North East RadioWatch: February 11, 2000

Doing the Greater Media Shuffle

by Scott Fybush

• The revolving door of radio talent spun again this week in MASSACHUSETTS, with most of the spinning taking place at 55 Morrissey Boulevard, the Greater Media broadcast center. As we suspected last week, WBOS (92.9 Brookline) morning host Robin Young is out the door, with 'BOS veteran David O'Leary taking on wakeup duty at the AAA-ish AC (and again, we'll forswear any format-change speculation!). But wait -- there's more, and it's happening down the hall at WROR (105.7 Framingham), where Jimmy Roberts and Dan Justin are both out. The new lineup after morning institutions Loren and Wally finds Stella Mars handling middays, followed by fellow 'BOS survivor Julie Devereaux in afternoons. J.J. Wright stays on board but moves to evenings, with Chuck Igo continuing on the overnight shift.

  Across town in Waltham, Ralphie Marino is leaving WJMN (94.5 Boston), but this one's a voluntary departure, and for an awfully good reason: he's headed to mornings in market #1, at WKTU (103.5 Lake Success NY). No word yet on who'll take over afternoons at Jam'n.

  Boston-based Marlin Broadcasting is selling its remaining stations to Cox for $125 million...but fans of the classical music on WBOQ (104.9 Gloucester) or the rock on Hartford's WCCC (106.9/1290) have nothing to fear. That's because Marlin owner Woody Tanger is buying those stations back from Cox for $25 million, leaving Cox with the one Marlin property it really covets: classical WTMI (93.1) down in Miami. Tanger has done buy-backs like this in the past: A few years ago, he sold WTMI, along with Detroit's WQRS and Philadelphia's WFLN, to American Radio Systems, then bought WTMI back. As for those classical music fans in Miami? Hard to imagine there won't be a format change down there sometime soon...especially with WTMI's program director staying with Tanger's beethoven.net Webcasting service.

  Don't call it "GBX/44." Don't call it "GBH/44." Just call it "GBH Select." That's the new tag the folks on Western Ave. are applying to WGBH's second television service, still legally known as WGBX (Channel 44). NERW supposes that whatever they call it, we ought to be grateful that WGBH isn't trying to sell off its second channel, like some public broadcasters we can think of...

  Why should NERW have all the fun? Now everyone can hear streaming audio of talker WMEX (1060 Natick) -- well, everyone who can use Windows Media Player, anyway. Find it at the otherwise-sketchy <http://www.wmex.com> Web site.

  WORC-FM (98.9) is asking the FCC to change its city of license...again. You'll recall that the station was granted a change from its original hometown of Webster to Spencer, closer to Worcester. Now it seems WORC-FM couldn't find a transmitter site it could actually use for the new community of license, so they've asked to stick with Webster instead.

• Not much doing in northern New England, but we'll pass these bits along: In NEW HAMPSHIRE, the new owners of WKXL (1450 Concord) have ousted station veteran Gardner Hill from his morning "Party Line" show. After 31 years, Hill explained to his listeners Monday morning, station owners wanted to replace him with sports guy Bob Lipman. Hill tells the Concord Monitor that he was offered a night shift at the station, but preferred to move on instead. Also out at WKXL is sports commentator Don Duncklee. Hill had been one of the partners in the station when it was sold to Vox Media last year. Up in MAINE, WTHT (107.5 Lewiston) is asking the FCC to allow it to boost power to a full 100 kilowatts -- by cutting WRUT (107.5 West Rutland VT) from a Class C3 allocation back to its original Class A. NERW's surprised the FCC is even taking any time at all to think about this one -- after all, WRUT has never held a valid license! The construction permit has been held by Brian Dodge, a religious broadcaster who's been in trouble with the FCC several times before, since the early '90s. He put it on the air in 1995 without valid program test authority, only to be ordered by the FCC to shut it down again. Why is such an ancient CP even still active? Seems Dodge has kept it tied up in appeal after appeal of FCC rulings against him. Reallocating this non-station from C3 to A should be a slam-dunk...but then, this is the FCC...

• One of CONNECTICUT's oldest radio station celebrated its 75th anniversary Thursday (2/10). WTIC (1080 Hartford) signed on February 10, 1925, and marked its big birthday with a special edition of its morning show. We can't wait to hear the tapes!

• The largest radio groups in two NEW YORK cities changed hands this week, as Forever Broadcasting's sale to Regent Communications closed. In Utica, Regent's new holdings include country giant WFRG (104.3), news-talker WIBX (950), and AC WLZW (98.7), while the Watertown group includes country giant WFRY (97.5), news-talker WTNY (790), and rocker WCIZ (93.3).

  Schenectady's WGY (810) has dropped the syndicated Tom Leykis show. Former WABC host Lionel is now filling the evening hours on the 50kw powerhouse with his own syndicated offering.

  The FCC has settled the dispute over the 107.1 allocation in the Catskills, ruling that the channel should go to the tiny town of Livingston Manor, which has no radio stations, instead of to Walton, which already has WDLA AM-FM. Livingston Manor is about 20 miles southeast of Walton, along Route 17 in the sparsely-populated hills outside Liberty -- an area that already has plenty of radio (well, for the population there, anyway). In fact, it finally has a format for a station that's been stunting for months. WDNB (102.1 Jeffersonville) is now going by "All News 102," relying heavily on the AP's all-news service.

  Upstate, Syracuse's second TV station celebrates a big anniversary next week. WSTM (Channel 3, nee WSYR-TV) will broadcast an hour-long special Tuesday night (2/15) at 8; rest assured NERW will be watching!

  Buffalo news veteran Ray Marks has landed on his feet after the shutdown of his old WGR (550) newsroom. Marks has been named news director at WJTN (1240) and WWSE (93.3) down in Jamestown, which is great news for listeners down that way. As for Entercom/Buffalo, we note that in addition to the simulcast of WKSE-FM, WWKB (1520) continues to run the "Road Gang" truckers' show overnight and a slate of leased-time talk on Saturday mornings.

• While the CRTC continues to mull the options for Toronto's open AM and FM frequencies (including 740!), it has reached a decision on a transmitter move in the Maritimes. CJYC (98.9 Saint John) has again applied for, and again been granted, a power decrease from its current 50 kilowatts. The power drop will allow "C98" to move its transmitter from a low hill overlooking Saint John to Mount Champlain, with a clear signal into both Saint John and Fredericton. (CJYC's previous owner had won approval for the move, but had not completed it before selling the station in 1998). The CRTC dismissed complaints of unfair competition from Fredericton's broadcasters by noting that all three commercial stations in the provincial capital are now under common ownership -- and thus should be able to stand some new competition.

Finally this week, we join much of the midwest in mourning the passing of Bob Collins, morning man at WGN (720) in Chicago. Collins' plane collided with another plane in the air over a hospital in Zion, Illinois this week, ending the life of "Uncle Bob" just short of his 58th birthday. WGN management has some awfully big shoes to fill now.

That's all for this week; back next Friday with more!