In this week’s issue… Upstate NY loses two radio greats – DC’s Elliott returns to NYC – Phil D signs off – New England noncomms deleted – TV tower move in Canada? – Baseball on the Radio: The Minor Leagues
By SCOTT FYBUSH
*Two veteran upstate NEW YORK on-air talents left us last week, at opposite ends of the I-88 corridor.
In Binghamton, Dana Potter was a rarity – a local who worked his entire career in his hometown. His love of broadcasting started in 1971 when he joined an Explorer post based at WNBF radio and TV, where he immediately got hooked on the medium. By age 20 in 1975, he was doing the overnight shift on WNBF radio, and for 47 years he was a fixture on the Southern Tier dial, working at WENE and WMRV and then at WLTB (Magic 101.7) since 1997.
Potter had been both operations manager for GM Broadcasting and the midday host on WLTB, part of a tight-knit locally-run operation there. In 2013, he was named a “Living Legend” by the Binghamton Broadcasters for his radio career and for his community involvement, including his support of the Handicapped Children’s Association.
In recent years, he’d been fighting cancer, a battle he lost on Friday. Potter was 67.
*In Albany, Bob Mason was a morning fixture from the 1980s into the mid-2000s, most prominently as half of the “Mason and Sheehan” morning show on WPYX (106.5) when the rock station was high atop the ratings.
A native of Catskill, Mason (born Roy Moon) claimed to have started in radio by building a pirate transmitter. By the late 1970s, he’d made it to Albany and WFLY (92.3), where he did afternoons until crossing over to WPYX in 1981. For the next decade and a half, alongside Cliff Nash and Bill Sheehan, Mason was one of the city’s biggest radio stars, provoking controversy and standing up for state workers.
Mason was hired away by Clear Channel in 1997 for the short-lived WXCR (102.3), later suing the company, claiming he was set up to fail so that Howard Stern could succeed on a sister station. After the lawsuit was settled, Mason worked in New Hampshire for a bit, returned to Albany for a run at Galaxy’s WRCZ (94.5), then retired in 2004, later working at a liquor store.
Mason died Sunday at 73.
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...
