WQNU "New Country," which both Program Director Matt Killian and Cox General Manager Todd Schumacher tell me will challenge Louisville country music powerhouse 97.5 FM WAMZ head-on.

WAMZ is a perennial ratings champ, but insiders say Clear Channel Radio's staff cuts in Louisville have made WAMZ vulnerable.

Killian says WQNU has a newly built tower ("technically, it went up two weeks ago,") just off I-71 in eastern Jefferson County at an MSD plant, which the local 911 system will also use.

The old WRKA has a 25,000 watt signal, but Killian says the height and placement of the tower effectively makes it a 50,000 watt signal. (Perhaps a radio engineer can respond to this blog entry by explaining line-of-sight transmission).

So what happens to WRKA?

In about one week, WRKA's call letters will resurface on 103.9 FM, which has been Cox Radio's country station WPTI. In fact, WQNU and WPTI are currently simulcasting the "new country" format.

Killian insists no one lost their job and that WRKA's on-air personalities will also resurface on 103.9 FM, "with some changes."

On the surface, it might appear that WRKA and WQNU are merely flipping signals, but in a phone conversation with me on Saturday night, Schumaker nearly guaranteed that the old WRKA is gone forever. He also said, however, that no official decision has been made on the format of the new WRKA.

Killian says WRKA signed off on Friday with tears and the playing of Don McClean's "American Pie." For Oldies fans in Louisville, it's "the day the music died."