Round two came just hours later - 2 AM to be exact - as the smooth jazz on WRCD (107.3 Honeoye Falls) gave way to rhythmic CHR as "Jam'n 107" -- the first direct competition to ARS/CBS' CHR WPXY (97.9) in a decade. "Jam'n" debuts with 15,107 commercial-free songs in a row; no word yet on who'll be on the air once the talent debuts there. The long-term strategy for WRCD remains unclear, considering that Jacor has filed to move the already-weak suburban signal even further south to Bristol Mountain, where it wouldn't reach the Rochester market -- except, perhaps, through an as-yet-unbuilt 107.9 translator on Rochester's Pinnacle Hill.
Elsewhere in New York: WVOA (105.1 DeRuyter) has a new translator in its "Love Radio" network around Syracuse. W237AY is a 5 watt signal on 95.3 from the Manlius tower of WAQX (95.7), which was itself on 95.3 until a decade or so ago. WVOA's religious and ethnic programming is also heard on WNDR (103.9 Mexico) and W243AB (96.5 Westvale-Syracuse). Syracuse Community Radio is running into a flurry of petitions to deny against its proposed Syracuse-area translators. Geneva's WEOS (89.7) has filed against 89.5 in Marcellus NY, while WBXL in Baldwinsville is filing against a proposed co-channel 90.5 in Skaneateles. Other petitions to deny: Cayuga Community College's WDWN (88.9) has filed against a proposed WPCS (Pensacola FL) translator on the same frequency in Ithaca. And in case there wasn't enough religious radio in the Elmira area, WPEL-FM (96.5 Montrose PA) has applied for a 91.7 Elmira translator, and Family Life Radio has applied for an 88.3 translator in Corning for its WCIH (90.3 Elmira).
The Sound of Life religious network continues to expand, signing on two more stations in the Hudson Valley and Catskills region. WGKR (105.3 Grand Gorge) is aimed at listeners in the Oneonta area, while WGWR is on 88.1 in Liberty.
Albany's WROW (590) has dropped the Fabulous Sports Babe, replacing her with local talk. The Babe has landed across the river at WTMM (1300 Rensselaer), weekdays from 10 till noon.
Babson College now has a student-run radio station -- but don't listen for it on the air. Babson College Radio began broadcasting Tuesday afternoon exclusively on the Web. NERW notes that none of the publicity surrounding the new station mentioned Babson's very long radio history, dating back to the old WBSO, the not-exactly-ancestor station to today's WROL (950) in Boston.
A veteran Boston radio and TV reporter has died. William Harrington was a State House correspondent for WHDH radio, the old WHDH-TV (Channel 5), and WCVB (Channel 5). Harrington died Saturday at age 72.
WINE (940 Brookfield) is simulcasting its country music from sister station WPUT (1510) across the New York line in Brewster.
Welcome back to Bob Steele, the 87-year-old veteran of WTIC (1080) in Hartford. More than sixty years after his WTIC debut, Steele still does a monthly Saturday morning show, which resumes for the season March 7 when Steele returns from his winter down South.
That's it for another week; we'll see you back here next Thursday.