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DWLS

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DWLS (Barangay LS 97.1)
File:97.1 Barangay LS.jpg
Broadcast areaMega Manila
Frequency97.1 MHz
BrandingBarangay LS 97.1
Programming
FormatPop Music, Oldies, OPM
Ownership
OwnerGMA Network Inc.
History
First air date
1976
Call sign meaning
DW
Loreto Stewart
Technical information
Power50,000 watts

DWLS, operating as Barangay LS 97.1, is the flagship FM radio station of Radio GMA Network Inc. (RGMA, a subsidiary of GMA Network Inc.) in the Philippines. [1] The station's studio is located at the GMA Network Center in Quezon City, while its transmitter is located at Tandang Sora, Quezon City, Philippines.

The station's call letters (DWLS) were derived from the name Loreto, wife of former GMA (then RBS) owner, the late Robert "Uncle Bob" Stewart.[citation needed]

As Campus Radio 97.1

File:Campus radio97-1.png
Campus Radio logo

Until midnight of February 13, 2007, the station was known as Campus Radio 97.1 WLS-FM, and even in its earlier existence, The Giant 97.1 WLS-FM. For several years (beginning late 1990s) it only aired modern pop, RnB, rock and OPM hits, mostly Top 40/CHR, during its weekday run while hits from the recent years were mixed in with the current hits during weekends.

The longest running program on the station was the Top 20 at 12 where the top 20 songs of the day were counted down in the mold of BBC Radio 1's The Official Chart Show at noontime. On weekdays and Saturdays, only the top 12 songs were actually played, while the Sunday edition is for the cumulative results for the whole week, where all 20 songs were played. At New Year's Eve, the top twenty songs of the year were played until the stroke of midnight. Top 20 at 12 is the longest running chart show in Philippine FM history. Its Manila edition has been shelved to make way for the station's 2007 reformat, while for a time it has been included as standard programming in RGMA's provincial stations, albeit the chart listings are local. [The provincial edition was later renamed Top 5 Ngayon, Hindi Kahapon (Top 5 Today, Not Yesterday), which still broadcasts at the stroke of noon on weekdays.] The last song that was #1 before the reformat was "Love Team" by Itchyworms.

Other notable programs and segments included:

  • InfoPop, where the on-air personality on board would give more information about the artists in the music scene as well as the songs and the stories behind the songs, and as well as answer questions from listeners about these acts;
  • Retro Jam (first entitled The Great Music Jam), where old songs (some as late as the 1980s) were played again, originally, on Saturdays and Sundays, and later, all day Sunday;
  • Other People's Music (OPM), a one-hour program where certain personalities outside the world of music appear as guests and feature their favorite songs;
  • Front.Center, where a certain singer or act is featured every month and is given preferential airplay by the hour with various songs;
  • Campus Aircheck, where students from Metro Manila colleges and universities were given the chance to experience being an actual DJ. The original edition of Campus Aircheck was copied by other FM stations throughout Manila, as well as RGMA's provincial stations;
  • Rock-It Launcher, where a featured band or artist launches their latest album through a mini-concert aired live from the hottest bars/gimmick spots in Metro Manila; and
  • Clubnights, where one gets to hear the latest club/house music tracks at par with music played in bars.

Yearend Top 20 at 12

From Campus Radio to Barangay LS

On February 14, 2007, listeners bade goodbye to Campus Radio 97.1 WLS-FM as RGMA, through its head Mike Enriquez, launched 97.1 Barangay LS Forever! Its format is comparable to that of 90.7 Love Radio, 101.9 For Life!, Yes FM 101.1, I-FM 93.9, 102.7 Star FM and Energy FM 91.5 with on-air personalities speaking only in Tagalog (especially the timechecks), and playing bubblegum pop, OPM and other mass-based music forms and music popularized by GMA's stable of recording artists, a 100% turnaround from the former Campus Radio format that played Top 40/adult contemporary hit music, English-only on-air jocks, and its listener base composed mostly of college students and young urban professionals. Despite Campus Radio's dominant ratings performance in the pop category, GMA's FM radio sales unit failed to sell the format. With consistently low sales figures, this paved the way for Mike Enriquez to successfully persuade the network's upper management to agree to shift WLS to a seemingly more profitable "masa" format. Unfortunately, industry reception is lukewarm and Barangay LS has yet to regain the revenue losses incurred by the shift of advertisers to competing FM stations.

However, this was not the first time that the station was repositioned for the masa audience. During its Campus Radio days, WLS-FM first went for its current target audience base from 1995-1999. The current slogan, "Forever!", was the very same tagline used during that period.

As mandated by Enriquez, aside from a major change in the on-air language and the music, jokes also became a staple on Barangay LS, with the DJs delivering scripted jokes on the air in between songs. Soon after the reformat, the station opened their text and phone lines to joke contributions from listeners (although it would still be the DJs themselves who deliver them on the air).

The station also began working much more closely with its mother network primarily by providing live coverage for its special events. Among the GMA events covered by Barangay LS include the network's "Sumamer Ka Na!" special at the Marikina Sports Complex in March 2007 (which included a live telecast of "SOP" and "S Files", and the "StarStruck" 2007 Final Judgment), the "Kapusolympics" 57th anniversary, and mall tours featuring the network's recording artists or promoting GMA's upcoming TV programs.

Just before the [[Philippine general election, 2007|May 14, 2007 midterm elections]], Barangay LS, along with sister station DZBB and the RGMA network nationwide, did a radio simulcast of "Isang Tanong", a televised senatorial candidates' forum produced by GMA News and Public Affairs.

Since June 24, 2007, GMA's top-rating Sunday noontime variety show "SOP" has also been simulcast over Barangay LS. The radio broadcast is entitled "Barangay LSOP".

Some other current features of the reformatted station include "Barangay Blockbusters" (premieres/block screenings of the latest local and foreign movies), "Kwela Iskwela Tour" (mini-concerts held in different schools all over Metro Manila featuring popular bands and artists--a revival of the campus tours under the old Campus Radio format) and "Fanatxt All-Stars" (a 30-minute talk show every Monday and Wednesday mornings, wherein a selected listener/Fanatxt subscriber has a chance to interact with the featured GMA star).

In June 2007, 97.1 Barangay LS was premiered on MYX with the 97.1 Barangay LS DJs Churvilyn and Atong Bomb, with MYX VJ Nikki.

Another Reformat

In 2007, the station was rebranded as "Barangay LS-Forever!". [1]

Last January 16, 2008 at around 6 pm, the station launched its new tagline, Ayos!, which is also the tagline for RGMA's provincial Campus Radio stations. It still uses its slogan Forever! and sometimes they say Barangay LS 97.1 Forever Ayos!. The tag was also used by video channel MTV Philippines. The reformat adds Mike Enriquez's formula for toilet and sexually explicit humor with more mass-based music mixed with high end hits and even from talents of GMA Records' rival recording companies like ABS-CBN's Star Records.

That same day, almost all of the station's current jocks who were also from the former Campus Radio format, and after years of loyal service to the GMA Network, were summarily dismissed by Mike Enriquez and replaced unceremoniously by jocks from RGMA provincial radio stations as well as jocks from other masa stations. Choosing to ignore the veteran staff's improving ratings, Enriquez deemed them unfit to take the format to number one overall in the masa ratings game. Unknown to Barangay LS jocks, Enriquez had been secretly preparing new staff and management for WLS. Abruptly and without warning, he announced that the former staff would no longer go on air and immediately installed his new crew. With a rebranded station, Enriquez again audaciously promised to take Barangay LS to number one overall by mid 2008. An audacious promise that remains to be kept. With GMA Network's flagship FM station's current direction and hopes for success, Enriquez aims to use the new Barangay LS to increase revenue and redeem the troubled RGMA Radio Network which he heads. [2].

With this, the new jocks Enriquez installed have started broadcasting with the Papa/Mama tags on their air names, similar to Campus Radio Naga (i.e. Papa Tolitz, Papa Kiko, Papa Bodjie, Papa Bear, Papa Dudut , and Mama Belle, with the exceptions of the former Hot Lips Leeza/Churvilyn as Ate Liza and Dan the Man/Mr. Dreamboy as Papa Dan). On February 4, 2008, it has also launched the afternoon program Talk To Papa, an interactive but sometimes overboard advice show peppered with sexual innuendo which started with provincial RGMA stations, realigning Barangay LS' programming thrust with that of its provincial network, on top of the daily chart show Top 5 Ngayon, Hindi Kahapon.And Balita Sa Barangay from 9am to 11am with host Papa Dudut and Ate Liza as Pinagkakapitaganang Tagapagbalita Sa Barangay

The terminated jocks resurfaced on Easter Sunday at 99.5 Campus FM, replacing 99.5 Hit FM. However they failed to manage the station effectively, resulting in another reformat of the said station on August 14, 2008. One of the former Campus 99.5 DJ's, Jimmy Jam, made his radio return through RJ Underground Radio 105.9 on August 24, 2008.

In April 2008, a theme song was made for Barangay LS and a commercial of Barangay LS was featured on TV.

However, the promise of Mike Enriquez failed. As of April 2008, the all-new Barangay LS 97.1 staff suffered a poor rating from a Progressive #4 to an Embarrassing #6.

Barangay LS Programs

  • Kuwentong Barangay
  • Balita Sa Barangay
  • Daily Top 5 Ngayon Hindi Kahapon
  • Talk to Papa
  • Wanted Sweetheart
  • Mr. Dreamboy

Previous Programs

  • Top 20 at 12
  • Clubnights
  • OPM
  • Infopop
  • Fanatxt All-Stars

Disk Jockeys

97.1 Campus Radio (1992 - February 14, 2007)

  • John Hendrix
  • Jimmy Jam
  • Joe Spinner
  • Braggy
  • Jaybee
  • May-Anne
  • Sophia
  • Dan the Man
  • Hot Lips Leeza
  • Master T
  • The Triggerman
  • Angela
  • Dos

97.1 Barangay LS (February 14, 2007 - January 16, 2008)

  • Johnny Baby
  • Atong Bomb
  • Boy Tisoy
  • Barako Jones
  • Istrowberi
  • Mystery Girl
  • Churvilyn
  • Tito Papito
  • BossSirAmo
  • Mr. Dreamboy

Barangay LS 97.1 (January 16, 2008 - present)

  • Papa Tolitz
  • Papa Kiko
  • Papa Bodjie
  • Papa Bear
  • Papa Dudut
  • Papa Dan
  • Mama Belle
  • Ate Liza
  • Papa Mark
  • Papa Gio
  • Papa Sideview
  • Papa Jologz


Currently active in radio

  • Reggie Valdez (WRR 101.9)
  • King DJ Logan (103 1/2 Max-FM)
  • Carl McFly (103 1/2 Max-FM)
  • Delamar Arias (RX 93.1)
  • Koji Morales, formerly Joe Spinner (99.5 RT)


Currently inactive in radio

  • Rick Stryker
  • Raffy Ruiz
  • Henry Kiss
  • Braggy
  • Jaybee (Campus 99.5)
  • John Hendrix (Campus 99.5)

RGMA Stations in the Philippines

Further information: RGMA radio stations

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Official 'About' page for GMA Network". GMA Network. Retrieved 2008-08-16. GMA-7 cruises the airwaves through dzBB-AM and dwLS-FM in Manila and in 22 other radio stations throughout the country. In 2007, the company has reformatted its flagship station DWLS-FM as "Barangay LS-Forever!"
  2. ^ "Atong Bomb diffused R.I.P. (Blog entry of a former LS jock)". Blogger. January 18, 2008. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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