NorthEast Radio Watch 12/23 & 12/30/2024: WKIT Lives!
In this week’s issue… WKIT finds a buyer - Eskin out at WIP - Staff shifts in Utica - CRTC approves Bell divestitures
NERW Year in Review 2017: Those We Lost
The Year in Obituaries
By SCOTT FYBUSH
It’s time once again for our Year in Review, the 24th time we’ve gathered up our headlines from the previous 12 months and tried to sum it all up for you. We’ll resume our regular NorthEast Radio Watch report on Tuesday, January 2, 2018. (And in the meantime, our own Twitter and Facebook feeds and RadioInsight will be here with any breaking news!)
As we do every year, we close out this final installment of our Year in Review (catch up on Friday’s installment here) with a look at the broadcasters and media people our region lost in the last twelve months:
WARREN BODOW, former WQXR GM (Dec. 23, 2016)
CAROL EBERT PERRY, 69, WATD co-founder (Dec. 26, 2016)
MITCHELL ELKINS (“Mike Landry”), 70, NJ/Philly jock (Dec. 26, 2016)
JOHN BASSETT, 92, longtime Lawrence radio manager (Dec. 27, 2016)
RICH CONATY, 62, WFUV “Big Broadcast” host (Dec. 30, 2016)
CATHY MILTON, 86, WTAE Pittsburgh reporter (Dec. 30, 2016)
JACK LOWE, 80, Toronto engineer (Jan. 2)
AL MAKKAY, Cape Cod radio owner (Jan. 12)
RUSS THOMPSON, 82, Toronto DJ (Jan. 16)
HERB OSCAR ANDERSON, 88, WABC morning legend (Jan. 29)
ROY SCHWARTZ, Shadow Traffic founder (Feb. 2)
RICK WARBOYS, 58, former upstate NY DJ (Feb. 3)
STUART McLEAN, 68, CBC “Vinyl Cafe” host (Feb. 15)
ALAN COLMES, 66, veteran talk host (Feb. 23)
MIKE RING, 61, Watertown engineer (Feb. 24)
TOM YOUNG, 75, Maritimes talk host (March 6)
DENNIS GRONDIN, 66, Montreal DJ (March 7)
GARY MILES, 78, former Rogers CEO (March 14)
KERRY GRAY, 50, Ontario morning DJ (March 16)
BOB SMITH, 63, former WXXI Rochester talk host (March 17)
DON BROWN, 75, WABK Maine morning man (March 17)
BERNIE KIMBLE, veteran PD, jock (March)
JOHN HAMBLETON, 84, WHEC-TV Rochester meteorologist (March 14)
BOB DREW, 80, called longest ballgame in history on WPXN Rochester (March 19)
REG SELLNER, 84, CKCO-TV Kitchener talent (March 20)
BETTY KENNEDY, 91, CFRB Toronto host (March 20)
STEVE SCHWARTZ, 75, former WGBH jazz host (March 25)
SCOTT BROWN, 59, WGRZ-TV Buffalo reporter (March 31)
TOM JOHNSTON, 49, WCSH Portland meteorologist (April 1)
STAN EDWARDS, WOKQ jock (April)
BARRY PRETZEL, 63, New England DJ (April 26)
LARRY LEVITE, 77, former WBEN/WBEN-FM owner (April 26)
CARL SHUBA, 52, WHAM-TV photojournalist (April 27)
JUNE LeBELL, 73, former WQXR talent (April 30)
ANN REYNOLDS CARDEN, 58, WEBR Buffalo anchor (May 4)
TONY BOLER, 63, WDKX Rochester jock (May 8)
GENE MICHAELS, 60, WINS, WEMP New York anchor (May 10)
HYLE RICHMOND, 90, former WICU-TV Erie reporter (June 3)
DAVE SKILL, 70, WATD Marshfield newsman (June 4)
LARRY JONES, 86, WJET Erie overnighter (June 6)
DICK SNAVELY, 86, Family Life Ministries founder (June 11)
DAVE MAZMANIAN, 70, Toronto jock at CKEY, CFNY, CHUM, CILQ (June 17)
GABE PRESSMAN, 93, WNBC reporter and New York TV icon (June 23)
L.A. TARONE, 58, Scranton talk host (June 25)
WARREN DOREMUS, 91, WHEC-TV reporter and Rochester TV icon (June 26)
MARK SCHAAS, 53, WKST New Castle sports reporter (June 29)
KIMBERLY (Romano) DZIABIS, 59, former WRMM Rochester manager (July 4)
HERB PETRIE, WBBF Rochester engineer (July 9)
JACK LAYTON, 76, Pennsylvania engineer (July 14)
BOB WOLFF, 96, veteran sportscaster (July 15)
MIKE POULIN, 62, WEBB Augusta afternoon DJ (July 21)
JUNE FORAY, 99, WBZA actress turned cartoon icon (July 26)
HARVEY HAUPTMAN, 87, WCBS newsman (August 2)
DICK ALBERT, 73, WCVB meteorologist (August 4)
NEIL CHAYET, 78, WBZ “Looking at the Law” host (August 11)
KEVIN FENNESSY, 63, longtime PD/station owner (August 19)
JAY THOMAS, 69, WXLO, WKTU jock turned actor (August 24)
WYOMA BEST, 74, WHEC-TV Rochester anchor (August 25)
STAN LIPP, 89, WBSM/WNBH New Bedford talk host (August 27)
BOB ANDERSON, 69, CKBY/CJET Smiths Falls PD (August)
TOM OSENKOWSKY, 62, Connecticut engineering legend (August 28)
KEVIN SCHENK, 54, WSYR Syracuse newsman (Sept. 8)
ROBERT VAUGHN, 87, WCBS anchor (Sept. 11)
REGGIE LAVONG, 84, ex-WPHL-TV, WHAT Philadelphia owner (Sept. 19)
DAVID MAINSE, 81, Crossroads TV founder (Sept. 25)
JOHNNIE MORRIS, 91, Nassau Broadcasting founder (Sept. 28)
JOHN “J.B.” BUNNELL, 77, Waterbury doo-wop host (Sept. 30)
S.I. NEWHOUSE, Jr., 89, media owner with Syracuse roots (Oct. 1)
KRIS EARL PHILLIPS, 66, jock, programmer, consultant at WRKO, WRKT, WHTZ (Oct. 3)
JIMMY GRAY (James Hargreaves), 72, RI/Connecticut jock (Oct. 9)
MICHELE MARSH, 63, New York TV anchor (Oct. 17)
BRIAN STRATTON, 49, WATD producer (Oct. 24)
JAKE GERMANO, WBZ producer (Oct. 28)
ROD CARSON, Sr., 75, Philadelphia traffic reporter (Nov.)
CHERYL SCOTT, 65, KQV Pittsburgh business manager/co-owner (Nov. 10)
BERNARD WATERMAN, 96, former WAAB/WAAF Worcester owner (Nov. 12)
CARLTON MUNROE, 48, Nova Scotia broadcaster/music promoter (Nov. 22)
THOMAS MOLLEN, 83, former WLTB Binghamton co-owner (Nov. 24)
KEVIN LINAGEN, 74, WPLM, WJIB talent (Nov. 24)
PERRY URY, 91, RKO, WTIC executive (Dec. 8)
Dr. JAMES WINER, 70, Pittsburgh radio doctor (Dec.)
KEVIN MEATH, 59, Rochester sales manager (Dec. 15)
JOE ABRAMS, 76, former WCAP Lowell news director (Dec. 18)
AL FUSCO, 78, Binghamton, WVOX Westchester host (Dec. 22)
LOU ADLER, 88, WCBS anchor, WQUN founder (Dec. 22)
IRV WEINSTEIN, 87, legendary WKBW-TV anchor (Dec. 26)
FRAN SCHNEIDAU, 79, WCBS Connecticut bureau chief (Dec. 26)
AL (Lush) CASE, WLNG overnight voice (Dec. 30)
Error, group does not exist! Check your syntax! (ID: 20)THE 2025 TOWER SITE CALENDAR IS SHIPPING NOW!
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Other months feature some of our favorite images from years past, including some Canadian stations and several stations celebrating their centennials (can you guess? you don’t have to if you buy the calendar!).
We will ship daily through Christmas Eve. Place your order now for immediate shipping!
This will be the 24th edition of the world-famous Tower Site Calendar, and your support will determine whether it will be the final edition.
It’s been a complicated few years here, and as we finish up production of the new edition, we’re considering the future of this staple of radio walls everywhere as we evaluate our workload going forward.Â
The proceeds from the calendar help sustain the reporting that we do on the broadcast industry here at Fybush Media, so your purchases matter a lot to us here – and if that matters to you, now’s the time to show that support with an order of the new Tower Site Calendar. (And we have the new Broadcast Historian’s Calendar for 2025 ready to ship, too. Why not order both?)Â
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