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For the second year in a row, the New Hampshire Radio Theatre will be
reviving the lost art of radio drama with a Halloween production.
Radio folks from across the Granite State will perform "Dr. Jekyll and
Mr. Hyde" at the American Stage Festival in Nashua on October 25, and
it'll air the following weekend on stations including WEVO, WFEA,
WKXL, WLNH, WPNH, WPCR, WKNE, WEZS, and WLTN.  Proceeds benefit the
New Hampshire Association for the Blind.

*In VERMONT, Middlebury's WFAD (1490) is being sold by Pro Radio to
Kathryn Messmer's Lakeside Media.  $95,000 is the reported sale price.

*CONNECTICUT's WMNR (88.1 Monroe) is expanding its public radio
network in a big way, with CPs granted this week for five new
translators.  They're W220CF (91.9 Huntington), W220CE (91.9
Southington), W209BD (89.7 Avon), W220CH (91.9 West Hartford), and
W205BM (88.9 Mount Kisco NY).  All except W205BM are actually listed
as relaying WGRS (91.5 Guilford).

WZMX (93.7 Hartford) is running jockless for now (except for
morning-driver Sebastian), as it becomes "93-7 The Point."  It's still
a classic rock format, focusing on harder rock from the 1970s with "no
punk, no grunge, no rap, no metal."

Smith and Barber, the morning duo on New Haven rocker WPLR (99.1), add
a second station down the coast -- co-owned WEFX (95.9 Norwalk).

And the WBIS calls that spent years on 1120 in Bristol (and a few
months on channel 31 in New York) have landed again; they replace the
heritage WANN at 1190 in Annapolis, Maryland.

*There's a format change underway in the Saratoga Springs, NEW YORK
market.  As we drove through on Monday, we heard the jocks on "The
Jockey" (WJKE 101.3 Stillwater) saying their farewells.  The station
then went jockless, and is reappearing as "Star 101," WQAR.  PD Ken
McGrail has found a new gig; he takes Don Matsen's old job in the
Portland market at oldies WYNZ (100.9 Westbrook ME).  WQAR's new owner
is New York TV anchor Ernie Anastos.

Up north, American Educational Broadcasting is applying for 89.7 in
Dannemora, while WVNV (96.5 Malone) wants to make a big jump from 2400
watts to 25 kilowatts, with the transmitter moving to a new site near
North Bangor, just south of US 11, from the current site southeast of
Malone.

Watertown's Forever Broadcasting is suing crosstown Radio Broadcast
Center for allegedly misleading advertisers after last January's ice
storm.  Forever says RBC (which owns WATN, WTOJ, WBDR/WWLF, and WOTT)
told advertisers that Forever's WCIZ and WFRY were both operating at
sharply reduced power after suffering tower damage in the storm,
causing Forever to lose business.  The suit will be heard in Utica
October 28; we'll keep you posted.

We got a look at the damage last month's windstorm did to WNSS (1260
Syracuse) earlier this week.  Two of WNSS' four towers are on the
ground, and only one is still in use, as the station runs 5000 watts
day, 1000 watts night, non-directional under special temporary
authority.  We're told part of the top of one of the towers ended up
underwater in a nearby creek!

Harry Jacobs is staying at Rochester's WCMF (which is now making a big
deal out of the ".5" in "96.5"), instead of moving to Burlington's
WIZN and WBTZ, as we'd reported last week.  No word on why the sudden
change of mind...

This just in...today's FCC digest includes a transfer of Rochester's
WROC-TV (Channel 8) from Sunrise Television to Smith Broadcasting.
More next week...

Buffalo's WGR (550), WBEN (930), and WWKB (1520) have a new general
manager, as Sinclair promotes Al Green from regional sales director.
Sinclair's selling $500 million worth of radio and TV stations...will
any in our region be affected?  

Family Life Radio's been granted a new translator in Fredonia.  W203AW
(88.5) will relay WCOT (90.9 Jamestown).

Downstate, we hear WGHQ (920) and WBPM (94.3) in Kingston are being
sold to Roberts Radio, which owns WRWD (107.3 Highland) and WBWZ
(93.3 New Paltz) in the Hudson Valley.

On the TV front, UPN added two low-power affiliates in upstate New
York.  WBGT-LP (Channel 40) brings the weblet to Rochester's west
side, while WVBG-LP (Channel 25) serves Albany, though we suspect most
folks there will watch UPN on Boston's WSBK via cable, if they watch
it at all.  Just across the border, Cornerstone's Channel 36 is now
serving Hamilton and Toronto with family-oriented programming; still
no word on the actual call letters for the new UHF.

And down in Pennsylvania, pioneering FM talker WWDB (96.5
Philadelphia) is finally adding AM; WWDB (860) is the former
Spanish-language WTEL and will now be doing local talk to complement
the national talkers (Dr. Laura, Rush, et al) on the FM side.

*Finally this week, a quick review of the NERW New England excursion
this past weekend...

We started in the Johnstown/Gloversville market, where the clear
winner, at least on the NERW Quirky Radio Index, was WENT (1340).
This little thousand-watt AM still does local news seven
days a week, and even won a Murrow award a few years back.  We had a
nice chat with the owner and spent several hours listening to the 70s
AC they program.  WSRD (104.9 Johnstown) hasn't moved yet...but it's
all-satellite, all the time, except for relays of the news from
Albany's WTEN (Channel 10).  WIZR (930) is satellite, too, except for
morning drive.  And down in Cobleskill, Bob Heckler (late of KABC/KMPC
in Los Angeles) is doing local talk mornings and afternoons on his
WXBH (1190), which he's claiming gets into Albany.  

Home base for the rest of the weekend was Pittsfield, where WBEC-FM
(105.5, with a new Great Barrington translator on 94.1) was about the
only local choice most of the time.  WBEC (1420) was a technical
nightmare, with nary a legal ID heard Saturday and Sunday, and much of
the time filled with "we are experiencing satellite problems, please
stand by" messages.  WUHN (1110) was mostly satellite as well, and
sign-ons and sign-offs consisted of turning the satellite feed on and
off without benefit of announcement.  WBRK (1340) had local standards
Friday afternoon; WBRK-FM (101.7) and WUPE (95.9) spent the weekend
attached to the bird.  WSBS (860 Great Barrington) was local and fun
to listen to while within range, and WTBR (89.7 Pittsfield) was on
with a polka show Friday night (!)

Heading into Connecticut for the NERW lunch on Saturday, we had a nice
stop at the railroad-station studios of WQQQ (103.3 Lakeville), where
we met station manager/morning guy Marshall Miles and had a nice chat
(we also saw the transmitter across the state line in Millerston, NY).

The NERW lunch in Torrington drew an even dozen of us, from as far
afield as Boston, Marlborough, and Albany, and a great time (including
a stop at WSNG) was had by all.  We're now thinking about a NERW
convention next summer...

Sunday found us headed into Vermont, with a drive through Rutland
allowing us a few minutes to listen to Radio Free Vermont on 96.5,
which actually sounded pretty darned good for the short time its
signal was strong (mostly heading east towards the town line on US
4).  FMedia! reports RFV had a visit from the FCC a few weeks ago,
which ended with the FCC's Victor Taliaferro being asked to leave the
property (hmmm...didn't Monty tell us that if the FCC came to call,
he'd invite them in for coffee?)  We also enjoyed the CHR from WZRT
(97.1), and spent a lot of time listening to our usual favorite,
Killington's WEBK (105.3), which was heard calling itself "the
closest you can get to pirate radio without all those pesky FCC
violations!"  We also drove up to Montpelier and saw the cute WSKI
tower at US 2 and 302, and the "Point" (WNCS/WRJT/WSHX) studios on
River Street.

The road home took us through Saratoga Springs to hear the end of the
Jockey on 101.3...and wonder where WKAJ (900) is burying its legal...

*That's it for this week; see you next Friday!

- -=Scott Fybush - NorthEast Radio Watch - (c) 1998=-

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