NorthEast Radio Watch 9/7/2020: Brucie Returns, Wendy’s Gone

In this week’s issue… Bell out at KDKA - Brucie returns to NY airwaves - House purged at WFSB - Remembering Gary Blau - Canadian format flip complete By SCOTT FYBUSH Jump to: ME - NH - VT - MA - RI - CT - NY - NJ - PA - Canada Programming note: we're coming to you a day or so late this week because of the Labor Day holiday, but we'll be back on our usual Monday schedule on Sept. 14. And we thank all of you for your patience as we converted to our new membership system - as always, Lisa's at your disposal if you're having any issues. Please reach out to her at 585-442-5411 or lisa@fybush.com and she'll make sure your membership is up to date. We are so grateful for all your support of the work we do! *When your former TV sister station has to put up a news story specifically explaining that your afternoon talk host doesn't work for them, and asking viewers not to call them to complain about the latest outrageous things she's said on air... it might be a sign that there are some problems afoot. And indeed, Pittsburgh's KDKA-TV (Channel 2), owned by CBS, had to issue just such a clarification last week about Wendy Bell, who was the 3-6 PM host on KDKA (1020), the talk station that Entercom acquired two years ago from CBS. "Was," in this case, because on Thursday it was Entercom's turn to issue a statement that Bell wasn't on the air with them anymore, either. The announcement came exactly a year after Bell had started her solo run in afternoons, and two years after she came to KDKA after being fired from WTAE (Channel 4) after a controversial social media post. " We do not condone the incitement of violence on any of our platforms. Members of our community have recently brought to our attention comments made by Wendy Bell that do not align with Entercom’s values. Wendy has been taken off air until further notice," said the statement from KDKA. The station didn't specify exactly what she said, but media reports in Pittsburgh linked the decision to social media and advertiser blowback over an online video in which Bell said Black Lives Matter protesters should be shot on sight. For now, no official replacement host for the 3-6 PM shift has been named. [bucket id="8276" title="Calendar Ad"] [pmpro_login show_menu="false" show_logout_link="false"] [membership level="1,3,5,7,8,9,10,11"] *Elsewhere in PENNSYLVANIA , it's a format shift from AC to hot AC at Seven Mountains' WZWW (95.3 Bellefonte) in the State College market. The move, which included an "under construction" stunt that wrapped up Friday afternoon at 2, comes with a new logo and a new slogan - "Happy Valley's Best Mix." Will it also come with some musical shifts at sister station WBHV (94.5), which has a similar-sounding mainstream top-40 format? *In Philadelphia, the launch of iHeart's Black Information Network on WTEL (610) also came with a rearrangement of HD Radio subchannels: the "Gambler" sports talk programming from WDAS (1480) moves from the HD2 of WDAS-FM (105.3) to the HD2 of WRFF (104.5), replacing a national "Rock Nation" feed there and making room for BIN on WDAS-FM's HD2. *One of the best-known names in TV news in CONNECTICUT is out of work: after 28 years at the WFSB (Channel 3) anchor desk, Dennis House announced last week that he was exiting the station, where he did his last anchor shift Wednesday. House started in mornings at the Meredith-owned CBS affiliate, where he worked alongside big names that included Gayle King and, for many years, beloved anchor Denise D'Ascenzo, who was his longtime early-evening co-anchor until her death last year. While Meredith has parted ways with House, it continues to employ his wife, Kara Sundlun, who co-hosts the station's "Better" lifestyle show. *In RHODE ISLAND , there's a rebranding at Nexstar's CBS and Fox affiliates: WPRI (Channel 12) and WNAC (Channel 64) started September without the "Eyewitness News" name they've used for 18 years. Instead, it's now "12 News" on WPRI (including a new "12 News Now" weekdays at 4 PM), and "12 News on Fox Providence" for the 10 PM newscast on WNAC. *You've probably read by now about the big rebranding at public media in MASSACHUSETTS , too - though the shortening of "WGBH" to just "GBH" is part of a strategy to brand the public TV and radio giant as more than just a local Boston entity. Boston viewers with long memories will recall that back in the 1990s, there was an earlier attempt to brand WGBH-TV (Channel 2) and WGBX (Channel 44) as just "GBH2" and "GBH44," the names they'll be using again. This time, the rebranding effort will also include shortening WCRB (99.5)'s on-air identity to "CRB Classical 99.5," as well as just "CAI" for the three FM stations (WCAI, WNAN, WZAI) that serve Cape Cod and the islands. And as "GBH" tries to make itself a national digital brand with just three letters, it also gets a new color scheme (purple) and a new version of its drop-shadow logo, using a new font (Red Hat) that's more rounded than the traditional version that's been in use since the 1970s. (When, we suspect, traditionalists probably complained about the loud new music and bright orange colors that replaced the 1956-vintage Aztec ideograph logo that had long identified the station.) *"Cousin Brucie" Morrow roared back on to the NEW YORK airwaves right on schedule Saturday night, starting his new weekly gig on Red Apple's WABC (770) with a title sponsor for his show (Goya) and a few technical difficulties. Alert listeners (and there were a lot of those, considering the passion New York's oldies fans have for Morrow and his music) quickly noticed that one channel was missing from some of the tunes, and that Morrow's mic was on sometimes when it shouldn't have been. The 84-year-old veteran was clearly enjoying himself - he stuck around for a follow-up hour of talk, chatting with listeners who called in to the 9 PM hour hosted by Walter Williams. Here's hoping those early teething pains are worked out when Brucie returns for his second week, complete with a special website (WABCMusicradio.com) specific to his three weekly hours when the station turns away from its usual talk format. (And Brucie wasn't even the only oldies-on-AM listening option on Saturday night: up in MAINE , Bob Bittner's WLAM 1470 in Lewiston marked its 73rd anniversary with a special music show assembled with the help of radio historians including Connecticut's Bob Gilmore.) *Over at Entercom's ALT 92.3 (WNYL), Corey B moves from afternoons to mornings, alongside Cane; the station is now advertising for a third morning co-host and producer and for an afternoon replacement for Corey B. *Here in Rochester, Entercom has tapped Chris Konya as the new co-host of its "BEE Morning Coffee Club," bringing him back to the cluster after several years producing podcasts (and, we hear, working as a plumber!) Konya joined Terry Clifford and TJ Sharp on the show last week, allowing former co-host Steve Hausmann to return to his retirement routine after having been brought back over the summer as a fill-in co-host. Konya's experience at Entercom included producing the "Breakfast Buzz" show on WBZA and hosting nights on WPXY. *Where are they now? Former WAIO (95.1) afternoon talker Kimberly Ray was back in the Rochester headlines last week, when the Democrat & Chronicle reported she'd earned her real estate license and, along with a partner, was planning to join a local Re/Max affiliate to begin selling homes in town. With memories still fresh of the rhetoric that got her fired from WAIO (and before that, from Entercom's WBZA) - and with the community on edge from Black Lives Matter protests that made national news - the Re/Max firm soon heard the social media backlash and retracted the offer, with its owner saying he wasn't aware of Ray's history. This being 2020, a smaller firm quickly stepped into the fray, announcing over Labor Day weekend that it was rejecting "cancel culture" and hiring Ray, who's selling under her married name, Kimberly Goodman. *And we're saddened indeed to report the death of Gary Blau, whose long and colorful career in broadcast engineering included a high-profile stint in the 1980s at WNBC (660) and WYNY (97.1) in the last years of NBC ownership. Blau came to New York after making a name for himself in the Washington market, and he went on to spend many years doing radio in south Florida, where we had the pleasure of visiting him some years back at what was then the Lincoln Financial station group in Miami. Those stations later merged in with the former CBS Radio cluster under Entercom, though Blau's health issues forced his retirement during the move that combined both clusters into new studios last year. Blau, who had been living in Sebring, Florida, died of cancer on Aug. 30; no memorial plans have been announced yet. *In CANADA , Evanov pulled off its format shuffle in Brantford, Ontario last week, simulcasting its "Arise" contemporary Christian format starting on Monday on both its old home, CFWC (93.9), and its new home, CKPC (1380), and then relaunching CFWC with a new higher-powered signal Friday afternoon at 4 as "Hot Country 93.9." The move came with an airstaff shuffle: Craig Fox moves from sister station CKPC-FM (Jewel 92) to do mornings at the new "Hot Country," which is also carrying the syndicated US-based Bobby Bones at night. And we're told CKPC-FM is now carrying both "Arise" and "Hot Country" on its HD2 and HD3 channels, which had previously been simulcasting Evanov's CIDC (Z103) and CHLO (AM530) from its Toronto-based cluster. In Moncton, NB, Stingray has replaced CJMO (C103) morning host Troy Tait with its Maritimes-wide regional morning show, "BJ & The Morning Crew," based at CFRQ in Halifax. Tait, who'd co-hosted "Crawdaddy & Taiter" with Sean Crawford, retired after his Aug. 28 show; Crawford moves to afternoons, while former afternoon host Geoff Walsh will be focusing on his airshift at Stingray's Saint John cluster. Broadcast Dialogue reports Stingray is also adding another CFRQ-based show, "The Rock of the Atlantic," at night. And back in greater Toronto, CKNT (960 Mississauga) launches a new afternoon show Tuesday. "The Rush Hour," weekdays from 4-6, will pair former CFMJ (640)/Q107 host John Scholes and former Z103 host Elvira Caria. [/membership]

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NorthEast Radio Watch 9/7/2020: Brucie Returns, Wendy’s Gone

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NorthEast Radio Watch 8/31/2020: Bargain Price for a Boston AM

NorthEast Radio Watch 9/14/2020: More Cuts at Entercom

Scott Fybush

Related Posts

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