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December 22, 2003
Clear Channel Sells Utica's WUTR
 *Ever since Clear Channel
purchased Ackerley back in June 2002, the rumors have been floating
around upstate NEW YORK that the TV stations that
came with the deal - a cluster of (mostly) ABC affiliates in
Syracuse, Watertown, Utica, Binghamton and Rochester - would
eventually be sold off. And, at least in the case of Utica, that
rumor turns out to be true.
Clear Channel announced on Thursday
that it's selling Utica's WUTR (Channel 20) to Scranton-based
Mission Broadcasting, a small TV group that also owns Scranton's
WYOU (Channel 22). Like WYOU, which is operated under a shared
services-and-sales agreement with Nexstar's WBRE (Channel 28),
WUTR is expected to end up operating in tandem with Utica Fox
affiliate WFXV (Channel 33), which Nexstar recently acquired
in its purchase of the Quorum group.
Here's where things begin to get interesting:
WUTR has had only a minimal local news presence since August,
when Clear Channel fired most of its newsroom staffers, leaving
just a skeleton presence to supply Utica news to Syracuse's WIXT,
whose newscasts are now simulcast in Utica. WFXV, meanwhile,
runs a 10 PM newscast that's produced by the big NBC affiliate
in the market, Smith Broadcasting's WKTV (Channel 2). Will Nexstar
launch a revived news operation to service both the ABC and Fox
affiliates? And if it does, will WKTV then move its 10 PM newscast
to its cable-only WB outlet, "WBU"?
The sale also raises questions about
the future of the rest of the Clear Channel Central New York
TV group: while the sale of WUTR was nearly inevitable, thanks
to cross-ownership rules that forced Clear Channel to choose
between keeping the TV outlet or its Utica radio group, the company
faces some more difficult challenges in Rochester, Binghamton
and Syracuse, where it will ultimately get to keep its TV stations
only if it sheds one or more radio station in each market. And
in Rochester, Nexstar already owns one TV station - CBS affiliate
WROC-TV - which would no doubt make a nice quasi-duopoly partner
with dominant Clear Channel-owned WOKR(TV).
And up in Watertown, Clear Channel has
cancelled the "First at Five" newscast it launched
just over a year ago at WWTI (Channel 50), leaving the station
with local news at 6 and 11 PM and local headlines during the
regional "Daybreak" morning show. Expect some staff
shuffles at WWTI, with 5 and 6 PM anchor Andrea Pedrick going
on maternity leave, 5 PM anchor Jay Donovan returning to weather
duty and 11 PM anchor Don Logana leaving in January for a job
in Savannah, Georgia.
*Speaking of Rochester, WBBF (93.3 Fairport),
still stunting with Christmas music, fired yet another DJ last
week. After 19 years in Rochester radio, 11 of them at WBBF and
its predecessor WKLX, WBBF morning jock Mike Vickers is out the
door at Entercom - and pursuing full-time employment as a Regional
Transit Service bus driver, a job he'd been working part-time.
The move leaves just one jock at WBBF (afternoon guy Tom Noonan),
and plenty of questions about what will become of the oldies
station after the holidays.
 Nearly
all of the city's commercial stations joined WCMF (96.5 Rochester)
in remembering "Unkle Roger" during his funeral last
week. The Entercom, Clear Channel and Infinity stations, as well
as locally-owned WDKX (103.9 Rochester), all aired 30 seconds
of silence in memory of Roger McCall, the veteran overnight jock
on WCMF, who was shot to death Dec. 12 as he collected rent from
a tenant on Rochester's Madison Street.
So far, Rochester police don't seem
any closer to solving the crime; meanwhile, WCMF took calls every
night this past week from Unk's listeners and friends and played
them back during his regular overnight shift. There's no word
yet on whether anyone will replace him on overnights at WCMF
- by NERW's count, there's now only one live overnight jock on
Rochester commercial radio.
Where are they now?: Former WBEE-FM
(92.5 Rochester) jock Nanette is now out in Chicagoland, where
she's been hired to do mornings on suburban WZSR (105.5 Crystal
Lake IL).
Over in Albany, January 5 will be the
start date for the revived "Wolf and Mulrooney" show
on WPYX (106.5 Albany) and WRKW (92.9 Saugerties), as John Mulrooney
returns to his old gig alongside Bob Wolf several years after
a nasty spat broke the duo apart. Mulrooney's return pushes John
Tobin over to sister sports station WOFX (980 Troy), where he'll
do mornings alongside Freddie Coleman.
 Sunrise
Broadcasting's new AM 1200 facility in Kingston has applied for
the call letters "WJGK" - and to judge by the WGNY
(1220 Newburgh) Web site, it looks as though the plan is to simulcast
WGNY's oldies on the new 1200 station once it's built.
In New York, "Lite 106.7"
WLTW (106.7 New York) has hired its first full-time air personality
in 14 years, bringing Victor Sosa up from Jacksonville
(where he was PD of WJBT and WSOL) to take the overnight shift
last occupied by the late Robin Taylor. (Live overnights...how
'bout that?)
*Nassau Broadcasting
is serious about its committment to MAINE - just after
announcing its $18.3 million purchase of Mariner Broadcasting's
six stations (NERW, 12/15), the New Jersey-based company is also
picking up the five radio stations of the WMTW Broadcast Group.
 The WMTW
stations are all clustered in and near the Portland market: news-talk
trimulcast WMTW (870 Gorham), WMTW-FM (106.7 North Windham) and
WLAM (1470 Lewiston), hot AC WMEK (99.9 Auburn, with a Portland
translator at 96.9) and country WTHT (107.5 Lewiston); they add
to a group that will also include Portland-market WBQW (106.3
Scarborough) and FM outlets in the Kennebunkport, mid-coast and
Bangor areas.
What's more, WMTW-TV (Channel 8) is
reportedly also for sale, and the leading potential buyer is
said to be Hearst-Argyle, for whom WMTW would be a nice link
in the New England chain that also includes Boston's WCVB, Manchester's
WMUR and the Vermont duo of WNNE/WPTZ.
No purchase price has been announced
yet for the WMTW radio deal; we'd expect a slew of format changes
once Nassau closes on its various purchases, especially the WMTW
news trimulcast and the "W-Bach" classical stations
from Mariner.
Meanwhile, a happy 50th anniversary
to WCSH (Channel 6) in Portland, which marks the occasion with
an hour-long special Tuesday night at 8; we'd love to hear from
a reader up that way who'd be willing to tape it for our collection!
 *A fire last Monday just
outside Dover, NEW HAMPSHIRE silenced the state's
newest LPFM station.
WXGR-LP (101.5 Dover) had been on the
air less than a month from its small building at the Littlebrook
Airpark in Eliot, Maine when the fire destroyed the building
and all of the station's equipment within.
"Gritty Radio" didn't have
insurance, so the entire operation - most of it paid for out
of the pockets of station founder Tom Hoyt and other supporters
- is a total loss. The station's Web
site has additional photos of the destruction,
which was apparently caused by a faulty wood stove, as well as
a plea for support to get the station back on the air.
WXGR-LP was a most ambitious operation,
and you can see from the photos on the site how much effort went
into getting it on the air; we're pulling for them to get back
to business as soon as possible.
 *There's a new format on the north shore of
MASSACHUSETTS - WBOQ (104.9 Gloucester) dropped its standards/soft
AC sound this morning to relaunch as "North Shore 104.9,"
playing 60s and 70s oldies with a heavy dose of local news, sports
and events. WBOQ recently changed hands (within the Tanger family)
from Marlin Broadcasting to Westport Broadcasting, and the format
change seems poised to grab more than a handful of listeners
who are missing the oldies that have been temporarily replaced
on WODS (103.3 Boston) by Christmas music.
Nantucket won't have another FM
allocation - the FCC last week dismissed a petition to add 97.7A
to the table of allocations there, after the original petitioner
didn't follow up with a letter of intent to apply for the channel
if granted.
Sorry to report the death last Monday
(12/15) of Richard "Dick" Corbin, who worked at WCAP
(980 Lowell) and later at Nashua's WOTW (900), where (as "Jacques
Corbin") he was the host of the French Program that continues
to this day. Corbin was 74.
*Two new jocks at WDAQ
(98.3) in Danbury, CONNECTICUT: Rachel Foxx takes over
nights there after a gig in mornings at WJYY in Concord, N.H.,
while "JoJo" (Mike Adams) heads to nights on WDAQ from
Troy's WFLY.
*In PENNSYLVANIA,
Renda Broadcasting is again adding to its holdings northeast
of Pittsburgh, paying Richard Sherry's RMS Management $3.25 million
for WDAD (1450 Indiana) and WQMU (92.5 Indiana) and solidifying
its hold on radio in Jimmy Stewart's hometown after last year's
purchase of nearby WCCS (1160 Homer City). Renda also owns three
stations in nearby Punxsutawney, home of that legendary groundhog.
(And no, they don't play "I Got You, Babe" every
morning at the same time...)
 Over
in Philadelphia, some changes are on the way to nighttime AM
radio: WPHT (1210)'s Jeff Katz reportedly announced Friday night
that he's leaving "The Big Talker," where he's been
doing a 6-8 PM shift. Katz's departure moves Dom Giordano (formerly
heard from 8-10 PM) up to 6-9 PM and shifts both Bill O'Reilly
(formerly 10-midnight) and Rollye James (formerly midnight-3)
an hour earlier.
Katz, whose resume includes a stop at
Boston's WRKO a few years back, was at the end of his contract
and reportedly wants a morning or afternoon drive slot as his
next gig.
Meanwhile, WPEN (950) is cutting back
its live jock staff, eliminating the 7-midnight shift that had
been shared by Kim Martin and Steve Ross - at least when the
Phillies didn't pre-empt that timeslot all summer. WPEN will
be automated during those hours, as well as overnight, though
Martin and Ross will remain with WPEN for fill-in duty, at least.
Across the state line in WEST VIRGINIA,
Clear Channel is selling WVKF (105.5 Bethlehem/Wheeling) to Keymarket,
which will add it to a Wheeling/Steubenville cluster that includes
top-40 competitor WOMP-FM (100.5 Bellaire OH). Expect the $1.35
million sale to lead to a format change for what's now "Kiss
105.5."
And WWVA (1170 Wheeling) is getting
back some of the local talk it'll lose with the advent of the
Quinn Show network next month - the Clear Channel talker has
cut Sean Hannity's show back to two hours and will run local
talker Bert Furoli from 5-7 PM on weekday afternoons.
 *In CANADA, the CRTC
is giving Bea-Ver Communications a big new market for its CKUE
(95.1 Chatham-Kent). "The Rock" won permission last
week to add a 400-watt repeater transmitter, also on 95.1, in
Windsor - and that opens up some new opportunities for CKUE.
Because Windsor stations operate in
the shadow of the huge Detroit market, they're exempt from some
of the strict programming restrictions under which the rest of
Canadian radio operates. While most Canadian FM stations can
run no more than 50% "hit" material (defined as anything
that's cracked the top 40), Windsor stations - including, now,
CKUE - can run up to 85% hits, an important programming bonus
for a station that mixes classic and new rock.
Commercial stations in Windsor are also
allowed to drop their Canadian content to 20% of the music they
play, but CKUE says it'll stay with the 35% limit for the rest
of Canada. It will open a studio in Windsor that will provide
42 hours a week of programming, including 6 AM to noon and 3:30-6
PM on weekdays.
Rogers' "OMNI.2" (CJMT Channel
44 Toronto) and Cornerstone TV's "CTS" (CITS Channel
36 Hamilton) will both get to extend their broadcast reach to
London and Ottawa. In London, the CRTC approved a CJMT relay
on channel 20 with 18.8 kW and a CITS relay on channel 14 with
7.7 kW; in Ottawa, CJMT will be seen on channel 14 with 435 kW
and CITS on channel 32 with 54 kW.
It looks like the end of the line for
community radio station CISD (107.7 Iroquois); the Seaway Campus
Community Radio Station asked the CRTC to revoke the license
for the low-powered station, and the CRTC did so last week. We're
sorry to hear "107.7 the Storm" go; it had been on
and off the air over the last few years.
Bob Harris is heading to Montreal: the
current PD of CKFM (Mix 99.9) in Toronto will move to the OM
chair at Standard's CJAD/CHOM/CJFM and keep his position of VP
in charge of rock formats for Standard Radio, while current CJAD/CHOM/CJFM
OM Blair Bartrem heads to Toronto to serve as OM of CKFM.
More CRTC action: in Blackville NB,
the Miramichi Fellowship Center was granted 45 watts on 107.5
for a new Christian music station. Radio-Acton Inc. applied for
3 kW DA at 23 meters above average terrain on 103.7 in Acton,
Quebec, while Jon Pole and Andrew Dickson applied for 1650 watts
at 128 meters above average terrain on 96.1 in Renfrew, Ontario,
for a new AC/MOR station. In Sunderland, Ontario, CJKX-FM-1 wants
to increase its signal on 89.9 to the northern parts of Durham
Region - it's applying for a power increase from 3 kW to 5 kW.
And in Montreal, TQS flagship CJFP (Channel
35) applies for a DTV signal. It'll run 7 kW on channel 42 from
the CBC tower on Mont Royal.
 *The
2004 Tower Site Calendar is now back from the printer
and shipping out to hundreds of tower fans across the US, Canada,
and even the Netherlands and the U.K. - so don't wait to place
your order!
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 right) 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.
All orders placed by December 21 have now been
shipped, and we've already heard from recipients as far away
as Tacoma, Washington and Kitchener, Ontario, so if you've already
ordered, you should be enjoying your calendar any day now.
If you haven't ordered yet, what are you waiting for? It's
too late for Christmas gift-giving - but perhaps you still need
a calendar for 2004...or maybe you didn't find one under the
tree, despite all those hints you dropped.
So 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, and send them along to 92 Bonnie Brae
Avenue, Rochester NY 14618. (Sorry - we can't take orders by
phone.)
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2003 by Scott Fybush. |