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July 18, 2005
"Connection" Cut in WBUR Shuffle
*A few years ago, it looked as though eastern
MASSACHUSETTS could become a major production center for
public radio - not just the weekly entertainments of "Car
Talk," but also a significant amount of daily news and talk
programming. Over at WGBH, the joint partnership with the BBC
that produced "The World" is approaching its tenth
anniversary. But it was Boston University's WBUR-FM (90.9), under
former GM Jane Christo, that harbored visions of serious national
glory, launching Chris Lydon's "The Connection" into
national distribution not long after its 1993 local debut, followed
a few years later by "On Point" in the evenings (an
outgrowth of WBUR's 9/11 coverage) and "Here and Now"
in middays.
We know, of course, what happened next: the heated departure
of Lydon and the team that created "The Connection"
(now ensconced at WGBH and producing "Open Source"),
followed a few years later by the ouster of Christo herself.
And last week, WBUR interim GM Peter Fiedler announced a series
of cuts that promise to bring WBUR's production load more in
line with its slimmed-down budget.
 The
most notable change is the cancellation, effective after the
August 5 broadcast, of "The Connection." While Lydon's
eventual replacement, former CBC host Dick Gordon, was doing
a capable job with the program, it faced a crowded field of competitors
for a finite number of daytime slots in a public radio universe
where many stations are still trying to balance news and music
on a single signal. (We find that, in the end, across NERW-land
"The Connection" was being heard only on WNED(AM) in
Buffalo, New York's North Country Public Radio and WPNI(AM) in
Amherst, as well as on WBUR's own network.)
On August 8, "On Point" will move from its 7-9 PM
slot (an even tougher one in which to find affiliates; across
NERW-land, it was heard only on WNED(AM), WNYC(AM) in New York
and WQLN in Erie, as well as WBUR/WRNI itself) to the 10-noon
slot held by "The Connection."
Changes are also coming to "Here and Now," which
started as a strictly local show but soon got caught up in the
push for national syndication and relevance. WBUR says the program
will hire additional staff and sharpen its focus on New England
arts and culture. (Around the region, it's now carried on New
Hampshire Public Radio, the WSHU(AM)/WSUF combination in Connecticut
and Long Island and WHYY in Philadelphia, along with WBUR/WRNI;
we'd expect that WHYY will likely drop the show when it refocuses
itself on New England.)
For local listeners to WBUR and its satellite stations, the
7-9 PM slot will be filled by rebroadcasts of "Fresh Air"
and the first hour of "On Point." Fiedler is also promising
listeners a reduction in the number of on-air fundraisers (four,
rather than six, a year) - and, perhaps most welcome for those
who've been following WBUR's recent crises, a balanced budget.
*On the commercial side of things, WODS (103.3 Boston) has
named Pete Falconi as its new PD, taking the "acting"
part of his title away. Falconi's a veteran of New England radio,
having been PD at the old WEGQ (93.7) as well as at WXLO/WORC-FM/WWFX
in Worcester.
On the TV dial, WBZ-TV (Channel 4) has opened a Worcester
bureau, staffed by reporter Ron Sanders and photojournalist Terry
MacNamara. WBZ is billing it as the first such effort by a Boston
station, though an alert reader reminds us that in the days when
channel 7 was WNEV (we're talking the late 80s here), owner David
Mugar had a Worcester bureau (at the Worcester Telegram and
Gazette) as part of his New England News Exchange.
 *Speaking
of TV and New England, the new owner-to-be of NEW HAMPSHIRE's
independent TV station is making some big noises about her plans.
Diane Sutter's Shooting Star Broadcasting is in the process of
taking over at WNDS (Channel 50) in Derry, and she sat down with
Broadcasting & Cable to talk about what she's got
in the works, including new call letters for the station (yet
to be determined) and vague promises of much more local programming
and viewer interactivity. We'll be watching closely to see what
becomes of this potential player in the Boston market (and we
hope that, whatever happens, Al Kaprielian stays at the weather
map!)
Over on the Seacoast, Jonathan Smith gets promoted from APD
to PD at "The Shark" (WSHK 105.3 Kittery ME/WSAK 102.1
Hampton).
*A veteran morning voice in MAINE returns
to the airwaves today. Mark Persky's been off the air in Portland
since last winter, when he quietly vanished from the morning
show at WBLM (102.9) after almost three decades. Now he's across
town at Nassau's "Frank," WFNK (107.5 Lewiston), starting
at 5:30 this morning with the debut of the revamped "Big
Show" there.
*Another veteran Northeast broadcaster has
landed a new gig in CONNECTICUT. Pete Salant's career
took him around New England (WVWA Pound Ridge, WKBR Manchester,
WGNG Pawtucket, WJBQ Portland, WAVZ and then WKCI in New Haven)
before landing him in the PD chair at New York's WYNY (97.1)
in 1980; more recently, he's been consulting and programming
for Cumulus in the Danbury market. Last week, Pete signed on
as PD of WWYZ (92.5 Waterbury), Clear Channel's big country station
in the Hartford market, where he replaces Justin Case.
(Did we list WVWA among Pete's stops? We sure did - yes, he
was one of the creators of the legendary "NINE!")
 *NEW
YORK's Mohawk Valley will continue to hear classical music
on 97.7, but the commercials will be going away soon on what's
now WBKK (97.7 Amsterdam). Rotterdam-based public broadcaster
WMHT (89.1 Schenectady) says it's paying owner GEM Associates
$1.5 million for the class A signal that rimshots the Albany
market.
Beginning August 4, the classical service supplied by Boston's
WCRB will be replaced on WBKK by a simulcast of WMHT's classical
programming; WMHT says it has plans to create a separate classical
service on 97.7, and while they're not coming right out and saying
so, we suspect at least some of the classical music on WMHT's
main FM service might yield to something else (news/talk?) once
the new service takes root.
There are some TV people on the move in the Albany market,
too: Joe Pagliarulo is leaving his anchor chair at WRGB (Channel
6), as well as his weekend talk gig on WGY (810 Schenectady),
to become the morning host at Clear Channel's hometown WOAI (1200)
in San Antonio, Texas. WRGB is also looking for a new assistant
news director, as Doug Lezette heads east to become the first
news director at startup WSHM-LP (Channel 67, aka "CBS3")
in Springfield, Mass. WSHM plans to launch local news at 6 and
11 this fall, and we're looking forward to seeing what Doug (like
your editor, an alumnus of Rochester's R News) does there.
More TV people on the move: in Rochester, Traci Buch (yet
another R News veteran, as it happens) is departing the sports
department at WHAM-TV (Channel 13) after almost six years. She's
moving to Georgia, where she's starting a concierge/errand-running
business. Meanwhile, over at WROC-TV (Channel 8), former morning
anchor Melissa Long has parted ways with the CBS affiliate.
On the radio, Bob Savage's WYSL (1040 Avon) launched its new
schedule Friday. With the demise of AP's All News Radio, WYSL
is now carrying news from ABC, CNN, CNN Headline News and the
Wall Street Journal network. (And up the dial, Clear Channel's
WHAM 1180 will soon be dropping its overnight use of CBS for
top-hour newscasts, joining in the corporate deal to pick up
Fox News Radio. WHAM will keep CBS for news feeds and breaking
news coverage; it's dropping ABC's news feeds, but keeping Paul
Harvey and Sean Hannity.)
In Ithaca, the community group that calls itself "FLAIM"
(Finger Lakes Alliance for Independent Media) isn't giving up
on its challenge to Saga's purchase of the four Eagle stations
in town. FLAIM is filing a - let's make sure we have this straight
- "Reply to the Joint Opposition to Application for Review,"
calling on the FCC to rescind its grant of the transfer to Saga
and reexamine its ownership rules. (At issue, you may recall,
is the FCC's use of Arbitron- and BIA-defined markets; FLAIM
contends, not without reason, that Arbitron's market definition
understates the extent to which the four Eagle/Saga stations
make up substantially the entire radio advertising market in
Ithaca.)
Downstate, religious WFSO (88.3 Olivebridge) breaks its affiliation
with Family Radio (it was one of the few non-Family-owned stations
to carry the network) and changes hands. For $1, licensee Christian
Ministry Associates is transferring the Kingston-area signal
to Redeemer Broadcasting, which has big plans to use WFSO as
the flagship of a new religious network.
One call letter change: on Long Island, the new owners of
silent WGSM (740 Huntington) have applied to change calls to
WNYH whenever the station returns to the air.
*There's a station sale along US 6 in northwestern
PENNSYLVANIA: Kinzua Broadcasting is selling WRRN (92.3
Warren), WNAE (1310 Warren) and WKNB (104.3 Clarendon) to Frank
Iorio's Iorio Broadcasting. Iorio, who holds the CP for a new
FM on 102.7 in Clarendon, is better known as the owner of WMBA
(1460 Ambridge) and WBVP (1230 Beaver Falls) outside Pittsburgh;
he's paying $1.25 million for the three-station combo.
 Speaking
of Pittsburgh, KDKA (1020) has named Gary Dickson as the permanent
overnight replacement for Bob Logue. Dickson, formerly of WWSW
(94.5), has been hosting the show on KDKA for several months
now.
And in Philadelphia, WPEN (950) has reportedly been testing
its new night signal. The Greater Media oldies station will use
21 kW from the same four-tower site in East Norriton that's used
during the day by WWDB (860 Philadelphia); it will continue to
use 5 kW from its day site near US 1 for now, though it holds
a CP to go to 50 kW from a yet-to-be-built site a few miles west
of the WWDB site. (WPEN is also reportedly picking up 76ers broadcasts
next season from Infinity's WIP.)
*No, we haven't forgotten about CANADA
- but the broadcast industry had an awfully quiet week there!
Maybe next time...
*We're just weeks away from the debut
of the Tower Site Calendar 2006, and we think you'll like
the many images and dates that we've collected in the fifth annual
offering in the series.
 In the meantime,
our Tower Site Calendar 2005 clearance continues, and
here's how it works: instead of our list price of $16 for this
fabulous, full-color, glossy calendar, you can now pick one up
for just $8, postpaid. ($8.64 to New York State addresses.)
Better yet, if you order two calendars at this special clearance
price, we'll throw in a third for free - $16 for THREE calendars,
with nine exciting months of 2005 yet to go. (That's $17.28 in
NYS.)
Maybe you've already hung your original 2005 calendar on the
wall, and you're thinking it would be nice to have another copy
to stick away in pristine condition. Maybe you really want to
frame that spectacular September page right now - but you still
need a calendar later this year. Maybe you just want to help
Mrs. NERW clean out the living room and give happy NERW baby
Ariel more space to practice walking.
Whatever your motive, now's your big chance, because while
there are still 2005 calendars left, there may not be any in
a few weeks. (Remember, the 2002 and 2003 editions were total
sellouts, and I've had to turn away several of you who were hoping
to add these now-rare calendars to your collections.)
And we've got two more great deals for you, too. We still
have a few 2004 calendars left, and while they're getting rare,
Mrs. NERW wants them gone - so they're yours, in pristine condition,
for just $5 postpaid. (Buy two and the third is free!) Or order
the 2004 and 2005 calendars together for just $10, postpaid.
(What a deal!)
(New York orders pay $5.40 for the 2004 calendar, $10.80 for
the 2004 and 2005 together.)
And as always, the calendar's free with your $60 or higher
subscription to NorthEast Radio Watch/fybush.com. In fact, as
part of our Early Summer Subscription Drive, you can be among
the first to reserve your free 2006 Tower Site Calendar with
your $60 subscription - and we'll even send you a 2005 as well,
if you ask. Remember, we count on your subscription dollars to
keep NERW coming each and every Monday morning!
You can use PayPal, below, or send your check or money order,
payable to Scott Fybush, to 92 Bonnie Brae Avenue, Rochester
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