North East RadioWatch: 1997 in Review

by Scott Fybush

Editors' note: part 2 has been added after the end of part 1.

We'll begin by reviewing the broad trends that defined the NorthEast radio dial in '97:

SALES: It was the year of the even bigger group deals, as ownership consolidation moved from the sublime (think CBS/Westinghouse/Infinity) to the ridiculous (think CBS/Westinghouse/Infinity buying ARS), creating mega-groups that encompassed markets as big as New York and Boston and as small as Burlington and the New Hampshire Seacoast. The month-by-month rundown, as reported in NERW...

JANUARY
Bob Bittner Broadcasting buys WJTO (730) Bath, Maine, creating a 730-740 coastal combination.
FEBRUARY
As part of its deal to buy Infinity, CBS/Westinghouse trades WBOS (92.9 Brookline) and WMMR (93.3) in Philadelphia to Greater Media. Also going along with the deal is smooth jazz WOAZ (99.5 Lowell). Crawford Broadcasting inks a deal to buy WCMF (990) in Rochester from ARS, which was originally planning to donate the station to a local college.
MARCH
Jacor goes deep in Rochester, buying WMAX-FM (106.7 Irondequoit) and WRCD (107.3 Honeoye Falls) from Auburn Cablevision, and adding WMAX simulcast WMHX (102.3 Canandaigua) for good measure. On the Cape, Ernie Boch donates WUOK (1240 West Yarmouth) to Boston University, while down the coast, Hall buys WXZR (98.7 East Lyme CT) to add to its group in Eastern Connecticut.
APRIL
The focus is on Rhode Island, as Citadel buys TeleMedia, picking up WPRO AM-FM, WLKW, and WWLI in Providence. Back Bay Broadcasting adds to its Ocean State group with WPJB (102.7) Narragansett Pier from John Fuller. And Capstar tops off the month with a $70 million purchase of Knight Quality Group, giving it holdings in Worcester, Manchester, Burlington, and the New Hampshire seacoast.
MAY
Tryon Seacoast grows in Maine with the purchase of WCME (96.7 Boothbay Harbor). Over in Vermont, Richard Lightfoot buys Brattleboro's WKVT AM-FM (1490/92.7) to add to his Keene, New Hampshire group. Lightfoot also plans to buy WVAY (100.7 Wilmington), but this deal ends up falling apart. Later in the month, ARS buys WNFT (1150) from Greater Media for $4.5 million, then uses it as a simulcaster for the rest of the year. Radio Vermont adds WVMX (101.7 Stowe) to its group. On the coast, WSTG (102.1 Hampton NH) is sold to Fuller-Jeffrey, while Tryon Seacoast strikes again in Maine with the purchase of WIGY (97.5 Madison). In upstate New York, Salt City Broadcasting pays $1.7 million for Auburn's WPCX (106.9) and WMBO (1340), Craig Fox buys silent WZOS (96.7 Oswego), and Crystal Broadcasting buys WDSP (96.9 Arlington) from CHET-5 Broadcasting.
JUNE
ARS expands north into the New Hampshire Seacoast market with the $6 million purchase of Precision Media's 2 AM/2 FM group in Rochester and Exeter. On the TV side, Hartford's WFSB (Channel 3) is traded from Post-Newsweek to Meredith. The sale of WNDS (Channel 50) in Derry NH falls through as new owner Ramcast goes bankrupt, clearing the way for the return of the station's independent format and weatherman Al Kaprielian. Citadel grows again in Rhode Island, buying WDGE (99.7 Wakefield-Peace Dale) and WDGF (100.3 Middletown). Mercury Broadcasting in Buffalo sells out to Broadcasting Partners for $62 million, handing over its 3 FM-1 AM group there. On the smaller side of things, Latino Broadcasting pays $550,000 for WLAT (1230 Manchester CT) and Excalibur pays $608,000 for WMNM (92.1 Port Henry NY).
JULY
A group led by Albany Broadcasting's John Kelly antes up $14 million to buy WBNR (1260 Beacon) and WSPK (104.7 Poughkeepsie) from Enterprise Media Partners. Sinclair picks up the radio and TV properties of Heritage Media, being spun off by new Heritage owner Rupert Murdoch. Those include a 3 AM/1 FM combo in Rochester and TV interests in Vermont. NBC picks up affiliate WVIT-TV (Channel 30) New Britain-Hartford in a trade that sends WLWC (Channel 28) New Bedford-Providence to Viacom. Curt Gowdy announces he's bowing out of New England radio with the sale of WCCM (800 Lawrence) to Costa-Eagle. Hibernia buys WPZE (1260 Boston) from Salem, and Donna MacNeil sells her WOXF (96.5 Bedford NH) to Saga, giving it a second FM in the Manchester market.
AUGUST
Bob Bittner sells WNEB (1230 Worcester) to a local group called Heirwaves, Inc. Tim Martz bolsters his northern Maine group with WOZI (101.7 Presque Isle). Hicks, Muse buys LIN Broadcasting, including WTNH (Channel 8) New Haven, and then picks up SFX Broadcasting as well (including radio groups in Albany, Springfield, Providence, and Hartford-New Haven, not to mention a Long Island cluster that will prompt government review later in the year). One-on-One Sports pays over $8 million to Communicom for Boston's WNRB (1510), and Keating Willcox's Willow Farm Broadcasting buys WNSH (1570 Beverly), to be followed by WPEP (1570 Taunton) and WMVU (900 Nashua).
SEPTEMBER
The deal of the year rocks the NAB convention, as CBS announces its purchase of American Radio Systems. The sale gives CBS (at least temporarily) 6 FMs and 5 AMs in the Boston-Worcester area, plus stations in Rochester, Buffalo, Hartford, and the New Hampshire Seacoast markets. The Seacoast stations will later be spun to Capstar. On a completely different level of existence, Maine's WHQO (107.9 Skowhegan) is sold to Mountain Wireless, WMSJ sells its 91.9 facility in Harpswell, Maine to Bible Broadcasting, WVAY in Vermont ends up in the hands of Jeff Shapiro's Border Broadcasting, WGBH takes control of Cape and Islands Public Radio and its two construction permits, and Mark Graham donates his now-silent WMMM (1260 Westport CT) to Sacred Heart University.
OCTOBER
Roberts Radio pays $7.5 million for two Hudson Valley stations, WBWZ (93.3 New Paltz) and WRWD (107.3 Highland). Ed Skutnik retakes control of his AM station, WGAM (1520 Greenfield MA). Maine Broadcasting ends a 70-year history of family ownership with the sale of WCSH (Channel 6) Portland and WLBZ (Channel 2) Bangor to Gannett. Majac becomes Binghamton's dominant group owner with two purchases, a $6.7 million buy of WMRV (105.7 Endicott), WENE (1430 Endicott) and WMXW (103.3 Vestal) from Enterprise Media Partners and a $675,000 purchase of WKGB (92.5 Susquehanna PA) from KG Broadcasting. Cumulus enters the region with two Maine buys, WBZN (107.3 Old Town) and WQCB (106.5 Brewer) from Castle and WTOS (105.1 Skowhegan) from Mountain Wireless. Radio Works adds WNHQ (92.1 Milford) to its 3 New Hampshire FMs. KJI Broadcasting expands across Massachusetts to buy Brockton's WCAV (97.7) and WBET (1460). Family Broadcasting picks up WZBZ (1070 Plattsburgh NY) from Barry Lunderville.
NOVEMBER
A month of smaller sales, as WALZ (95.3 Machias ME) finds a new home with the Goodine/McVicar/Holst partnership, WPMZ (1110 East Providence RI) is sold to Video Mundo, WHIM (1450 West Warwick) goes to Hibernia of Rhode Island, and David Covey announces his plans to buy Glens Falls' WYLR (95.9) and WWSC (1450). Slightly bigger deals later in the month included Marlin Broadcasting's purchase of WCCC (1290 West Hartford/106.9 Hartford) from longtime owner Sy Dressner and Capstar's $4 million buy of WHOB (106.3 Nashua NH).
DECEMBER
Year's end saw Heftel bring a new value to New York FM, paying $115 million for WNWK (105.9 Newark NJ), in the only sale of note this month.

CONSOLIDATION: Just a quick scan of the sales roster above is enough to show how the big groups got even bigger in 1997. Among the notable local owners who bowed out of the radio scene this year were the Thompson family of Maine Broadcasting, the Rothschilds of Vermont, Mario DiCarlo at Nashua's WHOB, Sy Dressner of WCCC in Hartford, Mark Graham of WMMM in Westport, and most notably, the Knight family. And in almost every one of those cases (with WCCC a notable exception), the new owner was an outsider with few local ties. Large-group ownership took its toll in other ways as well -- increased simulcasting (WVAY in Wilmington VT, WPJB [now WAKX] in Narragansett Pier RI, WNHQ in Milford NH, and WMNM in Port Henry NY were among the stations that entered 1997 with their own programming and left it as simulcasts), dismissals of veteran (but high-paid) talent (Boston was hardest hit, with WBCN's Mark Parenteau, WBOS's Ken Shelton, and WRKO's Marjorie Clapprood losing their jobs), and the continuing disappearance of news jobs (WHYN in Springfield and WELI in New Haven farmed their newsrooms out to Metro Networks, while WGR and WBEN in Buffalo made the first inroads towards combining their news operations).

PIRATE RADIO: It was the year of the pirates -- and the year of the pirate busts. Emboldened by what looked like an indifferent FCC, unlicensed broadcasters sprouted all over the region during the spring and summer. Steve Provizer's Radio Free Allston was among the most visible of the pack, along with expanded-band AM operations in Lowell, Worcester, Bridgeport, and Westerly RI (the latter claiming to be running legally). Quieter, but still part of the movement, were stations like Rebel Music Radio in Boston, "WDOA" in Worcester, and several religious pirates in Hartford. Syracuse became a center of the pirate movement upstate, with several unlicensed broadcasters in full swing. In New York City, the band beneath 92 MHz teemed with micro-radio stations in many neighborhoods. A few stations, most notably an 87.9 in Westford, played nothing but music -- albeit still without a license. Even the tiniest of communities found unlicensed radio voices during 1997 -- witness "CRAMP FM" up in Houlton, Maine, and the long-running "EB 101" in a few blocks of East Boston. And as soon as it all began, it all came crashing to an end with the Halloween-week busts at Radio Free Allston, "WDOA," and a college pirate in New Hampshire. Most of the region's other microbroadcasters got the message and shut down their transmitters and web pages, while the few that remained carried on their business much more quietly than before. This is one story that's bound to carry over into 1998, as Provizer and others launch a court challenge to the rules that silenced them in 1997. Meantime, the onslaught of religious satellite translators continued without end; a list would take up the next several issues...

POWER INCREASES: While the expanded band remained mostly a dream in 1997 (WZNN in Rochester NH was the only Northeast station to win a berth in the 1610-1700 kHz band), several other stations were big winners technically. Bob Vinikoor in Northern New Hampshire got his CP for 50 kilowatts daytime in Hanover on 720 kHz. Cape Cod's WXTK (94.9 West Yarmouth) escaped the interference from WHOM Mt. Washington NH by moving to 95.1. In Canandaigua NY, WCGR moved from its longtime days-only spot at 1550 to a new, more powerful 24-hour spot at 1310 -- and then kept 1550 anyway to serve the downtown areas in the null of the 1310 pattern. Several Boston FMs, including WROR-FM (105.7 Framingham) moved to the Prudential Tower downtown to improve their city signals. Syracuse AMers WOLF (1490) and WSIV (1540 East Syracuse) both filed multiple applications to move around the dial, with WOLF looking for 1510 and 1090 and WSIV applying first for 670 and then for 720 kHz. Alexander Langer pulled off the near-impossible, moving WRPT from 1050 in Peterborough NH to 650 in Ashland MA just in the nick of time, and returning WBIV (now WJLT, 1060 Natick) to the air as well before its license would have been cancelled. Both stations are using the facilities of WKOX (1200 Framingham), which ended the year as the biggest winner of all, finally getting the long-sought CP to run 50 kilowatts day and night. The big loser in the deal? WGNY in Newburgh NY, which had to retreat to its old daytime-only frequency on 1220 after years of temporary authority to run on 1200, where it had long hoped to raise power and go full-time. Across the border in Canada, the story was the same as it's been the last few years -- AM stations going to FM. This year's roster included CHNR 1600 Simcoe (now CHCD 106.7), CJEM Edmundston, CHSJ Saint John, CFNB Fredericton, and most notably the CBC's CBL Toronto and CBM/CBF Montreal.

FORMATS: It was a good year for oldies formats, with new entries in markets such as the New Hampshire seacoast (WQSO 96.7 Rochester, ex-WSRI), Manchester (WQLL 96.5 Bedford, ex-WOFX), Glens Falls (WHTR 107.1), and Binghamton (WYOS 104.1 Chenango Bridge, new to the air). Classic rock did well, too, with stations in the Providence market (WHKK 100.3 Middletown) and the Glens Falls area (WCQL 95.9) changing to 60s and 70s rock. Modern AC took off in Western New York, with Rochester (WZNE 94.1 Brighton) and Buffalo (92.9 WLCE) picking up the format. Sports did very well, thanks almost entirely to One-on-One Sports, with converts including stations in Boston (1510 WNRB), Manchester (1250 WKBR), Providence (790 WSKO), Hartford (1410 WPOP), Albany (1300 WTMM Rensselaer), Burlington (96.7 WXPS Vergennes and 960 WEAV Plattsburgh NY), and Buffalo (1520 WWKB). Bangor and Watertown both lost CHR outlets (104.7 WWFX Belfast and 93.5 WTNY-FM, respectively), then got new ones (107.3 WBZN Old Town and 102.7 WBDR Cape Vincent/106.7 WWLF Copenhagen). Losers this year included the business format (dumped from 550 WPNW Pawtucket and - just before the start of the year - 590 WBNW Boston; picked up later on by a network of weak Boston-area stations led by 1120 WADN Concord) and the childrens' format (with the demise of Kidstar on WNFT 1150 Boston and the imminent demise of AAHS World Radio on WJDM 1660 Elizabeth NJ, Radio Disney became the only game in town, heard on WPZE 1260 Boston and WGSM 740 Huntington LI). Smooth jazz won converts (106.9 WHCD Auburn-Syracuse and 96.9 WSJZ Boston) and lost them (92.9 WSJZ Buffalo and 99.5 WOAZ Lowell-Boston). And religion kept growing on the region's airwaves, with new full-power offerings including WJCX (99.5) Pittsfield ME, WYFP (91.9) Harpswell ME, WHMX (105.7) Lincoln ME (relaying WHCF 88.5 Bangor), WNEB (1230) Worcester, WJLT (1060) Natick-Boston, and a slew of Sound of Life stations in eastern New York -- WLJH 90.9 Glens Falls, WGWR 88.1 Liberty, WGKR 105.3 Grand Gorge, WSSK 89.7 Saratoga Springs, WGKP 89.9 Rensselaerville, plus several translators.

And so we move on to part two of our review of the format changes, call changes, personnel changes, and obituaries that made the news in 1997...

We'll start with the by-now-traditional month-by-month recap of call and format changes (with major personnel moves noted as well):

JANUARY
WREF (850 Ridgefield CT) goes to a simulcast of new owner WLAD (800 Danbury). WKAJ (900 Saratoga Springs NY) returns to the air as an adult-standards station. WPOP (1410 Hartford) dumps talk for all-sports and no-local. WYSR (98.3 Rotterdam NY) goes to a simulcast of oldies WTRY (980), then takes the WTRY-FM calls. New to the air this month: AC WNYQ (105.7 Queensbury NY), WNDR (103.9 Mexico NY, relaying WVOA 105.1 DeRuyter). WCEG (1530 Middleborough Center MA) comes back from the dark with radio reading, and later with the WVBF calls. Portland's WCSO (97.9) becomes WJBQ - again.
FEBRUARY
Amherst's WTTT (1430) is leased to noncomm WFCR (88.5) to run NPR talk during the day. In Maine, WPBC (99.5 Pittsfield) becomes religious WJCX. Back from the dark just in time to beat the FCC deadline are WRPT (now 650 Ashland MA with talk), WJLT (ex-WBIV, 1060 Natick). Missing the deadline (on purpose, though) and gone for good: WLNG (1600) Sag Harbor NY and WQQW (1590) Waterbury CT, both sacrificed to boost coverage of WWRL (1600) New York. KidStar folds, leaving WNFT (1150) Boston with nobody to lease it. In Rhode Island, WDGF (100.3 Middletown) ditches the modern-rock simulcast with WDGE (99.7 Wakefield-Peace Dale) for dance. WREF goes to oldies. On the call front: WEZE (1260 Boston) becomes WPZE, while WBNW (590) takes WEZE. WNBX (100.5 Lebanon NH) becomes WVRR, then swaps frequencies and formats two months later with country WXXK (101.7 Newport NH). WQIX (820 Horseheads NY) becomes WWLZ "Wheels" and talk, and WLPZ (1440 Westbrook ME) becomes WJAE, although it mainly uses the old "WJAB" calls from back in 1440's history.
MARCH
WPZE takes on a separate religious format, dropping the 590 simulcast to become "Praise 1260." WVAY (100.7 Wilmington VT) makes the first of many format changes, simulcasting WKVT-FM (92.7) down the road in Brattleboro. WUOK (1240 West Yarmouth) starts simulcasting WBUR in Boston; it'll later become WBUR(AM). WNEZ (910 New Britain CT) dumps Spanish for urban. WMEX (102.5 Westport NY) debuts with classical music. WAUB (1590) in Auburn NY returns as a simulcast of rocker WLLW (93.7 Clyde) before switching to adult standards two months later.
APRIL
New to the air is noncomm WAPJ (89.9) in Torrington, Connecticut, joined later in the month by WLWC-TV (Channel 28) in New Bedford MA. Format changes: WPJB (102.7 Narragansett Pier RI) goes to a simulcast of dance-CHR WWKX (106.3 Woonsocket). WABH (1380 Bath NY) drops its FM simulcast to go satellite oldies. Buffalo's WSJZ (92.9) drops smooth jazz for "Alice" modern AC. Also going modern AC is ARS sister station WAQB (94.1 Brighton-Rochester) as "the Zone." WCME (96.7 Boothbay Harbor ME) returns to the air as an AC station. And WGAW (1340 Gardner MA) switches simulcasts, to WEIM (1280 Fitchburg). New calls: WWFX (104.7 Belfast-Bangor) applies for WEBR. In Maine, WSNV (103.9 Howland) becomes WVOM, while Long Island's WLRI (98.5 Westhampton) takes the WDRE calls just dropped in Philadelphia. Gone: WTOX (1450 Lincoln ME) is deleted.
MAY
WCGR (1550 Canandaigua) moves to 1310, spawns a "new" 1550, WLKA. Back on is WSCP (1070 Sandy Creek NY), even when it's not supposed to be. The curtain falls on "The Stage," WSTG (102.1 Hampton NH), which becomes WXBP, simulcasting WXBB (105.3 Kittery ME) and its classic rock format. "Morning Guy Tai," aka Tom Irwin, jumps from modern rock WFNX (101.7 Lynn) to talker WRKO (680 Boston). Lots of new calls this month: WPJB becomes WAKX. WWFX applies for - and this time actually uses - WBFB. WSJZ becomes WLCE and WAQB becomes WZNE. Downstate in New York, WDSP (96.9 Arlington-Poughkeepsie) becomes WRRB as it switches simulcasts and owners to WRRV (92.7 Middletown). The "Y107" country simulcasts on 107.1 in Briarcliff Manor (WRGX) and Hampton Bays (WWHB) become WWVY and WWXY, respectively. Up north, WKGG (102.7 Cape Vincent NY) becomes WBDR, CHR "The Border." So long to translator W221AP (92.1 Westfield MA), which returns its license in the wake of a massive complaint against Brian Dodge, the New Hampshire religious broadcaster accused of controlling dozens of translators illegally.
JUNE
Format changes include hit radio in place of 70s rock at WBZN (107.3 Old Town-Bangor ME), classical in place of classic rock at WVMX (101.7 Stowe VT, which becomes WCVT), and classic rock in place of country at WLIE (102.5 Bridgehampton NY, which becomes WBSQ). WYUL (94.7 Chateaugay NY) begins testing, while WKFD (1370 Wickford RI) falls silent completely. One new call: WUZZ replaces WCIZ(AM) at 1410 in Watertown NY.
JULY
Oldies gains a foothold in the Manchester NH market as WOXF (96.5 Bedford) becomes WQLL "Cool 96.5." Rhythmic CHR returns to WJPZ (89.1 Syracuse NY) after a stint as modern rock. Also losing modern rock is WXPS (96.7 Vergennes VT), which goes sports talk, just like former talker WQBK (1300 Rensselaer-Albany, now WTMM). Joining WXPS in a simulcast is WEAV (960 Plattsburgh NY), which had been dark. Religion replaces a rock simulcast at 990 in Rochester NY, which switches from WCMF to WDCZ. Plattsburgh college station WPLT (93.9) gives up its calls to ABC/Disney's Detroit FM (ex-WHYT, now "the Planet") and becomes WQKE, "the Quake." And for no reason anyone can think of, Bennington's WHGC becomes WBTN-FM (94.3).
AUGUST
Two new UHF stations appear, Fox affiliate WFFF-TV (Channel 44) in Burlington VT and UPN outlet WPME (Channel 35) in Lewiston ME. Country listeners in Boston spin the dial yet again as WKLB-FM moves from 96.9 Boston to 99.5 Lowell, while the smooth jazz that was on 99.5 as WOAZ moves to 96.9 as WSJZ. Also going smooth jazz is WPCX (106.9 Auburn NY), becoming WHCD. WWLF (106.7 Copenhagen NY) drops rock to simulcast CHR WBDR as "the Border." WVAY flips format again, simulcasting rocker WHDQ (106.1 Claremont NH) this time.
SEPTEMBER
Two AM stations go dark along Long Island Sound, with WVIP (1310 Mount Kisco NY) the victim of a fire, while WMMM (1260 Westport CT) succumbs to a poor economy. On the air is religious WLMW (90.7) in Manchester NH. WVAY flips to a simulcast of AC WSSH (101.5 Marlboro), then to local programming again.
OCTOBER
On the seacoast, WSRI (96.7 Rochester) goes oldies as WQSO. Another 96.7, WZOS Oswego NY, becomes WOLF-FM. WVAY flips programming again, to a simulcast of AAA WRSI (95.3 Greenfield MA). WWKB (1520) in Buffalo dumps satellite country for satellite sports, and nobody much notices. WHTR (107.1 Glens Falls NY) goes oldies, WDGF (100.3 Middletown RI) loses dance for classic rock as WHKK, "the Hawk." Further confusing Ocean State listeners, the adult standards sounds of WLKW move from 790 Providence to 550 Pawtucket, formerly business-news WPNW. 790 then becomes sports WSKO, "the Score." More simulcast action in New Hampshire, this time to the south, as Milford's WNHQ (92.1) begins simulcasting adult CHR WJYY (105.5 Concord), and in the Champlain Valley as well, as another 92.1, WMNM Port Henry NY, begins simulcasting talker WSYB (1380 Rutland VT). Ken Shelton loses his morning gig at WBOS (92.9 Brookline-Boston). And WRND (91.7 Manchester NH) disappears from the air for good.
NOVEMBER
Mark Parenteau is fired after almost two decades at WBCN (104.1) in Boston. Down the dial at sister CBS oldies station WODS (103.3), morning man Austin of Boston gets the boot, replaced by John Potter from Las Vegas. In Albany, WPTR (96.3 Voorheesville) goes from classic to hot country, while just down the dial to the north, WYLR (95.9 Glens Falls) dumps country for classic hits as WCQL. WPZE (1260 Boston) finally flips to Radio Disney. The month closes with a slew of call changes, as Rumford, Maine's WWMR (96.3) becomes WLOB-FM and WRUM (790) becomes WLLB, while Rhode Island's WDGE (99.7 Wakefield-Peace Dale) join the call-change brigade by becoming WXEX.
DECEMBER
WNEB (1230 Worcester) goes religious, WNRB (1510 Boston) goes sports, and southern Maine gets an extra religious outlet as WMSJ moves from 91.9 Harpswell to 89.3 Freeport and is replaced on 91.9 by Bible Broadcasting's WYFP. New calls at year's end include "PX" calls for all Lowell Paxson's stations, WQTH for Bob Vinikoor's new 720 construction permit in Hanover NH, WDOT for the 1070 in Plattsburgh NY formerly known as WZBZ (closing an obscure circle that began a few years back when WDOT Burlington VT left the air and its 1390 spot became WKDR -- with the talk format and calls that had previously been found on, you guessed it, 1070), and WWFY for John Bulmer's CP at 93.7 in Hague NY. The parade of star talent firings continues in Boston radio, as Marjorie Clapprood is ousted from her morning spot at WRKO (680). And once more, with feeling, all together now -- WVAY modified its format once again, returning to locally programmed AAA on Friday nights and Saturdays.

And so we come to the final portion of our Year in Review, as we remember the broadcasters who passed away during 1997. We join in mourning:

And that's it...another year gone by and a new one underway. As we do every year, our thanks go out to everyone who helps make NERW what it is -- you, the readers, who send a constant stream of e-mail (not to mention the occasional newspaper clipping and aircheck) this way with all the tidbits of news that help to keep NERW the freshest, most comprehensive source of information anywhere about broadcasting in our region. Special thanks are due in particular to the readers who keep the e-mail box hopping just about every week with the news of their region -- our editorial hat is off to Dan Billings and Sid Whitaker in Maine, Steve Sawyer in the Pioneer Valley, Doug Bassett in Brattleboro, Gavin Burt in Albany (and points north as well), Steve Medicis in Syracuse (who's just updated his excellent Syracuse radio website), Carl Gorney in Buffalo, the Connecticut gang -- Marty Waters, Dennis Jackson, and Bill Dillane, the Boston folks who keep the boston-radio-interest list well-stoked each and every day -- Peter George, Donna Halper, Dan Strassberg, Joe Ross, Bill O'Neill, Mark Shneyder, Pete Ferrand, Bob Bittner, et al -- and all the rest of you who've sent in anything from an insider tip to a videotape of the local news in your area. Also, a NERW tank of gas and a big stack of unscoped weekend-polka-show airchecks goes out to Clarke Ingram, who joined your editor for several highly enjoyable tower-hunting expeditions following our relocation to upstate New York.

NERW couldn't reach you every week without information from a variety of sources, both on- and off-line. We're indebted to the on-line editions of the Boston Globe, Hartford Courant, Portland Press-Herald, and Albany Times-Union for some of the stories we've covered this year. We miss our daily dose of the Boston Herald and Dean Johnson, and hope this will be the year his columns make it to the web.

We depend on club bulletins from the National Radio Club, Worldwide FM-TV DX Association, and DecalcoMania each week or month. Broadcasting & Cable magazine, Inside Radio, FMedia!, and the M Street Journal all keep us up-to-date. Our daily print diet includes the often-excellent radio reporting in the Buffalo News and Syracuse Post-Standard. And we don't know how we'd live without the wealth of infomration that lives at the FCC's Web site. Our field expeditions into the world of radio are made possible in part by maps from DeLorme, MapArt, and Map Works, the M Street and FM Atlas directories, and the diner directories published by Randy Garbin's Roadside magazine. (Hey, even a radio nut has to eat!) Our daily on-line existence is made possible by the fine folks at Software Tool and Die in Brookline and E-Znet in Rochester -- many thanks to all the support folks who've helped us through the occasional technical glitch.

NERW's origins rest within the rec.radio.broadcasting newsgroup and AIRWAVES Digest, and we thank Bill Pfeiffer for continuing to give us a forum there.

And the most special of thanks go out to two people without whom NERW could ever exist. Garrett Wollman designed and maintains the Boston Radio Archives, NERW's on-line home. He's the one who takes NERW and puts it in HTML form for all our web readers each week, and it's his computer that plays host to the NERW archives. Garrett is also a regular companion on the NERW-mobile fact-finding missions, including this past summer's Canada trip, often behind the wheel while your editor navigates and rolls tape on top-hour IDs. We'll see if he's too modest to leave this in place when he puts this issue on the web... (Nope. --GW)

Finally, a hearty standing ovation to Lisa Fybush, "Mrs. NERW," whose patience with long nights in front of the computer screen, long drives to obscure tower sites, and even the occasional long visits with other radio folk makes it possible for NERW to reach you each and every Thursday.

When last we wrapped up a NERW Year in Review, the column's name began with "New England" and our home base was Waltham, Massachusetts. Now it's "NorthEast" and Rochester, New York. Who knows what 1998 will bring -- except for this: There's a whole new year of radio and TV out there. Join us again next Thursday, and we'll set off for another year of adventures on the airwaves of New England and New York. I can't wait!

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