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October 8, 2002
Gach Suffering Mental Illness
 By SCOTT FYBUSH
*It's been two months since J.R. Gach was
last heard on the air in NEW YORK's Capital District,
and almost every day has brought e-mail from listeners wondering
why the WGY (810 Schenectady) afternoon talk host suddenly disappeared
without any notice to his fans.
Thanks to the Albany Times Union and Mark McGuire
(probably the best daily newspaper reporter covering broadcasting
in the northeast right now), we have some answers to offer. Gach
was diagnosed with bipolar II mental disorder, which his wife
Suzie blames for the outbursts that marked his show's final months
on the air at WGY. In a lengthy narrative given to the paper,
Suzie Gach says J.R. suffered a breakdown in mid-August while
returning home from a weeklong vacation.
While Suzie Gach filled in on J.R.'s shift (she was eventually
replaced on-air by Ed Martin, who continues to occupy the time
slot), J.R. was undergoing inpatient, then outpatient treatment
at a rehab center in Saratoga Springs.
Gach is now back home, and it's unclear whether or not he'll
ever return to WGY's airwaves. Suzie Gach tells McGuire that
her husband's personality has changed since beginning treatment
(he's now going by "Jay" instead of "J.R."),
while WGY management declined to comment specifically. We'll
keep you posted here at NERW as we hear more, and we'll be keeping
the Gaches in our thoughts.
*A quiet week otherwise in the Empire State: down on Long
Island, there's word that former WABC talk host Lynn Samuels
will be back on the air Saturday middays (10-2) on WLIE (540
Islip), beginning October 16. Heading upstate, Cablevision's
money problems are forcing the company to cancel its nightly
"NewsCenter 6" local newscast for the Poughkeepsie
area; the company is also laying off staff at its regional News
12 operations in New Jersey, Long Island, Westchester and Connecticut.
In Utica, Peter Naughton has been promoted from assistant
PD to PD at WLZW (98.7); he's still doing afternoons at the Forever
AC station as well. In Binghamton, Don Giovanni's "Italian
Carousel" show heads back to AM 1360 after six months at
sister station WNBF (1290); the show now airs from 9 until noon
on talker WYOS (1360), where it used to be heard under the old
WKOP calls.
 And in Syracuse, MTV2 affiliate
WOBX-LP (Channel 35) has been granted Class A status. (Wonder
what its "local" programming is?) On the DTV front,
we took a ride up Sentinel Heights on Friday to see the nearly-complete
WSTM tower; the station has its new analog and DTV antennas on
hand, and we hear October 30 is the deadline for both signals
to be on the air from the new tower, with WCNY-TV (Channel 24)
and DT following soon after. We also noticed a new logo on billboards
for WTVH (Channel 5) adorning several billboards in the Salt
City; we hear the "Eyewitness News" name and the logo
shown here will be going away soon.
*The FCC was busy in PENNSYLVANIA
over the summer. The Commission handed out several Notices of
Apparent Liability during August: $7000 to WGET (1320 Gettysburg)
for failure to properly fence its towers, and $20,000 to WFBS
(1280 Berwick) for failure to mark and light its towers and unspecified
equipment problems. (The FCC also cited KFNX in Cave Creek, Arizona,
a sister station to WALE 990 in Greenville, RHODE
ISLAND, for failure to power down at night. NERW wonders
why WALE itself has escaped the FCC's notice, and we note that
the bankruptcy filing by WALE/KFNX owner Francis Battaglia doesn't
make the NAL go away...)
On a happier note, WFBS is adding a weekend show from Philadelphia's
"Geator," Jerry Blavat, to its schedule. Blavat was
in negotiations to do a weekend show on the big signal of Philly's
WPHT (1210) as well, but the two sides couldn't come to terms
over a playlist (or lack thereof), we're told.
In Brookville, Renda Broadcasting finally has a license for
WYTR (103.3); the CP for the station was cancelled at one point
last winter, but the situation has been sorted out and the oldies
station remains on the air north of Punxsutawney. (It's actually
been on the air since at least the fall of 2000, originally as
WBEU.)
And Calvary Chapel's CP for W202BX (88.3 Meakesville) has
been deleted.
*There's a new format in NEW JERSEY,
as Press Broadcasting takes over at WBHX (99.7 Tuckerton). The
southern Ocean County station is doing a very soft AC format
as "The Breeze," after several days of stunting with
songs that all mentioned wind and weather.
 Just to the south,
in Atlantic City, Lenfest Broadcasting has won permission from
the FCC to shut down the analog side of WWAC (Channel 53), leaving
the station as a DTV-only operation on channel 44.
While WWAC-TV's analog signal is a weak one (just 12 kW with
a directional antenna) that barely reaches the Boardwalk, the
DTV signal emanates from the New Jersey Network WNJS-TV (Channel
23) tower in Waterford Works, N.J., within sight of the Philadelphia
market, which WWAC now hopes to serve via cable must-carry. NERW
expects that WWAC's analog signal will stay on the air until
Lenfest can find someone to buy that spectrum, at which point
the station will go digital-only.
 *Moving
on up to MASSACHUSETTS, J.J. Wright didn't take long to
find work after being let go from WROR (105.7 Framingham); after
doing some fill-in at WODS (103.3 Boston), Wright was named the
station's full-time afternoon jock last week, displacing Brian
Murphy from that shift.
WLYN (1360 Lynn) has an unusual temporary format: while its
sale waits to close, the station is simulcasting the folk music
of WUMB-FM (91.9 Boston), in part because the stations share
a chief engineer, Grady Moates. WLYN had been operating only
sporadically until the simulcast began.
On the technical end of things, WGBH-FM (89.7 Boston) has
resubmitted its application for 21 kW at 323 meters above average
terrain, from the WBZ-TV tower in Needham. Yes, that's third-adjacent
to Boston College's WZBC (90.3 Newton) just a couple of miles
away, but WGBH says the move will actually reduce interference
to that station and to WLNE-TV (Channel 6) down in New Bedford.
WRCA (1330 Waltham) submitted its application to move its
day and night facilities from South Street in Waltham to the
WUNR site in Oak Hill, Newton; the station would run 25 kW day
from five towers and 17 kW night from four towers, if neighbors
ever approve the reconstruction of the site to accomodate WUNR,
WRCA and WKOX (1200 Framingham). It's not clear that the move
would actually get WRCA much more coverage than it currently
enjoys from the Waltham site, in any event.
And up in Lowell, your editor's old stomping grounds, WCAP
(980) has dropped its ABC network affiliation after literally
decades, signing up instead with USA Radio News.
*One item from NEW HAMPSHIRE rounds
out our New England news, as we hear Liz Wilde (late of WAAF
in Worcester) is taking over afternoon duty at WHEB (100.3 Portsmouth).
*Plenty of news from CANADA this
week, starting with some big changes on the way at CKGE (Magic
@ 94.9) and CKDO (1350), the Oshawa stations being sold by Corus
to the owners of country CJKX (95.9) in nearby Ajax and smooth
jazz CIWV (94.7) over in Hamilton. Nearly a dozen CKGE/CKDO staffers
have been told their services won't be needed when the new owners
take over, reports MilkMan Unlimited, leading to speculation
that the 94.9 signal will end up simulcasting "The Wave"
on adjacent 94.7 for better Toronto market coverage.
Speaking of Corus, it's bringing Steve Parsons from its Winnipeg
operations to be PD of CING (Country 95.3) in Hamilton.
The CRTC will consider still more FM applications at a hearing
this fall in St. John's, Newfoundland, including several in southern
Ontario: United Christian Broadcasters wants a 45 kw signal on
102.3 in Belleville, with a contemporary Christian format. Barrie
Christian station CJLF (100.3) wants a transmitter in Peterborough,
with 500 watts on 89.3, while in nearby Lindsay, CKLY (91.9)
wants to move from the old CKLY 910 site just south of town to
a tower 13 km southeast (close to Peterborough itself), upping
power from 14 kW to 29.3 kW in the process.
In Quebec, the Universite de Sherbrooke wants a student station
on 88.3 with 490 watts.
And out in Newfoundland, several applicants want new stations
in St. John's: Andrew Newman and Andrew Bell are applying for
a 100 kW AC station on 101.1, while the Newfoundland Broadcasting
Company wants a soft AC station on 95.7, with a heavy emphasis
on Newfoundland music. The company is also flipping its NTV television
service (based at CJON-TV, channel 6 in St. John's) from CTV
to Global, keeping CTV only for morning and late-night newscasts.
The move means Newfoundlanders will need cable or satellite to
see CTV, at least until that network builds its own stations
on The Rock.
One more Maritimes app: Tom Gamblin wants 49.6 watts on 103.5
in Ssint John, N.B. for an all-comedy station!
 Finally, two obituaries:
in Montreal, they're mourning Ted Blackman, the morning host
at CKGM (Team 990), who died Wednesday (Oct. 2) of liver and
kidney failure. Blackman had a three-decade history in Montreal
print and radio circles, including stints as program director
of the old CFCF, morning host at CJAD, and jobs at the Montreal
Gazette and the defunct Star and Daily News.
Blackman was 60.
On Prince Edward Island, they're mourning Mike Brooks, the
former CFCY (630 Charlottetown) PD, who recently left the business.
Brooks was killed in a car accident last Monday (Sept. 30); he
was 41.
A few bits of late-breaking Canadian news to finish off the
week: the CBC has released some details about its new morning
offerings, which debut next Monday (Oct. 14). Shelagh Rogers'
new 10 AM to noon program on Radio One will be called "Sounds
Like Canada," replacing the current "This Morning"
(which itself replaced the late, lamented "Morningside"
a few years back.) In November, it will be joined by a new 8:30-10
AM program, "The Current," to be hosted by Anna Maria
Tremonti. And on the TV side, Ron MacLean has come to terms on
a new contract that will keep him next to Don Cherry on "Hockey
Night in Canada" this season.
 *And with the week's news out of the way,
we can get down to business: we're opening the ordering window
for the Tower Site Calendar 2003.
If you liked last year's edition, you'll love this one: higher-quality
images (including Providence's WHJJ; Mount Mansfield, Vermont;
Buffalo's WBEN; KOMA in Oklahoma City; the legendary WSM, Nashville
and many more), more dates in radio history, a convenient hole
for hanging - and we'll even make sure all the dates fall on
the right days!
This year's calendar will go to press in late October, and
if you order now, you'll have yours in hand by mid-November,
in plenty of time for the holidays. And this year, you can order
with your Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express by using
the handy link below!
Better yet, here's an incentive to make your 2003 NERW subscription
pledge a little early: support NERW/fybush.com at the $60 level
or higher, and you'll get this lovely calendar for free!
How can you go wrong? (Click here
to visit our Support page, where you can make your NERW contribution
with a major credit card...)
You can also order by mail; just send a check for $16
per calendar (NYS residents add 8% sales tax), shipping included,
to Scott Fybush, 92 Bonnie Brae Ave., Rochester
NY 14618.
*And we're also happy to announce that
our good friends at M Street have released the 11th edition of
the M Street Radio Directory. With the disappearance
of the old Vane Jones log and the declining accuracy of the Broadcasting
Yearbook, the M Street directory is widely regarded as the most
accurate, most comprehensive source of information on the US
and Canadian radio scene - and we're thrilled to be able to offer
it to you at a substantial discount!
The directory includes power, frequency, ownership, key personnel,
formats, ratings and much more information for every radio station
in the U.S. and Canada, and now runs almost 900 pages in an 8.5"
x 11" softcover book. List price is $79 (plus $7 shipping/handling),
but if you order through fybush.com/NorthEast Radio Watch, you
can get this invaluable resource on your shelf for $69 (plus
$7 s/h) - a $10 savings! And your purchase benefits the continued
publication of NERW and Tower Site of the Week, so everybody
wins!
You can order in either of two ways: to order by major credit
card, call 1-800-248-4242, ask for Irene, and tell her
you want the "NorthEast Radio Watch" discount. Or,
send check or money order for $76 ($69 + $7 s/h) to Scott Fybush,
92 Bonnie Brae Ave., Rochester NY 14618. Either way, you'll put
the most trusted, accurate information about the radio industry
in print today on your bookshelf.
*Finally, another scheduling announcement: there will be no
NERW on October 14, while we're out in Dallas to see all the
broadcast activity the Big D has to offer. We'll be back later
that week...stay tuned!
NorthEast Radio Watch is made possible by the generous
contributions of our regular readers. If you enjoy NERW, please
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is copyright
2002 by Scott Fybush. |