NorthEast Radio Watch 6/18: CBL - The Final Countdown

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

*We're back -- sort of!  Actually, by the time you read this, the
NERW-mobile (fresh from a car wash following our trip to New England
last week) will be headed north to hear the last, dying gasps of CBL
on 740 in Toronto.  At this writing, the scheduled sign-off is
midnight, Saturday, June 19, which probably means a loop announcing
the move to 99.1 FM will begin running at midnight Friday night, with
740 being silenced for good 24 hours later.  In any event, when the
loop begins running, the NERW-mobile will be parked on the road
outside the CBL transmitter plant at Hornby, Ontario, and if anyone
wants to join in an impromptu wake, we'll be happy to have you.

Listeners in New England should have no trouble hearing the end of
CBL, thanks to the generosity of Bob Bittner, the owner of WJIB (740)
in Cambridge.  He won't run his usual 5 watts Friday night, instead
signing off at sunset and returning the next morning and allowing
Boston listeners one last shot at hearing Toronto.  Tune in around
8:11 to hear Bob's eulogy to CBL, followed by the sign-off.

What next for 740?  The CRTC has yet to ask for applications for reuse
of the frequency (unlike in Montreal, where applications were being
taken long before 690 and 940 went dark).  It's likely to be a while
before 740 is reactivated; the CRTC has yet to choose winning
applicants for the Montreal channels (despite an erroneous mention in
one hobby publication that seemed to fall prey to the FCC database
listing that claims CKVL will get the nod for 940).

But we'll take a pause from mourning the loss (for listeners on this
side of the lake) of Andy and Anubha, Michael and Avril, Dave
Stephens, Bill Richardson, Joan Melanson, As It Happens, all those
fine weekend shows (what will we listen to on Saturdays without
DNTO?), and the simple pleasure of hearing how badly the 401 is jammed
whilst crusing through the Can of Worms...and get on, sadly, with the
rest of the week's news:

*We were in MASSACHUSETTS just in time to see the end of another,
albeit much briefer, institution, as Boston University's stewardship
of WABU (Channel 68) and its New Hampshire and Cape Cod satellites
came to a close Sunday night (June 13).  Devon Paxson's DP Media is
LMA'ing the stations while it spins off existing Pax outlet WBPX
(Channel 46) in Norwell.  Here's how things are shaking out:

WABU is still carrying much of its previous syndicated programming
while contracts run out, joining the Pax TV network only in middays
and prime time for the moment.  WBPX remains a Pax outlet for now as
well, but up in New Hampshire, WPXB (Channel 60) in Merrimack has
dropped Pax for infomercials now that WNBU (Channel 21) in Concord is
the Pax station in the Granite State.

NERW expects the WBPX calls to move to channel 68 eventually, as well
as an eventual sale of the 1660 Soldiers Field Road studios.

Yet another institution in New England is taking the summer off.
Natalie Jacobson, half of WCVB (Channel 5)'s husband-and-wife star
anchor team, will be on leave until late September so she can spend
the summer with her teenage daughter (who's about to leave for
college) and elderly father.  Jacobson has been doing nights at WCVB
for 17 years, her daughter's entire life.  Heather Kahn is filling
most of Jacobson's shifts until she returns.

Over at Boston's Entercom stations, there's a new interim general
manager.  Tom Baker comes back to Boston from Entercom's Portland,
Oregon cluster to run WRKO (680) and WEEI (850) following the
departure, after 4 years, of GM Brad Murray.  Baker will have a lot to
contend with, including a shaky WRKO schedule, a union dispute that's
apparently forced WRKO's Howie Carr show sidekick "Virgin Boy" off the
microphone and back to his behind-the-scenes producer role, and
sagging WEEI sportsradio ratings.  

Entercom also wants to move the transmitter of its WAAF (107.3
Worcester).  WAAF filed an application last week to leave Mount
Asnebumskit in Paxton and move to a new tower on Stiles Hill in
Boylston.  The new stick would be just north and west of the existing
WUNI (Channel 27) tower, and in fact, we note that WUNI and WUNI-DT
have also applied to move to the new location.  The new WAAF facility
would run 9600 watts at 335 meters AAT with a directional antenna,
which should put a somewhat better signal over Boston than the current
20 kilowatts at 239 meters from the more distant Paxton site.

Our best wishes go out to a tower worker injured this week while
working on the Waltham tower of WRCA (1330).  One of the station's two
towers was being jacked up for repairs to its grounding system when
the jacking system failed and the tower fell -- reportedly right on
the worker's hand.  The tower itself was not damaged, but we
understand the worker was hospitalized and may lose several fingers.

Congratulations to Boston's WBZ (1030), which was nominated for the
"Legendary Station of the Year" Marconi Award it's long coveted, as
well as winning a Murrow award for best writing.  'BZ is also settling
in with its new nighttime talk lineup -- in addition to Steve
LeVeille's new overnight gig (which has been sounding great every
night we've listened), frequent fill-in and weekender Paul Sullivan
has been tapped to do the 10-midnight slot being vacated by David
Brudnoy.  NERW suspects nobody within 'BZ listening range will have
any doubt they're tuned to a NEW ENGLAND station when Sully's on!

We heard the new signal of WCAV (97.7 Brockton), which moved to its
new tower site on the Abington-Brockton line on May 30, and it is
quite an improvement.  WCAV is now solid through most of Boston and
listenable out west in Waltham where it used to get lost in intermod
hash.  The station is still running a mostly-satellite country format
while new owners Radio One prepare to flip it to something urban.

Also noted with its new signal was WWFX (100.1 Southbridge), which is
now the dominant station on the frequency as far east as Natick, where
we used to hear Brandeis University's class D WBRS in Waltham.  We
even heard WWFX poking through the WBRS signal in Boston proper,
although that might have been more an effect of trop (area listeners
were hearing FM north to New Brunswick and south well into
Connecticut) than anything else.

Heading west, we now know the details of Alex Langer's applications
for WSRO (1470 Marlborough) and WRPT (650 Ashland), and they look like
this:

WRPT wants to diplex off the WBPS (890 Dedham) towers on Sewell
Ave. in Ashland, running 2000 watts by day off all five sticks with a
directional pattern straight east into the Boston suburbs.  That's the
easy one.

WSRO, recently displaced from its old three-tower site in Marlborough,
wants to build three towers at the interim site it's using just south
of Route 62 on the west side of Hudson.  The 7 kilowatt day signal
from the 97-foot towers would head mostly northwest towards Fitchburg
and Leominster, with just a minor lobe over the city of license and
almost nothing towards Framingham and Natick, the major communities of
"Metrowest."  The 5 kilowatt night signal throws a lot of power
towards Framingham, a lot more towards Leominster, and has a deep null
towards co-channel WZOU in Maine.  What it's missing is any protection
to first-adjacent WBET in Brockton, co-channel WMMW in Connecticut, or
co-channel WTKO in New York.  Very strange, and something we doubt
we'll see built as designed.

Up in Gardner, "Friends of Radio Maria" are applying for a new station
on 91.1 -- guess they're no friends of WBUR, whose 90.9 signal is (or
at least was) heard adequately in the area.  Speaking of translators
and such, there's one Best Media application we left out -- a 91.7
Marshfield that would wipe out the UMass/Boston 91.9 network in the
space between WUMB Boston and WFPB-FM Falmouth.  (Did we mention we're
working on our comments to the FCC regarding LPFM, including a
proposal to freeze all translator applications pending the outcome of
the LPFM ruling?  Look for the full text on the Archives site once
it's on its way to the Portals next month...)

In the Springfield market, Pat McKay's been promoted at Clear
Channel's WHYN AM-FM/WNNZ.  He moves up from program director to
operations manager of all three stations.

*Heading north to MAINE, there's just one TV item of note: a displacement
grant to Trinity LPTV W34CN Medway, which moves to channel 14.

On the radio side, we hear Saturday will mark the end of WCDQ (92.1)
and the start of WPHX, the Sanford simulcast of WFNX Lynn.  Anyone
able to tape the end of Mount Rialto Radio (and, for that matter, of
WSME 1220), is encouraged to contact us here at NERW.

*In NEW HAMPSHIRE, Clark Smidt's oldies station has applied for a big
move.  WNNH (99.1 Henniker) wants to move off the Pat's Peak ski area
where it currently operates (with 1250 watts and a directional antenna
at 217 meters) to Gould Hill just off route 103 in Contoocook, much
closer in to its target market of Concord.  WNNH's new facility would
have 2800 watts at 146 meters, still with a DA to protect WPLM-FM down
in Plymouth MA.

Up in New London, Bob Vinikoor's WNTK-FM (99.7) has been granted a
power increase from 620 watts to 760 watts, as well as a slight height
decrease, to 206 meters from 217.

*The top radio news from RHODE ISLAND was the Saturday NERW gathering
that brought more than a dozen radio junkies together for lunch and a
visit to the Rhode Island Historical Society's broadcast-history
exhibit.  In between sharing radio stories, we also had a chance to
visit the studios of Brown University's WBRU (95.5) and head south to
see what was happening down in South County, an area we hadn't visited
in a while.  Our first stop was at WBLQ (88.1) in Westerly, a station
which appears to be the 100-watt offspring of the TIS that used to
operate as a community station down that way.  What we heard, once we
got within range of the telephone-pole-mounted antenna, was an
automated format of mostly 70's AC music, with some other oldies
thrown in for good measure.  We also heard "underwriting
announcements" that skirted just safe of the line separating them from
honest-to-Kennard advertising -- and an announcement telling neighbors
what to do if WBLQ was interfering with their radios, complete with a
recording of the automated message they'd hear if they called the
FCC.  And by the time the NERW-mobile had seen the WXNI (1230) antenna
at the water's edge and headed downtown to the WERI-FM studios, the
WBLQ signal was almost gone (although we did catch an unusual top-hour
ID that contained bits of a classic JAM jingle package from the '70s).

Most college radio was off the air for the summer, or at least the
weekend, including usual powerhouse WRIU (90.3) in Kingston.  Also
gone, apparently for good now, was WKFD (1370) in Wickford.  NERW
wonders why this one hasn't been caught yet by the FCC's "silent for a
year" deletion policy.

*In CONNECTICUT, the former Capstar stations in the Danbury market
have a new owner, and it's no surprise -- Frank Washington and Frank
Osborn's Aurora Communications, which bought the former Capstar group
across the New York line in Westchester and the ML Media stations in
Bridgeport earlier this spring.  Now Aurora's paying $11.5 million for
country simulcast WINE (940 Brookfield)/WPUT (1510 Brewster NY),
rocker WRKI (95.1 Brookfield), and oldies WAXB (105.5 Patterson NY).

WBPT (Channel 43) in Bridgeport has officially changed calls to WSAH,
for new owner "Shop at Home."

We heard from WTNH (Channel 8)'s Diane Smith, who wanted to correct a
report in the June 4 NERW that claimed she had been "demoted" from
5:30 anchor to reporter.  Smith was still anchoring WTNH's noon show,
portions of the new 90-minute early-evening show, and hosting the
long-running "Positively Connecticut" feature (and book!).  NERW
regrets the misstatement -- and, considering your editor's day job,
should never have spoken of being "demoted" to reporter in the first
place!

*Three pieces of VERMONT news: The LMA between John Bulmer's WRRO (93.7
Addison) and Dynamite's WWFY (100.9 Middlebury), in which each was
programming the other's station, is ending.  The two owners are
swapping stations, with Bulmer running and owning WWFY, while Dynamite
takes over WRRO.  WWFY is still pursuing a power upgrade and move to
Berlin, in the Montpelier market.

WVNY (Channel 22) in Burlington has set August 9 as the date for
launching a full-fledged news operation.  New owner "Straightline
Communications" will expand the ABC affiliate's news product from 10
minutes daily to full-fledged newscasts at 6 and 11.  We can't wait to
see tape!

And the long-running dispute over the WIZN (106.7 Vergennes) broadcast
tower in Charlotte seems to be over.  A Vermont land-use panel has
given the station permission to keep operating from Pease Mountain, a
year after ruling that WIZN would have to shut down the tower.
Neighbors have been complaining about interference from the tower for
years, as well as raising concerns about health effects of
electromagnetic radiation.  WIZN's Jay Williams tells the Burlington
Free Press "fear and rumors (were) more easily believed than hard
scientific data" among neighbors.

NERW's view: Of all the (thousands) of sites we've visited, the WIZN
site was one of the least intrusive -- in fact, we had trouble finding
a spot anywhere on a public road where we could even *see* the thing
well enough to take a picture for the scrapbook.  And we still have no
idea what the heck WIZN means when it tells neighbors it's "sharply
reduced electromagnetic radiation levels."  Power decrease?  We think
not. 

*And with that, across Lake Champlain we sail to NEW YORK, where we'll
start with a mention that WHLD (1270 Niagara Falls) has been granted
permission to move from Grand Island to diplex off the WNED (970
Buffalo) transmitter site in Hamburg.

New to the air sometime Thursday (6/17) is Pax TV's latest outlet,
WPXJ (Channel 51) in Batavia.  It's putting a watchable, but far from
city-grade, signal into Rochester; we're guessing Buffalo's getting a
lot less.  Both cities are mentioned in WPXJ's hourly ID.

Congratulations to Tristano Korlou, who moves from promotion director
for WPXY in Rochester to take on the same task for CBS sister stations
WTIC AM-FM, WRCH, and WZMX in Hartford.  We'll miss you...send bumper
stickers!

WCID (89.1 Friendship) has been granted an Olean translator at 90.5.
The new Family Life station will have the W213BC calls and may fill
some of the territory Family Life used to reach via WJSL (90.3
Houghton), which has become a relay of WXXI-FM Rochester's classical
format.

WRDS (102.1 Phoenix) has built its new tower next to the old one; we
saw it as we cruised past the I-690 interchange on the Thruway heading
home.  The signal doesn't seem to have changed much, not that we
expected it to, but we were thrown by a segue from very hardcore
hip-hop to 70's R&B oldies.

Up north, the WRCD calls are now official on the 101.5 in Canton that
was WXQZ.  Nearby in Morristown, St. Lawrence University's application
for a new 91.1 has been returned.  

LPTV operator Sonny Persad has been granted the calls W15BS and a move
to channel 15 for his channel 69 station in Union Springs, Cayuga
County.

Binghamton is one of several markets where Citadel has overcome
antitrust concerns to win approval for its purchase of the Wicks
Broadcast Group.  That includes WNBF, WKOP, WHWK, WAAL, and WYOS in
the Tri-Cities area.  No major changes are expected at the cluster.

Also in Binghamton, we note the passing of Ray DiOrio, whose career
included stops at several area stations, including ten years at
Syracuse's WHEN (620) in the '70s and '80s.  DiOrio died of a heart
attack Wednesday (6/16) as he left the hospital where his first wife
had just given birth to a new baby; he was 47.

Just across the state line down that way, DeWit Broadcasting is
building a cluster in the Honesdale area.  It already owns WWCC (1590)
and WDNH (95.3) in Honesdale, and now it's bought the only other
station in Wayne County, WYCY (105.3 Hawley), from Banner
Broadcasting.

While we're out of state, we'll also note the passing of Harold Gade,
who founded WHTG and WHTG-FM with his wife Theo back in the late
1950s.  The Eatontown, New Jersey stations are now owned by Gade's
daughter.  Harold Gade suffered a fall from a window earlier this
month.

Back in New York, there's a new station on the air in the Catskills.
William H. Walker's WWHW (wonder where *those* calls came from?)
is running National Weather Service audio for now.  It's on 102.1 in
Jeffersonville.

Speaking of Walker, his New Paltz Broadcasting is selling WKAJ (900)
in Saratoga Springs to the Anastos Broadcast Group.  The $100,000 sale
will link the adult standards AM to Anastos' soft AC WQAR (101.3
Stillwater), with both stations likely to end up operating from the
"Star 101" studios in Malta.

WRVE (99.5 Schenectady) has a new midday host.  Wendy Gatlin comes
from WGLX in scenic Wisconsin Falls, Wisconsin.

WCTW (98.5 Catskill) spent some time in mono early this week after a
lightning strike at the transmitter site.

And while WNEW (102.7 New York) has yet to make the much-rumored
all-out switch to talk, it's edging ever closer.  "Loveline," from
sister station KROQ in Pasadena, is now being heard twice-nightly on
WNEW -- on tape from the night before, at 11 PM, followed by the live
show from 1-3 AM.  

One more New York note -- the fine folks at the Society of Broadcast
Engineers, Region 22, are holding their annual conference Friday,
September 24, at a new location.  This year's get-together will take
place at the Turning Stone Conference Center in Oneida County.  Find
more information and free registration at their Web site,
<http://www.broadcast.net/~sbe22/convhome99.html> -- and stay tuned to
NERW for a possible announcement of a NERW get-together at the SBE
gathering!

*And that's it for two weeks worth of NERW.  We'll be back to our
usual late-Friday schedule on June 25 with an update on what we saw
and heard at the end of CBL, and much more.  And if you're on our
mailing list (find out more about THAT at www.bostonradio.org), you'll
also soon be receiving our look back at the NERW Canadian
Maritimes/Maine/Quebec/Ottawa trip that began exactly one year ago.

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

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