NorthEast Radio Watch 11/13: So Long, WWJY

[fybush@world.std.com (Scott D Fybush)]

*It's been silent for more than a year, and now AM 1510 in New London,
CONNECTICUT is history.  The station known for most of its history as
WNLC sent its satellite standards format over to the FM side (WNLC-FM
98.7, formerly WXZR, East Lyme) last year and shut down, supposedly to
repair serious problems with the eight-tower array in Waterford.

WNLC(AM) changed calls to WWJY earlier this year, and in April,
notified the FCC it was surrendering its nighttime authority and
removing five of the eight towers, leaving it as a 10 kilowatt,
3-tower daytimer...if it ever returned to the air.

Now it appears to be gone, which leaves some potential for a certain
other station on 1510, WNRB Boston.  The presence of WNLC in New
London always forced WNRB to have a huge null to the southwest.  With
WNLC's departure (and the disappearance of CKRS Sherbrooke QC some
years back as well), WNRB just might be able to become a much more
potent night signal than its current highly-directional 50 kilowatts
can manage.

There's only one other bit of Nutmeg State news this time out: W11BJ
in Hartford is back, once again rebroadcasting WRDM-LP (Channel 13)
and Telemundo.

*Thought the FCC had completely forgotten about shortwave pirates?  An
unlicensed operator on 6955 kHz found out that wasn't quite the case,
when the FCC visited him in Tewksbury, MASSACHUSETTS.  The shutdown
was part of a nationwide enforcement action, with SW pirates also
getting busted in Illinois, Texas, and California.

Some big changes are on the way to the 1060 frequency in MetroWest.
Last week, we reported the FCC had granted Alexander Langer a power
boost to 40 kilowatts daytime for the station now known as WJLT.  Now
we hear that when 1060 powers up, it won't be with WJLT's calls or
leased-time religious format.  They'll move up the dial, we're told,
to "another Langer station that will become a daytimer from a new
location"...which sounds an awful lot like WSRO (1470 Marlborough).
As for 1060, get ready for local talk (hmm...could that include Upton
Bell, who just started a talk show on two Langer stations) and the
resurrection of an historic Boston callsign.  NERW thinks WGTR would
be awfully appropriate...

Talker WRKO (680 Boston) has nabbed former mayor Ray Flynn for a
Saturday talk show.  Flynn's radio career begins November 21, and
he'll hold down a 10 AM - 1 PM spot formerly occupied by Andy Moes.
Down the hall, hot AC WBMX (98.5) is getting ready to issue a CD.
"This is Mix Music, Class of 98-5" hits local stores November 27.
It'll include in-studio performances from Mix favorites like Barenaked
Ladies, and a portion of the $12.50 price will support breast cancer
research.  

Mo Vaughn's departure from the Red Sox prompted extended programming
on several Boston stations this week.  WBZ-TV (Channel 4) was first on
with the story, and extended its 11 PM news to accomodate a live
interview with the slugger.  Over at WEEI (850), Ted Sarandis stayed
on an extra hour, until 1 AM, to take calls on the topic, and WBZ
(1030)'s Steve Leveille devoted the last hour of his show to Mo as
well.

"Group W" ceased to exist as a separate company when Westinghouse
bought CBS, and now it's vanishing into history completely.  As part
of CBS's spinoff of its radio assets, the name on WBZ's license will
change from "Group W Broadcasting" to "Infinity Broadcasting."
Similar changes will affect CBS stations currently operating under
names like "CBS Corp.," "Hemisphere Broadcasting" (WBCN), "ARS," "EZ,"
and even "Infinity Broadcasting of Boston," the name on WZLX's license
ever since Mel Karmazin's *original* Infinity was absorbed by CBS a
few years back.

It's not even on the air, but it's live to the world on the Web:
Bentley College's carrier-current station in Waltham, WBTY (530), has
started webcasting.  Look for them at www.wbty.com if you're curious.
NERW vividly remembers a time a few years back when "something" went
wrong with the carrier-current system and most of Waltham could hear
that signal for a few weeks...

TV news: W67BA Dennis has applied to move to channel 33.  This station
is co-owned with WZBU (Channel 58) Vineyard Haven, and simulcasts
Boston University's WABU-TV (Channel 68) in Boston.

Finally, a correction on the anniversary celebration for WMUA (91.1
Amherst); it'll be April 3, not June 3, 1999.

*Happy anniversary to Portland's WBLM (102.9).  The rocker signed on a
quarter-century ago as 107.5, licensed to Lewiston and operating from
a trailer in Litchfield.  Now it's a 100-kilowatt monster, and last
Thursday celebrated with a black-tie party in downtown Portland.  NERW
notes with pleasure that WBLM still has the same owners it did at the
start -- Bob Fuller and J.J. Jeffrey.

*A few tidbits from VERMONT take care of the rest of New England this
week:  

Rutland's WSYB (1380) and sister station WMNM (92.1 Port Henry NY;
expect new calls there soon) also ran the original 1938 "War of the
Worlds" on its 60th anniversary October 30.  

And if we'd been paying better attention to our history, we'd have
noticed that the WNBX calls that just returned to Springfield, Vermont
on AM 1480 (ex-WCFR) started out in that very same community in the
1920s -- on the station that later moved to Keene, New Hampshire as
WKNE (1290).  M Street's reporting that WNBX (1480) is now running
religion under an LMA-to-buy with Brian Dodge, simulcasting his WWNH
(1340 Madbury NH), which still has no valid authority to broadcast
according to FCC records.  Very strange...

*The top story from NEW YORK is still developing at press time.  We
hear WNEW (102.7 New York) has fired Scott Muni and Dave Herman.  Both
are longtime station veterans and Muni, in particular, has been
associated with WNEW for decades.  More on this next week...

Moving along to the Albany area, Capstar (er, Chancellor) is starting to make
changes at its newest acquisition, WXLE (104.5 Mechanicville).  Gone
is the "Zone" moniker the station used for the last year or so -- the
station's now "Magic 104.5," leading us to wonder if its AAA-leaning
modern AC format is heading towards a more mainstream brand of AC.  

Across town at WFLY (92.3), we hear morning team Woody Wood and Jim
Chandler may be about to say goodbye to the Capital District, to head
off to WRVF in Nashville.

NERW readers in and around Saratoga Springs are hearing something new
on 89.7 -- could it be Sound of Life's new religious outlet, WSSK?
Also in the vicinity, WNGN-LP (Channel 26) applies for channel 51 --
another LPTV displacement.

Up north, the Educational Media Foundation has received a license to
cover for W206AQ, the Plattsburgh translator of religious KLOV,
Winchester OR, on 89.1.

High winds knocked several North Country FMs off the air earlier this
week.  WGIX (95.3 Gouverneur) and WOTT (100.7 Henderson) were both
silenced for a few hours on Tuesday.

No sooner did it get a "WeB" WB affiliate on local cable, than WWTI
(Channel 50) in Watertown is gearing up to start another station.  The
ABC affiliate has reportedly been talking with Fox about putting an
LPTV Fox station on the air next year...

Tuesday is moving day for Rochester's WCMF (96.5), the first of
Infinity's Flower City stations to move from the current cramped
space in Henrietta to spiffy new digs on the 17th floor of the Marine
Midland Plaza downtown.  Next to go will be WZNE (94.1 Brighton) and
WPXY-FM (97.9, heading for its sixth studio space in 20 years).
WRMM-FM (101.3), which was the first station into 3136 S. Winton Road
a decade ago (as WEZO), will be the last to move as well.  The
stations' new address: 1 Marine Midland Plaza, Rochester NY 14604.
New phone: 716-262-2720.

A few new stops on the Web for area radio folks: WBBF (98.9) morning
guy Ellis B. Feaster has his own site at http://www.ellis.feaster.com,
and he's starting a "Classic WBBF" page there.  He's hoping to hear
from anyone with pictures, surveys, jingles, airchecks, or memories of
Rochester's little top 40 giant.  At long last, Buffalo's public
broadcaster is on-line.  The site at http://www.wned.org has coverage
maps (including one that honestly shows how directional the AM 970
signal is), but the main page doesn't load up very well on our
browser...maybe some HTML lessons are in order?  And one that's
disappeared -- all the fun TV-insider gossip at www.newsblues.com went
away early this morning.  More on this one when we find out...

Another new translator's on the air in Syracuse.  W267AL operates on
101.3 from the WOLF (1490) stick just west of downtown.  Its 12 watts
add additional downtown coverage for modern rocker WKRL (100.9 North
Syracuse), which is also heard on translator W249BC (97.7
Chittenango) and satellite station WKRH (106.5 Minetto) -- and in the
Utica area on WKLL (94.9 Frankfort).

Coming soon: Syracuse Community Radio says December 4 will be the
start of testing for WXXE (90.5 Fenner).  Expect a petition to deny
from WRVO (89.9 Oswego) against SCR's proposed Fenner translator on
89.9.

Anniversary time: With no fanfare, Rochester's WHEC-TV (Channel 10)
turned 45 November 1.  WHEC started as a share-time operation, with
half of channel 10's broadcast day occupied by WVET-TV, also a CBS
affiliate.  The share-time lasted until 1961, when WVET's owners
bought the other station in town, WROC-TV (Channel 5).  WVET radio
became WROC (1280, now WHTK), and WVET-TV was sold to WHEC and merged
into a single channel 10.  WHEC's affiliation changed from CBS to NBC
in August 1989.  Over in Lockport, WLVL (1340) celebrated *its* 50th
anniversary on October 30 with a three-hour special.  WLVL began as
WUSJ, owned by the "Lockport Union-Sun & Journal," and the WUSJ
letters can still be seen above the station door...

And finally, this note from Canada: The CBC is applying for a new
transmitter at Paris.  The 4000-watter on 90.7 would relay CBC Radio 2
programming from CBL-FM (94.1 Toronto) to the area around Kitchener
and Cambridge that has a hard time hearing either CBL-FM or CBBL-FM
(100.5 London).  It'll share a tower with CBLA-FM-1 on 89.1, the new
Radio 1 outlet in the area.

*And that's it for this week...see you next Friday.

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

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End of boston-radio-interest-digest V2 #231
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