In this week’s issue… Cousin Brucie returns – Boston AM flips – Revival starts at Maine cluster – Redstone remembered – New CBC FM hits the air
By SCOTT FYBUSH
*If you’re trying to make money – or at least avoid losing money – keeping a big AM signal running on the weekends, the odds are that you’re playing it safe these days, with talk reruns or paid programming filling most hours. You’re probably not handing over three hours of airtime to an octogenarian top-40 DJ to break format and play the hits of the 60s and 70s, complete with vintage jingles, the hassle of music licensing, and so on.
So it’s a good thing indeed that when John Catsimatidis’ Red Apple Media took over NEW YORK‘s WABC (770), he could afford to do something other than just play it safe. Come Labor Day, “Cats” will be using his new toy to have some Saturday night fun, returning the legendary “Cousin Brucie” Morrow to the airwaves just a few weeks after SiriusXM ended his long run on its 60s on 6 channel.
“Cousin Brucie’s Saturday Night Rock ‘n’ Roll Party” will run from 6-9 PM on WABC and its East End simulcast, WLIR (107.1), starting Sept. 5, with the inaugural show getting a WABC rerun on Labor Day Monday at noon.
“Brucie is a national treasure and talent,” said Catsimatidis in the release announcing the new show, which he’s touting as a nationwide offering by way of WABC’s streaming and its other digital platforms.
Will WABC make money off the new Saturday night music show? Probably not much – and maybe not even as much as Cumulus made from infomercials in the slot. But as a vehicle for reminding listeners that WABC’s still there and maybe even worth paying some attention to? It’s already paying off: even the stodgy New York Times took note of Morrow’s addition to the WABC schedule, and when was the last time the Times covered its local radio scene?
Behold, the 2025 calendar!
We chose the 100,000-watt transmitter of the Voice Of America in Marathon, right in the heart of the Florida Keys. This picture has everything we like in our covers — blue skies, greenery, water, and of course, towers! The history behind this site is a draw, too.
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.
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?)
Visit the Fybush Media Store and place your order now for the next calendar, get a great discount on previous calendars, and check out our selection of books and videos, too!
In this week’s issue… WBUR backs off local talk - EMF's expansion in NY, nationally - Rochester broadcasters honored - Russell finds new PA radio home - Remembering Bruce Stevens - The new calendar's here!
In this week’s issue… Remembering WNY's Palvino, Harris - Will King sell Bangor stations? - Kay moves earlier - New signal on LI - Cumulus cuts hit PA, New England - Frizzell sells in NH
In this week’s issue… Saluting a small-town radio vet - Bell moves CP24 - Scott heads west - Burlington gets Air 1, "Experimental Radio" - Family Life heads down I-86
In this week’s issue… NY TV anchor, radio historian both retiring - XPN PD to retire - More Cumulus cuts - Rogers sells FMs as Corus makes big talent cuts By SCOTT FYBUSH Jump to: ME - NH - VT - MA...
