In this week’s issue… iHeart hires in Rochester – More country in Glens Falls – Stations recover from Isaias’ winds – Tower change in Syracuse – Familiar sound vanishes in Philly
By SCOTT FYBUSH
Jump to: ME – NH – VT – MA – RI – CT – NY – NJ – PA – Canada
*We’ve hit the doldrums of mid-August, and even here at NERW Central our minds have been on other things – getting in whatever travel and vacation is still possible in this unusual summer, starting work on the brand-new 2021 Tower Site Calendar (read on to find out how you can be one of the first to order and save!), and so on.
(It’s even possible we’ll take a Monday off at some point before August is over – follow us on Twitter and Facebook and we’ll let you know.)
In the meantime, though, it’s OK that we’ve mostly been staying close to home, because the first full week of August brought a bunch of changes on the Rochester radio scene, especially at iHeart’s local cluster, where the news included a new senior manager, a new afternoon show and a slight format change.
A three-person afternoon show? Yes – it teams Reed with two former iHeart employees who have now returned to the cluster: Megan Carter had been on WKGS (Kiss 106.7) and Pat McMahon had been on WDVI (Mix 100.5) and Syracuse’s WYYY (Y94) until iHeart started cutting back in January. (WDVI was also the week’s format change, shifting from hot AC to mainstream AC.)
And upstairs in the management suite, iHeart hired Tias Schuster as the new senior VP/programming for its Rochester, Syracuse and Binghamton stations. Schuster’s been here before, as a PD at WDVI and WKGS, and his hiring marks another return from the January cuts, when he was let go from the SVP/programming post at iHeart in Norfolk, Virginia.
*Another voice silenced by the January iHeart cuts is also returning to the air, but working for a new employer: Cory “Kobe” Fargo starts this afternoon as the new 3-7 PM host at Stephens Media Group’s WZNE (94.1 the Zone). Kobe had been PD/afternoons down the road in Syracuse at iHeart’s WWHT (Hot 107.9) until January, and he’s been here in Rochester before, at Entercom’s WPXY. On the Zone, he replaces Shane Allen and Mark Maira, who’d been doing afternoons as “The Gentleman’s Club.”
THE 2025 TOWER SITE CALENDAR IS SHIPPING SOON!
We promised we would reveal the cover of the 2025 calendar, and here it is! (at right)
We chose the 100,000-watt transmitter of the Voice Of America in Marathon, right in the heart of the Florida Keys. This picture has everything we like in our covers — blue skies, greenery, water, and of course, towers! The history behind this site is a draw, too.
We know you’ve been waiting for information on the calendar. Although production was delayed, it is at our printer now and will be shipping starting this weekend. We will ship daily through Christmas Eve. Place your order now for shipping right off the press!
This will be the 24th edition of the world-famous Tower Site Calendar, and your support will determine whether it will be the final edition.
It’s been a complicated few years here, and as we finish up production of the new edition, we’re considering the future of this staple of radio walls everywhere as we evaluate our workload going forward.
The proceeds from the calendar help sustain the reporting that we do on the broadcast industry here at Fybush Media, so your purchases matter a lot to us here – and if that matters to you, now’s the time to show that support with an order of the new Tower Site Calendar. (And we have the new Broadcast Historian’s Calendar for 2025 ready to ship, too. Why not order both?)
Visit the Fybush Media Store and place your order now for the next calendar, get a great discount on previous calendars, and check out our selection of books and videos, too!