NERW 7/8: WMTW Clears Out

[fybush@gwind.pair.com]

------------------------------E-MAIL EDITION-----------------------------
--------------------------NorthEast Radio Watch--------------------------
                               10 July 2002

IN THIS ISSUE:

*NEW HAMPSHIRE: WMTW Sells Its Piece of "The Rock"
*VERMONT: WGDR To Close?
*CANADA: Brock's CFBU Closes

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

*The TV station atop NEW HAMPSHIRE's highest peak is completing its
move off Mount Washington. NERW research director Garrett Wollman made
the trek up the Rock last week, and in addition to bringing back some
gorgeous pictures of a rare clear summertime day on the 6288-foot
peak (you can see them at fybush.com), he reports that WMTW-TV
(Channel 8) has reached agreement to sell its facilities on Mount
Washington to the state of New Hampshire. 

WMTW moved its transmitter to Baldwin, Maine a few months ago, leaving
the channel 8 building on Washington nearly empty (veteran transmitter
engineer/air personality Marty Engstrom delivered his last on-air
report from the mountaintop in May before retiring) - and leaving the
Mount Washington Observatory and the two FM stations on the mountain
(WHOM 94.9 Mount Washington and WPKQ 103.7 North Conway) to figure out
how to get power, which had been provided by WMTW under contract.

No word yet on the price or timetable for the transfer, but stay tuned
to NERW for more in the weeks to come...

*One other bit of Granite State news: we're sorry to report the death
on July 1 of Al Cappannelli, who did news for Manchester's WGIR (610)
from 1987 until 1993, with an 18-month break as assignment editor
across town at WMUR-TV. Prior to his WGIR stint, he had worked at
Derry's WDER (1320) as well. Cappannelli, who had been working for
High Point Communications in Bow, was suffering from liver cancer. He
was 71.

*VERMONT may soon lose a college radio station. Goddard College in
Plainfield, which has been suffering financial trouble, will close
WGDR (91.1) on July 26, the Rutland Herald reports. The station's two
paid staff members will be laid off then, and they tell the paper they
intend to turn the transmitter off when they leave. A community group
hopes to buy the station from the college and keep it operating; we'll
keep you posted...

*A few changes in MAINE's country radio dial: morning guy Chris Powers
is leaving Bangor's "Bear" (WBFB 104.7 Belfast) to join KISZ (99.9
Cortez CO). That means afternoon guy Dave Glidden slides to mornings,
with Damien Brown handling afternoon duty at the Clear Channel outlet.

*MASSACHUSETTS radio and TV have been busy mourning the passing of the
legendary Ted Williams, of course, which gave us the chance to hear
veterans like Johnny Pesky during the weekend's Sox-Tigers series (not
to mention the Tigers' Ernie Harwell, still sharp as a tack in his
last season doing play-by-play at age 84) - but there was some other
news in the Bay State this holiday week:

Up in Beverly, WNSH (1570) is trying to end years and years of STA
(Special Temporary Authority) operation, stemming from the 1992 fire
that destroyed the old 1570 (WMLO/WBVD) site in Danvers. WNSH has been
running with 500 watts daytime from a new three-tower array on the
Endicott College campus, according to its latest FCC filing, but has
been shown on the books as a two-site operation, with night facilities
still at the old Danvers location.

In reality, WNSH was operating with an STA to transmit
non-directionally from the middle tower of the new day array, having
concluded that it couldn't win political permission to build the extra
towers needed for full night power from Endicott. The latest plan
calls for a licensed 125 watts non-directional at night from the
Endicott College site, still using that 99-foot middle tower.

Over in Ware, WARE (1250) has dropped the oldies it was running, in
favor of a musical melange that includes 70s disco and 80s and 90s
pop, with some mid-morning polka music weekdays and some leased-time
talk on the weekends. NERW says: this sounds very much like the
"format" that WARE owner Mega Communications used to fill unsold time
on its AM 900 in Philadelphia a year or so ago...

In greater Boston, Mega's WBPS (890 Dedham) is still carrying CNet
Radio at press time, with no word on when the rumored talk format will
materialize to replace it. Meanwhile, WBIX (1060 Natick) has added the
Dolans (from the WOR Radio Network) from 1-3 PM weekdays, followed by
an hour of Upton Bell.

Telemundo programming has disappeared from WWDP (Channel 46) in
Norwell, replaced by English-language home shopping. Most AT&T
Broadband customers in greater Boston now have low-power WTMU-LP
(Channel 32) on their systems. WTMU had been simulcasting WWDP and
keeps the Telemundo feed.

And we're sorry to report the passing of William J. Flynn, who helped
create the "Ask the Manager" show during his tenure as GM of WSBK-TV
(Channel 38). Flynn, who was also instrumental in the creation of the
New England Sports Network (NESN), died of cancer last week in Naples,
Florida.

*Another obituary to report from RHODE ISLAND, and far too young: Tom
Devoe, general manager of WCTK (98.1 New Bedford MA) and sister
stations WNBH (1340 New Bedford MA)/WWRI (1450 West Warwick) succumbed
to cancer on June 29 at age 50.

*In CONNECTICUT, sports guy Lou Holder leaves NBC's WVIT (Channel 30)
in New Britain after two years to join Fox's WTTG (Channel 5) in
Washington, closer to his home turf in the mid-Atlantic.

*The long fight over the WFUV (90.7) tower in NEW YORK will get its
next airing on August 14, when the FCC will hold a formal consultation
session with WFUV owner Fordham University, the neighboring New York
Botanical Garden, which has held up the completion of WFUV's tower for
years, and other interested parties.

The FCC's asking anyone with a workable suggestion for an available
alternate site to file comments by August 1.

Out on Long Island, Muriel Horenstein died July 1. She's remembered by
many of the Island's radio veterans for her decades running WBAB
(1440/102.3) in Babylon and its AM successor, WNYG (1440 Babylon),
which she owned with her husband Sol.

Further out on Long Island, WDRE (98.5 Westhampton) has been granted a
transmitter site move, relocating about five miles west from the site
in East Quogue it now shares with WWXY (107.1 Hampton Bays). WDRE will
run 3000 watts at 100 meters, with a directional antenna nulled
towards New York and New Haven, from the WRCN (103.9 Riverhead) tower
near the end of the Long Island Expressway.

And as long as we're out that way, how about a call letter change? The
former WPBX (88.3 Southampton), bringing jazz and news and such to the
East End of Long Island, picked up the new calls "WLIU" this week,
reflecting its owner, Long Island University. WPBX, er, WLIU is a very
frequent summertime visitor to eastern Massachusetts via tropospheric
ducting, so keep an ear out for those new calls if you live that
way. (The WLIU calls had been at Lincoln University's 88.7 in Lincoln
University, PENNSYLVANIA; that station changes calls to WWLU.)

More staff changes at WTBQ (1110 Warwick): Frank Lowell moves from
sales manager to operations manage, while "Uncle Mel" Cohen leaves his
9-11 AM airshift. Replacing him is Hudson Valley news veteran John
Moultrie, who joins WTBQ as news director.

Just one bit of news upstate: WDTB-LP (Channel 39) in Hamburg, near
Buffalo, has had its application to move to channel 13 dismissed. NERW
hears that WDTB is still operating with Daystar religious programming,
despite the recent sign-on of WIVB-DT, also on channel 39, a few miles
away. (Meanwhile, Buffalo's channel 2, WGRZ, is operating at low power
this week while crews install the new WGRZ-DT antenna on its tower.)

*One bit of NEW JERSEY catchup: the FCC has awarded two new LPFMs in
the Garden State. Radio Alerta gets a 102.3 in Arrowhead Village (near
Brick in Ocean County), while Maranatha-by-the-Sea Christian
Fellowship gets 92.7 in Ocean City.

*Two more AM stations in eastern CANADA have been granted moves to FM.

In Newcastle/Miramichi, N.B., CFAN (790) will take its AC format to
99.3 FM with 17.8 kW, while CKEN (1490) in Kentville, N.S. will move
its country music to 94.9 with 100 kW, joining FM sister CKWM-FM
(97.7) there.

A university station in St. Catharines, Ontario is no more; Milkman
Unlimited reports that CFBU (103.7) at Brock University signed off for
good last week after running up a debt of over C$80,000 for the
student government there. The station tried to stage an emergency
fund-raising drive, but it appears to have failed.

The rumor mill up in Toronto says Brian Depoe, former PD of CJEZ (EZ
Rock 97.3) in Toronto, is headed to CING (Energy 95.3) in Hamilton.

With thanks to Sheldon Harvey of the Canadian International DX Club,
who's been the DX community's chief source of news on this one, we can
tell you the latest on that new AM 1610 in Montreal. The calls on the
new ethnic station are CJWI, and they're now being heard every few
minutes during the test announcement the station has been
presenting. Sheldon reports that CJWI hopes to be on the air with its
full ethnic format (aimed primarily at Montreal's West Indian
community, it seems) within a few weeks.

Want to hear what the CJWI test announcement sounds like (from a few
hundred miles out)? Visit the multimedia edition of NERW, posted every
Monday to www.fybush.com!

*And that's it for this holiday-shortened week; we'll see you next
Monday with much more NERW!

-----------------------NorthEast Radio Watch------------------------
                       (c)2002 Scott Fybush
                          www.fybush.com

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