You
can have your ad here, too! Click here for complete information
on the most economical way to reach tens of thousands of Northeast
radio and TV people each week. |
May 30, 2005
NY's WCAA/WZAA Goes Hurban
*Even as "Jack FM" and its "adult
hits" clones have been invading the English-language radio
dial from one coast to the other, Spanish-language radio has
been upended in the last year or so by a format that's being
called "Hurban" - a high-energy mix of the Spanish-language
rap music called "reggaeton" and hip-hop, usually delivered
by bilingual announcers.
On Friday, the format arrived in NEW YORK, as Univision
Radio flipped WCAA (105.9 Newark NJ)/WZAA (92.7 Garden City)
from "Latino Mix," the Spanish hits format that had
been running on 105.9 for a few years now, to "La Kalle
105.9 y 92.7, hip hop y mas."
The New York format flip follows hot on the heels of recent
flips to Hurban in Los Angeles, Phoenix and elsewhere, and it's
expected to make WCAA/WZAA a stronger competitor against the
big Spanish-language FMs in town (especially SBS' WSKQ 97.9)
- and against English-language top 40 as well, which has been
mixing more reggaeton into its playlists of late.
On the English side of the dial, Monday is "Rewound"
day at WABC (770), with a lineup of classic Musicradio 77 airchecks
that kicks off at 6 AM with Chuck Leonard from 1975, rolls on
with Harry Harrison, Cousin Brucie and Ron Lundy, among others,
and wraps up from 5-6 PM with Brucie, followed by the two hour
"Rewound Talk Show." (And don't miss our look at the
WABC transmitter site in this week's Tower
Site of the Week, either!)
Downtown at WOR (710), congratulations are in order for Tom
Ray, who's been promoted to VP/corporate director of engineering
for parent company Buckley Broadcasting.
Upstate, some big changes are on the way for Time Warner's
three regional cable news channels, as the company gets ready
to consolidate some of their operations in an attempt to stem
the losses it's been experiencing, especially at the Syracuse-based
News 10 Now channel, whose launch included a costly renovation
of the old Syracuse train station into a lavish studio complex.
The Syracuse Post-Standard reports that 22 jobs are
being cut in Syracuse, mainly in master control, where the functions
are being moved to the Albany-based Capital News 9 operation.
The Syracuse facility will become the central base for weather
for all the upstate services, including Rochester's R News, while
Albany will handle master control for all three channels. (Some
of the space in Syracuse being vacated by the move of master
control to Albany will be occupied by other Time Warner Cable
staffers, moving from the offices along the Thruway in Dewitt.)
Each of the regional channels will continue to field reporters
and photographers, and it appears at least some local anchors
will remain in place as well. And we're hearing that the R News
operation (where your editor worked from 1997-2000) will likely
supply programming to the Buffalo-area cable systems that Time
Warner is acquiring from Adelphia once that transaction is complete.
 The
radio dial in Rochester is a little poorer this week, in two
ways. Gary Smith's retirement from WHAM (1180) closes a 50-year
career that's included stops at WSAY, WVET/WROC, WNYR/WEZO and
WVOR. Most recently, Smith had been doing morning traffic on
WHAM and tracking middays on sister station WISY (102.3 Canandaigua),
as well as plenty of sports announcing for both local pro and
college teams.
 And
the death of Katy Abraham ends a career that included 50 years
as co-host (with husband Doc Abraham, who died in January) of
"The Green Thumb" on WHAM (not to mention a quarter-century
on TV at WOKR, now WHAM-TV.) Katy Abraham died Tuesday night
(May 24) at her home in Naples, N.Y.; she was 83.
We don't normally make a big deal out of LPTV sales, but Freckles
the NERW Wonder Dog says she's offended that WAWW-LP (Channel
38) here in Rochester is being sold by Tiger Eye Broadcasting
to a company called "Squirrel Broadcasting LLC." The
station's been dark for several years, and NERW can't confirm
Freckles' speculation that it's going to flip to an "all-backyard-vermin"
format when and if it returns to the air. (No word on a purchase
price, either.)
*In NEW JERSEY, Bridgelight Communications'
WRDR (89.7 Freehold Township) will be getting a power increase.
The station reached a settlement deal with Pensacola Christian
Church that results in the withdrawal of PCC's application for
a new station on 89.3 in Lakewood, allowing WRDR to go from 5
kW/27 meters to 11.5 kW/58 meters (still with vertical polarization
only.)
*There's another tower down in PENNSYLVANIA.
We're told WCBG (1380 Waynesboro) lost its tower last week, temporarily
silencing the ESPN Radio outlet. (It's the second time those
calls have gone silent recently in the Chambersburg area; the
original WCBG on 1590 went dark for good a few months ago.)
In Scranton, Marywood College's WVMW has a new frequency and
higher power this week. WVMW was running 100 watts on its old
home of 91.5, but it's now completed a move to 91.7 and a power
increase to 2000 watts, still at 87 meters below average terrain.
 Carlisle's WIOO (1000)
isn't giving up on its quest to move up the dial to 1010, increase
its power to 5 kilowatts and add night facilities. The station
filed an amended application for the move this week, saying that
its measurements indicate that even though WCST in Berkeley Springs,
West Virginia has returned to the air on 1010, WIOO would still
be able to use the channel without interfering. But WIOO's application
still depends on the FCC limiting Radio One's WOLB, Baltimore
(also on 1010) to 250 watts. WOLB is licensed at a full kilowatt,
though it's been operating at lower power under special temporary
authority since losing its licensed site a year or so ago. In
its filing, WIOO claims that WOLB has "abandoned" its
licensed kilowatt and should lose the protection that facility
enjoyed - but NERW notes that the FCC has always been sympathetic
to stations that have lost their tower sites, and WOLB does have
a pending application for a licensed 1 kW facility at another
location.
Over in the Altoona market, Broadcasting for the Challenged
has been granted a new facility on 88.1 in Hollidaysburg. (The
company, we'd note, tends to sell its construction permits to
other religious broadcasters - notably EMF, parent of the "K-Love"
and "Air 1" formats - once they're granted.)
Down the road in Johnstown, Lara Mosby is the new PD at WFGI
(95.5) - and over in Pittsburgh, Michael Douglass is the new
general manager of the Sheridan Broadcasting cluster that includes
WAMO, WAMO-FM, WPGR and WJJJ, arriving from Washington's WTOP,
where he was vice president and general manager.
 *In
CANADA, an unusual travelers information station has gone
silent. CFYZ (1280) at Toronto's Pearson International Airport
was an unusal station, operating at relatively high power (400
watts) and offering live programming during drive times - but
it was also relatively expensive for the Greater Toronto Airports
Authority to operate. Milkman UnLimited reports that the
official word from the GTAA is that "service has been suspended
pending exploration of alternatives," and that listeners
are hearing a dead carrier on 1280.
On the TV side, CKXT (Channel 52) - aka "Toronto One"
- is cancelling its flagship nightly news program. "Toronto
Tonight" will go off the air July 15, as the station prepares
to change hands from Craig Media (which is being sold to CHUM
Limited, which already owns two stations in the market) to Quebecor.
In Cobourg, Ontario, CHUC (1450) has been granted a move to
107.9 on the FM dial, with 1030 watts.
And in Montreal, Andre Maisonneuve is leaving his morning
show at CJFM (95.9) to spend more time with his family. "Mix
96" is launching a contest to find his replacement, asking
listeners to vote on the station's website.
*Before we get to this week's news from MASSACHUSETTS,
we're delighted to announce another in our ongoing series of
"Friends of NERW" dinners. This time, we'll be getting
together on Wednesday, June 8 at 7 PM at Firefly's BBQ
in Framingham, and we'd love to see you there! Please RSVP to
rsvp at bostonradio dot org if you're interested in joining us.
(And if we don't see you there, maybe we'll see you at some other
point during our weeklong swing around New England!)
The Bay State will be getting a couple of new LPFMs in the
near future, now that the FCC's beginning to process competing
applications for the 100-watt facilities. In Springfield, there
were no fewer than eight applicants for LPFMs on 99.7, with most
of them qualifying for all three prongs of the "points"
system that the FCC is attempting to use to sort out the applications
(local ownership, promising to operate at least 12 hours a day
and promising to originate at least 8 hours a day locally). But
two of those applicants - Citylight Ministry Center and Lighthouse
Christian Center - agreed to combine their proposals and share
time, and that netted them the 99.7 CP. Up in Greenfield, two
applicants for 107.9 - Greenfield Community Television and Living
Waters Assembly of God - both had the maximum three points, and
they'll both get CPs. Unless they can agree on a share-time schedule,
each CP will run for four years and be non-renewable.
And in Northampton, we're told WXOJ-LP (103.3) is testing
as well.
 A very
happy tenth anniversary - almost - to WXRV (92.5 Haverhill).
It was actually the fall of 1995 when the former WLYT turned
off "Lite" and went AAA as "The River," but
the station celebrated a little early with an anniversary concert
last week. (And we've neglected to note some lineup changes there,
too: Scott Lucas, late of WBOS, is now doing mornings at WXRV,
which moves Susan Sullivan to nights.)
Speaking of former WBOS'ers, ex-morning man Bill Abbate is
now doing some fill-in work over at WZLX (100.7).
There's a new signal on the air in Winchendon, as WKMY (91.1)
signs on with EMF Broadcasting's "K-Love" contemporary
Christian format, delivered by satellite from California. There's
a pending application to transfer ownership of the station from
"Friends of Radio Maria," which put it on the air,
to EMF itself, for $15,000.
Out west, Glenn Cardinal is the new PD at
WRNX (100.9 Amherst), where he replaces Tom Davis. At Springfield's
WHYN-FM (93.1), Marc Miller departs afternoons to head to New
Jersey's WSJO (104.9 Egg Harbor City) for middays (where he replaces
Marilyn Russell.) Replacing Miller on WHYN-FM is Kevin Johnson,
who had been doing nights at WTIC-FM (96.5) in Hartford, CONNECTICUT.
*Our special clearance pricing continues
for fans of the Tower Site Calendar 2005. We're well aware
that many of the calendar's fans buy it for the pictures, not
the actual calendar pages...but that doesn't change the fact
that by this time of the year, we're not exactly shipping 'em
out the door at a breakneck pace, and Mrs. NERW would very much
like a corner of her living room back.
So while she rediscovers the floor beneath those boxes of
calendars and we begin to line up the images for Tower Site Calendar
2006, you get the very first crack at our Calendar
Clearance Deal for 2005.
 Here's how it works:
instead of our list price of $16 for this fabulous, full-color,
glossy calendar, you can now pick one up for just $8,
postpaid. ($8.66 to New York State addresses.) Better yet, if
you order two calendars at this special clearance price, we'll
throw in a third for free - $16 for THREE calendars, with nine
exciting months of 2005 yet to go. (That's $17.32 in NYS.)
Maybe you've already hung your original 2005 calendar on the
wall, and you're thinking it would be nice to have another copy
to stick away in pristine condition. Maybe you really want to
frame that spectacular September page right now - but you still
need a calendar later this year. Maybe you just want to help
Mrs. NERW clean out the living room and give happy NERW baby
Ariel more space to practice walking.
Whatever your motive, now's your big chance, because while
there are still 2005 calendars left, there may not be any in
a few weeks. (Remember, the 2002 and 2003 editions were total
sellouts, and I've had to turn away several of you who were hoping
to add these now-rare calendars to your collections.)
And we've got two more great deals for you, too. We still
have a few 2004 calendars left, and while they're getting rare,
Mrs. NERW wants them gone - so they're yours, in pristine condition,
for just $5 postpaid. (Buy two and the third is free!) Or order
the 2004 and 2005 calendars together for just $10, postpaid.
(What a deal!)
(New York orders pay $5.41 for the 2004 calendar, $10.83 for
the 2004 and 2005 together.)
And as always, the calendar's free with your $60 or higher
subscription to NorthEast Radio Watch/fybush.com. In fact, we've
got a great deal for new or renewing $60 subscribers: we'll send
you two 2005 calendars if you subscribe now. Or,
if you'd prefer, we'll hold a brand-new Tower Site Calendar
2006 for you with your subscription, and you can be among
the very first to see the 2006 edition when it's released this
summer. Remember, we count on your subscription dollars to keep
NERW coming each and every Monday morning!
You can use PayPal, below, or send your check or money order,
payable to Scott Fybush, to 92 Bonnie Brae Avenue, Rochester
NY 14618. (Please note that the prices below are valid for U.S.
and Canadian orders only; please e-mail for information about
overseas shipping.)
Don't want to order by credit card? You know the drill by
now - make those checks payable to "Scott Fybush,"
be sure to include sales tax (8.25%) for New York state calendar
orders only, and send them along to 92 Bonnie Brae Avenue, Rochester
NY 14618. (Sorry - we can't take orders by phone.)
Thanks for your support!
NorthEast Radio Watch is made possible by the generous
contributions of our regular readers. If you enjoy NERW, please
click here to
learn how you can help make continued publication possible. NERW
is copyright
2005 by Scott Fybush. |