Before we leap into a new year's news, a word of thanks to all of you who responded so energetically to last week's Rant. It's nice indeed to know that I'm not the only one who still remembers radio. The question we'll try to begin answering this year is: what can we all do to save the medium we love?
On the other side of the Nutmeg State, WKZE (1020 Sharon) rang in the New Year with an unusual nighttime broadcast. The 2500-watt daytimer (1800 watts during critical hours) pushed the boundaries of FCC regulation by signing back on at 11 PM and remaining on until just after 1 AM New Year's Day, with its usual music format but no commercials. Up here in Rochester, the frequency was still dominated by KDKA, but the WKZE broadcast was heard as far away as Albany and Stamford, at least.
So long, "News 4 New England," and welcome back, "WBZ 4 News," as Boston's number-three newsroom tries again to recover the momentum that disappeared around the time (can it be five years ago already?) the NBC peacock yielded to the CBS eye. Across town, Brian Leary is leaving WCVB (Channel 5) to start his own Web business, adding more uncertainty to an anchor roster already reeling from news of Chet Curtis and Natalie Jacobsen's separation. Leary was one of the class acts in Boston TV; he'll be sorely missed.
Another class act who'll be sorely missed is Al Needham, the voice of news at Salem's WESX (1230) for what seems like forever. The 65-year-old retired New Year's Eve after 33 years at the station.
Pirate watch: We're hearing there's an 89.3 somewhere around Malden running Haitian religious programming at fairly high power.
A few updates from the Year in Review: it seems two deals mentioned in the "sales" column didn't go through. Carter Broadcasting is keeping its New England network, including WROL (950 Boston), after a proposed sale to Catholic Family Radio collapsed. And at least for the moment, the sale of WKOX (1200 Framingham) from Fairbanks to B-Mass still hasn't closed. We'll keep you posted...
Hey, it's Orgy(TM) season at Harvard! Well, maybe not in the dorms...but certainly on the radio, where WHRB (95.3 Cambridge) launched this year's season on Monday. The highlight this year? 207 hours of Bach, nonstop from 5 PM Sunday (1/9) until 10 PM January 18. The quirky one? The Sports Orgy, 3 1/2 hours Saturday and Sunday of the very best in Harvard sports broadcasting. And this year, you can hear it all on the Web at <http://www.whrb.org>.
Coming soon to an island near you: The folks at WGBH are almost ready to turn on the first half of their new service to Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket. WNAN (91.1 Nantucket) is slated to be on the air before the end of the month, with WCAI (90.1 Woods Hole) following as soon as some issues surrounding the Martha's Vineyard transmitter site can be resolved. The stations are in good hands, with veteran NPR producer (and head honcho of the very cool "Lost and Found Sound" project) Jay Allison running the show. Find out more at their new Web site.
There's a new name on the license at WJTO (730 Bath), but not to
fear. "Blue Jey Broadcasting" and Bob Bittner are one and the same,
and he promises the change to a corporate name is not any kind of
indication that Lowry or Mel will be taking over any time soon.
Across town, Rod Ryan has left the PD chair at WQBK/WQBJ and WHRL,
headed for morning drive in the Big Easy. Ryan will take over the
time slot at KKND (106.7 Port Sulphur LA) most recently occupied by
some guy named Howard Stern. No replacement has been named at the
Albany Clear Channel stations.
Up north, WMSA (1340 Massena) has switched from AC to adult standards,
and North Country reporter Mike Roach says the station is now running
24/7 (it used to sign off at 10 PM weekdays, 8 PM on weekends).
There's something about fires, Niagara Falls, and radio stations, or
so it seems. Just a week after WJJL (1440) lost its Main Street
studio in a fire, crosstown WHLD (1270) lost its Harris SX5
transmitter to flame. Fortunately, WHLD had a brand-new Harris DX5
waiting to go on the air at its new transmitter site (diplexed with
WNED 970) down in Hamburg; that unit was moved to the old WHLD site on
Grand Island and placed into emergency service.
In Toronto, morning host Michael Coren has been ousted from CFYI (Talk
640) after three months. No replacement has been named....
But the big news from Canada came from the CRTC, which renewed the
CBC's licenses for another seven years -- but with a host of
requirements that new CBC president Robert Rabinovitch says he can't
meet.
On the English radio side, the CRTC denied the CBC's plea for
sponsorship announcements, while calling on the Corporation to add
several new Radio One transmitters (at Cherryville BC and Gilmour ON)
and work to expand Radio Two service. For French radio, sponsorship
announcements were also denied, while the CRTC said it expected an
increase in distribution of la chaîne culturelle (French Radio 2),
which is now available only in Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick. By
the end of the license term, the CRTC wants the service made available
in 50% of each province, including each provincial capital.
(Politically correct, sure -- but how many people in Edmonton or
Victoria will listen?)
The big expense, though, is with English TV. The CRTC expressed great
concern about the direction the service is taking, calling on the CBC
to expand its regional (non-news) production dramatically. The
license renewal also calls for the return of the regional weekend
newscasts that were dropped during the budget cuts of the '90s.
All well and good -- but Rabinovitch says it would cost C$50 million
to implement, and that's money the CBC doesn't have. Rabinovitch
tells the Globe and Mail the only way he can do it is "if someone
wants to buy the Toronto Broadcast Centre from me."
Of course, in the strange world that is Canadian broadcast regulation,
Rabinovitch has another option: he can simply ignore the CRTC, which
has no power to pull the licenses of CBC stations (something it can do
to private broadcasters). How that would play on Parliament Hill is,
naturally, another matter.
CBC pledge drive, anyone?
Finally this week, our best wishes to Pat Townson, the interim moderator of rec.radio.broadcaster (and longtime moderator of Telecom Digest). We hear he's recovering from the stroke he suffered around Thanksgiving, and we're looking forward to his imminent return to the Net.
That's it for the first week of 2000. We'll be on an irregular schedule for the remainder of January as we head off to Northern and Central California to bask in the RF glory of KPIG, KOTR, and their ilk. Expect a brief NERW Update later this week, then a late NERW on or around Sunday, January 23.