WFAN

[Scott Fybush]

>I've also seen pix in R&R of whatever station Scott Shannon is PD/AM drive 
>of and there are full cart racks in the picture.  Hasn't the announcers' 
>union gotten their shorts all in a twist over voicetracking, and 
>essentially made it impossible for stations to do?  Maybe there are so 
>many restrictions on "newfangled" technology written into various 
>contracts as to not make it worth the hassle?  Sigh.  Do any NYC music 
>stations still use separate announcer & board op?

At least in the case of Shannon and WPLJ, the cart racks (and the row of 8 
ITC Deltas above the board) are there because he's the boss and that's what 
HE likes to work with. I think he - and some of the other old-timers like 
Rick Dees in LA - believe, not without justification, that the "classic" 
gear is more reliable than that newfangled digital stuff, and when you're 
selling AM drive spots at NYC prices, those make-goods can add up. (I was 
never privy to those stats at BZ, but I know we had a LOT of double audio 
and such during our transition to digital circa 1996-97, and I can just 
imagine what the makegoods must have looked like.)

The Shannon studio with all the carts is used only for his morning show; 
there's another studio next door that has Audiovault and is used for the 
rest of the day.

That said - and it being market #1, after all - AFTRA has made a big stink 
about voicetracking off-hours shifts in NYC and has reached agreements with 
several of the broadcasters there to remain live 24/7. I know Clear Channel 
was one; I don't know if ABC (WPLJ's parent company) is another.

s