North East RadioWatch: February 1, 1997

Tower For Sale, WFCR on WTTT

by Scott Fybush

• Wanna buy a tower? The five-tower site in Ashland MA that's home to WBPS (890 Dedham-Boston) is up for sale, according to an ad in this week's Broadcasting & Cable. The ad claims the 40-acre site can be used for all kinds of communications, including beepers, cellphone, LPTV, and FM. The site is priced at $3.5 million.

  This could be interesting for WBPS, as word has it that they've had a hard time maintaining their directional pattern as it is. I can't imagine what it would be like with dozens of other antennas hanging from the towers!

  The site was built in 1980 for John Garabedian's WGTR (1060 Natick), which was upgrading from a 1000-watt non-directional daytimer. WGTR later became WBIV (with a few stops along the way), and then in 1994, the station's physical plant was sold to Douglas Broadcasting, which used them to put WBMA (later WBPS) on the air on 890, leaving 1060 dark.

• An unusual partnership between a noncommercial FM and a commercial AM station is making headlines in Amherst MA. WFCR (88.5) is leasing eight hours a day from WTTT (1430 Amherst), to broadcast programming that's otherwise unavailable in the area. The "WFCR on WTTT" schedule runs weekdays from 10am till 6pm, and includes "The Connection" from Boston's WBUR, "Monitor Radio Midday Edition," "The Derek McGinty Show" from WAMU in Washington, "Talk of the Nation" from NPR, "The World" from WGBH in Boston, and "The Diane Rehm Show" from WAMU. WTTT broadcasts short underwriting announcements at the start and end of each hour, and the stations split the revenue. The public radio programming replaces Bloomberg business news on WTTT.

• Tim Johnson, longtime news director at WKVT AM-FM in Brattleboro VT, is moving across route 9 to become news director at WTSA AM-FM in town. Trish Haim replaces him on the news beat at WKVT.

• Last issue's list omitted a handful of dark stations in Upstate New York. WEAV (960) in Plattsburgh NY has been dark for a few months, but word has it that owner George Bissell will have it back on the air before its license is deleted. Its FM sister, WBTZ 99.9, is now LMA'd to a Burlington VT station. WSCP (1070) in Sandy Creek NY is reportedly dark, and WAUB (1590) in Auburn NY has been dark for years. WCSQ (89.3) at Central Square High School in Central Square NY (north of Syracuse) has also been dark for years. It's still in the FCC database, but apparently no longer exists in reality.

• Miscellany from across the region, through the kind courtesy of Dr. Bruce Elving's "FMedia!" newsletter [PO Box 336, Esko MN 55733-0336]:

  The former WPBC (99.5) in Pittsfield ME has reappeared as noncommercial WJCX, rebroadcasting the religious programming from KAWZ Twin Falls ID. 99.5 had been dark for a while. Up in Eastport ME, WSHD (91.7) is off the air because the antenna fell off a pole and has not been reinstalled. NERW believes WSHD is the easternmost radio station in the continental US, at 66 deg., 59 min., 24 sec. West longitude.

• More from the pirate front: It seems Bloomfield CT's "Praise 105.3" was even claiming to have call letters for a time. "FMedia!" says the station went by "WPRZ," calls which belong to AM 1250 in Warrenton VA. The station was reportedly running 60 watts. Meantime, "Radio Free Allston" in the Boston area is looking far and wide for support. Its founder has been running notices in the newsletter of the National Writers Union local, asking for support for the station and promising that it will feature copious coverage of local arts. No sign of any actual broadcasting on 88.5 so far.

• Radio with pix: Look for WHCT (Channel 18) in Hartford to be back on the air any second now. Paxson Communications has bought the long-dark station, and is returning it to the air just shy of the FCC deadline for keeping the license. WHCT is one of America's oldest UHF stations, with a past that includes some time as a CBS-owned outlet in the early 50s, a stint as an RKO-owned outlet with some of the first pay TV in the world, and much later a few years under the ownership of Dr. Gene Scott. WHCT has already been seen testing from its Talcott Mountain transmitter site, across the road from WFSB (Channel 3) and WTIC (1080). Paxson already owns WTWS (Channel 26) in New London CT, which runs his "Infomall" infomercial service.

• O Canada...where have you gone?: That's what CBC listeners in New England could be wondering in a few years. The CBC has applied to move its Montreal outlet, CBM, from 940 to 88.7 FM. CBM's 50 kilowatt signal blankets the region at night. If it disappears, we may see stations such as WINE Brookfield CT and WGFP Webster MA applying for night power. Another Montreal-area AM, CKVL (850 Verdun) is one of the applicants for the vacant 95.1 FM slot. With CKVL gone, night power could be in the offing for WREF (850 Ridgefield CT), and Boston's 50kW WEEI could improve its pattern to the northwest considerably. Competing for 95.1 is the CBC's French-language CBF (690), which has one of the best AM signals in the northeast. CBF's disappearance from the airwaves would allow WADS (690) in Ansonia CT to stay on all night, and could allow a 690 somewhere in upstate New York as well. Another Montreal FM frequency could open up if CIME 99.5 Ste.-Adele is granted a move to 103.9. One broadcaster has already applied for 99.5 in Montreal.

• Musical transmitters, cont: WROR-FM (105.7 Framingham-Boston) is the latest to apply to leave the "FM128" tower in Newton MA. WROR-FM wants to join sister Greater Media outlets WMJX (106.7) and WKLB-FM (96.9) atop the Prudential Tower in Boston, where its studios already grace the 13th floor. Over in the Syracuse NY area, Craig Fox is applying to move WSIV (1540 East Syracuse) to 670 kHz as a 1500 watt daytimer. Fox held a long-expired CP for a WAQX(AM) with similar facilities in the 1980s. Another Fox-linked station, WOLF (1490 Syracuse) has applied to modify its CP for a move to 1510. The original CP listed Lafayette as the city of license; the new one keeps WOLF in Syracuse.

• Station sales: WVMT (620) Burlington and WXXX (95.5) South Burlington VT go from James Broadcasting to Sison Broadcasting. No word on what the new owners have in mind for the stations.

• Everyone's got a Web site: WBMT (88.3) at Masconomet Regional High School in Boxford MA is on the Web...you can find 'em here if you're looking for a well-run high school station.

• Kudos all 'round the Boston print scene: Dean Johnson in the Boston Herald has been on a roll these last few weeks, with a series of excellent articles based on anonymous faxes he's been getting from local radio folks. Dean's articles have been raising a lot of good points about the future of broadcasting in Boston. Congrats as well to Susan Bickelhaupt of the Globe. Dunno whether it was a farewell present to NERW or what -- but her most recent column contained not a single error...it even got the frequency for WBOS (hint: it's not 92.5!) correct. And a light zing to WLVI (Channel 56), for failing to figure out the difference between a Web page and an AOL advertisement.

• Last 'n' least: East Longmeadow MA's WMRE (1600) may not be due for a format change after all. Word has it Saga Communications is warehousing the WMRE calls on 1600 for use elsewhere in the future.

• And that closes the books on the final column to come to you from Waltham MA. NERW hits the road this weekend, and you can expect the next column to arrive from Rochester NY sometime next week. We'll see you then!