September 6, 2010

A Reprieve for CHSC - For Now

• MAINE
• NEW HAMPSHIRE
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• VERMONT
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• NEW JERSEY
• PENNSYLVANIA
• CANADA
• CLASSIFIEDS
• FROM THE ARCHIVES

*CANADA was supposed to have lost yet another AM station at the close of business August 31 - but troubled CHSC (1220 St. Catharines) was still on the air the next day, and it now appears there will be more legal maneuvering before the CRTC can enforce its order directing owner Pellpropco to silence the station that's been at the center of numerous CRTC actions in recent years.

On August 25, Pellpropco asked the Federal Court of Appeals to issue a stay while it awaits a response to an application for leave to appeal the CRTC ruling, and with just hours to go before CHSC's death sentence, the appeals court granted the stay. In its ruling, the appeals court concluded that "The Crown has not alleged any specific harm to the Crown or the public interest that could result if Pellpropco is permitted to continue its broadcasting activities pending the disposition of its application for leave to appeal."

A Crown response to the application for leave to appeal is due September 13, and it now seems likely that CHSC will continue to pursue legal options to stay on the air despite the CRTC's decision not to renew its license. Among the precedents being cited by CHSC is the case of Genec Communications and CHOI (98.1 Quebec City), the last time the CRTC attempted to pull a station's license.

Back then, the issue was purely one of content - CHOI had run afoul of CRTC standards with its outspoken morning show - and there was a considerable amount of public pressure helping to push higher levels of the Canadian government to overturn the CRTC's decision and allow CHOI to remain on the air under a new licensee. In CHSC's case, the CRTC has amassed plenty of evidence suggesting that Pellpropco is unwilling to abide by some of the most basic tenets of Canadian broadcast licensing (including an unauthorized change of studio location and programming language), and it's not clear that CHSC has anywhere near the kind of political influence that CHOI did.

*While we're in the Toronto area, we note that multiethnic station CHIN (1540) is applying for a big power increase for the FM relay of its AM signal. CHIN-FM-1 (91.9) wants to jump from 161 watts DA (350 watts maximum) to 1850 watts DA (5 kW maximum), from 86 meters above average terrain, increasing the population in its 3 mV/m (70 dBu) contour from 442,756 to more than 1.5 million.

Milkman UnLimited reports that Jason Barr is out at Corus' CFNY (102.1 the Edge) in Toronto, where he spent many years producing the old Humble and Fred morning show and more recently served as co-host of Dean Blundell's morning show. Down the dial, Taylor Kaye segues from afternoons at Astral's CKFM (Virgin Radio 99.9) to middays at Rogers' CISS (Kiss 92.5), returning to the station where her career began.

(And we join with Milkman editor John Mielke in sending our best wishes to Craig Smith, founder and moderator of the Southern Ontario-Western NY Radio Message Forum, aka "SOWNY." Craig has been in and out of the hospital in recent years, and as we assemble the column this Monday morning, he's been moved to a palliative care unit after doctors decided he's not strong enough to remain on the transplant list. There's an update page on the SOWNY site where Craig's friends are providing the latest news on his condition.)

*In London, Astral tweaked formats this morning at CIQM (97.5), keeping the "EZ Rock" nickname but updating the station's format from AC to a more contemporary hot AC sound. Veteran CIQM morning man Rich Greven is gone from the station's staff after a quarter-century on the air in London, replaced by Mark Lapointe for "EZ Mornings." Down the dial, we're hearing that Karl Josephs is out of morning drive on sister station CKSL (Oldies 1410) - and that at CJBK (1290), Shauna Rae's late-morning talk show is being replaced by a simulcast of Tom McConnell's show from CKTB (610 St. Catharines).

Out east, Evanov has been conducting signal tests for its new CKHY (105.1 Halifax), with the official launch of modern rock "Live 105" expected as early as today.

And over on Cape Breton Island, we're hearing that the CBC is pulling back on its plans to replace CBI (1140 Sydney) with a new FM signal, CBIT (97.1). While the FM signal was on the air over the summer, it was apparently only for the purpose of signal tests, and CBI remains very much on the air - and may stay that way, with the FM signal becoming only a "nested" relay.

*If Press Communications gets its way, there will soon be a frequency swap on the NEW JERSEY shore: it's applying to move WBHX (99.7 Tuckerton) to 99.3, sending Atlantic's WZBZ (99.3 Pleasantville) to 99.7. The swap would allow WBHX to move its transmitter site from Long Beach Island to another location a few miles inland, wasting less of its signal over the ocean and reducing the overlap between WBHX and its "Breeze" soft AC simulcast partner, WWZY (107.1 Long Branch).

But before WBHX can move to those new 2.2 kW/210' facilities (lower power but greater antenna height compared to its present 5.6 kW/108'), there are some FCC obstacles to overcome: WZBZ's move to 99.7 would make it short-spaced to the Atlantic City Board of Education's WAJM (88.9 Atlantic City). Press says that shouldn't be a factor, because WAJM's license ceased to be valid way back in 2006, when no renewal application was filed. Press says it's tried to contact the school board about the current status of WAJM (which NERW believes is on the air, at last check), but received no reply. As a backup position, Press notes that the IF-spacing rules that govern the spacing between 88.9 and 99.7 do not apply to stations of less than 100 watts, so it suggests WAJM could be reduced in power from 150 to 99 watts, at Press' expense.

There's one more station in the way of the proposed 99.7/99.3 swap: WPOV-LP (99.9 Vineland) already has a pending CP, also at Press' expense, to move to the 107.7 frequency that became available after WSNJ-FM in Bridgeton was moved off 107.7 a few years back.

The rest of this week's Garden State news also comes from the shore, which is fitting for this end-of-summer holiday: in Wildwood, Jim MacMillan is retiring from WCMC (1230) on September 21, ending more than two decades with the station, most recently as PD and morning host.

In Ocean County, Brick Memorial High School has officially surrendered the license to WBGD (91.9 Brick). In a letter to the FCC, principal Richard Caldes wrote that, "Unfortunately, the wiring sustained damage during a roof replacement, and due to the current economic climate facing public schools in New Jersey, it is financially impossible to replace and/or repair to operate." WBGD went on the air in 1975 as a 10-watter, and had upgraded over the years to 195 watts/56'.

And in Monmouth County, there's a new oldies simulcast on the air: WADB (1310 Asbury Park) has dropped its Fox Sports format and is now paired up with WOBM (1160 Lakewood Township), which segues from standards to a more up-tempo oldies format.

Away from the shore, the political wheels keep turning in Trenton, where Governor Chris Christie is pushing forward with a plan to spin NJN public TV and radio away from state ownership, possibly as soon as the start of 2011. On Thursday, Christie sent lawmakers a bill called the "New Jersey Public Broadcasting System Restructuring Act," which would either transfer the NJN stations to another public broadcaster (presumably the big guns at opposite ends of the state, New York-based WNET and Philadelphia-based WHYY) or to a new independent nonprofit. It's not at all clear whether lawmakers will go along with the Christie plan; they've scheduled several public hearings later this month on the issue. Meanwhile, NJN interim director Howard Blumenthal has announced that he's leaving that post September 17 after a year at the helm of the statewide network. He'll return to Philadelphia's independent noncommercial TV station, WYBE (aka "MiND-TV"), where he's been working part-time.

*We begin our PENNSYLVANIA news up in the state's northwestern corner, where WWCB (1370 Corry) has picked up a venerable set of calls, WHYP. That callsign spent many decades on the air in nearby North East, where the inimitable James Brownyard ran a one-man operation on AM 1530 (now Mercyhurst College's WYNE) and FM 100.9 (now WRKT), distinguished by his gravelly-voiced IDs and the occasional sound of a record running out while Brownyard was out mowing the lawn.

As of last week, "WHYP" is back on the air, attached to an oldies format on 1370 that's being operated by Vilkie Communications, which also owns WMVL (101.7 Linesville) over in the Meadville market. The FM is "Cool 101.7," and the AM is now "Cool 1370."

(Until Mercyhurst bought 1530 a few years back, it was co-owned with WWCB and even simulcasted for a time; the old Jim Brownyard version of WHYP, meanwhile, lives on by way of a pirate station that's heard on the shortwaves every once in a while...)

*While we're up around Erie, Penn State Behrend is getting an FM translator for its business-talk AM station, WPSE (1450). Donors to the university have ponied up the $68,000 that it will cost Penn State to buy W296AW (107.1 Erie) from Michael Celenza.

Just across the state line, former Pittsburgh broadcaster Chris Lash has a new format on WRTK (1540 Niles, Ohio) - the little Youngstown-market AM station is now doing classic country as "AM 1540, the Farm."

Down in the southwesternmost corner of the state, WCYJ in Waynesburg has changed frequencies: the class D station at Waynesburg University has relocated from 88.7 to 99.5, boosting power just a bit (from 6 to 7 watts) and getting out of the way of interference from WYFU (88.5 Masontown) in the process.

In Williamsport, Daniel Klingerman and Larry Allison, Jr. are buying out Jeff Andrulonis' 33% interest in Colonial Radio Group of Williamsport, which owns WLYC (1050) and translator W281AR (104.1). Andrulonis will receive $20,000 for his third of the partnership.

And we're sorry to hear of the death of Ron Smith, who was known on the air as "James Pond" doing mornings at Forever's WGYY (100.3 Meadville)/WGYI (98.5 Oil City). Smith died last Thursday (Sept. 2); he was just 49 and had been with the stations for about three years.

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*Again befitting our Labor Day issue, our NEW YORK coverage starts out in the Hamptons, where Long Island University has granted Peconic Public Broadcasting yet another extension to come up with the $637,000 it still owes as the final payment for the license of public radio station WLIU (88.3 Southampton).

The money was to have been due at the end of August, but LIU extended the deadline, first to September 3 and now to September 28.

"While PPB has not raised all of the funds required to complete the purchase, it has indicated that significant progress is being made and Long Island University has agreed to the extension based upon their assurances that it will soon have the funding needed to purchase the station," said a statement from the university announcing the second extension.

In a part of the statement where some residents are driving cars that cost as much as that last payment, Peconic has struggled to persuade the area's largely seasonal inhabitants to pony up for local public radio, but as the deadline loomed, the broadcaster began to line up commitments. PPB says a local bank has now committed to loaning it the needed funds, and it's lined up a $50,000 matching grant from George Soros.

While we're out on the East End, there are new calls for Hamptons Community Radio's new construction permit on 89.1 in Westhampton: it will be WEEW, to go along with WEER on 88.7.

*Upstate New York was a little slower than the rest of the country to get on the "early-early morning news" bandwagon, but CNYRadio.com reports that the area is about to get its first 4:30 AM newscast, courtesy of WSYR-TV (Channel 9) in Syracuse, which starts its 4:30 AM show tomorrow. WSYR-TV is also adding a 10 PM newscast on its 9.2 digital subchannel; the 15-minute show anchored by James Gaddis will repeat at 10:15, 10:30 and 10:45 in an attempt to pull early-late-news viewers away from the market's only current option, the WSTM-produced 10 PM show on WSTQ (Channel 14/WSTM 3.2), which is itself expanding from 30 minutes to a full hour this week.

There's no early-early-morning news in Rochester yet, but there's about to be an early-early-evening option: CBS affiliate WROC-TV (Channel 8) rolls out the market's first 4 PM show next Monday, with Matt Molloy at the anchor desk. Across town at WHAM-TV (Channel 13), we're still waiting for the debut of the first HD local news in the area; the initial plan to launch August 28 was held up by some technical issues, and now we're hearing "sometime in early September" for the start of the HD newscasts there.

Radio People on the Move: former WXXI (1370) news director Peter Iglinski has landed a new gig outside the broadcast universe. He's moving over to the University of Rochester as a senior science writer later this month. (Usual disclaimer and then some: your editor works at WXXI, and was hired there by Peter - and wishes him all the very best as he heads off to new challenges!)

*The Buffalo Broadcasters Association has named this year's class of Hall of Fame inductees, and for 2010 it leans very heavily on the early days of Buffalo radio and TV. Only Ed Kilgore, longtime sports director at WGRZ (Channel 2), is still working in the market; the rest of the class includes WGR radio/TV personality Frank Benny, WEBR music director Mary Brady, reporter Brian Meyer, WEBR manager Margaret Russ-Guenther, WGR-TV/WBEN-TV/"Inside Edition" reporter Les Trent, and public radio's Bill Siemering, who took the innovations he developed at WBFO to the national level when he helped create "All Things Considered" for NPR in the early seventies.

The hall of fame induction ceremony on September 21 will also include a tribute to the 50th anniversary of what's now WNED-FM (94.5); there's more information, as always, at BuffaloBroadcasters.com.

*In Ithaca, WHCU (870) once again has an FM simulcast: it's being heard over W240CB (95.9), which is the relocated version of an older Ithaca translator, the old W238AA (95.5). WHCU had briefly been heard on 95.5 before that translator was forced off the air by the move-in of WFIZ (95.5 Odessa); this time, the translator is getting promoted heavily on WHCU, including in the talk station's new logo.

There's significant Empire State representation on the newly-elected board of the Society of Broadcast Engineers: SBE president Vinny Lopez, also known as director of engineering at Syracuse's WSYT-TV/WNYS-TV, has been re-elected to another yearlong term. He'll serve alongside treasurer (and New Jersey-based engineer) Andrea Cummis and board member Jeff Smith (Clear Channel Radio in New York City).

(And this is probably a good chance, too, to mention the upcoming SBE 22 Broadcast and Technology Expo, which takes place at Central New York's Turning Stone Casino on October 6. President Vinny will be there, and so will your editor...)

*In Glens Falls, there's a new format at WENU (1410 South Glens Falls): the Pamal station has segued from standards to classic country. Across the hall at sister station WFFG (107.1 Hudson Falls), "Big Mike" Patrick is departing morning drive after two years on the job. AllAccess reports that Patrick just survived a second serious car accident on his 50-mile commute from Albany to the Pamal studios in Glens Falls, and he's now seeking work closer to home. Kate Sullivan has moved from middays to mornings and Ken Edwards is handling middays for now at "Froggy."

There's a new transmitter on the air for North Country Public Radio: WSLZ (88.1 Cape Vincent) extends the network's reach westward a bit, supplanting a North Country translator on 93.9 and improving the network's signal over nearby Kingston, Ontario.

Moving down to New York City, Eric Meyrowitz is the new VP/general manager at WPIX (Channel 11), moving up from Tribune sister station WDCW (Channel 50) in Washington to take the place of Betty-Ellen Berlamino.

*As eastern MASSACHUSETTS and RHODE ISLAND breathe deep sighs of relief at having dodged the brunt of Hurricane Earl, two broadcast groups are learning that they'll get one of the last open FM channels in the area, as long as they're prepared to share time.

The FCC considered 13 competing applications in a mutually-exclusive group that stretched from Palmer and Ware, Massachusetts down to northern Rhode Island, and when the dust settled, two applications for 91.5 - one from St. Joseph's Radio Station Inc. for Pascoag and another from Providence Community Radio for Harrisville - ended up tied under the FCC's point system. Each received a "tentative preference," but they'll be required to come up with a time-sharing agreement before they can receive construction permits for the new signals.

(Among the losing applicants were some big names - Boston's WBUR sought a new signal in Ware, while Bryant University had applied for Pascoag and Rhode Island Public Radio for Woonsocket.)

*With the impending end of business talk on WBIX (1060 Natick, soon to be Catholic WQOM), some of the station's program lineup is finding new homes elsewhere on the AM dial. That includes Barry Armstrong, who's taking his financial talk down the dial to WRKO (680), where he'll displace an hour of Charley Manning's midday show for the noon-1 PM "Lunch Money with Barry Armstrong" beginning later this week.

The 4:30 AM news trend continues to spread in New England as well: Boston's WCVB (Channel 5) starts its early-early show tomorrow, followed by WFXT (Channel 25) in two weeks, leaving only WHDH (Channel 7) without a 4:30 AM show in Boston, which is odd for a station that's usually led the parade into non-traditional timeslots for news.

(Down east, Maine's WCSH Portland/WLBZ Bangor also added a 4:30 AM "Early Morning Report" over the summer.)

Where are they now? Former WBCN program director Dave Wellington moved down to Washington two years ago to program Clear Channel rocker WWDC (DC101), later adding Baltimore's "Jack FM" WQSR (102.7) to his portfolio, but he's now parted ways with those stations.

*In MAINE, Bill Fox became the second high-profile Portland morning man in as many weeks to lose his job when he was ousted from Nassau's Portland "Frank-FM" (WFNK 107.5 Lewiston) in late August. He's looking for new work, and blogging at BillFoxRocks.com in the meantime.

The University of Maine at Farmington has apparently completed the upgrade of its student station. WUMF has been a 13-watt class D signal on 100.1, but the University applied for, and was granted, a new 100-watt class A facility on 91.5. The station received $17,000 in student activity money to help pay for a new transmitter, antenna and studio equipment.

Light of Life Ministries has reshuffled its translator lineup in southern Maine, shifting signals in Portland (W223BH 92.5 and W300BN 107.9), Sanford (W246BP 100.7), Freeport (W252BT 98.3), Biddeford (W272CG 102.3) and Yarmouth (W272BV 102.3) from WMDR-FM (88.9 Oakland) to the "Worship-FM" signal from WWWA (95.3 Winslow). The network is still ironing out some technical issues: listeners reported hearing the Biddeford 102.3 signal relaying WLNH (98.3 Laconia NH) last week, as summertime propagation knocked out reception of its intended parent signal, the 98.3 Freeport translator. Northwest of Portland, Light of Life will also sign on WFYB (91.5 Fryeburg) as part of the "Worship-FM" network this fall.

*And in Hartford, CONNECTICUT, there's word of cutbacks at Clear Channel's WHCN (105.9 the River): morning man Chuck Taylor and music director/air personality Rod Warner are both gone from the station, which is now advertising for a new morning host who "will also put your deep Selector knowledge and music flow theory to good use."

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