In this week’s issue… Airstaff out at LI FM – Two TV co-anchors step down at once – Romeo out at WXKS – Catlin leaves WSKG – LaFlamme returns on the competition
By SCOTT FYBUSH
Jump to: ME – NH – VT – MA – RI – CT – NY – NJ – PA – Canada
As of late last week, though, the company’s classic hits entry, WBZO (103.1 Max-FM), is competing without any live talent in the studio.
On Thursday, Connoisseur cut the jobs of the last three airstaff who’d been heard on Max: morning host Jim Douglas, a 43-year radio veteran; PD/afternoon jock Tommy Conway and Brett Levine, who was news director and traffic reporter for WBZO and its sister stations, including WALK-FM (97.5), WKJY (98.3) and WHLI (1100).
Douglas minced no words about his job loss in a Newsday interview, noting that he’d recently won the New York State Broadcasters Association award for best large-market morning show, a tribute to a long run that has included New York City morning gigs at WMXV (Mix 105) and WWFS (Fresh 102.7) over the years as well as at WKJY.
“We had a good following, but the following wasn’t good enough for them,” Douglas said, saying Connoisseur officials told him they had to cut costs by automating Max and eliminating the last of its talent.
Can an automated Max really compete with the popular personalities on stations such as WALK and its Cox and JVC competitors? Not really – but that’s not necessarily how the cluster game plays out these days, when it’s sometimes enough just to stanch losses and maintain a placeholder that can keep other players from competing in the format.
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!