Re: WQEW/ maybe WEVD ? (was Re: Popular Standards in NYC)

[Sven Weil <sven@gord.isdn.lightning.net>]

Jibguy@aol.com said:
> 
> In a message dated 98-12-04 14:42:47 EST, radiojunkie1@yahoo.com writes:
> 
> > I know WEVD is mainly brokered, but, if Jonathan Schwartz
> >would maybe get enough people to invest $$$$$ to buy the time (or
> >maybe just evenings and overnights), it could probably work. 
> 
> Have him buy it AND BRING BACK THE GREAT   WHN-1050.  (WMGM would do too).
> ---jibguy
> 

Now...I know all of us (or maybe a good majority of us) are saddened
by the loss of WQEW. But unfortunately Bob, I don't think we'll ever
see this wish of having Schwartz buy time on  WEVD and flipping 
it over to pop music ever come to fruition. 

WEVD overnights were leased out by Danny Stiles (another New York City
disk jockey who does a Saturday night  music show on WNYC Radio 820 --
they pay HIM for it I guess.) Stiles' rental was terminated four or  by
WEVD management who decided to use that slot to carry Jim Bohannon's
(then) Mutual Broadcasting System radio show. The reason for this, they 
explained was because the station is deciding to VERY slowly  strengthen
its position as an alternative  news/talk station.

 They have had (for years) Bill Mazer in the mornings, hired Jay Diamond
(formerly of Talk-Radio 77/WABC) to do drive-time 4p.m. to 6:30 (hopefully
they will expand his show to more hours), are now carrying Westwood One's
"Bruce Williams Show" 9-11 p.m. and recently hired Alan Colmes to do late
nights 11 to 2 a.m. (bumping Bohannon to 2a.m. to 5 a.m. when Mazer takes
over.)

The only hours that are now being leased out are wrapped around these
anchor shows and around Larry King's show on Saturday nights (and repeats
of Bohannon and Williams late weekend overnights). 

The reason why WEVD is undergoing this ultra-slow transformaton is because
it is the cash cow of its parent the Forward Organization, publishers of
the Jewish Forward, a weekly New York Yiddish/English newspaper.
WEVD is what brings in the money to keep this centenarian newspaper going.

Now I realize you folks in the Boston area will miss the music on 1560,
but fortuantely you still have WXKS 1430/Everett and WJDA 1300/Quincy.
Folks in Albany/Schenectady/Troy still have WABY-AM/FM. 

The area between NYC and the capital region is dotted with similarly
formatted statons; so is Connecticut, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Maine
(WZOU 1470/Lewiston, WDEA 1370/Ellsworth, WABI 910/Bangor, WRUM 790 in
Rumford, WLAM 870/Gorham and WRKD 1450/Rockland), New Hampshire and
Vermont.

Aside from the slim possibility of possibly buying (or LMA-ing one of
Arthur Liu's Multicultural B'casting stable of stations: WPAT-AM 930,
WKDM-1380, WZRC-AM 1480) or buying WMCA-570 or WWDJ-970 from Salem
Broadcasting (the latter not as likley as the former) or reclaiming
WBBR-1130 from Mike Bloomberg (nice pipe dream) there are no AM stations
in New York that would flip over to a nostalgia format. 

Liu (who second to Karmazin) is probably the most money-hungry of the
group owners (at least the others originate programming and hire talent
instead of merely charging usurious rates by the hour/half or quarter
hour) would probably be the most likely open to a deal with Schwartz and
his cadre. 

Sure, Liu's stable of New York City stations are only regional 5,000
watters; but they all put out very strong and clear signals within the
five boroughs of  New York City itself and its borders. Right now, that is
the most important matter at hand -- keeping this music on the airwaves IN
the 5 boroughs of New York. The rest will work itself out later.

- -- 
Sven Franklyn Weil            "The needs of the many outweigh 
<sven@lily.org>                          the needs of the few
<http://www.lily.org/~sven>                      or the one." 
                                                     -- Surak

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