WSEE / WICU merger: losing diversity on the local airwaves?
Erie-Meadville: Over the past few weeks, rumors have turned into reality as WSEE carried its final newscast at 1220 Peach Street on Thursday night. A move by WSEE to the WICU building on State street meant job losses for all behind the scenes people as well as some on air talent including Raychel Vendetti, Charles Santini and Jennifer Mobilia. With the merger, this will mean that Erie will no longer have three news gathering organizations since WSEE and WICU will share news resources as a way to save money. In addition, WSEE will carry a 7pm newscast instead of a 6pm newscast in the near future as well as re air a 10pm newscast at 11pm that will be carried live on CW affiliate WBEP. The concept of at 10pm newscast to rival "Fox 66 News at Ten" is a good one for Erie. However, do you think many people will watch an hour old newscast on WSEE at 11pm when they can watch WICU or WJET live at 11. Can 7pm news work against "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy"? Both very successful game shows which now air on WSEE will move to WICU from 7-8pm. Sadly, the flavor of local news on TV is being watered down by economics.A meeting of the minds and myself
Erie-Meadville: This past Wednesday (May 27th) I finally had the opportunity to meet a couple of great people who have a couple of great media related websites. While I knew that Scott Fybush of fybush.com would be stopping up to the WQLN studios that day, I was really surprised when "Old Akronite" of "The Mighty Blog of Fun" ohiomedia.blogspot.com was also with him. Both were in Erie to check out the area TV and radio facilities but mostly to see what was left of the now former WSEE TV studios which have since moved into the WICU studios. We spoke mostly about the nationwide layoffs in media occuring across the country as well as radio and digital TV. I could tell right away that both men loved reporting media related news on the web where you are more likely to read about a media related event than see or hear a station talk about news, especially when it comes to layoffs inside their own building. It was certainly a pleasure to meet two creative geniuses and hopefully we can get together for lunch next time on my dime.Pittsburgh Magazine sold
Pittsburgh:WQED Multimedia yesterday closed a deal to sell Pittsburgh Magazine to Wiesner Media. The company is based in Colorado. Publisher Betsy Benson will continue to run the magazine and most of the 21-member staff will remain. Accounting and Internet technology will be handled by Wiesner from their headquarters in Greenwood Village, Colorado.
WQED Multimedia President and CEO George Miles told the Post-Gazette, "It will be a monthly magazine. It will continue to go to our members and contain the 'On Air' guide. An important part of this transaction was to ensure that our members will continue to receive the magazine." Miles added that WQED Multimedia is on target to break even this year whether or not the sale had gone through. He also stated that WQED never had the resources to give the magazine an investment to make it grow and that the decision was strategic, not budgetary. "We need to make sure all our limited resources go towards the electronic media," Miles said adding that the profit of the sale doesn't solve any budget concerns with state government.
Dan Wiesner, the CEO of Wiesner Media, has been visiting Pittsburgh on and off over the last year. He confirms that Ms. Benson will retain her position and that the content of the magazine will not change. However, the magazine's internet presence is expected to improve. Wiesner Media is a small, family-owned company of 25 employees hoping to build a group of regional city magazines. Pittsburgh is the first to be bought.
Pittsburgh Magazine has been around since 1969 and served as a WQED program guide called "QED Renaissance". It is among the last to be published by a public broadcast station - surviving 19 years after stations in other markets sold their magazines. The offices will remain at the WQED Studios into 2010 when they are expected to relocate.
WDUQ pledge will also raise funds for NPR
Pittsburgh: WDUQ-FM (90.5) will begin its week-long pledge on Thursday, June 4. The drive will also feature something new - the opportunity to support NPR. Instead of accepting a "thank-you gift", the listener can opt to have 10% of their pledge sent to NPR. The additional funds will go in addition to the hundreds of thousands in programming fees the station sends to the network. Business and foundation support has been down and NPR has already led to staff layoffs and program cancellations. In a press release, WDUQ General Manager and former NPR Board Member Scott Hanley said, "...at a time when NPR and public radio's services are needed more than ever, some of our lead sources of funding have hit on their own hard times. But with more listeners to WDUQ and NPR than ever, we are confident that we can turn to our listeners, and that those who can contribute will contribute."WQED-FM ending pledge drive early
Pittsburgh:In a move PBRTV considers unprecidented, WQED-FM (89.3) will be ending its current pledge drive early - effective May 31. In a message to volunteers Friday afternoon, Volunteer Coordinator Peter Riesbeck said "I can't tell you how sad it's been to see the phones so silent. The lack of public support for our drive has disappointed us all." Station Manager Susan Johnson is expected to produce some messages for Monday morning's drive time from 6-9.
WEDO loses Lithuanian program
Pittsburgh: The Post-Gazette announced today that the long-running "Echoes of Lithuania" will sign off WEDO-AM (810) this weekend after four decades on the air. Host Dalia Yucius blames the current economy as support for the program - from advertisers and listeners - has dwindled. Dalia's father, Vito Yucius, founded the program and for the majority of the time the program has been on, it's been on WEDO. Dalia joined the show in 1998 and took over the hosting duties in 2001 when her father died. The show has featured music and news from Lithuania. Listeners will hear some of the older music and recordings her father played on Sunday's final broadcast at 12:30. Beginning June 7, "Echoes of Erin with Diane Byrnes" expands to 90 minutes.Best Buy's "Geek Squad" to help with converter box installations
National News: If you know anyone or are in need of having your TV converter box installed for free, contact your local Best Buy. The "Geek Squad" at the store will offer free installations at your home for no charge. The electronics giant is offering this service in 30 states including Pennsylvania. Hopefully this service is also offered in the states we cover as well. This service will definitely be a help to senior citizens who are not able to leave their homes and can be frustrated by the digital conversion.Raychel Vendetti out at WSEE
Erie-Meadville: During today's "Newswatch at Noon" newscast, anchor Raychel Vendetti announced that she will no longer with WSEE. This is due to the several layoffs at WSEE as the station moves into the WICU building by June 1st. The consolidation of services means that some very talented people both on and off air will be at the unemployment line. It's unfortunate that Raychel will be one of those in that very line. The on air chemistry between her and station Meterologist Ray Petelin during "Mornings Live" was not phony and attracted a lot of viewers back to WSEE after the station lost its luster a few years ago. Their Facebook page is solid proof of that. I can only compare the show to the "Captain Dan & Allan" show that was on the former "Froggy 94.7" until early 2007. Too many newscasts are serious in nature and should be when events warrant it to be serious. However, to see a unique newscast with some lighter moments thrown in made it easier for viewers to wake up and get on with their day. My best wishes go out to Raychel and others who were hit by the recent layoffs at WSEE.Renda Jr's Velocity Radio Management announces partnership
Pittsburgh:Tony Renda, Jr's new company, Velocity Radio Management announced today that it has partnered with Gary Hess and his Broadcast Tower Management. Velocity calls Hess, one of America's premier minds when it comes to tower value maximization.
In a press release, Renda said, "When I started Velocity, I wanted Gary as a partner because he's the best in the business. Having worked with Gary in Florida, I've seen -firsthand- his ability to create opportunity where other engineers could not. He's more than a Master Chief Engineer, he creates opportunity: He maximizes a tower's revenue potential, and our industry needs that now more than ever."
Hess said, "It's one thing to keep your station's signal FCC compliant; Most tower companies can do that. It's quite another to turn your tower into a revenue generator: This is what we do for radio stations. I'm excited to work with Velocity Radio Management and their clients."
Broadcast Tower Management is an engineering company with a strong focus on revenue opportunity through Gary Hess, President and founder. Hess is also Director of Clear Channel Vertical Real Estate managing 1300 Clear Channel Radio tower sites. He also was a founder and Director of Engineering for American Tower Corporation, which recently merged with Spectrasite creating the largest rental site provide in the world with 27,000 sites.
Velocity Radio Management is an independent full-service Radio Management company providing Management and Consulting services to radio groups and equity partners. The Pittsburgh-based company's mission is to "Protect and Grow the Value of Radio Stations".
WQED-FM pledge drive going green
Pittsburgh:There will be more green than ever at the current WQED-FM (89.3) pledge drive going on now through June 2. The premiums this time around are environmentally friendly! For every $75 donated, WQED and the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources are planning two trees in Allegheny County. Donors are invited to the planting. The program is a part of the DCNR's "TreeVitalize" Initiative established in 2004 to replace lost trees. The trees will be planted next spring. Traditional items like totes and beverage containters haven't gone away. This time around the WQED eco-tote will be available as well as aluminum water bottles.
Also up for pledge is the station's annual Chautauqua Institution trip on July 11, a 3-DVD set of Rick Sebak specials, and the usual supply of Classical CDs.
WZUM has a name
Pittsburgh: Our friend and informant, Clarke Ingram checked in with us this morning in regard to WZUM-AM (1590). Clarke says, "It's still playing gospel [music] but as of this morning: 'Inspiration For the Family, 1590 WZUM, The Promise.'" Looks like the station has found it's new niche.CC offers 'radio resumes' for unemployed
Youngstown, Misc. Ohio: Clear Channel radio stations in 21 markets --- including Youngstown --- are airing "radio resumes" for select out-of-work listeners.In Y-town, five 30-second resumes will air every week on rock station "The Wolf" WNCD-FM (93.3).
Listeners who want to participate must fill out an entry form.
"We realize this is a difficult time for many individuals and families and want to support our listeners who are out of work in any way we can," John Hogan, president and CEO of Clear Channel, said in a prepared statement.
Stations in Philadelphia, Toledo and Akron are also participating.
(We were going to make a joke wondering if laid-off Clear Channel employees are eligible, but that seems cruel.)
Basic cable bumps W.Va. public TV
West Virginia: Some Comcast cable customers in Wheeling, Weirton and other panhandle communities are finding themselves without West Virginia Public Broadcasting's TV stations.
According to West Virginia Public Radio, the non-comm TV network worked out an agreement for Comcast to carry its programming in high-definition.
But that bumped the state's primary PBS outlet to a digital-only service and displaced it from conventional analog cable. Comcast customers in West Virginia who can't find WVPB must either purchase a newer TV or request a special converter box.
As many as 30 percent of Comcast's West Virginia customers are affected. (The stations can still be received for free over-the-air with an antenna, on digital 33 in Morgantown and digital 30 in Wheeling.)
. . .
The executive director of WVPB, Dennis Adkins, says the network had no idea that many of its viewers would lose access.
Unlike Pennsylvania's public TV stations, which are independent and rely heavily on donations, West Virginia's public TV service is operated by the state government.
A state senator from Monongalia County says the situation is "unacceptable," and U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller's office is looking into legal or legislative options that would require Comcast to offer West Virginia Public Broadcasting as part of its basic package.
. . .
One WVPB producer and Comcast customer, Amy Johns, says it's not right that taxpayers who subsidize the service have to pay extra to receive it via cable.
She's upset that Comcast has displaced WVPB but still carries Pittsburgh's WQED-TV.
"I think the people need to wake up and realize Morgantown is not a suburb of Pittsburgh," Johns says.
Ohio TV vet slates retirement
Youngstown, Misc. Ohio: Cleveland news anchor Ted Henry, who's retiring this month from ABC affiliate WEWS-TV (5), is remembering the "good old days" when he got his start in the Akron-Youngstown market.
The Canton native tells that city's Repository newspaper that he got his start at the former WAKR-TV in Akron and WKBN radio and TV in Youngstown.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer's Julie Washington asked Henry how he survived in the notoriously fickle TV business for more than four decades.
"Beats the hell out of me," Henry said.
A half-hour special celebrating Henry's career airs at 8 p.m. Tuesday over WEWS.
Just call me Mr. Grassy Knoll
Signal-to-Noise: (Commentary/Editorial) After I did some speculating over email last night about the pending sale of WAMO-FM (106.7) and its Pittsburgh AM siblings, two people called me a "conspiracy theorist."Well, fine. Then I guess I'll stick some tinfoil in my hat.
Sorry, but when a group no one's ever heard of announces plans to buy one of the most important radio stations in the nation's Number 24 ranked media market, a reasonable person might ask questions.
I'm not alleging wrongdoing. I'm just wondering --- to quote Star Trek's Captain Picard --- what the hell is going on here.
. . .
Such as --- where are the buyers getting the money?
And is this purchase part of some larger national strategy by a bigger organization?
. . .
From a broadcasting standpoint, can the Pittsburgh market really sustain "Catholic-oriented" radio programming, considering that a similar, well-funded effort failed earlier this year on Carnegie-licensed WZUM (1590)?
Will anyone else step into the breach and serve the Pittsburgh area's sizable African-American population?
. . .
And finally, is this the beginning of the end for the FM band as a mass medium?
Is the FM dial headed for the same fate as the AM band, which is now largely occupied by niche formats (gospel music, far-left or far-right talk, and Hispanic and other ethnic programming) that broadcast to small groups of listeners?
Maybe WAMO is like a canary in a coal mine. Its death might signal that the oxygen sustaining the radio business in Pittsburgh and elsewhere is very thin indeed. (more)
WQLN off the air Thursday
Erie-Meadville: WQLN DT 50 (54-1, 54-2 and 54-3) and WQLN 91.3 FM will be off the air for most of the day Thursday. The stations will be off due to work being done on a back up generator for the stations. With no power, WQLN will not be available on cable, satellite or the internet for the FM side. In addition, the offices will be closed since there will be no power in the building. The work on the back up generator is expected to be completed by August. At that point, any power problems will be handled by the enginerering staff at WJET / WFXP TV with pending layoffs expected at WQLN in the next few months.Speculation continues to mount on who "St. Joseph's Mission" is
Pittsburgh, Musings From Eric:Here is some scuttlebut we've heard in the last few days.
- St. Joseph's Missions is a lay-Catholic group from Latrobe. That's what today's Tom Taylor on Radio-Info says. We've heard some speculation that it's someone with deep pockets and a deep Catholic faith trying to do what was recently done on WZUM - but perhaps on FM.
Other items to note.
- Some call the $8.9 million sale price for WAMO and sisters a "fire sale" for the three stations - especially when recalling the $14 million that SFX Broadcasting paid to Sheridan in 1996 to swap FM frequencies for a new station called "The X" which was operating on 106.7. (As an aside, I recall being in an AIP classroom with an instructor who was working at 'DVE at the time - it made for an interesting class discussion that day!) Others think the price was fair.
- Eventually Sheridan would purchase Greensburg's WSSZ (107.1) to try a simulcast of 106.7 which, as near as we can tell, never came to fruition. The Greensburg station was sold a few years ago to Renda Broadcasting.
Monday's Taylor on Radio info says:
- The sale comes just a few months before the Portable People Meter becomes the norm. And, despite improvements in the ratings, Sheridan was getting nervous about the PPM readings.
Notes, mailbag, and a message to stations
Musings From Eric:If what I am about to say seems offensive, please understand that it's not meant to be offensive. Ok, here goes...
PBRTV.com is virtually a one-man operation. The fact that it actually has three men operating it has nothing to do with anything. The three men involved operate independently of each other and on a rare occasion they might actually talk to one another. With that said, please understand that we do not operate like a newspaper or TV station. Like you, we do have other things which occupy our lives and even though at least one of us is mobile, we may not always have a connection. Therefore, rest assured that even though we may not be as on top of things as everyone else is. But we are a blog (which existed before 'blog' was a word) which strives to bring you the information as soon as possible. Thank you to those of you who have emailed us stories - especially one which I am about to address - but chances are one of the three men have already heard and just couldn't get to the computer right away. Thank you for your understanding. (The fact that the main man of this one-man operation is having 'issues' with his ISP has little or nothing to do with it. But often we find ourselves in the Murphy's Law realm of being out of reach when something major breaks.)
So WAMO is reportedly being sold. Already the speculation is starting, "What's going to happen to Lynn Cullen?" Well the answer is, "we don't know." We know nothing about St. Joseph's Missions other than it's likely to be a religious-oriented company. The Pittsburgh Courier reports and PBRTV confirms that nothing could be found online. If we find something, we'll let you know, but in the meantime, plan for some new religious formats...and save your letter-writing hand to try and save WAMO, it's likely not going to do any good.
(Click more...)>
(more)WAMO and sisters being sold; format change likely
Pittsburgh:WAMO-FM (106.7) and sisters WAMO-AM (860) and WPGR-AM (1510) are being sold. The pending deal between Sheridan Broadcasting and St. Joseph Missions became public Friday. The Post-Gazette reports the sale for $8.9 million and has yet to be approved by the FCC. Sheridan Broadcasting owner Ron Davenport, Sr. has owned WAMO-FM and AM since 1973 and bought WPGR in 2001.
WAMO spokesman Russell Bynum released the limited details yesterday saying that this was a difficult but necessary decision on the part of the owners, yet he denied that ths sale meant the company was in trouble. "When we look at Sheridan, we are looking at a strong organization that has had to make these changes to adapt to the movement and the changes in the marketplace, he told the Post-Gazette. Sheridan will continue to be based in Pittsburgh and still owns stations in Atlanta, Georgia, Birmingham, Alabama and Buffalo, New York. The company is also the principal owner of the American Urban Radio Networks - the only African-American-owned radio network in the US.
The deal is expected to go through later in the summer and the formats should remain in place until that time. Out of the 35 full and part-time station employees, some workers will be let go, but those working for the larger Sheridan Broadcasting may keep their jobs. As for station listeners, Mr. Bynum warns that it won't do any good to write letters. "This is a business decisicion," he said stating that the marketplace determines what will happen to the business and the industry changes with the time. Additionally, he said that part of the reason for the sale is because radio listenership is measured "with a disproportionate impact on minority formats." Sheridan had been looking for a minority buyer but none could raise the funding needed.
Mr. Bynum felt that someone would fill the void with the Urban format once the stations were sold.
Nothing more could be said about St. Joseph's Missions other than the group is "religious-oriented."
Monday Update: More at Fybush.com.
WSEE to lay off employees
Erie-Meadville: Unfortunately, it's D-Day for several WSEE employees who will be given their two weeks notices by management. The cuts are being made due to the move of WSEE into the WICU studios on State street on June 1st. It's not clear if it will be just behind the scenes employees or those who go on air as well. We'll have an update as soon as more details become available.Dish now has Erie locals in HD
Erie-Meadville:As advertised in a previous article, Dish Network has added some of Erie's local HD stations to their "Turbo HD" lineup. So far, WJET, WSEE and WFXP are on the HD lineup with WICU coming once their transition is complete on June 12th. So far, WQLN has not been added to the lineup but I would expect the PBS affiliate to be added in the near future.
KDKA helps fallen officers fund
Pittsburgh:
One month to go for WICU
Erie-Meadville: With WJET, WSEE, WQLN and WFXP now broadcasting exclusively in digital, WICU TV 12 (DT 52) now has a month to go before making the switch to digital on June 12th. The station will shut down their analog signal and convert to DT 12 which will be the first and only VHF digital signal in the Erie market. Hopefully the switchover will also bring NBC HD programming to over the air viewers who do not have Time Warner or Armstrong cable. My only concern is their planned 5.4kw power output for the new digital station. (VHF stations do not need as much power as UHF digital signals.) A couple of stations in the Wheeling / Steubenville market on VHF are putting out at least 23kw and still have issues covering parts of their market. Hopefully the flatter terrain in this region will be more favorable for WICU DT.To quote Marty: Unbelieveable!
Signal-to-Noise: (Editorial/Commentary*) Despite making a public vow a few years ago to stop listening to talk radio, I can't help myself. I'm weak.
Which is why I wound up listening to Marty Griffin on KDKA (1020) this morning.
(Memo to Marty: Stop screaming! You're on the radio! We can hear you!)
. . .
Usually, Griffin's rants bounce off of me like a puck off the stick of a Capitals defenseman, but my ears perked up when I heard him start railing against Pittsburgh City Paper and the ACLU.
Along with the ACLU, the alt-weekly (co-owned with WRRK-FM and WLTJ-FM) is trying to force Allegheny County officials to release the court order that sealed the divorce proceedings of Richard Mellon Scaife and his estranged wife, Ritchie.
. . .
According to Griffin, City Paper and the ACLU are invading Mr. Scaife's privacy. I don't have an exact transcript, but his remarks went something like this:
"City Paper ought to be ashamed of itself. That thing is full of ads for strippers and hookers anyway. And what about the ACLU? With all of the problems Americans are facing, this is the best they can do?" Etc.
. . .
You can't make this up! Marty Griffin, who has made a career as an "investigative reporter" out of (arguably) invading people's privacy, has suddenly become a privacy advocate!
Marty Griffin, who often stands in front of KDKA-TV's cameras holding government documents that he's "obtained," now supports the right of court officers to seal government documents without a public hearing!
Oh, to quote South Park, if irony were made out of strawberries, we'd all be drinking a lot of smoothies. (more)
Penguins get an HD-2 Channel
Pittsburgh:WXDX-FM (105.9) and The Pittsburgh Penguins have formed the first-ever 24/7 HD-2 channel focusing on one team. Programming will include a live and local daily program, as well as "NHL Live" and "NHL Hour" hosted by league commissoner Gary Bettman. Listen for stuff out of the archives as well plus games from the team's minor league affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Clear Channel recently renewed their contract with the Penguins for "The X".
Source: Tom Taylor on Radio
'Nostalgia fix' nostalgia
Monday Morning Nostalgia Fix: In honor of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference playoffs tonight at the big igloo, Mr. MMNF thought he'd flash back to some previous installments that dealt with Pittsburgh Penguins nostalgia.. . .
"Hard times for hockey fans" (April 28, 2008) explored the lengths to which Pens fans in the 1960s and '70s had to go to see or hear their team in action.
Then a distant third in sports affection to the Pirates and Steelers --- maybe even further back if you count the college teams --- Penguins games bounced from station to station during the early years.
. . .
"Pens redux" (May 12, 2008) recalls the 1975 season, when the Pens made it to the quarterfinals despite being in bankruptcy, and then-Mayor Pete Flaherty drew a standing ovation when he showed up at the then-Civic Arena carrying a banner that said, "I believe!"
. . .
Finally, Mr. MMNF would be remiss if he didn't plug a little remix he did last year at this time.
It's the great Canadian folk singer Stompin' Tom Connors, joined by the Voice of the Penguins radio broadcasts, Mike Lange.
"Enjoy," if that's the word, but please don't use it for commercial purposes, and please credit Mr. MMNF:
"The Hockey Song"
by Stompin' Tom Connors (with Mike Lange)
MP3, 2.8MB
P.S.: You can buy Stompin' Tom's CDs at the A-C-T Records website. You better do it, too, before Bud the Spud and Big Joe Mufferaw come after you.
"Renda, Jr." exits company
Pittsburgh: According to Scott Fybush, Tony Renda, Jr. has left his father's company after 12 years to focus on Velocity Radio Management - a firm he's been operating on the side. Renda will head back to Pittsburgh from Fort Meyers, Florida where he's been general manager of a group of stations for the last few years. Stay tuned...PERSON PROFILE: Paul Rasmussen
Person Profile:
Name: Paul RasmussenDo you have an "air name"? Not now, but used a few early in my career. Paul Davis, Paul O'Connor and Paul Dean. It's been Rasmussen since I landed in news back in 1995.
Age: 48. I guess that makes me old enough to know better.
Birthplace/Current Location: Great Falls, MT/Pittsburgh, PA
What stations have you worked at? In radio news at WWL New Orleans, LA; WOKV Jacksonville, FL; WQIK Jacksonville, FL and KDKA Pittsburgh, PA.
Have you had any other jobs outside of the broadcasting industry? I worked as a retail clerk in a couple of hobby stores, and had did some restaurant work before landing my first part-time radio gig when I was a junior in high school.
Who are your mentors/inspirations? Mentor: Dave Stilli. Dave is a Pennsylvania native and grew up in Mt. Lebanon. He worked as a jock at WIXZ in McKeesport, PA, WIFI Philadelphia, PA, and WKDF Nashville, TN. Dave went on to sales and management and eventually a consultancy with Mike Corbett. I met Dave in 1984 and we've been friends since. He's a terrific broadcaster and a great human being. Inspirations: Mike Phillips (PD KGW Portland, NBC FM O&O's, KRTH Los Angeles) Mary Wallior (bookkeeper Ingstad Broadcasting, Grand Forks, ND) Mike Corbett (KMBZ Kansas City, MO sales consultant) Norman Feuer (market manager Clear Channel Jacksonville, FL)
Tell us about your family. We've all cleared out of Montana. Mom's living in the Pittsburgh area, Dad's either in Yuma, AZ or Seattle, WA with my youngest sister depending on the golf season. I'm the oldest of four children. My other sisters live in Murfreesboro, TN, and Oxford, UK.
Favorite Movie? Once Upon a Time In America.
What's one item we might find in your refrigerator on a regular basis? Blueberries.
Who would you like to see interviewed for Person Profile? Stephanie Watson, Dennis Bowman and Shelley Duffy.
Erdos to Business Journal
Youngstown:
Stacia Erdos has joined The Business Journal of Youngstown, Ohio as a vidieo reporter/anchor and columnist with a focus on local business topics and media. In addition to writing for the biweekly publication, Erdos will produce and anchor video reports for the paper's website.
Most recently, Erdos was a weekend anchor and reporter at WPXI-TV (11) in Pittsburgh but commuted from her home in North Lima, Ohio. Before joining WPXI in 1998, she worked for WYTV-TV (33) in Youngstown. "I am very excited to be back working where I live, and collaborating with the Valley's most respected source of business information," Erdos said in a statement.
Erdos graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism in 1985 from Ohio University. She served an internship with the ABC News Bureau in London in 1985, where her work as a reporter, writer and researcher included extensive preparations for the Reagan-Gorbachev summit.
WPXI loses another
Pittsburgh: WPXI reporter Marc Willis will be leaving the station this week after three years. Willis is taking a new position as a public information officer at a VA medical center in Durham, North Carolina. Sad to be leaving TV news without accomplishing a long-time goal of working for a network, Willis tells the Post-Gazette, "I just wanted to take my career a little further and I'm just a little sad that the circumstances seem to be that everything has fallen apart around us right now." The new position will provide a more stabile schedule that WPXI would not provide for Willis who was recently married."Last Anchor Standing" coming to Jr's.
Erie-Meadville: If you're looking for a fun evening with some TV personalities trying to break into comedy, then Jr's. Last Laugh is where you want to be this Thursday night (May 7th). The annual "Last Anchor Standing" is a competion between WJET, WSEE and WICU to see who can raise the most money for the Erie chapter of The American Red Cross. Mike Gallagher will represent Jet TV, Meteorologist Ray Petelin will take the stage for WSEE and John Last will share his wit on behalf of WICU. Tickets are $15.45 and will feature comedians Rachel McDowell and headliner Mary Ellen Hooper following Last Anchor Standing. WSEE is currently accepting donations on behalf of Ray Petelin at their studios located at 1220 Peach street.New Vision does not drop HD for election results
Youngstown: Tuesday (May 5th) was the Ohio primary election. With a primary election being held, you'd expect two things. One is election results running on the bottom of the screen on local stations and the other is stations dropping HD versions of network programming in order to run such crawls. Not the case on WKBN and WYTV where HD versions of network programs still aired with election results running at the bottom of the screen. Also another kudos to WYTV for now airing HD versions of "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy". Hopefully, a power increase for WYTV DT 36 (33-1) will come this year in order to better cover the Mahoning Valley.Relevant Radio pulls from WZUM
Pittsburgh:The Catholic Relevant Radio network has pulled its programming from WZUM-AM (1590), according to Pat Cloonan in the McKeesport Daily News. (Not online.) The company has temporarily put an easy listening format on to fill the void. When that's not airing, a Chicago company is leasing the station to Delmarva Educational Association. There is an option for DEA to buy the station lasting up to a year. A more stable format is expected to be announced by mid-May.
DEA is based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, but owns stations in or near the Delmarva Peninsula both of which are religious. One is an affiliate of the K-Love music network.
Sovereign City Radio Services LLC declined comment any further than to say that there are plans to sell WZUM or sign an LMA. No filing has been made with the FCC.
WZUM is a 1000-watt daytime signal and 24 watts at night airing from Crafton. The studios are located in West Mifflin.
Creating 'QED ... at DuMont's expense?
Monday Morning Nostalgia Fix: A casual phone conversation between Pittsburgh attorney Leland Hazard and the president of Westinghouse Electric probably changed the future of American television.Not only did the call clear the way for America's first public TV station --- WQED, which celebrated its 55th anniversary on the air this past April 1 --- it sealed the fate of the DuMont Television Network.
If Hazard hadn't nudged Westinghouse's Gwilym Price into buying DuMont's Pittsburgh outlet, WDTV, the network might have survived into the late 1950s and beyond.
But WQED would have been severely hampered, forced to share a frequency with KDKA-TV.
. . .
At issue was the Federal Communications Commission's so-called "TV freeze" of 1948.
With 100 TV stations on the air and more than 700 applications waiting, the FCC suddenly put the brakes on granting any new licenses.
The problem was the relatively primitive TV sets of the era, which depended on temperamental vacuum-tube circuits in their tuners. The margin between a good picture and a lousy one was thin, and as new stations signed on, interference complaints multiplied.
And that was on VHF, where Pittsburgh's DuMont-owned WDTV, Johnstown's WJAC-TV, and Erie's WICU-TV were located. On UHF, which used much shorter wavelengths, vacuum-tube-era TV sets were practically useless. (more)
Are you keeping locals through satellite?
Misc. Pennsylvania: Over the past few days, I have decided to no longer pay an extra 5 dollars a month with Dish for local Erie stations I can get very well off the antenna for free. With the antenna in my area near Cochranton, I can get several digital stations from Erie, Youngstown and Pittsburgh. I know to some this may sound old fashioned and not worth the effort but how can you pay for local digital stations that come in just as clear if not clearer over the air. The late Jack Tirak definitely had a point here and I wish he could see the clarity he pushed for on his former Erie Media Go Round blog. Of course, over the air reception issues may not favor this for some readers but are you leaning towards or are no longer paying for locals through Dish or Directv? (for our Youngstown readers who have locals on both.) We'd like to know that or are you satisfied with exclusive digital OTA reception if you do not have cable or satellite.Love Sponge heading to Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh:Tickets are available now for national radio star Bubba the Love Sponge who will be coming to town on September 26. The visit fulfills a promise made in January that Bubba would bring a free "Bubbapalooza" to the city who won the national pro football championship. "Two of our show's biggest fan cities are Phoenix and Pittsburgh, but we've never played Pittsburgh before, so we got all fired up after the Steelers beat the Cardinals," Bubba told his listeners.
The venue of choice is nearby Greensburg's Palace Theatre.
Bubba the Love Sponge is heard in Pittsburgh Via Sirius/XM Satellite Radio.