*Before we leap into a new year's news, a word of thanks to all of you
who responded so energetically to last week's Rant. It's nice indeed
to know that I'm not the only one who still remembers radio. The
question we'll try to begin answering this year is: what can we all do
to save the medium we love?
*On we go into 2000, beginning in CONNECTICUT, where the waning days
of 1999 brought one last format change. Under its new Citadel
ownership, WVVE (102.3 Stonington) dumped oldies, spent a few days
running the Citadel format-change "atomic clock" (last heard at WCLZ
in Maine), then went into an active-rock format as "Rock 102" (no
relation to that other "Rock 102," WAQY Springfield, whose fringes
overlap the WVVE service area). It's the first all-out rocker in the
New London market since the days of WXZR on 98.7 a few years back.
On the other side of the Nutmeg State, WKZE (1020 Sharon) rang in the
New Year with an unusual nighttime broadcast. The 2500-watt daytimer
(1800 watts during critical hours) pushed the boundaries of FCC
regulation by signing back on at 11 PM and remaining on until just
after 1 AM New Year's Day, with its usual music format but no
commercials. Up here in Rochester, the frequency was still dominated
by KDKA, but the WKZE broadcast was heard as far away as Albany and
Stamford, at least.
*Up we head to MASSACHUSETTS, where rumors are once again swirling of
a format change at Greater Media's WBOS (92.9 Brookline), as PD George
Taylor Morris exits the building. Morris tells the papers he was
unable to bring the direction to 'BOS that the station needs. What's
next? We're not going to waste our time speculating -- that's OUR New
Year's resolution, at least when it comes to WBOS.
So long, "News 4 New England," and welcome back, "WBZ 4 News," as
Boston's number-three newsroom tries again to recover the momentum
that disappeared around the time (can it be five years ago already?)
the NBC peacock yielded to the CBS eye. Across town, Brian Leary is
leaving WCVB (Channel 5) to start his own Web business, adding more
uncertainty to an anchor roster already reeling from news of Chet
Curtis' and Natalie Jacobsen's separation. Leary was one of the class
acts in Boston TV; he'll be sorely missed.
Another class act who'll be sorely missed is Al Needham, the voice of
news at Salem's WESX (1230) for what seems like forever. The
65-year-old retired New Year's Eve after 33 years at the station.
Pirate watch: We're hearing there's an 89.3 somewhere around Malden
running Haitian religious programming at fairly high power.
A few updates from the Year in Review: it seems two deals mentioned in
the "sales" column didn't go through. Carter Broadcasting is keeping
its New England network, including WROL (950 Boston), after a proposed
sale to Catholic Family Radio collapsed. And at least for the moment,
the sale of WKOX (1200 Framingham) from Fairbanks to B-Mass still
hasn't closed. We'll keep you posted...
Hey, it's Orgy(TM) season at Harvard! Well, maybe not in the
dorms...but certainly on the radio, where WHRB (95.3 Cambridge)
launched this year's season on Monday. The highlight this year? 207
hours of Bach, nonstop from 5 PM Sunday (1/9) until 10 PM January 18.
The quirky one? The Sports Orgy, 3 1/2 hours Saturday and Sunday of
the very best in Harvard sports broadcasting. And this year, you can
hear it all on the Web at <http://www.whrb.org>.
Coming soon to an island near you: The folks at WGBH are almost ready
to turn on the first half of their new service to Cape Cod, Martha's
Vineyard, and Nantucket. WNAN (91.1 Nantucket) is slated to be on the
air before the end of the month, with WCAI (90.1 Woods Hole) following
as soon as some issues surrounding the Martha's Vineyard transmitter
site can be resolved. The stations are in good hands, with veteran
NPR producer (and head honcho of the very cool "Lost and Found Sound"
project) Jay Allison running the show. Find out more at their new Web
site, <http://www.cainan.org>.
*NEW HAMPSHIRE's newest station debuted Monday morning, as WKXL-FM
(102.3 Concord) dropped its simulcast with WKXL (1450) (and now WRCI
107.7 Hillsboro) to go country as "Outlaw 102." Becky Nichols is
holding down morning drive at the new FM; we assume a call change will
follow sooner or later at both 102.3 and 107.7.
*We're awaiting definite word of a VERMONT sale we're hearing a lot of
buzzing (no pun intended) about: Is Jay Williams about to sell WIZN
(106.7 Vergennes) and the LMA for WBTZ (99.9 Plattsburgh) to Albany
Broadcasting? It would mark Williams' exit from the broadcast scene
in New England (he sold WXLO/WORC-FM Worcester last year) and a nice
expansion for Albany, which added the Rutland market to its roster in
'99.
*Up in MAINE, new call letters arrived with the new year at the new
"98.9 the Point" in Brunswick. The former WCLZ-FM (and ex-WKXA-FM and
WCME-FM, too) is now WTPN.
There's a new name on the license at WJTO (730 Bath), but not to
fear. "Blue Jey Broadcasting" and Bob Bittner are one and the same,
and he promises the change to a corporate name is not any kind of
indication that Lowry or Mel will be taking over any time soon.
*NEW YORK's state capital is still waiting for the sounds of "Legends
1540." WPTR was supposed to have returned to the air Monday morning
at 6, but Albany bureau chief Gavin Burt reports the station dropped
its religious simulcast (as WDCD) sometime Sunday night and went dark,
and has been silent since.
Across town, Rod Ryan has left the PD chair at WQBK/WQBJ and WHRL,
headed for morning drive in the Big Easy. Ryan will take over the
time slot at KKND (106.7 Port Sulphur LA) most recently occupied by
some guy named Howard Stern. No replacement has been named at the
Albany Clear Channel stations.
Up north, WMSA (1340 Massena) has switched from AC to adult standards,
and North Country reporter Mike Roach says the station is now running
24/7 (it used to sign off at 10 PM weekdays, 8 PM on weekends).
There's something about fires, Niagara Falls, and radio stations, or
so it seems. Just a week after WJJL (1440) lost its Main Street
studio in a fire, crosstown WHLD (1270) lost its Harris SX5
transmitter to flame. Fortunately, WHLD had a brand-new Harris DX5
waiting to go on the air at its new transmitter site (diplexed with
WNED 970) down in Hamburg; that unit was moved to the old WHLD site on
Grand Island and placed into emergency service.
*Across the border in CANADA, a format change marked the New Year in
the Ottawa market. Under new owner Rogers, CFMO (101.1 Smiths Falls)
ditched the sleepy soft rock it had been running in favor of rock as
"XFM @ 101," joining with sister station CHEZ (106.1 Ottawa; classic
rock) to form a sort of bookend around standalone competitor CKQB
(106.9 "The Bear"). Rogers pulled the same stunt in Vancouver,
flipping CFSR (104.9) from sleepy AC "Star" to "XFM." (Does this mean
we can go back to Vancouver now?)
In Toronto, morning host Michael Coren has been ousted from CFYI (Talk
640) after three months. No replacement has been named....
But the big news from Canada came from the CRTC, which renewed the
CBC's licenses for another seven years -- but with a host of
requirements that new CBC president Robert Rabinovitch says he can't
meet.
On the English radio side, the CRTC denied the CBC's plea for
sponsorship announcements, while calling on the Corporation to add
several new Radio One transmitters (at Cherryville BC and Gilmour ON)
and work to expand Radio Two service. For French radio, sponsorship
announcements were also denied, while the CRTC said it expected an
increase in distribution of la chaine culturelle (French Radio 2),
which is now available only in Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick. By
the end of the license term, the CRTC wants the service made available
in 50% of each province, including each provincial capital.
(Politically correct, sure -- but how many people in Edmonton or
Victoria will listen?)
The big expense, though, is with English TV. The CRTC expressed great
concern about the direction the service is taking, calling on the CBC
to expand its regional (non-news) production dramatically. The
license renewal also calls for the return of the regional weekend
newscasts that were dropped during the budget cuts of the '90s.
All well and good -- but Rabinovitch says it would cost C$50 million
to implement, and that's money the CBC doesn't have. Rabinovitch
tells the Globe and Mail the only way he can do it is "if someone
wants to buy the Toronto Broadcast Centre from me."
Of course, in the strange world that is Canadian broadcast regulation,
Rabinovitch has another option: he can simply ignore the CRTC, which
has no power to pull the licenses of CBC stations (something it can do
to private broadcasters). How that would play on Parliament Hill is,
naturally, another matter.
CBC pledge drive, anyone?
*Finally this week, our best wishes to Pat Townson, the interim
moderator of rec.radio.broadcaster (and longtime moderator of Telecom
Digest). We hear he's recovering from the stroke he suffered around
Thanksgiving, and we're looking forward to his imminent return to the
Net.
*That's it for the first week of 2000. We'll be on an irregular
schedule for the remainder of January as we head off to Northern and
Central California to bask in the RF glory of KPIG, KOTR, and their
ilk. Expect a brief NERW Update later this week, then a late NERW on
or around Sunday, January 23.
---------------------NorthEast Radio Watch------------------------
(c)2000 Scott Fybush
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