kent burkhart, consultant to ez communications at the time, states on his website that dan vallie was hired on by the company to change the ailing format of wezb from disco and dance music to top 40. over the years, the name went through minor changes (i.e., "the new b97 fm", "new orleans' b97 fm", "b97 fm", "97.1 the all new b-97 fm", and "b97 fm, all the hits!"), the transmitting power was increased, and the antenna was moved to a taller location.