NERW 6/17: WBEC's Not Being Sold

[fybush@gwind.pair.com]

------------------------------E-MAIL EDITION-----------------------------
--------------------------NorthEast Radio Watch--------------------------
                               June 17, 2002

IN THIS ISSUE:

*MASSACHUSETTS: Vox Not Buying WBEC
*MAINE: Voornas Moves to WJBQ
*PENNSYLVANIA/NEW JERSEY: WSNJ Move to Philly?

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

(NOTE TO E-MAIL EDITION READERS: We've been on the road for the last
week or so, which is why the e-mail edition is delayed in reaching
you. Remember, you can ALWAYS read the latest NERW news - complete
with pictures - at www.fybush.com!)

*Despite a slew of rumors floating around western MASSACHUSETTS, one
of Pittsfield's oldest stations isn't changing hands - at least not
yet.

Last week, rival station WUPE (95.9) reported that Tele-Media had sold
WBEC (1420) and WBEC-FM (105.5) to Vox, the fast-growing group that
already has big holdings up in Glens Falls, Vermont and New
Hampshire. But a Vox official tells NERW there's no deal to buy WBEC
in place.

If Tele-Media is selling WBEC, it would be a further exit from a
region that it began leaving last year, when it sold its Albany
holdings to Pamal and Ed Levine's Galaxy group. That move left the
Pennsylvania-based company with the Pittsfield stations, WZEC (97.5
Hoosick Falls NY) serving Bennington, Vermont and WKBE (100.3
Warrensburg NY) up in the Glens Falls market, where Vox is already a
strong player.

Tele-Media paid Joe Gallagher's Aritaur group $4.65 million in July
1999 for the WBEC stations and WZEC; no word on what this sale might
be worth if WBEC does eventually change hands - or on why the
competition started this rumor spreading.

One more Bay State note: Mike McGowan, late of Hartford's WKSS, is
doing weekend fill-in at WQSX (93.7 Lawrence) while looking for a new
full-time gig.

*We'll shoot up to MAINE for our next big story this week: after a
couple of years doing mornings at Citadel's WCLZ (98.9 Brunswick),
Lori Voornas is moving down the hall to a format that might fit her
high-energy style better than the laid-back AAA that's played on "98.9
the Point."

Voornas, who made a high-profile move from Saga's WMGX to join WCLZ
(then WTPN) in 1999, is joining Meredith Manning and Jeff Parsons on
the morning show at CHR WJBQ (97.9 Portland), leaving Pete Dubuc alone
on wakeup duty at WCLZ for now.

Up in Bangor, the Patriots will change stations this fall. They're
moving from Stephen King's WZON (620) over to Clear Channel rockers
WFZX (101.7 Searsport) and WNSX (97.7 Winter Harbor).

*Over in VERMONT, UVM sports will stay put for the next few
years. Despite an attempt to lure the university's sports package over
to Clear Channel's "Zone" talker (WXZO 96.7/WEAV 960), the games will
stay put on WVMT (620).

We also hear that Steve Cormier has yet another new duty at Clear
Channel in Burlington; in addition to hosting the "Corm and the Coach"
morning show on WCPV (101.3 Essex) and serving as ops manager for the
entire cluster, he's now handling PD duties for "Star" WEZF (92.9
Burlington).

And Ken Squier's classical WCVT (101.7 Stowe) files for a license to
cover for its power increase; the station jumps from 135 to 500 watts
with a directional antenna (from more than 2000 feet AAT, mind you!),
putting a solid signal over Burlington.

*Down in CONNECTICUT, a translator may soon leave the air. We hear
Southington-licensed W220CE (91.9), which transmits from West Peak in
Meriden, will likely be turned off by its owner (the Monroe Board of
Education's WMNR 88.1 network), which hasn't had the listenership it
expected when it leased space up on the hilltop last year. Another
WMNR translator, W220CH (91.9) in West Hartford, has finally made the
flip from relaying nearby WWUH (91.3) to WMNR itself, we're told.

And Telefutura affiliate WUTH-CA (Channel 47) in Hartford changes
hands from WXTV License Partnership (aka Univision) to Entravision.

*NEW YORK has a new radio owner, thanks to the $3.5 billion purchase
of Hispanic Broadcasting by Univision. The deal means that WCAA (105.9
Newark) and WADO (1280 New York) join forces with Univision's WXTV
(Channel 41) and WFUT (Channel 68) to create a high-powered marketing
machine for the Big Apple's Spanish-speaking audience (and that's
nothing, compared to the combos created in markets like Miami, LA and
the big Hispanic Texas cities...)

Across town at talker WNEW (102.7), former WABC and WOR PD John
Mainelli has been brought in as a consultant. Perhaps he can clean up
the mess that is the Don and Mike/Opie and Anthony feud; at last
check, WNEW was still running Don and Mike "Best Of" shows, even
though the duo were back on the air in the rest of their markets. We
don't get it...

Up in Syracuse, the Syracuse Community Radio folks have withdrawn
their application for a license to cover for W208AQ (89.5 Marcellus),
the translator that could finally have given them a signal into the
Salt City.

The move means W208AQ is dead (it was about to lose its CP anyway, and
so the application had been something of a Hail Mary pass to save it
from deletion), and it made moot a petition to deny which pointed out
that the facility in question hadn't actually been built. (The
petition was signed by former Clinton aide Mark Gearan, whose
connection to the whole SCR mess is tangential at best; he's president
of Hobart and William Smith Colleges over in Geneva, where WEOS on
89.7 has been keeping a close eye on any incursions to its fringe
signal...)

Say goodbye to "Ackerley," as the sale to Clear Channel closes. We
still expect to see the TV group in upstate New York in different
hands by year's end.

It looks like WXXI-TV (Channel 21) in Rochester will be back to its
full signal soon; the big crane lifted the station's repaired antenna
back to its perch sometime very early Monday morning, and we expect
things to be all back to normal up there (well, except for all the
trees that were ripped out to make room for the crane!) any day now.

There's digital TV in Buffalo! As of late last week, WIVB-DT was
transmitting the CBS prime-time lineup in DTV on channel 39, thus
making the station the first DTV service in Western New York, which is
only fitting - WIVB, as WBEN-TV, was the first analog TV station in
the region as well back in 1948. We hear the local LPTV on channel 39
hasn't signed off yet, which means fewer Buffalonians are seeing
WIVB-DT right now than should be. (And we're poised to get a DTV card
for NERW Central so we can try to tune in the signal here...)

Down in Fredonia, we hear WDOE (1410 Dunkirk) is running adult
standards and WBKX (96.5 Dunkirk) is doing AC - and neither is using a
satellite format, for the first time in years.

*The big news out of NEW JERSEY may actually be big news in
Philadelphia, at least if you're not the FCC.

When WSNJ-FM (107.7 Bridgeton) was sold last year, speculation
immediately began building about where the big signal could be
moved. WSNJ filed an application to move its city of license to tiny
Elmer, N.J., which made very little sense to us - but now it's all
clear.

By "moving" from Bridgeton to Elmer, WSNJ positioned its next move to
look even better to the FCC. The station now wants to relocate from
Elmer to Pennsauken and change channels to 107.9, downgrading from a
full class B facility to a class A.