Yellow Jacket Radio opens with new website
<span>CHESTER -- Chester sports will have an internet presence once again, as www.yellowjacketradio.com celebrated its official launch last week.</span>
<span>"It started with my boss, Bob Scott, at the radio station," said Brian "Gritty" Snider, who is the Southern Illinois operations manager for Donze Communications and the Voice of the Yellow Jackets for KSGM 980 AM. "Since back when Dick Roth did the (football) games, KSGM has always tape-delayed some of them and played them back the next morning.</span>
<span>"The plans are not to do any tape-delays this year. If they're not available on the radio, they'll be available on the website."</span>
<span>The new website lists - among other things - coaching and season records, Chester Hall of Fame, links to Mike Lutz's sports photos a catalogue of Chester sports titles won over the years and also offers a text messaging service for those who wish to keep updated on Yellow Jacket sports.</span>
<span>Much of the website comes from the former chesteryellowjackets.com, which shut down not too long ago.</span>
<span>"Chesteryellowjackets.com started out the same way this thing did," Snider said. "At the time, CHS didn't have a website and the school said 'Can you do this, and this, and this and this.'</span>
<span>"It kept growing and then, when I had to walk away from it due to health issues, I didn't want to go back to it because I didn't want people to expect the same thing."</span>
<span>Snider said the new website will be feature sports-related items only.</span>
<span>"Our streaming numbers have been really good," he said. "There's a lot of loyal Yellow Jacket listeners outside of the Chester area and out of the five schools that KSGM covers, the Yellow Jacket numbers have always been 10 times more than the four other Missouri schools."</span>
<span>Snider said the website had 1,400 unique visitors in the first three days post-launch.</span>
<span>"If you are listening to the stream, you will never know we're not on AM radio," Snider said. "It's going to be the same broadcast we've done for years.</span>
<span>"We'll have a producer in Perryville who will play the spots, they'll update scores, give us our cues and there's really not going to be anything different other than some of the games will be internet-only."</span>
<span>Snider said he was ready to build the website last year, but family health problems prevented him from doing so.</span>
<span>"We're going to try it for a year and do everything year-by-year and see how things go," Snider said. "I'm very fortunate to do what I do with the radio and the web and have had tremendous hometown support.</span>
<span>"As long as Chester wants me to stay and do this, I'll do it."</span>
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