Charlotte’s WGIV (103.3 FM and 1370 AM) isn’t like the city’s other urban radio stations.
For one thing, the station — which has been operating for more than 60 years and formerly had an all-gospel format — is independently owned, while others like WPEG (97.9 FM) and WQNC (92.7) are controlled by large corporate interests like CBS Radio and Radio One.
Secondly, rather than having a structured musical playlist with a set number of chart-topping songs and artists, radio personalities at WGIV pretty much play whatever they want — old-school R&B, hip-hop, gospel, jazz, reggae, mixes, music from local artists and more, from obscure tracks to major hits. Normally, stations have set formats, i.e., urban (hip-hop and R&B) and top 40 (pop), among others; program directors generally set the tone, deciding what songs will be played throughout the day, as well as selecting, scheduling and managing on-air talent. With the format set, the sales staff then usually goes out and finds advertisers to purchase airtime.
Which brings us to another unique aspect of WGIV: On-air personalities aren’t paid a salary — they’re compensated by selling advertising for their own shows.
Station owner Frank Neely said the community loves the change at WGIV, and what they’re doing feels right. “It’s like a breath of fresh air to be able to tune in. What you don’t like you can tune out and what you like you can come back to it,” he said. “When it comes to radio, we just bring a different flavor. It is a whole different vibe in the way we do it.”
But could what sets this station apart be its downfall as well? It all depends on who you ask.
Program director and afternoon show host BJ Murphy said the station will be one of Charlotte’s best pretty soon.
“We all work together and we’re putting together some really good stuff at the radio station,” he said. “We don’t have to answer to investors and these banks that really run radio. So, we as an independent operation can do whatever we want to do. I’ve worked for every corporate company in radio, and I like this better because it is independent.
“[Neely] allowed A.C. Stowe, who used to program the Radio One station, to play some old-school urban [adult contemporary], and I just came in, in July, and just tweaked it a little bit, playing more of the ’90s and ’80s R&B,” added Murphy, who hosted WPEG’s Breakfast Brothers Morning Show until 2003. “A lot of those titles were not being played in the Charlotte market and that’s where that format was born out of.”
But radio veteran and former WBAV (101.9 FM) personality Alysse Stewart, who was the first big-name local personality to be hired by WGIV — a relationship that lasted about two months — said the station lacks focus, and she doesn’t see it being a huge success.
“I don’t ever see that station winning,” she said. “There is no team play going on over there … When I was there, the station was all over the place. I guess my overall perception is [that it’s] the station that’s trying to be everything to everybody without an overall direction.”
During her tenure, Stewart said there was a lack of leadership and no programming with the shows. “Everyone just did their own thing.” That’s because Neely considers his on-air personalities “independent contractors.”
“We decided to go to the partnership, letting [on-air talent] be responsible for producing a product that the community wants. We don’t depend on a sales staff. We depend on doing good broadcasting, good information going out over those airwaves,” said Neely. “Would you rather make $25 an hour for 40 hours a week — or the sky’s the limit? Here, people have an opportunity to build their dreams.”
Stewart, however, said she was not given the tools that she needed to sell the station to potential advertisers.
“It’s told to you that you’re supposed to be in charge of your show, but meanwhile, comments are being made about what someone thinks you should do on your show,” Stewart said. “And you weren’t given what you need to have a show that you could grow and that you could actually sell. You were starting out on a losing page.”
But former 96.1 The Beat radio personality Jacinda Garabito, host of WGIV’s afternoon show Just Jacinda, said the station is a good fit for her, even if it did take her a little time to sign on.
“When I got laid off from 96.1 The Beat, the ‘GIV thing kept falling in my lap. It was always different people talking to me and telling me about the opportunity there. So, I was like: ‘All right, let me look into this and see what’s going on.'”
For Garabito, the partnership with the talent and the station allows her to control her income.
“When I’m on the air, this is my time,” she said. “It is up to me to design and invent and create how I want to make money. At first, I was like, ‘I’m not a sales rep. I don’t know anything about this.’ But now, I’ve built my own sales team, and I have about five or seven people who go out and sell for my show.”
The percentage of sales that you walk away with, Garabito said, is double what you would get at a corporate radio station. She admits, however, this might not be for everyone looking to get into radio.
Murphy also opined that the corporate structure of radio has taken people away from the true purpose of the medium, and WGIV is taking it back.
“A year from now,” Murphy said. “I think this will be one of the most important media outlets in Charlotte. In terms of getting important messages and certain movements, I think it will be a catalyst for change in Charlotte.”
This article appears in Nov 30 – Dec 6, 2010.
I love the WGIV. I use to listen to it back in the days. I hope they are here to stay this time. LARRY ERICA & ASSOCIATES.
Dr. Bizness and WGIV Radio have been brought to the attention of North Carolina Consumer News by concerned small business owners in the Charlotte, NC area who want to expose the deceptive and unethical business practices of Dr. Bizness and WGIV radio, for deceiving local Charlotte, NC business owners and job seekers with their deceptive programs that they advertise on their websites and Internet radio ads, which has no doubt left some small business owners in the Charlotte, NC frustrated and disenfranchised by the unethical business practices of Dr. Bizness and WGIV radio.
Dr. Bizness and WGIV radio are not even registered with the Better Business Bureau in Charlotte, NC and they still have an outstanding Better Business Bureau complaint that they have yet to respond that was filed 6/16/2014.
Dr. Bizness and WGIV radio claim to reach a worldwide listening audience of over 40 million through his websites in his Linked In profile, (www.WGIVcharlotte.com, http://www.WDRBmedia.com, http://www.drbizness.com) but we have been informed by complaining business owners, that in reality this is very deceptive and very boastful speaking, when his online radio station probably has less than a 1,000 actual listeners at best on any given day, which is closer to WGIV’s actual listenership, so what Dr. Bizness is doing is taking the statistics from the worldwide web Internet audience as a whole to lure unsuspecting business owners and job hunters that believe a 60 year old washed up Charlotte, NC radio station really has over 40 million listeners as an Internet only radio station, which is only on the Internet.
We would like to know how Dr. Bizness feels that over 40 million people are listening to WGIV when they don’t even have a consistent music format, and unless you’re Howard Stern, Tom Joyner, or Rush Limbaugh, nobody is really listening to you on Talk Radio, but just incase you doubt our word, here is a link to the Top 25 Radio Hosts for 2015 (click link: http://www.talkers.com/heavy-hundred/)
Do you see Dr. Bizness or WGIV radio in these rankings???
No you don’t, and we didn’t either, so you may want to contact Dr. Bizness on Linked In (https://www.linkedin.com/pub/dr-bizness/32/939/989) to ask him to provide proof of his 40 million Internet listeners.
Dr. Bizness and WGIV radio seem to be using a lot of inflated advertising that does not hold air to recruit hardworking unsuspecting Charlotte small business owners and people that are desperately seeking employment for his bartering contract program and deceptive $5,000 monthly salary No Experience Job Ad.
Now lets do the math, if Dr. Bizness and WGIV radio have 40 million listeners, why is it that Dr. Bizness and WGIV radio only have 48 followers on Google Plus see link below: (https://plus.google.com/108258677727629127108/posts)
We at North Carolina Consumer News feel that Dr. Bizness and WGIV radio are using very deceptive and fraudulent advertising and we have been asked by some concerned Charlotte, NC Business owners to issue a scam alert to bring Dr. Bizness and the unethical business practices of WGIV radio to the attention of North Carolina business owners and people worldwide that may have been deceived by the advertising of WGIV radio and Dr. Bizness.
Here is the actual online complaint below from a person that wants to warn future investors of the deceptive business practices of Dr. Bizness and WGIV radio.
Profit and Growth Unlimited WGIV, Dr. Bizness, Ernest Smith WGIV Internet Radio Scam Alert!!! Charlotte North Carolina
Are you giving or considering giving Ernest Smith AKA Dr. Bizness, BD money for internet radio? If so, you better ask yourself why? Profit and Growth Unlimited has no affiliation with any of the established broadcasting networks they claim, such as “ABC.” They aren’t even recognized by the Better Business Bureau. Sometimes they claim to have 2.4 million listeners, sometimes they claim to have 40 million listeners. This is a farce! As you can see, even the Face book page barely has 100 likes, and the “tune in radio app” had 70 “followers” (people who have tuned in on at least one occasion) last time I checked.
Did you think WGIV was affiliated with 103.3 FM? Another lie. Why they haven’t sued him yet is beyond me. Before you give these people your hard earned money, look at the facts.
If you are offered a job with the monthly earning potential $5,000 (commission only, collected by you, based on your ability to scam small businesses and individuals) you will also be required to pay hundreds of dollars out of pocket to Mr. Smith for every month that you are working with them, (even though you will most likely make nothing). If you are solicited to advertise with these people, whether you give them cash, or up to $2,500 in products and services (bartering) don’t buy into the lies, or you will lose. Spread the word, and squash this scam.
Please click on links below to read more Dr. Bizness-WGIV radio scam reports.
WGIV Radio Scam Report Link:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/WGIV-1033FM-Charlotte-NC/Charlotte-North-Carolina-28215/WGIV-1033FM-Charlotte-NC-Frank-BJ-MURPHY-WGIV-SCAM-CALL-THE-FBI-AND-ATTORNEY-GENERAL-Cha-989505,
Dr. Bizness Scam Report Link:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/WGIV-/internet/WGIVCHARLOTTECOM-Dr-Bizness-is-a-fraud-Charlotte-Internet-and-North-Carolina-1158081,
Dr. Bizness Scam Report Link:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/Profit-and-Growth-Unlimited/Charlotte-North-Carolina-28262/Profit-and-Growth-Unlimited-WGIV-Dr-Bizness-Ernest-Smith-WGIV-Internet-Radio-Scam-Aler-1166340
DR. Bizness Google Plus followers 48 and 1781 views Click Link Below:
https://plus.google.com/108258677727629127108/posts
WGIV Radio Better Business Bureau Complaint link:
http://www.bbb.org/charlotte/business-reviews/advertising-radio/wgiv-1033-in-charlotte-nc-362921/complaints
If you feel that you have been deceived by Dr. Bizness or WGIV radio and you want to file a formal complaint with the North Carolina Attorney General, please click on the link below to file a formal complaint against Dr. Bizness and/ or WGIV radio.
NC Attorney General Web Site: http://www.ncdoj.gov/Consumer/2-2-12-File-a-Complaint.aspx
This seems like another sad case in which a so-called minister aka Dr. Bizness is deceiving hardworking people to fill his pockets, is Dr. Bizness really a man of God???
We at North Carolina Consumer News ask that you re-post this article and share it with friends, family, and your social network community to expose Dr. Bizness and WGIV radio.
Dr Bizness Profit and Growth Unlimited Scam, Dr. Bizness, Ernest Smith WGIV Internet Radio Scam Alert!!! Charlotte North Carolina
Are you giving or considering giving Ernest Smith AKA Dr. Bizness, BD money for internet radio? If so, you better ask yourself why? Profit and Growth Unlimited has no affiliation with any of the established broadcasting networks they claim, such as “ABC.”
They aren’t even recognized by the Better Business Bureau. Sometimes they claim to have 2.4 million listeners, sometimes they claim to have 40 million listeners. This is a farce! As you can see, even the Face book page barely has 100 likes, and the “tune in radio app” had 70 “followers” before buying Facebook Likes(people who have tuned in on at least one occasion) last time I checked.
Did you think WGIV was affiliated with 103.3 FM?
Another lie.
Why they haven’t sued him yet is beyond me. Before you give these people your hard earned money, look at the facts.
If you are offered a job with the monthly earning potential $5,000 (commission only, collected by you, based on your ability to scam small businesses and individuals) you will also be required to pay hundreds of dollars out of pocket to Mr. Smith for every month that you are working with them, (even though you will most likely make nothing). If you are solicited to advertise with these people, whether you give them cash, or up to $2,500 in products and services (bartering) don’t buy into the lies, or you will lose. Spread the word, and squash this scam.
Dr. Bizness Scam Reports Please Click Links Below:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/Dr-BiznessWGIV-Radio/Charlotte-North-Carolina/Dr-BiznessWGIV-Radio-profit-and-growth-unlimited-Dr-Bizness-Scam-Alert-WGIV-Radio-Cha-1225642
http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/WGIV-/internet/WGIVCHARLOTTECOM-Dr-Bizness-is-a-fraud-Charlotte-Internet-and-North-Carolina-1158081
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/specific_search/WGIV+
http://biz.prlog.org/ncconsumernews/
http://wgiv.pissedconsumer.com/dr-bizness-scam-alert-wgiv-radio-charlotte-nc-nc-scams-20150429628667.html
http://www.scamorg.com/wgivcharlotte-com-43
http://www.eventbrite.com/e/dr-bizness-wgiv-radio-growth-and-profit-scam-exposed-scam-awareness-meeting-tickets-16825890692?aff=es2
http://charlotte.eventful.com/events/dr-bizness-profit-and-g-/E0-001-083624370-6@2015051513
I have has some dealings with Ernest Smith at WGIV and he was very shady and never revealed in complete detail how his barter program worked, he was more interested in getting me to sign a multi-year contract and pay him monthly for advertising on an Internet radio station, I thought this was very odd, because most Internet radio stations have very little or no overhead and many only have 1-2 employees, so I declined to do business with Dr. Bizness and WGIV radio, but he continues to have female telemarketers harass me by phone regarding his bartering program for small mostly Black business owners, so I am letting you all know this guy is not running a program that your small business will benefit from.