NorthEast Radio Watch 10/8: The Big Get Bigger -- Again

[Scott D Fybush <fybush@world.std.com>]

*No question about where we start this first NERW from our new, more
spacious location -- the Clear Channel/AMFM merger announced this week
creates yet another "largest group in radio" and points the way to a
divestiture that will itself be one of the largest group sales in
broadcast history.

We've watched over the last few years as Clear Channel entered the
Northeast, starting in New Haven, adding Radio Equity Partners'
Springfield and Providence operations, buying TV in Albany and
Providence, bursting into Albany and Utica with the purchase of Dame
Media, then Rochester with the purchase of Jacor and Syracuse through
a station swap with Cox.  Meantime, AMFM slowly assembled itself
through various Hicks, Muse-controlled entities, including Chancellor
(which built groups in Boston through the purchase of Evergreen and in
New York City through a series of acquisitions), Capstar (which first
entered the region by buying Commodore Media in the New York suburbs,
then swallowed Knight Quality Group, yielding stations from Burlington
to Worcester, followed by SFX's Providence, Springfield, Hartford, New
Haven, Long Island and Albany stations), and several TV groups.  

Now the two are coming together in a $56 billion merger (which might
have been a big story in the business press if it hadn't been
overshadowed by the even bigger MCI WorldCom-Sprint conglomeration),
which will create an 830 station group and spin off nearly a hundred
more.  

Here's how NERW-land will be affected, market by market:

BOSTON: Only three stations here, all coming from Chancellor - WXKS
AM-FM and WJMN.  It's worth noting that the two biggest markets where
the new group is weakest are Boston and Seattle, which are also the
largest markets where Entercom operates.  Could a swap of some sort
someday bring stations like WRKO and WEEI, the big 50kw signals Clear
Channel loves, into Lowry Mays' fold?  We'll see...

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Another new Clear Channel territory, as the old Knight
stations pick up their third owner in as many years.  In Manchester,
that would be WGIR AM-FM, and on the seacoast WGIN/WGIP, WMYF, WUBB,
WQSO, WHEB, and WERZ.  

BURLINGTON: More former Knight territory, by way of Clear Channel,
which added WXPS, WCPV, and WEAV to Knight's WEZF in recent
years. (Hicks, Muse was in this market by way of Sunrise Television
and WPTZ Plattsburgh until a trade last year gave that station and
WNNE White River Junction to Hearst-Argyle).

PROVIDENCE: One of the markets where divestiture is likely, as AMFM's
WHJJ, WHJY, and WSNE meet up with Clear Channel's WWBB, WWRX, WPRI-TV,
and LMA for WNAC-TV.  

SPRINGFIELD: Clear Channel's group of WHYN AM-FM and WNNZ joins AMFM's
WPKX and, up in Northampton, WHMP AM-FM, creating the first big
cluster in this market.

WORCESTER: WTAG and WSRS came from the Knight group through Capstar to
Chancellor to AMFM to the new group...all in just three years.

HARTFORD: AMFM brings to the table the old SFX cluster of WPOP, WWYZ,
WKSS, WMRQ, and WHCN, with nothing from Clear Channel to add.

NEW HAVEN: Here's where Clear Channel fits in to the Connecticut
picture, bringing WELI, WAVZ, and WKCI -- and then there's WTNH-TV,
owned by Hicks, Muse-controlled LIN Television. (With only 10% of the
new Clear Channel's stock, though, Hicks, Muse shouldn't have any
conflict here).

LONG ISLAND: Chancellor/Capstar had to spin the SFX group (WBLI, WBAB,
WHFM, WGBB), but kept WALK AM-FM, last year.

NEW YORK: Clear Channel enters the big time here, as it picks up the
five-FM group AMFM assembled through its buyouts of Viacom Radio,
Shamrock, et al.  The stations are WHTZ, WKTU, WAXQ, WTJM, and WLTW.

ALBANY: One market where divestiture will absolutely have to take
place.  Clear Channel's group includes WGY, WRVE, and WHRL (from Dame
Media) and WTMM, WQBJ/WQBK, and WXCR from the Arcara family.  AMFM
brings the former SFX stations: WGNA AM-FM, WTRY AM-FM, WPYX, plus
recent addition WABT.  And if four AMs and nine (!) FMs aren't enough,
there's Clear Channel's Fox affiliate, WXXA-TV, as well.  What stays?
We'd put our money on, at the very least, 50kw clear channel WGY and
full B FMs WGNA, WPYX, and WRVE.  After that, perhaps the WTRY
stations and recent format-flips WQBJ/WQBK and WHRL (read on!)...and
as for potential buyers, we'd be unsurprised to see groups like CBS or
Cox try to add to their Northeast coverage.  Also in the hunt might be
the other two group owners in the market, Albany Broadcasting and
Tele-Media.  Could a stray AM end up with Radio Disney?  Mebbe...that
1460 signal, in particular, has been wasted for a long time now.

UTICA: Clear Channel, via Dame, has this market covered with
WRNY/WADR/WUTQ, WRFM, WOUR, and WSKS.

SYRACUSE: More Clear Channel territory, with the former Cox group of
WSYR, WHEN, WYYY, WBBS, and WWHT, plus the pending acquisition of
Auburn's WHCD.

ROCHESTER: The only former Jacor market in the region, now in Clear
Channel hands with WHAM, WHTK, WNVE, WVOR, WKGS and WLCL.  No room to
add, to be sure, but nothing to divest, either.

BUFFALO: The biggest market in the region with no AMFM or Clear
Channel presence (Sinclair - make that Entercom - and Mercury dominate
the radio scene), and just that non-attributable LIN Television asset,
WIVB-TV.

It goes without saying that we'll be following this whole mess as it
makes its way through Justice and the FCC, and, if it's approved, as
all the format and call changes take place.  Stay tuned -- if you can
stand it!

*There's been plenty else happening over the last two weeks while
we've been hauling boxes and painting walls, starting in MAINE, where
Colby College's WMHB returned to the air with special temporary
authority to operate on 89.7 MHz with 110 watts.  Maine Public
Broadcasting says it won't raise any questions about co-channel
interference between WMHB and its WMED, Calais, which is a good 100
miles away anyway.  

*As the last NERW went to press, the radio scene in Concord, NEW
HAMPSHIRE was being upended with the announcement that Bruce
Danziger's Vox Media would pay $3.6 million for RadioWorks' remaining
stations, WJYY (105.5), WRCI (107.7 Hillsboro), and WNHI (93.3
Belmont).  RadioWorks sold WNHQ Peterborough to Steve Mindich last
month. 

Vox already owns WKXL (1450/102.3) in Concord, and the word is that
WKXL-FM and WNHI will share a (country?) music format once
the deal closes.  The news-talk format of WKXL(AM) will be simulcast
on WRCI, replacing the classic rock-and-Imus "I-station" simulcast
that station now shares with WNHI.  WJYY's CHR won't be affected, at
least for now.  All the stations will somehow squeeze into WKXL's
Redington Road facility.

(And keep in mind that the only other major Concord station was also
sold this year, as WNNH Henniker changes hands from Clark Smidt to
Tele-Media...)

Congratulations to New Hampshire Public Radio talk host Laura Knoy;
the former NPR reporter became a mother this week, and we hear both
mother and child are doing just fine.

*VERMONT is gaining another public radio transmitter, but losing the
only local commercial service to Bennington in the process.  Vermont
Public Radio is buying WBTN (1370/94.3) from Belva Keyworth, who put
the stations on the air in 1953 and 1978, respectively.  VPR
programming has already taken over the FM signal, but regular
programming will continue on the AM side until VPR figures out what to
do with it.  VPR officials say they'd pursued a noncommercial
allocation in the area for years, but finally decided buying a
commercial station was the only way to reach most of Bennington
County.  With WBTN-FM and the recent addition of WVPA (88.5
St. Johnsbury), VPR now reaches just about all of Vermont and big
chunks of Quebec, New Hampshire, New York (including parts of Albany)
and Massachusetts.

*We'll start our MASSACHUSETTS report this week out west, where Clear
Channel's "Mix" prefab format ("voted least offensive by 25-54 females
from Anaheim to Sandusky!") has eaten yet another market.  This week's
lucky station is WHYN-FM (93.1 Springfield), which picks up the logo,
hot AC-mixed-with-gold AC format, million-dollar contests, and all the
rest.  "Mix 93.1" also has a new Web site, <http://www.whyn.com>, with
the sister AM station now residing at its own site,
<http://www.whynam560.com>.  Who's next in the chain -- WRFM Utica?
WRVE Schenectady?  WYYY Syracuse?

Boston listeners have been enjoying the rarely-heard "all-dead-air"
format on WCAV (97.7 Brockton), which is apparently making a very slow
transition from KJI Broadcasting's country format to Radio One and
urban.  WCAV staple "Ed the Detective" stays with KJI, moving his
country oldies show to WBET (1460 Brockton) on Saturdays from 2-4.

That loud squeal you're hearing from Worcester is the air brakes on
"The Bus" as it's parked for good.  WORC-FM (98.9 Spencer) dumps the
classic rock for "Greatest Hits of the 70s, 80s, and 60s," with former
WEGQ PD at the helm (and handling afternoons) and Jay Bailey coming
across the hall from WXLO to do mornings.  Speaking of mornings,
Mancow Muller is now being heard in Worcester via WORC (1310) and WGFP
(940 Webster).  He's big in the Midwest; will he work on two little AM
stations in New England?  One last beit of late Worcester news: we
hear Paul Tuthill is leaving his post as WTAG (580)'s news director
after 17 years.

So, let's say you're the established talk station in a major market,
with almost two decades in the format.  And let's say you're suddenly
facing competition from a new FM talker.  How do you respond?  Well,
if you're WRKO (680), you shuffle your already-confused local talk
lineup *again*!  Facing off against Don Imus on WTKK (96.9) (those
calls became official for the former WSJZ this week, by the way), WRKO
now offers the morning team of Andy Moes (ex-WROR, WEEI, etc) and
Peter Blute (ex-state government and an incident with a scantily-clad
young woman, a boat, and Boston Harbor).  Blute and Moes replace the
ill-fated morning team of Jeff Katz (now benched with 15 months left
on his WRKO contract) and Darlene McCarthy, who's rumored to be
heading to nights on 'RKO in a revived "Two Chicks Dishing" show with
ex-Chick Lori Kramer.  Down the hall at 116 Huntington, WQSX (93.7
Lawrence) names night guy Danny Meyers music director.

Over at Greater Media, WROR (105.7 Framingham) PD Harry Nelson is
edging his way out of the building, en route to a new career
consulting.  Former WWBB/WWRX Providence GM Matt Chase is now running
the sales department at 'ROR, which adds "Rockin'" to its "Hits of the
60s and 70s" nickname.

It's not easy to rack up a 56-year career in radio, but that's just
what Gus Saunders managed to do.  At WMEX, the Yankee Network, and for
the last 22 years at Carter Broadcasting's WROL, Saunders became one
of New England's longest-running radio personalities -- but Friday,
October 1, marked his last "Yankee Kitchen" show on WROL and a New
England network.  Congratulations to one of the few radio guys who
managed to go out his way, in style...

And we leave the Bay State with a belated obituary for Ruth Clenott,
who died Sept. 14.  Clenott was Dave Maynard's producer at WBZ (1030)
and WBZ-TV (4) for decades, starting with "Community Auditions" in the
fifties, and continuing in recent years with the annual WBZ
Farmstand.  

*A familiar voice is back on the morning airwaves in RHODE ISLAND, as
Carolyn Fox takes over wakeup duties on classic rock WWRX (103.7
Westerly).  The veteran of WHJY and WPRO displaces Don Imus -- but
don't weep for the I-Man; he ends up on sister station WWBB (101.1),
in turn displacing Daria Bruno and Rockin' Joe Herbert, who are
looking for a new gig elsewhere.  Fox is no stranger to her new bosses
at WWRX, since she worked for PD Bill Weston and GM Jim Corwin at WHJY
not that long ago.  (And in the funhouse world of late '90s radio,
it's no surprise to note that WWRX/WWBB and WHJY are about to become
sister stations anyway!)

*A format change seems to be taking place at WKZE (1020) in Sharon,
CONNECTICUT, according to Albany bureau chief Gavin Burt.  He says
he's heard the station running 70s and 80s AC in place of the country
format it's had for years; we'll keep you posted.

Some belated notes from Connecticut Public Radio: Storrs translator
W258AC (99.5) signed on July 8, with some help from tower-mate WHUS
(91.7) at UConn.  A month later (Aug. 7), CPR turned on WRLI (91.3
Southampton NY) on the East End of Long Island, this time with help
from WPBX (88.3) in Southampton.

*We begin the news from NEW YORK with a possible public broadcasting
alliance in Syracuse and Binghamton.  Depending on who you talk to,
WCNY and WSKG have either agreed to merge operations next year, or
have at least agreed to seriously discuss a merger.  The impetus for
the talks is the cost of digital TV conversion, which WCNY estimates
at $8 million and WSKG at $6 million (which, frankly, seems low to
us).  By merging operations, WCNY-TV and WSKG-TV would be able to
share a common program schedule and a common DTV control room.  A
merger could also streamline operations at WCNY's "Classic FM" (WCNY
91.3 Syracuse, WUNY 89.5 Utica, WJNY 90.9 Watertown) and WSKG's radio
network (WSKG 89.3 Binghamton, WSQG 90.9 Ithaca, WSQE 91.1 Corning,
WSQC 91.7 Oneonta, yet-to-be-built WSQA 88.7 Hornell, translators, and
jazz/talk WSQX 91.5 Binghamton).  More on this as it develops.

Clear Channel is doing the format shuffle in Albany, as modern rock
migrates from "The Edge" (WQBK 103.9 Rensselaer/WQBJ 103.5 Cobleskill)
down the dial to the former home of smooth jazz, WHRL (103.1 Albany).
That station flipped to "Channel 103.1, the new music alternative"
just before midnight October 1, filling the void created a week
earlier when the Edge stations switched to active rock as "Rock Radio,
103.5/103.9 the Edge."  (NERW detects shades of the Rochester format
change in January that moved then-Jacor-owned WNVE from modern to
active rock).  WQBJ/QBK PD Rod Ryan adds WHRL to his portfolio, with
Edge middayer Jason Keller moving over to mornings at WHRL.  

William Walker is selling his newest station, WWHW (102.1
Jeffersonville).  The little station-without-a-format goes to DeWit
Broadcasting, which has been buying big just across the state line in
Honesdale and Hawley, Pennsylvania (it owns the entire market, which
consists of Honesdale's WDNH and WWCC and Hawley's WYCY).  

The radio-news wars are heating up in Rochester, albeit in a very 90s
way, as WYSL (1040 Avon) dumps its CNN Headline News simulcast to
pick up AP All News Radio -- and a whole bunch of liners proclaiming
it to be "Rochester's only all-news station."  We suppose that doesn't
sit too well at Clear Channel's big gun, WHAM (1180), which can at
least tout one street reporter to WYSL's, um, zero.  (Local news on
WYSL, for the most part, comes from simulcasts and headlines from
WOKR(TV)'s newsroom).  

There's a nomenclature fight brewing between Rochester's oldies
stations, as Entercom's WBBF (98.9) has been heard calling itself
"Cool 99," which must come as a surprise to Clear Channel's rhythmic
oldies WLCL (107.3 S. Bristol), aka "Cool 107.3."  'BBF is also doing
some jock swapping, moving Ellis B. Feaster to afternoons and Mike
Vickers to mornings.  (We've been enjoying listening to the
live-and-local Feaster twitting WLCL's voicetracked automation...)

On the TV dial, we hear WBGT-LP (Channel 40) will soon add its
long-awaited second transmitter in the Rochester area.  Channel 26
from Baker Hill in Perinton will bring "Big TV" and its UPN
programming to the east side of town by mid-October  (Just in time, if
we're real lucky, to tune in the last episode of "Shasta McNasty.")

Buffalo's WIVB-TV (Channel 4) is in the midst of a union battle, as
owner LIN Broadcasting locks out 31 union engineers.  Non-union
replacements have been brought in at 2077 Elmwood for the time being.
It was just last year that a lengthy union spat at WGRZ (Channel 2)
ended with the decertification of that Gannett station's union.

On the LPTV front, TCT and TBN religious programming return to the
antennas of Buffalo viewers with the arrival of W15BH, which relays
WNYB (Channel 26) from Jamestown.  WNYB's programming used to be on
Buffalo's Channel 49, before a swap two years ago flipped 49 to the WB
and WNYO-TV.  WNYB is also seen in Rochester via W59BV.

If you want to visit a brighter era of Buffalo broadcast history, stop
by the new Buffalo Broadcast Pioneers site, <http://bbf.buffnet.net>.
Sounds, pictures, even the story of a UHF station we never knew
existed (are you listening, Clarke Ingram?) -- it's all there and
worth a visit.  Also of note is a comprehensive site on radio history
north of the border.  We stumbled on the Canadian Communications
Foundation <http://www.rcc.ryerson.ca/ccf/index2.html> site by
accident, only to spend an hour or so caught up in the tales of
long-gone Canadian stations.  

Just over the state line in Erie, Pennsylvania (a market nobody seems
to cover much; perhaps we'll add that to our regular NERW coverage),
WFLP (1330) changes calls to WFNN.  We're guessing the sports station
is now calling itself "The Fan," and we'll find out for sure when we
head that way again in a few weeks.

Does a town of 684 people need an FM allocation?  RJ Broadcasting says
Canaseraga does, and the FCC seems to agree.  RJ challenged the
proposal to allot 97.1A to Wellsville, and the result was that both
communities will end up with pointless new allocations.  The 97.1 goes
to Canaseraga (near Dansville and Hornell, some 60 miles south of
Rochester), while Wellsville (already home to an AM/FM combo) gets
93.5A instead.  Those with long memories will recall that Wellsville's
WJQZ used to be on 93.5 before moving to 103.5.  (The FCC notes in its
ruling that Canaseraga -- which, you'll recall, has *fewer than 700
people* -- is already served by at least 15 radio signals, whilst
Wellsville gets at least 20.)  

We'd use this as yet another rallying call against the inanity of the
current COL rules, if it weren't for an even better case.  We give you
a ruling
<http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Mass_Media/Orders/1999/fcc99226.txt>
involving WPLY (100.3) in Media, Pennsylvania, a suburb (at least in
the world you and I inhabit) of Philadelphia.  "Y100" is short-spaced
to co-channel WHTZ in the New York market, and is thus hampered by a
tower site 15 miles west of Philadelphia.  To rectify the situation,
WPLY asked the FCC for permission to move to the Roxborough tower farm
shared by most of Philly's FMs, stating that any short-spacing to WHTZ
would be countered by a reduction of interference to other stations in
the area (WQIC 100.1 Lebanon, WBIG 100.3 Washington DC, etc), not to
mention the additional service WPLY could provide to people driving
near Roxborough, whose car radios overload from the strong signals
there and thus cannot hear WPLY.

But COL rules being what they are, the FCC had little choice but to
deny the application.  Why?  Seems the interference doesn't actually
affect anyone *in* Media -- and after all, WPLY is a Media station,
not a Philadelphia station.  WPLY countered, logically enough, by
pointing out that if it were really meant to serve only Media, why
would it have a class B allocation instead of an A?  But logic and
reality are, as we know, no match for the power of an obsolete
allocations scheme and an entrenched bureaucracy, so for the time
being, commuters on the Schuylkill Expressway are safe from the sounds
of Media's own Y100 as they head to work.  

*And with that, we breathe a deep sigh of relief as we head across the
border to a broadcasting environment that can make things happen, and
fast.  That would be CANADA, of course, where no sooner was Bea-Ver
Communications granted the 94.3 allocation in Chatham, Ontario, than
calls and a format were ready to roll.  CKUE-FM will be the calls, and
"The Rock @ 94.3" will be the name of the 50,000 watt modern rocker,
which is set to debut next month.  It's a nice clear frequency, and
CKUE should be heard well on both sides of Lake Erie (except,
perhaps, around Toledo and 94.5 WXKR Port Clinton).  

If the US can overbuild a radio market, so can Canada, it seems -- at
least, if Hamilton is any guide.  The CRTC will hold hearings December
6 on three applications for a new station at 94.7.  Douglas Kirk and
Rae Roe's proposal for a smooth jazz station will battle proposals
from Newcap and from Affinity, which already owns much of the market.
(Hey, Canada, isn't that just a *bit* close to Buffalo's grandfathered
super-power WNED-FM at 94.5?)

After 40 years in Toronto radio, Don Daynard is calling it quits.
December 10 will be the last morning for CHFI (98.1)'s top-rated
jock.  No word yet on a replacement...

Up in Ottawa, Rogers has completed its takeover of CHEZ (106.1),
complete with a change of morning show.  Jim Hurcomb, John Rogers, and
Dave Brown are out, replaced by Don Halen, Connie Bernardi, and
Randall Moore from crosstown CKQB (106.9 The Bear).  Danny Kingsbury
comes from stints at CFNY and Q107 in Toronto to become CHEZ PD, while
former PD Steve Colwell moves to sister station CFMO (101.1 Smiths
Falls).  The Smiths Falls AM station, CJET (630), will reportedly try
to move to FM sometime next year (there's an open 92.3A allocation
there).

Also making changes in Ottawa are the CHUM Group stations
(CFRA/CKKL), which add the former Rawlco pair of CFGO and CJMJ.
Rawlco GM Diane Wilson exits to head up the Ottawa Senators Charity
Fund, while all the sports programming from CFRA (580) heads up the
dial to "OSR 1200" (CFGO).  CFRA becomes all news and talk as a
result.  CFGO and CJMJ leave their Carling Road studios for CFRA's
Walkley Road digs, at least for now -- but all four stations will
consolidate with CHRO-TV in Ottawa's Byward Market early next year.

Over in Montreal, there's some question about where the Expos will
land next year.  The team's English broadcasts had been heard on CIQC
(600), but with that station's upcoming move to 940 and an all-news
format, management wasn't interested.  CJAD (800) looks to be the
leading contender for next season's Expos action in English, with CKAC
(730) remaining the French flagship.

And there could soon be a new FM station in Saint John, New
Brunswick.  The CRTC has received one application and is calling for
more; a check of the database shows an open commercial allocation at
88.9C, along with unused allocations for the CBC at 88.1 and for an
educational outlet at 90.1.  

*We close this week with one more Web site recommendation.  A memorial
service for Bill Pfeiffer was held in Minnesota September 16, but with
AIRWAVES/rec.radio.broadcasting readers scattered across the globe, it
was impossible for most to attend in person.  Bill's friends have
created a memorial site at <http://www.airwaves.com> that includes a
RealAudio recording of the service and a tribute from Pfeiffer's
fiancee, as well as information about how to make a donation to defray
the costs of Bill's funeral, which were not covered by his estate or
by insurance.  Stop by and pay your respects to the man who brought
together so many radio people on Usenet and the Web for the first
time, and who died far too young with much left undone.

*That's it for this week; we'll be back next Friday with more tales of
Northeast radio, and we hope you'll be there as well.  See you then!

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

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