NorthEast Radio Watch 1/3/2022: Penguin Waddles Into Vermont

In this week’s issue… Great Eastern’s latest simulcast – Cumulus makes early flip – WBZ vets retire – WTPA rocks Harrisburg again – Remembering Gary Starr

By SCOTT FYBUSH

Jump to: ME – NH – VT – MA – RI – CT – NY – NJ – PA – Canada

Here we go again – it’s the start of our 29th year of providing news and information to broadcasters all over the northeastern US and eastern Canada. We hope you enjoyed all five parts of our big Year in Review 2021 special that filled this space over the holidays, and if you were lucky enough to be completely away from the screen and keyboard for the last week, catch up by clicking on the link for part one and go from there. 

As always, Lisa and I (a true independent “mom and pop” operation for over two decades) thank you for all the support you show, whether it’s buying a Tower Site Calendar (there’s still a limited quantity of 2022 editions available at the Fybush.com Store) or through your ongoing subscriptions to NERW. For as little as 39 cents a week, you can get the full NERW experience, every week, all year – and make sure we’re still here for year 30 and beyond of reporting on all the stories of the region’s broadcasters. 

*In VERMONT, Great Eastern is ringing in the new year with a new format in the Burlington market. When it acquired WXMS (97.9 Dannemora NY) from RadioActive for just under $100,000 last year, it installed a Christmas format there as a holiday stunt. Now we know that signal, like Great Eastern’s sister stations “Froggy” (WJKS 104.3) and “Frank” (WWFK 107.1), will be simulcasting one of Great Eastern’s signals over in the Barre/Montpelier market.

After a call change to WSNO-FM, 97.9 rang in the new year with a new simulcast of WSNO (1450 Barre). WSNO had been doing rhythmic top-40 as “105.7 the Beat,” but both signals have flipped to new branding as “The Penguin” and a new variety hits format.

The new Penguin picks up three former on-air staffers from Burlington competitor WXXX (95.5). Pete Belair and Sarah Mitiguy had moved from WXXX to sister talker WVMT (620) back in 2019 before leaving Vox; now Belair will be doing mornings (“Pete and the Morning Chill Out”) and Mitiguy will be heard on the midday shift. Former WXXX middayer Jackie Steele, who left that station in September, takes afternoons, while Great Eastern VP/programming Matt Houseman is programming the station.