NERW roundup
National News: In this week's installment of NorthEast Radio Watch, Scott Fybush reports on an apparently erroneous call-letter change in central Pennsylvania, on a morning team headed from Pennsylvania's state capital to California's, and lots of other great, great stuff from Noo Yawk, Bawhston and all points northeast. (A little birdie would like us to mention that Scott also has a few 2007 Tower Site Calendars left as well, and grab 'em while they're available --- 'cause when they're gone, they're gone.)Former KD engineer passes
Pittsburgh:
Commenters on the Pittsburgh Radio Nostalgia message board report that former KDKA-TV (2) engineer Al Goetz of Ross Township passed away earlier this week at age 72. Goetz is survived by his wife, Angie, daughter Lisa, and brother Richard. Memorial contributions may be made to Animal Friends.
'Tell 'em you heard it on Mike McGann!'
Pittsburgh: (Mini-Commentary From Jason Togyer) I'm a pretty progressive guy, but I have to assume that right now (3:48 p.m. Thursday), several dozen Buick Park Avenues are crashed in ditches around Pittsburgh as their elderly drivers sputter with rage and confusion. A few minutes ago, during the Mike McGann Show, WJAS (1320) ran a commercial for a counselor in "gender issues" who can discuss hormone therapy if you want to "make the transition from F-T-M or M-T-F." ("Show the world the real you inside.") (more)Reach out and watch someone
Pittsburgh:
Competition for the cable TV company? It's coming to parts of Pennsylvania. And Pittsburgh area communities need to band together if they want to quickly negotiate agreements to obtain new fiber-optic television service from Verizon, says O'Hara Township attorney Dan Cohen. According to the Tribune-Review, parts of eastern Pennsylvania are going to be among the first in the United States to receive the new TV service, called Verizon FiOS, which could provide real competition for monopoly cable TV systems like Comcast. But the phone company doesn't want to just copy the 1960s-era cable TV contracts with local governments, and it also doesn't want to negotiate with each of Allegheny County's 130 municipalities separately. Several boroughs and townships in the eastern, southern and northern parts of Allegheny County, including Monroeville and the members of the North Hills Council of Government, have hired Cohen to negotiate franchise agreements with Verizon as a group. Still to be determined: Who's responsible for cancelling "According to Jim," and will they please do it soon?
620 recalls the late-70's sound of 1250 & 1320
Pittsburgh:
During those hours when 620 KHB is not airing paid programming, the station has moved from 60s and 70s oldies to what owner Bob Stevens describes as a "variety" format. The music change occurred at midnight Saturday night (4/21). "I would say that the format is about seventy percent 'TAE with a bit of "13Q" mixed in," Stevens told PBRTV. WTAE-AM (1250) in the 1970s had a lite sound with groups like The Carpenters while WKTQ 13Q (1320 AM) had more of a rock sound to it. Clarke Ingram, operations manager/program director of 620 KHB and sister station 770 KFB, indicated that specialty programs such as the Saturday & Sunday polka shows, Ingram's Saturday-afternoon oldies show and Jay Thurber's Sunday-night program, would continue as before. KFB's format remains unchanged with a focus on the 60s.
Meanwhile, we heard from a PBRTV reader who writes about KHB and KFB's sister stations - "Just to let you know that translators on 105.1 FM and 104.1 FM are now up and running. Broadcast Communications Inc. is running the 106.9 FM WRIJ (Masontown, PA) programming on 104.1 & running 103.1 FM WANB (Waynesburg, PA) on 105.1 FM. I can pick up both as far north from Waynesburg, to about Washington, PA while driving on I-79. The signal of both, going I-79 reaches to about Morgantown, WV. Both reach into downtown Uniontown, PA while driving out US 40/PA 21."
Did I call it?
Pittsburgh:Ok, so it didn't even wait until Friday's Q&A. But Rob Owen did receive a few complaints about the weather interruptions on 4/23. Despite the complaints, Owen states, "...but by now I think most viewers understand that local TV stations serve a large geographic area, and just because there's no danger of a tornado at your home doesn't mean there isn't danger elsewhere in the viewing area."
Of course, the one complaint I wasn't expecting was the unintended interruption of Fox's "24". The most intense moment was interrupted by a promo for Channel 11 News on Fox 53. According to station management, the error was human and most certainly unintentional. Be that as it may, the station may never be forgiven by Pittsburgh fans of "24".
'Thumbs up' from Ebert
National News:
Chicago Sun-Times and syndicated TV movie critic Roger Ebert is slowly getting back into action after being sidelined for nearly a year by serious health problems, including cancer, bleeding in the brain and a tracheostomy. "To paraphrase a line from 'Raging Bull,' I ainÂ’t a pretty boy no more," he says. "(Not that I ever was. The original appeal of 'Siskel & Ebert' was that we didnÂ’t look like we belonged on TV.) ... I was told photos of me in this condition would attract the gossip papers. So what?" Ebert says that we spend too much time "hiding illness," that his condition is steadily improving, and that he has no plans to miss his annual Overlooked Film Festival at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, though he'll be seated in a reclining chair to ease his back pain. "Photos of me in the chair should be captioned 'La-Z-Critic,' he says. "Ebert & Roeper" airs locally early Sunday mornings on WTAE-TV (4) in Pittsburgh and WTAJ-TV (10) in Altoona, and Saturday afternoons on WFMJ-TV (21) in Youngstown.
Musings: The Weather
Pittsburgh:I am almost willing to bet that in this week's Post-Gazette Q&A Column where Rob Owen answers the emails of TV viewers, someone is going to ask something like, "Will WTAE ever re-air the 'Dancing with the Stars' that they so RUDELY interrupted on Monday night?" Or better yet, "Why does WTAE feel they have to interrupt our favorite programming to tell us about a storm in Mercer County?" I missed the show and the interruption, but I can probably piece it together from the clues in the 11:00 newscast.
(more)Whitlock to replace Imus?
National News: Radio Ink is reporting that Kansas City Star columnist Jason Whitlock was recently interviewed by WFAN PD Mark Chernoff for the syndicated morning show once hosted by Don Imus. Whitlock wrote about the controversy in a recent column saying that "rap lyrics are doing more harm than anything Don Imus could say. Whitlock, who has done morning radio before in Kansas City, is not sure that he wants the position. He feels that he's getting plenty of notoriety where he is.
Meanwhile, in another RI article, Imus reportedly hired high-powered, New York laywer-to-the-stars Martin Garbus. Garbus wouldn't elaborate on why Imus hired him, but some observers think a lawsuit may be coming.
Imus once aired locally on 1550 AM WURP, and was set to return to the station on the same day his original two-week suspension was to begin.
WKRP on DVD
National News:Everybody's favorite radio station is coming to DVD. The first season of"WKRP in Cincinnati" starring Gordon Jump, Loni Anderson and Carnegie-Mellon graduate Richard Sanders, will be released on 4/24. One can recall the days when most stations were privately owned and the jocks were live, but as Radio Ink points out, Dr. Johnny Fever and Venus Flytrap could always drop everything and show up at Jennifer's apartment when she had a problem. One change in the program will be the music heard on the radio station. Thanks to copyright issues, the Top-40 music used has been replaced with generic music.
AP honors W.Va. stations
West Virginia: WSAZ-TV (3) in Huntington was named "Outstanding News Operation" and "Outstanding Sports Operation" by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association on Saturday. Sinclair Broadcasting's WCHS-TV (8) and WVAH-TV (11) in Charleston combined to take home 12 first-place awards. In radio, West Virginia Public Broadcasting had six first-place awards, while Marshall University's WMUL-FM (88.1) had five. (Associated Press via Huntington Herald-Dispatch)Pete's got the beat
Pittsburgh:
Few oldies stations in the United States have a sound like Washington's WJPA-AM/FM, says Terry Hazlett in the Observer-Reporter, and the man to thank is program director and morning host Pete Povich. Povich paints a sound portrait from a palette of "a mind-boggling 5,000 oldies culled from the '50s, '60s, '70s and '80s," Hazlett writes. A WJPA employee since 1983, Povich says that small alterations keep the format "fresh," and he tries to add songs that are featured in commercials and movies while also accepting feedback from listeners. "Logically, radio should be able to play a lot of songs because people remember a lot of songs," he says. "It's easier, though, to repeatedly play the 300 oldies that have tested well over the years, have low burnout with listeners and are by very familiar artists. But a good song is a good song, and I try to pick a lot of good songs."
New Morning host for WYEP
Pittsburgh: Effective 4/30, WYEP (91.3 FM) will have a new weekday morning host. Cindy Howes will move into the region from Boston where she held positions at WBOS and WERS-FM both public stations. Howes also produces a podcast known as "Cindy Cast." She will be taking over for Kyle Smith who is 'YEP's director of content and programming. (PG)Potpourri
Pittsburgh:From the Post Gazette:
- The "Scary Voice" known for doing news promos on KDKA-TV has disappeared. The station has hired a "New Voice." Neither one has a name apparently.
- Programming note: The Friday night prime time slot for WQED-TV's Black Horizons has been taken over by the new Bill Moyers' Journal from PBS. Black Horizons will continue to air on Sundays at 2 PM and re-air on Tuesdays at 12:30 AM.
- If you're awaiting the new Pittsburgh-set sit-com "Action News" starring Kelsey Grammar and Patricia Heaton, you better prepare for a change. The program title has been changed to "Back to You." Apparently the title change has nothing to do with WTAE-TV's newscast name but has more to do with other projects of the same name.
- Looking for your "Weather Watch 4 forecast" and traffic anytime? WTAE has launched a 24-hour channel. It's available on digital transmission on Channel 4.2, Comcast channel 204 and Armstrong Channel 450.
First Musings in the NEW Format
Pittsburgh: Wow! What a new format. What's really great is that one can now publish information to the site from any computer he happens to be working on. We here at PBRTV hope that you are enjoying the changes so far and hope you will stay tuned for what's yet to come! In the first edition of "Eric' Musings" in this new format, we're going to address some very recent emails, our new look and a topic nobody wants to hear about...but we ask that you do anyway. (more)Sixth-grade DJs rock St. Mary's
Johnstown-Altoona-State College: Two sixth-graders from St. Mary's Area Middle School have passed up paper routes and dog-walking jobs to get behind the microphone at WKBI (1400) in St. Mary's, reports WJAC-TV (6). Matt Wickett, who is legally blind, has a "remarkable knowledge of music," the station says, while Alex Schreiber provides technical skills and "attention to detail." Their teacher calls them local celebrities, and the boys tell WJAC they'd love to work in either "Detroit or Los Angeles" one day. (Fellas, take PBRTV's advice and choose Los Angeles.) WKBI's website reports that the duo is to receive an award from the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters on May 7 in Hershey.Hazlett: We're not watching TV ... right!
Pittsburgh: Terry Hazlett of the Observer-Reporter wants to know why no one is watching "Dancing With The Stars" or "American Idol," and yet everyone seems to know exactly what happened to Sanjaya last night. Good question!WNCI "Morning Zoo" in Y-town
Youngstown: Friday Morning Quarterback reports that Dave & Jimmy, hosts of the "Morning Zoo" on CHR WNCI-FM Columbus, Ohio, for 17 years, are now being carried on Clear Channel sister station "Kiss FM" WAKZ-FM (95.9), licensed to Sharpsville, Pa., but based in Youngstown.VA Tech Massacre hits home
Erie-Meadville:
The following was sent to me by WQLN's Classical music host, Wally Faas. It was sent to him and others by Seth Williamson. He hosts a Classical music program on Virginia Tech station, WVTF. Our thoughts & prayers are with everyone at Virginia Tech. Tom Lavery - EMRTV
Melts on the tube, not in your hand
Johnstown-Altoona-State College: Somehow this slipped under the radar at PBRTV World News Headquarters ... several Central Pennsylvania candy makers were featured in a recent documentary on cable TV's "Discovery Times" channel, according to the Patriot-News of Harrisburg. The makers of "Chocolate Wars" spent four days filming at (of course) Hershey Chocolate in you-know-where and also visited Altoona's Boyer Candy Co., maker of Mallo Cups and Peanut Butter Smoothies (a favorite of a certain PBRTV correspondent).The New PBRTV
Pittsburgh: Welcome to the new PBRTV.com! (more)Steigy out at KDKA
Pittsburgh: Citing unnamed but "multiple sources," Bob Smizik of the Post-Gazette says that John Steigerwald's contract with KDKA-TV (2) will not be renewed when it expires in October. That would appear to end Steigerwald's 22-year career at KD, except for what Smizik says would be "occasional appearances." Steigerwald recently launched a daily sports talk show on KD's corporate sibling, WTZN-FM (93.7) "The Zone," and sources told Smizik that he is "looking forward" to concentrating on the radio gig. Steigerwald has been a TV fixture in Pittsburgh since 1978, having begun his career in the sports department at WTAE-TV (4).HGTV spotlight on 'Burgh
Pittsburgh: Six area homes were filmed for the HGTV cable channel's "What You Can Get For Your Money," which according to the Trib's Bob Karlovits, "shows how much house you can get for your money in different places." The footage is expected to air over the next few months.Imus off the air at CBS
National News: One day after MSNBC announced that they would no longer simulcast the Imus in the Morning show and numerous sponsors pulled their ads, CBS announced that Imus will no longer be on the air. CBS President & CEO Les Moonves and other execs have spent the last several days meeting with people of different races and economic groups. The discussion of the negative language with those groups as well as many emails and phone calls led to the decision.In a statement (available on Radio Ink) Moonves said, "I want to thank all those who came to see us to express their views. We are now presented with a significant opportunity to expand on our record on issues of diversity, race and gender. We intend to seize that opportunity as we move forward together." Imus was originally supposed to have a two-week suspension beginning 4/16 - ironically the same day he would have returned to the Pittsburgh airwaves via 1550 AM WURP.