North East RadioWatch: December 18, 1997

WKOX Wins One

by Scott Fybush

• After six years of morning drive talk radio in Boston, Marjorie Clapprood is leaving the airwaves. Clapprood's contract with WRKO (680) is up at the end of December, and is not being renewed. Her last show was this morning. Clapprood started out on WHDH (850), co-hosting with Pat Whitley. Their show moved to WRKO in 1992 when the stations came under common ownership (ARS, soon to be CBS), and with Whitley's departure this past spring, the show was re-named "Clapprood and Company." Current co-host "Tai" will stay with WRKO, possibly filling the 10 PM to 1 AM slot now held by Jeff Katz, who moves to mornings to replace Clapprood.

  As for Clapprood's future, she tells the Boston Globe she'll work on a book while considering returning to law school or to television.

• Other news from MASSACHUSETTS: The long-expected format change at Boston's WNRB (1510) finally took place Wednesday night. Gone is the mix of religion and leased-time business talk; in its place is One-on-One Sports from Chicago.

  Could this be the end of WBMT (88.3 Boxford)? NERW hears that the Masconomet Regional School District is considering pulling the plug on the little noncommercial station because of rising maintenance and operation costs. We'll keep you posted as we learn more about WBMT's future.

  Up in Lowell, the first half of WCAP (980)'s annual radiothon on Tuesday raised more than $8,000 for the Salvation Army. The radiothon wraps up Saturday morning. WBZ-TV holds its annual Childrens Hospital Telethon tonight from 8 till 11; it will be simulcast on WBZ (1030) once the Bruins game ends.

  Norm Nathan fans will get a chance to remember the late jazz DJ and talk show host in February, when his family puts on a benefit concert in his memory. It all happens Sunday, February 22, at the Museum of Our National Heritage in Lexington; stay tuned to NERW for ticket details.

  And a clarification on WKOX (1200 Framingham) and its many attempts to move its transmitter: As so many of you have pointed out, route 30 does not run through Sudbury. There were actually two different proposed WKOX sites, one at the former Unisys plant in Sudbury, the other at the former Dow plant on route 30 on the Natick/Wayland line.

• Plenty of news this week from NEW HAMPSHIRE, starting with the "other shoe dropping" in the ARS-Capstar deal on the Seacoast. Earlier this fall, Capstar picked up oldies WQSO (96.7 Rochester) and CHR WERZ (107.1 Exeter); now AM sister stations WZNN (930, CP 1700 Rochester) and WMYF (1540 Exeter) to the deal, for a price reported at between $3 and 6 million.

  Over in Nashua, WSMN (1590) is returning (sort of) to an adult standards format after spending several years as a country station. The country format has become hotly competitive in the Merrimack Valley since WKLB-FM moved to the 99.5 Lowell facility from 96.9 Boston, so WSMN is switching to standards under the "Music of Your Times" moniker.

  Manchester's WKBR (1250) has added a simulcast of WRKO's nightly "Two Chicks Dishing" talk show. It runs from 8 till 11 PM.

  And our best wishes to Gardner Hill, who's returned to his job as host of WKXL (1450/102.3 Concord)'s "Party Line" show after undergoing more than five months of cancer treatment. Hill left the air on June 13, and twenty-one guest hosts filled his chair during his absence. He returned to WKXL with an emotional welcome-back broadcast December 2.

• From MAINE, Freeport's WMSJ is settling down on its new frequency. The religious station is selling its old 91.9 Harpswell facility, and is being heard from the Massachusetts line all the way up to the mid-Coast area on its new, more powerful 89.3 channel. The FCC is still sorting out WMSJ's move -- its database still has 89.3 as "new," while 91.9 is still listed with the WMSJ calls.

  LeSea Broadcasting has applied for a construction permit for the Scotts Corners shortwave facility it's buying. The former WVHA has been off the air for several months.

  Portland news-talker WGAN (560) has a new afternoon anchor. Sid Whitaker joins the Saga-owned station from Fox affiliate WPXT (Channel 51), where he was working the assignment desk.

• Good news from the flagship station of VERMONT Public Radio. WVPS (107.9 Burlington) returned to the air on Saturday, with the help of a tower crew that braved a storm to drive up to Mount Mansfield from Canton, N.Y. WVPS had been operating on greatly reduced power from Mansfield after a storm damaged its transmission line.

  Vermont ETV will change its name to Vermont Public Television after the first of the year to better reflect the network's programming.

  And across the lake in Plattsburgh, NY, Family Broadcasting has received FCC permission to buy WZBZ (1070) from Barry Lunderville; the station will become WDOT when the deal closes.

• A now-defunct CONNECTICUT station has been memorialized in an excellent new Web site. Bill DeFelice's site chronicles the history of WMMM (1260) from sign-on in the 1950s until its demise as a commercial station in September. DeFelice is a former chief engineer at WMMM, and his site includes copious audio and image material from WMMM's history. By the way, WMMM's new owner, non-commercial WSHU (91.1 Fairfield), is promising a December 15 sign-on date for WMMM on its Web page...but NERW readers in Fairfield County say WMMM has yet to return.

• An upstate NEW YORK daytimer is trying again to find a new frequency. WSIV (1540 East Syracuse) has withdrawn its application for 1500 watt daytime-only operation on 670 kHz. It's apparently part of a deal with Binghamton's WINR (680), which now gets the go-ahead to raise its daytime power from 1 to 5 kilowatts. WSIV has applied for 1500 watts, daytime-only, on 720 kHz instead.

  WYSL (1040) in Avon has finally turned on its night power, several months after moving to the "24-hour" 1040 frequency from its old daytime-only spot on 1030. WYSL is staying on until 6:30 pm nightly with a simulcast of WOKR (Channel 13)'s newscasts.

  A few new stations are taking to the airwaves in the Catskills. WGKR (105.3 Grand Gorge) has applied for a license to cover from the FCC. It's the newest outlet of the Sound of Life religious network. Also applying for licenses to cover are translators W231AG (94.1) and W293AE (106.3) in Newburgh.

  The Rochester Knighthawks' lacrosse games will be on two Rochester-area stations next season. The team will move from WHAM (1180) to Jacor sister stations WHTK (1280 Rochester) and WMHX (102.3 Canandaigua) next year. It'll be a rare split of the simulcast between WMHX and WMAX-FM (106.7 Irondequoit-Rochester) during the games.

  Radio with Pictures: Kevin O'Neill, the "Why Guy" feature reporter at Buffalo's WIVB (Channel 4), is taking his dispute with the station very public. In an interview with the Buffalo News, O'Neill said this week that he wants to break his contract with WIVB because he's not being paid enough -- and he wants to take job offers in New York or Miami. In Syracuse, W18AL (Channel 18) is back with a simulcast of The Box programming from W35AQ (Channel 35). And as Lowell Paxson gets ready to launch his PaxNet next August, he's changed the calls on more than a dozen of his TV stations. WAQF (Channel 51) Batavia-Buffalo-Rochester will sign on under the WPXV call letters instead if the FCC approves.

And that's it for this week; we'll be back in seven days with the first part of NERW's annual Year in Review. Have a great holiday...and if you're traveling, let us know what you hear on the radio dials as you go!