Erie's Lilly Broadcasting stations to carry Kanzius telethon
Erie-Meadville: Of course it's that time of year again for the "Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon" which is a very worthy cause. You can catch it in Erie on WJET TV 24 / DT 24-1. While the fight against muscular distrophy is important, there is another upcoming telethon that is just as worthy. On September 16th at 7pm, The Lilly Broadcasting family of stations will be carrying a one hour telethon to benefit the John Kanzius Cancer Research Foundation (www.johnkanziuscancerresearchfoundation.org/). John along with Myron Jones was an owner / manager of WJET TV, WJET 1400 and later "Jet FM 102", "Froggy 94.7", WHOT AM and FM Youngstown and also owned WWOW 1360 Conneaut, Ohio separately. He would decide to retire in 2000 and sell all of the broadcast properties between 1998 - 2000. In 2002, he developed Cancer which would turn out to be a form of Leukemia. While most people would have a hard time dealing with such adversity, John decided to use his wealth of broadcast experience and develop a method of fighting cancer using radio waves. You can read more details at the website listed in this article. As for the telethon itself, you can catch it on WICU TV 12 (DT 12-1 or DT 35-3), WSEE TV 35 (DT 35-1), or WBEP on DT 35-2 or on cable. My guess is that it will be hosted by Scott Bremner from WSEE and Amanda Post from WICU. However, I'm just basing that on the promo the stations are airing.Do you rely on TV listings in the paper anymore?
Erie-Meadville: In the modern world of accessing information on the internet, this could apply to the newspaper industry in general. However, I'll keep it geared towards the TV listings that come with the Sunday paper. Are they as important to you as they used to be? You can now access listings from tvguide.com or my favorite zap2it.com. I still tend to check out the listings called "TV Week" in the Sunday Erie Times-News and notice a few things about the listings. One is that they are still geared towards the over the air analog and cable TV crowd. Second, there is absolutely no information regarding the changeover to digital TV for over the air viewers. Information regarding converter boxes and channel locations would help to further inform the viewer that a change is coming. In a few months, this will be the only way viewers will be able to watch most over the air stations and they could be left scrambling without their favorite programs. Most digital stations in Erie do carry the same programs as their analog counterparts but WQLN occasionally carries different programs on their analog and digital stations. However, you wouldn't know that if you only relied on the Sunday paper for listings. I'd list the 3 Erie stations that currently carry over the air HD programming separately from the analog listings. Also mention that the same stations are available on Time Warner cable and their channel locations there. But again, is this really something to worry about in a time when most people rely on the internet for TV listings? I think it is for the sake of those who do not even have a computer. Your thoughts are welcome here."Going down. Next stop: 23"
Pittsburgh:The Neilsen Company released their new market rankings this week. In January, Pittsburgh will be the 23rd largest television market. The city retained spot number 22 for nearly 5 years but was recently pushed out by Portland, Oregon. Local station managers don't see this as a huge problem. In fact some would say that Pittsburgh has already seen the worst dropping out of the Top 10 and later the Top 20. KDKA/WPCW GM Chris Pike told the PG, "Advertisers are more likely to look at current sales in a market, what opportunities for growth there are, and those won't be based on whether Portland has 10,000 more homes than Pittsburgh." WPXI GM Ray Carter said, "It's not that we've had hundreds of thousands of people leaving. Our loss was fairly insignificant. It's just that other markets are growing."
Bob Hannon leaves WYTV
Youngstown: WYTV 33 sports director Bob Hannon has left the station following the newscast on Friday night (August 29th). He is moving on from "Big Board Sports" to become the new president and chief professional officer of the Youngstown / Mahoning Valley United Way according to a report on vindy.com. He will start there on Labor Day, September 1st. Bob has been part of WYTV for 20 years and has also been the voice of the Youngstown State University Penguins football program, calling all four of their national championship wins. In addition, he has also covered Ohio State University Buckeyes football program, coached by former Penguins coach Jim Tressel. His work on WYTV has won him numerous AP awards over the years and such work has provided him with contacts he'll likely get in touch with for United Way fundraisers in the Mahoning Valley.Spaghetti: Coming to a breakfast near you!
Pittsburgh:Celebrating 25 years as an event this year is the KDKA Radio Spaghetti Breakfast. John Cigna, who started the event in 1983, will be on hand for the occasion with the current morning team of Larry Richert and John Shumway. The rest of the airstaff is expected to be there as is former overnight host, Bob Logue.
The event will be held in Market Square from 5:00 - 9:00 AM on Friday, September 19. Volunteers from the American Heart Association and DelGrosso foods are expecting to serve a recordbreaking 6000 meals this year with the remaining supplies going to local food banks. The event is free and open to the public.
Nobody told us...
Pittsburgh:...but now we know that Pittsburgh is playing host to the National Radio Club's convention starting today and going through Sunday. The NRC is celebrating their 75th anniversary and is proud to be holding the event in the city celebrating its 250th anniversary.
WTAE 50 Anniversary Special a true gem
Pittsburgh:The baby of "the big 3" local affiliates in Pittsburgh - not to mention VHF outlets, WTAE-TV (4) celebrated it's upcoming 50th Anniversary last night with a look back over the years. Sally Wiggin did a marvelous job of capturing an hour's worth of footage. (I could have gone for another three or four hours myself!) The special, which repeats on Saturday at 1:00 PM and is available in three segments at the station's website, recalls the children's programming of yesteryear when the ABC affiliation was in its infancy and most programs were locally produced. Extensive interviews with John G. Comomikes, Joe DeNardo and Bill Hillgrove remember the late Paul Long and long-time co-anchor Don Cannon - the team Conomikes brought together in 1969 to make the station's newscasts more competative. One segment also recalls the late Myron Cope who died earlier this year.
The station signed on September 14, 1958 from its current studio location at 400 Admore Boulevard in Wilkinsburg. For the last several weeks the station has been touting that it will begin High Definition news broadcasts within the next few weeks.
More: PG
WSEE finally goes HD
Erie-Meadville: Tirak's HDTV Watch: According to reports on Erie's AVS Forum page, WSEE DT 35-1 finally went HD after 1:30pm on August 26th. I had checked 15 minutes earlier with no change but later checked and WSEE will now be sending CBS programming in HD 1080i over the air. Nothing was on in HD at the time but even on my OTA converter box, I can now change the picture ratio. Apparently, there was a software issue that had to be sorted out before the change could occur. I cannot confirm if the same is true for Time Warner customers who have HD service if the channel is available there. Feel free to let me know if you see WSEE in HD on Time Warner or Armstrong cable. The first CBS HD program was "The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric". I did notice a slight echo problem which is one of the bugs that is to be expected early on. WSEE is also carrying the digital station in standard definition on Dish Network, which looks better than it's washed out analog station did previously. All cable and satellite companies will down convert local digital stations for SD customers by next February. Kudos to WSEE for being Erie's first full powered commercial HDTV station.Hagman out at KQV
Pittsburgh:Former KQV sports director Eric Hagman insists he didn't resign and KQV management insists he wasn't fired. So says Bob Smizik of the elimination of Hagman's position. Hagman was surprised by the move but says that it was based on financial reasons. The station originally wanted to reassign him to general news anchor - the slot vacated by the death of Steve Lohle - but Hagman refused saying "the only position for which I was properly trained was eliminated."
Hagman began working at KQV in 1988 and has been the sports director since 1990. For the time being he works in real estate and is still eligable to collect unemployment. Although he hasn't contacted any stations, Hagman won't close doors on any possible sports opportunities at other stations. He will not leave Pittsburgh.
Smizik: New direction for ESPN here
Pittsburgh:When WEAE-AM (1250) retooled their programming, they ended up taking a different direction. Reviews for the now 3-week old Paulsen & Crow show have been unfavorable and is being called a "culture shock" for listeners who were used to the rough and tumble sounds of Mark Madden. Bob Smizik wonders if and when Madden should show up on WXDX-FM (105.9) if there won't be a "mass exodus" from 1250. WEAE general manager Mike Thompson considers the program a work in progress.
Meanwhile, Stan & Guy's program has been a refreshing reunion for listeners. The pair used to host Sportsbeat together and were well liked.
Neither program is taking very many calls in comparision to the previous programs. Station management made the decision saying that talk shows shouldn't rely on callers to carry the program.
WQLN TV / DT to split in two during conventions
Erie-Meadville: For the next two weeks during both the Democratic (August 25th - 28th) and Republican (September 1st - 4th) national conventions, PBS will be carrying the conventions during prime time from 8-11pm. WQLN TV 54 (analog) will be one of many PBS affiliates carrying the conventions. However, the digital side of WQLN (DT 54-1) will not be simulcasting with WQLN TV during either convention. The digital side will be carrying the usual PBS fare you'd expect to see most weeks including "Antiques Roadshow", "Nova", etc. You'll of course need digital cable or a TV with a digital tuner or a converter box for your existing TV in order to watch WQLN's digital channel.Madden at 105.9? Not yet.
Pittsburgh:Apparently the prospect of Mark Madden joining WXDX-FM (105.9) in the afternoon drive is false - especially if you ask WEAE-AM (1250) General Manager Mike Thompson. His response to Bob Smizik when asked how he'd feel about Madden up against the new Paulsen & Crow show, "I would expect that we would be the first to know if Mark has interest in going back on the air someplace other than ESPN." A response such as that caused Smizik to suspect that despite being let go, Madden is still under contract with ESPN. After all, he had signed a new 5-year contract just months before he was taken off the air, although nobody confirmed that he was under contractual obligation.
The rumors of Madden doing afternoons at WXDX built up after the station fired afternoon jock Steve Grimm last week.
WJAC has new set
Johnstown-Altoona-State College:WJAC-TV (6) debuted a new set earlier this month. Orlando-based FX Group designed the new set creating new ways to present the news in the Allegheny Mountains. The new set takes up about 2200 square feet in the studio and is equipped with over 13 HD DLP and LCD TV screens to display news, feeds and other graphics. Of course the new set is designed for HDTV broadcasts.
Television Hill comes down
Pittsburgh:No, not the hill itself, but the former WPXI-TV (11) studios atop Television Hill in Pittsburgh's Fineview neighborhood are coming down. The station moved from its original location in the fall of 2007 after 50 years in one place. Take a look at the Chopper 11 Video. WPXI's original moving plans included moving the transmitter tower but Summer Hill residents weren't interested in another broadcast tower in their midst. Cox Enterprises opted to keep the 800 foot tower atop the old location. The tower also holds antennae for WWSW-FM (94.5) and WSHH-FM (99.7) and is on perhaps the highest point within city limits.
The portions of the building being torn down are one-time additions to the original building which became too small for comfort for the station as it grew in its first 50 years. PBRTV understands (but does not have confirmation) that the original structure will remain as a service building for the engineering staff.
In lieu of posting a 1991 tour of the old studios by a certain 14-year-old (we don't have the video changing technology anyway), we supply this video taken by a YouTuber (embedding disabled) during the Winter of 2008. You'll see that the station looked a lot like a ghost town. Freaky huh?
Cullen out as WPTT changes format
Pittsburgh:Many kind of expected it wouldn't be long before Lynn Cullen would be out at Renda's WPTT-AM (1360) - especially after Doug Hoerth's ouster last December. Yesterday she confirmed that her last day will be August 29. The reason has nothing to do with Cullen's performance but a change in format come September 1 on which her show would not fit. WPTT will become an all-financial advice station as WMMY.
Alan Serena, vice president and marketing manager for Renda Broadcasting (and once-owner of 1360) told the PG that direct competition from KDKA-AM (1020) and WPGB-FM (104.7) were the reasons the talk format would no longer work for the 5000 watt daytime station; 1000 watt nighttime, out of McKeesport. "It was slicing the talk pie pretty thin, and we found that, quite honestly, it was like trying to push a boulder up hill," he said. Serena also pointed out that Cullen's show was the only three hour block which brought in any ad revenue. Additionally, the reason they cut Hoerth's program last December was in hopes that the budget would be trimmed enough to make sure Cullen could survive on the station.
Cullen will not be on the air this week due to a long-planned vacation, but will return for the final days of her program next week. Lynn Cullen is known as one of Pittsburgh's few liberal talk show hosts. She considers her audience to be more of a community - one whom she'll discuss this change with to "try to assuage what I suspect will be frustration and anger at losing a voice that they felt spoke for them," she said. Meanwhile Cullen says there are other outlets interested in possibly letting her continue her show. Although she wouldn't specify which stations, they are interested in her because of her loyal audience.
Lynn Cullen arrived in Pittsburgh in 1980 as a feature reporter on WTAE-TV (4). Prior to her 10 years on WPTT, she hosted a similar program for 10 years on WTAE-AM (1250) now WEAE.
Note: This story was edited since its original posting.
Wildcatter Country flips to 11Q
Misc. Pennsylvania: There is a format flip in nearby Venango county to report. After a few years as "Wildcatter Country", WKQW 1120 has flipped to oldies over the weekend. The station is now known as "11Q", playing oldies from the 50's, 60's and early 70's. This also brings the oldies format back to the oil region a few years after it was dropped by sister station WKQW 96.3. Clarion County Broadcasting purchased the stations for $540,000 in 2005 and changed the FM to adult contemporary and the AM to classic country from it's previous format of news talk.WYNE 1530 updates web address
Erie-Meadville: Captain Dan has informed us here at PBRTV that WYNE 1530 has a new and easier web address to access for station information and streaming audio. Go to http://wyne.mercyhurst.edu/ and click on the WYNE mic in order to listen online anywhere in the world.Comcast delays changes in two towns
Pittsburgh:If you're a Comcast customer in Ross Township (North Hills) or Castle Shannon (South Hills) you'll have to wait a little bit before you get the HD channels and channel switches that everyone else experienced in July. The changes were supposed to take place Tuesday, August 19, but have had to be delayed.
Comcast offered an introductory low price to customers who upgraded - an offer which doesn't expire until the end of August. The same offer will be made to the two communities in waiting, but the cable giant wants to make sure there are enough cable boxes to go around. "Customer reaction was unbelievable, Comcast spokeswoman Jody Doherty told the Post-Gazette, "Customer demand was stronger than our most aggressive projections."
Comcast is the area's cable leader having purchased AT&T Broadband (nee TCI) who had slowly aquired the area's community cable companies throughout the 80s and 90s.
Schano back on 4
Pittsburgh:Fifty years ago, Eleanor Schano was the first (and only) woman in the newsroom at WTAE-TV (4). Now, she's back at 4 with a new program called "Live Well/Live Long with Eleanor Schano." The program, created by Schano and writer Gina Catanzarite, will be a series of 90-second mini programs during the first commercial block of the Thursday Noon newscast on 4, although the hope is to eventually have enough sponsor backing to do a segment with a variety of topics each weekday. The creation comes after Schano's most recent project, "LifeQuest" on WQED-TV (13) was cancelled in 2007.
The new program isn't aimed at the 50 and older crowd. "Everyone wants to live well and live long," Schano told the Post-Gazette. She also points out that this project will take her back to her reporting days as the reports will be field-based, something she couldn't do at WQED where money was tight.
The segments will also be available on WTAE's website and the digital sub-channel devoted to weather and traffic. Schano's original intent was to do a half-hour series, but available time slots were not attractive. The 90-second segments was a more doable option.
Schano will also be a part of WTAE's 50th Anniversary special scheduled for August 28 at 8:00 pm.
Szabo to do afternoons at "Q92.9"
Pittsburgh:"Q92.9" WLTJ-FM (92.9) finally has an afternoon host. Beginning Tuesday, August 19, Zak Szabo will take the afternoon drive (2 - 7 p.m.). Szabo previously worked for the first incarnation of "B-94" (WBZZ) and most recently for WLTJ sister station WRRK-FM (96.9).
WLTJ tweaked the format on Easter Sunday firing the entire staff. After a few weeks of a jockless station, John Cline and Kerri Griffith were hired for the morning drive.
Local native becomes bureau chief for ABC network news
Pittsburgh:19-year-old Emily Graham has become the bureau chief of ABC News on the campus of Arizon State University according to PR.com. Graham will oversee a staff of students at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications as they report on stories relevant to the Western US. These stories will be used throughout ABC bureaus on platforms including "Good Morning America" and ABC News Radio. ABC partnered with the Cronkite School and four other college journalism programs in the hopes that they could catch younger viewers. The partnership helps the news staff at these schools gain hands-on experience and network-level mentorship.
Emily Graham - described as a polite, yet aggressive girl with a strong work ethic - sought out every opportunity in Phoenix not long after arriving at the school two years ago. She's experienced the news industry through many "real world" experiences through all sorts of facets including, camera and production crew, assignment editor, radio show host, investigative reporter and a month-long gig as an international multimedia reporter in South Africa.
In Pittsburgh, Graham spent her free time volunteering for Special Olympics, the Carnegie Science Center, WQED and WDUQ and visits home as much as possible. She's expected to graduate in May 2009.
Die-hard Pittsburgh native and fan on the air at ESPN
Pittsburgh:Cranberry Township native Steve Braband has been working at ESPN in Connecticut. The 25-year-old describes himself to the Post-Gazette as a "representative of the black and gold in New England Patriot territory." Although he is a program coordinator, Braband recently became an on-screen star in a series of spots promoting the new six-hour "Sports Center" morning block. The spots featured him wearing a countdown clock showing the time to the start of the new programming while he spent time with friends, hung out with the ESPN anchors and at Giants training camp. (The spots can be seen at a promotional website - steveislive.com.) Braband, who always wanted to work at ESPN, graduated from Seneca Valley High School and Clarion University and was an overnight producer at KDKA-AM (1020) before getting the new gig last year.
Cullen goes national - "ONE NIGHT ONLY!"
Pittsburgh: WPTT-AM (1360) talker Lynn Cullen will be joining nationally syndicated talk host Bev Smith during the 7:00 PM hour Thursday night. Smith's program is produced from the studios at Sheridan Broadcasting in Downtown Pittsburgh and heard on WAMO-AM (860). The two are expected to discuss the presidential race and other current events, gender issues, racial issues as they pertain to news and other media, and their own experiences in the talk radio field.Villarreal sits for weather
Pittsburgh:In case you are wondering why Krista Villarreal is sitting down for the weather forecasts, well she had foot surgery a few weeks ago. The doctor ordered that she keep it in a big boot and to keep the foot elevated, so rather than standing in front of the chromo-key, she remains seated at the news desk.
Changes in Satellite Radio
National News:You've probably heard by now (and we've kept it on the downlow here at PBRTV) that the nation's two satellite radio companies merged in late-July. New York City-based Sirius bought Washington, D.C.-based XM and the company is known as Sirius-XM. With the FCC's 3-2 vote in favor of the merger, the long 17-month approval process was over. But the move is not without continuing criticism from folks at the FCC and the NAB. Now the combined company has to worry about programming contracts made with celebs like Howard Stern.
There is also the question of how the programming will be presented to the now-combined 18.5 million subscribers. A plan has been put into effect and will roll out in October. Before you run out and get a new receiver though, know that it is only necessary if you desire to get an "a la carte" package containing elements of both satellite companies. The current subscription plans will remain available being souly XM or Sirius and there will be a 3-year cap on prices. But for those interested in receiving both, here's a brief run down of the options.
A La carte packages include:
- 50 channels of Sirius or XM with extra channels added for 25 additional cents each month (more for "premium" channels) The total isn't expected to go above $12.95 but for the 50 channel choice option it will be $6.99 a month.
- Another a la carte package features 100 channels of Sirius programming with a selection of the best of XMs channels or 100 XM channels with a selection of the best of Sirius' programming - $14.99 per month.
Best of Both
- For $16.99 a month you could get the "Best of Both" where you continue to receive the existing service of either XM or Sirius with selected programming from the other service.
Mostly Music, or News, Sports and Talk
- $12.99/month: Pre-selected packages of mostly music or news/talk/sports.
Discount family-friendly
- Family-friendly programming from either service will get a one-dollar discount per month - $11.95. A combined package will get a two-dollar discount per month from the "Best of Both" - $14.95.
Time Warner explains cable outages
Erie-Meadville: If you are one of many residents in Erie county upset with Time Warner Cable regarding recent outages of both cable & internet services, this may explain why outages are occuring. According to a report on WJET TV 24, a represenative from Time Warner Cable in Ohio stated to the station that the system is is going through an upgrade which is causing both cable and internet outages in several areas of the county. This is occuring in areas outside city limits that were previously served by Adelphia Cable. The upgrades promise to improve picture quality for Time Warner customers who will have to be patient until the upgrades are completed. Time Warner is looking to complete the upgrades by December.Bowman thrilled to be back
Pittsburgh:In 2000, sixteen years after starting at WPXI, Dennis Bowman's contract wasn't renewed and he left the market for a job in Topeka, Kansas. Three years later the Bowmans returned to the Pittsburgh area. Ironically the house they had sold was on the market again, but it was out of their price range. So they found a house in Bellevue and soon began Dennis Bowman Enterprises - creating a weather-related program for schools joined by Dennis' alter-ego 'Chester Drawers'.
In 2005, KDKA-TV (2) came calling and Bowman was on board as a freelance meteorologist during vacations and maternity leaves. Otherwise, he was self employed. "The downtime was great," Bowman told the Post-Gazette, "you might have a week and a half where you weren't busy, and if I wanted to plan a trip or something, I could." Bowman went on to say that there was a downside to working for yourself. "When you don't work, you don't get paid any money by anybody." That's why Bowman is very thankful to have the new full-time morning gig at KDKA. He will still do school visits, but now on behalf of KDKA and will fold his own company. His wife, Debbie, will take on a program of her own offering education about bees.
Aside from adjusting the sleep schedule, Bowman adds that the morning shift is a little more casual than the evening newscasts at WPXI. "We know people are just waking up and starting their day with us, looking forward to that first cup of coffee. We have a chance to be bright and cheerful and share a laugh with them along the way."
City seeks Verizon cable bid
Pittsburgh:For the first time since the city of Pittsburgh has had cable service, steps are being made to offer an alternative. City Council hired Cohen Law Group yesterday to contract Verizon Pennsylvania into the mix where Comcast has been the lone cable TV service since 2002. This comes after Verizon showed interest in becoming a competitor in the spring - the first time a competitor has ever done so.
City officials say that it could take years to finish a citywide build-out, but the goal is to have a deal by late fall after several public hearings. The first cable franchise deal was in 1980 with Warner Cable which gave way to TCI in 1984. TCI had an exclusive run for 15-years until merging with AT&T which was later bought out by Comcast. Right now Comcast pays the city 5% of gross annual revenues and officials don't expect that to change unless pricing wars cause revenues to drop.
Verizon began its cable service last year in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia suburbs after spending two years building a fiber optic network. The company has agreements with 80 southwestern Pennsylvania markets. The company is in the same stage of talks with Philadelphia.
City officials are seeking assurance that 100 percent of the city - including the "poor neighborhoods" would be served. Negotiations will take place to determine where the build-out begins making sure that the decision isn't based on the income level of the neighborhood.
Verizon offers competative prices with one package offering all local channels, 200 digital channels, HD programming and "on-demand" for $47.99 a month compared to Comcast's digital package of 177 channels (30 in HD) and "on-demand" for $67.93.
Nominees for local Emmys announced
Pittsburgh:Local nominees have been announced for the 2008 Mid-Atlantic Emmys. Pittsburgh has a nice representation. WQED comes in first with 23 nominations, KDKA-TV (2) has 11 and WPXI-TV (11) has 2. WTAE-TV (4) doesn't participate as a station but individuals are welcomed to enter. (PG)
Paulsen ready for 1250
Pittsburgh:What are Scott Paulsen's thoughts on the former "MAN Station"? "R.I.P. and good riddance," he told fellow Observer-Reporter writer Terry Hazlett. Paulsen says he's been trying to create a "creative and popular" afternoon program for about seven years but has been hampered by several factors including management and his own doing that he couldn't really make that happen. He also admits that the creativity has been all but taken out of music radio, but it is flourishing in talk radio which he's been attracted to since the mid-90s.
He has learned something after the situation with the former WTZN. "I'm in no hurry," he tells the O-R, "If there's anything I learned during the last fiasco, it was to look extremely carefully before you leap, and to, above all, take everything a corporate radio executive tells you with a huge grain of salt."
"Newsman Dave" Benson let go by Citadel
Erie-Meadville: Yesterday (August 4, 2008) one of the last original members of "The Breakfast Club" on Classy 100 was shown the door. "Newsman Dave" Benson was let go by Citadel due to budget cuts and did not even get a chance to say goodbye to his listeners. For over 21 years, Dave was part of a groundbreaking program called "The Breakfast Club". A program that would become very popular among Erie radio listeners over the years with hosts like Dana Bolles, Terri Bohen and "Captain Dan" Geary. Most radio stations no longer have a dedicated news reporter and instead rely on recorded newscasts from local TV stations. Dave is one of a kind and hopefully he will return to the local airwaves in the near future. As always, your thoughs and well wishes for Dave Benson are welcome here.KD for sale? We don't know!
Pittsburgh:CBS' announcement of plans to sell 50 stations in medium-sized markets has many wondering whether KDKA-AM (1020) will be included. The answer is - it's possible, but not definite. By selling such properties CBS can focus on the large market stations. That does not include Pittsburgh at 24th in size. According to the Post-Gazette, CBS folks declined to comment which stations/cities were on the block, but anything below the top 15 markets could be a possibility. If so, it would more than likely include FM sisters WBZW-FM (93.7), WZPT-FM (100.7) and WDSY-FM (107.9). Tom Taylor of Radio-Info.com says that the Pittsburgh cluster could be a candidate but that will depend on who is named as potential buyers and whether or not they are interested in this market.
KDKA has maintained a steady ownership since its conception in 1920. Westinghouse Broadcasting acquired CBS in 1996 and separated itself from the industrial side and took the CBS name.
WTAE celebrates 50
Pittsburgh:PBRTV notes that WTAE-TV (4) is actually showing the classic news promos we remember so well. WTAE, Pittsburgh's 3rd VHF channel, turns 50 years old this year and the classic promos are part of the celebration. This 1983 clip has played a few times.
For what it's worth, we can hardly wait to see these 1976 classics.
Potpourri
Pittsburgh:- WQED-TV (13) program director Chris Fennimore has announced that a new Brit-com will be added to the mix come September. Joining the regulars will be "Yes Minister" at 9:30 PM. In case you were wondering, the Brit-com block has been one of WQED's most successful time blocks since adopting them from WQEX in 1997. The first three programs, "Are You Being Served?", "Keeping Up Appearances", and "As Time Goes By" all continue to attract a large audience despite being repeated dozens of times.
- Now that Dennis Bowman has a regular slot on KDKA-TV (2), the station has hired Dave Trygar as their weather freelancer. Trygar has a meteorology degree from Penn State and has worked at WCMH-TV in Columbus, WFMJ-TV Youngstown and WBRE in Wilkes-Barre.
Rogers viewer upset about PBS decision
National News:South Carolina resident Brian Linder was angry when he read the news that PBS will start sending one episode of 'Mister Rogers' Neighborhood' per week come September. The 32-year-old movie review editor, who was looking forward to introducing his twin daughters to the program, went into action by creating savemisterrogers.com and a Facebook page to go along side.
Linder tells the Post-Gazette that he's encouraging viewers to contact their local PBS stations as well as PBS headquarters. He also insists that this isn't strictly for a walk down memory lane. "As long as children need to be nurtured, there's a place for this program because there's nothing else like it," he said.
PBS announced in May that only one episode of Mister Rogers would be sent per week, but that stations could also stockpile programs if they desired to keep the program on the regular schedule. The decision was made to allow space for new programs coming down the line - including an updated version of 'The Electric Company.' Pittsburgh's WQED-TV (13), where Mister Rogers' Neighborhood was filmed, will continue to air the program 5 days a week. PBS remains committed to making Rogers' program available by making content available online for 24/7 access.