How strong is that signal?
Musings From Eric:It's time for the Holiday light display at Hartwood Acres. As part of the celebration, there is a music track (along with Joe DeNardo announcements) available on your car radio as you travel through the show. Keep this in mind.
Now, when I use my XM (and yes it was XM originally) receiver in the car, I use an available FM frequency. Lately I've been using 88.7. There aren't any stations (of which I am aware) within the region which uses the frequency. If the XM receiver isn't plugged in, I have received some sound...perhaps a bleed over from a first adjacent.
Anyhow, I was at Giant Eagle on McKnight Road today. When I started my car - before I plugged the receiver in - I heard Christmas music and Joe DeNardo. It was weak, but clear as a bell. The Hartwood Light Display is 8 or 9 miles from this Giant Eagle. Hmmm...
WPYT grows
Pittsburgh:Earlier this year, PBRTV told you that WPYT-AM (660) launched a new sports format with a new morning show. Beginning tomorrow, the station is launching an afternoon program called "Barstool Talk" which will be hosted by Randy "The Tank" Tantlinger. Tantlinger is the owner of RT Media and is leasing the air time on the station and continues to be the innovator of the programming on the station.
Tantlinger feels that folks like Mark Madden made a mockery of sports talk by being disrespectful to some of the athletes and even the pillars of the community like Myron Cope. His feeling is to be honest, down to earth, fun, entertaining and informative and not say things just to get the ratings.
The station's website: www.660ampitt.com
Drake passes away...
National News:Legendary Top-40 programmer Bill Drake passed away November 29 of lung cancer. He was 71. Drake, whose real name was Philip Yarbrough, streamlined the Top 40 format using market research and demographics to maximize the number of listeners a station had. He also created the concept of "20/20" News and counter programming - playing music while the competitors broke for news. As his Wikipedia page states, "Drake essentially put radio back into the hands of programming, instead of sales. Along with Gene Chenault, Drake is probably best known for the "Boss Radio" jingles sung by the Johnny Mann Singers. Today, these jingles are closely associated with KHJ radio in Los Angeles. Although the company dissolved in the 1980s, the jingles are still available.
New CD from the Big Sky Cafe
Pittsburgh:Jack Bogut, morning host at WJAS (1320), is not only known for his wit on the radio, but also his abilities to write and tell stories. About 15 years ago, Bogut released his first book called "Big Sky Cafe and Other Schools I've Attended". The book has been out of print for some time and a number of readers had hoped a CD would soon follow. It took a while for the CD project to happen mainly because Bogut wanted to have original music in the background. Enter local musician Vito DiSalvo who scored and played the music while Jack told the stories on "Big Sky Cafe" released in 2006.
The pair has teamed up again for a new release called "Big Sky Cafe: 'Mental Movies' From the Back Booth Gang" to be released after Thanksgiving.
Christmas music comes from Cincinnati
National News: Who knew?! Well now you do, actually. Really that's only true for many of Clear Channel stations though. CC has a main server located there and most of the stations going all Christmas receive a database with pre-programmed logs. According to Tom on Radio-Info, a PD has to clear it with the Regional VP of programming if he/she wants to add local Christmas favorites. Just another example of how things are centralized.WNEO DT 45 signs on
Youngstown: With testing that began on Friday (November 21st) WNEO DT 45 has become the first station near Youngstown to make the switch to digital broadcasting. I first noticed the new station when rescanning for WNEO on DT 45 instead of it's previous location on DT 46. The station is currently running on low power at 44kw but is expected to increase to it's maximum power output of 500kw in the near future. I had no problem pulling in the station even at it's low power status with readings between 30-40%. The station should cover a large area once the power is increased.Have an Erie radio Christmas
Erie-Meadville: As reported in a previous post by Doug on my Youngstown article, Classy 100 (WXKC 99.9) has flipped to "All Christmas All the Time" as of November 21st. This is Classy's second year as "Erie's Christmas Station" but will not be alone with the format for long. Christian contemporary station WCTL 106.3 (105.9 Erie, 99.1 North East, 100.7 Warren, Pa. and 98.7 Jamestown, NY) will spin more Christian based holiday favorites beginning this Friday.Simply having a Radio Christmas time
Youngstown: It's that time of year once again. That time when radio stations across the country look for additional revenue and a way to get listeners in the holiday spirit. Listeners in both the Mahoning Valley and Shenango Valley will find some holiday spirit on the local airwaves. In fact, WBBG "Big 106.1" has already been spinning holiday favorites for over a week now with probably WNIO 1390 not too far behind. Those in the Shenango Valley will also have an all Christmas station on Monday November 24th when WLLF "96.7 The River" also makes the holiday flip. Yes, that's a few days before that often forgotten holiday called Thanksgiving.Got HD? HD Radio that is...
Pittsburgh:For what it's worth, and sometimes we're not sure it's worth much, KDKA (1020) now broadcasts on FM...if you have HD Radio. Sister stations WZPT (100.7) and WDSY (107.9) air KDKA's content on their HD3 channels. Neither are available online. One report we received from an HD Radio owner said, "It is now a lot more enjoyable to listen to their station, especially at night." Some wonder if and or when WZPT's main signal would become "KDKA-FM". Somehow we don't think that will happen anytime soon.
Meanwhile, how many people have HD receivers?
The 50,000 blow torch has had some signal problems over the last year or so. Some blame the IBOC used on sister station WBZ (1030) from Boston. We also understand that the station was at reduced power for a time for repairs.
Budget cuts at Citadel Erie
Erie-Meadville: We received news yesterday that Citadel was swinging the "Budget Axe" on Robison road and getting rid of some very talented people. They include Classy 100 afternoon jock (and one time Jet FM 102 Millionaire) "Tony J", Country 98 morning co-host Laurie who won her on air job with the "Sidekick Showdown" contest a few months back. Co-host "Truckin' Tom" will be moving back to afternoons possibly next week when Country 98 picks up a syndicated morning show. Also, the newest addition to Country 98 "Johnny Marx" is also being let go a few months after being let go from rival crosstown Connoisseur country station "93.9 The Wolf."Madden + WXDX = not quite what the listeners want?
Pittsburgh:Bob Smizik feels that Mark Madden wasn't the right fit for Clear Channel owned WXDX (105.9). Madden returned October 13 after a 4 month period of silence after being dropped from WEAE (1250). Smizik feels Madden's shtick is pretty much the same and mixed with other elements it's probably disappointing listeners. The fact is, Clear Channel refused to give up on the music format entirely and figured that many of Madden's fans probably liked the music. But the listeners probably want to hear more Madden and less music in that afternoon drive slot.
Smizik gives the example that in the first hour during a recent show, Madden had 24 minutes of airtime, 14 minutes of spots and 22 minutes of music. A format that should theoretically please two audiences probably satisfies neither.
One change is that Madden cannot take live calls on the air. This is Clear Channel's way of weeding out bad calls - record the calls off the air and play them back later.
Meanwhile, over at 1250, Paulsen, Crow and Logan seem to be gaining some momentum as 3 guys just talk about sports. But Smizik feels it just doesn't have a strong sports presence.
Meanwhile, over at 970, Joe Bendel gained some audience members over the summer while Madden was silenced.
Phase I Fall Trends are out
Pittsburgh:I usually don't make a big deal about the monthly trends considering that they remain pretty much the same, but this time there are a few surprises. These figures represent the months of August-October (AKA Phase I).
- Of course, with this survey taking place during the election season, KDKA (1020) and WPGB (104.7) were parked at 2nd & 3rd places respectively. One wonders, now that election season is over, if that will change. Stay tuned for Phase II.
- WBZW (93.7) appears to be rising slowly out of the basement. #12.
- Are we seeing an ill-effect with WJAS' (1320) reliance on syndicated programming? The last couple of books haven't boded well for the heritage adult standard station. #13.
- WKFB (770), although tied at 25th place, has shown up on the roster for the first time that I can remember. Looks like the niche oldies programming just might be paying off. KFB beats out its stronger sister WKHB (620) which is dead last, but tied at 28th.
DTV Test worked...
Misc. Pennsylvania:I just happened to be at work when the 6:25 p.m. DTV test took place...we didn't pass. I'm sure I would have passed if I had been at home, but work hasn't seen a cable connection ever. Well, just in case you were one of the unfortunate(?) folks who passed the test, I'll tell you what happened.
WTAE briefly interrupted the sports segment to introduce the test and almost immediately went into a clip voiced by Charlie Van Dyke. The clip aired for 2 minutes - repeating several times - explaining that this TV did not pass the test and to call the hotline or visit the website to find out what needed to be done. Then we went back to the end of the newscast. Those of us watching over the air missed two complete minutes of the news. Pittsburgh sports fans probably weren't amused.
I understand though that KDKA actually filed a report around the test. Sorry I missed it.
2009 TV Ad forecast looking bleak...
Pittsburgh:Now that the 30+ thousand political ads have gone away, TV stations are expecting to feel the pinch of the current economic crisis. Local spot advertising is expected to decline between 4 and 8 percent in 2009. WPXI-TV (11) GM Ray Carter has talked to his staff on several occasions about where costs can be cut suggesting that every job in the building be reviewed and taking fewer out-of-office lunches with vendors. That may or may not include on-air contracts. While Cox Enterprises may be privately held - which is a better situation to be in during these times - layoffs could still be a possibility.
That might be why WTAE shuffled their anchors a few weeks ago. The change in schedule could allow the station to shell out less for talent like Sally Wiggin and Michelle Wright now that their anchor duties are lighter. WTAE GM Rick Henry tells the Post-Gazette that auto ads make up the largest advertising category and if auto sales are down, so are auto ads. But new ad categories pop up frequently to take the place of spots that may no longer exist.
Meanwhile, KDKA-TV (2) GM Chris Pike says that while other markets are trimming staff and broadcasts, Pittsburgh tends to be isolated from the downturn. That isn't to say there isn't a downturn, it's just not as bad as it is elsewhere. One theory is that Pittsburgh stations are leaner than others because of the economic downturn in the 1980s.
Statewide analog TV shut off test this Monday
Misc. Pennsylvania: Full powered analog TV stations across the state of Pennsylvania will be conducting a test. This test will affect TV viewers who use either an indoor or outdoor antenna for TV reception and are using an older TV without the aid of a converter box. This test may also affect those watching local stations on cable or satellite systems if the systems have not down converted the digital signal for their viewers as of yet. All cable and satellite systems must do this to insure that their viewers will get local stations after February 17th. For those who use an antenna, the test will be a reminder to get coupons for a converter box for their existing TV or a new TV with a digital tuner before 2/17/09. The statewide test will take place on November 17th at 6:25pm which is when most viewers will be watching the 6 o'clock news and is most likely to catch viewers attention. The test will last :60 seconds. The only full powered TV station not participating in the test will be WQLN since their analog station was permanently knocked off the air back in September. They have since applied to be a digital only TV station which would make WQLN the first station in Erie to convert early under unavoidable circumstances.WMNY program expands
Pittsburgh:- "Pittsburgh Renaissance Radio" on WMNY-AM (1360) is extending by an hour beginning today. The show will start at 2 pm and run until 6 with the final hour being a rerun of the first hour. Eventually the 5 pm hour will be live too. (I suspect that the 5 pm sundown power-down might have something to do with that!) The program, a locally-produced business talk show, began airing in September when the station flipped from its talk formatted WPTT.
"Your Home for the Holidays..."
Pittsburgh: WSHH (99.7) has jumped to the Christmas season with all of your holiday favorites. We first noticed it during the Delilah program last night, but it continues today on this "Trim-A-Tree" Weekend. My calendar still says November 8...Lubinsky no longer on Sirius
National News:T.J. Lubinsky has ended his "Doo Wop Gold" program on Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 5. This program leaves just two live programs on the channel. Lubinsky, who did the show from his Pittsburgh-area home, seems to have fallen victim to the personnel cuts Sirius-XM has been making since the merger.
PBRTV was a guest of the program earlier this year when Lubinsky honored veteran DJs Charlie Apple, Porky Chedwick and Chuck Brinkman.
Update: T.J. checked in with us after we posted the original story. He says, "I think it's more a loss for Pittsburghers everywhere - the show was a worldwide portal to Pittsburgh and "the Pittsburgh Sounds" with most of our listeners growing up here, or going to school here, or with family here. I don't get it at all. Not my choice." Meanwhile the decision was apparently made by the new programming team of Kid Kelly and Jon Zellner.
Meanwhile T.J. still does a live program every Sunday night on New Jersey's WJRZ-FM and wjrz.com. The format features doo wop, rock, pop, Motown and folk from the 50s - 70s from 7 - 11 pm Eastern Time.
Briefly noted...
Johnstown-Altoona-State College, Musings From Eric:It's been a busy week here at the PBRTV headquarters. Well, not really, but it's been hard for me to type. All I can say is, I may never carve pumpkins again. So much for that fruit/vegetable carving business I was going to start. Four stitches and a week later I'm doing pretty well. And no...it didn't hurt. (Pictures can be taken by request, but not at suppertime.) Ok, on to radio...
I wanted to note an email I received from Chauncey Ross earlier in the week - November 2 to be exact - which asked for a moment of dead air to mark the 27th anniversary of Q-94's sign on. Back then the station was top-40 formatted with our friend Clarke Ingram consulting. Now it's boasts a classic rock format. The station is WBXQ licensed to Cresson, Pa.
(Yes, we realize our supply of news from the Central Pennsylvania regions have been rather slim of late. But we're doing our best with the time and staff that we have.)
Concern about the return of the Fairness Doctrine
National News:With the election in the bag and President-elect Obama the choice, many conservative broadcasters fear that the Fairness Doctrine - last in action in 1987 - will return. Even though it seems to be the least of Obama's worries, some experts say that Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi and a few others are ready to take action in an effort to restore some balance. If that's the case, Tom Taylor says that it "would kill a lot of radio stations." One - whom Taylor describes as a "dealmaker" - thinks that conservative stations would try to add more progressive and/or moderate hosts to provide balance. "Dealmaker" fears that it would ruin a station's ratings and "station values". Then there's the question of whether it would even be constitutional in this era. "Scarcity of Spectrum" was the argument used 30 years ago during the George Carlin/Pacifica case. That was before the Internet and a plethora of cable channels.
Meanwhile, Christian broadcasters are jumping on the anti-Fairness Doctrine bandwagon, but not in an outwardly, stage-a-demonstration-on-the-steps-of-the-Capitol sort of manner. In fact, Taylor suggests that such stations and their ministries may take the topic up on the air with listeners. Could that spark "noise" on Capitol Hill?
Togyer pens a book
Pittsburgh:In case you were unaware, PBRTV Contributor Jason Togyer takes an interest in more than just radio. For the last few years, he has researched and compiled information for a book about the McKeesport based G.C. Murphy Company. "For the Love of Murphy's: The Behind-the-Counter Story of a Great American Retailer" was released earlier this week. Check out Amazon.com. Congratulations to Jason on his achievement.
(Disclosure: While PBRTV is directing you to Amazon.com, this website will not receive any remuneration for doing so.)