By By Matthew Nascone
Of all the talk radio shows that reach the Baldwin County area, the LA Morning Show was rated No. 1 for 2006. The show is co-hosted by Atmore's own Lou Vickery and Walter Jaye and Randy Burgan.
"We knew things have been going much better and we were growing, but we did not know we were doing this well," Vickery said. "We are all very excited to be rated No. 1."
But an interesting twist is that Vickery and his co-hosts did not even know about the award until recently. They found out through the advertising company used by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.
PCI had run an ad with WNSI for its gaming facilities and the advertising agency made note of the ranking and told the station about it. Vickery said it is great to be such a small station and win such a great award.
"We are competing with all the stations that broadcast in Baldwin County and there are some big stations in that group," he said. "So for us to be rated No. 1 is a great experience."
WNSI is labeled AM 1000 in Robertsdale and FM 105.9 in Atmore.
Broadcast Solutions out of California performed the rankings via phone and the rankings for Escambia County have not been determined yet.
Vickery said the show has been doing well and their market does not only include radio listeners.
"We have had a significant following online in places such as Afghanistan," Vickery said. "Our soldiers over there want to keep up with what is going on in this area."
The growing listener base and other improvements at WNSI has led the company to improve the Atmore site.
"We have been approved for additional power in Atmore," Vickery said. "We will be getting a new antenna which will make a significant difference to our listening area and we will have a more powerful sound on the air."
The LA Morning Show airs from 6:30 a.m. until 9 a.m. daily. There is also a rebroadcast with parts of the show from 4 p.m. until 5 p.m.