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 2021: Those We Lost
It’s time once again for our Year in Review, the 28th time we’ve gathered up our headlines from the previous 12 months and tried to sum it all up for you.
Earlier this week, we brought you The Year in Station Sales (here) and The Year in People and Formats (here and here), followed by the “Top Ten Stories of the Year” yesterday (here).
We’ll resume our regular NorthEast Radio Watch report with an update on Monday, January 3. 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 with a look at the broadcasters and media people our region lost in the last twelve months.
This year’s roster included many legendary voices, some pioneering station owners and behind-the-scenes personnel – and, just as in 2020, too many voices silenced too early as COVID continued to ravage the region and the industry.
We remember all of them, and all of the contributions they made to our business.
GRANT HUDSON, 76, legendary CKLW Windsor newsman (Dec. 16)
MARIO DiCARLO, 98, WHOB Nashua owner (Dec. 29)
MICHAEL “Mike at Work” NEFF, 68, WOGA Mansfield PA middayer (Dec. 31)
LARRY GREEN, 80, Toronto radio host (Jan. 2)
TOM BIGBY, 77, longtime WIP/WPHT PD (Jan. 3)
BILL RAPPELYE, 66, Rhode Island TV reporter (Jan. 5)
JOHN HERRICK, 83, Elmira radio, TV news director (Jan. 5)
TONY MOWOD, 85, Pittsburgh jazz host (Jan. 6)
NORM JARY, 91, CJOY Guelph ND and mayor (Jan. 8)
JEAN CONNELLY, 97, WTAE Pittsburgh host (Jan. 12)
JEFF SHANNON, 56, (right) WCIZ/WWNY-TV Watertown (Jan. 13)
STEVEN SILBERBERG, New England radio owner (Jan. 13)
JOANNE ROGERS, 92, Mr. Rogers’ widow (Jan. 14)
“Little Walter” DeVENNE, 73, Boston oldies host (Jan. 16)
LARRY KING, 87, talk show legend (Jan. 23)
CECI SOMMERS, 85, WQED-FM station manager (Feb. 3)
LISA MEYER, 66, WBZ, CBS Radio News, AP anchor (Feb. 10)
SHANE “Brother Shane” GIBSON, 78, WKBW, WGR Buffalo (Feb. 15)
CODY ANDERSON, 78, Philadelphia GM, WHAT owner (Feb. 20)
TONY BROWN, 78, WDAS/WUSL “Quiet Storm” host (Feb. 24)
KANE (Peter Deibler), 43, iHeart morning host, ex-WKCI, WWHT (Mar. 6)
DICK SMYTH, 86, CKLW, CHUM, CFTR newsman (Mar. 6)
HEATHER SHEPPARD, 46, WGLY morning co-host (Mar. 7)
RAY WHITE, 69, WLIR, WAPP, WNEW-FM, WQCD host (Mar. 7)
RON JAYE (Ronald Krauth), 86, Pittsburgh TV host (Mar. 12)
NORM WRIGHT, 82, Ottawa anchor, CHLK-FM founder (Mar. 15)
CHIP HOBART, Vermont broadcaster, WAPP DJ (Mar. 17)
RICK AZAR, 91, WKBW-TV sports legend (Mar. 25)
MATT TRABOLD, 30, WHAM-TV photojournalist (Apr. 1)
PAUL SMITH (Saul Stockman), 90, WINS morning man for 30 years (Apr. 4)
ERNIE TETREAULT, 93, WRGB anchor for 42 years (Apr. 8)
MARK MITCHELL (Wurzburger), New Jersey, NYC jock (April)
BOB PORTER, 80, WBGO host (Apr. 10)
CARY PALL, 69, veteran DJ/programmer (Apr. 11)
TOMMY LEE WALKER (Thomas Lohmann), 47, WRWD jock (Apr. 12)
BOB FASS, 87, WBAI freeform legend (Apr. 24)
RON CHAPMAN, 85, Haverhill native, Dallas radio legend (Apr. 26)
PABLO de JESUS COLON, Jr., 86, CT Spanish-language broadcast pioneer (Apr. 29)
ARTHUR GREENWALD, 68, former KDKA-TV executive producer (Apr. 30)
LOREN MANN, 74, WGBN Pittsburgh owner (May 9)
TOMMY SHANNON, 82, Buffalo radio legend (May 26)
HARRY “Bud” NELSON, 71, veteran programmer (June 4)
CHUCK CARVER, 66, PA station owner (June 1)
MAURICE COHEN, 100, (right) WCAP Lowell founder (June 3)
DENNIS DUNBAR, WSKG, WGBY engineer (June)
SEAN TYSZLER, 44, WMMR “Rockin’ Rabbi” (June 15)
CALEB JAMES, 58, WBRX Altoona morning man (June 22)
WILL STANLEY, 73, WKZE owner (June 22)
ERNIE FARRAR, 78, WVMT morning man 1967-2018 (July 7)
JIM MURPHY, 44, WBZ-TV editor (July 20)
DAVE WHITE, 71, Syracuse newsman (Aug. 9)
NEAL CONAN, 71, WBAI, WRVR newsman turned NPR host (Aug. 10)
ORESTES “Mr. D” DEMETRIADES, 99, WNTN Newton owner (Aug. 12)
FEZ WHATLEY (Todd Hillier), 57, “Ron and Fez” co-host (Aug. 13)
PETER C. CAVANAUGH, 79, WNDR Syracuse jock, later WTAC Flint (Aug. 13)
WAYNE HARRETT, 60, (right) CFEP Halifax founder (Aug. 14)
BRIAN DODGE, 65, controversial New England broadcaster (Aug. 14)
THURSTON BRISCOE, 74, WBGO PD, NPR producer (Aug. 16)
TONY BANKS (Anthony Napoleoni, Jr.), 53, WPRO-FM, WPLJ DJ, WKRZ PD (Sep. 5)
PHIL SCHAAP, 70, WKCR jazz host (Sep. 7)
BIG DADDY GRAHAM (Ed Gudonis), 68, WIP overnight host (Sep. 8)
PAUL JASON (Kolacki), 61, Rochester jock (Sep. 9)
“Banana Joe” MONTIONE, 67, PA radio host, owner (Sep. 11)
BERNIE FIONTE, 90, Binghamton news veteran (Sep. 12 )
ALLAN SLAIGHT, 90, legendary Canadian station owner (Sept. 19)
SUE BAHNER, 93, WWWG Rochester station manager (Sept. 23)
JOHN RIGAS, 96, Adelphia Communications founder (Sept. 30)
ALAN KALTER, 78, NYC talent turned Letterman announcer (Oct. 4)
PETER SILVERMAN, 90, CityTV consumer advocate (Oct. 8)
JIM PIERCE, 69, Long Island engineer and WEER owner (Oct. 12)
BOB NEUMEIER, 70, WBZ-TV and NBC Sports anchor (Oct. 23)
JERRY REMY, 68, Red Sox announcer (Oct. 30)
BRAD DAVIS, 87, WTIC, WDRC Hartford (Nov. 2)
DICK WOOD (Richard Woodward), 91, Albany, Providence TV anchor (Nov. 5)
CHRIS LASH, 57, PA station owner, programmer (Nov. 8)
DICK KANE, 81, CNY engineer (Nov. 9)
ROSALIE TROMBLEY, 82, (right) legendary CKLW music director (Nov. 23)
MEL GOLLUB, 93, WIFI Philly, WRNJ Atlantic City founder (Nov. 28)
DEAN JOHNSON, 67, WBZ, WCAP host, Boston Herald radio columnist (Dec. 1)
PAT DELSI (Pasquale Del Signore), 86, NJ/Philly station owner (Dec. 1)
BOB BRANDON, 74, Butler PA station owner (Dec. 7)
ERIC (Anzalone) CHRISTENSEN, 50, Cape Cod jock, promotions guy (Dec. 8)
ROD WOOD (Roderic Woodruff Groat), 81, veteran Syracuse anchor (Dec. 12)
CHRIS PROSPERO, 52, Forever State College OM (Dec. 21)
SCOTT JOHNSON, 53, WHYL Carlisle and many Harrisburg stations (Dec. 24)
THE 2025 TOWER SITE CALENDAR IS SHIPPING NOW!
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!
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NorthEast Radio Watch 12/9/2024: Two Big Losses in Western NY
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NorthEast Radio Watch 12/2/2024: Wingham’s Main Radio Man Retires
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