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June 6, 2005
WCBS-FM: The End
*Fans of NEW YORK's WCBS-FM (101.1)
have been bemoaning the station's decline for years, from the
removal of pre-Beatles music from the playlist to the gradual
retirement of legendary jocks like Harry Harrison, Dan Ingram
and Dan Daniel to last year's ouster of longtime PD Joe McCoy.
 But it
didn't make them any less stunned when the station pulled the
plug on oldies Friday afternoon at 5 (with less than an hour's
warning to most station staff, reportedly) and flipped to "Jack
FM," bringing the "adult hits" format to the number-one
market in much the same way it's appeared everywhere: no DJs,
no newscasters, no commercials at first, just music and attitude-filled
liners. (The first song, for the record: the Beastie Boys' "Fight
For Your Right (To Party)," certainly the first time that
group's ever been heard at 101.1 on the dial.)
The flip means the end of Micky Dolenz' morning show, which
debuted a few months ago to lukewarm reviews. PD Dave Logan,
who succeeded McCoy last year, is also gone, and it appears that
the rest of the jock lineup - including veterans Bob Shannon,
Don K. Reed and Bill Brown - is out as well.
The oldies will continue as a Web-only stream, albeit apparently
without the personalities who were so critical to making CBS-FM
what it was. (Station management has been unclear on this point,
and for now the stream is running jockless.)
NERW Commentary: 23 years after WABC's flip
to talk, a new generation of New York City radio fans can now
say they've experienced their own "Day the Music Died."
 While
oldies were on a decided downswing around the country already,
having lost major stations in the last few months in Baltimore,
Atlanta, Portland, Charlotte, Rochester and elsewhere, the loss
of WCBS-FM is a body blow to the format that the station helped
to create. When CBS began playing the hits of the fifties in
1972, "oldies" didn't even exist as a programming concept.
Within a couple of decades, though, every market had an oldies
station - and almost without exception, those stations looked
to the mother ship in New York for the programming and promotional
ideas that eventually became almost inescapable from one "Oldies
93" to the next.
But within that universe of oldies stations, WCBS-FM stood
apart. In its heyday - and it was a long heyday - WCBS-FM was
one of the most distinctively New York-sounding stations on the
dial, especially when the end of music at WABC freed up Harrison,
Ron Lundy and other Musicradio 77 veterans to work at 101.1,
playing the same tunes that they made hits on the AM dial. (Over
the years, WCBS-FM would be home to many of the jocks who made
WABC famous, including Dan Ingram and Cousin Bruce Morrow.)
Even in its declining years, after the word "oldies"
itself became verboten ("Motown, Soul and Great Rock'n'
Roll" was one of the less-memorable replacements), WCBS-FM
remained distinctive for its full-service approach, with newscasts
all day and far more personality than your average FM music station.
(And did we mention the reverb-verb-verb-verb?)
So while it was no surprise to hear "Jack" launch
on an Infinity-owned New York FM after the company's high-profile
adoption of the format in Los Angeles a few weeks back, there's
a distinct sting to the decision to put the jockless Jack on
what was arguably the most successful FM in the company's Big
Apple stable, rather than on the long-broken WNEW or WXRK, which
faces the impending departure of Howard Stern in a few months.
It's a moment of reckoning for those of us who believe passionately
in the value of personality radio, exemplified by Vin Scelsa's
"Idiot's Delight" on WFUV (90.7) Saturday night, which
Scelsa turned into a passionate rant about what WCBS-FM meant
to him. It's that kind of radio - intimate, creative and exciting
- that no MP3 player can duplicate.
Can the same be said about Jack - even if you can overlook
what died to make room for the format in New York?
*The fallout: Infinity's move changes the landscape in New
York in several ways. First, it puts an end to the lengthy speculation
about which station would take the leap into the adult-hits format.
While nothing's impossible at this point, it's hard to imagine
any of the other major FMs in the market challenging WCBS-FM
with a knockoff "Bob" or "Max" or what have
you. (That said, ABC's WPLJ was clearly testing the waters with
its many "Flush the Format" weekends of late.)
Just as many questions were created by the flip, though. In
no particular order:
- Is this the end of oldies in New York City? With a
relatively small number of full-market commercial FM signals
in town, the city's big groups have been hesitant to revive formats
that have struggled in the market - just look at the absence
of country radio since WYNY's demise, or of standards since WNEW
left the air. But if WCBS-FM's unique personalities were to be
available, would Clear Channel or Emmis or ABC take the leap?
(Clear Channel, in particular, has been widely rumored to be
considering a format change at WKTU.)
- What about the suburbs? There are already successful
oldies stations on the edges of the market - Cox's WKHL in Stamford,
Long Island's WBZO, WLNG at the eastern end of Long Island, and
on the AM dial, WMTR/WWTR in northern and central New Jersey
and WNNJ (home to former CBS-FM jock Max Kinkel) up in Sussex
County. Will any of them try to captalize on the demise of WCBS-FM?
- Is any Infinity oldies station safe? Philadelphia's
WOGL (98.1) has been one of the most successful stations anywhere
in the format (in no small part by paying careful attention to
the WCBS-FM formula of legendary local jocks), and Boston's WODS
(103.3) has revived its flagging fortunes with more 70s music.
In both markets, Infinity was beaten to the punch with adult
hits (Greater Media's "Ben" WBEN-FM in Philly, Entercom's
"Mike" WMKK in Boston), so perhaps WOGL and WODS can
breathe a little easier. But if it can happen at WCBS-FM...
- Will IBOC multicasting save the oldies? Infinity's
been suggesting that the remnants of WCBS-FM that survive on
the web might eventually also be heard on a multicast channel
of a digital WCBS-FM. Could 101.1 someday be home to Jack and oldies
- if enough receivers get into the marketplace quickly enough?
But Infinity's problem in New York isn't exactly a lack of available
signals for viable formats so much as it is the opposite - a
lack of viable formats for its available signals - which brings
us to the next question:
- OK - now what happens to WNEW and K-Rock? Since
we now know there won't be a Jack 102.7 or Jack 92.3, what other
cards does Infinity have up its sleeve in New York? After WNEW's
many years of format struggles, Jack might have been a welcome
change at 102.7; instead, the lackluster "Mix" will
straggle along for at least a little while longer. And can K-Rock
still be K-Rock without Howard? Is there some sort of strategic
plan that's just not evident here?
- So what about Jack? It won't be easy for the radio
community to assess the new Jack on its own merits - there's
just too much history at 101.1 to overcome in a weekend, or probably
in a year. But there's no question that Infinity will be spending
a lot of money, very soon, to try to market Jack to a new audience
for which that dial position doesn't have as much baggage. Infinity's
making a very heavy bet on Jack across the country - it's now
on in Minneapolis, Seattle, Buffalo, and launched in Chicago
(on WJMK 104.3, also replacing oldies) at the same moment it
arrived in New York, and the New York Jack will no doubt benefit
from the best programming, promotions and research talent Infinity
can muster. But New York's not Vancouver (where Jack first tasted
success three years ago) - it's a market where stations have
always crossed format lines in ways that other markets don't
quite match. (Look, for instance, at how smoothly the deeper
Jack-style cuts have been fitting into WPLJ's nominal hot AC
format.
There are interesting times ahead, and even as we mourn WCBS-FM,
we're looking forward to chronicling whatever comes next. We're
also interested in your thoughts - send 'em along and we'll print
some of them next week. (If you don't want your name used, let
us know.)
*In the meantime, though, there's at least a modicum of other
news around the region, including a handful of additional tidbits
from the Empire State: in New York, Christine Nagy, who's well
remembered from many years in the morning at Z100, is joining
the morning show on WLTW (106.7), where she'll be heard from
5-8 weekdays.
Upstate, Media One closed on its $4.5 million deal to add
Vox's WKSN (1340 Jamestown), WHUG (101.9 Jamestown) and WQFX
(103.1 Russell PA) to its existing Jamestown duo of WJTN (1240)
and WWSE (93.3). The deal gives Jim Embrescia's company a near-lock
on the radio market there.
A similar situation exists in Ithaca, where Eagle Broadcasting
owns four of the city's five commercial radio stations, and while
the FCC has approved Saga's pending purchase of the cluster,
the local activists known as "FLAIM" (Finger Lakes
Alliance for Independent Media) isn't letting the deal go through
without a fight. FLAIM is filing an application with the FCC
for review of the ruling allowing the purchase. FLAIM argues
that the Commission was hasty in its conclusion that effective
competition in Ithaca exists from several other stations deemed
to be part of the Ithaca Arbitron market, even though the hilly
terrain keeps those stations from covering Ithaca well (and,
FLAIM notes, those stations do not sell time in Ithaca.)
In Corning, Route 81's getting ready to move its cluster out
of their cramped studios at the WCBA (1350) transmitter site
on Davis Road and into a nice new storefront studio on Corning's
bustling Market Street. NERW was in town last week, and we note
that the call changes for which Route 81's applied there (WCLI
1450 to WENI, and the call swap of WGMM 97.7 and WCBA-FM 98.7)
has not yet taken place on the air.
And in Penn Yan, MB Communications gets nailed with a $10,000
FCC fine for illegal operation at WYLF (850). The station's been
widely heard by DXers at night, when it's supposed to drop down
from 1000 watts to 45 watts, but a complaint last year brought
out FCC inspectors, who found that WYLF was not only running
day power at night, it was also exceeding its daytime power authorizations,
a problem WYLF blames on faulty equipment. (In addition to the
fine, the FCC warns WYLF that it has reason to believe the station's
still not powering down at night.)
 *The eyes of the radio community will be squarely
on the NEW JERSEY Palisades next Saturday (June 10), as
the historic Armstrong tower in Alpine hosts a commemoration
of the 70th anniversary of Major Armstrong's pioneering FM broadcasts.
The broadcast, which starts at noon, will include recordings
of Armstrong's broadcasts from the 1940s and early 50s, as well
as the radio documentary "Empire of the Air." It'll
be heard on experimental station WA2XMN, operating from the Armstrong
tower over a Phasitron transmitter lovingly hand-built by Philadelphia
engineer Steve Hemphill and transmitting at Armstrong's original
42.8 MHz frequency. (If you have a scanner that tunes that band,
you'll want to check to see if it can operate in wide FM mode
- like the original W2XMN, this broadcast will utilize 75 kHz
deviation; the best bet, says Hemphill, is to find a vintage
42-50 MHz FM radio.)
The broadcast will be simulcast on WFDU (89.1 Teaneck), which
also transmits from the Armstrong tower, and will be webcast
at www.wfdu.fm.
And yes, NERW will be there. Stay tuned for a special report
next Monday!
*The only news out of PENNSYLVANIA
this week of note comes from Scranton. That's where Doc Medek's
been promoted to interim PD at WGGY (101.3 Scranton) - and where
WITK (1550 Pittston) has dropped its simulcast of oldies WICK
(1400 Scranton, whose future is in doubt over owner Doug Lane's
legal troubles) in favor of a simulcast of Catholic WQOR (750
Olyphant).
(OK, there's one other bit of news just over the state line
in Ohio, where WWOW (1360 Conneaut) has dumped talk for oldies.
WCBS-FM, it ain't...
*Also not WCBS-FM, new or old, is VERMONT's
new entry in the adult hits game. WLKC (103.3 Waterbury) and
WXAL (93.7 Addison) dropped their modern AC "Alice"
simulcast on Wednesday and flipped to adult hits as "MP
103." (Get it? It's like an MP3, but at 10...never mind.)
NERW's monitoring of the new MP103 found the stations running
jockless, and at ID time, WLKC was sporting new calls of WWMP
- with no ID at all for the 93.7 half of the simulcast.
*MASSACHUSETTS is mourning a
Red Sox broadcaster. J.P. Villaman was the Sox' Spanish-language
radio play-by-play man. He rolled his car off a road in Wilmington
earlt on the morning of May 30; he was 46.
Out west, Springfield's Western New England College is the
home of a new bureau for Albany's WAMC public radio; professor
(and former WWLP-TV anchor) Brenda Garton will supervise student
reporters who will file stories from the Pioneer Valley for WAMC,
whose signal from Mount Greylock can be heard fairly well in
the region.
And one more bit of fallout from the whole Infinity "Jack"
thing: the flip of Chicago's WJMK (104.3) from oldies to Jack
on Friday left the future of morning man Paul Perry, formerly
of Boston's WODS, in question. (WJMK, like WCBS-FM, is continuing
the oldies on a webcast, but thus far it's jockless.)
*In CANADA, all the news this week
is from Montreal, where Corus closed on its swap of stations
with Astral Media last week. The big news  from
the swap was the closing of the newsroom at CKAC (730 Montreal);
the legendary voice of French Canada is now running news that's
shared with Corus' CINW (Info 690).
On the FM dial, CKDG (105.1 Montreal) is adding some adult
hits to its format - but only during drive time. The station
is "105.1 Mike FM" in mornings and afternoons, but
it's still ethnic (mostly Greek) the rest of the day.
*And we'll close this special edition of NERW with one last
reminder about our big Boston Dinner this Wednesday (June 8).
Contact rsvp at bostonradio dot org if you're interested in joining
us in Framingham Wednesday night for good food and radio conversation.
(Bet "WCBS-FM" comes up in the first two minutes...)
*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
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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
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