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June 7, 2004
A Week of Passings
*It seems as though a lot of NERW's headlines this past week
come from the obituary pages, and we can't begin without mentioning
the death Saturday afternoon at 93 of President Ronald Reagan.
He was the first (and so far, only) president with a background
as a broadcaster, including a stint as a sportscaster at WHO
in Des Moines, Iowa. He will be missed - and by no one so much
as WBZ (1030 Boston) midday news anchor Jay McQuaide, we suspect.
(Having worked alongside Jay for several years, we can testify
to his undying admiration for our fortieth president, and we
send him our deepest condolences.)
*In MAINE, WGAN (560) lost morning
show co-host Mike McCardell on Friday night (June 4). McCardell,
a devoted Civil War buff, was attending a battle re-enactment
in Pennsylvania when he suffered a fatal heart attack. McCardell
came to WGAN's attention four years ago, when he was working
as a salesman and calling in on a regular basis to the station's
morning show. When WGAN needed a new host to replace Willy Ritch,
they tapped McCardell based on his engaging call-ins, and he
quickly became a fixture on the morning show, first with Jim
Crocker and more recently with Ken Altschuler. He was just 52,
and leaves behind a wife and two daughters.
 *PENNSYLVANIA lost one of its legendary
rock DJs on Friday as well, when Joe Niagara lost his battle
with bladder cancer at the age of 76. Niagara was on WIBG (990
Philadelphia) in the mid-fifties when he became one of the first
jocks to play rock and roll for a mass audience. The "Rockin'
Bird" stayed with WIBG until 1959, later working at WFIL,
WCAU, WCAU-FM, WIFI and WDAS. In 1977, he joined the staff of
WPEN (950), where he remained until his retirement in 1999 (and
continued doing some guest DJ appearances as late as 2002.) Niagara
made it into the Guinness Book of World Records in 1980
for playing the most consecutive versions of "Stardust"
on WPEN - more than 500!
Across town, another legendary Philly jock is hanging up his
headphones at the end of the week. Don Cannon will retire from
the morning slot on WOGL (98.1) on June 11, wrapping up 14 years
at the oldies station (and a career that's also included stints
at WIBG, WIP, WFIL, WIFI and WSNI.)
An old-line Pittsburgh jock died last Sunday (May 30). George
(Nichols) Nicholas worked at WWSW (970) from 1955 until 1968,
doing overnights and later afternoons; he moved to Los Angeles
in 1969 and did sales for KFWB (980). Nicholas was 75.
How about some good news? Veteran Steel City jock/programmer
Clarke Ingram is returning to the FM airwaves there; he's rejoined
Clear Channel's cluster (where he last toiled as PD of WJJJ 104.7)
to do WWSW (94.5)'s Friday night "Boogie Nights" R&B
and disco show from 9 till midnight (and to play two hours of
oldies from 7 till 9, too). Will Pittsburgh soon be hearing more
of Clarke?
One new translator in the Keystone State: Charles "Bud"
Williamson gets W295AQ (106.9 Milford), to relay WDNH (95.3 Honesdale).
*One new translator in NEW JERSEY
as well: Press Communications gets W288BM (105.5 Atlantic Highlands),
to relay WHTG-FM (106.3 Eatontown).
 *WIVB (Channel 4) in Buffalo, NEW YORK lost
its general manager this week. Lou Verruto had worked at WRGB
in Schenectady and WTNH in New Haven before arriving at channel
4 in the fall of 1996. He was just 56 when he died on Thursday
(June 3).
Several translator grants to Charles "Bud" Williamson
this week: W228BM (93.5 Narrowsburg) will relay WVOS-FM (95.9
Liberty), W252BK (98.3 Warwick) will relay WDNB (102.1 Jeffersonville)
W296BL (107.1 Warwick) will relay WDNH (95.3 Honesdale PA) and
W257BL (99.3 Oneonta) will relay WDHI (100.3 Delhi).
 Kevin
Fitzgerald's application for a 93.5 translator in Lounsberry
(east of Elmira) was accepted for filing; it'll relay WPGP (88.3
Tafton PA). And speaking of things that sound like "Lounsberry,"
former WHAM (1180 Rochester) talk host Bob Lonsberry got married
again last week in Utah, we hear.
Speaking of Rochester, it looks like a new logo (and presumably
new graphics) are coming to WHEC-TV (Channel 10), the local NBC
affiliate that's had pretty much the same on-air look for nearly
a decade now. There's nothing on the air yet, but we spotted
the logo shown here on a banner downtown the other day, and we
expect to see it on the air pretty soon, too.
 In
Syracuse, former WYYY (94.5) morning team Pete Michaels and Brenda
Bissett reappeared in the midday slot on crosstown competitor
WZUN (102.1) last Thursday and Friday; Bissett is reportedly
joining the Sunny air staff for good.
And in New York City, it's the end of the road for Joe Franklin.
The talk show host famously parodied by Billy Crystal on "Saturday
Night Live" is retiring at month's end from his Saturday
night shift on WOR (710), where he's been an institution. (He
was also seen for years on the old WOR-TV 9.) Franklin will continue
to contribute segments to Bloomberg's WBBR (1130).
 *In
CONNECTICUT, the "adult urban" format of WKND
(1480 Windsor) expanded its reach last week, adding a simulcast
on newly-acquired WNEZ (1230 Manchester), which flipped from
Spanish hits. The WNEZ and WKND calls will trade places any day
now, we're told.
Two new translator grants: Connecticut Public Radio gets W233AU
(94.5 Danbury), to relay WPKT (90.5 Meriden), while the Nutmeg
Conservatory for the Arts gets W286AP (105.1 Torrington) to relay
WAPJ (89.9 Torrington), which it's trying to sell.
*In RHODE ISLAND, WADK (1540 Newport)
is trying again to get night power. The FCC dismissed its application
for 20 kilowatts at night last month, saying it contained unacceptable
overlap with WDCD (1540 Albany) and KXEL (1540 Waterloo IA),
and now WADK has amended the application to call for 5 kilowatts
from three towers (including the one tower now used for WADK's
one kilowatt of day power.)
At 5 kW of night power, WADK won't even cover all of the city
of Newport with its nighttime interference-free signal - it takes
a whopping 95 mV/m of signal to overcome the huge signal that
WDCD throws at Rhode Island.
 *The fallout from Mel Karmazin's departure at Infinity
Radio is being felt in MASSACHUSETTS, where WBCN (104.1
Boston) PD Oedipus announced last week that he's leaving his
job after an amazing 22-year run. Oedipus came to Boston in 1975
as a DJ at MIT's WTBS (88.1), moved over to WBCN as a part-time
DJ in 1977, and four years later was programming the station.
After seeing WBCN through the long ride from progressive rocker
to establishment album rocker to modern rock, Oedipus will finally
hand over the reins (though no replacement has been announced
yet.) He'll stay on as Infinity's VP/alternative programming.
WWLP-DT (Channel 11) in Springfield gets a power increase
- it'll go from 1950 watts to a full 10 kW of power.
And we're sorry to report the death of Carl Rey, an engineer
at WBZ-TV (Channel 4).
*In VERMONT, Steve Silberberg's WLKC
(103.3 Waterbury) has applied (again) to upgrade from C3 (2850
watts/284 meters) to C2 (1050 watts/806 meters), moving from
its present Bolton Mountain site all the way up to the peak of
Mount Mansfield. To make it work, WLKC would use a directional
antenna - and co-owned WRJT (103.1 Royalton) would change transmitter
sites. (WLKC and WRJT had CPs to make this move once before,
but they expired unbuilt.)
*In CANADA, Crossroads Television
has signed on CITS-TV-1 (Channel 32), the Ottawa relay of its
"CTS" religious network currently seen on CITS (Channel
36) in Hamilton.
In Belleville, religious CKJJ (102.3) has been granted an
increase in antenna height, from 93.2 to 135.8 meters above average
terrain, and a commensurate decrease in power, from 45 kW to
15 kW. (Wonder if that'll reduce the interference over the lake
with co-channel WISY Canandaigua NY?)
In London, Jim Chapman's out as morning host at Standard's
CJBK (1290), where he's hosted "Talk of the Town" since
1992. His contract wasn't renewed, notwithstanding his top ratings
in the daypart, and he'll leave the station July 30th.
 *We
still have plenty of 2004 Tower Site Calendars still
available for your enjoyment!
Just as in past years, the calendar features a dozen spiffy
8.5-by-11 inch full-color images of tower sites from across the
nation - everything from Washington's WTEM to New York's WCBS/WFAN
(shown at left) to Los Angeles' KHJ to WCTM in Eaton, Ohio.
Other featured sites include Cedar Hill in Dallas, Lookout
Mountain above Denver, CKLW Windsor, WELI New Haven, WPTF Raleigh
NC, WBT Charlotte NC, WAJR Morgantown WV, WMT Cedar Rapids IA
and the mighty 12 towers of KFXR (the old KLIF 1190) in Dallas.
Unlike last year, this year's calendar features heavier paper
(no more curling!) and will be shipped shrink-wrapped on a cardboard
backing to make sure it arrives in pristine condition.
If you haven't ordered yet, what are you waiting for? Order
now and help support NERW and Tower Site of the Week. Better
yet, place your subscription for 2004 at the $60 level by using
the handy buttons below, and you'll get your 2004 Tower Site
Calendar absolutely FREE. What more could you want? (Local news
on the weekends, maybe?)
Don't want to order by credit card? You know the drill by
now - make those checks payable to "Scott Fybush,"
be sure to include sales tax ($1.32 per calendar) for New York
state calendar orders only, and send them along to 92 Bonnie
Brae Avenue, Rochester NY 14618. (Sorry - we can't take orders
by phone.)
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2004 by Scott Fybush. |