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December 5,
2005
Interesting Times at ABC
 *If
you read any of the daily industry trades, you know there's really
been just one story that's had the attention of the radio business
for the last few weeks: will ABC sell its radio division, to
whom, and - perhaps most nerve-wrackingly - when?
If we had a buck for every e-mail "BULLETIN" telling
us a deal could be announced "as early as today," we
could almost afford to buy ABC Radio ourselves at this point.
And if we had a buck for every goofy bit of message-board
speculation about what an Entercom purchase of ABC would mean
for the talk lineup in Boston, well, we'd have already bought
the network, installed ourselves as the fill-in for Paul Harvey
(we can dream...) and replaced the talk lineup on WABC (770)
with the return of Musicradio 77.
Mr. Harvey can breathe a sigh of relief - we're not even in
the running to buy ABC, of course. But for fans of what may be
the most popular top-40 station that ever was, that last bit
of fantasy actually took a small step towards reality Saturday
night.
 Yes,
that was actual music being heard on WABC, reverb and all, as
the station reacted to the summertime disappearance of oldies
on New York radio by unveiling its own four-hour weekend oldies
block, hosted every Saturday night from 6-10 by Mark Simone.
In addition to already being in the building on Saturdays, hosting
a morning talk show, Simone has excellent credentials where New
York music radio is concerned, with a resume that includes a
long stint at the old WPIX-FM.
And while we had our qualms about the first show (Simone brushed
off the message-board suggestions for his first song, playing
little snippets of "Imagine" - the last song WABC played
in 1980, "Summer Wind" - the last song WCBS-FM played
in 2005, and "Hit The Road Jack" - for obvious reasons
- all mixed together, and the reverb was a far cry from the old
version), Phil Boyce and Johnny Donovan and the rest of the crew
at WABC made a lot of radio fans very happy this weekend, while
sparking all kinds of talk about whether a similar weekend approach
might work at other former top-40 AM giants that long ago flipped
to talk.
How long the show will last will depend, of course, on the
answer to the much bigger questions about ABC Radio's future,
and as soon as there's anything more than just speculation to
report, we'll be here. (We might even post a "BULLETIN!")
*While WABC was rockin', one of its former top-40 competitors
was scrambling to stay on the air. Infinity's all-news WINS (1010)
fell silent just before 5:30 Friday morning when the uninterruptible
power supply at its studio failed, shutting down the facility
at 888 Seventh Ave.
The WINS transmitter in New Jersey was unaffected, but it
also had no source of program material until engineers were able
to patch CNN television audio into the signal. In the meantime,
morning anchor Lee Harris and a skeleton news staff were dispatched
three blocks west to the studios of sister station WCBS (880)
in the CBS Broadcast Center, where Harris was able to get back
on the air about 6:24 AM. A short time later, power was restored
at the WINS studios and the news machine cranked back into high
gear.
 WNYE (91.5) is continuing
its partnership with XM Satellite Radio for the next two weeks,
with programming from several XM channels appearing for much
of the day on WNYE's airwaves, following up on WNYE's broadcasts
of XM country programming last month.
Thursday is the 25th anniversary of the murder of John Lennon,
and in the absence of an oldies station in New York City, classic
rock WAXQ (104.3) will fill the void by dedicating the entire
day to Lennon. Special programming will include appearances by
Dick Cavett, discussing his famous interviews with Lennon, as
well as a noon replay of the late Scott Muni's conversations
with Lennon and, later, a broadcast of a never-before-heard 1974
Lennon interview. Over at WFUV (90.7), there will be special
Lennon features all day, as well as an hour-long NPR documentary
at 10 PM.
A happier 25th anniversary is being celebrated in Albany,
where Don Weeks marked his quarter-century at WGY (810 Schenectady)
last Thursday (Dec. 1).
Moving west, WROC (950 Rochester) has replaced the Jerry Springer
show in mid-mornings with Stephanie Miller, who has roots in
western New York (at Lockport's WLVL and, briefly, as a sidekick
to WCMF's Brother Wease).
(And from the "where are they now" file - former
'CMFer B.J. Shea is changing stations in Seattle, moving from
the now-defunct FM talker KQBZ to mornings on rocker KISW, where
he'll take the slot now occupied by Howard Stern in January.)
Air America Radio has also added WHLD (1270 Niagara Falls)
to its "coming soon" list. Will the Citadel leased-time
outlet become a full-time progressive talker in February, or
is it just adding a few highlights from AAR's offerings? Stay
tuned...
 *Some sad news from CANADA, as the weekend
brought word of the passing of one of that country's true broadcasting
legends. When Allan Waters bought CHUM (1050) in 1954, it was
just a little daytimer, but by the time of his retirement half
a century later, he'd built first the station and then CHUM Limited
into one of Canada's most important radio and television groups.
Waters retired from the CHUM board of directors in October;
he died Saturday morning (Dec. 3) in a Toronto hospital at age
84.
Just one other bit of news from north of the border - Newcap's
modern rocker CILV (Live 88.5) has begun testing its new signal
in Ottawa.
*The rumors are flying in western PENNSYLVANIA
about Steel City Media's WLTJ (92.9 Pittsburgh), which flipped
to all-Christmas a few weeks back and then filed for new calls
WBZB last week.
Those calls are conspicuously similar to the old WBZZ (93.7),
the top-40 legend that was replaced with rocker WRKZ a little
over a year ago - but they're also reminiscent of the "Bob"
nickname on sister station WRRK (96.9 Braddock), fueling both
speculation of a "B93" top-40 format on 92.9 and the
possibility that the calls were really meant for 96.9 after all.
(We're leaning towards the latter possibility, with word that
the call change may not be implemented on 92.9 after all.)
In central Pennsylvania, we're hearing that Don Imus will
be adding an affiliate today, as WMLP (1380 Milton) picks up
his show under its new Sunbury Broadcasting management.
Radio People on the Move in Philadelphia: Chio is leaving
his morning slot on WIOQ (102.1) to head back west, where he'll
take over mornings on San Diego-market XHITZ (90.3 Tijuana).
Over at WSNI (104.5), Tom Cook is departing his APD/music director
post to become PD of sister Clear Channel station WRVF (101.5)
in Toledo, Ohio.
And we're sorry to report the passing of Dave Kurtz, who founded
a little FM station called WDVR in 1963, and who built it into
one of the most successful FMs in the country under the subsequent
calls WEAZ and now WBEB. With partner Jerry Lee, Kurtz took great
pride in B101's stand-alone status, turning down offer after
offer to sell their one-of-a-kind station. Kurtz died Thanksgiving
day (Nov. 24) at age 73; the station continues under Lee's control.
*Some Radio People on the Move in NEW
JERSEY as well - Nancy McKinley is promoted to station
manager at Greater Media's WDHA (105.5 Dover) and WMTR (1250
Morristown), while WPST (94.5 Trenton) APD/music director Chris
Puorro heads south to program Nassau's Hagerstown, Maryland cluster.
Gabrielle Vaughn assumes APD duties, while Matt Sneed takes over
as music director.
And a correction - WVBV (90.5 Medford Lakes) isn't carrying
Calvary Satellite Network programming; it's originating programming
locally.
 *In
MAINE, WLAM (1470 Lewiston) dropped its standards programming
last Thursday (Dec. 1), flipping to ESPN Radio sports programming.
*In VERMONT, WSYB (1380 Rutland) celebrates
its 75th anniversary next weekend. It's holding a party December
11th, with proceeds to benefit the WSYB Christmas Fund. The event
begins at 6 PM at the Holiday Inn on US 7 in Rutland, with $10
tickets at the door.
 *In MASSACHUSETTS, the big news of the week
involved two TV People on the Move - at WHDH-TV (Channel 7),
Todd Gross was out the door as chief meteorologist after 20 years
at the station (and with a station bio that included the line
"Gross plans to work at WHDH for another 20 years"),
while over at WBZ-TV (Channel 4), Jennifer Street drops the "acting"
part of her title, becoming the station's news director after
15 years working her way up the ranks there.
Out west, Vox has been granted a construction permit to move
WBEC (105.5 Pittsfield) to the top of Mount Tom, where it will
run 720 watts as a Springfield-market station.
And we're sorry to report the death of Dana Jones, whose career
in Pittsfield radio lasted from 1947 until 1988 and included
stops at WBEC, WBRK and WUHN. Jones, who died Nov. 25, was 88.
 *Working
through those holiday lists? Tower Site Calendar 2006 is
the perfect gift for the radio guy (or gal) who has everything
else - and there's still plenty of time to get your copy under
the tree/menorah/Blaw-Knox diamond tower model of your choice.
(And, let's face it, wouldn't an 8-foot Blaw-Knox diamond be
an amazingly cool thing to hang your ornaments on?)
We've got to say, we're especially proud of the way this year's
calendar turned out. Once again, we bring you more than a dozen
images from the fybush.com collection that have never seen print
before, including that nifty nighttime view of New York's WMCA
that graces the cover. You also get to see WSB, KTAR, Mount Wilson,
CBV and many, many more, plus all those fun dates in radio and
TV history, civil and religious holidays, a handy full-page 2007
calendar, and the always-popular hole for hanging.
And we do it all with no increase in price, for the fourth
year running!
You can get one free with your 2006 subscription
to NERW at the $60 level, or order the calendar (plus other goodies)
at our brand new fybush.com
Store! We think you'll like this one - and as always,
we thank you for your support.
NorthEast Radio Watch is made possible by the generous
contributions of our regular readers. If you enjoy NERW, please
click here to
learn how you can help make continued publication possible. NERW
is copyright
2005 by Scott Fybush. |
