From chris2526@comcast.net Wed May 9 01:32:25 2012 From: chris2526@comcast.net (Chris Hall) Date: Wed, 9 May 2012 01:32:25 -0400 Subject: Your Hit parade Message-ID: Tonight I went to a presentation on the radio and TV show ?Your Hit Parade? which ran on both NBC Radio and Television as well as CBS Radio and TV from 1935 until 1958 at times over both networks on different nights of the week. This presentation was put on by the NH council for the humanities and the Salem Historical Society. It played to a packed house. There were many references to performers and show hosts who were major Boston and New York radio personalities over the run of the show, one of the biggest was Martin Block of WNEW though the radio show lasted until 1953. During the golden days of radio ?Your Hit Parade? listening must have made ?Must see TV? and Seinfeld miniscule by comparison. The show faded because with the advent of Rock and Roll hit songs were being recorded by one major star as opposed to many. For example some cover hit versions were done by up to six artists in addition to Frank Sinatra?s biggie. The popularity of DJ?s who had up to date over the air Billboard data made must listen Saturday nights obsolete for those wanting to know the new number one song..... this was an American national pastime that made baseball pale by comparison. Dick Clark?s American Bandstand came in overlapping Your Hit Parade by one year as pretty much the successor to its legacy. Great show, its playing at various locations throughout New Hampshire over the spring and summer and worth seeing. From m_carney@yahoo.com Wed May 9 12:11:24 2012 From: m_carney@yahoo.com (Maureen Carney) Date: Wed, 9 May 2012 09:11:24 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Your Hit parade In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1336579884.6495.YahooMailNeo@web161306.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> If you want to read about Your Hit Parade with a connection to early Boston TV, get a copy of "The Hit Parade Papers" by Andrew Fielding. His mother was Sue Bennett, who was a featured singer the first couple of years on TV. After moving to Boston in the mid 1950s she had her own show on WBZ and later hosted programs on other Boston stations. ________________________________ From: Chris Hall To: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org Sent: Wednesday, May 9, 2012 1:32 AM Subject: Your Hit parade Tonight I went to a presentation on the radio and TV show ?Your Hit Parade? which ran on both NBC Radio and Television as well as CBS Radio and TV from 1935 until 1958 at times over both networks on different nights of the week. This presentation was put on by the NH council for the humanities and the Salem Historical Society. It played to a packed house.? There were many references to performers and show hosts who were major Boston and New York radio personalities over the run of the show, one of the biggest was Martin Block of WNEW though the radio show lasted until 1953.? During the golden days of radio ?Your Hit Parade? listening must have made ?Must see TV? and Seinfeld miniscule by comparison. The show faded because with the advent of Rock and Roll hit songs were being recorded by one major star as opposed to many.? For example some cover hit versions were done by up to six artists in addition to Frank Sinatra?s biggie. The popularity of DJ?s who had up to date over the air Billboard data made must listen Saturday nights obsolete for those wanting to know the new number one song..... this was an American national pastime that made baseball pale by comparison.? Dick Clark?s American Bandstand came in overlapping Your Hit Parade by one year as pretty much the successor to its legacy. Great show, its playing at various locations throughout New Hampshire over the spring and summer and worth seeing. From kvahey@gmail.com Wed May 9 16:21:45 2012 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Wed, 9 May 2012 16:21:45 -0400 Subject: RIP Carl Beane Message-ID: It has been confirmed that Carl Beane the Fenway PA announcer was killed in a car crash this afternoon. He was 60. http://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/05/09/fenway-park-announcer-carl-beane-dies-in-car-crash/ From raccoonradio@mail.com Wed May 9 16:57:09 2012 From: raccoonradio@mail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Wed, 09 May 2012 16:57:09 -0400 Subject: RIP Carl Beane Message-ID: <20120509205710.227100@gmx.com> http://www.telegram.com/article/20120509/NEWS/120509410/1116 Very sad; he had done a fill in at WARE today and was heading home to take a nap; was to be back tomorrow. Worc. Telegram said he had done sports for them in the past. I think he did some appearances on WBZ radio (Leveille's "baseball preview show"?) He did a lot of work for charity including reading for the blind and was proud to announce the Fenway games of the 2004 and 2007 World Series, for which he received World Series Championship rings. ----- Original Message ----- From: Kevin Vahey Sent: 05/09/12 04:21 PM To: Boston Radio Group Subject: RIP Carl Beane It has been confirmed that Carl Beane the Fenway PA announcer was killed in a car crash this afternoon. He was 60. http://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/05/09/fenway-park-announcer-carl-beane-dies-in-car-crash/ From dlh@donnahalper.com Thu May 10 01:21:40 2012 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Thu, 10 May 2012 01:21:40 -0400 Subject: RIP Carl Beane In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <4FAB5064.9020604@donnahalper.com> On 5/9/2012 4:21 PM, Kevin Vahey wrote: > It has been confirmed that Carl Beane the Fenway PA announcer was killed in > a car crash this afternoon. He was 60. > When Carl was still early in his career, he worked at WHAI out in the Greenfield area, and I was his consultant. What a shame that he died so young. From dlh@donnahalper.com Thu May 10 12:48:45 2012 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Thu, 10 May 2012 12:48:45 -0400 Subject: RIP Carl Beane In-Reply-To: <20120510163759.24940@gmx.com> References: <20120510163759.24940@gmx.com> Message-ID: <4FABF16D.7060202@donnahalper.com> Lawrence wrote-- > > > > WBZ-TV did a fairly lengthy story for an 11:00 pm newscast Wednesday > night. The first half of course covered details > of his death, then reporter Beth Germano talked about his place in the > Red Sox "family". Toward the end, she > said that Carl always put out his best effort because there were > always first-time visitors to Fenway Park, and he > was always aware that he was following in the footsteps of the > "infamous" Sherm Feller. I wasn't sure I heard right, > so I viewed the story again at CBSBoston.com, and sure enough she said > "infamous". I didn't think "Francesca" > was that bad! > Yeah, I heard that too. I thought she (as politicians say) "mis-spoke." She should have said Legendary. Sherm was anything but infamous, rest his soul. From lglavin@mail.com Thu May 10 12:37:59 2012 From: lglavin@mail.com (Laurence Glavin) Date: Thu, 10 May 2012 12:37:59 -0400 Subject: RIP Carl Beane Message-ID: <20120510163759.24940@gmx.com> >----- Original Message ----- >From: Donna Halper >Sent: 05/10/12 01:21 AM >To: Kevin Vahey >Subject: Re: RIP Carl Beane On 5/9/2012 4:21 PM, Kevin Vahey wrote: > It has been confirmed that Carl Beane the Fenway PA announcer was killed in > a car crash this afternoon. He was 60. > >When Carl was still early in his career, he worked at WHAI out in the >Greenfield area, and I was his consultant. What a shame that he died so >young. WBZ-TV did a fairly lengthy story for an 11:00 pm newscast Wednesday night. The first half of course covered details of his death, then reporter Beth Germano talked about his place in the Red Sox "family". Toward the end, she said that Carl always put out his best effort because there were always first-time visitors to Fenway Park, and he was always aware that he was following in the footsteps of the "infamous" Sherm Feller. I wasn't sure I heard right, so I viewed the story again at CBSBoston.com, and sure enough she said "infamous". I didn't think "Francesca" was that bad! From jjlehmann@comcast.net Thu May 10 13:51:13 2012 From: jjlehmann@comcast.net (Jeff Lehmann) Date: Thu, 10 May 2012 13:51:13 -0400 Subject: 98.1 in the Bronx In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Just one of the dozens of NYC pirates. Jeff Lehmann On Apr 30, 2012, at 6:04 PM, "Gonzalez, Mario" wrote: > I was in the Bronx and I heard an FM at 98.1 but I am unable to identify it. It was playing Gospel music and this morning, it was broadcasting news from Jamaica. Does anyone know what station this is? > > While I was in the Bronx, I did hear the transition of 98.7 to ESPN. > > Mario From tim_ripley@yahoo.com Mon May 14 01:45:11 2012 From: tim_ripley@yahoo.com (tim_ripley@yahoo.com) Date: Mon, 14 May 2012 01:45:11 -0400 Subject: Hi Boston Message-ID: <792560.59836.bm@smtp102.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Boston hey at a certain point you just want to start helping others instead of doing more for yourself http://www.cnbc5i.net/may14/ everyone in my school has asked me where i found out about it From tim_ripley@yahoo.com Mon May 14 01:45:16 2012 From: tim_ripley@yahoo.com (tim_ripley@yahoo.com) Date: Mon, 14 May 2012 01:45:16 -0400 Subject: Hi Boston Message-ID: <553657.59836.bm@smtp102.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> hey Boston i really hope im always able to keep doing what im doing http://www.cnbc5i.net/may14/ have no regrets tomorrow about something you could have done today From tim_ripley@yahoo.com Mon May 14 09:22:44 2012 From: tim_ripley@yahoo.com (Tim Ripley) Date: Mon, 14 May 2012 06:22:44 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Hit by Spambot In-Reply-To: <792560.59836.bm@smtp102.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> References: <792560.59836.bm@smtp102.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1337001764.47865.YahooMailNeo@web34508.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Hi fellow members...ignore the enclosed message if you get it, I got nailed by a spambot... ? Tim === ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: "tim_ripley@yahoo.com" To: boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org Sent: Monday, May 14, 2012 2:45:11 AM Subject: RE: Hi Boston Boston hey at a certain point you just want to start helping others instead of doing more for yourself http://www.cnbc5i.net/may14/ everyone in my school has asked me where i found out about it From chris2526@comcast.net Wed May 16 02:23:29 2012 From: chris2526@comcast.net (Chris Hall) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 02:23:29 -0400 Subject: ME-TV The Honeymooners Message-ID: <6FE5E749EF4C48DF9F26F5379166E302@chrisHP> Isn?t it just great, we have two ME-TV affiliates in the Boston market and neither is running the Honeymooners at 10:00 PM, what can you expect from WMFP, it?s a lost cause. But WMUR running channel 9 news in its place. I am going to stage my own protest which I know will do zero good by no longer watching either channel 9 or Hearst WCVB-TV 5 news instead I will change to WBZ . You might think that WMUR would at least preempt something less popular and put the Honeymooner in it?s slot. Every time ME-TV does a Honeymooners promo it just rekindles my rage at Hearst From tony.abruzzese@gmail.com Wed May 16 11:35:22 2012 From: tony.abruzzese@gmail.com (Anthony Abruzzese) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 11:35:22 -0400 Subject: ME-TV The Honeymooners In-Reply-To: <6FE5E749EF4C48DF9F26F5379166E302@chrisHP> Message-ID: According to the ME-TV website, Paid Programming runs at 10 pm and the Honeymooners runs at 10:30. Tony From: Chris Hall Date: Wednesday, May 16, 2012 2:23 AM To: "boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org" Subject: ME-TV The Honeymooners Isn?t it just great, we have two ME-TV affiliates in the Boston market and neither is running the Honeymooners at 10:00 PM, what can you expect from WMFP, it?s a lost cause. But WMUR running channel 9 news in its place. I am going to stage my own protest which I know will do zero good by no longer watching either channel 9 or Hearst WCVB-TV 5 news instead I will change to WBZ . You might think that WMUR would at least preempt something less popular and put the Honeymooner in it?s slot. Every time ME-TV does a Honeymooners promo it just rekindles my rage at Hearst From raccoonradio@mail.com Wed May 16 11:07:02 2012 From: raccoonradio@mail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 11:07:02 -0400 Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel Message-ID: <20120516150702.227090@gmx.com> Whoa. http://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/58204/wfnx-boston-sold-to-clear-channel/#.T7PBO8U3aSo "Clear Channel has agreed to purchase Alternative 101.7 WFNX http://wfnx.com/ Boston for an undisclosed price." Does this mean an FM home for Talk 1200? Does it stay the same? Or adopt a format like Spanish-language? Mindich does say of course that the station will remain the same until the FCC approval, etc. takes place. From gary@garysicecream.com Wed May 16 11:42:22 2012 From: gary@garysicecream.com (Garys Ice Cream) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 11:42:22 -0400 Subject: ME-TV The Honeymooners In-Reply-To: References: <6FE5E749EF4C48DF9F26F5379166E302@chrisHP> Message-ID: <01f601cd337a$7d1160d0$77342270$@com> Cheers runs at 10:30pm on WMUR(2) www.garysicecream.com -----Original Message----- From: boston-radio-interest-bounces@tsornin.BostonRadio.org [mailto:boston-radio-interest-bounces@tsornin.BostonRadio.org] On Behalf Of Anthony Abruzzese Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2012 11:35 AM To: Chris Hall; boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org Subject: Re: ME-TV The Honeymooners According to the ME-TV website, Paid Programming runs at 10 pm and the Honeymooners runs at 10:30. Tony From: Chris Hall Date: Wednesday, May 16, 2012 2:23 AM To: "boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org" Subject: ME-TV The Honeymooners Isn?t it just great, we have two ME-TV affiliates in the Boston market and neither is running the Honeymooners at 10:00 PM, what can you expect from WMFP, it?s a lost cause. But WMUR running channel 9 news in its place. I am going to stage my own protest which I know will do zero good by no longer watching either channel 9 or Hearst WCVB-TV 5 news instead I will change to WBZ . You might think that WMUR would at least preempt something less popular and put the Honeymooner in it?s slot. Every time ME-TV does a Honeymooners promo it just rekindles my rage at Hearst From n1qgs@yahoo.com Wed May 16 11:39:21 2012 From: n1qgs@yahoo.com (John Bolduc) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 08:39:21 -0700 (PDT) Subject: RIP Carl Beane In-Reply-To: <20120509205710.227100@gmx.com> References: <20120509205710.227100@gmx.com> Message-ID: <1337182761.78870.YahooMailNeo@web162904.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> WGAM/WGME in southern New Hampshire was to have him doing a regular show starting later this month. They did start to promote the lineup change prior to his passing. ? John B > From raccoonradio@mail.com Wed May 16 12:47:54 2012 From: raccoonradio@mail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 12:47:54 -0400 Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel Message-ID: <20120516164754.227060@gmx.com> I don't know but that Boston BizJournal article quotes an unnamed sources as saying 101.7 could become country or Spanish language talk. I don't know if that was a sarcastic remark but WKLB did just finish #2 in the 6+ people meter ratings. Others speculate AC (going after WMJX?) Any conservative talk fans drooling over the possibility of 101.7 simulcasting 1200 probably shouldn't get their hopes up (but who knows?) CC could have a music station and an additional revenue stream rather than having a simulcast of 1200. --Bob ----- Original Message ----- From: Maureen Carney Sent: 05/16/12 12:43 PM To: Bob Nelson, \(newsgroup\) Boston-Radio-Interest Subject: Re: WFNX sold to Clear Channel WFNX has laid off 16: http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/news/2012/05/16/1017-wfnx-will-be-sold-to-clearchannel.html?surround=etf&ana=e_article Since 101.7 doesn't cover all the market will they run it with 101.5 WWBB Providence in a simulcast (no matter what format comes there)? From kvahey@gmail.com Wed May 16 11:09:19 2012 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 11:09:19 -0400 Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel Message-ID: Stephen M. Mindich just informed the staff and made it clear alternative rock is done. http://blog.thephoenix.com/BLOGS/phlog/archive/2012/05/16/breaking-101-7-wfnx-is-being-sold-to-clearchannel-pending-fcc-approval.aspx My bet is the station goes Spanish From kenwvt@gmail.com Wed May 16 11:16:15 2012 From: kenwvt@gmail.com (Ken VanTassell) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 11:16:15 -0400 Subject: FNX being sold to clear channel Message-ID: I wonder why clear channel even wants WFNX. http://blog.thephoenix.com/BLOGS/phlog/archive/2012/05/16/breaking-101-7-wfnx-is-being-sold-to-clearchannel-pending-fcc-approval.aspx -Ken From m_carney@yahoo.com Wed May 16 12:43:05 2012 From: m_carney@yahoo.com (Maureen Carney) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 09:43:05 -0700 (PDT) Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel In-Reply-To: <20120516150702.227090@gmx.com> References: <20120516150702.227090@gmx.com> Message-ID: <1337186585.47334.YahooMailNeo@web161304.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> WFNX has laid off 16: http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/news/2012/05/16/1017-wfnx-will-be-sold-to-clearchannel.html?surround=etf&ana=e_article? Since 101.7 doesn't cover all the market will they run it with 101.5 WWBB Providence in a simulcast (no matter what format comes there)? From scott@fybush.com Wed May 16 12:51:29 2012 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 12:51:29 -0400 Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel In-Reply-To: <20120516164754.227060@gmx.com> References: <20120516164754.227060@gmx.com> Message-ID: <4FB3DB11.2000203@fybush.com> On 5/16/2012 12:47 PM, Bob Nelson wrote: > I don't know but that Boston BizJournal article quotes an unnamed > sources as saying 101.7 could become country or Spanish language > talk. > > I don't know if that was a sarcastic remark but WKLB did just finish > #2 in the 6+ people meter ratings. Others speculate AC (going after > WMJX?) Any conservative talk fans drooling over the possibility of > 101.7 simulcasting 1200 probably shouldn't get their hopes up (but > who knows?) CC could have a music station and an additional revenue > stream rather than having a simulcast of 1200. Given the limitations of the 101.7 signal, it seems to me a 1200 simulcast is extremely unlikely. 1200's big problem is that it doesn't reach the redder suburbs after dark. 101.7 doesn't get out to 495-land by day or by night. From Jibguy@aol.com Wed May 16 13:24:57 2012 From: Jibguy@aol.com (Jibguy@aol.com) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 13:24:57 -0400 (EDT) Subject: FNX being sold to clear channel Message-ID: In a message dated 5/16/2012 1:03:40 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, kenwvt@gmail.com writes: I wonder why clear channel even wants WFNX. ------------------------- Uh.... because someone else presently has it? From walkerbroadcasting@gmail.com Wed May 16 13:56:21 2012 From: walkerbroadcasting@gmail.com (Paul B. Walker, Jr.) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 13:56:21 -0400 Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel In-Reply-To: References: <20120516150702.227090@gmx.com> <1337186585.47334.YahooMailNeo@web161304.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Doesnt WFNX still have a signal near Manchester and Concord on 92.1.. Peterborough Im thinking? What happens to that station? Who would buy it? Paul From kc1ih@mac.com Wed May 16 13:01:24 2012 From: kc1ih@mac.com (Larry Weil) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 13:01:24 -0400 Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <14172D4A-A9EC-4D05-A92E-7A8E36F88711@mac.com> On May 16, 2012, at 11:09 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: > Stephen M. Mindich just informed the staff and made it clear alternative > rock is done. > > http://blog.thephoenix.com/BLOGS/phlog/archive/2012/05/16/breaking-101-7-wfnx-is-being-sold-to-clearchannel-pending-fcc-approval.aspx > This makes me wonder what will happen to WFEX 92.1 in Peterborough, NH? Does anyone know if this is included in the deal? Larry Weil Lake Wobegone, NH From jjlehmann@comcast.net Wed May 16 13:59:55 2012 From: jjlehmann@comcast.net (Jeff Lehmann) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 13:59:55 -0400 Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel In-Reply-To: References: <20120516150702.227090@gmx.com> <1337186585.47334.YahooMailNeo@web161304.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <2BBCCF88-9957-483E-8781-82D3EA56E155@comcast.net> If I had to guess, I'd say K Love (EMF)... Jeff Lehmann On May 16, 2012, at 1:56 PM, "Paul B. Walker, Jr." wrote: > Doesnt WFNX still have a signal near Manchester and Concord on 92.1.. > Peterborough Im thinking? > > What happens to that station? Who would buy it? > > Paul From jjlehmann@comcast.net Wed May 16 13:59:55 2012 From: jjlehmann@comcast.net (Jeff Lehmann) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 13:59:55 -0400 Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel In-Reply-To: References: <20120516150702.227090@gmx.com> <1337186585.47334.YahooMailNeo@web161304.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <2BBCCF88-9957-483E-8781-82D3EA56E155@comcast.net> If I had to guess, I'd say K Love (EMF)... Jeff Lehmann On May 16, 2012, at 1:56 PM, "Paul B. Walker, Jr." wrote: > Doesnt WFNX still have a signal near Manchester and Concord on 92.1.. > Peterborough Im thinking? > > What happens to that station? Who would buy it? > > Paul From scott@fybush.com Wed May 16 13:59:07 2012 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 13:59:07 -0400 Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel In-Reply-To: References: <20120516150702.227090@gmx.com> <1337186585.47334.YahooMailNeo@web161304.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <4FB3EAEB.5020708@fybush.com> On 5/16/2012 1:56 PM, Paul B. Walker, Jr. wrote: > Doesnt WFNX still have a signal near Manchester and Concord on 92.1.. > Peterborough Im thinking? > > What happens to that station? Who would buy it? > WFEX Peterborough on 92.1. Middling signal in Manchester, no signal in Concord to speak of. It's been for sale for a while, and presumably still is. From mrschuyler@aol.com Wed May 16 10:53:36 2012 From: mrschuyler@aol.com (J.E.Schuyler) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 10:53:36 -0400 (EDT) Subject: ME-TV The Honeymooners Message-ID: <8CF018ACE726F1C-1388-D58C@Webmail-d102.sysops.aol.com> For what it's worth, Channels 9.2 and 62.1 also run The Honeymooners at 5:00 am weekdays, right before Dobie Gillis, in lieu of the farm report. Set your DVR. I don't have one, so, "Bang, zoom!" --schuyler From lglavin@mail.com Wed May 16 13:00:45 2012 From: lglavin@mail.com (Laurence Glavin) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 13:00:45 -0400 Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel Message-ID: <20120516170045.24930@gmx.com> >----- Original Message ----- >From: Kevin Vahey >Sent: 05/16/12 11:09 AM >To: (newsgroup) Boston-Radio-Interest >Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel >Stephen M. Mindich just informed the staff and made it clear alternative >rock is done. >http://blog.thephoenix.com/BLOGS/phlog/archive/2012/05/16/breaking-101-7-wfnx-is-being-sold-to-clearchannel-pending-fcc-approval.aspx >My bet is the station goes Spanish I wonder if Mr. Mindich made it known to area broadcasters that he was interested in selling WFNX. You can guess that I wish WGBH had been able to purchase it and make it the downtown Boston version of WCRB-99.5. Practically from the beginning of WGBH's ownership of WCRB, listeners inside route 128 complained about the difficulty they experienced picking up the signal. Could Harvard University one day notice the lack of interest in over-the-air radio by their undergraduates and switch WHRB-FM to internet radio, thus making 95.3 available for purchase? From mpward@gmail.com Wed May 16 14:17:10 2012 From: mpward@gmail.com (Mike Ward) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 14:17:10 -0400 Subject: FNX being sold to clear channel In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Clear Channel is not buying WFNX, so they don't "want" WFNX. Clear Channel is buying the facility at 101.7 that is the current home of WFNX. On May 16, 2012 1:57 PM, wrote: > > In a message dated 5/16/2012 1:03:40 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, > kenwvt@gmail.com writes: > > I wonder why clear channel even wants WFNX. > > > > > ------------------------- > Uh.... because someone else presently has it? > From wollman@bimajority.org Wed May 16 15:00:48 2012 From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 15:00:48 -0400 Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel In-Reply-To: <20120516170045.24930@gmx.com> References: <20120516170045.24930@gmx.com> Message-ID: <20403.63840.782147.314517@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> < said: > Could Harvard University one day notice the lack of interest in > over-the-air radio by their undergraduates and switch WHRB-FM to > internet radio, thus making 95.3 available for purchase? Sure, Harvard University could do that, if they owned WHRB. Since they don't, they can't. WHRB is owned by Harvard Radio Broadcasting Co., Inc., an independent not-for-profit corporation, which is governed by a ten-person board of trustees. See for their most recent biennial ownership report. -GAWollman From walkerbroadcasting@gmail.com Wed May 16 13:56:21 2012 From: walkerbroadcasting@gmail.com (Paul B. Walker, Jr.) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 13:56:21 -0400 Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel In-Reply-To: References: <20120516150702.227090@gmx.com> <1337186585.47334.YahooMailNeo@web161304.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Doesnt WFNX still have a signal near Manchester and Concord on 92.1.. Peterborough Im thinking? What happens to that station? Who would buy it? Paul From Jibguy@aol.com Wed May 16 15:34:35 2012 From: Jibguy@aol.com (Jibguy@aol.com) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 15:34:35 -0400 (EDT) Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel Message-ID: <14ad9.7eb77c6f.3ce55b4b@aol.com> In a message dated 5/16/2012 3:32:48 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, scott@fybush.com writes: WFEX Peterborough on 92.1. Middling signal in Manchester, no signal in Concord to speak of. It's been for sale for a while, and presumably still is. --------------------- Catholic-92.1 ? Those are the two bigger buyers of smaller stations these days... EMF and Catholic lay-groups..... ---BB From kvahey@gmail.com Wed May 16 15:46:32 2012 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 15:46:32 -0400 Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel In-Reply-To: <14ad9.7eb77c6f.3ce55b4b@aol.com> References: <14ad9.7eb77c6f.3ce55b4b@aol.com> Message-ID: <-4688948396402505420@unknownmsgid> The Phoenix says they will keep the WFNX calls and to warehouse them they need at least one station. New Hampshire could simply air the internet feed from Lynn. Sent from my iPhone On May 16, 2012, at 3:36 PM, "Jibguy@aol.com" wrote: > > In a message dated 5/16/2012 3:32:48 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, > scott@fybush.com writes: > > WFEX Peterborough on 92.1. Middling signal in Manchester, no signal in > Concord to speak of. It's been for sale for a while, and presumably > still is. > > > > --------------------- > > Catholic-92.1 ? > > Those are the two bigger buyers of smaller stations these days... EMF and > Catholic lay-groups..... > > ---BB From walkerbroadcasting@gmail.com Wed May 16 15:49:50 2012 From: walkerbroadcasting@gmail.com (Paul B. Walker, Jr.) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 15:49:50 -0400 Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel In-Reply-To: <-4688948396402505420@unknownmsgid> References: <14ad9.7eb77c6f.3ce55b4b@aol.com> <-4688948396402505420@unknownmsgid> Message-ID: Where is the "local studio" for WFEX? I can't imagine they put much effort into a local prescense there so the setup has gotta be interesting. I'd read the 1220/92.1 Sanford, ME set up was interesting. Paul On Wed, May 16, 2012 at 3:46 PM, Kevin Vahey wrote: > The Phoenix says they will keep the WFNX calls and to warehouse them > they need at least one station. New Hampshire could simply air the > internet feed from Lynn. > > Sent from my iPhone > > On May 16, 2012, at 3:36 PM, "Jibguy@aol.com" wrote: > > > > > In a message dated 5/16/2012 3:32:48 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, > > scott@fybush.com writes: > > > > WFEX Peterborough on 92.1. Middling signal in Manchester, no signal in > > Concord to speak of. It's been for sale for a while, and presumably > > still is. > > > > > > > > --------------------- > > > > Catholic-92.1 ? > > > > Those are the two bigger buyers of smaller stations these days... EMF and > > Catholic lay-groups..... > > > > ---BB > From sid@wrko.com Wed May 16 11:58:09 2012 From: sid@wrko.com (Sid Schweiger) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 15:58:09 +0000 Subject: WFNX to Clear Channel Message-ID: <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C90C651@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> According to a bulletin from All Access, the Phoenix Media Group is selling WFNX to Clear Channel. No sale price was disclosed, but they included a statement from Steve Mindich saying it's too difficult at this point to keep it going. Sid Schweiger IT Manager, Entercom New England 20 Guest St / 3d Floor Brighton MA 02135-2040 From lglavin@mail.com Wed May 16 15:53:22 2012 From: lglavin@mail.com (Laurence Glavin) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 15:53:22 -0400 Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel Message-ID: <20120516195322.24940@gmx.com> >----- Original Message ----- >From: Garrett Wollman >Sent: 05/16/12 03:00 PM >To: Laurence Glavin >Subject: Re: WFNX sold to Clear Channel < said: > Could Harvard University one day notice the lack of interest in > over-the-air radio by their undergraduates and switch WHRB-FM to > internet radio, thus making 95.3 available for purchase? >Sure, Harvard University could do that, if they owned WHRB. Since they >don't, they can't. >WHRB is owned by Harvard Radio Broadcasting Co., Inc., an independent >not-for-profit corporation, which is governed by a ten-person board of >trustees. See > >for their most recent biennial ownership report. >-GAWollman OK, let's jump to the next hurdle: except for such fare as "Hillbilly at Harvard" that seems to be hosted by Harvard Alumni, just about all of the rest of WHRB's programming is provided by students there. All over the country, some FM stations have sold their facilities or turned in their licenses because the students evinced little interest in radio. If Crimsonites disdained to use their precious few hours of free time broadcasting to a nearly non-existent audience (and under new Arbitron policies, we can't even see what the station's listenership is any more), THEN would the licensee consider a sale with the proceeds going to some Harvard entity that could use the largesse? From peterwmurray@gmail.com Wed May 16 14:58:46 2012 From: peterwmurray@gmail.com (Peter Murray) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 14:58:46 -0400 Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel In-Reply-To: <2BBCCF88-9957-483E-8781-82D3EA56E155@comcast.net> References: <20120516150702.227090@gmx.com> <1337186585.47334.YahooMailNeo@web161304.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> <2BBCCF88-9957-483E-8781-82D3EA56E155@comcast.net> Message-ID: I would be surprised if they were to move the WFNX calls to 92.1 and use that as part of an online presence - that is probably wishful thinking. I suspect Steve Mindich received an offer (solicited or otherwise) for WFNX that he could not refuse - and I am certain that Clear Channel has a specific use in mind for 101.7, which for a class-A FM, I always thought got out pretty well. I remember listening to them (quite often) almost all the way out to I-84, though much past Auburn the signal was certainly not above radio-geek-grade... According to the maps at Radio-Locator, WFEX' 170W is nearly as potent as WFNX' 1700W. Of course, 230m of additional HAAT makes all the difference - but 170W with not too much population within the 60dBu is a tough sell to advertisers. But as always, if the content is compelling, people will go to great lengths to listen! -Peter On Wed, May 16, 2012 at 1:59 PM, Jeff Lehmann wrote: > If I had to guess, I'd say K Love (EMF)... > > Jeff Lehmann > > On May 16, 2012, at 1:56 PM, "Paul B. Walker, Jr." < > walkerbroadcasting@gmail.com> wrote: > > > Doesnt WFNX still have a signal near Manchester and Concord on 92.1.. > > Peterborough Im thinking? > > > > What happens to that station? Who would buy it? > > > > Paul > > From paul@derrynh.net Wed May 16 15:15:57 2012 From: paul@derrynh.net (Paul) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 15:15:57 -0400 (EDT) Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel In-Reply-To: References: <20120516150702.227090@gmx.com> <1337186585.47334.YahooMailNeo@web161304.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <790206960.102002.1337195757707.JavaMail.open-xchange@email.1and1.com> Here's my idea.... CC buys 92.1 Peterborough... Runs the "Morning Buzz" (currently on 100.3 Portsmouth and 101.1 Manchester) 6-10A Then simulcasts 1200 from 10:00AM onward, including Severan 3-6P... What I'd do.... -Paul Hopfgarten -Epping NH On May 16, 2012 at 1:56 PM "Paul B. Walker, Jr." wrote: > Doesnt WFNX still have a signal near Manchester and Concord on 92.1.. > Peterborough Im thinking? > > What happens to that station? Who would buy it? > > Paul From paul@derrynh.net Wed May 16 15:15:57 2012 From: paul@derrynh.net (Paul) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 15:15:57 -0400 (EDT) Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel In-Reply-To: References: <20120516150702.227090@gmx.com> <1337186585.47334.YahooMailNeo@web161304.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <790206960.102002.1337195757707.JavaMail.open-xchange@email.1and1.com> Here's my idea.... CC buys 92.1 Peterborough... Runs the "Morning Buzz" (currently on 100.3 Portsmouth and 101.1 Manchester) 6-10A Then simulcasts 1200 from 10:00AM onward, including Severan 3-6P... What I'd do.... -Paul Hopfgarten -Epping NH On May 16, 2012 at 1:56 PM "Paul B. Walker, Jr." wrote: > Doesnt WFNX still have a signal near Manchester and Concord on 92.1.. > Peterborough Im thinking? > > What happens to that station? Who would buy it? > > Paul From Donald_Astelle@yahoo.com Wed May 16 16:03:01 2012 From: Donald_Astelle@yahoo.com (Don) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 16:03:01 -0400 Subject: WFNX to Clear Channel References: <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C90C651@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> Message-ID: > According to a bulletin from All Access, the Phoenix Media Group is > selling WFNX to Clear Channel. No sale price > was disclosed, but they > included a statement from Steve Mindich saying it's too difficult at this > point to keep it going. Ummmm...where have you been? This has been discussed all day! ;-) From dan.strassberg@att.net Wed May 16 16:17:42 2012 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan.Strassberg) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 16:17:42 -0400 Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel References: <20120516150702.227090@gmx.com> <1337186585.47334.YahooMailNeo@web161304.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Any possibility that CCU has something more exotic in mind--like moving 101.5 to Boston (or a suburb that currently has no station licensed to it)? If WFNX were taken dark, would a move-in of 101.5 to Boston or environs be possible? And if so, what facilities would 101.5 be able to get in/near Boston? WFNX is licensed to Lynn but Lynn has another radio station--WLYN (AM), so the FCC might allow WFNX to go dark. If a move-in were feasible, I'll bet that the cost of WFNX plus the cost of engineering a 101.5 move to Boston would be less than the cost of buying any full B FM in Boston--if one were available. Of course, if the moved 101.5 were restricted to the B-1 class, the poorer facilities (compared with the rest of Boston's full Bs--among which I include WBOS, WEEI-FM, WKLB, and WROR--even though they are licensed to nearby communities, rather than to Boston itself) would not justify paying the price of a full B. (AFAIK, WAAF is the only commercial B-1 in the Boston area--and its metroWest location, bizarre pattern, and protection requirements reduce its value compared with a that of a better-situated B-1, let alone most any full B) ----- Dan Strassberg (dan.strassberg@att.net) eFax 1-707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Maureen Carney" To: "Bob Nelson" ; "(newsgroup) Boston-Radio-Interest" Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2012 12:43 PM Subject: Re: WFNX sold to Clear Channel WFNX has laid off 16: http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/news/2012/05/16/1017-wfnx-will-be-sold-to-clearchannel.html?surround=etf&ana=e_article Since 101.7 doesn't cover all the market will they run it with 101.5 WWBB Providence in a simulcast (no matter what format comes there)? From dlh@donnahalper.com Wed May 16 16:35:48 2012 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 16:35:48 -0400 Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel In-Reply-To: References: <14ad9.7eb77c6f.3ce55b4b@aol.com> <-4688948396402505420@unknownmsgid> Message-ID: <4FB40FA4.9080504@donnahalper.com> On 5/16/2012 3:49 PM, Paul B. Walker, Jr. wrote: > Where is the "local studio" for WFEX? I can't imagine they put much effort > into a local prescense there so the setup has gotta be interesting. > I hear that most of the staff has already been fired. At the risk of beating a dead horse, corporate decisions that result in getting rid of the few independent and local stations never make me happy; and these kinds of decisions do radio listeners no favors. From scott@fybush.com Wed May 16 17:17:34 2012 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 17:17:34 -0400 Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel In-Reply-To: References: <20120516150702.227090@gmx.com> <1337186585.47334.YahooMailNeo@web161304.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <4FB4196E.7090907@fybush.com> On 5/16/2012 4:17 PM, Dan.Strassberg wrote: > Any possibility that CCU has something more exotic in mind--like > moving 101.5 to Boston (or a suburb that currently has no station > licensed to it)? If WFNX were taken dark, would a move-in of 101.5 to > Boston or environs be possible? And if so, what facilities would > 101.5 be able to get in/near Boston? WFNX is licensed to Lynn but > Lynn has another radio station--WLYN (AM), so the FCC might allow > WFNX to go dark. Unlike with AM or noncommercial FM, it doesn't work that way here. Taking WFNX dark only removes the current license from the database, but it leaves behind a vacant class A allocation at 101.7 in Lynn, which would then proceed to auction (and which would have to be protected in the meantime.) Moving 101.5 into Boston has the same problem that upgrading 101.7 does: the IF spacing to WBUR. Right now, 1 Financial Center just squeaks by as a 101.7A site, since the minimum spacing is 15 km and the 14.65 km spacing to WBUR rounds up. But the spacing for B-to-B1 is 17 km, and 24 km for B-to-B. > itself) would not justify paying the price of a full B. (AFAIK, WAAF > is the only commercial B-1 in the Boston area--and its metroWest > location, bizarre pattern, and protection requirements reduce its > value compared with a that of a better-situated B-1, let alone most > any full B) WAAF is a B. s From kvahey@gmail.com Wed May 16 19:21:10 2012 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 19:21:10 -0400 Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel In-Reply-To: <4FB4196E.7090907@fybush.com> References: <20120516150702.227090@gmx.com> <1337186585.47334.YahooMailNeo@web161304.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> <4FB4196E.7090907@fybush.com> Message-ID: Oh My Goodness Look who just made his first post at radio-info http://boards.radio-info.com/smf/index.php?topic=212363.msg1904266#msg1904266 I thought he had died. From jjlehmann@comcast.net Wed May 16 19:41:45 2012 From: jjlehmann@comcast.net (Jeff Lehmann) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 19:41:45 -0400 Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel In-Reply-To: References: <20120516150702.227090@gmx.com> <1337186585.47334.YahooMailNeo@web161304.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> <4FB4196E.7090907@fybush.com> Message-ID: <9CA5C4C0-B208-4B93-85FD-6697270DD981@comcast.net> For some reason he'd only been over on radioinsight since the big ownership change of radio-info a few years ago. It was nice while it lasted... Jeff Lehmann On May 16, 2012, at 7:21 PM, Kevin Vahey wrote: > Oh My Goodness > > Look who just made his first post at radio-info > > http://boards.radio-info.com/smf/index.php?topic=212363.msg1904266#msg1904266 > > > I thought he had died. From dan.strassberg@att.net Wed May 16 22:01:46 2012 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan.Strassberg) Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 22:01:46 -0400 Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel References: <20120516150702.227090@gmx.com><1337186585.47334.YahooMailNeo@web161304.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> <4FB4196E.7090907@fybush.com> Message-ID: But the table of allocations gets amended all the time. Is it that allocations can be moved without waiting for an auction but allocations can never be deleted unless an attempt is first made to auction them and there are no bidders at or above the FCC's minimum specified price? Clearly, there would always be bids at good prices for a Class A FM in Lynn. However, I think I've read of cases (maybe even multiple cases) in which FM allocations have been deleted to make room for upgrades of other stations. Remember WUPY (later WUPI)? Wasn't it at 105.5 (or maybe 105.3) and licensed to Lynn? I'm pretty sure that it was deleted--not moved. I don't think WLYN-FM (now WFNX) was the replacement for WUPY. I suppose that WKOX-FM (now WROR) might have been, but I don't believe it was. As originally built, I strongly doubt that WKOX-FM could have delivered 70 dBu to Lynn. ----- Dan Strassberg (dan.strassberg@att.net) eFax 1-707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Scott Fybush" To: Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2012 5:17 PM Subject: Re: WFNX sold to Clear Channel > > Unlike with AM or noncommercial FM, it doesn't work that way here. > Taking WFNX dark only removes the current license from the database, > but it leaves behind a vacant class A allocation at 101.7 in Lynn, > which would then proceed to auction (and which would have to be > protected in the meantime.) > From raccoonradio@mail.com Thu May 17 11:09:39 2012 From: raccoonradio@mail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Thu, 17 May 2012 11:09:39 -0400 Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel Message-ID: <20120517150939.227090@gmx.com> Scott Fybush tweets that the 92.1 up in NH, WFEX, is being sold to Bill Blount who will simulcast Derry religious station WDER 1320 on it. Also this may just be them funnin' us, but the WXKS 1200 facebook says "We'll give you 101.7 reasons to listen to TALK 1200-Boston. "Like" if you'll STAY TUNED! " Again, they could just be pulling our leg to attract attention but you wonder. Howie Carr made reference to the WFNX sale indirectly yesterday, saying that "stations are getting sold, one did just today...I might finally get out of here". That could of course be more of his campaign to find an "FM home" in the Boston area --and leave Entercom. From raccoonradio@mail.com Thu May 17 11:23:47 2012 From: raccoonradio@mail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Thu, 17 May 2012 11:23:47 -0400 Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel Message-ID: <20120517152347.227080@gmx.com> I was just about to link to the article; my own comments: >> Part of it could indeed be the deregulation that allowed multiple stations in the same market. Part of it also is today's exploding media environment, where there are smart phones, mp3 players, the Net, and so on. A friend of mine--who is 66--has a smart phone and raved about "with Pandora I can do what I want--do an all Fats Domino playlist!" People have shorter attention spans. Do you want music followed by 5 minute commercial breaks, or just music? Do you want DJs to come on and blab? We grew up with personality radio. Do people today want that? I speak as someone who has been on college radio up in Salem for 31 years. We just had our station banquet--awards given out, etc. We love doing alternative rock, blues, jazz, and so on. And we do have some listeners--but people today have other alternatives. Entercom was actually doing pretty well with Mike 93.7 before it got killed off to simulcast WEEI. People wanted a glorified mp3 player. (I worked as a news intern for 4 months at WFNX, 1983-84.) So yes the deregulation can create big profits but take away the local aspect of radio, and the emotional commitment. When Hurricane Irene hit last year, I did my show as usual but we had people calling in with updates (Bill Newell ex-WESX) and I helped pass along info to the listeners. Local, local, local. Of course on a small college station. Even that could be disappearing--look at what happened with Bryant college's station in R.I. Now simulcasting WCRB. >>As an addendum to this conversation, my friend media critic Dan Kennedy kindly published my commentary about the end of WFNX, on his blog Media Nation: http://www.dankennedy.net/2012/05/17/killing-radio-one-station-at-a-time-a-requiem-for-wfnx/ From raccoonradio@mail.com Thu May 17 11:31:23 2012 From: raccoonradio@mail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Thu, 17 May 2012 11:31:23 -0400 Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel Message-ID: <20120517153124.227080@gmx.com> By the way we do lament Clear Channel and the cookie cutter, non-local approach, but I should add that whether or not 101.7 becomes the new FM home of "Talk 1200", or whether it stays the same, at least Clear Channel has 2 local shows on the station: Jeff Katz and Jay Severin. A certain host on WRKO is hinting he'd like to go elsewhere; maybe he could be the third (assuming WXKS keeps both Jeff and Jay.) Or maybe he'd go to that station down the road from the Globe. When it was Air America radio, CC did not put on any local hosts on 1200/1430. They did have Jeff Santos on Sundays but that was it. I said at the time, "if they had a daily local host, more promotion, and a better signal they could do well". Since then they've seemed to have done that and, well, the ratings aren't stellar yet but at least they have tried. Slightly higher with the addition of Severin. (A move to 101.7? That signal isn't all that much better in the long run than 1200, but it would be on FM at least.) The point is, do local. WTKK, WRKO, WWZN, and WBZ (Rea, Leveille etc.) do have some local hosts. They're not running totally syndie. From scott@fybush.com Thu May 17 10:29:40 2012 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Thu, 17 May 2012 10:29:40 -0400 Subject: Whither WFEX? Message-ID: <4FB50B54.1070509@fybush.com> It's being sold to Bill Blount, owner of WVNE, WDER, WARV and other New England religious stations. It will begin simulcasting WDER when the sale closes. s From dlh@donnahalper.com Thu May 17 11:15:02 2012 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Thu, 17 May 2012 11:15:02 -0400 Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel In-Reply-To: <20120517150939.227090@gmx.com> References: <20120517150939.227090@gmx.com> Message-ID: <4FB515F6.2060202@donnahalper.com> On 5/17/2012 11:09 AM, Bob Nelson wrote: > Scott Fybush tweets that the 92.1 up in NH, WFEX, is being sold to Bill Blount who will simulcast > Derry religious station WDER 1320 on it. > > Also this may just be them funnin' us, but the WXKS 1200 facebook says "We'll give you 101.7 reasons to listen to TALK 1200-Boston. "Like" if you'll STAY TUNED! " Again, they could just be pulling our leg to attract attention but you wonder. Howie Carr made reference to the WFNX sale indirectly yesterday, saying that "stations are getting sold, one did just today...I might finally get out of here". That could of course be more of his campaign to find an "FM home" in the Boston area --and leave Entercom. > As an addendum to this conversation, my friend media critic Dan Kennedy kindly published my commentary about the end of WFNX, on his blog Media Nation: http://www.dankennedy.net/2012/05/17/killing-radio-one-station-at-a-time-a-requiem-for-wfnx/ From raccoonradio@mail.com Thu May 17 12:30:29 2012 From: raccoonradio@mail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Thu, 17 May 2012 12:30:29 -0400 Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel Message-ID: <20120517163029.227090@gmx.com> Yes it's a high price to pay for CC to find an FM home for WXKS (AM) and as you say it doesn't have the suburban reach they'd like. Is it a matter of "people prefer FM, whether at work or in the car" and this goes along with the whole simulcast-or-move situation talk, sports, or even news stations are now doing, nationwide. The ratings for WXKS (6 plus) did improve slightly with the addition of Severin. They now pull a 1 (WRKO pulls a 2). Would an FM move increase the ratings and billing enough to be worth it? I'm not sure if they would simulcast 1200 and 101.7--would they put something else on the AM?--but note what WEEI is doing. They remain on 850 as well as 93.7. There may be some areas where 93.7 may not reach well; more to the point, in such a situation both stations count, as a 100 per cent simulcast. What is the thinking--1200 reaches suburbs, 101.7 the city (or vice versa?) Is it worth going after the older talk show audience? (WRKO and WTKK seem to think so.) That's a good point, maybe people are too lazy to leave the FM band, and what kind of ratings are the simulcasts getting? Of course in such arrangements, the accent is on the FM signal. They say "you're next on 93.7" on WEEI. I was picking up WPEN 950 from Philly and the host said "You're next to 97.5 The Fanatic". The accent is on promoting the FM signal of course. Maybe a simulcast would work out and eventually they could pull talk off the 1200 and as you say give it a separate format, who knows what. But again a) it could be that some areas wouldn't get the 101.7 signal so it could be necessary--but again, people don't seem to want to flip to AM!, and b) consider the "simulcast ratings" bit...which is one reason why Entercom does a 100 per cent simulcast on both 850 and 93.7 rather than, say, all ESPN on the former. And as I've said before some people don't buy an AM-FM walkman...they get an mp3 player with the FM band only. Thus the need to move a spoken word format to ! FM, to reach them. From dan.strassberg@att.net Thu May 17 12:12:36 2012 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan.Strassberg) Date: Thu, 17 May 2012 12:12:36 -0400 Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel References: <20120517152347.227080@gmx.com> Message-ID: If CCU does indeed simulcast Talk1200 on 101.7, it will show that the company (or someone at the company who can sign off on a--reportedly--$11M purchase) believes that the reason for Talk1200's low ratings is not so much related to the 50-kW AM signal's limited geographic reach as to the fact that it is not an FM signal. I don't know how many Arbitron "books" it takes before those who follow Arbitron say that they have spotted a trend, but my guess is that if, after three months of a simulcast, the Talk101.7/1200 combo is getting 3.0 (6+) shares or better, we will be able to dispense with the idea that lack of suburban coverage (especially at night) was Talk1200's problem--because, as Scott Fybush pointed out yesterday--101.7 will not bring many suburban listeners to the (Tea) Party. It would be interesting to compile a table of the recent ratings history of major-market AMs with news or news/talk formats and decent (or better than just decent) signals that have added FM simulcasts (and especially a table of such stations whose FM simulcasts have relatively poor suburban coverage). If, in multiple markets, a weak-signaled FM simulcast can provide a major ratings boost to a big-signal AM with a news or news/talk format, the point will be proven that FM _coverage_ is not the issue. Rather, the issue is that listeners are simply too lazy or stupid to flip the band switch on their AM/FM receivers. It would probably also show that a 97.7 simulcast could resuscitate WRKO. If so, it's time to end the 107.3/97.7 simulcast and move WAAF back to Paxton. (I have, alas, no hope that anyone in a position of authority at Entercom would be smart enough to move WAAF back where it belongs.) Also at issue is, if a 101.7 simulcast can transform the ratings picture at Talk1200, why would the AM side of the 101.7/1200 simulcast even be necessary? If 101.7 can, by itself, pull 3 shares (or close) by running what is today still the Talk1200 format, what should CCU do with 1200? Maybe move Mia there from 1430? And then, what becomes of 1430? It has been only a couple of years since CCU had Spanish formats on both 1200 and 1430. ----- Dan Strassberg (dan.strassberg@att.net) eFax 1-707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bob Nelson" To: "Donna Halper" Cc: "(newsgroup) Boston-Radio-Interest" Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2012 11:23 AM Subject: Re: WFNX sold to Clear Channel >I was just about to link to the article; my own comments: > > >> > Part of it could indeed be the deregulation that allowed multiple > stations in the same market. Part of it also is today's exploding > media environment, where there are smart phones, mp3 players, the > Net, and so on. A friend of mine--who is 66--has a smart phone and > raved about "with Pandora I can do what I want--do an all Fats > Domino playlist!" > > People have shorter attention spans. Do you want music followed by 5 > minute commercial breaks, or just music? Do you want DJs to come on > and blab? We grew up with personality radio. Do people today want > that? I speak as someone who has been on college radio up in Salem > for 31 years. We just had our station banquet--awards given out, > etc. We love doing alternative rock, blues, jazz, and so on. And we > do have some listeners--but people today have other alternatives. > > Entercom was actually doing pretty well with Mike 93.7 before it got > killed off to simulcast WEEI. People wanted a glorified mp3 player. > > (I worked as a news intern for 4 months at WFNX, 1983-84.) > > So yes the deregulation can create big profits but take away the > local aspect of radio, and the emotional commitment. When Hurricane > Irene hit last year, I did my show as usual but we had people > calling in with updates > (Bill Newell ex-WESX) and I helped pass along info to the listeners. > Local, local, local. Of course on a small college station. Even that > could be disappearing--look at what happened with Bryant college's > station in R.I. > Now simulcasting WCRB. > > >>As an addendum to this conversation, my friend media critic Dan > >>Kennedy kindly published my commentary about the end of WFNX, on > >>his blog Media Nation: > >>http://www.dankennedy.net/2012/05/17/killing-radio-one-station-at-a-time-a-requiem-for-wfnx/ From kvahey@gmail.com Thu May 17 13:05:48 2012 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Thu, 17 May 2012 13:05:48 -0400 Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel In-Reply-To: References: <20120517152347.227080@gmx.com> Message-ID: I don't think Clear Channel would have allowed the FB posting unless it was true. So IF indeed 101.7 becomes talk then I could see the format on 1430 moving to 1200. $11 million for a decent FM signal the heart of Boston is pocket change to CC. How much did they blow on upgrading the 1200 signal? From dan.strassberg@att.net Thu May 17 14:30:58 2012 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan.Strassberg) Date: Thu, 17 May 2012 14:30:58 -0400 Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel References: <20120517152347.227080@gmx.com> Message-ID: <6AB76AD1B5844BDA8B9A791E50526E15@SatU205S5044> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kevin Vahey" To: "Dan.Strassberg" Cc: "Bob Nelson" ; "Donna Halper" ; "(newsgroup) Boston-Radio-Interest" Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2012 1:05 PM Subject: Re: WFNX sold to Clear Channel > > $11 million for a decent FM signal the heart of Boston is pocket > change to > CC. How much did they blow on upgrading the 1200 signal? > The number I've heard for the 1200 upgrade is approximately $10 million. However, I have no idea of the accuracy of that number and I don't know what it includes. For example, does it include the cost of buying the old WKOX 1200 from Fairbanks? If the numbers are indeed within 10% of each other for the original AM upgrade and the FM simulcast whose alleged goal is to save the upgraded AM, the phrase "throwing good money after bad" comes to mind. Of course, if the FM simulcast really does save the upgraded AM, all of the sniping will be forgotten soon enough. BTW, it may indeed be Howie Carr who ultimately motivated CCU to spring for WFNX. If so, does Carr replace Jeff Katz in AM drive? Remember, when Carr thought that he was jumping to WTKK, he was going to be doing AM drive. I assume that if Carr moves to AM drive, Katz moves to the daypart in which CCU believes he will bring in the most $$$. And when his contract runs out, he's history (yet again). Also, how is the 101.7 signal in Wellesley? (Isn't that where Carr lives?) How long before he get pissed that the FM station CCU bought for him doesn't come in well where he lives? If that happens, how much "Clear Channel happens" will CCU management tolerate before they, too, have had enough of the arrogant SOB? From sid@wrko.com Thu May 17 11:09:02 2012 From: sid@wrko.com (Sid Schweiger) Date: Thu, 17 May 2012 15:09:02 +0000 Subject: WFNX to Clear Channel In-Reply-To: References: <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C90C651@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> Message-ID: <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C90D5E6@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> I e-mailed it to the group yesterday morning when it first hit, long before the first posting. No idea why it was delayed. -----Original Message----- From: Don [mailto:Donald_Astelle@Yahoo.com] Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2012 4:03 PM To: B-R-I Cc: Sid Schweiger Subject: Re: WFNX to Clear Channel > According to a bulletin from All Access, the Phoenix Media Group is > selling WFNX to Clear Channel. No sale price > was disclosed, but > they included a statement from Steve Mindich saying it's too difficult > at this point to keep it going. Ummmm...where have you been? This has been discussed all day! ;-) From kvahey@gmail.com Thu May 17 15:39:32 2012 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Thu, 17 May 2012 15:39:32 -0400 Subject: Anybody know the breakdown between 93.7 and 850? Message-ID: Just curious if anyone has seen recent figures to indicate how much of WEEI's audience has moved to FM. I can not see the simulcast continuing much longer and I wonder what options could be in play for 850. Perhaps doing on 850 what that have done with WWKB in Buffalo - liberal talk. http://www.kb1520.com/ or perhaps finally just airing ESPN Radio fulltime. or rolling the dice and airing ESPN Deportes http://espndeportes.espn.go.com/espndeportesradio/ Of course lurking in all of this is what CC does with 101.7. I could see 1200 going Spanish and then perhaps 1430 going Spanish sports. From raccoonradio@gmail.com Thu May 17 14:52:02 2012 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Thu, 17 May 2012 14:52:02 -0400 Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel In-Reply-To: <6AB76AD1B5844BDA8B9A791E50526E15@SatU205S5044> References: <20120517152347.227080@gmx.com> <6AB76AD1B5844BDA8B9A791E50526E15@SatU205S5044> Message-ID: Some are predicting 1200 would stay the same and 101.7 would go Spanish, reaching some areas with many Latinos, but there is indeed the idea that it could be a new FM home for Talk 1200. But yes, they did the 1200 improvements to launch the conservative talker and now they'd be taking it to FM after all that. Agreed about the whole Carr to am drive deal; would Katz be moved to another slot, or out the door? Then again if they feel they could do 3 local hosts and the rest syndie (Carr/Beck/Rush/Jay/Katz etc) they might think it's worth it. I don't know if Howie would care about how well 101.7 reaches Wellesley as long as he gets a good salary, gets on FM, etc. He's hinted he'd love to move down to Florida and do his show from there ("the Southern Command"---Rush) WFNX signal on radio-locator--the red circle (local) goes to just east of Framingham so allegedly it would reach the Carr manse in Swellesley... From bob.bosra@demattia.net Thu May 17 14:59:01 2012 From: bob.bosra@demattia.net (Bob DeMattia) Date: Thu, 17 May 2012 14:59:01 -0400 Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel In-Reply-To: <20120517153124.227080@gmx.com> References: <20120517153124.227080@gmx.com> Message-ID: > > By the way we do lament Clear Channel and the cookie cutter, non-local > approach, but I should add that > whether or not 101.7 becomes the new FM home of "Talk 1200", or whether > it stays the same, at least Clear Channel has 2 local shows on the station: > Jeff Katz and Jay Severin. Katz and Severin are two good counterexamples to the theory that Clear Channel always goes the non-local approach. Another example is WTAG - they seem to be earning their keep "hard way" on that little 5K AM, rather than add yet another Spanish station or worse yet a satellite-fed talk channel to the Worcester market. Their 1200AM is also heard on WXKS-FM-HD2 where it does pretty well, though not perfect, in Metrowest. -Bob From dan.strassberg@att.net Thu May 17 16:43:03 2012 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan.Strassberg) Date: Thu, 17 May 2012 16:43:03 -0400 Subject: Anybody know the breakdown between 93.7 and 850? References: Message-ID: <02E55EC826EF4A8EBD385FEEC17297EE@SatU205S5044> I can't imagine that happening, but if it should happen, liberal-talk listeners here might get a chance to hear other hosts besides the execrable Jeff Santos (currently on WWZN for what seem like 87 hours a day). Time absolutely doesn't fly when you're listening to Santos and if you're listening to WWZN, the likelihood is that Santos is on. Santos deserves a lot of credit for his skills as an entrepreneur and an impressario. It was no small feat to line up financial backing for his leased-time arrangement with WWZN. But he deserves no credit at all for his non-existent skills as a talk-show host. There ARE some good liberal talk hosts--Peter B Collins is just one of them. Maybe Santos's reason for not letting them on "his" station is that he doesn't want people to compare him to good hosts--or even to mediocre ones. (I'm aware that, in addition to Santos, WWZN carries Stephanie Miller, Thom Hartmann, and Norman Goldman, but all are on delay and the schedule is highly problematic, mostly due to sports pre-emptions; WWZN carries the Sox en Espanol as well as some college sports.) Oddly enough, CCU's Premiere Networks (obviously not a liberal company) syndicates Randy Rhodes, who, though no favorite of mine, is orders of magnitude better than Santos. ----- Dan Strassberg (dan.strassberg@att.net) eFax 1-707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kevin Vahey" To: "(newsgroup) Boston-Radio-Interest" Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2012 3:39 PM Subject: Anybody know the breakdown between 93.7 and 850? > Just curious if anyone has seen recent figures to indicate how much > of > WEEI's audience has moved to FM. > > I can not see the simulcast continuing much longer and I wonder what > options could be in play for 850. > > Perhaps doing on 850 what that have done with WWKB in Buffalo - > liberal > talk. > > http://www.kb1520.com/ > > or perhaps finally just airing ESPN Radio fulltime. > > or rolling the dice and airing ESPN Deportes > > http://espndeportes.espn.go.com/espndeportesradio/ > > Of course lurking in all of this is what CC does with 101.7. I > could see > 1200 going Spanish and then perhaps 1430 going Spanish sports. From kvahey@gmail.com Thu May 17 16:54:00 2012 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Thu, 17 May 2012 16:54:00 -0400 Subject: Anybody know the breakdown between 93.7 and 850? In-Reply-To: <02E55EC826EF4A8EBD385FEEC17297EE@SatU205S5044> References: <02E55EC826EF4A8EBD385FEEC17297EE@SatU205S5044> Message-ID: The Entercom Boston cluster is not doing well. They overpaid for the Red Sox especially after Greater Media walked away from the bidding. Putting WEEI on FM cost them the revenue from Mike-FM. Something has to give. On Thu, May 17, 2012 at 4:43 PM, Dan.Strassberg wrote: > I can't imagine that happening, but if it should happen, liberal-talk > listeners here might get a chance to hear other hosts besides the > execrable Jeff Santos (currently on WWZN for what seem like 87 hours a > day). Time absolutely doesn't fly when you're listening to Santos and > if you're listening to WWZN, the likelihood is that Santos is on. > Santos deserves a lot of credit for his skills as an entrepreneur and > an impressario. It was no small feat to line up financial backing for > his leased-time arrangement with WWZN. But he deserves no credit at > all for his non-existent skills as a talk-show host. There ARE some > good liberal talk hosts--Peter B Collins is just one of them. Maybe > Santos's reason for not letting them on "his" station is that he > doesn't want people to compare him to good hosts--or even to mediocre > ones. (I'm aware that, in addition to Santos, WWZN carries Stephanie > Miller, Thom Hartmann, and Norman Goldman, but all are on delay and > the schedule is highly problematic, mostly due to sports pre-emptions; > WWZN carries the Sox en Espanol as well as some college sports.) Oddly > enough, CCU's Premiere Networks (obviously not a liberal company) > syndicates Randy Rhodes, who, though no favorite of mine, is orders of > magnitude better than Santos. > > ----- > Dan Strassberg (dan.strassberg@att.net) > eFax 1-707-215-6367 > > From paul@derrynh.net Thu May 17 16:55:12 2012 From: paul@derrynh.net (Paul Hopfgarten) Date: Thu, 17 May 2012 16:55:12 -0400 Subject: Sale of WFNX In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <4D81F0D665974F3B807431B8475FFA41@PaulPC> Does the sale of WFNX and the end of its Alt Rock help WBOS at all? (Maybe WAAF?) I still think 850 will eventually be all Mothership all the time! -Paul Hopfgarten -----Original Message----- From: Kevin Vahey Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2012 3:39 PM To: (newsgroup) Boston-Radio-Interest Subject: Anybody know the breakdown between 93.7 and 850? Just curious if anyone has seen recent figures to indicate how much of WEEI's audience has moved to FM. I can not see the simulcast continuing much longer and I wonder what options could be in play for 850. Perhaps doing on 850 what that have done with WWKB in Buffalo - liberal talk. http://www.kb1520.com/ or perhaps finally just airing ESPN Radio fulltime. or rolling the dice and airing ESPN Deportes http://espndeportes.espn.go.com/espndeportesradio/ Of course lurking in all of this is what CC does with 101.7. I could see 1200 going Spanish and then perhaps 1430 going Spanish sports. From gary@garysicecream.com Thu May 17 16:26:59 2012 From: gary@garysicecream.com (Garys Ice Cream) Date: Thu, 17 May 2012 16:26:59 -0400 Subject: WFNX sold to Clear Channel In-Reply-To: References: <20120517152347.227080@gmx.com> <6AB76AD1B5844BDA8B9A791E50526E15@SatU205S5044> Message-ID: <031f01cd346b$6a4e6500$3eeb2f00$@com> I've wondered what has taken CC so long to bring the 1200 signal to the North Shore and Merrimack Valley. Were it not for XM radio I would no longer get my nightly "alien and shadow people fix" from Coast to Coast with George Norey since I cannot get 1200 after dark. www.garysicecream.com -----Original Message----- From: boston-radio-interest-bounces@tsornin.BostonRadio.org [mailto:boston-radio-interest-bounces@tsornin.BostonRadio.org] On Behalf Of Bob Nelson Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2012 2:52 PM To: Dan.Strassberg Cc: (newsgroup) Boston-Radio-Interest Subject: Re: WFNX sold to Clear Channel Some are predicting 1200 would stay the same and 101.7 would go Spanish, reaching some areas with many Latinos, but there is indeed the idea that it could be a new FM home for Talk 1200. But yes, they did the 1200 improvements to launch the conservative talker and now they'd be taking it to FM after all that. Agreed about the whole Carr to am drive deal; would Katz be moved to another slot, or out the door? Then again if they feel they could do 3 local hosts and the rest syndie (Carr/Beck/Rush/Jay/Katz etc) they might think it's worth it. I don't know if Howie would care about how well 101.7 reaches Wellesley as long as he gets a good salary, gets on FM, etc. He's hinted he'd love to move down to Florida and do his show from there ("the Southern Command"---Rush) WFNX signal on radio-locator--the red circle (local) goes to just east of Framingham so allegedly it would reach the Carr manse in Swellesley... From joe@attorneyross.com Thu May 17 17:04:16 2012 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Thu, 17 May 2012 17:04:16 -0400 Subject: Sale of WFNX In-Reply-To: <4D81F0D665974F3B807431B8475FFA41@PaulPC> References: <4D81F0D665974F3B807431B8475FFA41@PaulPC> Message-ID: <4FB567D0.1050101@attorneyross.com> On 5/17/2012 4:55 PM, Paul Hopfgarten wrote: > Does the sale of WFNX and the end of its Alt Rock help WBOS at all? > (Maybe WAAF?) > > I still think 850 will eventually be all Mothership all the time! All WHAT? -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 92 State Street, Suite 700 Fax: 617.507.7856 Boston, MA 02109-2004 http://www.attorneyross.com From lglavin@mail.com Thu May 17 18:05:03 2012 From: lglavin@mail.com (Laurence Glavin) Date: Thu, 17 May 2012 18:05:03 -0400 Subject: Anybody know the breakdown between 93.7 and 850? Message-ID: <20120517220503.24940@gmx.com> >----- Original Message ----- >From: Dan.Strassberg >Sent: 05/17/12 04:43 PM >To: Kevin Vahey, \(newsgroup\) Boston-Radio-Interest >Subject: Re: Anybody know the breakdown between 93.7 and 850? >I can't imagine that happening, but if it should happen, liberal-talk >listeners here might get a chance to hear other hosts besides the >execrable Jeff Santos (currently on WWZN for what seem like 87 hours a >day). Time absolutely doesn't fly when you're listening to Santos and >if you're listening to WWZN, the likelihood is that Santos is on. >Santos deserves a lot of credit for his skills as an entrepreneur and >an impressario. It was no small feat to line up financial backing for >his leased-time arrangement with WWZN. But he deserves no credit at >all for his non-existent skills as a talk-show host. There ARE some >good liberal talk hosts--Peter B Collins is just one of them. Maybe >Santos's reason for not letting them on "his" station is that he >doesn't want people to compare him to good hosts--or even to mediocre >ones. (I'm aware that, in addition to Santos, WWZN carries Stephanie >Miller, Thom Hartmann, and Norman Goldman, but all are on delay and >the schedule i! s highly problematic, mostly due to sports pre-emptions; >WWZN carries the Sox en Espanol as well as some college sports.) Oddly >enough, CCU's Premiere Networks (obviously not a liberal company) >syndicates Randy Rhodes, who, though no favorite of mine, is orders of >magnitude better than Santos. >----- >Dan Strassberg (dan.strassberg@att.net) A casual reader of Dan's post could be excused for believing that he's indulging in a bit of hyperbole, but he isnt! In fact, he may be UNDERSTATING Jeff Santos's awfulness. For those whose exposure to WWZN-AM 1510 in Boston is limited, first count your blessings, and if you're up to the challenge, just TRY to listen to just one hour of the seven scheduled hours he occupies on the station. That's right: SEVEN HOURS A DAY! He's host of the three-hour morning drive-time block from 7:00 am till 10:00 am (although one hour of that span is given over to Santos going "er, um, ahh..." not consecutively be interspersed throughout his morng stint). After having gotten out of bed in the wee small hours of the morning for a show with no listeners and no callers, so that he's forced to fill the time with scheduled guests, he takes a break of a few hours to nap, have lunch, and he comes back for his afternoon drive-time show scheduled from 3:00 pm until seven o'clock when there's no Red Sox game, or they're on the West Coast. (That's the situation now; of course during the off-season, the 7:00 pm signoff is five days a week). There are times when I believe that WWZN "management" may be trying to sabotage the programming Santos underwrites. They run the VERY same promos and PSAs day after day at the same times so you know when "Don't throw mercury in the trash" is likely to air and therefore you know when to turn the volume down or change the station. (Santos's own promo is one of the worst ever made; it hasn't changed in ages. The only voices heard are Barney Frank, who's in the minority now and is leaving Congress in January, but is still described as one of the biggest names in politics, and John Nichols who's described as one of the biggest names in journalism. Oh really?. And although the idea of a promo is to inform listeners when the program in question is being broadcast, THIS INFORMATION IS COMPLETELY MISSING! Now Dan got one item wrong...the Stephanie Miller show IS broadcast live for the final two hours of her show on the network (it's also available as a simulcast on Current TV for the whole three hours) from 10:00 am till noon, followed by Ed Schultz's radio show from noon till Santos's afternoon block at three. The Harvard Business School should issue a paper on the insanity of the way WWZN is run...it would qualify as a case study in bizarro world. From bob.bosra@demattia.net Thu May 17 18:17:52 2012 From: bob.bosra@demattia.net (Bob DeMattia) Date: Thu, 17 May 2012 18:17:52 -0400 Subject: Anybody know the breakdown between 93.7 and 850? In-Reply-To: <20120517220503.24940@gmx.com> References: <20120517220503.24940@gmx.com> Message-ID: 1510 has come a long way since WMEX On Thu, May 17, 2012 at 6:05 PM, Laurence Glavin wrote: > >----- Original Message ----- > >From: Dan.Strassberg > >Sent: 05/17/12 04:43 PM > >To: Kevin Vahey, \(newsgroup\) Boston-Radio-Interest > >Subject: Re: Anybody know the breakdown between 93.7 and 850? > > >I can't imagine that happening, but if it should happen, liberal-talk > >listeners here might get a chance to hear other hosts besides the > >execrable Jeff Santos (currently on WWZN for what seem like 87 hours a > >day). Time absolutely doesn't fly when you're listening to Santos and >if > you're listening to WWZN, the likelihood is that Santos is on. >Santos > deserves a lot of credit for his skills as an entrepreneur and >an > impressario. It was no small feat to line up financial backing for >his > leased-time arrangement with WWZN. But he deserves no credit at >all for > his non-existent skills as a talk-show host. There ARE some >good liberal > talk hosts--Peter B Collins is just one of them. Maybe >Santos's reason for > not letting them on "his" station is that he >doesn't want people to > compare him to good hosts--or even to mediocre >ones. (I'm aware that, in > addition to Santos, WWZN carries Stephanie >Miller, Thom Hartmann, and > Norman Goldman, but all are on delay and >the schedule i! > s highly problematic, mostly due to sports pre-emptions; >WWZN carries > the Sox en Espanol as well as some college sports.) Oddly >enough, CCU's > Premiere Networks (obviously not a liberal company) >syndicates Randy > Rhodes, who, though no favorite of mine, is orders of >magnitude better > than Santos. >----- >Dan Strassberg (dan.strassberg@att.net) > > > > A casual reader of Dan's post could be excused for believing that he's > indulging in a bit of hyperbole, but > he isnt! In fact, he may be UNDERSTATING Jeff Santos's awfulness. For > those whose exposure to WWZN-AM > 1510 in Boston is limited, first count your blessings, and if you're up > to the challenge, just TRY to listen to > just one hour of the seven scheduled hours he occupies on the station. > That's right: SEVEN HOURS A DAY! He's > host of the three-hour morning drive-time block from 7:00 am till 10:00 > am (although one hour of that span > is given over to Santos going "er, um, ahh..." not consecutively be > interspersed throughout his morng stint). > After having gotten out of bed in the wee small hours of the morning for > a show with no listeners and no > callers, so that he's forced to fill the time with scheduled guests, he > takes a break of a few hours to nap, have lunch, > and he comes back for his afternoon drive-time show scheduled from 3:00 > pm until seven o'clock when there's > no Red Sox game, or they're on the West Coast. (That's the situation now; > of course during the off-season, the > 7:00 pm signoff is five days a week). There are times when I believe that > WWZN "management" may be trying > to sabotage the programming Santos underwrites. They run the VERY same > promos and PSAs day after day > at the same times so you know when "Don't throw mercury in the trash" is > likely to air and therefore you know when > to turn the volume down or change the station. (Santos's own promo is one > of the worst ever made; it hasn't > changed in ages. The only voices heard are Barney Frank, who's in the > minority now and is leaving Congress in January, > but is still described as one of the biggest names in politics, and John > Nichols who's described as one of the biggest > names in journalism. Oh really?. And although the idea of a promo is to > inform listeners when the program in question > is being broadcast, THIS INFORMATION IS COMPLETELY MISSING! Now Dan got > one item wrong...the Stephanie Miller > show IS broadcast live for the final two hours of her show on the network > (it's also available as a simulcast on > Current TV for the whole three hours) from 10:00 am till noon, followed > by Ed Schultz's radio show from noon till > Santos's afternoon block at three. The Harvard Business School should > issue a paper on the insanity of the way > WWZN is run...it would qualify as a case study in bizarro world. > From joe@attorneyross.com Thu May 17 18:32:18 2012 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Thu, 17 May 2012 18:32:18 -0400 Subject: Anybody know the breakdown between 93.7 and 850? In-Reply-To: References: <20120517220503.24940@gmx.com> Message-ID: <4FB57C72.4050701@attorneyross.com> On 5/17/2012 6:17 PM, Bob DeMattia wrote: > 1510 has come a long way since WMEX I think it's sunk a long way since WMEX. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 92 State Street, Suite 700 Fax: 617.507.7856 Boston, MA 02109-2004 http://www.attorneyross.com From paul@derrynh.net Thu May 17 18:08:45 2012 From: paul@derrynh.net (Paul Hopfgarten) Date: Thu, 17 May 2012 18:08:45 -0400 Subject: Sale of WFNX In-Reply-To: <4FB567D0.1050101@attorneyross.com> References: <4D81F0D665974F3B807431B8475FFA41@PaulPC> <4FB567D0.1050101@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: Another name for ESPN -----Original Message----- From: A. Joseph Ross Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2012 5:04 PM To: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org Subject: Re: Sale of WFNX On 5/17/2012 4:55 PM, Paul Hopfgarten wrote: > Does the sale of WFNX and the end of its Alt Rock help WBOS at all? > (Maybe WAAF?) > > I still think 850 will eventually be all Mothership all the time! All WHAT? -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 92 State Street, Suite 700 Fax: 617.507.7856 Boston, MA 02109-2004 http://www.attorneyross.com From Donald_Astelle@yahoo.com Fri May 18 02:35:27 2012 From: Donald_Astelle@yahoo.com (Don) Date: Fri, 18 May 2012 02:35:27 -0400 Subject: Anybody know the breakdown between 93.7 and 850? References: Message-ID: > or perhaps finally just airing ESPN Radio fulltime. Once again, my response to the constant talk of ESPN fulltime on 850 is.....WHY would Entercom want people NOT listening to THEIR Boston programming? I would assume that ANYONE who would be listening to ESPN on 850...would be a sports listener that could/should(?) be listening to WEEI's programming. Why give anyone another reason to not listen to D&C, Big O, Planet Mikey, etc. Now if ANOTHER operator was in charge of 850AM...I could see THEM putting ESPN on 850 to mop up anything listeners left over, but Entercom has no reason to put a competing format on a station THEY own! You COULD make a case with ESPN Deportes that these would be new listeners, who would not come from EEI. From aerie.ma@comcast.net Fri May 18 08:35:42 2012 From: aerie.ma@comcast.net (Jim Hall) Date: Fri, 18 May 2012 08:35:42 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <6AB76AD1B5844BDA8B9A791E50526E15@SatU205S5044> References: <20120517152347.227080@gmx.com> <6AB76AD1B5844BDA8B9A791E50526E15@SatU205S5044> Message-ID: <006c01cd34f2$c2052720$460f7560$@ma@comcast.net> Why is it that local stations always blame the signal, not the programming? Talk1200 has few listeners after spending $10 million to upgrade the AM signal. But it's not the programming, it's that even with the upgrade, the signal is still not very good, so they have to spend another $11 million to buy a 1700 watt Class A FM station that barely makes it past Rte 128 if the wind is blowing in the right direction. But it couldn't possibly be the programming, despite there being two other similarly-oriented talk stations in town. WEEI dominated the sports audience for years (over WAMG and WWZN), but as soon as WBZ-FM comes on, suddenly "it's the signal" and they have to simulcast on 93.7 FM. It couldn't possibly be that people were looking for a change and something new, it must be the signal. I remember when Jerry Williams had a 50 share (yes, five zero) on the peanut-whistle 5000 watts--jammed in between two powerhouses--WMEX. If the programming is compelling, people will listen through the static and fades. If the programming is crap, no matter how good your signal may be, people will go elsewhere. From sid@wrko.com Fri May 18 11:01:41 2012 From: sid@wrko.com (Sid Schweiger) Date: Fri, 18 May 2012 15:01:41 +0000 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <006c01cd34f2$c2052720$460f7560$@ma@comcast.net> References: <20120517152347.227080@gmx.com> <6AB76AD1B5844BDA8B9A791E50526E15@SatU205S5044> <006c01cd34f2$c2052720$460f7560$@ma@comcast.net> Message-ID: <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C90EA56@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> "Why is it that local stations always blame the signal, not the programming?" That was a great argument...40 years ago. It's now an outmoded concept. By most accounts, we're now into the second generation of young listeners who simply do not use AM radio...at all. As these listeners age into the desirable 25-54 demo, AM stations will take (and most are already taking) a huge hit in their audiences because those people coming into the money demo don't have the AM habit. The demos for most AM stations skew toward 55+...not what most advertisers want. "WEEI dominated the sports audience for years (over WAMG and WWZN), but as soon as WBZ-FM comes on, suddenly "it's the signal" and they have to simulcast on 93.7 FM. It couldn't possibly be that people were looking for a change and something new, it must be the signal." It *was* the signal. With the addition of 93.7, WEEI has regained most of the audience it has lost to WBZ-FM. "I remember when Jerry Williams had a 50 share (yes, five zero) on the peanut-whistle 5000 watts--jammed in between two powerhouses--WMEX. If the programming is compelling, people will listen through the static and fades." Jerry Williams on WMEX had little or no competition, in an era in which AM was still "king" and FM's were struggling to find their niche. Between the increased number of signals in the market and all the other media competing for audience attention, no one will have a 50 share ever again. Sid Schweiger IT Manager, Entercom New England 20 Guest St / 3d Floor Brighton MA 02135-2040 From kvahey@gmail.com Fri May 18 11:19:06 2012 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Fri, 18 May 2012 11:19:06 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C90EA56@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> References: <20120517152347.227080@gmx.com> <6AB76AD1B5844BDA8B9A791E50526E15@SatU205S5044> <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C90EA56@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> Message-ID: It wasn't signal that hurt WEEI a year ago.....the station faced a backlash from angry Bruins fans that the station ignored for years. The night signal to the NW improved a decade ago when CKVL went dark as that Montreal outlet always stayed on day pattern. The reality is the sports fans now button push between the 2 depending on what is being talked about. On Fri, May 18, 2012 at 11:01 AM, Sid Schweiger wrote: > "Why is it that local stations always blame the signal, not the > programming?" > > That was a great argument...40 years ago. It's now an outmoded concept. > > By most accounts, we're now into the second generation of young listeners > who simply do not use AM radio...at all. As these listeners age into the > desirable 25-54 demo, AM stations will take (and most are already taking) a > huge hit in their audiences because those people coming into the money demo > don't have the AM habit. The demos for most AM stations skew toward > 55+...not what most advertisers want. > > "WEEI dominated the sports audience for years (over WAMG and WWZN), but as > soon as WBZ-FM comes on, suddenly "it's the signal" and they have to > simulcast on 93.7 FM. It couldn't possibly be that people were looking for > a change and something new, it must be the signal." > > It *was* the signal. With the addition of 93.7, WEEI has regained most of > the audience it has lost to WBZ-FM. > > "I remember when Jerry Williams had a 50 share (yes, five zero) on the > peanut-whistle 5000 watts--jammed in between two powerhouses--WMEX. If the > programming is compelling, people will listen through the static and fades." > > Jerry Williams on WMEX had little or no competition, in an era in which AM > was still "king" and FM's were struggling to find their niche. Between the > increased number of signals in the market and all the other media competing > for audience attention, no one will have a 50 share ever again. > > Sid Schweiger > IT Manager, Entercom New England > 20 Guest St / 3d Floor > Brighton MA 02135-2040 > > From scott@fybush.com Fri May 18 11:30:00 2012 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Fri, 18 May 2012 11:30:00 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: References: <20120517152347.227080@gmx.com> <6AB76AD1B5844BDA8B9A791E50526E15@SatU205S5044> <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C90EA56@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> Message-ID: <4FB66AF8.4040705@fybush.com> On 5/18/2012 11:19 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: > It wasn't signal that hurt WEEI a year ago.....the station faced a backlash > from angry Bruins fans that the station ignored for years. > > The night signal to the NW improved a decade ago when CKVL went dark as > that Montreal outlet always stayed on day pattern. > > The reality is the sports fans now button push between the 2 depending on > what is being talked about. You could hire the very best chef in New England and the best interior decorators and serve the very freshest food, and if you build your restaurant on a side street somewhere off Blue Hill Avenue, you're never going to get the same following you'd get if you put that same restaurant on Newbury Street. WEEI and WBZ (and to some extent WRKO) have managed to keep the AM "neighborhood" a little more desirable in Boston than in other markets around the country, but at some point you have to be where your audience wants you to be, if you're going to have any hope of continued success. From markwa1ion@aol.com Fri May 18 13:17:06 2012 From: markwa1ion@aol.com (Mark Connelly) Date: Fri, 18 May 2012 13:17:06 -0400 (EDT) Subject: 1510 (was: Anybody know the breakdown between 93.7 and 850?) Message-ID: <8CF03312F3D55B2-198-2CD9D@webmail-m137.sysops.aol.com> << On 5/17/2012 6:17 PM, Bob DeMattia wrote: > 1510 has come a long way since WMEX I think it's sunk a long way since WMEX. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 92 State Street, Suite 700 Fax: 617.507.7856 Boston, MA 02109-2004 http://www.attorneyross.com >> Too bad that in 1961, WMEX did not have the present 50kW 1510 facility on Waverley Oaks Road, Waltham (near Belmont line). As a sixth-grader living next to Menotomy Rocks Park in Arlington, I gladly listened to Arnie Ginsburg at night even when WTOP 1500 DC and WKBW 1520 Buffalo were scraping 5 kW WMEX with sideband splatter. I don't suppose anyone would listen to such a compromised signal for ANY program content nowadays ... especially a 12 year old. And it is too bad that the 1510 signal is wasted on such rubbish when poor Bob Bittner is putting forth great music programming on WJIB whose 5-watt night signal often gets pounded by Toronto nearly within sight of the Fresh Pond tower. Mark Connelly - South Yarmouth, MA + Billerica, MA From dlh@donnahalper.com Fri May 18 13:31:11 2012 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Fri, 18 May 2012 13:31:11 -0400 Subject: WRKO tomorrow In-Reply-To: References: <02E55EC826EF4A8EBD385FEEC17297EE@SatU205S5044> Message-ID: <4FB6875F.1030906@donnahalper.com> Well, I hope they'll be gentle with me, but I am going to be a guest at 1 pm tomorrow on WRKO radio. Garrett Quinn and I will discuss my article for Media Nation, the state of broadcasting, media consolidation, etc. From lsochrin@rcn.com Fri May 18 12:47:25 2012 From: lsochrin@rcn.com (Larry Sochrin) Date: Fri, 18 May 2012 12:47:25 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <91E0DBD7-2CDB-4709-8484-7041064F77E2@rcn.com> I think that part of the reason for the comment below about young listeners is technology. iPods have FM receivers built in, no AM, and I'm told that new iPads have chips built in that could be used as FM receivers, again not AM. And I'll assume that iPhones do/will also. So while the rest of us are listening on car radios and home AM/FM radios, that's not what many in the younger demo are using any more. (And sure, there are apps that would allow the younger folks to listen via the web to AM, but for those portable devices, they'd be using up their valuable carrier minutes.) Steve Jobs loved simplifying by removing older technology, be it floppy disk drives or CD/DVD drives. It seems as if he made a decision a long time ago to ignore AM, and the younger generation followed. > By most accounts, we're now into the second generation of young listeners who simply do not use AM radio...at all. As these listeners age into the desirable 25-54 demo, AM stations will take (and most are already taking) a huge hit in their audiences because those people coming into the money demo don't have the AM habit. The demos for most AM stations skew toward 55+...not what most advertisers want. From dan.strassberg@att.net Fri May 18 14:36:32 2012 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan.Strassberg) Date: Fri, 18 May 2012 14:36:32 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" References: <20120517152347.227080@gmx.com><6AB76AD1B5844BDA8B9A791E50526E15@SatU205S5044><6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C90EA56@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> <4FB66AF8.4040705@fybush.com> Message-ID: It's really a shame that AM has acquired the image of the "low-rent medium," the "'nice people' don't go there" image of parts of Dorchester and Mattapan. Not too many years ago, there was a similar rap on the South End, but developers invaded, rebuilt a few properties, and started to turn things around. After a few more years, the South End became one of Boston's most desirable residential neighborhoods. Property values have gone through the roof and, I've heard, remain high despite the pitifully depressed real-estate market in most of the US. I suppose that the way a similar scenario might apply to AM would be if it could attract some unique boutique programming that would give the band a trendy image. Alas, that doesn't appear likely. Broadcasters have another product to sell and its name is FM. That's where the advertisers are spending their $$$. Who wants to have to twist advertisers' arms, and ultimately give time away (or nearly give it away) to make a sale on AM when the agencies will have your phone ringing off the hook if you have FM time to sell? Working hand-in-hand with the industry's bizarre economics, the utter lack of imagination that has characterized the broadcasting industry for generations has probably doomed AM. Even so, the AM band is not likely to disappear overnight. ----- Dan Strassberg (dan.strassberg@att.net) eFax 1-707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Scott Fybush" To: Sent: Friday, May 18, 2012 11:30 AM Subject: Re: "It's the programming, stupid!" > On 5/18/2012 11:19 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: >> It wasn't signal that hurt WEEI a year ago.....the station faced a >> backlash >> from angry Bruins fans that the station ignored for years. >> >> The night signal to the NW improved a decade ago when CKVL went >> dark as >> that Montreal outlet always stayed on day pattern. >> >> The reality is the sports fans now button push between the 2 >> depending on >> what is being talked about. > > You could hire the very best chef in New England and the best > interior decorators and serve the very freshest food, and if you > build your restaurant on a side street somewhere off Blue Hill > Avenue, you're never going to get the same following you'd get if > you put that same restaurant on Newbury Street. > > WEEI and WBZ (and to some extent WRKO) have managed to keep the AM > "neighborhood" a little more desirable in Boston than in other > markets around the country, but at some point you have to be where > your audience wants you to be, if you're going to have any hope of > continued success. > > From wollman@bimajority.org Fri May 18 14:50:23 2012 From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) Date: Fri, 18 May 2012 14:50:23 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: References: <20120517152347.227080@gmx.com> <6AB76AD1B5844BDA8B9A791E50526E15@SatU205S5044> <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C90EA56@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> <4FB66AF8.4040705@fybush.com> Message-ID: <20406.39407.48448.346548@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> < said: > It's really a shame that AM has acquired the image of the "low-rent > medium," No, it has acquired the image of "sounds like crap". Most people of my acquaintance have no tolerance for a 3-kHz audio passband, and the market is not exactly brimming with wideband AM radios. (They don't mind talking on cell phones, which also sound like crap, but have a wider audio passband -- newer cellular voice standards pass 7 kHz. Cellular dropouts are also more tolerable to younger users than the typical QRN/QRM heard on AM.) -GAWollman From mward@iname.com Fri May 18 15:42:05 2012 From: mward@iname.com (Mike Ward) Date: Fri, 18 May 2012 15:42:05 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: References: <20120517152347.227080@gmx.com> <6AB76AD1B5844BDA8B9A791E50526E15@SatU205S5044> <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C90EA56@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> <4FB66AF8.4040705@fybush.com> Message-ID: On Fri, May 18, 2012 at 2:36 PM, Dan.Strassberg wrote: > I suppose that the way a similar scenario might apply to AM would be > if it could attract some unique boutique programming that would give > the band a trendy image. Alas, that doesn't appear likely. > Look, I'm as much a "grew up on AM guy" as anyone, and the majority of my career, I've been heard on AM stations - including now, where though I do pop up from time to time on our three FMs, my primary duty is to feed news content that's mostly heard on our AM. "Unique, boutique programming" will not bring under 35s in large numbers to a band many of them don't even know EXISTS, and when they get there, summer thunderstorms make listening difficult...not to mention the lack of building penetration (or the infamous "lose the AM signal under bridges" phenomenon). I have a lot of under 30, young adult relatives, and I'm willing to bet they'd need help finding 1590 "AM", where I am heard. The "death of AM" has been slowed by the existence of popular, successful news/talk/sports powerhouses. One of them, Sacramento's KFBK, where I worked for 7 years, has moved to FM (1530 is still up). Here in NE Ohio, we now have a major FM sports talk station (brother to "The Sports Hub") on FM, and the main talk station down here in this part of the area has ALWAYS been on FM. No magic elixir of programming will "save" AM now. It's just a matter of when all the mainstream stations go dark, or are only there because they're still simulcasting a new FM signal. And I'm a guy who LOVES AM. I'm also well over 40. From joe@attorneyross.com Sat May 19 00:11:51 2012 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 00:11:51 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <4FB66AF8.4040705@fybush.com> References: <20120517152347.227080@gmx.com> <6AB76AD1B5844BDA8B9A791E50526E15@SatU205S5044> <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C90EA56@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> <4FB66AF8.4040705@fybush.com> Message-ID: <4FB71D87.20407@attorneyross.com> On 5/18/2012 11:30 AM, Scott Fybush wrote: > You could hire the very best chef in New England and the best interior > decorators and serve the very freshest food, and if you build your > restaurant on a side street somewhere off Blue Hill Avenue, you're > never going to get the same following you'd get if you put that same > restaurant on Newbury Street. > > WEEI and WBZ (and to some extent WRKO) have managed to keep the AM > "neighborhood" a little more desirable in Boston than in other markets > around the country, but at some point you have to be where your > audience wants you to be, if you're going to have any hope of > continued success. I must say, my car radio has five slots for AM station settings, and I only have two set for local stations, WJIB and WBZ. The other three are for stations in western Massachusetts, although I've been visiting there less frequently than I used to. There just aren't any other local AM stations that I want to listen to regularly. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 92 State Street, Suite 700 Fax: 617.507.7856 Boston, MA 02109-2004 http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Sat May 19 00:19:45 2012 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 00:19:45 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C90EA56@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> References: <20120517152347.227080@gmx.com> <6AB76AD1B5844BDA8B9A791E50526E15@SatU205S5044> <006c01cd34f2$c2052720$460f7560$@ma@comcast.net> <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C90EA56@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> Message-ID: <4FB71F61.30907@attorneyross.com> On 5/18/2012 11:01 AM, Sid Schweiger wrote: > It *was* the signal. With the addition of 93.7, WEEI has regained most of the audience it has lost to WBZ-FM. Not surprising. If iPods, etc. aren't capable of getting AM, and young people aren't listening, then the future is on FM, or perhaps online, since Internet radio is growing, too. I'm sorry that's happening, but it seems to be happening. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 92 State Street, Suite 700 Fax: 617.507.7856 Boston, MA 02109-2004 http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Sat May 19 00:13:37 2012 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 00:13:37 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <91E0DBD7-2CDB-4709-8484-7041064F77E2@rcn.com> References: <91E0DBD7-2CDB-4709-8484-7041064F77E2@rcn.com> Message-ID: <4FB71DF1.5030008@attorneyross.com> On 5/18/2012 12:47 PM, Larry Sochrin wrote: > I think that part of the reason for the comment below about young listeners is technology. iPods have FM receivers built in, no AM, and I'm told that new iPads have chips built in that could be used as FM receivers, again not AM. And I'll assume that iPhones do/will also. So while the rest of us are listening on car radios and home AM/FM radios, that's not what many in the younger demo are using any more. (And sure, there are apps that would allow the younger folks to listen via the web to AM, but for those portable devices, they'd be using up their valuable carrier minutes.) Steve Jobs loved simplifying by removing older technology, be it floppy disk drives or CD/DVD drives. It seems as if he made a decision a long time ago to ignore AM, and the younger generation followed. Back in the early 1960s Congress and the FCC required that all TV sets had to be able to tune all channels. Maybe something similar should be done for AM radio. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 92 State Street, Suite 700 Fax: 617.507.7856 Boston, MA 02109-2004 http://www.attorneyross.com From wollman@bimajority.org Sat May 19 01:30:27 2012 From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 01:30:27 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <4FB71DF1.5030008@attorneyross.com> References: <91E0DBD7-2CDB-4709-8484-7041064F77E2@rcn.com> <4FB71DF1.5030008@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: <20407.12275.241840.119494@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> < said: > Back in the early 1960s Congress and the FCC required that all TV sets > had to be able to tune all channels. Maybe something similar should be > done for AM radio. That's a physical impossibility for a device the size of an iPod. -GAWollman From kvahey@gmail.com Sat May 19 02:15:38 2012 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 02:15:38 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <20407.12275.241840.119494@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> References: <91E0DBD7-2CDB-4709-8484-7041064F77E2@rcn.com> <4FB71DF1.5030008@attorneyross.com> <20407.12275.241840.119494@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: Those of us who are 50 or older know what AM is and what it used to mean. PPM for better or worse is really hurting stations like WBZ-AM where the cume is dropping like a rock. The day will come when WBZ-AM takes over one of the CBS signals - ( most likely WZLX or WODS ) - This is what CBS is doing in so many markets. People born after 1980 just know FM - that is simply the way it is. Sports in Boston did keep AM in play for many the last 20 years but now all 4 teams are on FM in the Boston market. I don't buy for a second that WFNX was losing $$$$ as they seem to have a healthy stable of clients - but Mindich was made an offer he could not refuse. He is in his late 60's and he paid his dues and wants to cash out. We all love the history of AM but the generation today could not care less that WBZ can be heard in 30+ states. It is what it is. On Sat, May 19, 2012 at 1:30 AM, Garrett Wollman wrote: > < > said: > > > Back in the early 1960s Congress and the FCC required that all TV sets > > had to be able to tune all channels. Maybe something similar should be > > done for AM radio. > > That's a physical impossibility for a device the size of an iPod. > > -GAWollman > From kvahey@gmail.com Sat May 19 02:31:54 2012 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 02:31:54 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <4FB71F61.30907@attorneyross.com> References: <20120517152347.227080@gmx.com> <6AB76AD1B5844BDA8B9A791E50526E15@SatU205S5044> <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C90EA56@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> <4FB71F61.30907@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: AM is an expensive beast - today many transmitters sit on real estate that is very valuable. FM sticks don't need the massive land that AM sticks do. I am a little surprised that Entercom has not figured out a way to have 680 and 850 transmitting from either Needham or Burlington. On Sat, May 19, 2012 at 12:19 AM, A Joseph Ross wrote: > On 5/18/2012 11:01 AM, Sid Schweiger wrote: > > It *was* the signal. With the addition of 93.7, WEEI has regained most >> of the audience it has lost to WBZ-FM. >> > > Not surprising. If iPods, etc. aren't capable of getting AM, and young > people aren't listening, then the future is on FM, or perhaps online, since > Internet radio is growing, too. I'm sorry that's happening, but it seems > to be happening. > > > -- > A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 > 92 State Street, Suite 700 Fax: 617.507.7856 > Boston, MA 02109-2004 http://www.attorneyross.com > > From wollman@bimajority.org Sat May 19 02:34:59 2012 From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 02:34:59 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: References: <20120517152347.227080@gmx.com> <6AB76AD1B5844BDA8B9A791E50526E15@SatU205S5044> <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C90EA56@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> <4FB71F61.30907@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: <20407.16147.89233.624017@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> < said: > AM is an expensive beast - today many transmitters sit on real estate that > is very valuable. FM sticks don't need the massive land that AM sticks do. > I am a little surprised that Entercom has not figured out a way to have 680 > and 850 transmitting from either Needham or Burlington. 680 sits on top of Burlington's public water supply. 850 sits next to a dump. Where's the development pressure? Both of those sites are practically undevelopable. -GAWollman From brscomm@yahoo.com Sat May 19 01:45:40 2012 From: brscomm@yahoo.com (Bill) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 00:45:40 -0500 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <20407.12275.241840.119494@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> References: <91E0DBD7-2CDB-4709-8484-7041064F77E2@rcn.com> <4FB71DF1.5030008@attorneyross.com> <20407.12275.241840.119494@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <019801cd3582$a00efd90$e02cf8b0$@yahoo.com> You could put an AM radio in an ipod easily enough. Getting it to work halfway decently is the hard part. Shielding all the processors and creating a decent antenna will be difficult. Bill -----Original Message----- From: boston-radio-interest-bounces@tsornin.BostonRadio.org [mailto:boston-radio-interest-bounces@tsornin.BostonRadio.org] On Behalf Of Garrett Wollman Sent: Saturday, May 19, 2012 12:30 AM To: A Joseph Ross Cc: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org Subject: Re: "It's the programming, stupid!" < said: > Back in the early 1960s Congress and the FCC required that all TV sets > had to be able to tune all channels. Maybe something similar should > be done for AM radio. That's a physical impossibility for a device the size of an iPod. -GAWollman From dan.strassberg@att.net Sat May 19 02:46:25 2012 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan.Strassberg) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 02:46:25 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" References: <91E0DBD7-2CDB-4709-8484-7041064F77E2@rcn.com><4FB71DF1.5030008@attorneyross.com> <20407.12275.241840.119494@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <6BB26648E8FF4AAC9392C69580ED1219@SatU205S5044> I've heard that argument for years but, regardless of the repetition, I'm not sure the statement is correct. Many of the ferrite-loop antennas that have been common in AM radios for the last 40 years or so are not much larger than your typical USB memory stick. An antenna that size would be physically just as compatible with an i-phone-style handheld device as are the binaural in-the-ear headphones that many people use with the devices to listen to stereo music. Moreover, if modern 3D electronic-miniaturization techniques were used to fabricate ferrite-loop antennas, it seems likely that the antennas could be made even a bit smaller while quite possibly also offering improved performance. I think the absence of such a development indicates that people in the industry are not thinking about the problem and are simply parroting old-wives' tales that became the conventional wisdom a generation or more ago. A USB-stick-sized AM antenna could quite possibly be successfully integrated with in-the-ear stereo headphones. During the last decade, consumer electronics has begotten many far-more-radical technological advances. ----- Dan Strassberg (dan.strassberg@att.net) eFax 1-707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Garrett Wollman" To: "A Joseph Ross" Cc: Sent: Saturday, May 19, 2012 1:30 AM Subject: Re: "It's the programming, stupid!" > < said: > >> Back in the early 1960s Congress and the FCC required that all TV >> sets >> had to be able to tune all channels. Maybe something similar >> should be >> done for AM radio. > > That's a physical impossibility for a device the size of an iPod. > > -GAWollman From raccoonradio@gmail.com Sat May 19 02:51:52 2012 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 02:51:52 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <019801cd3582$a00efd90$e02cf8b0$@yahoo.com> References: <91E0DBD7-2CDB-4709-8484-7041064F77E2@rcn.com> <4FB71DF1.5030008@attorneyross.com> <20407.12275.241840.119494@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <019801cd3582$a00efd90$e02cf8b0$@yahoo.com> Message-ID: People are using the generic term iPod; for me, it's mp3 players. I have a couple (Sony, Sansa etc.) which do have the FM band on them but of course no AM. Some can record off that FM band, too. I gave a friend some of the Red Sox game recorded off WEEI-FM. (Of course I went old school and then put an adapter-- 1/8" into my mp3 player, then RCA jacks going into my cass. deck, and dubbed it on cass. for him. But I recorded the Sox while at work, came in fine...on FM.) Noticed AM-FM Walkmen at stores, or mini boomboxes, clock radios, etc.? Not many models of portable Walkman-sized radios, and most of the radios I just mentioned are el cheapo in quality. Are people buying them? A few. More a probably buying mp3 players or iPods. From raccoonradio@gmail.com Sat May 19 02:56:53 2012 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 02:56:53 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: References: <20120517152347.227080@gmx.com> <6AB76AD1B5844BDA8B9A791E50526E15@SatU205S5044> <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C90EA56@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> <4FB66AF8.4040705@fybush.com> Message-ID: When Jay Severin re-emerged on Talk 1200 people on facebook groups asked "so, is that, like, on AM?" (For now at least they can hear WXKS-AM as the HD2 of WXKS-FM, if they have an HD radio. We'll see if the rumor of Talk 1200 to 101.7 comes true, or whether it's Spanish or another format) Of course I'm reminded of how more than a few times the Globe would list "sports on TV, radio" and it would say the Sox game was on "WEEI-FM (850)" (sic). This was before the 93.7 became WEEI-FM of course...FM 850! :) From wollman@bimajority.org Sat May 19 03:08:12 2012 From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 03:08:12 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <019801cd3582$a00efd90$e02cf8b0$@yahoo.com> References: <91E0DBD7-2CDB-4709-8484-7041064F77E2@rcn.com> <4FB71DF1.5030008@attorneyross.com> <20407.12275.241840.119494@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <019801cd3582$a00efd90$e02cf8b0$@yahoo.com> Message-ID: <20407.18140.562874.185061@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> < said: > You could put an AM radio in an ipod easily enough. Not really. One of the principal design requirements for the iPod was that it be thin, and later models have gotten smaller and even thinner; there's not enough room in there for a workable antenna at those wavelengths, and AM doesn't couple well enough to the headphone cable to use that as an external antenna. Plus of course there's all the electronic noise. (Do any of the HD pocket radios that have been sold do AM? Can they actually decode anything more than two miles from the transmitter?) The smallest non-HD pocket radio that I have today that does AM acceptably is the Sangean DT-400W, which is not much smaller than the original Walkman; it's about twice the thickness of a classic iPod. It has to be that thick in order to fit a short ferrite loop antenna onto the circuit board. -GAWollman From dan.strassberg@att.net Sat May 19 03:25:43 2012 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan.Strassberg) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 03:25:43 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" References: <20120517152347.227080@gmx.com><6AB76AD1B5844BDA8B9A791E50526E15@SatU205S5044><6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C90EA56@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com><4FB71F61.30907@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: <4E5F3F96CBA54634BA9C125071C0D53E@SatU205S5044> It would pretty much have to be Burlington because, for WRKO to cover the City of Boston adequately at night from Needham would necessitate a night pattern that would send much more energy toward Nova Scotia than WRKO currently does. The Burlington location, which is well north (as well as west) of Boston, enables WRKO to use patterns that are somewhat nulled to the east-northeast. The radiation maxima are at zero and 150 degrees true. If WRKO were to transmit from Needham, a long-dark 680 allocation in Dartmouth NS, which, by US-Canada treaty, must still be protected, would no longer be adequately protected. OTOH, moving WEEI to Burlington would reduce the station's nighttime signal in Needham and Natick. The night signal there is already not very good because of a broad, deep minimum to the west-southwest to protect KOA. Moving WEEI's transmitter further from Needham and Natick would only exacerbate that problem. On the plus side, if WEEI were in Burlington, its coverage of southern New Hampshire and Cape cod would improve dramtically and with 850 now simulcasting on 93.7, maybe the FM signal would take care of the worsened night signal in Needham and Natick. But does anyone know whether the covenants on the use of the Burlington site to protect the town's water supply would permit adding a second station to that site? Perhaps WRKO already has redundant transmission lines from the transmitter building to the towers. If so, those lines might be used instead by WEEI, thereby possibly removing a reason for the Town of Burlington to object to the addition of a second station. ----- Dan Strassberg (dan.strassberg@att.net) eFax 1-707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kevin Vahey" To: "A Joseph Ross" Cc: Sent: Saturday, May 19, 2012 2:31 AM Subject: Re: "It's the programming, stupid!" > AM is an expensive beast - today many transmitters sit on real > estate that > is very valuable. FM sticks don't need the massive land that AM > sticks do. > I am a little surprised that Entercom has not figured out a way to > have 680 > and 850 transmitting from either Needham or Burlington. From sid@wrko.com Sat May 19 07:42:48 2012 From: sid@wrko.com (Sid Schweiger) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 11:42:48 +0000 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <6BB26648E8FF4AAC9392C69580ED1219@SatU205S5044> References: <91E0DBD7-2CDB-4709-8484-7041064F77E2@rcn.com><4FB71DF1.5030008@attorneyross.com> <20407.12275.241840.119494@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <6BB26648E8FF4AAC9392C69580ED1219@SatU205S5044> Message-ID: <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C90F916@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> "I think the absence of such a development indicates that people in the industry are not thinking about the problem and are simply parroting old-wives' tales that became the conventional wisdom a generation or more ago." No, they're not thinking about it, but not for the reason you cite. They're not thinking about it because it's not on their users' radar. Their users don't listen to AM radio at all, ever, so there's no reason for a manufacturer to even consider putting AM radio in such a device. The old joke about "ancient modulation" was never more true than it is now. Sid Schweiger IT Manager, Entercom New England 20 Guest St / 3d Floor Brighton MA 02135-2040 From dlh@donnahalper.com Sat May 19 11:47:03 2012 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 11:47:03 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: References: <91E0DBD7-2CDB-4709-8484-7041064F77E2@rcn.com> <4FB71DF1.5030008@attorneyross.com> <20407.12275.241840.119494@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <4FB7C077.8050609@donnahalper.com> On 5/19/2012 2:15 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: > Those of us who are 50 or older know what AM is and what it used to mean. > > PPM for better or worse is really hurting stations like WBZ-AM where the > cume is dropping like a rock. > I am also surprised that AM broadcasters have not done a better job lobbying for their own interests. Years ago, the NAB used to stand up for small and local radio owners, but increasingly (and Bob & I used to discuss this when he still broadcast "Let's Talk About Radio"), the NAB represents the interests of the Clear Channels and other big corporations. WBZ is not exactly a "little guy" but my point is that there's no longer much interest in defending AM radio. FM certainly has technological advantages, but too many FMs have continued the programming sins and excesses (like long commercial breaks, too many syndicated shows you can hear anywhere, little local presence in the market) that helped to drive people away from AM in the first place. From kenwvt@gmail.com Sat May 19 13:01:06 2012 From: kenwvt@gmail.com (Ken VanTassell) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 13:01:06 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <4FB7C077.8050609@donnahalper.com> References: <91E0DBD7-2CDB-4709-8484-7041064F77E2@rcn.com> <4FB71DF1.5030008@attorneyross.com> <20407.12275.241840.119494@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <4FB7C077.8050609@donnahalper.com> Message-ID: The actual iPod does not have ANY radio in it (no am or fm). Nor does the iphone. Most android phones don't have any radio in them either. My wife's phone is an exception, its a Droid Incredible 2 which does have FM but you need to use the earbuds as they double up as the antenna. I only listen to the actual radio for the local sports yakkers or the Red Sox games. Other than that I'm streaming with apps such as TuneinRadio, or Iheartradio. The thing that actually might help save actual radio is that Verizon is doing away with unlimited data plans so the cost to stream will go up. -Ken On Sat, May 19, 2012 at 11:47 AM, Donna Halper wrote: > On 5/19/2012 2:15 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: > >> Those of us who are 50 or older know what AM is and what it used to mean. >> >> PPM for better or worse is really hurting stations like WBZ-AM where the >> cume is dropping like a rock. >> >> > > I am also surprised that AM broadcasters have not done a better job > lobbying for their own interests. Years ago, the NAB used to stand up for > small and local radio owners, but increasingly (and Bob & I used to discuss > this when he still broadcast "Let's Talk About Radio"), the NAB represents > the interests of the Clear Channels and other big corporations. WBZ is not > exactly a "little guy" but my point is that there's no longer much interest > in defending AM radio. FM certainly has technological advantages, but too > many FMs have continued the programming sins and excesses (like long > commercial breaks, too many syndicated shows you can hear anywhere, little > local presence in the market) that helped to drive people away from AM in > the first place. > From Donald_Astelle@yahoo.com Sat May 19 12:41:05 2012 From: Donald_Astelle@yahoo.com (Don) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 12:41:05 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" References: <91E0DBD7-2CDB-4709-8484-7041064F77E2@rcn.com> <4FB71DF1.5030008@attorneyross.com> <20407.12275.241840.119494@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <4FB7C077.8050609@donnahalper.com> Message-ID: >> Those of us who are 50 or older know what AM is and what it used to mean. >> > > I am also surprised that AM broadcasters have not done a better job > lobbying for their own interests. If, as an owner of an AM, you feel that the end of AM broadcasting is inevitable.....it's headed into a death spiral that no one is going to be able to turn around....then why not have the attititude of getting every last dollar out of it before it eventually crashes to the ground. That seems to be the feelings of Entercom, who, IMHO, have 2 of the worst programmed AM stations. They have not taken one step to extending the lifespan of their Boston AM stations. It's as though they're stuck with them, and too busy figuring out how to rape and pillage the properties before they die. AM is fast becoming the new shortwave. Interesting for a few. ...untolerable for most. With the exception of WBZ, I can't hink of one compelling reason to listen to AM....except for "radio geek" curiosity to see whats out there on occaision. From raccoonradio@mail.com Sat May 19 12:37:15 2012 From: raccoonradio@mail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 12:37:15 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" Message-ID: <20120519163716.227080@gmx.com> Indeed. AM can have some quaint stations like WJIB or WJTO...WBZ and WRKO are certainly worthy, etc. but the action is on FM. And the listeners, the majority of them. Thankfully CBS and Entercom have given us sports on FM. Before WEEI went to FM, I could have had a situation at work where the Pats or B's could be heard via 98.5, but the Red Sox could be in the World Series yet I'd be unable to hear it because they were stuck on the interference-laden AM band. Kudos to both stations for much local content (and it shows in the ratings). From raccoonradio@mail.com Sat May 19 12:37:15 2012 From: raccoonradio@mail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 12:37:15 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" Message-ID: <20120519163716.227080@gmx.com> Indeed. AM can have some quaint stations like WJIB or WJTO...WBZ and WRKO are certainly worthy, etc. but the action is on FM. And the listeners, the majority of them. Thankfully CBS and Entercom have given us sports on FM. Before WEEI went to FM, I could have had a situation at work where the Pats or B's could be heard via 98.5, but the Red Sox could be in the World Series yet I'd be unable to hear it because they were stuck on the interference-laden AM band. Kudos to both stations for much local content (and it shows in the ratings). From attychase@comcast.net Sat May 19 13:41:35 2012 From: attychase@comcast.net (Attorney Robert S Chase) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 13:41:35 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" References: Message-ID: <362280B0F87B4F648C1E6F8ED41B2814@HomeOffice> Respectfully, how do you know that? Are there studies, surveys, etc. or is it anecdotal evidence? Bob Chase > Message: 8 > Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 11:42:48 +0000 > From: Sid Schweiger > To: "boston-radio-interest@lists.bostonradio.org" > > Subject: RE: "It's the programming, stupid!" > No, they're not thinking about it, but not for the reason you cite. > They're not thinking about it because it's not on their users' radar. > Their users don't listen to AM radio at all, ever, so there's no reason > for a manufacturer to even consider putting AM radio in such a device. > The old joke about "ancient modulation" was never more true than it is > now. > > Sid Schweiger > IT Manager, Entercom New England > 20 Guest St / 3d Floor > Brighton MA 02135-2040 From brscomm@yahoo.com Sat May 19 14:13:54 2012 From: brscomm@yahoo.com (Bill) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 13:13:54 -0500 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: References: <91E0DBD7-2CDB-4709-8484-7041064F77E2@rcn.com> <4FB71DF1.5030008@attorneyross.com> <20407.12275.241840.119494@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <4FB7C077.8050609@donnahalper.com> Message-ID: <021401cd35eb$26d2fa80$7478ef80$@yahoo.com> "If, as an owner of an AM, you feel that the end of AM broadcasting is inevitable.....it's headed into a death spiral that no one is going to be able to turn around....then why not have the attititude of getting every last dollar out of it before it eventually crashes to the ground." What happened to the plan to expand the FM band into the 70 MHz range now that TV has mostly vacated channels five and six? AM licensees were to get first priority. While the programming and audio fidelity aren't anything to get excited over, the ability of an AM station to build a temporary antenna and get back on the air in a disaster is a huge plus. The millions of AM capable radios out there doesn't hurt either. The various public alert systems being proposed might get a tornado warning out but will fold when the cell networks overload and cell site destruction occurs. I believe in K.I.S.S! Too bad there aren't more that believe it. No, they have to have the latest shiny silver plated network based toy... Yes, I'm a dinosaur and neo-luddite. I have a public safety background and I always look not only for a belt and suspenders but that extra piece of rope to keep my pants up. I grew up in the 50's and 60's when AM was in its prime and FM was still learning to walk. I have Sirius, HD Radio, and an air card so I can stream while driving around. I'm a cell tech now so I don't have to pay for the data used.... I love the new technologies yet still DX on AM. I listen to WBZ out here west of St Louis several times a week over the air just so I can hear the Boston ads... Alas, the end of AM is getting closer. I will mourn for it until the day I pass. Bill From kvahey@gmail.com Sat May 19 15:37:18 2012 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 15:37:18 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <021401cd35eb$26d2fa80$7478ef80$@yahoo.com> References: <91E0DBD7-2CDB-4709-8484-7041064F77E2@rcn.com> <4FB71DF1.5030008@attorneyross.com> <20407.12275.241840.119494@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <4FB7C077.8050609@donnahalper.com> <021401cd35eb$26d2fa80$7478ef80$@yahoo.com> Message-ID: WLW in Cincinnati has for decades run all night show for truckers but even with the monster signal on 700 the station figures 90% of the truckers are listening on satellite radio. HD on AM has become a bigger flop than AM stereo and most AM stations that offer HD also park it on a FM station sub channel. But FM HD has also flopped and now about the only way you can buy a HD tuner is online. Reality is all forms of broadcasting are hurting. From Jibguy@aol.com Sat May 19 16:15:38 2012 From: Jibguy@aol.com (Jibguy@aol.com) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 16:15:38 -0400 (EDT) Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" Message-ID: <10278.4a2aae76.3ce9596a@aol.com> In a message dated 5/19/2012 12:29:05 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, dlh@donnahalper.com writes: I am also surprised that AM broadcasters have not done a better job lobbying for their own interests. Years ago, the NAB used to stand up for small and local radio owners --------------- It did? I must have missed that. The NAB wanted to make everyone THINK that they were as concerned with local owners. It costs tons of money and especially TIME for smaller station owners to organize; therefore it may never happen. But I do not think AM will die at all. Prices for AM stations will go way down in the next 10 years where local people would be able to buy them. Then we'll see a variety of formats on AM... blues, polkas, adult standards, folk, etc... along with the ever-present programming for minorities. There will always be minorities and the need to program to them. What do you think would happen if a Boston-area AM were to go "progressive rock" or "album rock" . I bet it would do very well. Or at least, some folks reading this could rent 10 PM to 5 AM on some Boston area AM (would be cheap rent!) and do an imaginative format. Problem with that is, most stations would can your butt out of the station if the station could make 2-cents more per hour with someone new coming along wanting to rent the same time. It all depends upon the contract you do with them. I'm certain that many AM's in real small towns will either die, or will be used as repeaters for bigger stations in the cities in the same state... the latter could happen if the FCC eliminates some or all of those public file requirements. On the bright side for AM..... I am amazed at how WJIB's and WJTO's audience has not dwindled at all! Additionally, young people (30-55) are finding them and thoroughly enjoying them. Just in the past year, three Boston alternative newspapers have done articles on WJIB.... only because the young readers of those papers have noticed 740 and listen. The papers came to WJIB... I did not seek any publicity from them. AM radio will prosper (excepting smallest towns) if it has the right owners with an imagination & open mind. It's the programming that will keep AM alive. Unfortunately, so many AM's are still owned by Wall Street types and Vulture Capitalists who have no programming imagination whatsoever. ---BB From dlh@donnahalper.com Sat May 19 17:12:07 2012 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 17:12:07 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <10278.4a2aae76.3ce9596a@aol.com> References: <10278.4a2aae76.3ce9596a@aol.com> Message-ID: <4FB80CA7.9020707@donnahalper.com> On 5/19/2012 4:15 PM, Jibguy@aol.com wrote: > In a message dated 5/19/2012 12:29:05 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, > dlh@donnahalper.com writes: > > I am also surprised that AM broadcasters have not done a better job > lobbying for their own interests. Years ago, the NAB used to > stand up > for small and local radio owners > > --------------- > It did? I must have missed that. The NAB wanted to make everyone > THINK that they were as concerned with local owners. The early NAB absolutely supported and encouraged local and small broadcasters. But things began to shift during the top-40 era, when the FCC permitted group owners to have more stations, and broadcast groups became much more important to the NAB than individual owners. I still dream of getting back on the air and/or owning a station, and if AM is what is available, then okay fine. Frankly, with so much boring radio out there, any unique format that appeals to a niche audience will get some fans. The problem is making money with it. For example, consider WFNX, which had a passionate niche audience. But it could not get enough advertising support. There are many reasons for such problems, but as I see it, deregulation has not just hurt independent owners-- it's also hurt other businesses -- record companies, mama-papa record stores and local bookstores... all of which used to buy time on rock stations. There's been a domino effect, as fewer local businesses means fewer people to support even a station they really like. The NPR model (or the WJIB model) can work for some, but there is just no lobbying group that stands up for the listeners these days. However, Bob and I totally agree that AM radio is not dead. In fact, radio itself is not dead, even if certain bad policies and indifferent corporations are not dedicated to keeping it alive. From dlh@donnahalper.com Sat May 19 17:15:55 2012 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 17:15:55 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <20120519163716.227080@gmx.com> References: <20120519163716.227080@gmx.com> Message-ID: <4FB80D8B.4010503@donnahalper.com> Prior to PPM, WBZ ruled the ratings. I am still trying to figure out what there is about PPM that has been so detrimental to stations like WBZ. It's still a powerhouse, but doesn't seem to get the kind of numbers it once did. I'd love to hear some hot theories. From kvahey@gmail.com Sat May 19 17:25:22 2012 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 17:25:22 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <4FB80CA7.9020707@donnahalper.com> References: <10278.4a2aae76.3ce9596a@aol.com> <4FB80CA7.9020707@donnahalper.com> Message-ID: I listened to you today (online in Newark) - and even called :) On Sat, May 19, 2012 at 5:12 PM, Donna Halper wrote: > On 5/19/2012 4:15 PM, Jibguy@aol.com wrote: > >> In a message dated 5/19/2012 12:29:05 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, >> dlh@donnahalper.com writes: >> >> I am also surprised that AM broadcasters have not done a better job >> lobbying for their own interests. Years ago, the NAB used to >> stand up >> for small and local radio owners >> >> --------------- >> It did? I must have missed that. The NAB wanted to make everyone THINK >> that they were as concerned with local owners. >> > > The early NAB absolutely supported and encouraged local and small > broadcasters. But things began to shift during the top-40 era, when the > FCC permitted group owners to have more stations, and broadcast groups > became much more important to the NAB than individual owners. I still > dream of getting back on the air and/or owning a station, and if AM is what > is available, then okay fine. Frankly, with so much boring radio out > there, any unique format that appeals to a niche audience will get some > fans. The problem is making money with it. For example, consider WFNX, > which had a passionate niche audience. But it could not get enough > advertising support. There are many reasons for such problems, but as I > see it, deregulation has not just hurt independent owners-- it's also hurt > other businesses -- record companies, mama-papa record stores and local > bookstores... all of which used to buy time on rock stations. There's been > a domino effect, as fewer local businesses means fewer people to support > even a station they really like. The NPR model (or the WJIB model) can > work for some, but there is just no lobbying group that stands up for the > listeners these days. However, Bob and I totally agree that AM radio is not > dead. In fact, radio itself is not dead, even if certain bad policies and > indifferent corporations are not dedicated to keeping it alive. > > > From kvahey@gmail.com Sat May 19 17:57:40 2012 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 17:57:40 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <4FB80D8B.4010503@donnahalper.com> References: <20120519163716.227080@gmx.com> <4FB80D8B.4010503@donnahalper.com> Message-ID: Somebody with a PPM might in the course of the day be exposed to say WMJX in a Dunkin Donuts - the person doesn't even notice but the PPM does. On Sat, May 19, 2012 at 5:15 PM, Donna Halper wrote: > Prior to PPM, WBZ ruled the ratings. I am still trying to figure out what > there is about PPM that has been so detrimental to stations like WBZ. It's > still a powerhouse, but doesn't seem to get the kind of numbers it once > did. I'd love to hear some hot theories. > From kvahey@gmail.com Sat May 19 20:52:14 2012 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 20:52:14 -0400 Subject: Why I have never believed in ratings Message-ID: Back in the 50's, my Mom had a part time job with some TV ratings service where she would call numbers already picked by the company at certain times. On this Saturday afternoon everybody who was watching TV said they were watching wrestling on channel 4. She felt sorry for the Red Sox and she checked off channel 5 instead. Wrestling was cancelled 6 weeks later. From wollman@bimajority.org Sat May 19 21:56:13 2012 From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 21:56:13 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <4FB80CA7.9020707@donnahalper.com> References: <10278.4a2aae76.3ce9596a@aol.com> <4FB80CA7.9020707@donnahalper.com> Message-ID: <20408.20285.748921.133095@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> < said: > But things began to shift during the top-40 era, when the FCC > permitted group owners to have more stations, Hold on a second there, Donna. Throughout most of "the top-40 era", the limits were 7/7/7. In the 1930s, there was no limit on the number of stations one could own (all AM, of course). When FM and then television were introduced, limits were applied (6 commercial FM licenses and 5 commercial TV licenses). The original Network-Monopoly Report in 1941 limited networks (but not other licensees) to three stations each; this seems to have been amended before the rules finally came into force in 1943. At various times the Commission played with the TV ownership limits to try to get more investment into small-market (UHF) stations by the major groups. I'm not sure at what point the overall limits were doubled, but mwmory wants to say it was in the 1980s. The duopoly rule, also introduced in 1941, was repealed during the Bush (G.H.W.) administration, and by that time the old top-40 audience had long since fragmented. -GAWollman From kvahey@gmail.com Sat May 19 22:02:55 2012 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 22:02:55 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <20408.20285.748921.133095@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> References: <10278.4a2aae76.3ce9596a@aol.com> <4FB80CA7.9020707@donnahalper.com> <20408.20285.748921.133095@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: Garrett The rules must have been in place in the early 80's as CBS had to sell WEEI to make room for KRLD. On Sat, May 19, 2012 at 9:56 PM, Garrett Wollman wrote: > < > said: > > > But things began to shift during the top-40 era, when the FCC > > permitted group owners to have more stations, > > Hold on a second there, Donna. > > Throughout most of "the top-40 era", the limits were 7/7/7. In the > 1930s, there was no limit on the number of stations one could own (all > AM, of course). When FM and then television were introduced, limits > were applied (6 commercial FM licenses and 5 commercial TV licenses). > The original Network-Monopoly Report in 1941 limited networks (but not > other licensees) to three stations each; this seems to have been > amended before the rules finally came into force in 1943. At various > times the Commission played with the TV ownership limits to try to get > more investment into small-market (UHF) stations by the major groups. > I'm not sure at what point the overall limits were doubled, but mwmory > wants to say it was in the 1980s. The duopoly rule, also introduced > in 1941, was repealed during the Bush (G.H.W.) administration, and by > that time the old top-40 audience had long since fragmented. > > -GAWollman > > From wollman@bimajority.org Sat May 19 22:17:07 2012 From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 22:17:07 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <4FB80D8B.4010503@donnahalper.com> References: <20120519163716.227080@gmx.com> <4FB80D8B.4010503@donnahalper.com> Message-ID: <20408.21539.906431.660514@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> < said: > Prior to PPM, WBZ ruled the ratings. I am still trying to figure out > what there is about PPM that has been so detrimental to stations like > WBZ. It's still a powerhouse, but doesn't seem to get the kind of > numbers it once did. I'd love to hear some hot theories. The most common theories that I've hward, from various sources: 1) Brand awareness: WBZ (or in general $HERITAGE_STATION) is a well-known brand, and was erroneously getting diary credit from people who were listening to other stations because that was the brand that stuck in the mind. WHILE YOU'RE DRIVING YOUR CAR, WE'RE DRIVING FIFTY THOUSAND WATTS OF POWER! and all. I remember hearing about diaries claiming that the panelist was listening to Rush on WBZ, for example. 2) Anchoring: the diary, as you know, was based on quarter-hours, but since nearly everyone has had a digital-synthesized tuner for a couple of decades now, people change stations much more often. Panel members were instructed to report the station they listened to for at least 7-1/2 minutes out of the quarter hour, but they may not recall that they only listened to WBZ for four minutes at the top of the hour and then flipped between two other music stations for the rest of the drive home, because they "always" put on WBZ's "Traffic on the 3's" when leaving work, but aren't necessarily thinking of anything specific when they listen to the other stations. 3) Program awareness: a panelist may know that a particular program that he likes runs for some time and may misrecall how much of the program he actually listened to, giving the station credit for more TSL than was actually earned. (Doesn't apply so much to WBZ, but I've heard this as an explanation for a precipitous drop in the ratings of a certain conservative bloviator in central Florida. Diary panelists were listening to the opening monologue of the show but then reporting having listened to the whole hour or more.) -GAWollman From dlh@donnahalper.com Sat May 19 22:29:07 2012 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 22:29:07 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <20408.20285.748921.133095@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> References: <10278.4a2aae76.3ce9596a@aol.com> <4FB80CA7.9020707@donnahalper.com> <20408.20285.748921.133095@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <4FB856F3.7050500@donnahalper.com> On 5/19/2012 9:56 PM, Garrett Wollman wrote: > > Throughout most of "the top-40 era", the limits were 7/7/7. In the > 1930s, there was no limit on the number of stations one could own (all > AM, of course). > I don't want to disagree, but are you certain there was NO limit? I was under the impression there WERE limits during the 1930s-- owners could own one station per geographic area, or something like that... let me go find my notes, but I do remember certain limitations. From kvahey@gmail.com Sat May 19 23:39:30 2012 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 23:39:30 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <4FB856F3.7050500@donnahalper.com> References: <10278.4a2aae76.3ce9596a@aol.com> <4FB80CA7.9020707@donnahalper.com> <20408.20285.748921.133095@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <4FB856F3.7050500@donnahalper.com> Message-ID: <5973724483591478433@unknownmsgid> When was WAAB forced to move to Worcester? Sent from my iPhone On May 19, 2012, at 11:25 PM, Donna Halper wrote: > On 5/19/2012 9:56 PM, Garrett Wollman wrote: >> >> Throughout most of "the top-40 era", the limits were 7/7/7. In the >> 1930s, there was no limit on the number of stations one could own (all >> AM, of course). >> > > I don't want to disagree, but are you certain there was NO limit? I was under the impression there WERE limits during the 1930s-- owners could own one station per geographic area, or something like that... let me go find my notes, but I do remember certain limitations. From wollman@bimajority.org Sun May 20 00:07:05 2012 From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) Date: Sun, 20 May 2012 00:07:05 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <5973724483591478433@unknownmsgid> References: <10278.4a2aae76.3ce9596a@aol.com> <4FB80CA7.9020707@donnahalper.com> <20408.20285.748921.133095@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <4FB856F3.7050500@donnahalper.com> <5973724483591478433@unknownmsgid> Message-ID: <20408.28137.7693.241698@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> < said: > When was WAAB forced to move to Worcester? It would have been forced to move in 1943, had it not already moved in 1942 after the publication of the FCC report on chain broadcasting. Shepard didn't join the court battle against the new regulations. See at June 5, 1941, and March 11, June 15, and December 1, 1942. -GAWollman From scott@fybush.com Sat May 19 23:38:13 2012 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 23:38:13 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <4FB856F3.7050500@donnahalper.com> References: <10278.4a2aae76.3ce9596a@aol.com> <4FB80CA7.9020707@donnahalper.com> <20408.20285.748921.133095@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <4FB856F3.7050500@donnahalper.com> Message-ID: <4FB86725.2010608@fybush.com> On 5/19/2012 10:29 PM, Donna Halper wrote: > On 5/19/2012 9:56 PM, Garrett Wollman wrote: >> >> Throughout most of "the top-40 era", the limits were 7/7/7. In the >> 1930s, there was no limit on the number of stations one could own (all >> AM, of course). > > I don't want to disagree, but are you certain there was NO limit? I was > under the impression there WERE limits during the 1930s-- owners could > own one station per geographic area, or something like that... let me go > find my notes, but I do remember certain limitations. I haven't found any official rules limiting station ownership prior to the imposition of the no-duopoly rule in 1943. Informally, it appears that the FRC and later FCC frowned on an owner controlling more than two AMs in a market. The Buffalo Broadcasting Company briefly controlled four stations in the market (WGR, WKBW, WMAK, WKEN) between 1928-1930, but it was, shall we say, "strongly encouraged" to divest the WMAK license and eventually shut down WKEN as well. On the national level, the FCC allowed (and may even have encouraged) owners - especially NBC - to extend their ownership reach far beyond seven markets through the use of LMAs. Through much of the 1930s, NBC effectively controlled the Westinghouse and GE stations through what we'd now recognize as LMAs. I believe CBS had similar arrangements in a smaller number of markets as well. The "Report on Chain Broadcasting" in 1941 and its subsequent regulatory fallout changed that in a big way, severely limiting the amount of control networks could exert over affiliates and ending those LMA arrangements. s From joe@attorneyross.com Sun May 20 00:57:54 2012 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Sun, 20 May 2012 00:57:54 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <20120519163716.227080@gmx.com> References: <20120519163716.227080@gmx.com> Message-ID: <4FB879D2.5070705@attorneyross.com> On 5/19/2012 12:37 PM, Bob Nelson wrote: > Indeed. AM can have some quaint stations like WJIB or WJTO...WBZ and WRKO are certainly worthy, etc. but the action is on FM. And the listeners, the majority of them. > > Thankfully CBS and Entercom have given us sports on FM. Before WEEI went to FM, I could have had a situation at work where the Pats or B's could be heard via 98.5, but the Red Sox could be in the World > Series yet I'd be unable to hear it because they were stuck on the interference-laden AM band. Kudos to both stations for much local content (and it shows in the ratings). Or you could listen on the Internet. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 92 State Street, Suite 700 Fax: 617.507.7856 Boston, MA 02109-2004 http://www.attorneyross.com From sid@wrko.com Sat May 19 21:47:44 2012 From: sid@wrko.com (Sid Schweiger) Date: Sun, 20 May 2012 01:47:44 +0000 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <362280B0F87B4F648C1E6F8ED41B2814@HomeOffice> References: , <362280B0F87B4F648C1E6F8ED41B2814@HomeOffice> Message-ID: <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C91016E@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> "Respectfully, how do you know that? Are there studies, surveys, etc. or is it anecdotal evidence?" We have evidence. It's called Arbitron. Sid Schweiger IT Manager, Entercom New England 20 Guest St / 3d Floor Brighton MA 02135-2040 From joe@attorneyross.com Sun May 20 00:49:01 2012 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Sun, 20 May 2012 00:49:01 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <20407.16147.89233.624017@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> References: <20120517152347.227080@gmx.com> <6AB76AD1B5844BDA8B9A791E50526E15@SatU205S5044> <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C90EA56@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> <4FB71F61.30907@attorneyross.com> <20407.16147.89233.624017@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <4FB877BD.2010300@attorneyross.com> On 5/19/2012 2:34 AM, Garrett Wollman wrote: > 680 sits on top of Burlington's public water supply. 850 sits next to > a dump. Where's the development pressure? Both of those sites are > practically undevelopable. I seem to remember hearing something similar about the WJIB site. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 92 State Street, Suite 700 Fax: 617.507.7856 Boston, MA 02109-2004 http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Sun May 20 00:51:16 2012 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Sun, 20 May 2012 00:51:16 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <6BB26648E8FF4AAC9392C69580ED1219@SatU205S5044> References: <91E0DBD7-2CDB-4709-8484-7041064F77E2@rcn.com><4FB71DF1.5030008@attorneyross.com> <20407.12275.241840.119494@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <6BB26648E8FF4AAC9392C69580ED1219@SatU205S5044> Message-ID: <4FB87844.8000702@attorneyross.com> On 5/19/2012 2:46 AM, Dan.Strassberg wrote: > I've heard that argument for years but, regardless of the repetition, > I'm not sure the statement is correct. Many of the ferrite-loop > antennas that have been common in AM radios for the last 40 years or > so are not much larger than your typical USB memory stick. An antenna > that size would be physically just as compatible with an i-phone-style > handheld device as are the binaural in-the-ear headphones that many > people use with the devices to listen to stereo music. Moreover, if > modern 3D electronic-miniaturization techniques were used to fabricate > ferrite-loop antennas, it seems likely that the antennas could be made > even a bit smaller while quite possibly also offering improved > performance. I think the absence of such a development indicates that > people in the industry are not thinking about the problem and are > simply parroting old-wives' tales that became the conventional wisdom > a generation or more ago. A USB-stick-sized AM antenna could quite > possibly be successfully integrated with in-the-ear stereo headphones. > During the last decade, consumer electronics has begotten many > far-more-radical technological advances. What I have trouble understanding is how you can have such a small antenna for signals with such relatively long wavelengths. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 92 State Street, Suite 700 Fax: 617.507.7856 Boston, MA 02109-2004 http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Sun May 20 01:02:22 2012 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Sun, 20 May 2012 01:02:22 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <021401cd35eb$26d2fa80$7478ef80$@yahoo.com> References: <91E0DBD7-2CDB-4709-8484-7041064F77E2@rcn.com> <4FB71DF1.5030008@attorneyross.com> <20407.12275.241840.119494@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <4FB7C077.8050609@donnahalper.com> <021401cd35eb$26d2fa80$7478ef80$@yahoo.com> Message-ID: <4FB87ADE.2060200@attorneyross.com> On 5/19/2012 2:13 PM, Bill wrote: > What happened to the plan to expand the FM band into the 70 MHz range now > that TV has mostly vacated channels five and six? AM licensees were to get > first priority. FM's days may also be numbered, in favor of Internet radio. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 92 State Street, Suite 700 Fax: 617.507.7856 Boston, MA 02109-2004 http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Sun May 20 01:19:58 2012 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Sun, 20 May 2012 01:19:58 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <4FB86725.2010608@fybush.com> References: <10278.4a2aae76.3ce9596a@aol.com> <4FB80CA7.9020707@donnahalper.com> <20408.20285.748921.133095@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <4FB856F3.7050500@donnahalper.com> <4FB86725.2010608@fybush.com> Message-ID: <4FB87EFE.8080600@attorneyross.com> On 5/19/2012 11:38 PM, Scott Fybush wrote: > The "Report on Chain Broadcasting" in 1941 and its subsequent > regulatory fallout changed that in a big way, severely limiting the > amount of control networks could exert over affiliates and ending > those LMA arrangements. It's an interesting question whether this was a factor in the demise of old-style network radio in the 1950s when increasingly local stations were refusing to carry network programs. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 92 State Street, Suite 700 Fax: 617.507.7856 Boston, MA 02109-2004 http://www.attorneyross.com From dlh@donnahalper.com Sun May 20 02:54:38 2012 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Sun, 20 May 2012 02:54:38 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <4FB86725.2010608@fybush.com> References: <10278.4a2aae76.3ce9596a@aol.com> <4FB80CA7.9020707@donnahalper.com> <20408.20285.748921.133095@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <4FB856F3.7050500@donnahalper.com> <4FB86725.2010608@fybush.com> Message-ID: <4FB8952E.2030504@donnahalper.com> On 5/19/2012 11:38 PM, Scott Fybush wrote: > > I haven't found any official rules limiting station ownership prior to > the imposition of the no-duopoly rule in 1943. Informally, it appears > that the FRC and later FCC frowned on an owner controlling more than > two AMs in a market. The Buffalo Broadcasting Company briefly > controlled four stations in the market (WGR, WKBW, WMAK, WKEN) between > 1928-1930, but it was, shall we say, "strongly encouraged" to divest > the WMAK license and eventually shut down WKEN as well. Okay, maybe that's the answer-- that it was "informal"-- in the 1920s and 30s, Shepard certainly owned several stations in the same general market (at least 2 in Boston, and 1 in Providence), and that seemed to be okay with the government. But it certainly seemed to be widely believed that the FRC and then the FCC did not want too much concentration of ownership. There are also articles I have seen about how the Federal Radio Commission wanted owners to avoid buying stations in areas that were already perceived by the commission as overserved with radio properties. And in addition, I have seen newspaper articles where FCC commissioners during the 30s expressed a belief that a diversity of station ownership was desirable. From raccoonradio@gmail.com Sun May 20 06:35:37 2012 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Sun, 20 May 2012 06:35:37 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <4FB8952E.2030504@donnahalper.com> References: <10278.4a2aae76.3ce9596a@aol.com> <4FB80CA7.9020707@donnahalper.com> <20408.20285.748921.133095@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <4FB856F3.7050500@donnahalper.com> <4FB86725.2010608@fybush.com> <4FB8952E.2030504@donnahalper.com> Message-ID: I had mentioned what it was like before WEEI-FM 93.7 started...how "the Sox could be in the World Series yet I pretty much couldn't hear them at work" and it was said I could listen on the Net. When I'm at work, I can't listen to Sox or C's on the internet. Not at my postal facility in N. Reading, and prob. not at South Postal Annex where I may wind up next year. (But with 93.7 I can.) Some people do have smart phones though and I guess they can get it that way. To show what I have to put up with, a few times thanks to C's games, the Sox wound up on WRKO. To hear them I had to put a Walkman or other radio some distance away and use the mini-FM transmitter--and even that was scratchy. File under "gee I'd listen to WEEI/Sox if I could actually hear it (workplace/electrical interference)". Now thanks to 93.7 a couple towns away...I can. From attychase@comcast.net Sun May 20 11:58:46 2012 From: attychase@comcast.net (Attorney Robert S Chase) Date: Sun, 20 May 2012 11:58:46 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" References: Message-ID: <69E79E48866B401B84537B919B6DA6AB@HomeOffice> And what do the Arbitron results say and what is its methodology? Bob Chase .> > Message: 10 > Date: Sun, 20 May 2012 01:47:44 +0000 > From: Sid Schweiger > To: "boston-radio-interest@tsornin.bostonradio.org" > > Subject: RE: "It's the programming, stupid!" > Message-ID: > <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C91016E@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > "Respectfully, how do you know that? Are there studies, surveys, etc. or > is it anecdotal evidence?" > > We have evidence. It's called Arbitron. > > Sid Schweiger > IT Manager, Entercom New England > 20 Guest St / 3d Floor > Brighton MA 02135-2040 .> From raccoonradio@gmail.com Sun May 20 13:33:58 2012 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Sun, 20 May 2012 13:33:58 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <4FB921FA.4030700@fybush.com> References: <10278.4a2aae76.3ce9596a@aol.com> <4FB80CA7.9020707@donnahalper.com> <20408.20285.748921.133095@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <4FB856F3.7050500@donnahalper.com> <4FB86725.2010608@fybush.com> <4FB8952E.2030504@donnahalper.com> <4FB921FA.4030700@fybush.com> Message-ID: That's true and I know what you mean about the vast majority of people would have better luck. But others have also complained about workplace, etc. interference on AM while FM is fine, though not that FM can always be fine either. 680 and 850's problems to the west affect more people and Entercom has done such things as putting Howie and the Sox on WCRN, and the recent FM move, etc. From scott@fybush.com Sun May 20 12:55:22 2012 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Sun, 20 May 2012 12:55:22 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: References: <10278.4a2aae76.3ce9596a@aol.com> <4FB80CA7.9020707@donnahalper.com> <20408.20285.748921.133095@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <4FB856F3.7050500@donnahalper.com> <4FB86725.2010608@fybush.com> <4FB8952E.2030504@donnahalper.com> Message-ID: <4FB921FA.4030700@fybush.com> On 5/20/2012 6:35 AM, Bob Nelson wrote: > To show what I have to put up with, a few times thanks to C's games, > the Sox wound up on WRKO. To hear them I had to put a Walkman or other > radio some distance away and use the mini-FM transmitter--and even > that was scratchy. File under "gee I'd listen to > WEEI/Sox if I could actually hear it (workplace/electrical > interference)". Now thanks to 93.7 a couple towns away...I can. As I've said repeatedly whenever this particular issue has come up (and it's come up a lot): That's not an AM-versus-FM issue. It's a very specific issue particular to your specific circumstances - you work in a big metal Faraday cage that is significantly distant from nearly all the transmitter facilities in the market. WRKO puts something like 50+ mV/m over North Reading both day and night. That's not just a good signal by today's standards, that's a blowtorch of a signal. WBZ puts 12.6 mV/m there, and WEEI delivers 10 mV/m day and night. On FM, WEEI-FM is the strongest signal in North Reading, at 90.6 dBu. The Pru FMs deliver about 74 dBu and the Needham/Newton FMs clock in right at 70 dBu. Those are all considered better than city-grade signals. The problem is not with any of those signals. If you walk outside your building with a Walkman, or drive away in your car, you should be able to hear any and all of them perfectly clearly. The problem is that the structure of your building (and the electrical noise of the machinery inside) knock those FM signals down by probably 30 dB, so your WEEI-FM signal within the building is probably barely 60 dBu, and the Pru/Needham signals are barely 40 dBu. 60 dBu is barely enough for Walkman reception. 40 dBu can work in a car, but not on a Walkman. See what I'm getting at here, Bob? Your circumstances, while very real, are very specific to where you work, which is not representative of the vast majority of the audience in the Boston market. It's great that you can hear Sox games now on 93.7...but it's also a matter of luck more than anything else. s From sid@wrko.com Sun May 20 23:33:15 2012 From: sid@wrko.com (Sid Schweiger) Date: Mon, 21 May 2012 03:33:15 +0000 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <69E79E48866B401B84537B919B6DA6AB@HomeOffice> References: , <69E79E48866B401B84537B919B6DA6AB@HomeOffice> Message-ID: <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C9108A2@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> "And what do the Arbitron results say and what is its methodology?" The best explanation of the methodology comes from Arbitron: http://www.arbitron.com/downloads/guide_to_using_ppm_data.pdf The results are, heavily boiled down: Demos for AM radio are skewed lopsidedly into the upper age brackets...essentially, 55+. AM is not a go-to for radio listening by young people the way it was 40 years ago. Sid Schweiger IT Manager, Entercom New England 20 Guest St / 3d Floor Brighton MA 02135-2040 From kvahey@gmail.com Mon May 21 00:05:00 2012 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Mon, 21 May 2012 00:05:00 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C9108A2@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> References: <69E79E48866B401B84537B919B6DA6AB@HomeOffice> <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C9108A2@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> Message-ID: If you are 55+ ( raises hand ) even we are tuning out AM 40 years ago Boston looked like this on AM 590 - CBS News and talk 680 - The Big 68 850 - Jess Cain and Red Sox 1030 - WBZ 1090 - R&B daytime 1150 - surviving with country 1260 - last gasp 50-50 format - Top 40 and oldies 1510 - Trying to stay alive with music but Mac Richmond had just passed 740-950-1330-1600 non players FM was starting to evolve 96.9 was the monster with WJIB 104.1 was the hard rock crowd 98.5 was still automated 100.7 - MOR automated 103.3 was CBS-FM 102.5 classical 105.7 was getting more popular with Top 40 106.7 WBZ-FM was also Top 40 but automated 107.9 still country NOW on AM we have 1030 and 680 still trying to compete 850 is a simulcast 590 brokered 1260 - If you are a parent of a young child - you know Radio Disney. 1510 somehow NStar gets paid Back in 2004 - I know that WXKS-AM had a popular morning show with older Bostonians. I can't remember who the morning drive person was but he had an audience. CC decided to go to Talk America and WJIB got most of those people. Having a HD Radio I have to admit I have not gone to the AM band in months - I listen to WBZ on the HD sub-channel on 98.5 - it simply sounds better. Right now I have NO reason to go to AM - and I respect the band. On Sun, May 20, 2012 at 11:33 PM, Sid Schweiger wrote: > "And what do the Arbitron results say and what is its methodology?" > > The best explanation of the methodology comes from Arbitron: > > http://www.arbitron.com/downloads/guide_to_using_ppm_data.pdf > > The results are, heavily boiled down: Demos for AM radio are skewed > lopsidedly into the upper age brackets...essentially, 55+. AM is not a > go-to for radio listening by young people the way it was 40 years ago. > > Sid Schweiger > IT Manager, Entercom New England > 20 Guest St / 3d Floor > Brighton MA 02135-2040 > From chris2526@comcast.net Mon May 21 01:40:15 2012 From: chris2526@comcast.net (Chris Hall) Date: Mon, 21 May 2012 01:40:15 -0400 Subject: Auto industry wakes up....too bad Agencies and AD buyers have yet to Message-ID: <979742AB421F4BB4A64C51AB07092A01@chrisHP> Read a very telling article in the automotive section of Sundays Eagle Tribune. The automotive industry reports that 62% (and rising fast) of all new car sales in the US are purchased by the 50+ demographic followed by 24% in the 35-49 along with only 13% in the 18-35 demo. They awoke to the old adage.....when Willy Sutton was asked why do you rob banks? He replied....because that?s where the money is. Radio groups and agencies keep trying to milk the last dollars from the real dying demos those who don?t care about radio with no new future listeners to come while totally writing off as dead the discriminating demos that have the real wealth. The 50+ group still cares about radio if radio would give them at least lip service that they are important. I can be swayed by advertising if the product is good and presented in an intelligent manner. A good example is the recent Ad campaign for Dawn dishwashing detergent cleaning up the wildlife after an oil spill, always bought Palmolive in the past....Dawn now has a new customer. Olsen Cadillac knows where their bread is buttered when they advertise with Howie Carr and the Adelman's. As the economy worsens they only real wealth will be in the upper demos. Time for a good hard dope slap. From m_carney@yahoo.com Mon May 21 06:15:20 2012 From: m_carney@yahoo.com (Maureen Carney) Date: Mon, 21 May 2012 03:15:20 -0700 (PDT) Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: References: <69E79E48866B401B84537B919B6DA6AB@HomeOffice> <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C9108A2@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> Message-ID: <1337595320.49964.YahooMailNeo@web161301.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Bill Wightman (who was with Metro Networks before this) was the host on WXKS-AM. I was in my late 30s at the time and I would listen. But you're right - it was a much older audience who were upset when the format was changed. From bob.bosra@demattia.net Mon May 21 07:52:43 2012 From: bob.bosra@demattia.net (Bob DeMattia) Date: Mon, 21 May 2012 07:52:43 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: References: <69E79E48866B401B84537B919B6DA6AB@HomeOffice> <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C9108A2@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> Message-ID: > > > * 107.9 still country* > I recall 107.9 was WWEL trying to complete against WJIB with beautiful music. I don't ever remember it being country. To make the picture more complete, you could also add the dozens of local /1kw stations like WJDA and WESX that are now satellite fed and/or brokered. These stations may never have been tops in the ratings but in local communities, their ratings were pretty good. -Bob > From aerie.ma@comcast.net Mon May 21 08:24:21 2012 From: aerie.ma@comcast.net (Jim Hall) Date: Mon, 21 May 2012 08:24:21 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: References: <69E79E48866B401B84537B919B6DA6AB@HomeOffice> <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C9108A2@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> Message-ID: <009101cd374c$aa6e2600$ff4a7200$@ma@comcast.net> It was still WHIL-FM at the time, with the FM antenna still in Medford, so it didn't get out as far as WXKS-FM does now from the Pru. -----Original Message----- From: boston-radio-interest-bounces@tsornin.BostonRadio.org [mailto:boston-radio-interest-bounces@tsornin.BostonRadio.org] On Behalf Of Bob DeMattia Sent: Monday, May 21, 2012 7:53 AM To: boston-radio-interest@tsornin.bostonradio.org Subject: Re: "It's the programming, stupid!" > > > * 107.9 still country* > I recall 107.9 was WWEL trying to complete against WJIB with beautiful music. I don't ever remember it being country. To make the picture more complete, you could also add the dozens of local /1kw stations like WJDA and WESX that are now satellite fed and/or brokered. These stations may never have been tops in the ratings but in local communities, their ratings were pretty good. -Bob > From dan.strassberg@att.net Mon May 21 08:27:03 2012 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan.Strassberg) Date: Mon, 21 May 2012 08:27:03 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" References: <69E79E48866B401B84537B919B6DA6AB@HomeOffice><6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C9108A2@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> Message-ID: <7172DC8315954D1087594F2B489C3953@SatU205S5044> They guy whose name you couldn't remember (and that I had trouble remembering) is Bill Wightman. I think radio (V/O work) has become his second job--that is, I suspect that his "day job" is not in radio--unless he is doing radio sales, a radio job that doesn't involve air work. After he left the old WXKS (AM) 1430, he (very briefly) did AM drive at WBOQ 104.9 in Gloucester. Very talented guy; every time I hear a fill-in host for Steve LeVeille on WBZ, I wonder why Peter Casey hasn't pulled Wightman's phone number out of his Rollodex. I think Wightman would be the perfect fill-in for LeVeille. Anyhow, you can still hear Wightman on commercials for Rite Window and Reed's Ferry tool-sheds (I suspect that one guy owns both Rite Window and Reed's Ferry.) Wightman is also the voice on commercials for Eagle Bank, whose headquarters are--I believe--in Everett. Based on the stations where he has worked and at least one of the companies for which he voices commercials, I suspect that Wightman probably lives somewhere on the North Shore. ----- Dan Strassberg (dan.strassberg@att.net) eFax 1-707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kevin Vahey" To: "Sid Schweiger" Cc: Sent: Monday, May 21, 2012 12:05 AM Subject: Re: "It's the programming, stupid!" > > Back in 2004 - I know that WXKS-AM had a popular morning show with > older > Bostonians. I can't remember who the morning drive person was but he > had an > audience. CC decided to go to Talk America and WJIB got most of > those > people. >> From kvahey@gmail.com Mon May 21 09:15:19 2012 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Mon, 21 May 2012 09:15:19 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <4fba3bd4.c968320a.5462.5f5dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> References: <69E79E48866B401B84537B919B6DA6AB@HomeOffice> <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C9108A2@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> <4fba3bd4.c968320a.5462.5f5dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> Message-ID: The wiki history says the switch from WHIL country to WWEL happened in late 1972 which is how I remember it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WXKS-FM WWEL tried to make a big splash with quadraphonic sound which went nowhere. On Mon, May 21, 2012 at 8:24 AM, Jim Hall wrote: > > It was still WHIL-FM at the time, with the FM antenna still in Medford, so > it didn't get out as far as WXKS-FM does now from the Pru. > > -----Original Message----- > From: boston-radio-interest-bounces@tsornin.BostonRadio.org > [mailto:boston-radio-interest-bounces@tsornin.BostonRadio.org] On Behalf Of > Bob DeMattia > Sent: Monday, May 21, 2012 7:53 AM > To: boston-radio-interest@tsornin.bostonradio.org > Subject: Re: "It's the programming, stupid!" > > > > > > > * 107.9 still country* > > > > > I recall 107.9 was WWEL trying to complete against WJIB with beautiful > music. I don't ever remember it being country. > > > To make the picture more complete, you could also add the dozens of local > /1kw stations like WJDA and WESX that are now satellite fed and/or > brokered. These stations may never have been tops in the ratings but in > local communities, their ratings were pretty good. > > > -Bob > > > > > > > From dan.strassberg@att.net Mon May 21 09:10:30 2012 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan.Strassberg) Date: Mon, 21 May 2012 09:10:30 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" References: <69E79E48866B401B84537B919B6DA6AB@HomeOffice> <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C9108A2@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> <009101cd374c$aa6e2600$ff4a7200$@ma@comcast.net> Message-ID: <5F42616D4FE44F41B6DAE0A843F84F8F@SatU205S5044> WESX and WJDA had full-service formats and, despite being a daytimer (on 1190) back then, so did WKOX. IIRC, WKOX moved to 1200 and went full-time (10 kW-D/1 kW-N DA-N) in August or September 1981. Shortly thereafter, a hurricane took down one of WKOX's brand new 440' guy-wire top-loaded towers, forcing the station to drastically reduce its night power until the tower could be replaced. ----- Dan Strassberg (dan.strassberg@att.net) eFax 1-707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jim Hall" To: Sent: Monday, May 21, 2012 8:24 AM Subject: RE: "It's the programming, stupid!" > It was still WHIL-FM at the time, with the FM antenna still in > Medford, so > it didn't get out as far as WXKS-FM does now from the Pru. > > -----Original Message----- > From: boston-radio-interest-bounces@tsornin.BostonRadio.org > [mailto:boston-radio-interest-bounces@tsornin.BostonRadio.org] On > Behalf Of > Bob DeMattia > Sent: Monday, May 21, 2012 7:53 AM > To: boston-radio-interest@tsornin.bostonradio.org > Subject: Re: "It's the programming, stupid!" > >> >> >> * 107.9 still country* >> > > > I recall 107.9 was WWEL trying to complete against WJIB with > beautiful > music. I don't ever remember it being country. > > > To make the picture more complete, you could also add the dozens of > local > /1kw stations like WJDA and WESX that are now satellite fed and/or > brokered. These stations may never have been tops in the ratings > but in > local communities, their ratings were pretty good. > > > -Bob > > > > >> > From aerie.ma@comcast.net Mon May 21 10:39:17 2012 From: aerie.ma@comcast.net (Jim Hall) Date: Mon, 21 May 2012 10:39:17 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: References: <69E79E48866B401B84537B919B6DA6AB@HomeOffice> <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C9108A2@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> <4fba3bd4.c968320a.5462.5f5dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> Message-ID: <00a701cd375f$85099170$8f1cb450$@ma@comcast.net> Was the former WHIM in Providence (1110 AM) co-owned with WHIL during the country music years? They also programmed country music and given the similarity in the call letters I am wondering if they had the same ownership. I vaguely remember reading that the reason WHIL went country was that it had been successful in Providence for WHIM. From: Kevin Vahey [mailto:kvahey@gmail.com] Sent: Monday, May 21, 2012 9:15 AM To: Jim Hall Cc: boston-radio-interest@tsornin.bostonradio.org Subject: Re: "It's the programming, stupid!" The wiki history says the switch from WHIL country to WWEL happened in late 1972 which is how I remember it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WXKS-FM WWEL tried to make a big splash with quadraphonic sound which went nowhere. On Mon, May 21, 2012 at 8:24 AM, Jim Hall wrote: > > It was still WHIL-FM at the time, with the FM antenna still in Medford, so > it didn't get out as far as WXKS-FM does now from the Pru. > > -----Original Message----- > From: boston-radio-interest-bounces@tsornin.BostonRadio.org > [mailto:boston-radio-interest-bounces@tsornin.BostonRadio.org] On Behalf Of > Bob DeMattia > Sent: Monday, May 21, 2012 7:53 AM > To: boston-radio-interest@tsornin.bostonradio.org > Subject: Re: "It's the programming, stupid!" > > > > > > > * 107.9 still country* > > > > > I recall 107.9 was WWEL trying to complete against WJIB with beautiful > music. I don't ever remember it being country. > > > To make the picture more complete, you could also add the dozens of local > /1kw stations like WJDA and WESX that are now satellite fed and/or > brokered. These stations may never have been tops in the ratings but in > local communities, their ratings were pretty good. > > > -Bob > > > > > > > From kvahey@gmail.com Mon May 21 11:36:29 2012 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Mon, 21 May 2012 11:36:29 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <4fba5b86.62ed320a.6fac.ffffb95eSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> References: <69E79E48866B401B84537B919B6DA6AB@HomeOffice> <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C9108A2@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> <4fba3bd4.c968320a.5462.5f5dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> <4fba5b86.62ed320a.6fac.ffffb95eSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> Message-ID: One reason why WHIL-FM limped along with country was that at night WCOP (1150) could not be heard north of Revere. The old WHIL-AM had one show with a huge audience in the late afternoon - the racing results from Suffolk Downs or Rockingham. The race results was a big deal in the 50's and 60's as that is how the 'street number' was calculated before the state lottery came to be. The old Record-American also printed 2 editions based on the horse results - the 7 Races and Payoff edition. On Mon, May 21, 2012 at 10:39 AM, Jim Hall wrote: > Was the former WHIM in Providence (1110 AM) co-owned with WHIL during the > country music years? They also programmed country music and given the > similarity in the call letters I am wondering if they had the same > ownership. I vaguely remember reading that the reason WHIL went country was > that it had been successful in Providence for WHIM. > > > > From: Kevin Vahey [mailto:kvahey@gmail.com] > Sent: Monday, May 21, 2012 9:15 AM > To: Jim Hall > Cc: boston-radio-interest@tsornin.bostonradio.org > Subject: Re: "It's the programming, stupid!" > > > > The wiki history says the switch from WHIL country to WWEL happened in late > 1972 which is how I remember it. > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WXKS-FM > > > WWEL tried to make a big splash with quadraphonic sound which went nowhere. > > > > On Mon, May 21, 2012 at 8:24 AM, Jim Hall wrote: > > > > It was still WHIL-FM at the time, with the FM antenna still in Medford, > so > > it didn't get out as far as WXKS-FM does now from the Pru. > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: boston-radio-interest-bounces@tsornin.BostonRadio.org > > [mailto:boston-radio-interest-bounces@tsornin.BostonRadio.org] On Behalf > Of > > Bob DeMattia > > Sent: Monday, May 21, 2012 7:53 AM > > To: boston-radio-interest@tsornin.bostonradio.org > > Subject: Re: "It's the programming, stupid!" > > > > > > > > > > > * 107.9 still country* > > > > > > > > > I recall 107.9 was WWEL trying to complete against WJIB with beautiful > > music. I don't ever remember it being country. > > > > > > To make the picture more complete, you could also add the dozens of local > > /1kw stations like WJDA and WESX that are now satellite fed and/or > > brokered. These stations may never have been tops in the ratings but in > > local communities, their ratings were pretty good. > > > > > > -Bob > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > From dan.strassberg@att.net Mon May 21 11:47:30 2012 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan.Strassberg) Date: Mon, 21 May 2012 11:47:30 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" References: <69E79E48866B401B84537B919B6DA6AB@HomeOffice><6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C9108A2@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com><4fba3bd4.c968320a.5462.5f5dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com><4fba5b86.62ed320a.6fac.ffffb95eSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> Message-ID: <6EF2357E45594A69B8C18EF38A646343@SatU205S5044> WHIL-FM also aired what was the worst talk show I had ever heard until I heard the horrendous Drew Mortgage program on WCRN decades later. The WHIL program, which aired from 10:00PM to midnight, I believe, was hosted by a guy named Marvin Burak who was New Orleans's gift to New England. The producer was Burak's wife. ----- Dan Strassberg (dan.strassberg@att.net) eFax 1-707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kevin Vahey" To: "Jim Hall" Cc: Sent: Monday, May 21, 2012 11:36 AM Subject: Re: "It's the programming, stupid!" > One reason why WHIL-FM limped along with country was that at night > WCOP > (1150) could not be heard north of Revere. > > The old WHIL-AM had one show with a huge audience in the late > afternoon - > the racing results from Suffolk Downs or Rockingham. The race > results was a > big deal in the 50's and 60's as that is how the 'street number' was > calculated before the state lottery came to be. The old > Record-American > also printed 2 editions based on the horse results - the 7 Races and > Payoff > edition. > > On Mon, May 21, 2012 at 10:39 AM, Jim Hall > wrote: > >> Was the former WHIM in Providence (1110 AM) co-owned with WHIL >> during the >> country music years? They also programmed country music and given >> the >> similarity in the call letters I am wondering if they had the same >> ownership. I vaguely remember reading that the reason WHIL went >> country was >> that it had been successful in Providence for WHIM. >> >> >> >> From: Kevin Vahey [mailto:kvahey@gmail.com] >> Sent: Monday, May 21, 2012 9:15 AM >> To: Jim Hall >> Cc: boston-radio-interest@tsornin.bostonradio.org >> Subject: Re: "It's the programming, stupid!" >> >> >> >> The wiki history says the switch from WHIL country to WWEL happened >> in late >> 1972 which is how I remember it. >> >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WXKS-FM >> >> >> WWEL tried to make a big splash with quadraphonic sound which went >> nowhere. >> >> >> >> On Mon, May 21, 2012 at 8:24 AM, Jim Hall >> wrote: >> > >> > It was still WHIL-FM at the time, with the FM antenna still in >> > Medford, >> so >> > it didn't get out as far as WXKS-FM does now from the Pru. >> > >> > -----Original Message----- >> > From: boston-radio-interest-bounces@tsornin.BostonRadio.org >> > [mailto:boston-radio-interest-bounces@tsornin.BostonRadio.org] On >> > Behalf >> Of >> > Bob DeMattia >> > Sent: Monday, May 21, 2012 7:53 AM >> > To: boston-radio-interest@tsornin.bostonradio.org >> > Subject: Re: "It's the programming, stupid!" >> > >> > > >> > > >> > > * 107.9 still country* >> > > >> > >> > >> > I recall 107.9 was WWEL trying to complete against WJIB with >> > beautiful >> > music. I don't ever remember it being country. >> > >> > >> > To make the picture more complete, you could also add the dozens >> > of local >> > /1kw stations like WJDA and WESX that are now satellite fed >> > and/or >> > brokered. These stations may never have been tops in the ratings >> > but in >> > local communities, their ratings were pretty good. >> > >> > >> > -Bob >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > > >> > >> >> From aerie.ma@comcast.net Mon May 21 11:56:21 2012 From: aerie.ma@comcast.net (Jim Hall) Date: Mon, 21 May 2012 11:56:21 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: References: <69E79E48866B401B84537B919B6DA6AB@HomeOffice> <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C9108A2@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> <4fba3bd4.c968320a.5462.5f5dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> <4fba5b86.62ed320a.6fac.ffffb95eSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> Message-ID: <00c101cd376a$48cae550$da60aff0$@ma@comcast.net> I grew up in "Meffa", and WHIL was the hometown station. Back in the days when radio stations carried public service programming, WHIL broadcast several weekly programs of interest to Medford. They had a quiz show for area high school students on Sundays, for example. I was one of the representatives for my high school one time (we lost to the Medford High School team) and got to visit the studios at 99 RBP. George Fennell may have gotten his start at WHIL (he seemed to be the announcer for most of the broadcast day) before moving on to "5 all night". I always thought he had a great voice. An ID that WHIL used was "WHIL Medford.In the Air.Everywhere over Boston". But the FCC cracked down on stations doing things like that in a protracted legal battle with KABL Oakland (they used "in the air, everywhere, over San Francisco"). The FCC seemed to think at the time that KABL was trying to identify with the larger market across the bay rather than the city they were licensed to serve. A far cry from today I'd say. WHIL dropped the "over Boston" part of the ID as a result of this. From: Kevin Vahey [mailto:kvahey@gmail.com] Sent: Monday, May 21, 2012 11:36 AM To: Jim Hall Cc: boston-radio-interest@tsornin.bostonradio.org Subject: Re: "It's the programming, stupid!" One reason why WHIL-FM limped along with country was that at night WCOP (1150) could not be heard north of Revere. The old WHIL-AM had one show with a huge audience in the late afternoon - the racing results from Suffolk Downs or Rockingham. The race results was a big deal in the 50's and 60's as that is how the 'street number' was calculated before the state lottery came to be. The old Record-American also printed 2 editions based on the horse results - the 7 Races and Payoff edition. On Mon, May 21, 2012 at 10:39 AM, Jim Hall wrote: Was the former WHIM in Providence (1110 AM) co-owned with WHIL during the country music years? They also programmed country music and given the similarity in the call letters I am wondering if they had the same ownership. I vaguely remember reading that the reason WHIL went country was that it had been successful in Providence for WHIM. From: Kevin Vahey [mailto:kvahey@gmail.com] Sent: Monday, May 21, 2012 9:15 AM To: Jim Hall Cc: boston-radio-interest@tsornin.bostonradio.org Subject: Re: "It's the programming, stupid!" The wiki history says the switch from WHIL country to WWEL happened in late 1972 which is how I remember it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WXKS-FM WWEL tried to make a big splash with quadraphonic sound which went nowhere. On Mon, May 21, 2012 at 8:24 AM, Jim Hall wrote: > > It was still WHIL-FM at the time, with the FM antenna still in Medford, so > it didn't get out as far as WXKS-FM does now from the Pru. > > -----Original Message----- > From: boston-radio-interest-bounces@tsornin.BostonRadio.org > [mailto:boston-radio-interest-bounces@tsornin.BostonRadio.org] On Behalf Of > Bob DeMattia > Sent: Monday, May 21, 2012 7:53 AM > To: boston-radio-interest@tsornin.bostonradio.org > Subject: Re: "It's the programming, stupid!" > > > > > > > * 107.9 still country* > > > > > I recall 107.9 was WWEL trying to complete against WJIB with beautiful > music. I don't ever remember it being country. > > > To make the picture more complete, you could also add the dozens of local > /1kw stations like WJDA and WESX that are now satellite fed and/or > brokered. These stations may never have been tops in the ratings but in > local communities, their ratings were pretty good. > > > -Bob > > > > > > > From kc1ih@mac.com Mon May 21 12:00:50 2012 From: kc1ih@mac.com (Larry Weil) Date: Mon, 21 May 2012 12:00:50 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: References: <69E79E48866B401B84537B919B6DA6AB@HomeOffice> <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C9108A2@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> Message-ID: <41BACAE8-05B5-4515-A541-7A758B2F786F@mac.com> On May 21, 2012, at 7:52 AM, Bob DeMattia wrote: >> >> >> * 107.9 still country* >> > > > I recall 107.9 was WWEL trying to complete against WJIB with beautiful > music. I don't > ever remember it being country. I recall the same when I moved to the Boston area in 1978. And then their faithful listeners were shocked when they abruptly went ?Disco?. Larry Weil Lake Wobegone, NH From m_carney@yahoo.com Mon May 21 13:10:48 2012 From: m_carney@yahoo.com (Maureen Carney) Date: Mon, 21 May 2012 10:10:48 -0700 (PDT) Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <41BACAE8-05B5-4515-A541-7A758B2F786F@mac.com> References: <69E79E48866B401B84537B919B6DA6AB@HomeOffice> <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C9108A2@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> <41BACAE8-05B5-4515-A541-7A758B2F786F@mac.com> Message-ID: <1337620248.22204.YahooMailNeo@web161306.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Larry wrote: I recall the same when I moved to the Boston area in 1978.? And then their faithful listeners were shocked when they abruptly went ?Disco?. Larry Weil Lake Wobegone, NH I cried when I heard disco - not just because I didn't like the music but because WWEL ran the Red Sox on both the AM and FM and I couldn't get 1510 in after moving from Dedham to Holliston. From paul@derrynh.net Mon May 21 16:58:14 2012 From: paul@derrynh.net (Paul Hopfgarten) Date: Mon, 21 May 2012 16:58:14 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <1337620248.22204.YahooMailNeo@web161306.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> References: <69E79E48866B401B84537B919B6DA6AB@HomeOffice><6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C9108A2@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com><41BACAE8-05B5-4515-A541-7A758B2F786F@mac.com> <1337620248.22204.YahooMailNeo@web161306.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <06F71908C17F43E39C13C07100CCDCD9@PaulPC> IIRC, WWEL only ran NIGHT games of the Sox, and I don't believe 1430 carried them, only 107.9 to augment WITS's pitiful nighttime signal. (even as close as Randolph, where I lived at the time, I listened to 107.9 for the night games in 1978...) Paul Hopfgarten Epping NH -----Original Message----- From: Maureen Carney Sent: Monday, May 21, 2012 1:10 PM To: Larry Weil ; Bob DeMattia Cc: boston-radio-interest@tsornin.bostonradio.org Subject: Re: "It's the programming, stupid!" Larry wrote: I recall the same when I moved to the Boston area in 1978. And then their faithful listeners were shocked when they abruptly went ?Disco?. Larry Weil Lake Wobegone, NH I cried when I heard disco - not just because I didn't like the music but because WWEL ran the Red Sox on both the AM and FM and I couldn't get 1510 in after moving from Dedham to Holliston. From joe@attorneyross.com Mon May 21 18:04:51 2012 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Mon, 21 May 2012 18:04:51 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <06F71908C17F43E39C13C07100CCDCD9@PaulPC> References: <69E79E48866B401B84537B919B6DA6AB@HomeOffice><6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C9108A2@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com><41BACAE8-05B5-4515-A541-7A758B2F786F@mac.com> <1337620248.22204.YahooMailNeo@web161306.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> <06F71908C17F43E39C13C07100CCDCD9@PaulPC> Message-ID: <4FBABC03.4010306@attorneyross.com> On 5/21/2012 4:58 PM, Paul Hopfgarten wrote: > IIRC, WWEL only ran NIGHT games of the Sox, and I don't believe 1430 > carried them, only 107.9 to augment WITS's pitiful nighttime signal. > (even as close as Randolph, where I lived at the time, I listened to > 107.9 for the night > games in 1978...) Yes, I remember when the Red Sox moved from WHDH radio and channel 4 television to WITS and channel 38, neither of which came in all that well in Bedford, my father remarked that he couldn't understand why a big-league ball club was on minor-league stations. What made things worse was that our little neighborhood in Bedford had worse nightime reception of 1510 than elsewhere in town. I remember once driving home at night, listening to WMEX on the car radio, and I heard the signal fade out just as I turned the corner off the main road onto the side street that led to our neighborhood. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 92 State Street, Suite 700 Fax: 617.507.7856 Boston, MA 02109-2004 http://www.attorneyross.com From aerie.ma@comcast.net Tue May 22 08:35:34 2012 From: aerie.ma@comcast.net (Jim Hall) Date: Tue, 22 May 2012 08:35:34 -0400 Subject: Wikipedia entry for WKOX Message-ID: <00fd01cd3817$66bc9290$3435b7b0$@ma@comcast.net> I notice that the Wikipedia entry for WKOX claims that upon the closing, WFNX will become WKOX-FM and will duplicate WKOX's Spanish programming. I wonder if someone at CC is having fun: first the "you'll have 101.7 reasons" post, and now this. From raccoonradio@gmail.com Tue May 22 11:14:40 2012 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Tue, 22 May 2012 11:14:40 -0400 Subject: Wikipedia entry for WKOX In-Reply-To: <4fbb8ffa.09a92a0a.15cc.2e4dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> References: <4fbb8ffa.09a92a0a.15cc.2e4dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> Message-ID: I changed it and under "reason" put down that Clear Channel has yet to announce a new format for 101.7. They are awaiting FCC approval of the sale. Yes, it could well be but at this time no new format has been announced. This is kind of like someone on Wikipedia saying W. Mitt Romney will be the 45th President of the United States. It could happen, yes, but someone going on Wikipedia to say that is jumping the gun a bit...as they used to say on Monty Python, "Wait for it...." On Tue, May 22, 2012 at 8:35 AM, Jim Hall wrote: > I notice that the Wikipedia entry for WKOX claims that upon the closing, > WFNX will become WKOX-FM and will duplicate WKOX's Spanish programming. I > wonder if someone at CC is having fun: first the "you'll have 101.7 reasons" > post, and now this. > > > > > From raccoonradio@mail.com Tue May 22 11:05:43 2012 From: raccoonradio@mail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Tue, 22 May 2012 11:05:43 -0400 Subject: Wikipedia entry for WKOX Message-ID: <20120522150544.227100@gmx.com> The entry for WFNX on Wiki claimed the same thing--that 101.7 would do that. As CC has not announced the format yet, I revised it to say that the new format is unknown at this time and someone later slightly reworded it to say the same thing. Wiki. does not want speculation ("it is rumored that...") I would think. It could well wind up that way but as of now, no new format has been announced. ----- Original Message ----- From: Jim Hall Sent: 05/22/12 08:35 AM To: boston-radio-interest@tsornin.bostonradio.org Subject: Wikipedia entry for WKOX I notice that the Wikipedia entry for WKOX claims that upon the closing, WFNX will become WKOX-FM and will duplicate WKOX's Spanish programming. I wonder if someone at CC is having fun: first the "you'll have 101.7 reasons" post, and now this. From joe@attorneyross.com Tue May 22 16:55:26 2012 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Tue, 22 May 2012 16:55:26 -0400 Subject: Wikipedia entry for WKOX In-Reply-To: References: <4fbb8ffa.09a92a0a.15cc.2e4dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> Message-ID: <4FBBFD3E.8040407@attorneyross.com> On 5/22/2012 11:14 AM, Bob Nelson wrote: > I changed it and under "reason" put down that Clear Channel has yet to > announce a new format for 101.7. They are awaiting FCC approval of the > sale. Yes, it could well be but at this time no new format has been > announced. This is kind of like someone on Wikipedia saying W. Mitt > Romney will be the 45th President of the United States. It could > happen, yes, but someone going on Wikipedia to say that is jumping the > gun a bit...as they used to say on Monty Python, "Wait for it...." In 1948 the Chicago Tribune did exactly that, with its famous "Dewey Defeats Truman" headline. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. 617.367.0468 92 State Street, Suite 700 Fax: 617.507.7856 Boston, MA 02109-2004 http://www.attorneyross.com From raccoonradio@gmail.com Wed May 23 03:13:11 2012 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Wed, 23 May 2012 03:13:11 -0400 Subject: Wikipedia entry for WKOX In-Reply-To: <4FBBFD3E.8040407@attorneyross.com> References: <4fbb8ffa.09a92a0a.15cc.2e4dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> <4FBBFD3E.8040407@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: Yes and more recently I think the NY Post jumped the gun in proclaiming Dick Gephardt as running mate for Gore, or was it Kerry On Tue, May 22, 2012 at 4:55 PM, A. Joseph Ross wrote: > > In 1948 the Chicago Tribune did exactly that, with its famous "Dewey Defeats > Truman" headline. > > From dbroda@nycap.rr.com Wed May 23 07:32:40 2012 From: dbroda@nycap.rr.com (Douglas Broda) Date: Wed, 23 May 2012 07:32:40 -0400 Subject: Wikipedia entry for WKOX In-Reply-To: References: <4fbb8ffa.09a92a0a.15cc.2e4dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> Message-ID: <4FBCCAD8.8060605@nycap.rr.com> Someone is having too much fun. Current entry: "No format has yet been announced for WFNX under Clear Channel ownership. WFEX will change its call letters to WDER-FM and simulcast the religious programming of WDER-AM." I think Wikipedia may need to lock this entry down for awhile... On 5/22/2012 11:14 AM, Bob Nelson wrote: > I changed it and under "reason" put down that Clear Channel has yet to > announce a new format for 101.7. They are awaiting FCC approval of the > sale. Yes, it could well be but at this time no new format has been > announced. This is kind of like someone on Wikipedia saying W. Mitt > Romney will be the 45th President of the United States. It could > happen, yes, but someone going on Wikipedia to say that is jumping the > gun a bit...as they used to say on Monty Python, "Wait for it...." > > On Tue, May 22, 2012 at 8:35 AM, Jim Hall wrote: >> I notice that the Wikipedia entry for WKOX claims that upon the closing, >> WFNX will become WKOX-FM and will duplicate WKOX's Spanish programming. I >> wonder if someone at CC is having fun: first the "you'll have 101.7 reasons" >> post, and now this. >> >> >> >> >> > -- Douglas J. Broda Attorney at Law Post Office Box 239 Troy, New York 12182 (518) 272-0580 Fax (518) 237-0949 NOTE: I do not regularly read emails from this account, other than those sent to mailing lists to which I subscribe, in order to minimize spam. If you need to reach me other than via a mailing list, please feel free to call me or use my regular business email address, which is the first letter of my first name plus my middle initial plus my last name at nycap.rr.com (which is stated that way to avoid spambots). From dbroda@nycap.rr.com Wed May 23 07:36:26 2012 From: dbroda@nycap.rr.com (Douglas Broda) Date: Wed, 23 May 2012 07:36:26 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <4FBABC03.4010306@attorneyross.com> References: <69E79E48866B401B84537B919B6DA6AB@HomeOffice><6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C9108A2@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com><41BACAE8-05B5-4515-A541-7A758B2F786F@mac.com> <1337620248.22204.YahooMailNeo@web161306.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> <06F71908C17F43E39C13C07100CCDCD9@PaulPC> <4FBABC03.4010306@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: <4FBCCBBA.5050503@nycap.rr.com> I grew up in Brooklyn a rabid Mets fan, and had to get the games (including the Miracle of 1969) on WJRZ 970, the signal being even worse than it is (as WNYM) today. Not good, and I have long wondered why the Mets couldn't get a better radio deal. On 5/21/2012 6:04 PM, A. Joseph Ross wrote: > On 5/21/2012 4:58 PM, Paul Hopfgarten wrote: > >> IIRC, WWEL only ran NIGHT games of the Sox, and I don't believe 1430 >> carried them, only 107.9 to augment WITS's pitiful nighttime signal. >> (even as close as Randolph, where I lived at the time, I listened to >> 107.9 for the night >> games in 1978...) > > Yes, I remember when the Red Sox moved from WHDH radio and channel 4 > television to WITS and channel 38, neither of which came in all that > well in Bedford, my father remarked that he couldn't understand why a > big-league ball club was on minor-league stations. > > What made things worse was that our little neighborhood in Bedford had > worse nightime reception of 1510 than elsewhere in town. I remember > once driving home at night, listening to WMEX on the car radio, and I > heard the signal fade out just as I turned the corner off the main > road onto the side street that led to our neighborhood. > -- Douglas J. Broda Attorney at Law Post Office Box 239 Troy, New York 12182 (518) 272-0580 Fax (518) 237-0949 NOTE: I do not regularly read emails from this account, other than those sent to mailing lists to which I subscribe, in order to minimize spam. If you need to reach me other than via a mailing list, please feel free to call me or use my regular business email address, which is the first letter of my first name plus my middle initial plus my last name at nycap.rr.com (which is stated that way to avoid spambots). From dan.strassberg@att.net Wed May 23 09:08:58 2012 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan.Strassberg) Date: Wed, 23 May 2012 09:08:58 -0400 Subject: Wikipedia entry for WKOX References: <4fbb8ffa.09a92a0a.15cc.2e4dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> <4FBCCAD8.8060605@nycap.rr.com> Message-ID: <6145F199331B4E998E5DAFD85E36017E@SatU205S5044> What amazes me about this transfer is that, unlike just about every other station transfer in reasonably large markets in the last few years--at least in cases where the prospective licensee had not made its programming plans clear, I have not seen postings by the WHOIS detectives. These are the self-appointed folks who unearth new URL registrations that may or may not be genuine and may or may not be connected to the station whose license is to be transferred. This time, I had expected to see postings about registrations for (at least) talk1017.com and mia1017.com, speculation about who the REAL domain-name registrants are, and speculation about whether the registrants have any legitimate connection to Clear Channel or Clear Channel Boston. Then there should be endless strings of posts by Bob Nelson about the posts that contain the speculation. ----- Dan Strassberg (dan.strassberg@att.net) eFax 1-707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Douglas Broda" To: Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2012 7:32 AM Subject: Re: Wikipedia entry for WKOX > Someone is having too much fun. Current entry: "No format has yet > been announced for WFNX under Clear Channel ownership. WFEX will > change its call letters to WDER-FM and simulcast the religious > programming of WDER-AM." > > I think Wikipedia may need to lock this entry down for awhile... > > On 5/22/2012 11:14 AM, Bob Nelson wrote: >> I changed it and under "reason" put down that Clear Channel has yet >> to >> announce a new format for 101.7. They are awaiting FCC approval of >> the >> sale. Yes, it could well be but at this time no new format has been >> announced. This is kind of like someone on Wikipedia saying W. Mitt >> Romney will be the 45th President of the United States. It could >> happen, yes, but someone going on Wikipedia to say that is jumping >> the >> gun a bit...as they used to say on Monty Python, "Wait for it...." >> >> On Tue, May 22, 2012 at 8:35 AM, Jim Hall >> wrote: >>> I notice that the Wikipedia entry for WKOX claims that upon the >>> closing, >>> WFNX will become WKOX-FM and will duplicate WKOX's Spanish >>> programming. I >>> wonder if someone at CC is having fun: first the "you'll have >>> 101.7 reasons" >>> post, and now this. >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >> > > > -- > Douglas J. Broda > Attorney at Law > Post Office Box 239 > Troy, New York 12182 > (518) 272-0580 > Fax (518) 237-0949 > > NOTE: I do not regularly read emails from this account, other than > those sent to mailing lists to which I subscribe, in order to > minimize spam. If you need to reach me other than via a mailing > list, please feel free to call me or use my regular business email > address, which is the first letter of my first name plus my middle > initial plus my last name at nycap.rr.com (which is stated that way > to avoid spambots). > > From irw@well.com Wed May 23 09:55:17 2012 From: irw@well.com (Blaine Thompson) Date: Wed, 23 May 2012 06:55:17 -0700 (PDT) Subject: WFNX Sale Price = $14.5 million Message-ID: <1285655687.623.1337781317050.JavaMail.root@zimbra.well.com> AllAccess says the contract filed with the FCC shows a $14.5 million sale price to CC. - Blaine From scott@fybush.com Wed May 23 10:10:27 2012 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Wed, 23 May 2012 10:10:27 -0400 Subject: Wikipedia entry for WKOX In-Reply-To: <6145F199331B4E998E5DAFD85E36017E@SatU205S5044> References: <4fbb8ffa.09a92a0a.15cc.2e4dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> <4FBCCAD8.8060605@nycap.rr.com> <6145F199331B4E998E5DAFD85E36017E@SatU205S5044> Message-ID: <4FBCEFD3.2010006@fybush.com> On 5/23/2012 9:08 AM, Dan.Strassberg wrote: > What amazes me about this transfer is that, unlike just about every > other station transfer in reasonably large markets in the last few > years--at least in cases where the prospective licensee had not made > its programming plans clear, I have not seen postings by the WHOIS > detectives. These are the self-appointed folks who unearth new URL > registrations that may or may not be genuine and may or may not be > connected to the station whose license is to be transferred. This > time, I had expected to see postings about registrations for (at > least) talk1017.com and mia1017.com, speculation about who the REAL > domain-name registrants are, and speculation about whether the > registrants have any legitimate connection to Clear Channel or Clear > Channel Boston. Then there should be endless strings of posts by Bob > Nelson about the posts that contain the speculation. One of the reasons those "self-appointed folks" tend to be as prescient as they are is that they don't speculate, per se...at least in the case of Lance Venta at RadioInsight.com, he only puts an item up when there's actually a domain registration to report. As of 10:00 this morning, nobody has registered talk1017.com...or mia101.7com...or radio1017.com...or rumba1017.com...or wkoxfm.com....or jamn1017.com. Anyone who has 13 bucks to spare (which rules me out at the moment, alas) could register any of those names and start the wheel of speculation spinning. But for now, there's simply no red meat out there for anyone to start chewing on, which I guess leaves us speculating on the lack of speculation. s From bob.bosra@demattia.net Wed May 23 13:03:24 2012 From: bob.bosra@demattia.net (Bob DeMattia) Date: Wed, 23 May 2012 13:03:24 -0400 Subject: WFNX Sale Price = $14.5 million In-Reply-To: <1285655687.623.1337781317050.JavaMail.root@zimbra.well.com> References: <1285655687.623.1337781317050.JavaMail.root@zimbra.well.com> Message-ID: And to add to the rumors, the Herald reports that "radio experts" think Clear Channel will move Talk1200 to 101.7. The article quotes Bruce Mittman, a former WXKS-AM exec. The logic behind his prediction makes sense. http://www.bostonherald.com/business/media/view.bg?articleid=1061132117&srvc=business&position=recent The Spanish options sort of makes sense too - I suppose it depends on whether Spanish or Talk will bring in more money. I don't understand the country option: The little 101.7 signal competing against WOKQ on one side and WKLB on the other doesn't make sense. -Bob On Wed, May 23, 2012 at 9:55 AM, Blaine Thompson wrote: > AllAccess says the contract filed with the FCC shows a $14.5 million sale > price to CC. > > - Blaine > > From joe@attorneyross.com Wed May 23 17:07:21 2012 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Wed, 23 May 2012 17:07:21 -0400 Subject: Wikipedia entry for WKOX In-Reply-To: References: <4fbb8ffa.09a92a0a.15cc.2e4dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> <4FBBFD3E.8040407@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: <4FBD5189.3070608@attorneyross.com> On 5/23/2012 3:13 AM, Bob Nelson wrote: > Yes and more recently I think the NY Post jumped the gun in > proclaiming Dick Gephardt as running mate for Gore, or was it Kerry The Boston Herald reported on its front page that Mayor White was definitely going to run for a fifth term the day before he announced that he wasn't. But in fairness to the Herald, White apparently told that to a Herald reporter. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D.|92 State Street|Suite 700|Boston, MA 02109-2004 617.367.0468|Fx: 617.507.7856|http://www.attorneyross.com From billohno@gmail.com Wed May 23 19:09:55 2012 From: billohno@gmail.com (Bill O'Neill) Date: Wed, 23 May 2012 19:09:55 -0400 Subject: Wikipedia entry for WKOX In-Reply-To: <4FBD5189.3070608@attorneyross.com> References: <4fbb8ffa.09a92a0a.15cc.2e4dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> <4FBBFD3E.8040407@attorneyross.com> <4FBD5189.3070608@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: <19f79f26-905c-4840-8324-849d2c543302@email.android.com> And in fairness to Mayor White, he was not bitter. (File under: Dated Bay State Political References for Two Hundred, Alex) Bill O?Neill -- Sent from my Android phone with K-9 Mail. Please pardon my brevity. _____________________________________________ From: "A. Joseph Ross" Sent: Wed May 23 17:07:21 EDT 2012 To: Bob Nelson Cc: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org Subject: Re: Wikipedia entry for WKOX On 5/23/2012 3:13 AM, Bob Nelson wrote: > Yes and more recently I think the NY Post jumped the gun in > proclaiming Dick Gephardt as running mate for Gore, or was it Kerry The Boston Herald reported on its front page that Mayor White was definitely going to run for a fifth term the day before he announced that he wasn't. But in fairness to the Herald, White apparently told that to a Herald reporter. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D.|92 State Street|Suite 700|Boston, MA 02109-2004 617.367.0468|Fx: 617.507.7856|http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Wed May 23 19:22:53 2012 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Wed, 23 May 2012 19:22:53 -0400 Subject: Wikipedia entry for WKOX In-Reply-To: <19f79f26-905c-4840-8324-849d2c543302@email.android.com> References: <4fbb8ffa.09a92a0a.15cc.2e4dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> <4FBBFD3E.8040407@attorneyross.com> <4FBD5189.3070608@attorneyross.com> <19f79f26-905c-4840-8324-849d2c543302@email.android.com> Message-ID: <4FBD714D.1070602@attorneyross.com> On 5/23/2012 7:09 PM, Bill O'Neill wrote: > And in fairness to Mayor White, he was not bitter. Why should he be bitter? He was the one who screwed the Herald by giving their reporter wrong information. The question is, was the Herald bitter? -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D.|92 State Street|Suite 700|Boston, MA 02109-2004 617.367.0468|Fx: 617.507.7856|http://www.attorneyross.com From dlh@donnahalper.com Wed May 23 20:42:35 2012 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Wed, 23 May 2012 20:42:35 -0400 Subject: Wikipedia entry for WKOX In-Reply-To: <4FBCEFD3.2010006@fybush.com> References: <4fbb8ffa.09a92a0a.15cc.2e4dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> <4FBCCAD8.8060605@nycap.rr.com> <6145F199331B4E998E5DAFD85E36017E@SatU205S5044> <4FBCEFD3.2010006@fybush.com> Message-ID: <4FBD83FB.5080807@donnahalper.com> Scott wrote-- > As of 10:00 this morning, nobody has registered talk1017.com...or > mia101.7com...or radio1017.com...or rumba1017.com...or > wkoxfm.com....or jamn1017.com. Anyone who has 13 bucks to spare (which > rules me out at the moment, alas) could register any of those names > and start the wheel of speculation spinning. But for now, there's > simply no red meat out there for anyone to start chewing on, which I > guess leaves us speculating on the lack of speculation. Is it significant that Mr. Mindich still owns the call letters of WFNX? Unless I misunderstood Peter Kadzis of the Phoenix, he may have sold the station but he has held on to the calls, and I hear there are efforts to bring the station back on some level, by turning it into an internet station. (Sam Kopper of the old WBCN is doing that even as we speak, with an internet version of WBCN. Not sure how many listeners it has.) Have you heard anything about plans to rejuvenate WFNX as an internet station? From walkerbroadcasting@gmail.com Wed May 23 21:25:42 2012 From: walkerbroadcasting@gmail.com (Paul B. Walker, Jr.) Date: Wed, 23 May 2012 21:25:42 -0400 Subject: Wikipedia entry for WKOX In-Reply-To: <4FBD83FB.5080807@donnahalper.com> References: <4fbb8ffa.09a92a0a.15cc.2e4dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> <4FBCCAD8.8060605@nycap.rr.com> <6145F199331B4E998E5DAFD85E36017E@SatU205S5044> <4FBCEFD3.2010006@fybush.com> <4FBD83FB.5080807@donnahalper.com> Message-ID: Well, how can Mr. Mindich own the WFNX call letters? once the station is sold and Clear Channel changes calls, unless Mr. Mindich puts them somewhere else, they become available for another station to use. Dont they? On Wed, May 23, 2012 at 8:42 PM, Donna Halper wrote: > Scott wrote-- > > As of 10:00 this morning, nobody has registered talk1017.com...or >> mia101.7com...or radio1017.com...or rumba1017.com...or wkoxfm.com....or >> jamn1017.com. Anyone who has 13 bucks to spare (which rules me out at >> the moment, alas) could register any of those names and start the wheel of >> speculation spinning. But for now, there's simply no red meat out there for >> anyone to start chewing on, which I guess leaves us speculating on the lack >> of speculation. >> > > Is it significant that Mr. Mindich still owns the call letters of WFNX? > Unless I misunderstood Peter Kadzis of the Phoenix, he may have sold the > station but he has held on to the calls, and I hear there are efforts to > bring the station back on some level, by turning it into an internet > station. (Sam Kopper of the old WBCN is doing that even as we speak, with > an internet version of WBCN. Not sure how many listeners it has.) Have > you heard anything about plans to rejuvenate WFNX as an internet station? > From billohno@gmail.com Wed May 23 21:28:11 2012 From: billohno@gmail.com (Bill O'Neill) Date: Wed, 23 May 2012 21:28:11 -0400 Subject: Wikipedia entry for WKOX In-Reply-To: <4FBD714D.1070602@attorneyross.com> References: <4fbb8ffa.09a92a0a.15cc.2e4dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> <4FBBFD3E.8040407@attorneyross.com> <4FBD5189.3070608@attorneyross.com> <19f79f26-905c-4840-8324-849d2c543302@email.android.com> <4FBD714D.1070602@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: <3f3857a7-c502-4d3f-a7e6-5d8d19f2d21b@email.android.com> I hope the reference to comedian Steve Sweeney?s impression-bit (often heard on Jerry Williams) was not lost in my post. BillO -- Sent from my Android phone with K-9 Mail. Please pardon my brevity. _____________________________________________ From: "A. Joseph Ross" Sent: Wed May 23 19:22:53 EDT 2012 To: Bill O'Neill Cc: Bob Nelson , boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org Subject: Re: Wikipedia entry for WKOX On 5/23/2012 7:09 PM, Bill O'Neill wrote: > And in fairness to Mayor White, he was not bitter. Why should he be bitter? He was the one who screwed the Herald by giving their reporter wrong information. The question is, was the Herald bitter? -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D.|92 State Street|Suite 700|Boston, MA 02109-2004 617.367.0468|Fx: 617.507.7856|http://www.attorneyross.com From dlh@donnahalper.com Wed May 23 21:39:39 2012 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Wed, 23 May 2012 21:39:39 -0400 Subject: Wikipedia entry for WKOX In-Reply-To: References: <4fbb8ffa.09a92a0a.15cc.2e4dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> <4FBCCAD8.8060605@nycap.rr.com> <6145F199331B4E998E5DAFD85E36017E@SatU205S5044> <4FBCEFD3.2010006@fybush.com> <4FBD83FB.5080807@donnahalper.com> Message-ID: <4FBD915B.8050109@donnahalper.com> On 5/23/2012 9:25 PM, Paul B. Walker, Jr. wrote: > Well, how can Mr. Mindich own the WFNX call letters? once the station > is sold and Clear Channel changes calls, unless Mr. Mindich puts them > somewhere else, they become available for another station to use. Evidently not, according to an article in this week's Boston Phoenix: "WFNX's intellectual property, including its call letters, remains property of the /Phoenix/." Rest of the article is found here: http://thephoenix.com/boston/music/139046-wfnx-dies-before-it-gets-old/#ixzz1vkNIhHOU From wollman@bimajority.org Wed May 23 22:59:59 2012 From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) Date: Wed, 23 May 2012 22:59:59 -0400 Subject: Wikipedia entry for WKOX In-Reply-To: <4FBD915B.8050109@donnahalper.com> References: <4fbb8ffa.09a92a0a.15cc.2e4dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> <4FBCCAD8.8060605@nycap.rr.com> <6145F199331B4E998E5DAFD85E36017E@SatU205S5044> <4FBCEFD3.2010006@fybush.com> <4FBD83FB.5080807@donnahalper.com> <4FBD915B.8050109@donnahalper.com> Message-ID: <20413.42031.212685.299187@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> < said: > On 5/23/2012 9:25 PM, Paul B. Walker, Jr. wrote: >> Well, how can Mr. Mindich own the WFNX call letters? once the station >> is sold and Clear Channel changes calls, unless Mr. Mindich puts them >> somewhere else, they become available for another station to use. > Evidently not, according to an article in this week's Boston Phoenix: > "WFNX's intellectual property, including its call letters, remains > property of the /Phoenix/." The FCC has a different view. You guess which one prevails. (I just checked the Federal trademark register, and -- no surprise -- there is no Federal registration for the word mark "WFNX". Any other trademark rights Mindich may have are purely under Massachusetts law and would not prevent someone in another state from claiming that call sign. He does have a Federal trademark registration for "The Boston Phoenix", so it's not like he's not familiar with the system.) It is a weird purchase for Clear Channel, though: can't be upgraded or moved easily, doesn't really complement any of their existing signals, doesn't have full-market coverage. There's nobody currently operating in Boston who would have an obvious interest in swapping something else in another market for it. Time will tell, of course. -GAWollman From dlh@donnahalper.com Wed May 23 23:30:27 2012 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Wed, 23 May 2012 23:30:27 -0400 Subject: Wikipedia entry for WKOX In-Reply-To: <20413.42031.212685.299187@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> References: <4fbb8ffa.09a92a0a.15cc.2e4dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> <4FBCCAD8.8060605@nycap.rr.com> <6145F199331B4E998E5DAFD85E36017E@SatU205S5044> <4FBCEFD3.2010006@fybush.com> <4FBD83FB.5080807@donnahalper.com> <4FBD915B.8050109@donnahalper.com> <20413.42031.212685.299187@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <4FBDAB53.7020901@donnahalper.com> On 5/23/2012 10:59 PM, Garrett Wollman wrote: > (I just checked the Federal trademark register, and -- no surprise -- > there is no Federal registration for the word mark "WFNX". Any other > trademark rights Mindich may have are purely under Massachusetts law > and would not prevent someone in another state from claiming that call > sign. He does have a Federal trademark registration for "The Boston > Phoenix", so it's not like he's not familiar with the system.) > That's really interesting, because Mindich sent Peter Kadzis out as the official spokesperson to talk to the media, and he repeated the same claim that the WFNX calls belong to Mindich. Wonder why they are saying that, both live and in print... From kvahey@gmail.com Wed May 23 23:37:43 2012 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Wed, 23 May 2012 23:37:43 -0400 Subject: Wikipedia entry for WKOX In-Reply-To: <20413.42031.212685.299187@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> References: <4fbb8ffa.09a92a0a.15cc.2e4dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> <4FBCCAD8.8060605@nycap.rr.com> <6145F199331B4E998E5DAFD85E36017E@SatU205S5044> <4FBCEFD3.2010006@fybush.com> <4FBD83FB.5080807@donnahalper.com> <4FBD915B.8050109@donnahalper.com> <20413.42031.212685.299187@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: Speaking of call letters - can anything be more ironic than this? http://charlotte.cbslocal.com/station/americas-talk-1660/ On Wed, May 23, 2012 at 10:59 PM, Garrett Wollman wrote: > < > said: > > > On 5/23/2012 9:25 PM, Paul B. Walker, Jr. wrote: > >> Well, how can Mr. Mindich own the WFNX call letters? once the station > >> is sold and Clear Channel changes calls, unless Mr. Mindich puts them > >> somewhere else, they become available for another station to use. > > > Evidently not, according to an article in this week's Boston Phoenix: > > "WFNX's intellectual property, including its call letters, remains > > property of the /Phoenix/." > > The FCC has a different view. You guess which one prevails. > > (I just checked the Federal trademark register, and -- no surprise -- > there is no Federal registration for the word mark "WFNX". Any other > trademark rights Mindich may have are purely under Massachusetts law > and would not prevent someone in another state from claiming that call > sign. He does have a Federal trademark registration for "The Boston > Phoenix", so it's not like he's not familiar with the system.) > > It is a weird purchase for Clear Channel, though: can't be upgraded or > moved easily, doesn't really complement any of their existing signals, > doesn't have full-market coverage. There's nobody currently operating > in Boston who would have an obvious interest in swapping something > else in another market for it. Time will tell, of course. > > -GAWollman > > From joe@attorneyross.com Thu May 24 01:52:22 2012 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 01:52:22 -0400 Subject: Wikipedia entry for WKOX In-Reply-To: <4FBD83FB.5080807@donnahalper.com> References: <4fbb8ffa.09a92a0a.15cc.2e4dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> <4FBCCAD8.8060605@nycap.rr.com> <6145F199331B4E998E5DAFD85E36017E@SatU205S5044> <4FBCEFD3.2010006@fybush.com> <4FBD83FB.5080807@donnahalper.com> Message-ID: <4FBDCC96.6030606@attorneyross.com> On 5/23/2012 8:42 PM, Donna Halper wrote: > Is it significant that Mr. Mindich still owns the call letters of > WFNX? Unless I misunderstood Peter Kadzis of the Phoenix, he may have > sold the station but he has held on to the calls, and I hear there are > efforts to bring the station back on some level, by turning it into an > internet station. (Sam Kopper of the old WBCN is doing that even as > we speak, with an internet version of WBCN. Not sure how many > listeners it has.) Have you heard anything about plans to rejuvenate > WFNX as an internet station? I thought WBCN existed as an HD channel. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D.|92 State Street|Suite 700|Boston, MA 02109-2004 617.367.0468|Fx:617.507.7856|http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Thu May 24 01:53:14 2012 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 01:53:14 -0400 Subject: Wikipedia entry for WKOX In-Reply-To: <3f3857a7-c502-4d3f-a7e6-5d8d19f2d21b@email.android.com> References: <4fbb8ffa.09a92a0a.15cc.2e4dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> <4FBBFD3E.8040407@attorneyross.com> <4FBD5189.3070608@attorneyross.com> <19f79f26-905c-4840-8324-849d2c543302@email.android.com> <4FBD714D.1070602@attorneyross.com> <3f3857a7-c502-4d3f-a7e6-5d8d19f2d21b@email.android.com> Message-ID: <4FBDCCCA.2020204@attorneyross.com> On 5/23/2012 9:28 PM, Bill O'Neill wrote: > I hope the reference to comedian Steve Sweeney?s impression-bit (often > heard on Jerry Williams) was not lost in my post. Maybe it was, since I never heard Steve Sweeney's bit. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D.|92 State Street|Suite 700|Boston, MA 02109-2004 617.367.0468|Fx:617.507.7856|http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Thu May 24 01:55:31 2012 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 01:55:31 -0400 Subject: Wikipedia entry for WKOX In-Reply-To: <4FBDAB53.7020901@donnahalper.com> References: <4fbb8ffa.09a92a0a.15cc.2e4dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> <4FBCCAD8.8060605@nycap.rr.com> <6145F199331B4E998E5DAFD85E36017E@SatU205S5044> <4FBCEFD3.2010006@fybush.com> <4FBD83FB.5080807@donnahalper.com> <4FBD915B.8050109@donnahalper.com> <20413.42031.212685.299187@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <4FBDAB53.7020901@donnahalper.com> Message-ID: <4FBDCD53.7070803@attorneyross.com> On 5/23/2012 11:30 PM, Donna Halper wrote: > That's really interesting, because Mindich sent Peter Kadzis out as > the official spokesperson to talk to the media, and he repeated the > same claim that the WFNX calls belong to Mindich. Wonder why they are > saying that, both live and in print... Maybe they aren't as familiar with the FCC rules as we are. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D.|92 State Street|Suite 700|Boston, MA 02109-2004 617.367.0468|Fx:617.507.7856|http://www.attorneyross.com From chris2526@comcast.net Thu May 24 01:30:47 2012 From: chris2526@comcast.net (Chris Hall) Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 01:30:47 -0400 Subject: Question for those around Quincy Message-ID: <0219ADDFBDAF4DCEA5245F4DB8A5B53A@chrisHP> I have been reading some old Radio (actual name) magazines from the 40?s and was reminded of the old police band which formerly ran from above 1500 Khz to 3000 Khz, many of my antique table model 5 tube superhets have Police at the right end of the band. Through the mid 80?s (probably the last time I drove by) there was a Lehigh standard radiator self supporting base insulated tower identical to the one built on Naugus Ave Marblehead for WESX outside the Quincy Police station. Is it still there and used for top mounted current police band antennas? From raccoonradio@gmail.com Thu May 24 04:11:58 2012 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 04:11:58 -0400 Subject: Wikipedia entry for WKOX In-Reply-To: <4FBDCD53.7070803@attorneyross.com> References: <4fbb8ffa.09a92a0a.15cc.2e4dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> <4FBCCAD8.8060605@nycap.rr.com> <6145F199331B4E998E5DAFD85E36017E@SatU205S5044> <4FBCEFD3.2010006@fybush.com> <4FBD83FB.5080807@donnahalper.com> <4FBD915B.8050109@donnahalper.com> <20413.42031.212685.299187@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <4FBDAB53.7020901@donnahalper.com> <4FBDCD53.7070803@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: New article in the Phoenix continues to claim he owns the calls (or at least it mentions CC will not have access to the WFNX calls, intellectual property or music library) http://thephoenix.com/Boston/music/139046-wfnx-dies-before-it-gets-old/ From raccoonradio@mail.com Thu May 24 03:38:27 2012 From: raccoonradio@mail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 03:38:27 -0400 Subject: Wikipedia entry for WKOX Message-ID: <20120524073828.227060@gmx.com> So he feels he owns the call letters WFNX. Am I correct in assuming that should CC change the calls and someone else requested them they could be released to that broadcaster with FCC permission? Or does Mindich have a friend who will take the WFNX calls and "park them" for future use? I thought Mindich was, as Jerry Williams used to say, getting out of the (radio) business? Right up there with Radio Free Vermont, the pirate who said they could legally broadcast on 96.5 in Rutland because the signal didn't cross state lines and thus the FCC, which is federal, couldn't touch them...and the pirate (in Lawrence I think) who put out 99 watts of power and said they weren't breaking the law, as there was some kind of minimum power of 100 w. Hey, he puts out 99 w so he's legal...right? From raccoonradio@mail.com Thu May 24 03:43:44 2012 From: raccoonradio@mail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 03:43:44 -0400 Subject: Wikipedia entry for WKOX Message-ID: <20120524074345.227080@gmx.com> Right, other than having the domain name wfnx.com...and he has no other stations to park the calls (as CBS did with WBCN, landing on an AM station in NC) From elipolo@earthlink.net Thu May 24 05:28:44 2012 From: elipolo@earthlink.net (Eli Polonsky) Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 05:28:44 -0400 (GMT-04:00) Subject: Wikipedia entry for WKOX Message-ID: <506587.1337851724270.JavaMail.root@wamui-june.atl.sa.earthlink.net> >Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 01:52:22 -0400 >From: A Joseph Ross >To: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org >Subject: Re: Wikipedia entry for WKOX > >I thought WBCN existed as an HD channel. There are two "WBCN's" on HD radio (and on the internet at wbcn.com), but neither one legally is "WBCN". Sam Kopper's "WBCN Free Form Rock" is legally WZLX HD3 Boston. "WBCN The Rock of Boston" is legally WBZ-FM HD2 Boston. Near the tops of the hours, you will hear the legal ID's on both stations. At all other times of the hours, both stations call themselves WBCN. CBS, which owns the whole caboodle, put the actual WBCN call letters on an AM talk station that they own in North Carolina, many suspect to "park" (or perhaps "warehouse") them there. Eli Polonsky From paul@derrynh.net Thu May 24 08:49:44 2012 From: paul@derrynh.net (Paul Hopfgarten) Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 08:49:44 -0400 Subject: Wikipedia entry for WKOX In-Reply-To: References: <4fbb8ffa.09a92a0a.15cc.2e4dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com><4FBCCAD8.8060605@nycap.rr.com><6145F199331B4E998E5DAFD85E36017E@SatU205S5044><4FBCEFD3.2010006@fybush.com> <4FBD83FB.5080807@donnahalper.com><4FBD915B.8050109@donnahalper.com><20413.42031.212685.299187@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: Didn't WBCN broadcast fro 1660 Boylston St at one point? (that WOULD be ironic) -Paul Hopfgarten -Epping NH -----Original Message----- From: Kevin Vahey Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2012 11:37 PM To: Garrett Wollman Cc: Boston Radio Subject: Re: Wikipedia entry for WKOX Speaking of call letters - can anything be more ironic than this? http://charlotte.cbslocal.com/station/americas-talk-1660/ On Wed, May 23, 2012 at 10:59 PM, Garrett Wollman wrote: > < > said: > > > On 5/23/2012 9:25 PM, Paul B. Walker, Jr. wrote: > >> Well, how can Mr. Mindich own the WFNX call letters? once the station > >> is sold and Clear Channel changes calls, unless Mr. Mindich puts them > >> somewhere else, they become available for another station to use. > > > Evidently not, according to an article in this week's Boston Phoenix: > > "WFNX's intellectual property, including its call letters, remains > > property of the /Phoenix/." > > The FCC has a different view. You guess which one prevails. > > (I just checked the Federal trademark register, and -- no surprise -- > there is no Federal registration for the word mark "WFNX". Any other > trademark rights Mindich may have are purely under Massachusetts law > and would not prevent someone in another state from claiming that call > sign. He does have a Federal trademark registration for "The Boston > Phoenix", so it's not like he's not familiar with the system.) > > It is a weird purchase for Clear Channel, though: can't be upgraded or > moved easily, doesn't really complement any of their existing signals, > doesn't have full-market coverage. There's nobody currently operating > in Boston who would have an obvious interest in swapping something > else in another market for it. Time will tell, of course. > > -GAWollman > > From wollman@bimajority.org Thu May 24 10:23:27 2012 From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 10:23:27 -0400 Subject: WFNX In-Reply-To: References: <4fbb8ffa.09a92a0a.15cc.2e4dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> <4FBCCAD8.8060605@nycap.rr.com> <6145F199331B4E998E5DAFD85E36017E@SatU205S5044> <4FBCEFD3.2010006@fybush.com> <4FBD83FB.5080807@donnahalper.com> <4FBD915B.8050109@donnahalper.com> <20413.42031.212685.299187@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <4FBDAB53.7020901@donnahalper.com> <4FBDCD53.7070803@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: <20414.17503.434193.314798@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> < said: > New article in the Phoenix continues to claim he owns the calls (or at > least it mentions CC will not have access to the WFNX calls, > intellectual property or music library) There's no reason Clear Channel would have wanted to buy those things anyway, so I think he's using his lemons to make lemonade. -GAWollman From dan.strassberg@att.net Thu May 24 10:51:19 2012 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan.Strassberg) Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 10:51:19 -0400 Subject: WFNX References: <4fbb8ffa.09a92a0a.15cc.2e4dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com><4FBCCAD8.8060605@nycap.rr.com><6145F199331B4E998E5DAFD85E36017E@SatU205S5044><4FBCEFD3.2010006@fybush.com> <4FBD83FB.5080807@donnahalper.com><4FBD915B.8050109@donnahalper.com><20413.42031.212685.299187@hergotha.csail.mit.edu><4FBDAB53.7020901@donnahalper.com><4FBDCD53.7070803@attorneyross.com> <20414.17503.434193.314798@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <6BA2320E38EC426C9AFABAF8268CC818@SatU205S5044> By claiming that he retains title to WFNX's intellectual property and call sign, Mindich reduces his cost basis in what he has sold. In other words, he increases his taxable capital gain and therefore his tax liability. Seems counter-productive to me. Can anyone think of a financial benefit that will accrue to Mindich as a result of this strategy? Seems that Mindich is doing the opposite of what Alex Langer did with WBIX (now WQOM). As I understand it, Langer sold the station to a non-profit organization (Holy Family) for $1.5 million and then donated $0.5 million of that sum back to the non-profit organization, thus making himself eligible for a tax writeoff for the $0.5 million that he never received. ----- Dan Strassberg (dan.strassberg@att.net) eFax 1-707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Garrett Wollman" To: "Bob Nelson" Cc: "Boston Radio Group" Sent: Thursday, May 24, 2012 10:23 AM Subject: WFNX > < said: > >> New article in the Phoenix continues to claim he owns the calls (or >> at >> least it mentions CC will not have access to the WFNX calls, >> intellectual property or music library) > > There's no reason Clear Channel would have wanted to buy those > things > anyway, so I think he's using his lemons to make lemonade. > > -GAWollman > From raccoonradio@gmail.com Thu May 24 10:56:22 2012 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 10:56:22 -0400 Subject: Wikipedia entry for WKOX In-Reply-To: <506587.1337851724270.JavaMail.root@wamui-june.atl.sa.earthlink.net> References: <506587.1337851724270.JavaMail.root@wamui-june.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Message-ID: By the way there have been times when the Red Sox games got bumped to WRKO due to Celtics playoff games. Coming back from the ad break you'd hear Jim Cutler saying, "Red Sox baseball...93.7, WEEI-FM" or "Red Sox baseball...WEEI!" Of course they're legal because at the top of the hour, a legal ID for "WRKO Boston" runs, and the rest are liners (as are any mentions of the "WEEI Red Sox Network".). It doesn't say "WEEI-FM Lawrence-Boston" which is a legal ID. Ratings-wise I'm thinking are there all people meters, or are there still some diaries? It has been said the 100 per cent simulcast of 850 and 93.7 are counted as one. Here, a game airs on 680 but there are frequent mentions of "WEEI" (yet the legal ID does say WRKO) so if it is a write-down diary I don't know if people would write down "WEEI" even if it's on 680. I can also think of a station in the Burlington VT area, WXZO 96.7 which for a time called itself "DOT-FM"...a reference to the former WDOT in the area (1390) and they ran oldies. But that was a "service mark"--the real WDOT is on 95.7 in Danville VT. 96.7 no longer does this but, again, it used "DOT-FM" as a brand name despite not having the WDOT calls. On Thu, May 24, 2012 at 5:28 AM, Eli Polonsky wrote: >>Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 01:52:22 -0400 >>From: A Joseph Ross >>To: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org >>Subject: Re: Wikipedia entry for WKOX >> >>I thought WBCN existed as an HD channel. > > There are two "WBCN's" on HD radio (and on the > internet at wbcn.com), but neither one legally > is "WBCN". > > Sam Kopper's "WBCN Free Form Rock" is legally > WZLX HD3 Boston. > > "WBCN The Rock of Boston" is legally WBZ-FM > HD2 Boston. > From dlh@donnahalper.com Thu May 24 11:40:34 2012 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 11:40:34 -0400 Subject: some news In-Reply-To: <20414.17503.434193.314798@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> References: <4fbb8ffa.09a92a0a.15cc.2e4dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> <4FBCCAD8.8060605@nycap.rr.com> <6145F199331B4E998E5DAFD85E36017E@SatU205S5044> <4FBCEFD3.2010006@fybush.com> <4FBD83FB.5080807@donnahalper.com> <4FBD915B.8050109@donnahalper.com> <20413.42031.212685.299187@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <4FBDAB53.7020901@donnahalper.com> <4FBDCD53.7070803@attorneyross.com> <20414.17503.434193.314798@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <4FBE5672.7020103@donnahalper.com> Just wanted to share the news that I've been promoted from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor of Communication at Lesley University. Also, I have two chapters in a wonderful new book from SABR (Society of American Baseball Research), commemorating the 100 year anniversary of Fenway Park, "Opening Fenway Park With Style: The 1912 Champion Red Sox." From joe@attorneyross.com Thu May 24 15:57:01 2012 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 15:57:01 -0400 Subject: WFNX In-Reply-To: <6BA2320E38EC426C9AFABAF8268CC818@SatU205S5044> References: <4fbb8ffa.09a92a0a.15cc.2e4dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com><4FBCCAD8.8060605@nycap.rr.com><6145F199331B4E998E5DAFD85E36017E@SatU205S5044><4FBCEFD3.2010006@fybush.com> <4FBD83FB.5080807@donnahalper.com><4FBD915B.8050109@donnahalper.com><20413.42031.212685.299187@hergotha.csail.mit.edu><4FBDAB53.7020901@donnahalper.com><4FBDCD53.7070803@attorneyross.com> <20414.17503.434193.314798@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <6BA2320E38EC426C9AFABAF8268CC818@SatU205S5044> Message-ID: <4FBE928D.9090601@attorneyross.com> On 5/24/2012 10:51 AM, Dan.Strassberg wrote: > By claiming that he retains title to WFNX's intellectual property and > call sign, Mindich reduces his cost basis in what he has sold. In > other words, he increases his taxable capital gain and therefore his > tax liability. Seems counter-productive to me. Can anyone think of a > financial benefit that will accrue to Mindich as a result of this > strategy? Presumably he has some future plans for the intellectual property. And he may still own the call letters as a trademark, even if the FCC assigns them to someone else. Anyone in the Boston market who gets the call letters would likely be sued by Mindich for trademark infringement and unfair competition. Kinda like what I said some years ago on "Let's Talk About Radio," to the effect that if I decided to put a classical music station on the air and call it WCRD, the FCC would issue the call letters, but I still would be subject to suit from WCRB. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D.|92 State Street|Suite 700|Boston, MA 02109-2004 617.367.0468|Fx: 617.507.7856|http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Thu May 24 15:41:34 2012 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 15:41:34 -0400 Subject: Wikipedia entry for WKOX In-Reply-To: <20120524073828.227060@gmx.com> References: <20120524073828.227060@gmx.com> Message-ID: <4FBE8EEE.2010004@attorneyross.com> On 5/24/2012 3:38 AM, Bob Nelson wrote: > So he feels he owns the call letters WFNX. Am I correct in assuming that should CC change the calls and > someone else requested them they could be released to that broadcaster with FCC permission? Or does > Mindich have a friend who will take the WFNX calls and "park them" for future use? I thought Mindich > was, as Jerry Williams used to say, getting out of the (radio) business? > > Right up there with Radio Free Vermont, the pirate who said they could legally broadcast on 96.5 in Rutland because the signal didn't cross state lines and thus the FCC, which is federal, couldn't touch them...and > the pirate (in Lawrence I think) who put out 99 watts of power and said they weren't breaking the law, as there was some kind of minimum power of 100 w. Hey, he puts out 99 w so he's legal...right? Then there are the people who say that the government can't legally force them to pay income taxes because Ohio was never validly admitted as a state, and therefore the 16th Amendment was never validly ratified. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D.|92 State Street|Suite 700|Boston, MA 02109-2004 617.367.0468|Fx: 617.507.7856|http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Thu May 24 15:45:35 2012 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 15:45:35 -0400 Subject: Wikipedia entry for WKOX In-Reply-To: References: <4fbb8ffa.09a92a0a.15cc.2e4dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> <4FBCCAD8.8060605@nycap.rr.com> <6145F199331B4E998E5DAFD85E36017E@SatU205S5044> <4FBCEFD3.2010006@fybush.com> <4FBD83FB.5080807@donnahalper.com> <4FBD915B.8050109@donnahalper.com> <20413.42031.212685.299187@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <4FBDAB53.7020901@donnahalper.com> <4FBDCD53.7070803@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: <4FBE8FDF.3000903@attorneyross.com> On 5/24/2012 4:11 AM, Bob Nelson wrote: > New article in the Phoenix continues to claim he owns the calls (or at > least it mentions CC will not have access to the WFNX calls, > intellectual property or music library) Well I suppose it's possible that his contract with CC was that they will change the call letters, and that would no doubt be a binding contract provision, but that doesn't stop anyone else from getting the call letters. That was part of the story of Ted Turner's arrangement with WTBS/WMBR. There was at least part of the consideration that they would only get if, after their call-letter change, he was able to get the FCC to assign the WTBS call letters to him. There was no guarantee. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D.|92 State Street|Suite 700|Boston, MA 02109-2004 617.367.0468|Fx: 617.507.7856|http://www.attorneyross.com From sid@wrko.com Thu May 24 12:53:52 2012 From: sid@wrko.com (Sid Schweiger) Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 16:53:52 +0000 Subject: some news In-Reply-To: <4FBE5672.7020103@donnahalper.com> References: <4fbb8ffa.09a92a0a.15cc.2e4dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> <4FBCCAD8.8060605@nycap.rr.com> <6145F199331B4E998E5DAFD85E36017E@SatU205S5044> <4FBCEFD3.2010006@fybush.com> <4FBD83FB.5080807@donnahalper.com> <4FBD915B.8050109@donnahalper.com> <20413.42031.212685.299187@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <4FBDAB53.7020901@donnahalper.com> <4FBDCD53.7070803@attorneyross.com> <20414.17503.434193.314798@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <4FBE5672.7020103@donnahalper.com> Message-ID: <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C916D96@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> Congrats! -----Original Message----- From: boston-radio-interest-bounces@tsornin.BostonRadio.org [mailto:boston-radio-interest-bounces@tsornin.BostonRadio.org] On Behalf Of Donna Halper Sent: Thursday, May 24, 2012 11:41 AM Cc: Boston Radio Group Subject: some news Just wanted to share the news that I've been promoted from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor of Communication at Lesley University. Also, I have two chapters in a wonderful new book from SABR (Society of American Baseball Research), commemorating the 100 year anniversary of Fenway Park, "Opening Fenway Park With Style: The 1912 Champion Red Sox." From sid@wrko.com Thu May 24 12:58:36 2012 From: sid@wrko.com (Sid Schweiger) Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 16:58:36 +0000 Subject: Wikipedia entry for WKOX In-Reply-To: References: <506587.1337851724270.JavaMail.root@wamui-june.atl.sa.earthlink.net> Message-ID: <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C916DB6@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> "Ratings-wise I'm thinking are there all people meters, or are there still some diaries?" In New England, the Boston and Providence-Warwick-Pawtucket markets are PPM. All others are diary. Sid Schweiger IT Manager, Entercom New England 20 Guest St / 3d Floor Brighton MA 02135-2040 From wollman@bimajority.org Thu May 24 17:07:34 2012 From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 17:07:34 -0400 Subject: Wikipedia entry for WKOX In-Reply-To: <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C916DB6@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> References: <506587.1337851724270.JavaMail.root@wamui-june.atl.sa.earthlink.net> <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C916DB6@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> Message-ID: <20414.41750.815565.683582@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> < said: > In New England, the Boston and Providence-Warwick-Pawtucket markets > are PPM. All others are diary. How much of the Boston market is actually sampled? I know in many markets where PPM has been introduced, the sample has excluded some in-market but non-metro areas. (Including, famously, about a million people on the edges of the Los Angeles market, who were excluded because they get too many out-of-market signals and the subscribers didn't want their numbers diluted.) -GAWollman From markwats@comcast.net Thu May 24 17:21:55 2012 From: markwats@comcast.net (Mark Watson) Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 17:21:55 -0400 Subject: some news References: <4fbb8ffa.09a92a0a.15cc.2e4dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> <4FBCCAD8.8060605@nycap.rr.com> <6145F199331B4E998E5DAFD85E36017E@SatU205S5044> <4FBCEFD3.2010006@fybush.com><4FBD83FB.5080807@donnahalper.com> <4FBD915B.8050109@donnahalper.com> <20413.42031.212685.299187@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <4FBDAB53.7020901@donnahalper.com> <4FBDCD53.7070803@attorneyross.com> <20414.17503.434193.314798@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <4FBE5672.7020103@donnahalper.com> Message-ID: Donna Halper wrote: > Just wanted to share the news that I've been promoted from Assistant > Professor to Associate Professor of Communication at Lesley University. > Also, I have two chapters in a wonderful new book from SABR (Society of > American Baseball Research), commemorating the 100 year anniversary of > Fenway Park, "Opening Fenway Park With Style: The 1912 Champion Red Sox." Congratulations Associate Professor/Dr./Auntie Donna!! Regarding the SABR book, any Red Sox broadcast info in your 2 chapters? Also, is the book now available for purchase? Mark Watson From paul@derrynh.net Thu May 24 18:29:25 2012 From: paul@derrynh.net (Paul Hopfgarten) Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 18:29:25 -0400 Subject: Sale of Nassau Properties... Message-ID: <1CFFF59E3C1F45098E96C3A4752EA399@PaulPC> WWHQ, along with 29 other Nassau stations in northern New England, was purchased at bankruptcy auction by Carlisle Capital Corporation, a company controlled by Bill Binnie (owner of WBIN-TV in Derry and WYCN-LP in Nashua), on May 22, 2012. The station, and 12 of the other stations, will then be acquired by Vertical Capital Partners, controlled by Jeff Shapiro. Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/wwhq#ixzz1vpSHy4k2 From dlh@donnahalper.com Thu May 24 18:01:36 2012 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 18:01:36 -0400 Subject: some news In-Reply-To: References: <4fbb8ffa.09a92a0a.15cc.2e4dSMTPIN_ADDED@mx.google.com> <4FBCCAD8.8060605@nycap.rr.com> <6145F199331B4E998E5DAFD85E36017E@SatU205S5044> <4FBCEFD3.2010006@fybush.com><4FBD83FB.5080807@donnahalper.com> <4FBD915B.8050109@donnahalper.com> <20413.42031.212685.299187@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <4FBDAB53.7020901@donnahalper.com> <4FBDCD53.7070803@attorneyross.com> <20414.17503.434193.314798@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <4FBE5672.7020103@donnahalper.com> Message-ID: <4FBEAFC0.8040708@donnahalper.com> On 5/24/2012 5:21 PM, Mark Watson wrote: > > Regarding the SABR book, any Red Sox broadcast info in your 2 > chapters? Also, is the book now available for purchase? Alas, they didn't have radio in 1912-- I mean, yeah they had the telegraph, and I do discuss that. In fact, I talk about how fans gathered on Newspaper Row to hear play-by-play of the games (but not from a radio station-- from a reporter with a megaphone). The kindle/nook version of the book is supposedly out already, and I believe the hard-cover is about to be released any day now. From joe@attorneyross.com Thu May 24 18:45:40 2012 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 18:45:40 -0400 Subject: Sale of Nassau Properties... In-Reply-To: <1CFFF59E3C1F45098E96C3A4752EA399@PaulPC> References: <1CFFF59E3C1F45098E96C3A4752EA399@PaulPC> Message-ID: <4FBEBA14.9010108@attorneyross.com> On 5/24/2012 6:29 PM, Paul Hopfgarten wrote: > WWHQ, along with 29 other Nassau stations in northern New England, was purchased at bankruptcy auction by Carlisle Capital Corporation, a company controlled by Bill Binnie (owner of WBIN-TV in Derry and WYCN-LP in Nashua), on May 22, 2012. The station, and 12 of the other stations, will then be acquired by Vertical Capital Partners, controlled by Jeff Shapiro. > > Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/wwhq#ixzz1vpSHy4k2 The article mentions Nassau's classical station in Maine as WBACH. That's one letter to many to be the correct callsign. What is the station's actual call? -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D.|92 State Street|Suite 700|Boston, MA 02109-2004 617.367.0468|Fx: 617.507.7856|http://www.attorneyross.com From wollman@bimajority.org Thu May 24 18:58:04 2012 From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 18:58:04 -0400 Subject: Sale of Nassau Properties... In-Reply-To: <4FBEBA14.9010108@attorneyross.com> References: <1CFFF59E3C1F45098E96C3A4752EA399@PaulPC> <4FBEBA14.9010108@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: <20414.48380.714307.874021@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> < said: >> Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/wwhq#ixzz1vpSHy4k2 > The article mentions Nassau's classical station in Maine as WBACH. > That's one letter to many to be the correct callsign. What is the > station's actual call? Just so nobody is confused: that page is simply a (possibly outdated) clone of the Wikipedia page for WWHQ, with advertising inserted. The article gives the correct callsigns for each of the stations. Scott and I visted WBQX (106.9 Thomaston) back in 1998 when it was WAVX, simulcasting with WBYA (101.7 Searsport). The Wikipedia article is pretty lousy, but that's par for the course. -GAWollman From paul@derrynh.net Thu May 24 19:00:02 2012 From: paul@derrynh.net (Paul Hopfgarten) Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 19:00:02 -0400 Subject: Sale of Nassau Properties... In-Reply-To: <4FBEBA14.9010108@attorneyross.com> References: <1CFFF59E3C1F45098E96C3A4752EA399@PaulPC> <4FBEBA14.9010108@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: <396D67CB4EF64B51B13452165136B2C9@PaulPC> 104.7 WBQW Kennebunk 106.9 WBQX Thomaston 107.7 WBQI Bar Habor -Paul -----Original Message----- From: A. Joseph Ross Sent: Thursday, May 24, 2012 6:45 PM To: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org Subject: Re: Sale of Nassau Properties... On 5/24/2012 6:29 PM, Paul Hopfgarten wrote: > WWHQ, along with 29 other Nassau stations in northern New England, was > purchased at bankruptcy auction by Carlisle Capital Corporation, a company > controlled by Bill Binnie (owner of WBIN-TV in Derry and WYCN-LP in > Nashua), on May 22, 2012. The station, and 12 of the other stations, will > then be acquired by Vertical Capital Partners, controlled by Jeff Shapiro. > > Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/wwhq#ixzz1vpSHy4k2 The article mentions Nassau's classical station in Maine as WBACH. That's one letter to many to be the correct callsign. What is the station's actual call? -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D.|92 State Street|Suite 700|Boston, MA 02109-2004 617.367.0468|Fx: 617.507.7856|http://www.attorneyross.com From dan.strassberg@att.net Thu May 24 21:08:00 2012 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan.Strassberg) Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 21:08:00 -0400 Subject: Sale of Nassau Properties... References: <1CFFF59E3C1F45098E96C3A4752EA399@PaulPC><4FBEBA14.9010108@attorneyross.com> <396D67CB4EF64B51B13452165136B2C9@PaulPC> Message-ID: <34CB2228C524441985298C39B68D575E@SatU205S5044> Isn't there also a WBQQ? ----- Dan Strassberg (dan.strassberg@att.net) eFax 1-707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul Hopfgarten" To: "A. Joseph Ross" ; Sent: Thursday, May 24, 2012 7:00 PM Subject: Re: Sale of Nassau Properties... > 104.7 WBQW Kennebunk > 106.9 WBQX Thomaston > 107.7 WBQI Bar Habor > > -Paul > > -----Original Message----- > From: A. Joseph Ross > Sent: Thursday, May 24, 2012 6:45 PM > To: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org > Subject: Re: Sale of Nassau Properties... > > On 5/24/2012 6:29 PM, Paul Hopfgarten wrote: > >> WWHQ, along with 29 other Nassau stations in northern New England, >> was purchased at bankruptcy auction by Carlisle Capital >> Corporation, a company controlled by Bill Binnie (owner of WBIN-TV >> in Derry and WYCN-LP in Nashua), on May 22, 2012. The station, and >> 12 of the other stations, will then be acquired by Vertical Capital >> Partners, controlled by Jeff Shapiro. >> >> Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/wwhq#ixzz1vpSHy4k2 > > The article mentions Nassau's classical station in Maine as WBACH. > That's one letter to many to be the correct callsign. What is the > station's actual call? > > -- > A. Joseph Ross, J.D.|92 State Street|Suite 700|Boston, MA 02109-2004 > 617.367.0468|Fx: 617.507.7856|http://www.attorneyross.com From walkerbroadcasting@gmail.com Thu May 24 21:45:22 2012 From: walkerbroadcasting@gmail.com (Paul B. Walker, Jr.) Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 21:45:22 -0400 Subject: Sale of Nassau Properties... In-Reply-To: <34CB2228C524441985298C39B68D575E@SatU205S5044> References: <1CFFF59E3C1F45098E96C3A4752EA399@PaulPC> <4FBEBA14.9010108@attorneyross.com> <396D67CB4EF64B51B13452165136B2C9@PaulPC> <34CB2228C524441985298C39B68D575E@SatU205S5044> Message-ID: Yes, a 3kw/328 ft Class A on 99.3 also licensed to Kennebunk. But it's not listed on the WBACH site. On Thu, May 24, 2012 at 9:08 PM, Dan.Strassberg wrote: > Isn't there also a WBQQ? > > ----- > Dan Strassberg (dan.strassberg@att.net) > eFax 1-707-215-6367 > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul Hopfgarten" > To: "A. Joseph Ross" ; **BostonRadio.org > > Sent: Thursday, May 24, 2012 7:00 PM > > Subject: Re: Sale of Nassau Properties... > > > 104.7 WBQW Kennebunk >> 106.9 WBQX Thomaston >> 107.7 WBQI Bar Habor >> >> -Paul >> >> -----Original Message----- From: A. Joseph Ross >> Sent: Thursday, May 24, 2012 6:45 PM >> To: boston-radio-interest@lists.**BostonRadio.org >> Subject: Re: Sale of Nassau Properties... >> >> On 5/24/2012 6:29 PM, Paul Hopfgarten wrote: >> >> WWHQ, along with 29 other Nassau stations in northern New England, was >>> purchased at bankruptcy auction by Carlisle Capital Corporation, a company >>> controlled by Bill Binnie (owner of WBIN-TV in Derry and WYCN-LP in >>> Nashua), on May 22, 2012. The station, and 12 of the other stations, will >>> then be acquired by Vertical Capital Partners, controlled by Jeff Shapiro. >>> >>> Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/**wwhq#ixzz1vpSHy4k2 >>> >> >> The article mentions Nassau's classical station in Maine as WBACH. >> That's one letter to many to be the correct callsign. What is the >> station's actual call? >> >> -- >> A. Joseph Ross, J.D.|92 State Street|Suite 700|Boston, MA 02109-2004 >> 617.367.0468|Fx: 617.507.7856|http://www.attorneyross.com >> > > From wollman@bimajority.org Thu May 24 22:02:30 2012 From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 22:02:30 -0400 Subject: Sale of Nassau Properties... In-Reply-To: <34CB2228C524441985298C39B68D575E@SatU205S5044> References: <1CFFF59E3C1F45098E96C3A4752EA399@PaulPC> <4FBEBA14.9010108@attorneyross.com> <396D67CB4EF64B51B13452165136B2C9@PaulPC> <34CB2228C524441985298C39B68D575E@SatU205S5044> Message-ID: <20414.59446.825808.323616@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> < said: > Isn't there also a WBQQ? Yes, but it runs a different format now (and I think was sold off in a previous round). -GAWollman From jjlehmann@comcast.net Thu May 24 21:45:53 2012 From: jjlehmann@comcast.net (Jeff Lehmann) Date: Thu, 24 May 2012 21:45:53 -0400 Subject: Sale of Nassau Properties... In-Reply-To: <34CB2228C524441985298C39B68D575E@SatU205S5044> References: <1CFFF59E3C1F45098E96C3A4752EA399@PaulPC><4FBEBA14.9010108@attorneyross.com> <396D67CB4EF64B51B13452165136B2C9@PaulPC> <34CB2228C524441985298C39B68D575E@SatU205S5044> Message-ID: <001501cd3a18$1ef214a0$5cd63de0$@net> > Isn't there also a WBQQ? 99.3 WBQQ is no longer part of the W Bach network, since they moved to the co-located 104.7 WBQW after they and 106.3 WHXR swapped formats. WBQQ is now a simulcast of 99.9 WTHT with country "The Wolf." Jeff Lehmann Hanson, MA From sid@wrko.com Fri May 25 07:08:31 2012 From: sid@wrko.com (Sid Schweiger) Date: Fri, 25 May 2012 11:08:31 +0000 Subject: Wikipedia entry for WKOX In-Reply-To: <20414.41750.815565.683582@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> References: <506587.1337851724270.JavaMail.root@wamui-june.atl.sa.earthlink.net> <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C916DB6@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> <20414.41750.815565.683582@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C917611@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> "How much of the Boston market is actually sampled?" According to Arbitron, the in-tab sample target is 1671 meters for the Boston market. Under their rules for PPM usage, PPM's that are not removed from their charging cradle for more than a certain amount of time are not counted (the meter can detect movemen), but if Arbitron is actually saying how many of the 1671 fall into that category, I can't find it. "I know in many markets where PPM has been introduced, the sample has excluded some in-market but non-metro areas. (Including, famously, about a million people on the edges of the Los Angeles market, who were excluded because they get too many out-of-market signals and the subscribers didn't want their numbers diluted.)" Arbitron, for what are (to me) obvious reasons, won't show how the meters are distributed in each survey area, but this tells me that subscribing stations are apparently allowed to game the system, which lowers the credibility of any numbers they issue to subscribers. Still, however, they're the only horse in this rodeo. Sid Schweiger IT Manager, Entercom New England 20 Guest St / 3d Floor Brighton MA 02135-2040 From paul@derrynh.net Fri May 25 08:43:42 2012 From: paul@derrynh.net (Paul Hopfgarten) Date: Fri, 25 May 2012 08:43:42 -0400 Subject: Sale of Nassau Properties... In-Reply-To: <20414.59446.825808.323616@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> References: <1CFFF59E3C1F45098E96C3A4752EA399@PaulPC><4FBEBA14.9010108@attorneyross.com><396D67CB4EF64B51B13452165136B2C9@PaulPC><34CB2228C524441985298C39B68D575E@SatU205S5044> <20414.59446.825808.323616@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <62E6A98E1FC947A8B8DD16473D213D26@PaulPC> 93.3 WBQQ simulcasts 99.9 WTHT Country Formant -----Original Message----- From: Garrett Wollman Sent: Thursday, May 24, 2012 10:02 PM To: Dan.Strassberg Cc: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org Subject: Re: Sale of Nassau Properties... < said: > Isn't there also a WBQQ? Yes, but it runs a different format now (and I think was sold off in a previous round). -GAWollman From dan.strassberg@att.net Fri May 25 08:58:10 2012 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan.Strassberg) Date: Fri, 25 May 2012 08:58:10 -0400 Subject: Sale of Nassau Properties... References: <1CFFF59E3C1F45098E96C3A4752EA399@PaulPC><4FBEBA14.9010108@attorneyross.com><396D67CB4EF64B51B13452165136B2C9@PaulPC><34CB2228C524441985298C39B68D575E@SatU205S5044> <20414.59446.825808.323616@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <62E6A98E1FC947A8B8DD16473D213D26@PaulPC> Message-ID: I guess the new ownership figures (along with a lot of other people) that call signs no longer matter, but with three other classical formatted stations with similar call signs in Maine, it would appear that there is a good possibility of confusion. I kind of like the positioner "Bach Country." It's definitely different(!) And I bet you could find banjo players who would be willing to record a lot of J. S. Bach music. Such cuts could be of interest to both country and classical audiences. It wasn't country (it was jazz, I believe), but there must be others on this list who remember the Swingle Singers from back in the '60s. Wasn't one of their albuns entitled "Switched-On Bach?" ----- Dan Strassberg (dan.strassberg@att.net) eFax 1-707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul Hopfgarten" To: "Garrett Wollman" ; "Dan.Strassberg" Cc: Sent: Friday, May 25, 2012 8:43 AM Subject: Re: Sale of Nassau Properties... > 93.3 WBQQ simulcasts 99.9 WTHT Country Formant > > -----Original Message----- > From: Garrett Wollman > Sent: Thursday, May 24, 2012 10:02 PM > To: Dan.Strassberg > Cc: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org > Subject: Re: Sale of Nassau Properties... > > < said: > >> Isn't there also a WBQQ? > > Yes, but it runs a different format now (and I think was sold off in > a > previous round). > > -GAWollman From raccoonradio@gmail.com Fri May 25 10:45:30 2012 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Fri, 25 May 2012 10:45:30 -0400 Subject: Sale of Nassau Properties... In-Reply-To: References: <1CFFF59E3C1F45098E96C3A4752EA399@PaulPC> <4FBEBA14.9010108@attorneyross.com> <396D67CB4EF64B51B13452165136B2C9@PaulPC> <34CB2228C524441985298C39B68D575E@SatU205S5044> <20414.59446.825808.323616@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <62E6A98E1FC947A8B8DD16473D213D26@PaulPC> Message-ID: Switched on Bach was done by Wendy (at the time Walter) Carlos. The Swingle Sisters had albums with titles like Going for Baroque and Jazz Sebastien Bach. (Another unusual musical combo was the Siegel-Schwall Band which recorded electric blues music with classical; "Three Pieces for Blues Band and Symphony Orchestra" with the San Francisco Symphony. The piece was written by William Russo and conducted by Seiji Ozawa" (Wikipedia)) >the Swingle Singers from back in the '60s. Wasn't one of their albuns entitled > "Switched-On Bach?" From raccoonradio@mail.com Sat May 26 16:19:26 2012 From: raccoonradio@mail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Sat, 26 May 2012 16:19:26 -0400 Subject: Globe: What happened to rock radio in Boston? Message-ID: <20120526201926.227080@gmx.com> http://bostonglobe.com/arts/music/2012/05/26/with-loss-wfnx-piece-boston-identity-disappears/2N9sdWfeOmxDXeoZYSNG2M/story.html Fybush: >>There?s still plenty of vibrancy to rock radio in Boston, but it has just moved to different places. College radio and other sources are mentioned and in fact Fybush says that Boston's college stations "...have the ability to be even more out there in their selections and less constrained by commercial necessities" but people say WBCN is missed, and add WFNX to that too. (I would wonder if WBOS, WAAF, and other stations will try to capture the WFNX audience in some ways...admittedly the latter does have a long running local music show on Sunday nights. Would WBOS add DJs and try to appeal to the FNX crowd, or would stations play it safe... From dlh@donnahalper.com Sat May 26 16:27:47 2012 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Sat, 26 May 2012 16:27:47 -0400 Subject: Globe: What happened to rock radio in Boston? In-Reply-To: <20120526201926.227080@gmx.com> References: <20120526201926.227080@gmx.com> Message-ID: <4FC13CC3.3060408@donnahalper.com> And in that Globe article, it repeats the same assertion about Mindich owning the call letters: "Stephen M. Mindich, chairman and chief executive of Phoenix Media/Communications Group, which sold WFNX, retained the station?s intellectual property, including its call letters and music library. He sold the license to broadcast at 101.7 FM, which means the station could relaunch elsewhere." From kvahey@gmail.com Sat May 26 17:22:08 2012 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Sat, 26 May 2012 17:22:08 -0400 Subject: Globe: What happened to rock radio in Boston? In-Reply-To: <18179193.11108.1338066471394.JavaMail.mobile-sync@ynbv11> References: <20120526201926.227080@gmx.com> <18179193.11108.1338066471394.JavaMail.mobile-sync@ynbv11> Message-ID: <-8797093167205666220@unknownmsgid> Mindich may actually think he does own the calls. It is possible that CC and Mindich worked a deal that CC will either warehouse the calls or just keep them on 101.7 and let Mindich do something online. Sent from my iPhone On May 26, 2012, at 5:07 PM, Donna Halper wrote: > And in that Globe article, it repeats the same assertion about Mindich > owning the call letters: "Stephen M. Mindich, chairman and chief > executive of Phoenix Media/Communications Group, which sold WFNX, > retained the station?s intellectual property, including its call letters > and music library. He sold the license to broadcast at 101.7 FM, which > means the station could relaunch elsewhere." From raccoonradio@gmail.com Sat May 26 17:35:34 2012 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Sat, 26 May 2012 17:35:34 -0400 Subject: Globe: What happened to rock radio in Boston? In-Reply-To: <-8797093167205666220@unknownmsgid> References: <20120526201926.227080@gmx.com> <18179193.11108.1338066471394.JavaMail.mobile-sync@ynbv11> <-8797093167205666220@unknownmsgid> Message-ID: CC may park 'em somewhere, as CBS does with WBCN down in Charlotte? Not sure what would become of them later, if so. On Sat, May 26, 2012 at 5:22 PM, Kevin Vahey wrote: > Mindich may actually think he does own the calls. It is possible that > CC and Mindich worked a deal that CC will either warehouse the calls > or just keep them on 101.7 and let Mindich do something online. From scott@fybush.com Sat May 26 18:58:27 2012 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Sat, 26 May 2012 18:58:27 -0400 Subject: Globe: What happened to rock radio in Boston? In-Reply-To: <-8797093167205666220@unknownmsgid> References: <20120526201926.227080@gmx.com> <18179193.11108.1338066471394.JavaMail.mobile-sync@ynbv11> <-8797093167205666220@unknownmsgid> Message-ID: The sale contract explicitly requires CC to change the calls at closing, and it makes no provision for CC to park them. I am quite certain that what Mindich believes he has retained (and probably correctly so) is the right to commercial exploitation of the "WFNX" brand in the Boston market. Honestly, as long as Mindich owns the /Phoenix/, there's no reason for anyone else to want to be "WFNX" anyway. Kevin Vahey wrote: Mindich may actually think he does own the calls. It is possible that CC and Mindich worked a deal that CC will either warehouse the calls or just keep them on 101.7 and let Mindich do something online. Sent from my iPhone On May 26, 2012, at 5:07 PM, Donna Halper wrote: > And in that Globe article, it repeats the same assertion about Mindich > owning the call letters: "Stephen M. Mindich, chairman and chief > executive of Phoenix Media/Communications Group, which sold WFNX, > retained the station?s intellectual property, including its call letters > and music library. He sold the license to broadcast at 101.7 FM, which > means the station could relaunch elsewhere." From joe@attorneyross.com Sat May 26 22:45:14 2012 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Sat, 26 May 2012 22:45:14 -0400 Subject: Sale of Nassau Properties... In-Reply-To: References: <1CFFF59E3C1F45098E96C3A4752EA399@PaulPC> <4FBEBA14.9010108@attorneyross.com> <396D67CB4EF64B51B13452165136B2C9@PaulPC> <34CB2228C524441985298C39B68D575E@SatU205S5044> <20414.59446.825808.323616@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <62E6A98E1FC947A8B8DD16473D213D26@PaulPC> Message-ID: <4FC1953A.1040509@attorneyross.com> On 5/25/2012 10:45 AM, Bob Nelson wrote: > Switched on Bach was done by Wendy (at the time Walter) Carlos. The > Swingle Sisters had albums with titles like Going for Baroque and Jazz > Sebastien Bach. "Swiched-on Bach" and a subsequent album, "The Well-Tempered Synthesizer" both used the Moog Synthesizer to produce some interesting renditions of Bach compositions. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D.|92 State Street|Suite 700|Boston, MA 02109-2004 617.367.0468|Fx:617.507.7856|http://www.attorneyross.com From kvahey@gmail.com Sun May 27 00:30:30 2012 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Sun, 27 May 2012 00:30:30 -0400 Subject: A 'hunch' on 101.7 Message-ID: Let's look at the total picture of CC in Boston 2 FM's that are solid revenue producers 2 AM's that are small blips on the radar. They spent a small fortune on upgrading 1200 AM with no results. They have decided spending 14.5 million for 101.7 is worth it and given the radio theorem of 'billable hours' they may have decided to make a run at WMJX given the downtown transmitter of WFNX. Clear Channel has done very well in New York with WLTW-FM and in Chicago with WLIT-FM. If CC went soft rock and added Delilah at night they would hurt Magic 106. Radio is all about Monday-Friday 6 AM to 6 PM to sell.... In effect simulcast WSRS on101.7 That is my bet on what will happen. From dan.strassberg@att.net Sun May 27 14:03:30 2012 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan.Strassberg) Date: Sun, 27 May 2012 14:03:30 -0400 Subject: A 'hunch' on 101.7 References: Message-ID: <87BB832168F5428AB74CCBA1E544F296@SatU205S5044> A different take is that CCU wants Howie Carr to anchor its Boston talk station and Carr's terms are that he will consider offers only from companies that will put him on an FM signal. So CCU went out and bought the best available FM signal in the market (best because it was the ONLY available FM signal in the market). Now, how much of a concession is Carr willing to make in his salary because his prospective employer has spent $14.5 million to get him his FM signal? The only flaw I find in this scenario is that CCU has generally treated talent as if it were a commodity and spending $14.5 million to acquire an FM signal in order to attract a particular talk host is hardly treating the talk host as if he were a commodity. Moreover, in all probability, when Carr moves to 101.7, he is likely to appear in AM drive--a daypart in which he has zero history. This whole story makes sense only if you believe that whoever is calling the tune at CCU Boston is ruled by gut hunches and not by tons of market research. ----- Dan Strassberg (dan.strassberg@att.net) eFax 1-707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kevin Vahey" To: "Boston Radio Group" Sent: Sunday, May 27, 2012 12:30 AM Subject: A 'hunch' on 101.7 > Let's look at the total picture of CC in Boston > > 2 FM's that are solid revenue producers > > 2 AM's that are small blips on the radar. > > They spent a small fortune on upgrading 1200 AM with no results. > > They have decided spending 14.5 million for 101.7 is worth it and > given the > radio theorem of 'billable hours' they may have decided to make a > run at > WMJX given the downtown transmitter of WFNX. > > Clear Channel has done very well in New York with WLTW-FM and in > Chicago > with WLIT-FM. If CC went soft rock and added Delilah at night they > would > hurt Magic 106. > > Radio is all about Monday-Friday 6 AM to 6 PM to sell.... > > In effect simulcast WSRS on101.7 > > That is my bet on what will happen. From raccoonradio@gmail.com Sun May 27 14:58:53 2012 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Sun, 27 May 2012 14:58:53 -0400 Subject: A 'hunch' on 101.7 In-Reply-To: <87BB832168F5428AB74CCBA1E544F296@SatU205S5044> References: <87BB832168F5428AB74CCBA1E544F296@SatU205S5044> Message-ID: That could be the case--Carr to anchor the Boston talk station, and FM being one demand he has. That and not losing the flagship station (and other stations) to Celtics or Red Sox pregame shows, etc. when one game gets bumped. WRKO's weakness at night (WCRN helps, unless they leave to go to Sox pregame...) and so on. I don't know how he'd do salary wise and the way things are going maybe he shouldn't expect much--perhaps he'd even stay if the other offers didn't give him what he wants. If he wants an FM home, Greater (despite one denial a few years back by one exec) could give him that with WTKK. Eagan and Braude or Graham could be moved around if needed. (Howie has hinted he'd like to maybe move to Florida and do his show from there, as Rush does with "the Southern Command".) His displeasure at his signal not reaching his home in Wellesley doesn't matter to him as much as not being able to reach his listeners...and clean up in advertising, sponsorship deals (how's your Caddy from Olsen Cadillac, Howie?) Agreed about how he's unknown in terms of a morning drive show and maybe they're playing a hunch. From kvahey@gmail.com Sun May 27 15:16:33 2012 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Sun, 27 May 2012 15:16:33 -0400 Subject: A 'hunch' on 101.7 In-Reply-To: References: <87BB832168F5428AB74CCBA1E544F296@SatU205S5044> Message-ID: I doubt Howie has had any formal talks with Greater Media or Clear Channel at this point because of the legal mess of 5 years. He found out Entercom has very good lawyers. AM 1200's daytime signal vanishes at the Revere/Lynn line ( at nights it comes in fine ) From dan.strassberg@att.net Sun May 27 17:48:04 2012 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan.Strassberg) Date: Sun, 27 May 2012 17:48:04 -0400 Subject: A 'hunch' on 101.7 References: <87BB832168F5428AB74CCBA1E544F296@SatU205S5044> Message-ID: <9A750C756CE94428B04D2D24F9BCA9CD@SatU205S5044> The daytime signal vanishing at the Revere-Lynn line is most likely the result of the change that CCU made in the day pattern a year or so ago. The day pattern now uses four towers, whereas originally it used three--just as the night pattern did from day one and still does. It appears that the new day pattern was designed mainly to improve coverage to the north-northwest at the expense of coverage in other directions. The radiation maximum moved counterclockwise from 72 degrees true to 40 degrees true, but 40 degrees true, despite being at the new radiation maximum, now receives a slightly weaker daytime signal than it did with the original day pattern. If Lynn is where I think it is with respect to the pattern (very close to the old daytime radiation maximum and the unchanged nighttime radiation maximum), when WXKS switches to its night pattern, the effect in Lynn is as if the power were being increased by a factor of approximately 2.5. Depending on your receiver's sensitivity and how good its AGC is, a change of that magnitude can be quite noticeable. If memory serves, the original vs. modified coverage maps in the application for the new day pattern understated how much the daytime signal to the east-northeast would be reduced. ----- Dan Strassberg (dan.strassberg@att.net) eFax 1-707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kevin Vahey" To: "Bob Nelson" Cc: "Dan.Strassberg" ; "Boston Radio Group" Sent: Sunday, May 27, 2012 3:16 PM Subject: Re: A 'hunch' on 101.7 >I doubt Howie has had any formal talks with Greater Media or Clear >Channel > at this point because of the legal mess of 5 years. He found out > Entercom > has very good lawyers. > > AM 1200's daytime signal vanishes at the Revere/Lynn line ( at > nights it > comes in fine ) > From raccoonradio@mail.com Sun May 27 18:39:39 2012 From: raccoonradio@mail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Sun, 27 May 2012 18:39:39 -0400 Subject: A 'hunch' on 101.7 Message-ID: <20120527223939.227100@gmx.com> WXKS AM comes in fine day or night here in Beverly >I doubt Howie has had any formal talks with Greater Media or Clear >Channel > at this point because of the legal mess of 5 years. He found out > Entercom > has very good lawyers. > > AM 1200's daytime signal vanishes at the Revere/Lynn line ( at > nights it > comes in fine ) > From dlh@donnahalper.com Sun May 27 19:57:03 2012 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Sun, 27 May 2012 19:57:03 -0400 Subject: pirate query In-Reply-To: <20120527223939.227100@gmx.com> References: <20120527223939.227100@gmx.com> Message-ID: <4FC2BF4F.8040005@donnahalper.com> Forgive me if this has been discussed recently. I am still curious about the situation with "Touch 106.1" and everyone I ask at the newspapers gives me a different answer. I know that this little station is still very popular in the black community, especially in Roxbury, Dorchester & Mattapan. While it's sad that a city the size of Boston has no full-time, full-power black station, and while I certainly am happy Touch 106.1 appears to be successful, I was under the impression it's still not legal... at one point, the owner said he did have a license, but other stories back when the discussion first came up said his station was a pirate, for all intents and purposes. Perhaps I am missing a piece of information here. So, does Touch have a legal license or not? If not, how has the owner managed to stay on the air without one for such a long time without the FCC stepping in? From jjlehmann@comcast.net Sun May 27 20:56:39 2012 From: jjlehmann@comcast.net (Jeff Lehmann) Date: Sun, 27 May 2012 20:56:39 -0400 Subject: pirate query In-Reply-To: <4FC2BF4F.8040005@donnahalper.com> References: <20120527223939.227100@gmx.com> <4FC2BF4F.8040005@donnahalper.com> Message-ID: <005401cd3c6c$bdb82970$39287c50$@net> > Forgive me if this has been discussed recently. I am still curious > about the situation with "Touch 106.1" and everyone I ask at the > newspapers gives me a different answer. I know that this little > station is still very popular in the black community, especially in > Roxbury, Dorchester & Mattapan. While it's sad that a city the size of > Boston has no full-time, full-power black station, and while I > certainly am happy Touch 106.1 appears to be successful, I was under > the impression it's still not legal... at one point, the owner said he > did have a license, but other stories back when the discussion first > came up said his station was a pirate, for all intents and purposes. > Perhaps I am missing a piece of information here. So, does Touch have > a legal license or not? If not, how has the owner managed to stay on > the air without one for such a long time without the FCC stepping in? There is not, and never has been a license. They've stayed on so long because of the amount of time it takes to get a pirate shut down these days, years. Look at the 3 station simulcast (Mattapan, Randolph, Brockton) Radio Planet Compas (Haitian) on 89.3. They've been on the air for well over 10 years. The only pirate that's been shut down around here lately that wasn't interfering with air traffic control frequencies has been "Hot 97 Boston" 87.7. They just became too visible with frequent station events, live DJs, etc... Jeff Lehmann Hanson, MA From jjlehmann@comcast.net Sun May 27 20:59:04 2012 From: jjlehmann@comcast.net (Jeff Lehmann) Date: Sun, 27 May 2012 20:59:04 -0400 Subject: pirate query In-Reply-To: <4FC2BF4F.8040005@donnahalper.com> References: <20120527223939.227100@gmx.com> <4FC2BF4F.8040005@donnahalper.com> Message-ID: <005501cd3c6d$13e0e4e0$3ba2aea0$@net> I should also have said that there are DOZENS of pirates on the air between those in Boston and Brockton. Many have been on for as long, or longer than Touch 106.1. Sometimes they do move around after getting a notice of unlicensed operation or fine (that never gets collected) from the FCC, but they're only off for a couple days. It's actually quite fun to track them down as a hobby. Jeff Lehmann Hanson, MA From scott@fybush.com Sun May 27 21:06:27 2012 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Sun, 27 May 2012 21:06:27 -0400 Subject: pirate query In-Reply-To: <4FC2BF4F.8040005@donnahalper.com> References: <20120527223939.227100@gmx.com> <4FC2BF4F.8040005@donnahalper.com> Message-ID: <4FC2CF93.90309@fybush.com> On 5/27/2012 7:57 PM, Donna Halper wrote: > So, does Touch have a legal license or not? > If not, how has the owner managed to stay on the air without one for > such a long time without the FCC stepping in? The FCC did step in - it issued a $17,000 notice of apparent liability against operator Charles Clemons back in 2008. But the FCC has only limited enforcement teeth on its own. It's the US Attorney's office and Justice Department that pursue collection of that fine and further prosecution. It is widely believed that political factors have made that prosecution a very low priority. From radiotest@plymouthcolony.net Sun May 27 20:51:11 2012 From: radiotest@plymouthcolony.net (Dale H. Cook) Date: Sun, 27 May 2012 20:51:11 -0400 Subject: pirate query In-Reply-To: <4FC2BF4F.8040005@donnahalper.com> References: <20120527223939.227100@gmx.com> <4FC2BF4F.8040005@donnahalper.com> Message-ID: <7.0.1.0.2.20120527204409.03acbde0@plymouthcolony.net> At 07:57 PM 5/27/2012, Donna Halper wrote: >So, does Touch have a legal license or not? I see no license for that frequency just south of Boston - the only licenses for that frequency in Massachusetts that I see are WCOD in Hyannis and translators in Newburyport and Pittsfield. >If not, how has the owner managed to stay on the air without one for such a long time without the FCC stepping in? Probably because no licensed stations have received complaints of interference caused by him, and probably because his transmitter is clean enough not to interfere with Logan communications. Those are the two things most likely to galvanize EB into investigating. Dale H. Cook, Market Chief Engineer, Centennial Broadcasting, Roanoke/Lynchburg, VA http://plymouthcolony.net/starcityeng/index.html From kvahey@gmail.com Sun May 27 21:54:36 2012 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Sun, 27 May 2012 21:54:36 -0400 Subject: pirate query In-Reply-To: <005501cd3c6d$13e0e4e0$3ba2aea0$@net> References: <20120527223939.227100@gmx.com> <4FC2BF4F.8040005@donnahalper.com> <005501cd3c6d$13e0e4e0$3ba2aea0$@net> Message-ID: It is a political football now as there is NO legal radio voice for the 250,000 in Dorchester, Roxbury and Mattapan. I have no clue how to solve this problem. On Sun, May 27, 2012 at 8:59 PM, Jeff Lehmann wrote: > I should also have said that there are DOZENS of pirates on the air > between those in Boston and Brockton. Many have been on for as long, or > longer than Touch 106.1. > > Sometimes they do move around after getting a notice of unlicensed > operation or fine (that never gets collected) from the FCC, but they're > only off for a couple days. It's actually quite fun to track them down as a > hobby. > > Jeff Lehmann > Hanson, MA > > > From kvahey@gmail.com Sun May 27 22:05:06 2012 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Sun, 27 May 2012 22:05:06 -0400 Subject: pirate query In-Reply-To: <4FC2CF93.90309@fybush.com> References: <20120527223939.227100@gmx.com> <4FC2BF4F.8040005@donnahalper.com> <4FC2CF93.90309@fybush.com> Message-ID: Capuano supports the station and he uses it when he needs to send a message. Of course politics are involved. On Sun, May 27, 2012 at 9:06 PM, Scott Fybush wrote: > On 5/27/2012 7:57 PM, Donna Halper wrote: > > So, does Touch have a legal license or not? >> If not, how has the owner managed to stay on the air without one for >> such a long time without the FCC stepping in? >> > > The FCC did step in - it issued a $17,000 notice of apparent liability > against operator Charles Clemons back in 2008. > > But the FCC has only limited enforcement teeth on its own. It's the US > Attorney's office and Justice Department that pursue collection of that > fine and further prosecution. It is widely believed that political factors > have made that prosecution a very low priority. > > > > From dlh@donnahalper.com Sun May 27 22:24:31 2012 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Sun, 27 May 2012 22:24:31 -0400 Subject: pirate query In-Reply-To: References: <20120527223939.227100@gmx.com> <4FC2BF4F.8040005@donnahalper.com> <4FC2CF93.90309@fybush.com> Message-ID: <4FC2E1DF.6010103@donnahalper.com> On 5/27/2012 10:05 PM, Kevin Vahey wrote: > Capuano supports the station and he uses it when he needs to send a > message. Of course politics are involved. So is this another by-product of deregulation? I remember when everyone feared the FCC and dreaded an inspection. From wollman@bimajority.org Sun May 27 23:16:04 2012 From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) Date: Sun, 27 May 2012 23:16:04 -0400 Subject: pirate query In-Reply-To: References: <20120527223939.227100@gmx.com> <4FC2BF4F.8040005@donnahalper.com> <005501cd3c6d$13e0e4e0$3ba2aea0$@net> Message-ID: <20418.60916.128984.366@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> < said: > It is a political football now as there is NO legal radio voice for the > 250,000 in Dorchester, Roxbury and Mattapan. > I have no clue how to solve this problem. There are numerous legal radio stations that reach that area, several of which would be happy to lease the time. Unfortunately, even under the new LPFM rules, there's no way to squeeze one into Boston. Framingham, on the other hand, could have a 102.9 LP100; one would probably cover at least 60% of the town's population if built in the right place. (I'm sure Scott has already considered the possibility of building LPFMs in Rochester on 97.1, 97.3, 98.3, 98.5, 100.1, 100.9, 103.1, 104.3, and/or 106.3.) Lowell and Lawrence could have 94.9 or 98.1; Brockton could have 101.1 or 102.9. Worcester could also fit that 102.9. You could put a 99.9 up in Woburn that would also serve a good chunk of Burlington, Winchester, and Lexington. New Bedford could have 97.7 or 99.5 (I used the WCTK tower as the coordinate reference; apparently that meets second-adjacent spacing for a 97.7 LP100). I should seriously figure out who in Framingham ought to build that 102.9 and get them to apply for it. I know enough people around here who could do the engineering work. -GAWollman From dave@skywaves.net Sun May 27 22:36:12 2012 From: dave@skywaves.net (Dave Doherty) Date: Sun, 27 May 2012 22:36:12 -0400 Subject: [Possible Spam(mid)]-RE: pirate query In-Reply-To: References: <20120527223939.227100@gmx.com> <4FC2BF4F.8040005@donnahalper.com> <005501cd3c6d$13e0e4e0$3ba2aea0$@net> Message-ID: <001601cd3c7a$a646b1e0$f2d415a0$@skywaves.net> A few states have laws on the books that make it a state offense to violate FCC rules. Florida, where pirates are taken down on a regular basis, is one. As I understand it, the local FCC folks get in touch with state or local police and jointly raid the pirates, confiscating the equipment and issuing fines. This explanation is clearly oversimplified, but whatever the behind-the-scenes legal wrangling, it seems to work to the extent that pirates are taken down regularly. However, there is clearly a demand for the alternative programming provided by the pirates, because they keep popping up. Maybe new LPFM stations will help satisfy the need. -d -----Original Message----- From: boston-radio-interest-bounces@tsornin.BostonRadio.org [mailto:boston-radio-interest-bounces@tsornin.BostonRadio.org] On Behalf Of Kevin Vahey Sent: Sunday, May 27, 2012 9:55 PM To: Jeff Lehmann Cc: Boston Radio Group Subject: Re: pirate query It is a political football now as there is NO legal radio voice for the 250,000 in Dorchester, Roxbury and Mattapan. I have no clue how to solve this problem. On Sun, May 27, 2012 at 8:59 PM, Jeff Lehmann wrote: > I should also have said that there are DOZENS of pirates on the air > between those in Boston and Brockton. Many have been on for as long, > or longer than Touch 106.1. > > Sometimes they do move around after getting a notice of unlicensed > operation or fine (that never gets collected) from the FCC, but > they're only off for a couple days. It's actually quite fun to track > them down as a hobby. > > Jeff Lehmann > Hanson, MA > > > From wollman@bimajority.org Sun May 27 23:18:18 2012 From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) Date: Sun, 27 May 2012 23:18:18 -0400 Subject: pirate query In-Reply-To: <4FC2E1DF.6010103@donnahalper.com> References: <20120527223939.227100@gmx.com> <4FC2BF4F.8040005@donnahalper.com> <4FC2CF93.90309@fybush.com> <4FC2E1DF.6010103@donnahalper.com> Message-ID: <20418.61050.726506.803386@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> < said: > On 5/27/2012 10:05 PM, Kevin Vahey wrote: >> Capuano supports the station and he uses it when he needs to send a >> message. Of course politics are involved. > So is this another by-product of deregulation? I remember when everyone > feared the FCC and dreaded an inspection. No, it's a byproduct of the FCC's enforcement bureau being starved of resources since the first Bush administration. That may in fact be an intentional consequence of deregulation, although I doubt it, since most of the people who supported deregulation were entrenched broadcasters who have no reason to favor pirates. -GAWollman From kvahey@gmail.com Mon May 28 00:16:43 2012 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Mon, 28 May 2012 00:16:43 -0400 Subject: pirate query In-Reply-To: <20418.60916.128984.366@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> References: <20120527223939.227100@gmx.com> <4FC2BF4F.8040005@donnahalper.com> <005501cd3c6d$13e0e4e0$3ba2aea0$@net> <20418.60916.128984.366@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: Garrett The problem is the lease options are all on AM which is a tough sell to people under 40. WILD 'perhaps' could gave gotten a low powered night signal if they pursued it but with the transmitter in Medford it would not have reached the target area anyways. WBAL is perhaps the strongest out of market signal in Boston which compounded things. The Haitians are thrilled to get whatever AM slots they can - but Boston needs a FM urban voice. On Sun, May 27, 2012 at 11:16 PM, Garrett Wollman wrote: > > There are numerous legal radio stations that reach that area, several > of which would be happy to lease the time. > > Unfortunately, even under the new LPFM rules, there's no way to > squeeze one into Boston. Framingham, on the other hand, could have a > 102.9 LP100; one would probably cover at least 60% of the town's > population if built in the right place. (I'm sure Scott has already > considered the possibility of building LPFMs in Rochester on 97.1, > 97.3, 98.3, 98.5, 100.1, 100.9, 103.1, 104.3, and/or 106.3.) Lowell > and Lawrence could have 94.9 or 98.1; Brockton could have 101.1 or > 102.9. Worcester could also fit that 102.9. You could put a 99.9 up > in Woburn that would also serve a good chunk of Burlington, > Winchester, and Lexington. New Bedford could have 97.7 or 99.5 (I > used the WCTK tower as the coordinate reference; apparently that meets > second-adjacent spacing for a 97.7 LP100). > > I should seriously figure out who in Framingham ought to build that > 102.9 and get them to apply for it. I know enough people around here > who could do the engineering work. > > -GAWollman > From brscomm@yahoo.com Sun May 27 23:31:42 2012 From: brscomm@yahoo.com (Bill) Date: Sun, 27 May 2012 22:31:42 -0500 Subject: pirate query In-Reply-To: References: <20120527223939.227100@gmx.com> <4FC2BF4F.8040005@donnahalper.com> <4FC2CF93.90309@fybush.com> Message-ID: <01bd01cd3c82$67300df0$359029d0$@yahoo.com> Unlike New York's FCC office, Boston has never been aggressive chasing pirates... Bill -----Original Message----- From: boston-radio-interest-bounces@tsornin.BostonRadio.org [mailto:boston-radio-interest-bounces@tsornin.BostonRadio.org] On Behalf Of Kevin Vahey Sent: Sunday, May 27, 2012 9:05 PM To: Scott Fybush Cc: Boston Radio Group Subject: Re: pirate query Capuano supports the station and he uses it when he needs to send a message. Of course politics are involved. On Sun, May 27, 2012 at 9:06 PM, Scott Fybush wrote: > On 5/27/2012 7:57 PM, Donna Halper wrote: > > So, does Touch have a legal license or not? >> If not, how has the owner managed to stay on the air without one for >> such a long time without the FCC stepping in? >> > > The FCC did step in - it issued a $17,000 notice of apparent liability > against operator Charles Clemons back in 2008. > > But the FCC has only limited enforcement teeth on its own. It's the US > Attorney's office and Justice Department that pursue collection of > that fine and further prosecution. It is widely believed that > political factors have made that prosecution a very low priority. > > > > From kvahey@gmail.com Mon May 28 00:36:55 2012 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Mon, 28 May 2012 00:36:55 -0400 Subject: [Possible Spam(mid)]-RE: pirate query In-Reply-To: <001601cd3c7a$a646b1e0$f2d415a0$@skywaves.net> References: <20120527223939.227100@gmx.com> <4FC2BF4F.8040005@donnahalper.com> <005501cd3c6d$13e0e4e0$3ba2aea0$@net> <001601cd3c7a$a646b1e0$f2d415a0$@skywaves.net> Message-ID: For a few years WRBB-FM which is the Northeastern station served the urban Boston market but today like many college stations they try to serve many factions. WRBB is on 104.9 out of political spite as it was moved there to hurt Simon Geller who ran WVCA-FM out of his apartment. Geller was a hero to many of us as he actually had his own station. He was fun to listen to. http://www.nytimes.com/1988/05/15/us/crusty-voice-quitting-after-24-years.html On Sun, May 27, 2012 at 10:36 PM, Dave Doherty wrote: > A few states have laws on the books that make it a state offense to violate > FCC rules. Florida, where pirates are taken down on a regular basis, is > one. > > > As I understand it, the local FCC folks get in touch with state or local > police and jointly raid the pirates, confiscating the equipment and issuing > fines. This explanation is clearly oversimplified, but whatever the > behind-the-scenes legal wrangling, it seems to work to the extent that > pirates are taken down regularly. > > However, there is clearly a demand for the alternative programming provided > by the pirates, because they keep popping up. Maybe new LPFM stations will > help satisfy the need. > > -d > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: boston-radio-interest-bounces@tsornin.BostonRadio.org > [mailto:boston-radio-interest-bounces@tsornin.BostonRadio.org] On Behalf > Of > Kevin Vahey > Sent: Sunday, May 27, 2012 9:55 PM > To: Jeff Lehmann > Cc: Boston Radio Group > Subject: Re: pirate query > > > It is a political football now as there is NO legal radio voice for the > 250,000 in Dorchester, Roxbury and Mattapan. > > I have no clue how to solve this problem. > > > > > On Sun, May 27, 2012 at 8:59 PM, Jeff Lehmann > wrote: > > > I should also have said that there are DOZENS of pirates on the air > > between those in Boston and Brockton. Many have been on for as long, > > or longer than Touch 106.1. > > > > Sometimes they do move around after getting a notice of unlicensed > > operation or fine (that never gets collected) from the FCC, but > > they're only off for a couple days. It's actually quite fun to track > > them down as a hobby. > > > > Jeff Lehmann > > Hanson, MA > > > > > > > > > > From wollman@bimajority.org Mon May 28 12:08:24 2012 From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) Date: Mon, 28 May 2012 12:08:24 -0400 Subject: pirate query In-Reply-To: References: <20120527223939.227100@gmx.com> <4FC2BF4F.8040005@donnahalper.com> <005501cd3c6d$13e0e4e0$3ba2aea0$@net> <20418.60916.128984.366@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <20419.41720.750640.86558@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> < said: > The Haitians are thrilled to get whatever AM slots they can - but Boston > needs a FM urban voice. Clearly not as much as it "needs" some other formats. Commercial radio is not a charity; the need is obviously not that great if nobody is willing to put their money on the line. Non-comms are maybe a different story. In an alternate universe, you could see a station like WUMB-FM being the voice for that audience. -GAWollman From sid@wrko.com Mon May 28 17:26:06 2012 From: sid@wrko.com (Sid Schweiger) Date: Mon, 28 May 2012 21:26:06 +0000 Subject: pirate query In-Reply-To: <001601cd3c7a$a646b1e0$f2d415a0$@skywaves.net> References: <20120527223939.227100@gmx.com> <4FC2BF4F.8040005@donnahalper.com> <005501cd3c6d$13e0e4e0$3ba2aea0$@net> <001601cd3c7a$a646b1e0$f2d415a0$@skywaves.net> Message-ID: "However, there is clearly a demand for the alternative programming provided by the pirates, because they keep popping up." IOW, lawbreakers are motivated by public service and altruism. Everyone who actually believes that, raise your hand... (and cue the crickets...) Sid Schweiger / IT Manager, Entercom New England From wollman@bimajority.org Mon May 28 21:38:31 2012 From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) Date: Mon, 28 May 2012 21:38:31 -0400 Subject: pirate query In-Reply-To: References: <20120527223939.227100@gmx.com> <4FC2BF4F.8040005@donnahalper.com> <005501cd3c6d$13e0e4e0$3ba2aea0$@net> <001601cd3c7a$a646b1e0$f2d415a0$@skywaves.net> Message-ID: <20420.10391.116522.966126@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> < said: [apparently quoting Dave Doherty] > "However, there is clearly a demand for the alternative programming > provided by the pirates, because they keep popping up." > IOW, lawbreakers are motivated by public service and altruism. Um, no, that's not even remotely close to what he said. A correct paraphrase would be "pirates are motivated by money, just like other economic actors." -GAWollman From sid@wrko.com Mon May 28 23:08:19 2012 From: sid@wrko.com (Sid Schweiger) Date: Tue, 29 May 2012 03:08:19 +0000 Subject: pirate query In-Reply-To: <20420.10391.116522.966126@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> References: <20120527223939.227100@gmx.com> <4FC2BF4F.8040005@donnahalper.com> <005501cd3c6d$13e0e4e0$3ba2aea0$@net> <001601cd3c7a$a646b1e0$f2d415a0$@skywaves.net> , <20420.10391.116522.966126@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C91A7A3@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> > IOW, lawbreakers are motivated by public service and altruism. 'Um, no, that's not even remotely close to what he said. 'A correct paraphrase would be "pirates are motivated by money, just like other economic actors."' My not-obvious-enough attempt at sarcasm aside, not all pirates run commercials, so the correct paraphrase is: Pirates are motivated by ego. Sid Schweiger IT Manager, Entercom New England 20 Guest St / 3d Floor Brighton MA 02135-2040 From raccoonradio@gmail.com Tue May 29 09:42:47 2012 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Tue, 29 May 2012 09:42:47 -0400 Subject: Tom Finneran to leave WRKO Message-ID: In a few days, Tom Finneran will no longer be on WRKO. (Another of the station's hosts would like to follow him out the door, of course; Howie) http://bostonherald.com/business/media/view.bg?articleid=1061135000 From dan.strassberg@att.net Tue May 29 11:00:08 2012 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan.Strassberg) Date: Tue, 29 May 2012 11:00:08 -0400 Subject: Tom Finneran to leave WRKO References: Message-ID: <19A41CE3B3F742DDBE728D2976C9B089@SatU205S5044> But just think of the speculation that would ensue if Carr were given Finneran's AM-drive slot: Carr not leaving Entercom after all; 97.7 to become WRKO-FM and will flip to a 680 simulcast (or maybe 107.3 to become WRKO-FM and will flip to a 680 simulcast). If indeed we were to wind up with both a 1200/101.7 simulcast and a 680/97.7 simulcast (or a 680/107.3 simulcast), Entercom would have, by far, the better signals--on both AM and FM. (Compared with the 1200/101.7 simulcast, this would be true for either the 680/97.7 simulcast or the 680/107.3 simulcast.) What would CCU do then??? For sure, a field day for bloggers and posters and not just for Bob Nelson and Joseph Gallant! ----- Dan Strassberg (dan.strassberg@att.net) eFax 1-707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bob Nelson" To: "Boston Radio Group" Sent: Tuesday, May 29, 2012 9:42 AM Subject: Tom Finneran to leave WRKO > In a few days, Tom Finneran will no longer be on WRKO. (Another of > the > station's hosts would like to follow him out the > door, of course; Howie) > > http://bostonherald.com/business/media/view.bg?articleid=1061135000 From raccoonradio@mail.com Tue May 29 13:44:41 2012 From: raccoonradio@mail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Tue, 29 May 2012 13:44:41 -0400 Subject: Tom Finneran to leave WRKO Message-ID: <20120529174441.191030@gmx.com> First speaking of talk radio we need to mention and observe the passing of Lovell Dyett (a different post I made has details from WBZ). Obviously many possibilities, including him staying with Entercom (would they offer the morning slot he desires?). The 97.7 and/or 107.3 simulcasts ("WRKO-FM"?) have been brought up before and I think they make enough money with WAAF that it's doubtful one or both would switch to talk. Then again 2 weeks ago what if someone had said WFNX was going to be sold...to Clear Channel? Anything can happen though some possibilities are remote. 107.3 flipping would make sense as it would help WRKO especially at night but for the most part I'd think they'd concentrate on day. And the FM signal wouldn't be concentrated on or near Boston (hence the reason why 97.7 was brought in to help). Would they ditch rock for talk? Entercom would indeed have the advantages, as you say, with such simulcasts and flips vs. CC's. WRKO does have a great signal by day, but people are leaving AM and just about every week we hear about some AM station moving to or simulcasting on FM. Ideally if Entercom had a moderately powerful FM besides their current 3 properties here (93.7, 107.3, 97.7) near Boston it would make sense. If, for example, Entercom had bought 92.9, 96.9, 99.1, or a multitude of other frequencies (IF..) awhile back they could have done this by now. ----- Original Message ----- From: Dan.Strassberg Sent: 05/29/12 11:00 AM To: Bob Nelson, Boston Radio Group Subject: Re: Tom Finneran to leave WRKO But just think of the speculation that would ensue if Carr were given Finneran's AM-drive slot: Carr not leaving Entercom after all; 97.7 to become WRKO-FM and will flip to a 680 simulcast (or maybe 107.3 to become WRKO-FM and will flip to a 680 simulcast). If indeed we were to wind up with both a 1200/101.7 simulcast and a 680/97.7 simulcast (or a 680/107.3 simulcast), Entercom would have, by far, the better signals--on both AM and FM. (Compared with the 1200/101.7 simulcast, this would be true for either the 680/97.7 simulcast or the 680/107.3 simulcast.) What would CCU do then??? For sure, a field day for bloggers and posters and not just for Bob Nelson and Joseph Gallant! From Donald_Astelle@yahoo.com Tue May 29 13:11:31 2012 From: Donald_Astelle@yahoo.com (Don) Date: Tue, 29 May 2012 13:11:31 -0400 Subject: Lovell Dyett Message-ID: <99B935C1CBCC4349A434927597DE7C32@s20035> Not sure when this happenned....today? Over the weekend? http://bostonradio.blogspot.com/2012/05/rip-lovell-dyett.html From francini@mac.com Tue May 29 13:49:50 2012 From: francini@mac.com (John Francini) Date: Tue, 29 May 2012 13:49:50 -0400 Subject: Lovell Dyett In-Reply-To: <99B935C1CBCC4349A434927597DE7C32@s20035> References: <99B935C1CBCC4349A434927597DE7C32@s20035> Message-ID: <6C4BF465-C2B3-4C9E-8A62-DD74ED8471AD@mac.com> And here's a pointer to the obit on the WCVB web page: Another voice from my childhood gone? Rest in peace. On 29 May 2012, at 13:11, Don wrote: > Not sure when this happenned....today? Over the weekend? > > http://bostonradio.blogspot.com/2012/05/rip-lovell-dyett.html From tlmedia@triad.rr.com Tue May 29 13:52:25 2012 From: tlmedia@triad.rr.com (Ted Larsen) Date: Tue, 29 May 2012 13:52:25 -0400 Subject: Longtime Boston radio host Lovell Dyett has died Message-ID: <6D68E3EFA3D3458AA6F4F88809FF9C5B@YOURbcbbe822ed> A kind and smart guy. R.I.P. http://www.wcvb.com/news/local/metro/Radio-pioneer-Dyett-dies/-/11971628/14266738/-/sxt6lo/-/index.html?treets=bos&tid=2656304711813&tml=bos_break&tmi=bos_break_1_11450105292012&ts=H From raccoonradio@mail.com Tue May 29 13:37:26 2012 From: raccoonradio@mail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Tue, 29 May 2012 13:37:26 -0400 Subject: Lovell Dyett has passed on Message-ID: <20120529173727.227070@gmx.com> "I love you, I love you madly." http://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/05/29/wbz-radio-legend-lovell-dyett-passes-away-at-77/ >Lovell Dyett, a longtime talk show host on WBZ NewsRadio 1030, has passed away after a long illness. He was 77. Dyett was noted throughout his life for being an erudite speaker, devoted community activist, and renowned television and radio broadcaster From dlh@donnahalper.com Tue May 29 14:05:21 2012 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Tue, 29 May 2012 14:05:21 -0400 Subject: Lovell Dyett In-Reply-To: <99B935C1CBCC4349A434927597DE7C32@s20035> References: <99B935C1CBCC4349A434927597DE7C32@s20035> Message-ID: <4FC50FE1.9070901@donnahalper.com> On 5/29/2012 1:11 PM, Don wrote: > Not sure when this happenned....today? Over the weekend? > It was announced on WBZ this morning. I knew it was about to happen several weeks ago when WBZ contacted me for biographical info about him. He was a force in the black community with a long track record, and whether or not some critics felt he was effective as a talk show host, his presence on the air was an important symbol. At the risk of opening a can of worms, WBZ Radio historically had only white male talk show hosts (not that there's anything wrong with being white and male), so I think a lot of members of the minority community felt it was important for Lovell to continue having a show because he presented a different perspective. From raccoonradio@mail.com Tue May 29 13:51:37 2012 From: raccoonradio@mail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Tue, 29 May 2012 13:51:37 -0400 Subject: Lovell Dyett Message-ID: <20120529175137.227070@gmx.com> May have just happened today or yesterday. WBZ has the story http://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/05/29/wbz-radio-legend-lovell-dyett-passes-away-at-77/ ----- Original Message ----- From: Don Sent: 05/29/12 01:11 PM To: B-R-I Subject: Lovell Dyett Not sure when this happenned....today? Over the weekend? http://bostonradio.blogspot.com/2012/05/rip-lovell-dyett.html From tlmedia@triad.rr.com Tue May 29 13:52:25 2012 From: tlmedia@triad.rr.com (Ted Larsen) Date: Tue, 29 May 2012 13:52:25 -0400 Subject: Longtime Boston radio host Lovell Dyett has died Message-ID: <6D68E3EFA3D3458AA6F4F88809FF9C5B@YOURbcbbe822ed> A kind and smart guy. R.I.P. http://www.wcvb.com/news/local/metro/Radio-pioneer-Dyett-dies/-/11971628/14266738/-/sxt6lo/-/index.html?treets=bos&tid=2656304711813&tml=bos_break&tmi=bos_break_1_11450105292012&ts=H From rbello@belloassoc.com Tue May 29 14:48:55 2012 From: rbello@belloassoc.com (Ron Bello) Date: Tue, 29 May 2012 14:48:55 -0400 Subject: Lovell Dyett In-Reply-To: <4FC50FE1.9070901@donnahalper.com> References: <99B935C1CBCC4349A434927597DE7C32@s20035> <4FC50FE1.9070901@donnahalper.com> Message-ID: Both Guy Manilla and Jerry Williams, 2 white males, were on WBZ for many years between 6pm and midnight. On Tue, May 29, 2012 at 2:05 PM, Donna Halper wrote: > On 5/29/2012 1:11 PM, Don wrote: > >> Not sure when this happenned....today? Over the weekend? >> >> > It was announced on WBZ this morning. I knew it was about to happen > several weeks ago when WBZ contacted me for biographical info about him. > He was a force in the black community with a long track record, and > whether or not some critics felt he was effective as a talk show host, his > presence on the air was an important symbol. At the risk of opening a can > of worms, WBZ Radio historically had only white male talk show hosts (not > that there's anything wrong with being white and male), so I think a lot of > members of the minority community felt it was important for Lovell to > continue having a show because he presented a different perspective. > From chuckigo@maine.rr.com Tue May 29 16:41:59 2012 From: chuckigo@maine.rr.com (chuckigo@maine.rr.com) Date: Tue, 29 May 2012 16:41:59 -0400 Subject: Lovell Dyett has passed on In-Reply-To: <20120529173727.227070@gmx.com> Message-ID: <20120529204200.8GCLL.401375.root@hrndva-web22-z01> ---- Bob Nelson wrote: > "I love you, I love you madly." > Amen, Bob. Rest easy, Lovell. He was always very social during our shift-changes at WBZ and really got a kick out my then-4 year old saying his name with a great giggle. (I'd recorded her doing the BZ crew roster to use as drop-ins...) The man knew his stuff. Indeed... "madly." --Chuck Igo From Donald_Astelle@yahoo.com Tue May 29 17:29:50 2012 From: Donald_Astelle@yahoo.com (Don) Date: Tue, 29 May 2012 17:29:50 -0400 Subject: Lovell Dyett References: <99B935C1CBCC4349A434927597DE7C32@s20035><4FC50FE1.9070901@donnahalper.com> Message-ID: I remembered his from "Urban Update" on Channel 7. He had a great "folksy" kinda show for WBZ radio Sunday nights.... I would like to know more about his background than the small blip that has been released. >> On 5/29/2012 1:11 PM, Don wrote: >> >>> Not sure when this happenned....today? Over the weekend? http://bostonradio.blogspot.com/2012/05/rip-lovell-dyett.html >>> >>> >> It was announced on WBZ this morning. I knew it was about to happen >> several weeks ago when WBZ contacted me for biographical info about him. >> He was a force in the black community with a long track record, and >> whether or not some critics felt he was effective as a talk show host, >> his >> presence on the air was an important symbol. At the risk of opening a >> can >> of worms, WBZ Radio historically had only white male talk show hosts (not >> that there's anything wrong with being white and male), so I think a lot >> of >> members of the minority community felt it was important for Lovell to >> continue having a show because he presented a different perspective. >> From atolz@comcast.net Tue May 29 17:39:18 2012 From: atolz@comcast.net (Alan Tolz) Date: Tue, 29 May 2012 17:39:18 -0400 Subject: Lovell Dyett In-Reply-To: <4FC50FE1.9070901@donnahalper.com> References: <99B935C1CBCC4349A434927597DE7C32@s20035> <4FC50FE1.9070901@donnahalper.com> Message-ID: <22655EC8-E833-44B0-A2AA-3D5E53A42F78@comcast.net> Sad to hear about Lovell, but Morgan White Jr. Has been hosting shows on WBZ for some time now and he is African-American. Alan Sent from my iPhone On May 29, 2012, at 2:05 PM, Donna Halper wrote: > On 5/29/2012 1:11 PM, Don wrote: >> Not sure when this happenned....today? Over the weekend? >> > It was announced on WBZ this morning. I knew it was about to happen several weeks ago when WBZ contacted me for biographical info about him. He was a force in the black community with a long track record, and whether or not some critics felt he was effective as a talk show host, his presence on the air was an important symbol. At the risk of opening a can of worms, WBZ Radio historically had only white male talk show hosts (not that there's anything wrong with being white and male), so I think a lot of members of the minority community felt it was important for Lovell to continue having a show because he presented a different perspective. From dlh@donnahalper.com Tue May 29 17:49:44 2012 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Tue, 29 May 2012 17:49:44 -0400 Subject: Lovell Dyett In-Reply-To: <22655EC8-E833-44B0-A2AA-3D5E53A42F78@comcast.net> References: <99B935C1CBCC4349A434927597DE7C32@s20035> <4FC50FE1.9070901@donnahalper.com> <22655EC8-E833-44B0-A2AA-3D5E53A42F78@comcast.net> Message-ID: <4FC54478.9030002@donnahalper.com> On 5/29/2012 5:39 PM, Alan Tolz wrote: > Sad to hear about Lovell, but Morgan White Jr. Has been hosting shows on WBZ for some time now and he is African-American. > I did not mean to imply that WBZ had no black announcers-- but as far as I know, they have never had any full-time announcers of color who did a talk show. Am I mistaken? From atolz@comcast.net Tue May 29 19:58:13 2012 From: atolz@comcast.net (Alan Tolz) Date: Tue, 29 May 2012 19:58:13 -0400 Subject: Lovell Dyett In-Reply-To: <4FC54478.9030002@donnahalper.com> References: <99B935C1CBCC4349A434927597DE7C32@s20035> <4FC50FE1.9070901@donnahalper.com> <22655EC8-E833-44B0-A2AA-3D5E53A42F78@comcast.net> <4FC54478.9030002@donnahalper.com> Message-ID: <8AEF4071-E650-4104-A540-86BE8E106751@comcast.net> No, you are correct Donna. At one point in time in the mid '80s, I worked with Dr. Marvin Scott at WRKO, but he too was only doing weekends and fill-in talk. Sent from my iPhone On May 29, 2012, at 5:49 PM, Donna Halper wrote: > On 5/29/2012 5:39 PM, Alan Tolz wrote: >> Sad to hear about Lovell, but Morgan White Jr. Has been hosting shows on WBZ for some time now and he is African-American. >> > > I did not mean to imply that WBZ had no black announcers-- but as far as I know, they have never had any full-time announcers of color who did a talk show. Am I mistaken? From kvahey@gmail.com Tue May 29 20:45:56 2012 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Tue, 29 May 2012 20:45:56 -0400 Subject: Lovell Dyett In-Reply-To: <8AEF4071-E650-4104-A540-86BE8E106751@comcast.net> References: <99B935C1CBCC4349A434927597DE7C32@s20035> <4FC50FE1.9070901@donnahalper.com> <22655EC8-E833-44B0-A2AA-3D5E53A42F78@comcast.net> <4FC54478.9030002@donnahalper.com> <8AEF4071-E650-4104-A540-86BE8E106751@comcast.net> Message-ID: WBZ did have Jimmy Myers that did not end well - He also worked at WEEI and that ended badly. On Tue, May 29, 2012 at 7:58 PM, Alan Tolz wrote: > No, you are correct Donna. At one point in time in the mid '80s, I worked > with Dr. Marvin Scott at WRKO, but he too was only doing weekends and > fill-in talk. > > Sent from my iPhone > > On May 29, 2012, at 5:49 PM, Donna Halper wrote: > > > On 5/29/2012 5:39 PM, Alan Tolz wrote: > >> Sad to hear about Lovell, but Morgan White Jr. Has been hosting shows > on WBZ for some time now and he is African-American. > >> > > > > I did not mean to imply that WBZ had no black announcers-- but as far as > I know, they have never had any full-time announcers of color who did a > talk show. Am I mistaken? > > From chris2526@comcast.net Wed May 30 01:17:39 2012 From: chris2526@comcast.net (Chris Hall) Date: Wed, 30 May 2012 01:17:39 -0400 Subject: Tom Finneran to leave WRKO Message-ID: <98DCA81D19704B78B831BC8DB6C9DCA0@chrisHP> Speculation that Howie Carr would want to do mornings at this time does not fit with his commitment to his affiliates to maintain the show at all costs. Local morning shows are very important parts of stations like WGAN, WXTK, WVMT and WHYN therefore I do not see it happening. From billohno@gmail.com Wed May 30 13:42:55 2012 From: billohno@gmail.com (Bill O'Neill) Date: Wed, 30 May 2012 13:42:55 -0400 Subject: Tom Finneran to leave WRKO In-Reply-To: <98DCA81D19704B78B831BC8DB6C9DCA0@chrisHP> References: <98DCA81D19704B78B831BC8DB6C9DCA0@chrisHP> Message-ID: <4FC65C1F.6010703@gmail.com> On 5/30/2012 1:17 AM, Chris Hall wrote: > Speculation that Howie Carr would want to do mornings at this time does not fit with his commitment to his affiliates to maintain the show at all costs. Local morning shows are very important parts of stations like WGAN, WXTK, WVMT and WHYN therefore I do not see it happening. I would tend to agree if it's clear that the affiliate commitment were to continue. I also concur with some comments that it's unclear how Howie would play in AM drive with element clusters, etc. It's challenging enough for listener continuity with the spot clock in play now. Bill O'Neill From raccoonradio@mail.com Wed May 30 13:48:11 2012 From: raccoonradio@mail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Wed, 30 May 2012 13:48:11 -0400 Subject: Tom Finneran to leave WRKO Message-ID: <20120530174811.227090@gmx.com> The Herald wonders if Kim Carrigan could be Todd Feinburg's new partner for the WRKO morning show (she has done some fill ins) and also reveals the station--tied at 24th in the 25-54s last month--has an option to renew Howie Carr's contract for two years. I have heard Howie mention this on air ("I hope they don't pick up my contract"). He's quoted as saying he hopes he can escape AM radio. http://www.bostonherald.com/business/media/view.bg?articleid=1061135163&srvc=rss&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+bostonherald%2Fbusiness+%28Business+-+BostonHerald.com%29 Also Carr was to be on WGAN's morning show today (I didn't hear it) to discuss such things as "his future at WRKO Boston" according to WGAN's facebook. Howie's network indeed has local morning shows on all its affiliates. You're right about how important morning shows are. Live is important too--so, what impact would Howie's show have if it were _delayed_ on the various stations to its current 3 pm airing? ("We'd like to carry you live, Howie, but we have our own morning thing...") If he did escape to Clear Channel (let's say at his current slot) one could imagine WGIR, WHJJ, or WTAG picking up the show (currently I believe those stations have Hannity--first two--and Jordan Levy, last one--in that slot.. and the other previous stations like WGAN and WVMT could continue to run him. ----- Original Message ----- From: Chris Hall Sent: 05/30/12 01:17 AM To: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org Subject: Tom Finneran to leave WRKO Speculation that Howie Carr would want to do mornings at this time does not fit with his commitment to his affiliates to maintain the show at all costs. Local morning shows are very important parts of stations like WGAN, WXTK, WVMT and WHYN therefore I do not see it happening. From kvahey@gmail.com Wed May 30 14:06:45 2012 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Wed, 30 May 2012 14:06:45 -0400 Subject: Tom Finneran to leave WRKO In-Reply-To: <20120530174811.227090@gmx.com> References: <20120530174811.227090@gmx.com> Message-ID: Howie on WGAN this morning ( May 30,2012 ) http://www.wgan.com/play_window.php?audioType=Episode&audioId=5869165 He said AM radio is dead - I want to go to FM but keep my syndication and I don't want mornings. On Wed, May 30, 2012 at 1:48 PM, Bob Nelson wrote: > The Herald wonders if Kim Carrigan could be Todd Feinburg's new partner > for the WRKO morning show (she has done some fill ins) and also reveals the > station--tied at 24th in the 25-54s last month--has an option to renew > Howie Carr's contract for two years. I have heard Howie mention this on > air ("I hope they don't pick up my > contract"). He's quoted as saying he hopes he can escape AM radio. > > > http://www.bostonherald.com/business/media/view.bg?articleid=1061135163&srvc=rss&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+bostonherald%2Fbusiness+%28Business+-+BostonHerald.com%29 > > Also Carr was to be on WGAN's morning show today (I didn't hear it) to > discuss such things as "his future at > WRKO Boston" according to WGAN's facebook. > > Howie's network indeed has local morning shows on all its affiliates. > You're right about how important morning shows are. Live is important > too--so, what impact would Howie's show have if it were _delayed_ on the > various stations to its current 3 pm airing? ("We'd like to carry you > live, Howie, but we have our own > morning thing...") > If he did escape to Clear Channel (let's say at his current slot) one > could imagine WGIR, WHJJ, or WTAG > picking up the show (currently I believe those stations have > Hannity--first two--and Jordan Levy, last one--in that slot.. and the other > previous stations like WGAN and WVMT could continue to run him. > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Chris Hall > Sent: 05/30/12 01:17 AM > To: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org > Subject: Tom Finneran to leave WRKO > > Speculation that Howie Carr would want to do mornings at this time does > not fit with his commitment to his affiliates to maintain the show at all > costs. Local morning shows are very important parts of stations like WGAN, > WXTK, WVMT and WHYN therefore I do not see it happening. > From raccoonradio@gmail.com Wed May 30 14:14:58 2012 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Wed, 30 May 2012 14:14:58 -0400 Subject: Tom Finneran to leave WRKO In-Reply-To: References: <20120530174811.227090@gmx.com> Message-ID: Thanks very much! Will listen. Supposedly when he tried to go to WTKK he wanted mornings. (Or maybe that was the slot that was opening then--Imus was taken off..) He did an interview on Ch 4 in late Sept of 07 and said he looked forward to mornings and the new station (96.9), which never happened. On Wed, May 30, 2012 at 2:06 PM, Kevin Vahey wrote: > Howie on WGAN this morning ( May 30,2012 ) > > http://www.wgan.com/play_window.php?audioType=Episode&audioId=5869165 > > He said AM radio is dead - I want to go to FM but keep my syndication and I > don't want mornings. From billohno@gmail.com Wed May 30 15:41:41 2012 From: billohno@gmail.com (Bill O'Neill) Date: Wed, 30 May 2012 15:41:41 -0400 Subject: Tom Finneran to leave WRKO In-Reply-To: References: <20120530174811.227090@gmx.com> Message-ID: <4FC677F5.1030003@gmail.com> On 5/30/2012 2:06 PM, Kevin Vahey wrote: > Howie on WGAN this morning ( May 30,2012 ) > > He said AM radio is dead - I want to go to FM but keep my syndication and I > don't want mornings. > File under: Nice Negotiating Techniques or.... File under: So much for dancing with the one that brung ya. Bill O'Neill From chris2526@comcast.net Thu May 31 01:18:56 2012 From: chris2526@comcast.net (Chris Hall) Date: Thu, 31 May 2012 01:18:56 -0400 Subject: WBZ should hang its head in shame Message-ID: <7228EA89394142A191FA05D45D63634B@chrisHP> WYAY Atlanta has been on the air for two days and already sounds far better and up to date as a news station than frumpy old WBZ, it?s really sounding its age, and they call the New York Times the ?Gray old lady?. The name seems to be misplaced and should be shipped up to 1170 Soldiers Field Rd. The station seems to be permanently stuck in the past. If WBZ-TV took the same direction it would have fallen off the face the earth ratings wise long ago, at least they are making an honest attempt to program for the station to look like its 2012. From Donald_Astelle@yahoo.com Thu May 31 12:02:36 2012 From: Donald_Astelle@yahoo.com (Don) Date: Thu, 31 May 2012 12:02:36 -0400 Subject: WBZ should hang its head in shame References: <7228EA89394142A191FA05D45D63634B@chrisHP> Message-ID: >> WYAY Atlanta has been on the air for two days and already sounds far better and up to date as a news station than frumpy old WBZ<<< For example? There seems to be a lote of "WBZ-hate" going around online. Can't be sure if it all comes from a couple of people or what. While WBZ has cut back it's body-heavy budget in the last 4 years (what station hasn't?)....I would say it's probably the best AM station in all of Boston (and New England?). It's one of the few reasons to turn to AM. They are holding their own with an all news format all day long and local talk all night long....in an city where most stations have decimated their newsrooms and turned to syndicated talk. From chris2526@comcast.net Thu May 31 15:40:56 2012 From: chris2526@comcast.net (Chris Hall) Date: Thu, 31 May 2012 15:40:56 -0400 Subject: WBZ should hang it's head in shame Message-ID: Most of us have very fond feelings for WBZ but it is 2012 not 1985. KISS-108 sounded great in 1985 and it would be great nostalgia but it would not be viable CHR in 2012. While almost all the other CBS Radio owned and programmed news outlets have moved along with the times WBZ is stagnant in the past to its detriment and that is sad. They get away with it because there is no competition, Do you think CBS would sit back and allow WBZ-TV to look and sound like they did in 1987.......never. Someone in the organization would be wise to bring in the programmers from WINS and WCBS before it is too late. I recently wrote on Radio Info of being at a family Christening loaded with both men and women in the 20 to 35 year age group. Since at the time it was a hot topic I asked around if anyone listened to WBZ all news radio. The answerers ranged from I didn?t know there was an all news station......you mean channel 4? (WBZ-TV)....... is it closer on the dial to WEEI or the Sports Hub. They do not have the fast paced product that this age group would listen to. I asked my niece (32) and nephews (28) and (30) , the three of them agreed that WBZ was one of the stations that Nana and Grampy always had on in the car whenever they took them out for a ride or to McDonalds over 20 years ago. Nana died in 1999, Grampy left us in 2007. If WBZ continues to keep their head in the sand it will be at their own peril, even if they were to move the current product to FM it may be too late for the long run. From dan.strassberg@att.net Thu May 31 16:57:14 2012 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan.Strassberg) Date: Thu, 31 May 2012 16:57:14 -0400 Subject: WBZ should hang it's head in shame References: Message-ID: If your relatives didn't know that there was ANY news station in this market, they don't know about WBUR or WGBH (FM). If that's the case, I guess it should come as no surprise that they don't know about WBZ. Maybe there would be a market in Boston for a "no sentence longer than five words; no story longer than four sentences" kind of news station, but the popularity of the NPR programming, especially Morning Edition and All Things Considered, suggests that, here in Boston, there is more of a market for the long-form product than there is in, say, Tampa. You can think of WBZ, KYW, and WCBS (AM) as the commercial short-form versions of the long-form noncommercial NPR product. And, knowing your politics, I can't resist this comment: I should have expected you to ask for a totally dumbed-down news presentation. It's undoubtedly more than they had when dinosaurs walked the earth when you were a kid. However, I think it's time that you got with the program. The average IQ here is probably pretty close to 100, not the single digits you find in a lot of places in the US. ----- Dan Strassberg (dan.strassberg@att.net) eFax 1-707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Chris Hall" To: Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2012 3:40 PM Subject: WBZ should hang it's head in shame Most of us have very fond feelings for WBZ but it is 2012 not 1985. KISS-108 sounded great in 1985 and it would be great nostalgia but it would not be viable CHR in 2012. While almost all the other CBS Radio owned and programmed news outlets have moved along with the times WBZ is stagnant in the past to its detriment and that is sad. They get away with it because there is no competition, Do you think CBS would sit back and allow WBZ-TV to look and sound like they did in 1987.......never. Someone in the organization would be wise to bring in the programmers from WINS and WCBS before it is too late. I recently wrote on Radio Info of being at a family Christening loaded with both men and women in the 20 to 35 year age group. Since at the time it was a hot topic I asked around if anyone listened to WBZ all news radio. The answerers ranged from I didn?t know there was an all news station......you mean channel 4? (WBZ-TV)....... is it closer on the dial to WEEI or the Sports Hub. They do not have the fast paced product that this age group would listen to. I asked my niece (32) and nephews (28) and (30) , the three of them agreed that WBZ was one of the stations that Nana and Grampy always had on in the car whenever they took them out for a ride or to McDonalds over 20 years ago. Nana died in 1999, Grampy left us in 2007. If WBZ continues to keep their head in the sand it will be at their own peril, even if they were to move the current product to FM it may be too late for the long run. From francini@mac.com Thu May 31 16:47:05 2012 From: francini@mac.com (John Francini) Date: Thu, 31 May 2012 16:47:05 -0400 Subject: WBZ should hang it's head in shame In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I don't know? On a trip back from Pennsylvania through New York a week ago, I put on WINS 1010 -- it sounded reassuringly similar to the way it had sounded years ago, which is really not much different -- in any important respect -- to how WBZ-1030 sounds now. (Timeframe was from 13:30 to 15:00 during a weekday) Same top-of-hour "give us 22 minutes and we'll give you the world" sounder, same wire-service teletype chatter bed under the news reader. (BZ hasn't used a teletype background bed in decades, mind you.) Same news delivery style. Maybe it's a measure of my age (52), but if I'm about to drive through (or around!) a major city on a long trip, I will immediately hunt the AM band -- not FM -- for the local all-news/traffic/sports station and stay on it until I'm out of the metro area. j On 31 May 2012, at 15:40, Chris Hall wrote: > Most of us have very fond feelings for WBZ but it is 2012 not 1985. KISS-108 sounded great in 1985 and it would be great nostalgia but it would not be viable CHR in 2012. While almost all the other CBS Radio owned and programmed news outlets have moved along with the times WBZ is stagnant in the past to its detriment and that is sad. They get away with it because there is no competition, Do you think CBS would sit back and allow WBZ-TV to look and sound like they did in 1987.......never. Someone in the organization would be wise to bring in the programmers from WINS and WCBS before it is too late. > I recently wrote on Radio Info of being at a family Christening loaded with both men and women in the 20 to 35 year age group. Since at the time it was a hot topic I asked around if anyone listened to WBZ all news radio. The answerers ranged from I didn?t know there was an all news station......you mean channel 4? (WBZ-TV)....... is it closer on the dial to WEEI or the Sports Hub. They do not have the fast paced product that this age group would listen to. > I asked my niece (32) and nephews (28) and (30) , the three of them agreed that WBZ was one of the stations that Nana and Grampy always had on in the car whenever they took them out for a ride or to McDonalds over 20 years ago. Nana died in 1999, Grampy left us in 2007. If WBZ continues to keep their head in the sand it will be at their own peril, even if they were to move the current product to FM it may be too late for the long run. From sid@wrko.com Thu May 31 18:09:56 2012 From: sid@wrko.com (Sid Schweiger) Date: Thu, 31 May 2012 22:09:56 +0000 Subject: WBZ should hang it's head in shame In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C91FC51@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> "While almost all the other CBS Radio owned and programmed news outlets have moved along with the times WBZ is stagnant in the past to its detriment and that is sad. They get away with it because there is no competition, Do you think CBS would sit back and allow WBZ-TV to look and sound like they did in 1987.......never. Someone in the organization would be wise to bring in the programmers from WINS and WCBS before it is too late. I recently wrote on Radio Info of being at a family Christening loaded with both men and women in the 20 to 35 year age group. Since at the time it was a hot topic I asked around if anyone listened to WBZ all news radio. The answerers ranged from I didn't know there was an all news station......you mean channel 4? (WBZ-TV)....... is it closer on the dial to WEEI or the Sports Hub. They do not have the fast paced product that this age group would listen to. I asked my niece (32) and nephews (28) and (30) , the three of them agreed that WBZ was one of the stations that Nana and Grampy always had on in the car whenever they took them out for a ride or to McDonalds over 20 years ago. Nana died in 1999, Grampy left us in 2007. If WBZ continues to keep their head in the sand it will be at their own peril, even if they were to move the current product to FM it may be too late for the long run." WBZ keeps doing what they're doing because it works. They are still a top-10 station, in an age where it's clear that AM stations' days are numbered, and they're apparently still able to sell commercials and sponsorships at a rate which keeps the CBS suits happy. No reason whatsoever to tamper with what they've got. When the ratings and revenue fall precipitously, you'll see changes and maybe a move to FM. As of now, there's no reason to. Sid Schweiger IT Manager, Entercom New England 20 Guest St / 3d Floor Brighton MA 02135-2040 From paulranderson@charter.net Thu May 31 18:50:02 2012 From: paulranderson@charter.net (Paul Anderson) Date: Thu, 31 May 2012 18:50:02 -0400 Subject: WBZ should hang it's head in shame In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1A563991-DBB8-4F87-BA90-BA7255358ED0@charter.net> On May 31, 2012, at 3:40 PM, Chris Hall wrote: > Most of us have very fond feelings for WBZ but it is 2012 not 1985. KISS-108 sounded great in 1985 and it would be great nostalgia but it would not be viable CHR in 2012. While almost all the other CBS Radio owned and programmed news outlets have moved along with the times WBZ is stagnant in the past to its detriment and that is sad. They get away with it because there is no competition, Do you think CBS would sit back and allow WBZ-TV to look and sound like they did in 1987.......never. Someone in the organization would be wise to bring in the programmers from WINS and WCBS before it is too late. What, exactly, would you do to improve WBZ? Although a lot of the news is repetitious, and most of the traffic reports don't pertain to me, and Boston weather is different than in the center of the state, I find the pace and level of information just right. I listen for 20-30 minutes on my commute in the morning. This pattern is exactly what all-news stations expect. I'm familiar with both WCBS and WINS in New York. Would you want WBZ to sound like either of those? I don't think we need a teletype bed like WINS (ask your friends if they know what that sound is and you'll probably get blank stares), although I've always liked their top-of-hour sounder. What does WCBS do that WBZ does not? I'm afraid you'd suggest more glitz and a faster pace, both of which would not add anything to the station. Sounding like 1985 is not bad if it works. I think WBZ's pacing is good for an all-news station. Your young friends who don't know about WBZ are quite out of touch. If the station was on FM, they'd know about it. Their ignorance of WBZ is more due to the band the station is on, and the general lack of interest in news by younger listeners, instead of the sound of the station, I suspect. Paul P.S. And you misspelled "its" in your subject line. From donald_astelle@yahoo.com Thu May 31 21:25:40 2012 From: donald_astelle@yahoo.com (D. A.) Date: Thu, 31 May 2012 18:25:40 -0700 (PDT) Subject: WBZ should hang it's head in shame In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <1338513940.72875.YahooMailClassic@web110514.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> > Most of us have very fond feelings > for WBZ but it is 2012 not 1985. While almost all the other CBS Radio > owned and programmed news outlets have moved along with the > times WBZ is stagnant in the past to its detriment and that > is sad. Again, please get specific. WCBS News88 doesn't sound too much different than it did back then....and as Gary pointed out WINS still has an ancient teletype sound and trumpet theme. This is in the most competitive > Christening loaded with both men and women in the 20 to 35 > year age group. Since at the time it was a hot topic I asked > around if anyone listened to WBZ all news radio.? The > answerers ranged from I didn?t know there was an all news > station...... Ask them about ANY station on the AM dial. Plenty of 20-35's don't value news...or if they do, they just want headlines in a much broader format. All news has ALWAYS been an upper-demo format (not one that's grabbing all the 20-35 year olds). > If WBZ continues to keep > their head in the sand it will be at their own peril, even > if they were to move the current product to FM it may be too > late for the long run. I said this in a previous post. There is a lot of "WBZ-hate" going around on the internet. For all I know, it's 2 or 3 people over and over again. Not sure what specific things you are talking about....as your post is just generic piling on. WBZ is still one of the great AM stations in all of New England...and one of the few reasons to flip to AM. Bot sure what your problem is with it. > From kvahey@gmail.com Thu May 31 22:47:11 2012 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Thu, 31 May 2012 22:47:11 -0400 Subject: National Hockey League says Stanley Cup Final on radio in Boston Message-ID: http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=26455 I am a little surprised 98.5 passed on it. But claiming WTPL is covering the Boston market is sad. From rbello@belloassoc.com Thu May 31 22:48:12 2012 From: rbello@belloassoc.com (Ron Bello) Date: Thu, 31 May 2012 22:48:12 -0400 Subject: WBZ should hang its head in shame In-Reply-To: References: <7228EA89394142A191FA05D45D63634B@chrisHP> Message-ID: On Thu, May 31, 2012 at 12:02 PM, Don wrote: > >>> > WYAY Atlanta has been on the air for two days and already sounds far > better and up to date as a news station than frumpy old WBZ<<< > > For example? > > Business reports especially "Market Wrap". Wasting time reading the closing prices of "stocks of local interest" is a thing of the past. BZ could do better. Even the Wall Street Journal publishes limited individual stock prices anymore. Listen to Ray Hoffman of The Wall Street Journal on WCBS who paints a picture of the overall market in his report. Sometimes with a bit of humor too. You have an idea of what moved the market(s) on that day. From wollman@bimajority.org Thu May 31 22:51:00 2012 From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) Date: Thu, 31 May 2012 22:51:00 -0400 Subject: WBZ should hang it's head in shame In-Reply-To: <1338513940.72875.YahooMailClassic@web110514.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> References: <1338513940.72875.YahooMailClassic@web110514.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <20424.11796.55091.847389@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> < said: > Plenty of 20-35's don't value news...or if they do, they just want > headlines in a much broader format. Actually, most 20-35s do value news, but they don't expect to get it from a broadcast medium. They get it online, through aggregators (Google News, Gawker, etc.) or social media. They do value *different* news; they are not especially interested in politics or business, but they are interested in consumer goods, culture, and sports. Many of them will eventually find radio as a source for news, when and if they move to the suburbs and have a substantial commute. -GAWollman From bob.bosra@demattia.net Thu May 31 22:52:26 2012 From: bob.bosra@demattia.net (Bob DeMattia) Date: Thu, 31 May 2012 22:52:26 -0400 Subject: WBZ should hang its head in shame In-Reply-To: References: <7228EA89394142A191FA05D45D63634B@chrisHP> Message-ID: I like WBZ and I like the local stock reports. -Bob On Thu, May 31, 2012 at 10:48 PM, Ron Bello wrote: > On Thu, May 31, 2012 at 12:02 PM, Don wrote: > > > > >>> > > WYAY Atlanta has been on the air for two days and already sounds far > > better and up to date as a news station than frumpy old WBZ<<< > > > > For example? > > > > > Business reports especially "Market Wrap". Wasting time reading the > closing > prices of "stocks of local interest" is a thing of the past. BZ could do > better. > Even the Wall Street Journal publishes limited individual stock prices > anymore. > Listen to Ray Hoffman of The Wall Street Journal on WCBS who paints a > picture of the overall market in his report. Sometimes with a bit of humor > too. > You have an idea of what moved the market(s) on that day. > From wollman@bimajority.org Thu May 31 22:57:35 2012 From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) Date: Thu, 31 May 2012 22:57:35 -0400 Subject: WBZ should hang its head in shame In-Reply-To: References: <7228EA89394142A191FA05D45D63634B@chrisHP> Message-ID: <20424.12191.24376.547315@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> < said: > Listen to Ray Hoffman of The Wall Street Journal on WCBS who paints a > picture of the overall market in his report. Sometimes with a bit of humor > too. Um, perhaps you haven't noticed that WBZ has very similar reports from MarketWatch (which is also owned by Rupert Murdoch) twice an hour? And Anthony does his business segment in PM drive every hour at :25? None of this going to get you the 18-34 demo, who (despite the success of one Mr. Zuckerberg) by and large have no investments to speak of. Now if you want to talk about turn-offs on WBZ, how about that stupid CBS Evening simulcast? Are they still running that? (I don't get out of work until 7:00 so I never hear it.) If they wanted to take the evening World News Roundup, which is actually produced for radio, that would be one thing, but simulcasting a TV newscast is totally small-market stuff. -GAWollman From rbello@belloassoc.com Thu May 31 23:09:36 2012 From: rbello@belloassoc.com (Ron Bello) Date: Thu, 31 May 2012 23:09:36 -0400 Subject: National Hockey League says Stanley Cup Final on radio in Boston In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Also claiming WEEU 830 (not 850) covers Philly Pretty sad that only 2 out of the top 10 markets have broadcast coverage On Thu, May 31, 2012 at 10:47 PM, Kevin Vahey wrote: > http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=26455 > > I am a little surprised 98.5 passed on it. > > But claiming WTPL is covering the Boston market is sad. > -- Ron Bello Bello Associates One Sixty Speen Street LLC Two Seventy One Worcester Rd LLC Forty One Meetinghouse Lane LLC 160 Speen Street - Suite 303 Framingham, MA 01701 508-820-1100 Fax 820-1112 From kvahey@gmail.com Thu May 31 23:15:42 2012 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Thu, 31 May 2012 23:15:42 -0400 Subject: WBZ should hang its head in shame In-Reply-To: References: <7228EA89394142A191FA05D45D63634B@chrisHP> Message-ID: WBZ has one thing that NO other Boston station has - if something happens that is where you are going to go. Westinghouse decided years ago that it WBZ would never be 24 hour news - they did put value into the 38 state night signal. The only pure Westinghouse news outlets left are WINS and KYW. CBS/Westinghouse did react when they faced listener revolt when they tried to eliminate local programming at BZ overnight. Let us be thankful for that. From kvahey@gmail.com Thu May 31 23:44:43 2012 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Thu, 31 May 2012 23:44:43 -0400 Subject: WBZ should hang its head in shame In-Reply-To: References: <7228EA89394142A191FA05D45D63634B@chrisHP> Message-ID: The day is coming when CBS decides to put WBZ on FM - then who gets blown up? WZLX, WODS or WBMX I can foresee the day where WODS gets moved to 1030 because the older demo will follow back to AM. There are indications in New York that WEPN's cume has exploded since the move to FM which in turn has to make CBS ponder WFAN. I really fear for the AM band right now. From irw@well.com Thu May 31 23:06:41 2012 From: irw@well.com (Blaine Thompson) Date: Thu, 31 May 2012 20:06:41 -0700 (PDT) Subject: WBZ should hang its head in shame In-Reply-To: <20424.12191.24376.547315@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <484336965.5433.1338520001065.JavaMail.root@zimbra.well.com> On Thursday 31 March 2012, Garrett Wollman said: > If they wanted to take the evening World News Roundup, which is actually produced for radio, that would be one thing I hear the hour-long CBS News Weekend Roundup on some CBS stations. And, for the hip kids (or the kids with hips?), it's a podcast: http://feeds.cbsnews.com/podcast_weekend_1 - Blaine From wollman@bimajority.org Thu May 31 23:50:51 2012 From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) Date: Thu, 31 May 2012 23:50:51 -0400 Subject: National Hockey League says Stanley Cup Final on radio in Boston In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <20424.15387.430264.671949@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> < said: > Also claiming WEEU 830 (not 850) covers Philly > Pretty sad that only 2 out of the top 10 markets have broadcast coverage Who's even in it? Are they teams that anyone cares about? (I'd say it serves the NHL right for going along with Bettman's idiotic quest to sell hockey in places that don't have winter, never mind frozen ponds, these past two decades.) -GAWollman From wollman@bimajority.org Thu May 31 23:53:15 2012 From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) Date: Thu, 31 May 2012 23:53:15 -0400 Subject: WBZ should hang its head in shame In-Reply-To: <484336965.5433.1338520001065.JavaMail.root@zimbra.well.com> References: <20424.12191.24376.547315@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <484336965.5433.1338520001065.JavaMail.root@zimbra.well.com> Message-ID: <20424.15531.534892.198212@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> < said: > I hear the hour-long CBS News Weekend Roundup on some CBS stations. The heritage CBS all-newsers generally take the regular twice-daily roundup -- I heard it recently on KCBS. -GAWollman From dan.strassberg@att.net Thu May 31 23:25:06 2012 From: dan.strassberg@att.net (Dan.Strassberg@att.net) Date: Thu, 31 May 2012 23:25:06 -0400 Subject: National Hockey League says Stanley Cup Final on radio in Boston References: Message-ID: <2FD20ED8110947D0AF1DE0E4E160FC23@DansCpq6515b> WEEU is definitely listenable on my car radio in suburbs west of Philly during daylight hours. Nights, probably not but I can't say for sure. Before moving to 830 a decade or so ago, WEEU was on 850 with much lower power. The transmitter was a good deal closer to Philly, however. Used to be south of Reading; now it's well north. ----- Dan Strassberg eFax 1-707-215-6367 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ron Bello" To: "Kevin Vahey" Cc: "Boston Radio Group" Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2012 11:09 PM Subject: Re: National Hockey League says Stanley Cup Final on radio in Boston > Also claiming WEEU 830 (not 850) covers Philly > Pretty sad that only 2 out of the top 10 markets have broadcast coverage > > > On Thu, May 31, 2012 at 10:47 PM, Kevin Vahey wrote: > >> http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=26455 >> >> I am a little surprised 98.5 passed on it. >> >> But claiming WTPL is covering the Boston market is sad. >> > > > > -- > Ron Bello > Bello Associates > One Sixty Speen Street LLC > Two Seventy One Worcester Rd LLC > Forty One Meetinghouse Lane LLC > 160 Speen Street - Suite 303 > Framingham, MA 01701 > 508-820-1100 Fax 820-1112 From donald_astelle@yahoo.com Thu May 31 23:07:55 2012 From: donald_astelle@yahoo.com (D. A.) Date: Thu, 31 May 2012 20:07:55 -0700 (PDT) Subject: WBZ should hang its head in shame In-Reply-To: <20424.12191.24376.547315@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <1338520075.73435.YahooMailClassic@web110504.mail.gq1.yahoo.com> > Now if you want to talk about turn-offs on WBZ, how about > that stupid > CBS Evening simulcast?? Are they still running > that?? This is a corporate dictate from high above the local WBZ management. I agree it's stupid. But O&O's have always been forced to carry stuff that some corporate suit thought was a good idea. That's been happening since the beginning. (The question I have.....was it a corperate suit from CBS _Radio_ -who should know better----or from someone higher up in the CBS hierarchy who sees the radio division as simply a place to cross promote the more important TV product..) I also never got the whole "60 Minutes" audio thing on Sunday night either. But The CBS Radio network has been offering both these things to affiliates.....and typically O&O's are forced to take them. From attychase@comcast.net Thu May 31 23:54:41 2012 From: attychase@comcast.net (Attorney Robert S Chase) Date: Thu, 31 May 2012 23:54:41 -0400 Subject: WBZ should hang it's head in shame References: Message-ID: IMHO most of what passes for news and talk radio today is lame brain read by pimple brains for simple brains. Kudos to WBZ, WBUR, and the others mentioned with honor by others for trying to keep the public informed about important world happenings and issues important to them rather than sinking to the lowest denominator in the pursuit of bucks. Whatever happened to operating radio stations in the public interest? Oh, I forgot, that went out with Reagan when he started selling the public airwaves at auction thus guaranteeing the stations would not program in the public interest. From dav2149@comcast.net Sat May 19 08:12:13 2012 From: dav2149@comcast.net (dw) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 08:12:13 -0400 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid." Message-ID: <62839027-66E6-4D3C-A063-F512AB48008A@comcast.net> On May 19, 2012 12:11:51 AM A Joseph Ross wrote: I must say, my car radio has five slots for AM station settings, and I only have two set for local stations, WJIB and WBZ. The other three are for stations in western Massachusetts, although I've been visiting there less frequently than I used to. There just aren't any other local AM stations that I want to listen to regularly. I'm just the opposite. I purchased a new car in Aug.2010 and to this date the FM presets are exactly as they were from the factory. I NEVER listen to Boston FM. The car has satellite radio which I listen to all the time. The factory radio has bluetooth so I often have my iPhone set to Tunein. I do listen to AM for some talk programs on WRKO(Jen Brien, a little Savage and occasionally Howie Carr) and WBZ(Dan Rea). I love the Spanish music on 1430. Via bluetooth I listen to WASR from 9-noon for Laura Ingraham (I wish WRKO would bring back her full three hours in the morning slot) and for oldies I like the Hy Lit station , RichBro Radio, and WARE. For standards, it's WIZZ. BTW, I recently bought a somewhat higher-end home stereo system and the salesman asked what I wanted for a "tuner." I said none - I wouldn't be listening Boston FM ever(I bought a server instead so I can listen to internet radio on the home system). David Wilson dav2149@comcast.net From ljs0610@comcast.net Sat May 19 11:03:34 2012 From: ljs0610@comcast.net (ljs0610@comcast.net) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 15:03:34 +0000 (UTC) Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C90EA56@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> Message-ID: <339387388.103549.1337439814689.JavaMail.root@sz0146a.westchester.pa.mail.comcast.net> It IS the programming, not really the signal. "WEEI has regained most of the audience it has lost to WBZ-FM." Seriously? Mike Adams at night has plummeted from second to eighth and no other dayparts moved up in the spring book. And WEEI was number one when they were on AM, stronger than at any time since their move to FM. Those listeners listened to AM until competition appeared. If the EEI product were good and the SportsHub not so much, those listeners would have continued to listen to the station on AM, especially when they started promoting their upcoming move to FM. WEEI's demise was not about the signal but more about viable competition that beat them soundly at a game they no longer knew how to play. A poorly programmed station on an FM signal will fail (as EEI continues to demonstrate). WEEI's problems started when competition appeared on the scene, which then inspired the move to FM to try and regain market share. Too bad for them it was too little, too late and the fact the product remained deficient doomed the plan. ----- Original Message ----- From: Sid Schweiger To: 'bri' Sent: Fri, 18 May 2012 15:01:41 -0000 (UTC) Subject: RE: "It's the programming, stupid!" "Why is it that local stations always blame the signal, not the programming?" That was a great argument...40 years ago. It's now an outmoded concept. By most accounts, we're now into the second generation of young listeners who simply do not use AM radio...at all. As these listeners age into the desirable 25-54 demo, AM stations will take (and most are already taking) a huge hit in their audiences because those people coming into the money demo don't have the AM habit. The demos for most AM stations skew toward 55+...not what most advertisers want. "WEEI dominated the sports audience for years (over WAMG and WWZN), but as soon as WBZ-FM comes on, suddenly "it's the signal" and they have to simulcast on 93.7 FM. It couldn't possibly be that people were looking for a change and something new, it must be the signal." It *was* the signal. With the addition of 93.7, WEEI has regained most of the audience it has lost to WBZ-FM. "I remember when Jerry Williams had a 50 share (yes, five zero) on the peanut-whistle 5000 watts--jammed in between two powerhouses--WMEX. If the programming is compelling, people will listen through the static and fades." Jerry Williams on WMEX had little or no competition, in an era in which AM was still "king" and FM's were struggling to find their niche. Between the increased number of signals in the market and all the other media competing for audience attention, no one will have a 50 share ever again. Sid Schweiger IT Manager, Entercom New England 20 Guest St / 3d Floor Brighton MA 02135-2040 From sid@wrko.com Sat May 19 13:48:00 2012 From: sid@wrko.com (Sid Schweiger) Date: Sat, 19 May 2012 17:48:00 +0000 Subject: "It's the programming, stupid!" In-Reply-To: <339387388.103549.1337439814689.JavaMail.root@sz0146a.westchester.pa.mail.comcast.net> References: <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C90EA56@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> <339387388.103549.1337439814689.JavaMail.root@sz0146a.westchester.pa.mail.comcast.net> Message-ID: <6D618EE163582E43B00A6455F34B29EA0C90FED2@ENTCOREXMB04.etmcorad.com> Tons of opinion and one error of fact: WEEI is fifth in evenings in their target demo, less than two share points behind WBZ-FM, with three stations tied for second. A much tighter race than you make it out to be. Going by the 6+ numbers will get you in trouble every time. From: ljs0610@comcast.net [mailto:ljs0610@comcast.net] Sent: Saturday, May 19, 2012 11:04 AM To: Sid Schweiger Cc: 'bri' Subject: RE: "It's the programming, stupid!" It IS the programming, not really the signal. "WEEI has regained most of the audience it has lost to WBZ-FM." Seriously? Mike Adams at night has plummeted from second to eighth and no other dayparts moved up in the spring book. And WEEI was number one when they were on AM, stronger than at any time since their move to FM. Those listeners listened to AM until competition appeared. If the EEI product were good and the SportsHub not so much, those listeners would have continued to listen to the station on AM, especially when they started promoting their upcoming move to FM. WEEI's demise was not about the signal but more about viable competition that beat them soundly at a game they no longer knew how to play. A poorly programmed station on an FM signal will fail (as EEI continues to demonstrate). WEEI's problems started when competition appeared on the scene, which then inspired the move to FM to try and regain market share. Too bad for them it was too little, too late and the fact the product remained deficient doomed the plan. ----- Original Message ----- From: Sid Schweiger > To: 'bri' > Sent: Fri, 18 May 2012 15:01:41 -0000 (UTC) Subject: RE: "It's the programming, stupid!" "Why is it that local stations always blame the signal, not the programming?" That was a great argument...40 years ago. It's now an outmoded concept. By most accounts, we're now into the second generation of young listeners who simply do not use AM radio...at all. As these listeners age into the desirable 25-54 demo, AM stations will take (and most are already taking) a huge hit in their audiences because those people coming into the money demo don't have the AM habit. The demos for most AM stations skew toward 55+...not what most advertisers want. "WEEI dominated the sports audience for years (over WAMG and WWZN), but as soon as WBZ-FM comes on, suddenly "it's the signal" and they have to simulcast on 93.7 FM. It couldn't possibly be that people were looking for a change and something new, it must be the signal." It *was* the signal. With the addition of 93.7, WEEI has regained most of the audience it has lost to WBZ-FM. "I remember when Jerry Williams had a 50 share (yes, five zero) on the peanut-whistle 5000 watts--jammed in between two powerhouses--WMEX. If the programming is compelling, people will listen through the static and fades." Jerry Williams on WMEX had little or no competition, in an era in which AM was still "king" and FM's were struggling to find their niche. Between the increased number of signals in the market and all the other media competing for audience attention, no one will have a 50 share ever again. Sid Schweiger IT Manager, Entercom New England 20 Guest St / 3d Floor Brighton MA 02135-2040 From lglavin@mail.com Fri May 25 14:20:20 2012 From: lglavin@mail.com (Laurence Glavin) Date: Fri, 25 May 2012 14:20:20 -0400 Subject: Sale of Nassau Properties... Message-ID: <20120525182020.24920@gmx.com> >----- Original Message ----- >From: Dan.Strassberg >Sent: 05/25/12 08:58 AM >To: Paul Hopfgarten, Garrett Wollman >Subject: Re: Sale of Nassau Properties... >I guess the new ownership figures (along with a lot of other people) >that call signs no longer matter, but with three other classical >formatted stations with similar call signs in Maine, it would appear >that there is a good possibility of confusion. I kind of like the >positioner "Bach Country." It's definitely different(!) And I bet you >could find banjo players who would be willing to record a lot of J. S. >Bach music. Such cuts could be of interest to both country and >classical audiences. It wasn't country (it was jazz, I believe), but >there must be others on this list who remember the Swingle Singers >from back in the '60s. Wasn't one of their albuns entitled >"Switched-On Bach?" >----- >Dan Strassberg (dan.strassberg@att.net) >eFax 1-707-215-6367 Ah, there IS in fact a prominent banjo player who has introduced classical repertoire into his career: Bela Fleck, who has appeared several time on "Prairie Home Companion", heard on numerous public radio stations in New England as we all know, as well as many, many such stations nationwide and possibly elsewhere. And I shall now provide a Youtube link if that's ok, in which he plays a movement by the aforementioned J. S. Bach (1685-1750). I give his dates because he was an early-music figure, who wrote somewhat before modern orchestras and modern instruments became the norm. Some of his compositions are described as being for "keyboard" instruments because they could be performed on harpsichords, clavichord and either portable or fixed pipe-organs. Sonatas as we now know them came a little after his day, and later audiences preferred sonatas for string instruments with keyboard accompaniment. J. S. Bach wrote several works for string instrument unaccompanied such as violin and 'cello that are still performed as written but also in transcriptions for other solo instruments (thus Mr. Fleck's recording). You may note that in his intro, he mentions that he also plays transcriptions of other composers, but not Beethoven, because he knows that I wouldn't approve. I take my LvB straight-up, like my Manhattans. Anyhoo, here's the video... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sYgllgF7lc From ljs0610@comcast.net Sat May 26 09:06:40 2012 From: ljs0610@comcast.net (ljs0610@comcast.net) Date: Sat, 26 May 2012 13:06:40 +0000 (UTC) Subject: Why I have never believed in ratings In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <80162447.428539.1338037600642.JavaMail.root@sz0146a.westchester.pa.mail.comcast.net> Pretty sad...and why all of the data collection should be electronic. ----- Original Message ----- From: Kevin Vahey To: (newsgroup) Boston-Radio-Interest Sent: Sun, 20 May 2012 00:52:14 -0000 (UTC) Subject: Why I have never believed in ratings Back in the 50's, my Mom had a part time job with some TV ratings service where she would call numbers already picked by the company at certain times. On this Saturday afternoon everybody who was watching TV said they were watching wrestling on channel 4. She felt sorry for the Red Sox and she checked off channel 5 instead. Wrestling was cancelled 6 weeks later. From karenmctrotsky@gmail.com Sun May 27 19:39:36 2012 From: karenmctrotsky@gmail.com (Karen McTrotsky) Date: Sun, 27 May 2012 19:39:36 -0400 Subject: Globe: What happened to rock radio in Boston? Message-ID: Whoa. I can understand Globe scribes, who know nothing about radio, talking about the "intellectual property" of WFNX, but radio people should know better. Other than logos, trade marks or service marks, WFNX has no intellectual property. And what they got, nobody needs to do exactly what they did in the way they did it. The call letters? They aren't a service mark. They get changed, they're up for grabs. q.v. WCOZ, WROR, WMEX The music library? You really think courts are going to allow someone to litigate the playing of music properly licensed by the rights owner? WFNX has nothing of value in the realm of intellectual property other than service marks and three days on the air with a new set of slogans renders that useless. I am unaware of any instance in which the songs licensed by others and played on a radio station has been elevated to the level of an original composition engendering copyright protection but would welcome a citation to caselaw to the contrary. Pretty sad to see this commentary from people who should know better.. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Donna Halper To: Bob Nelson Cc: Boston Radio Group Date: Sat, 26 May 2012 16:27:47 -0400 Subject: Re: Globe: What happened to rock radio in Boston? And in that Globe article, it repeats the same assertion about Mindich owning the call letters: "Stephen M. Mindich, chairman and chief executive of Phoenix Media/Communications Group, which sold WFNX, retained the station?s intellectual property, including its call letters and music library. He sold the license to broadcast at 101.7 FM, which means the station could relaunch elsewhere." From seth@upsidemedia.com Thu May 31 20:39:27 2012 From: seth@upsidemedia.com (Upsidemedia) Date: Thu, 31 May 2012 20:39:27 -0400 Subject: WBZ should hang it's head in shame In-Reply-To: <1A563991-DBB8-4F87-BA90-BA7255358ED0@charter.net> References: <1A563991-DBB8-4F87-BA90-BA7255358ED0@charter.net> Message-ID: <472C0949-21EA-4EF2-A4AA-45627EECEE58@upsidemedia.com> Here, I listen to wbur for news, wbz to find out why rt 1 is at a standstill. But when in the NYC metro area, where I grew up and often visit friends and family, it's 1010wins. WINS does traffic like no other. Even if they can't fit all the roads in one report, they somehow add a personality - stationality if you will, to their 22 minutes in a way BZ never has in my 20 years as a news junkie in New England. I do miss Brudnoy, though. Sent from my iPhone On May 31, 2012, at 6:50 PM, Paul Anderson wrote: > > On May 31, 2012, at 3:40 PM, Chris Hall wrote: > >> Most of us have very fond feelings for WBZ but it is 2012 not 1985. KISS-108 sounded great in 1985 and it would be great nostalgia but it would not be viable CHR in 2012. While almost all the other CBS Radio owned and programmed news outlets have moved along with the times WBZ is stagnant in the past to its detriment and that is sad. They get away with it because there is no competition, Do you think CBS would sit back and allow WBZ-TV to look and sound like they did in 1987.......never. Someone in the organization would be wise to bring in the programmers from WINS and WCBS before it is too late. > > What, exactly, would you do to improve WBZ? Although a lot of the news is repetitious, and most of the traffic reports don't pertain to me, and Boston weather is different than in the center of the state, I find the pace and level of information just right. I listen for 20-30 minutes on my commute in the morning. This pattern is exactly what all-news stations expect. > > I'm familiar with both WCBS and WINS in New York. Would you want WBZ to sound like either of those? I don't think we need a teletype bed like WINS (ask your friends if they know what that sound is and you'll probably get blank stares), although I've always liked their top-of-hour sounder. What does WCBS do that WBZ does not? > > I'm afraid you'd suggest more glitz and a faster pace, both of which would not add anything to the station. > > Sounding like 1985 is not bad if it works. I think WBZ's pacing is good for an all-news station. > > Your young friends who don't know about WBZ are quite out of touch. If the station was on FM, they'd know about it. Their ignorance of WBZ is more due to the band the station is on, and the general lack of interest in news by younger listeners, instead of the sound of the station, I suspect. > > Paul > > P.S. And you misspelled "its" in your subject line.