NorthEast Radio Watch 3/19: Jocks Go To Court Over Consolidation's Effects

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

*When a radio station dismisses air talent, the talent usually goes
quietly.  Two disc jockeys in Albany, NEW YORK are trying to change
that relationship.

Bob Mason and Bill Sheehan were fired from WXCR (102.3 Ballston Spa)
last year, just a year or so after jumping to the upstart classic
rocker from their longtime home at competitor WPYX (106.5).  On
Monday, they filed a $50 million lawsuit against WXCR's owner, Clear
Channel Communications, alleging everything from fraud to breach of
contract to age discrimination.  

Mason and Sheehan tell Mark McGuire of the Albany Times Union they
were a "valuable commodity" when they made the move to WXCR, but now
they're "damaged goods," and they blame what they call a Clear Channel
"conspiracy" that's kept them off the air for seven months now.

The pair say Clear Channel hired them away from WPYX to remove the
competition they were offering to Howard Stern, heard in Albany on
Clear Channel's WQBK/WQBJ (103.9/103.5).  With that accomplished, they
believe Clear Channel had no further use for them, and they think
they're being blackballed from potential openings at other area
stations.

The unspoken point here is that the massive consolidation of recent
years has created many markets, like Albany, with just three big
owners.  If you're on the air and you've struck out with one owner
(or, like Mason and Sheehan, two), that leaves you looking at a
serious dearth of job options if you want to stay in the market.  

(Incidentally, McGuire's Times Union column is one of the best in the
region these days, and well worth checking out at the Times Union's
redesigned Web site,
<http://www.timesunion.com/news/commentary/mcguiretv.asp>.)

Speaking of media consolidation, one of the more incisive critics of
radio these days is folk singer-songwriter Dar Williams.  NERW reaches
you a few hours later than usual this week because your editor was
listening to her perform here in Rochester, a set that included a song
about the value of good radio, "Are You Out There?"  The song was
inspired by Williams' discovery as a teenager of the decidedly
out-of-the-mainstream WBAI (99.5 New York), and also mentions by name
several of the DJs at WRSI (95.3 Greenfield MA).  (There's a live
recording of the song on one of her EPs that was recorded in the WRSI
studios, as a matter of fact).  

We've been to enough of Williams' shows to know her stage patter about
WBAI by heart, but THIS show also included a mention of the WAMC
Albany top-hour ID; suffice it to say it's nice to know someone else
out there can recite the whole thing, right down to the "W226AC
Rensselaer-Troy" at the end.  And to top it off, Williams also had
nice things to say about another one of our favorite stations, WFUV
(90.7 New York).  Now if we just had a radio station in Rochester that
played Williams' music on a regular basis, the way WFUV and WRSI do...

There's more morning-show shuffling taken place in northern New York,
at the Clancy-Mance cluster in Watertown.  Johnny and Erica Spezzano's
top-rated show is moving from hot AC WTOJ (103.1 Carthage) over to
sister CHR "The Border," WBDR (102.7 Cape Vincent) and WWLF (106.7
Copenhagen), as part of a series of changes at WTOJ that are moving
that station towards a softer AC format.  Joe Brosh moves to WTOJ's
morning drive from afternoons, and Border morning guy Jack Day
completes the circle by moving to WTOJ in afternoon drive.  Across
town at WTNY (790), Mike Gallagher's syndicated talk show debuts in
the 9-noon slot, bumping Laura Schlesinger to the 3-6 PM slot now
being occupied by One-on-One Sports.  And for those still wondering:
Yes, Johnny Spezzano is the brother of Rochester's WPXY morning guy
Scott Spezzano, and a dead ringer on the air, too.

There's a format change at Utica's WRCK (107.3), as the station drops
the semi-simulcast (same songs and jocks, separate liners and spots)
with Syracuse's "TK99" (WTKW Bridgeport/WTKV Oswego) to go a bit
harder-edged with "The Best Classic Rock of the 80s and 70s," in
direct competition with WOUR (96.9).  Also in Utica, WODZ-FM (96.1) is
no longer mentioning WODZ (1450) in its IDs, but the two are still
simulcasting pending the AM's sale.  And W27BJ, a low-power TV
construction permit licensed to Souls Harbor Pentecostal Church, has
been cancelled.

Rochester's CBS affiliate is being sold.  WROC-TV (Channel 8) has had
a lack of stable ownership this last decade, passing from Television
Station Partners to Smith Broadcasting to Sunrise and now to Nexstar
Broadcasting, with Sunrise taking a healthy profit out of the deal.
Could Nexstar bring WROC out of its perennial third-place status?  It
would take a lot of cash and a bit of time...

The FCC has approved the trade of David Wolfe's new WASB-FM (105.5
Brockport) for Russ Kimble's WRSB (1310 Canandaigua), but as of
tonight, Wolfe's religious programming continues to be heard on both
WASB-FM (which is sounding almost listenable now that it's turned off
an apparently defective stereo generator) and WRSB, which Wolfe has
been leasing pending the sale.  Kimble's other station, WCGR (1550
Canandaigua), has been running liners blasting Jacor's Canandaigua FM,
WISY (102.3), for having its studio in Rochester.  Ordinarily, we'd be
on our feet applauding...but there's a certain irony here, in that the
cash that's enabled Kimble to keep community programming on WCGR and
to make the trade for the Batavia FM came from the sale of the 102.3
(ex-WLKA and WMHX-FM) to Jacor last year.  We'll stop screaming at the
radio now...

Plenty of rumors swirling in Buffalo under the melting snow, starting
with the change of calls on Mercury's 1120 from WHTT(AM) to WMNY;
could the business-news format that used to be on Sinclair's WWWS
(1400) be making a return?  And if so, where will all the polkas go?
Meantime, an industry gossip sheet is claiming CBS is on the verge of
flipping WLCE (92.9) from modern AC "Alice" to rhythmic oldies.  We'll
believe it when we drive a few miles west out of the Rochester FM haze
and hear it for ourselves.  Down in Olean, LPTV W25AK becomes
WONS-LP.  In Warsaw, the FCC has approved a power change for WCOU
(88.3), from 7000 watts at 150 meters to 4000 watts at 163 meters from
the same site.  

Heading back downstate, there's nothing but silence where the lone
local voice of Rockland County used to be.  WRKL (910 New City) signed
off at 3 PM on Thursday (March 18), as new owners Polnet decide what
to do with the station.  Rockland County officials are understandably
uneasy about this, since they've relied on WRKL as essentially their
only conduit for emergency information.  We'll be keeping an eye on
this one; WRKL was always one of the best small-market news operations
in the state, and it would be a shame to lose it for good.  Rockland's
only other radio station, noncommercial WNYK (88.7 Nyack), has applied
to move its transmitter slightly to the northeast, moving up from 10
watts at 17 meters to 2 watts at 139 meters, which should improve
coverage considerably.

Woodstock's WDST (100.1) is reportedly on the air from its new
transmitter on Hallihan Hill overlooking Kingston, providing a much
better signal to the south into Poughkeepsie (which used to hear WDST
over 96.9 Arlington in the latter station's WDSP days), and offering a
nice clean transition to the Newburgh translator (W272AV) on 102.3.
NERW hears that the old WDST site further north could end up becoming
the site for Eric Straus' 92.9 Saugerties construction permit
someday.  

New York City pirate "Steal This Radio," which has operated on 88.7 on
the Lower East Side for several years, was ordered off the air by a
Federal court this week.  STR's operators recently won one court
battle, to keep their real names out of their lawsuit against the FCC.
No word on whether the station plans to obey the order to go dark...

Out on Long Island, the Monroe (CT) Board of Education wants to move a
new translator of WMNR (88.1 Monroe CT) from Quogue, where it holds a
CP for 89.1 as W206AU, to Southampton, much further to the east.
While we're out that way, there are two applicants for 88.7 in
Montauk, "Broadcasting for the Challenged" (which has applied for
numerous noncomm FMs around the country lately) and Montgomery NYC
Broadcasting.

Across the border in Canada, the very big news is that the CBC has
settled one of the two union disputes that threatened to silence its
English-language radio and TV networks.  The Canadian Media Guild,
which represents CBC on-air talent, writers, and producers, was set to
strike at noon Friday, but reached a tentative settlement just hours
before.  The union that represents CBC technicians remains on strike,
continuing to disrupt CBC programming.  Elsewhere in Ontario, "Power
88" wants to make its name a reality; CKDX Newmarket has applied to
increase from 500 watts to 11,300 watts, which would cover much more
of the greater Toronto area.  And CFLG/CJSS Cornwall have a new Web
presence, <http://www.variety104.com>, serving both stations.

*On to New England we go, and we'll start in CONNECTICUT, where the
morning radio dial is spinning fast and furious in greater Hartford.
WZMX (93.7) made a lot of noise about a "major announcement" this
week, which turned out to be simply Sebastian moving from 6-10 AM to
5:30-9 AM.  "The Point" is also mixing more rhythmic oldies into its
classic rock format.  WDRC-FM (102.9) welcomes Chris Rivers as its new
morning jock, and WHCN (105.9) brings Eddie Davis up from WYXR (104.5)
in Philadelphia to handle mornings there. 

WWYZ (92.5 Waterbury) is looking for a new PD, as Greg Roche leaves
the station.

Digital TV is getting closer in Hartford, with CPs being granted for
WTIC-DT (Channel 5) and WVIT-DT (Channel 35).  

Plenty of changes this week involving Chancellor Media, beginning with
the company's decision not to follow through on plans to acquire LIN
Television.  LIN's Northeast properties are WTNH (Channel 8) New Haven
and WIVB (Channel 4) Buffalo.  Chancellor did win FCC approval this
week for its merger with Capstar, which brings a whole host of
Northeast stations into the Chancellor group, including the Albany
cluster of WGNA AM-FM/WTRY AM-FM/WPYX/WXLE, the Hartford cluster of
WPOP/WWYZ/WKSS/WMRQ/WHCN, New Haven's WPLR, and Stamford/Norwalk's
WNLK/WSTC/WEFX/WKHL.  (That's just the start of the list; keep
reading!)

Four Capstar stations that aren't going to Chancellor are WRKI/WINE
Brookfield and WAXB/WPUT just across the New York line in Patterson
and Brewster.  They remain in trust awaiting a buyer; a proposed sale
fell through last fall.

And we've just gotten word of the death March 7 of Dave Kiernan, who
worked at WNHC New Haven from 1952-1958, did news on WNHC-TV (now
WTNH, Channel 8) for a few years after that, then spent more than 30
years in public relations before retiring to Florida.  Kiernan came
from a long line of broadcasters; his father was commentator Walter
Kiernan of the old Blue Network, WOR, and RKO, his widow Joan was
doing traffic at WNHC when they met, and his daughter Kathy works for
KNX (1070) in Los Angeles.  Kiernan was 69.

*A RHODE ISLAND radio station received a Notice of Apparent Liability
from the FCC this week for $7,000.  Back Bay Broadcasters' WWKX (106.3
Woonsocket) was the latest victim of the Commission's unwritten and
nearly random indecency enforcement policies, thanks to a broadcast of
the "Real Deal Mike Neal Show" on March 16, 1998, which apparently
failed to bleep out certain indecent words.  

More Capstar-to-Chancellor in the Ocean State: Providence's WHJJ/WHJY,
and WSNE Taunton, just over the Massachusetts line.

*In MASSACHUSETTS, there's finally a signal on 106.3 in Northampton,
almost two decades after the FCC began the application process for
that channel.  After years of competitive hearings among several
applicants, a settlement was reached recently, and now listeners in
the Pioneer Valley have reported hearing signal tests from the new
WEIB.  No word yet on format for this one.

Monday morning's storm was a harrowing experience for WBZ (1030)
reporter Flo Jonic, who rolled a station vehicle down an embankment
while feeding a report to the station early in morning drive.  Jonic
was treated and released with minor neck injuries, and was back on the
air by the end of the morning news to report that the vehicle was
unharmed.  Our best wishes for a speedy recovery...

More developments among the little AMs west of Boston: WBNW (1120
Concord) is reportedly moving its studios to Wells Ave. in Newton.
Paul Parent's gardening show, heard until recently on WRKO Saturday
mornings, is going syndicated from WRPT (650 Ashland, not, as the
Globe had it, "Allston"), with WBOQ (104.9 Gloucester) one of the
first affiliates and WPLM (99.1 Plymouth) taking a Sunday version.  We
also hear that WRPT's "Health and Fitness Today" morning host, Frankie
Boyer, is being asked to move from being a station employee to leasing
time for the show -- and she's none too pleased.  And we're told WKOX
(1200 Framingham) was silent as early as 11:00 one recent weeknight;
has J-Light stopped leasing the overnights there, we wonder?

In Boston itself, WHDH-DT is now testing on Channel 42.  On radio,
there are some changes in the jock lineup at WROR (105.7 Framingham),
with Jimmy Roberts following Loren & Wally in middays, J.J. Wright
settling into the 3-7 PM slot, Dan Justin doing 7-midnight, and the
versatile and underrated Chuck Igo on overnights.  NERW wishes WROR
(and the other Boston stations) would start Webcasting; we'd love to be
able to hear J.J., Chuck, and the others out here!

UMass Boston's WUMB is playing the "expand or get squashed" game that
many public broadcasters are facing.  To avoid encroachment on their
signals from new noncomms, often outlets of national religious chains,
public stations have started applying for new relays on the fringe of
their signal areas.  WBEZ Chicago is a pioneer in the technique, and
now WUMB's trying to play the game by applying for 91.7 in
Newburyport.  NERW thinks that's awfully close to co-channel WPAA in
Andover, not to mention WJUL (91.5 Lowell).

A few quick corrections from last week: Gary James is being replaced
by Ron Roy as the VP/General Manager, not Program Director, at
Springfield's WHYN/WNNZ.  And the Web site for WUNI (Channel 27) is
<http://www.wunitv.com>.

Capstar to Chancellor in the Bay State?  Worcester's WTAG/WSRS,
Northampton's WHMP AM-FM, and WPKX Enfield CT-Springfield.

*In VERMONT, it's yet another departure (the sixth major one in just a
few months) from the Capstar -- er, make that Chancellor now -- group
in Burlington.  Brian Ashton was the PD who put the "Kix" country
format on WXPS (96.7 Willsboro NY), and now he's out the door at Fort
Ethan Allen to concentrate on his personal recording business.  WXPS
actually wasn't included in this week's Capstar-to-Chancellor list,
perhaps because the sale to Capstar itself is so recent, but sister
stations WEZF and WCPV were.

The FCC granted a new translator in Burlington for religious KLOV out
in Oregon; W213AZ will be on 90.5.  

Vermont Public Radio's new 88.5 St. Johnsbury was granted the WBJU
calls, which seem so random that we wonder if they were requested or
just assigned.  

And for everyone who wrote in, yes, we meant to say in last week's
issue that WFAD is in Middlebury.  Oops!

*NEW HAMPSHIRE has plenty of stations joining Chancellor from Capstar
this week: Manchester's WGIR AM-FM, Exeter's WGIP/WERZ, Rochester's
WGIN/WQSO, Portsmouth's WMYF/WAYU/WHEB, and WUBB just across the state
line in York Center, Maine.

*And speaking of MAINE, we now know why 1490 in Portland is changing
calls from WPOR(AM) to WBAE.  The station will soon end its simulcast
of WPOR-FM's country music in favor of satellite adult standards as
"the Bay."  It may not be a huge revenue producer for Saga, but it
will likely shave a bit off the ratings of standards WLAM (870
Gorham/106.7 N. Windham).  Ironically, WLAM's morning man is Bud
Sawyer, who spent decades at WPOR before being let go last year.

As Fuller-Jeffrey's WCLZ (98.9 Brunswick) segues from AAA to an
unusual mixture of AAA and AC (think lots of Eagles tunes!), PD Brian
Phoenix is out, headed down the coast to mornings and the PD chair at
CHR WRED (95.9 Saco).

Maine's first digital TV station will be a public station.  WCBB
(Channel 10) in Augusta applied this week for a CP for WCBB-DT
(Channel 17); we don't envy the job ahead of Maine Public TV as it
tries to cover the Pine Tree State's wide-open spaces and mountain
ranges with DTV signals.

*Finally this week, a call for assistance: Our sister Web sites, the
Boston Radio Archives
<http://www.bostonradio.org/radio/bostonradio.html> and Upstate NY
Radio Archives <http://www.bostonradio.org/radio/nyradio.html>, are
growing again.  We've provided histories for stations in the Boston
and Rochester markets for some time, but now we want to expand by
offering market-by-market thumbnail histories for the other areas we
cover.  To do that, we need expert help...and that's where you, our
readers, come in.  We'll supply the format, you supply the historical
knowledge of your market's stations, and we'll make sure you get the
credit, not to mention the pride of knowing you've contributed to the
Archives.  Drop us a line at <bra@bostonradio.org> if you're
interested in contributing your expertise...and keep an eye on the
Archives for the first few history pages in the next few weeks.  While
you're there, check out the latest addition to the "Articles and
Essays" page, as the always knowledgeable Donna Halper recounts the
long career of "Big Brother" Bob Emery
<http://www.bostonradio.org/radio/big-brother.html>.

*That'll do it for another week at NERW Central.  We'll see you next
Friday!

- -=Scott Fybush - NorthEast Radio Watch - (c) 1999=-

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