehow it just doesn't seem right.

But that's how the ball bounces nowadays. You see, the almighty dollar trumps ... well ... everything. Even the heartbeat of a community.

We're sure going to miss having WAGI around. Things will never be the same 'round here.