WTAE dropping all-weather on 4.2 for movie channel
Pittsburgh: Rob Owen, in his Tuned-In Journal, has announced that WTAE-TV (4; D 51) will drop the all-weather format on Channel 4.2 in favor of "This TV-Pittsburgh". WTAE owner Hearst signed the contract earlier this year. "This TV" plays movies by MGM, United Artists and Orion production companies. Owen has heard more interest and appreciation for WPXI's (11; D48) RTN channel gets more viewers than any other digital subchannel in the market and that an all movie channel for WTAE might be a better way to go.WYTV gets power increase approved
Youngstown: A reader over at "The Mighty Blog of Fun" Ohio Media Watch has reported there that the FCC has approved a power increase for ABC affiliate WYTV DT 36 (33-1) from 50kw to 1,000kw. The station has always had less power than both WKBN and WFMJ in the valley going back to its former analog signal which did not even broadcast in stereo. WYTV also carries "MyYTV" 33-2 which is a "MyTV" affiliate as well as "My Valley Weather" on 33-3. A power increase will certainly be a plus for the station but financial problems with New Vision (who recently filed for bankruptsy) could prevent the increase from happening. Hopefully, it will not be an issue and the increase can go on as planned if the station is to remain competitive.Rogers commits to keeping WQLN on cable
Erie-Meadville: Last evening, WQLN station president Dwight Miller received very good news for the PBS outlet. Rogers cable in London, Ontario has threatened to pull WQLN off its cable system and replace it with Detroit public station WTVS. The issue was the off air signal of WQLN that Rogers said was dropping out at times at their hub. However, Rogers has made a verbal commitment to keep the station on its service. WQLN has pledged to work on getting a reliable fiber connection to Rogers which will save the station from being pulled. Without Rogers cable coverage in Canada, WQLN would have lost an additional $200,000 annually from London & the region. With the lack of state funding, an additional revenue hit would have possibly meant closing the doors & selling the station. WQLN has also been letting viewers there know that the station could have been pulled and how to contact Rogers in order to keep the station on cable channel 8. (Note: Tom Lavery is currently an employee of WQLN Public Media.)Bob Dearborn "beached"
Musings From Eric:
In a press release emailed to PBRTV, came the announcement that Bob Dearborn is now unemployed after two years as a morning show host at Soft AC CKWR-FM in Ontario, Canada. (Among the many US Stations he served, was WTAE-AM 1250 here in Pittsburgh.) Although he was able to bring up the ratings in the latest book, the community station's newly-elected Board of Directors says his contract will not be renewed. The decision was not based on his performance, but rather the station's financial distress which has also displaced its General Manager, General Sales Manager, Program Director, News Department, Promotions Department, receptionist and most of its sales staff. The previous Board is blamed for financial mismanagement compounded with the economic downturn.
Dearborn says he has no plans to retire. "Not on your life! I tried it and found out I'm no good at it," he said having moved to Ontario with retirement on his mind. The position at CKWR came up and his mind was changed. He admits that his appeal is now with the 40+ crowd, speculating that they will become the medium's "bread and butter" with so many newer technologies being chosen by younger listeners. He plans on staying in Canada, but is still willing to adapt to any audience, format, management style, city, region or country. He's been in the business over 40 years.
A web copy of the press release is available at Radio Daily News.
Former WTAJ-TV co-owner dies
Johnstown-Altoona-State College, Misc. Pennsylvania: Word has been received of the death of former WTAJ-TV co-owner George Koehler, who died July 5 in Delaware. He was 87.Earlier in his career, Koehler served as general manager at WFIL-TV in Philadelphia, where he helped create the "Action News" format widely imitated by other stations, including Pittsburgh's WTAE-TV.
In 1972, Koehler was one of the executives who purchased WFBG-TV --- now WTAJ --- and two other stations from Philadelphia's Annenberg family.
The Annenbergs, who also published the Philadelphia Inquirer and TV Guide magazine, were forced to sell their broadcast outlets under pressure from the Federal Communications Commission over allegations that their holdings constituted a monopoly.
Koehler and his business partners, including the owners of the Bergen, N.J., Evening Record newspaper, formed Gateway Communications to operate WTAJ and two other former Annenberg stations in Lancaster, Pa., and Binghamton, N.Y.
The company merged out of existence in 2000. More in the Inquirer.
Patrick sentencing delayed
Johnstown-Altoona-State College: Sentencing for former WJAC-TV weatherman Jay Patrick has been delayed pending a psychiatrist's report.The 43-year-old Patrick --- whose real name is James Holcomb --- pleaded no contest four years ago to sexually assaulting a then-6-year-old girl.
But before he could be sentenced, Holcomb fled overseas. He was caught in March in Kiev, Ukraine.
Holcomb is challenging a finding that he's a "sexually violent predator," according to the Tribune-Democrat. If the ruling stands, Holcomb would be on the state's Megan's Law Registry for the rest of his life.
Cambria County Judge Gerard Long has delayed the sentencing until Sept. 25.
Somerset native movin' on up
Misc. Ohio: Somerset native and former Johnstown Chiefs announcer Bob McElligott is moving to the big leagues.
The National Hockey League's Columbus Blue Jackets have tapped McElligott to join veteran play-by-play man George Matthews on the team's radio network.
McElligott also will host pre- and post-game shows and contribute to the Blue Jackets' website.
For the past 10 seasons, McElligott did play-by-play for the Blue Jackets' farm team in Syracuse, N.Y., and for the minor-league baseball team there.
Flagship stations for the Blue Jackets are Columbus' WBNS (1460) and WWCD-FM (101.1). The nearest stations to PBRTV-Land are probably Massillon's WTIG (990) and Akron's WARF (1350).
iPhone app grabs archived NPR shows
National News: Since December, users of the Apple iPhone could tune in Pittsburgh's WDUQ-FM, State College's WPSU-FM, Youngstown's WYSU-FM, the West Virginia Public Radio Network and hundreds of other National Public Radio affiliates from across the country using an application called "Public Radio Tuner."
Now the newly renamed Public Radio Player also allows users to find archived shows from NPR, including "Car Talk," "Fresh Air," "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" and others.
The updated app can be downloaded for free from Apple's iTunes store.
More than 1.8 million people were already using the older version.
Unfortunately, early reviews of the 2.0 release are mixed at best. Some users are delighted by the new functionality, but others logging into the iTunes store call the player "almost unusably slow," prone to crashing and "full of bugs."
WICU no longer on 35-3
Erie-Meadville: Almost since WSEE signed on with its digital station on 35-1 (DT16), sister station WICU would be added as a sub channel on 35-3. This was due to WICU's very low powered digital signal then on DT 52. With the digital upgrade from analog 12 to digital 12, the station's chief engineer John Wilkosz stated in an earlier PBRTV article that once all cable outlets and Dish Network were converted to receive the 12-1 signal, 35-3 would go away soon after. However, this could be a problem for those with outdoor UHF only antennas who will now need a combined UHF / VHF antenna in order to receive all of Erie's digital stations.Erie TV news
Erie-Meadville:(more)Late last week, WICU DT 12 finally flipped to HD on 12-1. The station had been only offering NBC HD programming to both Time Warner and Armstrong cable systems but now its available over the air as well as on Dish Network. Meanwhile, WQLN is now airing spots aimed at Rogers cable customers in London, Ontario. Rogers is planning on replacing WQLN with another channel. However, WQLN is asking viewers there to inform Rogers that the station should remain on the cable outlet. Otherwise, viewers may have to resort to over the air reception for the PBS outlet at DT 50 (54-1).
Your radio career, 75 years ago
Monday Morning Nostalgia Fix:
Mr. Monday Morning Nostalgia Fix recently ran across a fascinating little book called "Making a Living in Radio."
With all of the recent budget cuts, that title can probably be filed now in the "fiction" department of the Carnegie Library. (Rimshot.) (Thanks, make sure to tip your waitress.)
Written in 1934 by Zeh Bouck, an engineer and contributor to Radio News magazine, the book was published by McGraw-Hill and aimed at out-of-work men who were casting about for a career during the Depression.
. . .
After admitting that the job market of the early 1930s was bleak, Bouck reminds his readers that "hundreds of thousands of unemployed today ... (will be) making a living in radio in the next decade or two."
Radio "has suffered its figurative ups and downs," he writes, "but no one can doubt the solidity" of its future growth. (more)