NERW 11/5: Doing the Albany Shuffle

[Scott.Fybush@TheWorld.com (scott@fybush.com)]

------------------------------E-MAIL EDITION-----------------------------
--------------------------NorthEast Radio Watch--------------------------
                             November 5, 2001

IN THIS ISSUE:

*NEW YORK: Albany Tele-Media Spins Flip Formats
*MASSACHUSETTS: Management Shakeups at Infinity, Entercom
*PENNSYLVANIA: KDKA's Patti Burns Dies

-----------------------------by Scott Fybush-----------------------------
-------------------------<http://www.fybush.com>-------------------------

*We'll begin this week's report in NEW YORK's state capital, where the
departure of Tele-Media brought another new format to the FM dial this
week.

We told you last week about the fate of the Tele-Media stations that
were spun off to Ed Levine's Galaxy, with WKLI (94.5 Ravena) becoming
"94 Rock" and WABY (1400 Albany) being prepped for sale; we can add
this week that Levine's other new purchase, WHTR (93.5 Corinth) is off
the air with transmitter problems unrelated to its proposed move to
93.7 in Scotia.

This week, the attention shifts to the stations Tele-Media sold to
Pamal Broadcasting: while WKBE (100.3 Warrensburg) keeps running
automated with the "Point" hot AC format for the Glens Falls area,
WCPT (100.9 Albany) ended its stunt simulcast with CHR WFLY (92.3
Troy) at 4 PM Friday (Nov. 2) to go standards as "Magic."

The change means Albany listeners can pick from no fewer than three
standards stations; in addition to Magic, Crawford runs the format on
50 kilowatt WPTR (1540) and Ernie Anastos runs it on "the Moon," WUAM
(900 Saratoga Springs) and WMVI (1160 Mechanicville). NERW wonders
whether Pamal will try to get the WABY calls, long associated with the
format, when and if 1400 drops them.

Pamal is holding on to another station nearby, much to its own
surprise. It turns out that Joseph Isabel's IZ Communications (which
owns WCSS in Amsterdam) won't follow through on its planned purchase
of WIZR (930 Johnstown), the AM that Pamal picked up when it bought
Johnstown's WSRD (104.9) and moved it to Albany a few years back. IZ
will lose its $10,000 deposit on the purchase; in the meantime, Pamal
brings Jeff Weber back to the market to run WIZR. Weber had been the
owner of WCSS when IZ bought it; he's been working down at Baltimore's
WZBA as general sales manager.

Some familiar voices were missing from Entercom's Buffalo stations on
Halloween morning, but it wasn't a prank: the cluster let six people
go on Tuesday (Oct. 30). On WTSS (Star 102.5), the casualties were
morning co-hosts Joe Thomas and Pam Bunch, production director Mark
Krunowski and night jock Dan Rinelli; Roger Christian is back in
mornings for now at 102.5 (a spot he last held in the '80s when the
station was WBEN-FM), with Sue O'Neil filling in on his usual 10-3
midday slot. 

Across the hall at WGR (550), the sports station lost morning producer
Doug Young and midday co-host Anne Burke. Young also did production at
WBEN (930), which suffered its own cutbacks last month when morning
host Bill Lacy was fired as he returned from vacation.

That leaves CHR WKSE (98.5 Niagara Falls) and AM also-rans WWWS (1400)
and WWKB (1520) escaping the cutbacks...for now. Stay tuned.