NERW 3/10: Big Apple Circus

[fybush@gwind.pair.com]

------------------------------E-MAIL EDITION-----------------------------
--------------------------NorthEast Radio Watch--------------------------
                              March 10, 2003

IN THIS ISSUE:

*NEW YORK: A Crazy Week in the Big Apple
*NEW JERSEY: WSNJ Owner Bold Dies
*PENNSYLVANIA: WBSX Seeks Wilkes-Barre Move

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

*What a busy week it's been in NEW YORK! We'll start with two station
sales, one expected, the other a surprise: Disney won approval this
week to convert its LMA of WEVD (1050 New York) into a $78 million
purchase from the Forward Association. Since Disney took over in
September 2001, WEVD's been the New York flagship for ESPN radio - and
even made a slight showing in the latest Trends there. We hear that
sale will close on or about May 1.

The surprise sale was Mega's announcement that it will sell WLXE (1380
New York) back to Arthur Liu's Multicultural Broadcasting, which sold
the station to Mega three years ago for $33 million ($24 million in
cash and two Washington DC AM outlets.) 1380 was leased-time WKDM
then; Mega spent quite a bit of cash relaunching the facility as
Spanish all-news WNNY. That didn't last, and most recently 1380's been
doing regional Mexican as WLXE, "La X 1380."

With this sale, we expect the regional Mexican to end and leased time
to return to 1380, for which Liu is paying $37 million. The deal gives
Multicultural four leased-time AM outlets in New York: WPAT (930
Paterson NJ), WNSW (1430 Newark NJ), WZRC (1480 New York) and WLXE,
along with religious WNYG (1440 Babylon) out on Long Island.

Liu still doesn't have a monopoly on leased-time AM in New York,
though; Sporting News Radio has pulled still more of its own
programming off "flagship" WSNR (620 Jersey City NJ), which is now
leased to ethnic programmers from 6 AM all the way to 2 AM. (Sporting
News Radio's overnight show is the last remnant of the network to be
heard weekdays on WSNR.)

On the FM side, it was another strange week in the long bizarre saga
that is Viacom's WNEW (102.7), now in its second month of stunting
with a short playlist of top 40 tunes. After weeks of leaks about an
ambitious entertainment-talk format with plenty of synergy from
Viacom's MTV and VH1 divisions, New York's tabloids lit up this week
with talk that Viacom suddenly had cold feet about the whole
idea. Steve Kingston, program director of Viacom rocker WXRK (92.3 New
York) was reportedly seen making the rounds of the (nearly empty) WNEW
offices - but then came word that he won't be the operations manager
there after all. What in the world is going on there? Nobody knows -
and those promises of a "spring" relaunch at 102.7 are looking as
remote as spring itself here in the frigid Northeast.

Down the street (Seventh Avenue, in this case) from WNEW's studios,
things are moving forward in a very definite way up on one of the
city's highest rooftops.

We hear a construction derrick went up late last week atop the
skyscraper at Broadway and 43rd Street, signaling the start of
construction on a new rooftop tower (replacing the existing FM antenna
shown here) that will have room for all of New York's FM and TV
stations - analog and digital! Much more on this big project in the
weeks to come...

Out in Queens, a Long Island radio station has applied for a
synchronous booster to bring its Korean programming to an area that
doesn't get much signal right now. WGSM (740 Huntington) wants to run
250 watts day, 40 watts night from a very short (8-meter) antenna near
the corner of Sanford Avenue (42nd Avenue) and Union Street in
Flushing, just a block or so from the Flushing subway station. The
application filed this week calls for the calls WG2XSM for what would
be the first "experimental" synchronous operation in New York state.

Moving upstate, "Wakin' Up With the Wolf" added a Hudson Valley
affiliate last week, as the Bob Wolf morning show (based at Albany's
WPYX) picked up a simulcast on WRKW (92.9 Saugerties), where it
replaces Bob and Tom. Wolf is a familiar voice in the valley; he was
on WPDH (101.5 Poughkeepsie) until moving north to Albany five years
ago.

The Connecticut-based "Broadway's Biggest Hits" show added a Hudson
Valley affiliate as well; it's being heard on WBNR (1260 Beacon) and
WLNA (1420 Peekskill) beginning next Sunday from 1-3 PM.

Albany's newest TV station will have a familiar address: 1400 Balltown
Road, Schenectady. That's the longtime (as in fifty years) home of
WRGB (Channel 6); the CBS affiliate has signed a deal to provide
services for new WNYA (Channel 51) when the Pittsfield, Mass.-licensed
station signs on later this year. WNYA is expected to be a UPN
affiliate, which spells the end of "WEDG," the cable-only outlet that
was seen on Time Warner's channel 4 in the Capital District.

Bill Keeler, recently ousted from mornings at WRCK (107.3 Utica), is
heading over to the TV dial; beginning April 1, he'll host "The Bill
Keeler Show," weeknights from 11-11:30, on Fox outlet WFXV (Channel
33) in Utica.

A well-known voice in central New York radio and TV has died. Gary
Kennerknecht began his broadcast career at Utica's WOUR, then spent
the seventies as news director at Utica's WRUN and WTLB before moving
into TV at Utica's WUTR. Kennerknecht came to Rochester in the
eighties as assistant news director of WHEC-TV (Channel 10), then
moved to New York City to work at CBS News. He was just 52 when he
died on February 24 in the Bronx.

In Syracuse, WCNY-TV (Channel 24) has been granted its long-pending
application to move from the WIXT (Channel 9) tower in Pompey to the
new WSTM (Channel 3) tower at Sentinel Heights; we've heard that WCNY
is already testing the new facility, which is also home to new WCNY-DT
(Channel 25).

Digital radio came to Syracuse this week as well; Radio Disney outlet
WOLF (1490 Syracuse) is reportedly now running the Ibiquity digital
system, the first station upstate (and only the second in the state,
after New York's WOR) to do so.

(And those who are passionate about Syracuse radio history will want
to check out the WOLF tribute site at www.wolf1490.net, newly
commercial-free and always a fun read!)

Rochester's "98PXY" (WPXY-FM 97.9) is losing its night guy to
Pittsburgh; "Busta" begins a new gig next week doing afternoon drive
at the relaunched "93-7BZZ" (WBZZ 93.7), an Infinity sister station.

Could Family Life Ministries' radio network soon be getting a real
Rochester signal? We're hearing a lot of talk about a certain
religious FM station in western Monroe County changing hands - and
frequencies - soon...

Over in Buffalo, that's an AM stereo pilot light we've been seeing
illuminated when we've been listening to WWKB (1520) the last few days
- and it sounds like there's even some stereo music being played there
now. It's nice to hear...

And down in Binghamton, Citadel's WHWK (98.1) wants to move away from
the WBNG-TV (Channel 12) transmitter site on Ingraham Hill that it's
called home since it signed on all those decades ago (when it was
WNBF-FM and channel 12 was WNBF-TV.) The station has applied to move
to a directional antenna on the new tower nearby on Ingraham Hill that
will be home to WSKG-TV/DT and WSKG-FM (89.3); from there, it will run
6500 watts at 401 meters above average terrain, with a sharp null to
the south.

*Why a directional antenna in Binghamton? For that, we look across the
state line to PENNSYLVANIA, where Citadel also owns WBSX (97.9
Hazleton), which has long been short-spaced to Binghamton (as well as
to WOGL 98.1 in Philadelphia, WSKQ 97.9 in New York and WIYY 97.9 in
Baltimore!)

WBSX currently transmits from a tower about halfway between Hazleton
and Wilkes-Barre, but now Citadel wants to move it north about six
miles, which would land the station on the tower of WMGS (92.9
Scranton) at "Electronic Heights," aka Penobscot Mountain, the primary
TV/FM site for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. WBSX's new facilities would be
6300 watts at 407 meters, with a null to the north protecting WHWK.

(We also hear that crosstown competitor Entercom wants to move its
WDMT 103.1 Freeland to a new city of license of Avoca, which would
bring that class A signal from the Hazleton area north into the heart
of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. We'd expect the "Mountain" simulcast with
WAMT 102.3 Pittston to end if that happens, with 103.1 taking on a new
format.)

Heading down the road to Allentown, there's a new slogan at WLEV
(100.7), which ditched its "My 100.7" image last weekend to become
"Soft Rock 100.7." (It'll always be WFMZ-FM in our heart, anyway...)

Philadelphia listeners will soon have Paul Barsky back in the
morning. The veteran Philly personality (we still remember him from a
seventies-era gig at the old WAXC here in Rochester, even) just signed
a five-year deal to do mornings at Beasley's WPTP (96.5 the Point),
where he'll also be operations manager.

Jimmy Stewart's home town of Indiana, Pennsylvania has a new radio
station. WFSG-LP (103.7) signed on there on February 24, licensed to a
group called "Godstock."

That's the good news (or should that be the Good News?) - the bad
news, at least for proponents of localism in LPFM, is that nearly all
of the programming on "Fish 103.7 FM" appears to be coming from the
Nashville-based Christian Hit Radio, part of the Way-FM network that's
been growing by leaps and bounds down south. NERW wonders how this
squares with the FCC's apparent intent to ban satellite-fed LPFMs (and
isn't "Fish" a Salem trademark, too?)

*There's a new station on the air in NEW JERSEY this week, too: WVBH
(88.3 Beach Haven) is the latest link in the chain of contemporary
Christian outlets based at WXHL-FM (89.1) in Christiana, Delaware. The
southern Ocean County signal is fairly limited (it doesn't get quite
far enough south to hit Atlantic City), but has already been widely
reported by listeners near the Ocean-Atlantic county line. (Hey, what
else is there to do at the Jersey shore this time of year?)

Up the coast just a bit, WADB (1310 Asbury Park) has switched morning
shows; it's now simulcasting Bob Levy's show from sister WOBM (1160
Lakewood Township). Former WADB morning host Larry Brennan moves to
afternoons - and his show will be simulcast on WOBM, too.

Pax has changed the calls on its LPTV in East Orange, turning W34CP
(Channel 34) into WPXO-LP. Those calls were on Pax's channel 14 in the
Virgin Islands, which was recently sold.

And we're very sorry to report the death of Ed Bold, the longtime
owner of WSNJ (1240/107.7) in Bridgeton and one of the last of the
dying breed of engineer-owners.

Bold had been involved in South Jersey radio since just after World
War II, and had owned WSNJ since 1971.

He retired to Florida last year, but had returned north to run the
station for a while while its impending sale goes through (it has a
pending application to move the FM side to Pennsauken, just outside
Philadelphia, as a class A outlet on 107.9). Bold died Tuesday (March
4) at South Jersey Hospital in Bridgeton; he was 82.

*Just as NERW was going to press last week, a southeastern CONNECTICUT
station was changing calls and format - again.

Stonington's 102.3 has been through many calls and formats in its
quarter-century or so of life - WFAN, oldies WVVE, rocker WAXK and
classic rock WUXL. As of last Monday, it's on to yet another phase, as
the classic rock and Bob & Tom morning show give way to AC as "Mix
102" WXLM(FM). Can "Mix" compete against the bigger signal and
established presence of WBMW on 106.5? We'll see...

In Bridgeport, Fred Ebert is out as afternoon host at WICC (600),
apparently unable to come to terms on a contract renewal with the
station.

Inbound to replace him in a week or two is "Citizen Smith," and in the
meantime WICC listeners are hearing Kathy Taylor (of the morning show
on sister station WEBE 107.9) handling the 4-7 PM shift.

*It's not hard to hear Howard Stern in RHODE ISLAND - he's carried on
WWKX (106.3 Woonsocket) and its South County simulcast WAKX (102.7
Narragansett Pier), and he can be heard pretty well from WBCN (104.1)
up in Boston and even WPXC (102.9 Hyannis) from Cape Cod, too. But
just in case, there's now another Stern outlet in the Providence-New
Bedford market: he's been added to the lineup on Citadel's WKKB (100.3
Middletown RI), a move that apparently became possible when Citadel
bought WWKX/WAKX.

*A familiar Ocean State voice is now gracing the central MASSACHUSETTS
airwaves. Tom Holt, former program director at Citadel's WWLI (105.1
Providence), has landed at Clear Channel's WSRS (96.1 Worcester),
where he replaces Ned Smith in afternoon drive.

The revolving door of talent has claimed WQSX (93.7 Lawrence) night
guy Joe Rosati; the New York veteran has been replaced at the
Boston-market urban AC by former Hartford star Mike McGowan, who had
been doing weekend and swing at "Star 93.7."

Down the hall at the Entercom cluster, the engineering folks at WAAF
(107.3 Worcester) have applied again to move their transmitter from
Mount Asnebumskit in Paxton, on the far side of that city of license
they'd like to forget, to the WUNI (Channel 27) tower on Stiles Hill
in Boylston, 10 miles or so closer to their target audience in Boston
and 'burbs. WAAF was granted a CP to make that move, with 9600 watts
at 335 meters and a directional antenna, back on March 3, 2000 - but
Entercom asked the FCC to dismiss that CP on February 28, just shy of
its three-year expiration date, thus clearing the way for a new
application to be filed the same day to restart the clock on that
proposed move. (WAAF also has a pending application to change city of
license to Westborough.)

One station that doesn't mind being associated with Worcester is WORC
(1310 Worcester) - and it'll be the home of the New York Yankees this
summer, thanks to a bet that GM Brian Jakusik lost to weekend sports
guy Nick Manzello. WORC (which is also holding an open call for a
liberal talk show host) will carry more than 100 Yankees games this
season; another 28 games will air on sister station WGFP (940
Webster).

And out on Cape Cod, the WMPX calls that disappeared from MAINE when
Waterville's channel 23 was sold and became WFPO are being warehoused
on the former W67BA in Dennis, newly renamed WMPX-LP.

*In NEW HAMPSHIRE, Meegan Collier (known on air just as "Meegan") is
out as midday host on Clear Channel rocker WGIR-FM (101.1 Manchester),
where she was also the station's music director; no word yet on a
replacement for either part of her job.

*Up in VERMONT, Pete Powers has stepped down as morning jock and music
director at WEQX (102.7 Manchester); down the road in Bennington, Ed
Garcia is the new PD at Bennington's WZEC (97.5 Hoosick Falls NY).

And Nicole Sandler starts next month as director of programming for
Steve Silberberg's Northeast Broadcasting, which owns the "Point" AAA
network based at Montpelier's WNCS (104.7), Middlebury's "Alice" (WXAL
93.7 Addison/WLKC 103.3 Waterbury), WXRV (92.5 Haverhill) north of
Boston and a few AM stations in New England as well. While Sandler may
not be familiar to New Englanders, she's well known out west, where
she programmed AAA stations in Los Angeles and New Mexico.

*One of CANADA's largest broadcast groups is getting a new management
team. CHUM Ltd. named Paul Ski, general manager of its Vancouver radio
stations, as the new executive VP for all of CHUM Radio; Stephen Tapp
moves up from VP/GM of CHUM's Citytv in Toronto to executive VP for
all of CHUM Television.

In Kitchener/Waterloo, they're mourning Valerie Corcoran, who did
promotions for nearly three decades there, first at CHYM and for the
last eight years at CKKW (Oldies 1090) and CFCA (Kool 105.3); she died
March 7, just a few days short of her 49th birthday. Corcoran was
married to Paul Cugliari, general manager of CKKW/CFCA.

The Universite de Sherbrooke will soon have its own FM station; its
student association was granted 490 watts on 88.3.

And out in Moncton, N.B., religious station CKOE wants to move from
100.9, where it runs just 50 watts, to 107.3 with 2800 watts.

-----------------------NorthEast Radio Watch------------------------
                       (c)2003 Scott Fybush
                          www.fybush.com

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