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
*Long Island is a fiercely competitive radio market, where Connoisseur Media is one of the more significant players, especially on the Nassau County end of things.
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.
We don’t have a cover yet (stay tuned for that reveal soon!), but we’re hard at work on an achievement we never thought we’d reach – the landmark 24th edition of the world-famous Tower Site Calendar.
It’s not just a useful wall calendar. It’s also a tribute to more than a century of radio history.
And 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. For just a few weeks, you can pre-order your 2025 calendar at a discount price, so it’s a good deal for you, too, as postage and printing costs keep going up. Visit the Fybush Media Store and place your pre-order now for the next calendar, get a great discount on previous calendars, and check out our selection of books and videos, too!
In this week’s issue… Sterling returns, Castiglione retires - Bruins, Knicks name new voices - WNYC celebrates centennial, cuts jobs - Corey's new Canadian gig - Rock moves in VT - Zandy returns to PRO-FM
In this week’s issue… Evanov shutters Ottawa signal, two others - Quinn's new gig at WICC - New morning shows at WKTU, WAWZ - WFME lives again
In this week’s issue… NY's 98.7 enters stunt mode - Double shifting at WBLI - WICC, WFOX simulcast with talk - New country in Toronto - Big booster project in western Mass
In this week’s issue… An emotional, classy farewell to WCBS and all it meant - Beasley's Boston cutbacks - Shamrock shuffles Scranton (again) - WJTO's new dial spot - The 2025 Tower Site Calendar is coming!
