Wish goes on twenty years after shedding beautiful music
Musings From Eric:No, I didn't forget. I just didn't think many would care! (Apparently a number of you do, or I wouldn't be writing this!) This past December 26 marked 20 years since WSHH-FM (99.7) shed the instrumental covers for an all-vocal easy listening format. If I recall correctly, the change happened around Noon that day as the station, coming off of it's first live broadcast for Make-A-Wish and the traditional 36-hour Christmas Music run, still played some of the instrumentals that morning with Jack Bogut. The station also shed the Sinatra, Bennett and other crooner tunes it played opting to focus on Neil Diamond, The Carpenters and other still mellow vocal artists. The station has gradually, and graciously morphed into a soft rock station and now you'd be hard-pressed to find The Carpenters on there on a regular basis.
The format change led to the creation of WEZE-FM which formed in early 1990 on 104.7. The station had recently been purchased by Salem Broadcasting who opted not to continue with WNRJ "Energy 104". Within a few short months it lured a number of Wish employees - including station manager Joe Fenn who resumed his position at WEZE and went back to doing the morning show. Leah Klocko left the evenings at Wish for afternoon drive on WEZE. Ed Price, who had done a shift at WJAS moved over and started working evenings with his dulcet tones, unfortunately passing away suddenly about a year later. Disgruntled Wish listeners flocked to 104.7 and were satisfied for almost two years. During that time they went after Wish with liners like "Your WISH for Easy Listening is on WEZE-FM - Easy 104.7" and even copied the 36 hour Christmas run. And, perhaps the biggest change of all, the station moved from its New Kensington home to Parkway Center in Greentree. In late fall of 1991, WEZE listeners started to hear something unusual. All of a sudden WLTJ was advertising its station on WEZE and no one could really figure out why. But soon the papers let the word out that WEZE would soon change to WORD-FM with a religious format thus bringing the end of Beautiful Music on the Pittsburgh airwaves. WORD-FM eventually moved over to its sister signal on 101.5 and remains in Parkway Center to this day. 104.7 was shed to another company where it became WXRB "The Rebel" and a country format followed by an alternative format with WNRQ, Smooth Jazz and later Jammin' Oldies with WJJJ and, in 2004 with the most successful format (now 6 years old) on the signal since WYDD days - FM Talk as WPGB.
But Wish is still with us. As I mentioned, it has gradually changed with the times over the last 20 years and is one of two stations in town that goes all-Christmas every year. It's worth noting that up until a few years ago, the 36- hour Christmas run still included a lot of the instrumental renditions of Christmas favorites which had once been mixed in to the format in the old days. It is also worth noting that Wish is the only local commercial station which still plays some Christmas music between Christmas and the New Year.
If you miss beautiful music on your radio, there are still some places to receive it. For cable subscribers who have the option of "Music Choice" on their boxes, Phil Stout (who was one of the main programmers for Shulke Radio Productions - a beautiful music supplier for stations including Wish) programs the Easy Listening channel. Marlin Taylor (considered by many to be the "father" of the beautiful music format) is the programmer for Sirius/XM's "Escape". Much of the custom music - recorded specifically for these formats mainly by artists from the UK - is becoming available for purchase mainly through sites like Rhapsody.com. And for you real beautiful music afficionados, you can join the Yahoo! Group - Beautiful Instrumentals and Vocals run by Jim Masters.
The format may not work for Commercial FM stations anymore, but it's not completely dead.
Happy New Year 2010!
WANB operating from 1210
Pittsburgh:Broadcast Communications began broadcasting WANB-AM (Waynesburg) on 1210 today, after nearly 50 years on 1580 AM. The move was made to have a better coverage area which is easier to achieve the lower you go on the AM dial. For now, WANB is still heard on 103.1 FM, now known as WKVE and will continue to be heard on a translater FM station at 105.1 FM.
BCI will very soon be ready to operate WKVE (103.1) with its new Mt. Pleasant city of license.
DISCLAIMER: (In case you didn't know already.) This editor works part-time for Broadcast Communications, Inc.
Free TV in jeopardy?
National News:National networks and local TV affiliates have found themselves needing to push for new revenue sources to pay for programming. Over the years Cable TV and the Internet have soaked up the ad dollars that once went directly to television and the recession hasn't helped much. Local channels and networks might begin charging more fees to cable and satellite carriers and the networks may go so far as to drop their local affiliates choosing instead to operate as a cable channel. And the lack of income for the cable companies means the expense will be passed on to the consumer.
Rupert Murdoch, owner of News Corp. and Fox told shareholders this fall that programming is expensive and can no longer be supported by ad revenue alone. Fox therefore is making its strategy public warning broadcasts could disappear as early as Friday for Time Warner Cable subscribers unless the company pays Fox higher fees for carrying the Fox-owned channels.
And things could get interesting as Comcast prepares to take control of NBC. As of now, there are no plans to end free broadcasts on NBC, but Jeff Zucker who runs the network and sister cable channels, told his investors that "the cable model is just superior to the broadcast model."
Historically, the network pays the affiliates to air the programming, but those fees have gone done as local stations have seen audiences shrink. That money mainly comes from advertising. Meanwhile, the cable channels make their money by charging the "pay-TV" providers a monthly fee - per subscriber - for their programming. Many channels make a few cents per subscriber, but some of the more highly rated channels can bring in a few dollars. Channels like ESPN have seen a significant increase in revenue over the last decade allowing them to bid for events that usually aired on the regular networks. (Think Monday Night Football.) All this in addition to ad revenue has allowed cable channels to be more recession-proof while local over-the-air stations have had to cut staff and face financial woes.
Local stations and networks have been able to follow this model since 1994 when the FCC approved the move, but not all stations went that route and instead charged more to advertisers based on the increased audience cable and satellite services gave. Thusly we've seen some intense debates on agreements between affiliates and cable providers such as in 2007 when Sinclair Broadcast Group pulled its signals from Mediacom Communications - a provider for small cities - for nearly a month. Similar threats occurred locally between Sinclair (owner of WPGH-TV and WPMY-TV) and Dish Network in recent years. But could it be that broadcasters have started the transition too late? Dave Lougee, president of Gannett Co.'s broadcast wing thinks so. He tells the Associated Press, "broadcasters were late to the game in really starting to go after the fair market value of their signals."
Meanwhile, some networks want a chunk from the affiliates' incomes since, after all, it's their programming that is used to base the fees the affiliate charges the cable company. That's wher, in time, we may see the network-affiliate relationship go down the tubes forcing local stations to become independent. Any transition, though, would take years to finalize.
Merry Christmas!
Pittsburgh:
WAOB testing?
Pittsburgh:Local programmer and friend of PBRTV, Clarke Ingram, reported this evening that it appeared as though WAOB-FM (106.7) was on the air testing. "No programming, just a mono carrier," said Ingram. He also said that it could be a "well-placed pirate". Long-time WAMO-FM, formerly on the frequency, went off the air on September 8 and is not expected to return with its new format until February 2010. More as we hear it.
UPDATE: Clarke heard transmission on 106.7 on Tuesday night, "playing Catholic hymns of some sort, in stereo - call letters and all."
Citadel goes Chapter 11
National News: The long-expected bankruptcy filing for Citadel Broadcasting came today.
Documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York by the Las Vegas-based company list $1.4 billion in assets and more than $2.4 billion in debt, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The nation's third-largest radio broadcaster operates 224 stations, including Erie's WRIE (1260), WQHZ-FM (102.3), WXKC-FM (99.9) and WXTA-FM (97.9), and in 2007 absorbed most of the ABC Radio Network and many of ABC's radio stations. (Pittsburgh ESPN sports-talker WEAE and ABC's radio news department were not included.) Citadel also provides programming to 4,400 affiliates.
Citadel is seeking court approval to reorganize under Chapter 11 of U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The company has proposed swapping $2 billion in debt to its creditors in exchange for giving them control.
The deal, if approved by the court, would reduce Citadel's debts to about $762.5 million, according to the Journal. Citadel has struggled financially for nearly two years; in February, the company was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange after the price of its shares fell to less than a penny, and many personalities heard on Citadel's music networks have been laid off.
Citadel's largest creditors include ABC's parent company, The Walt Disney Co.; Delaware bank Wilmington Trust Co.; and JP Morgan Chase & Co.
Family Communications to change name
Pittsburgh:Oakland-based Family Communications - the non-profit which Fred Rogers founded in 1971 - will become The Fred Rogers Company in 2010. The name change comes as a board of directors initiative to honor the founder of the company. The idea behind the change came as the company is actively make new television programs with the same style and approach that Rogers himself would have used. "If we're going to have this company putting new things on television that embody Fred's approach and his name would not be in the credits otherwise, it was important to a number of board members to say, 'This is who we are.' You immediately know when you have that name on there who you are," FCI COO Kevin Morrison told the Post-Gazette.
While on the topic of Mister Rogers... More than 5000 people toured the studio in November for the opportunity to walk through The Neighborhood (please stop calling it "land") of Make-Believe. The statistics show that people travelled from 71 cities, 10 states and 4 countries. Assuming that funding can be secured for such an event, plans are in the works to have a spring open house for which the interior set pieces of Rogers' play house would be reconstructed.
Services set for Honsberger
Pittsburgh: A public memorial service for the late Fred Honsberger will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Salvation Army Pittsburgh Temple, 424 Third Ave., Downtown.Honsberger, 58, longtime KDKA (1020) talk-show host, died unexpectedly on Wednesday at his home in Monroeville.
In addition to his wife Christine, he is survived by his mother, Janet Honsberger of Monroeville; and sons Kyle and Kevin at home.
Services are being arranged by Jobe Funeral Home of Monroeville. In lieu of flowers, the family has suggested memorial contributions be made to the Salvation Army.
New morning anchor for WPXI
Pittsburgh: It is official: Todd McDermott will be the new morning anchor at WPXI-TV (11) effective January 4. McDermott, who was rumored to have the position last week, has an impressive background having worked at stations in New York City, Washington, D.C., Wichita and Baltimore. He was in NYC during 9/11 where he spent many hours on the air at WCBS with news coverage that day. He also filled in on CBS Morning Show for a time after Bryant Gumbel left. McDermott has a son in college and a daughter in high school.KDKA's Honsberger dead at 58
Pittsburgh: Veteran KDKA (1020) personality Fred Honsberger died this morning at his home in Monroeville.
Honsberger, who was 58, earlier this year celebrated his 30th anniversary with the CBS-owned news-talker.
A native of Philadelphia, where he worked at KDKA's then-Group W sister station, KYW (1060), Honsberger came to KDKA in 1979 as a field reporter, winning an Alfred I. duPont Award for his part in the station's coverage of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant accident.
"His love for, and dedication to, his listeners in Pittsburgh cannot be duplicated," said Dan Mason, president and CEO of CBS Radio. "We couldn't be more proud of the work Fred has done as a dedicated broadcaster over the past three decades."
"Our sincere condolences go out to Fred's family," Mason said.
. . .
Before joining KYW, Honsberger worked as news director at WKBO, Harrisburg, and as operations manager at WRSC and WQWK, State College.
After stints as news anchor for former KDKA personalities Roy Fox and John Cigna, Honsberger was named the station's news director in 1984. He became a talk-show host in 1989.
Honsberger battled various health problems for years. In 2005, after dropping 140 pounds through gastric-bypass surgery, he went public with his lifelong battle to control his weight, which had led him to struggle with diabetes and high blood pressure.
In 2007, Honsberger began doing his talk show from his Monroeville home after falling and breaking his leg; the following year, he fell and broke his shoulder.
. . .
Yet his illnesses rarely slowed down the dynamic (some would say bombastic) and hard-working Honsberger, who four times was named best talk-show host in Pennsylvania by the Associated Press.
For the past four years, Honsberger had been named one of Talkers magazine's "Heavy One Hundred" list of the top 100 talk-show hosts in the United States.
His last KDKA broadcast was a little more than one week ago --- Tuesday, Dec. 8.
From 1999 to 2007, Honsberger also hosted a daily talk show on WPXI-TV's Pittsburgh Cable News Channel. He gave up the slot after complications from breaking his leg made it difficult to get to the station's studio.
. . .
"Fred was a terrific broadcaster," PCNC station manager Mark Barash said in a statement posted for WPXI's website. "He had the ability to make people stay and listen to his show, because he was so compelling."
In an era when few local radio hosts are still household names, the distinctive voice and forceful personality of the self-styled "Honzman" earned both legions of fans and some prominent detractors.
Beginning in 2004, Honsberger earned a distinction accorded to no other Pittsburgh talk-show host when two local bloggers began tracking what they considered his half-truths and misstatements at a website called "Honsberger is a Liar."
. . .
Those bloggers, David DeAngelo and Maria Lupinacci, have expressed their own condolences.
"It probably goes without saying that Fred and I had real philosophical differences," DeAngelo wrote today. "I was a frequent caller and we argued pretty much all the major issues of the day. And, that goes to one thing that I highly respected about Fred: he wasn't afraid to hold up his opinions to criticism ... Fred relished the challenge. He was also extremely gracious when I met him in person."
Barash said Honsberger "never backed away from an argument, debate or discussion with people who didn't agree with him, and I think that's one of the things that made Fred so great."
"Whether you loved what he was saying or hated what he was saying, you listened," he said. "He will be missed."
. . .
In a prepared statement announcing the death, Michael Young, senior vice president and market manager for CBS Radio Pittsburgh, praised Honsberger's "immense passion and the enjoyment and pride he took in preparing and producing his shows."
"Fred truly loved the Pittsburgh area, the KDKA listeners and his colleagues at the station," Young said, adding that the KDKA family "is deeply saddened ... Fred's family has the station's deepest sympathies during this difficult period."
WPXI today quoted a spokesman for the Allegheny County medical examiner's office as saying that heart disease was suspected as a factor in Honsberger's death.
An active volunteer with and member of The Salvation Army, Honsberger is survived by his wife, Christine, and two sons. Funeral arrangements are incomplete.
WRCT presents a couple of holiday gifts this year
Pittsburgh:Pittsburghers burned out on Christmas music will get a special gift one day early -- from 1,200 miles away.
Legendary Pittsburgh radio personality Chuck Brinkman lends his voice to a countdown remembering the top tunes of 1963 -- plus his own memories of being on the air that momentous year -- from 12 to 3 p.m. Thursday, December 24, on Carnegie Mellon University's WRCT-FM (88.3).
The show is being produced by another former Pittsburgh radio talent, John Summers* (known as "Alfred E. Newman" when he worked at B-94 in the 1980s, not to be confused with Jon Summers who worked at KQV and WTAE in the 1970s and '80s), with the assistance of longtime local programmer and radio consultant Clarke Ingram.
The Christmas Eve special will close out WRCT's 60th anniversary year, which also represents its 35th anniversary on the FM dial.
Brinkman, a Pittsburgh native, is well remembered as one of the "Fun-Lovin' Five" from KQV radio, the city's top outlet for rock music from the late '50s through the early '70s. He later was an air talent at Pittsburgh's former WTAE and Y-97FM before moving to Dallas, Texas, where he spent almost two decades as a program director and personality at that city's KLUV-FM.
The special countdown was cooked up by Summers -- another Pittsburgh native who worked with Brinkman at KLUV -- and Ingram, who suggested the program to WRCT's Jay Thurber. Thurber is nom de guerre for a Carnegie Mellon alumnus who hosts an oldies show called "Radio 9" from 12 - 3 on Saturday afternoons.
"On my show, I try to re-create the sound of '60s Top 40 stations like KQV," Thurber says, "but why have an imitation when you can get the real Chuck Brinkman? As soon as Clarke suggested that we hook up with Chuck and John, I knew this special would be the prefect way for WRCT to wrap up its 35th anniversary on FM. It's a real honor to be able to bring Chuck's voice to Pittsburghers this Christmas season and I think listeners will appreciate hearing these great sounds of 1963 with one of the great talents who first made them hits."
Meanwhile, one week later, on New Year's Eve, Thurber will present his own recreation of the sound of 1960s radio... more after you click "MORE"
(more)Smizik: Nemacolin deal helps WBGG
Pittsburgh: Bob Smizik of Post-Gazette.com reports that a new advertising partnership between Fox Sports WBGG (970), 84 Lumber and the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort may help level the playing field for the station, which persistently lags ESPN's WEAE (1250) for listeners.
"Fox Sports Radio 970 has been chasing ESPN in the ratings ever since it came into existence," Smizik says. "It was that way when Stan Savran had the afternoon drive-time slot and it remains so with (Joe) Bendel doing the show. The ESPN brand is so persuasive that listeners turn to it regardless of the quality of the show.
"That's not to suggest the shows on 1250 ESPN aren't good," says Smizik, who notes right up front that he appears on Bendel's show every Tuesday. "Some of them are very good. But Bendel's show from 3 to 7 p.m. is a clear winner over 'The Drive,' the ESPN entry from 2 to 6 p.m."
Beginning this week, WBGG's shows are broadcasting from the "Nemacolin Woodlands Studios built by 84 Lumber." Both Nemacolin and 84 were founded by Fayette County businessman and philanthropist Joe Hardy.
It's a naming-rights agreement similar to the deal that earlier this year put KDKA (1020) into the "Lexus of North Hills Studios" (and before them, competing news-talker WPGB-FM).
Of course, WBGG isn't actually relocating to the posh Nemacolin resort. (But wouldn't that be fun?)
As a result, Smizik says, "listeners to the station will be hearing a lot about the resort. It won't change the programming but it might help narrow the gap with ESPN."
If he's talking about revenue, we bet Smizik is on the money.
Former WXDXer goes to Cleveland...
National News:Yeah, it's probably not good to mention Cleveland after the first Steelers' loss to a rival in six years, but...
We've just found out that former WXDX afternoon host, Alan Cox, is headed to WMMS in Cleveland after a run at WKQX in Chicago. He has a blog and Twitter page mentioning the move.
Bruce leaving WPXI to focus on his business; former on-air partner joining him
Pittsburgh:Bob Bruce and Newlin Archinal will officially be together again, but not on television. Bruce will be retiring from his TV work next week to focus solely on a side venture he was been working on for a number of years - a Wexford-based consulting business called Integrity Wealth Consulting LLC which is affiliated with Commonwealth Financial Network.
Bruce made the decision to leave television on his own. His current contract is up at the end of the year but his last day is next Friday. He joined the station in 1996 after working in a few other markets, but actually began working on his business plan two years later when he first became a financial planner and worked with several firms downtown. His own office opened seven years ago. Bruce tells the Post-Gazette that he has no plan on missing the TV business.
Meanwhile, Archinal knew before she was let go from WPXI that she wanted to change her career direction. She has spent the last two years taking classes and getting the licenses necessary to work in personal finance. She has been working with Bruce since earlier this year as a retirement planner.
After the first of the year, Bruce and Archinal expect to use their television expertise to create some videos for the company's website and eventually there may be some television appearances.
Meanwhile, Rob Owen speculates that Todd McDermott may be a replacement for Bruce, but the announcement has not been made.
This just in...
Musings From Eric: Eric O'Brien will be appearing - as well as one can "appear" on an audio feed - on Online with Bill Alexander. Live start time is 10:06 pm Eastern. Podcasts will be available sometime after the show airs.As the world ... grinds to a halt
National News:CBS has canceled one of its last remaining soap operas. "As the World Turns," which airs daily at 2 p.m. on the Eyenet's local owned-and-operated, KDKA-TV, will end its 54-year run in January.
The move puts Cincinnati-based soap-making giant Procter & Gamble out of the broadcasting business for the first time since 1933, when it launched the radio soap opera "Ma Perkins" as an advertising vehicle for its Oxydol laundry detergent.
(And you always wondered why they were called soap operas. If Heinz had created them, they'd be pickle operas.)
Shows like "As the World Turns" were originally aimed at women who worked in the home. But with more women in the paid workforce, soap opera audiences have been steadily declining for decades.
Producing an original drama five times per week is expensive: According to the New York Times, the average soap opera costs about $50 million per year to produce; a game show costs half that price.
The show's producers (technically a subsidiary of P&G) say they're seeking another outlet for the show. But as the Associated Press points out, P&G said the same thing about "Guiding Light" when CBS snuffed it in September and replaced it with a revival of "Let's Make a Deal." It still hasn't found anyone else to pick up "Light."
For now, CBS still screens "The Bold and the Beautiful" and "The Young and the Restless." (Or as the late Bill Burns notoriously called it ....)
Tower site calendar features KDKA in 2010
National News:
Fybush Media's 2010 Tower Site Calendar is hot off the presses, the ninth year the unique 12-month wall calendar has been on sale.
The calendar, which features a monthly photo of a well-known broadcast transmitter site, is photographed and written by Scott Fybush, the creator of "Tower Site of the Week" and "North East Radio Watch".
The full-color monthly calendar has become a tradition for many radio engineers and a curiosity for those who think all radio towers look alike.
"The calendar has become a tradition over the years," says Fybush. "For many people, they are a very popular holiday gift."
Once again, each month of the calendar features an 8"x11" color photograph of a broadcast transmitter site taken by Fybush during his travels around the U.S., Canada, Mexico and beyond. The sites pictured on the 2010 calendar include many stunning mountain photos:
- Vermont's tallest peak, Mount Mansfield
- One of the tallest self-supporting towers in the country, the former home to WTBS in Atlanta
- The historic Art Deco transmitter site of Washingto, D.C.'s WTOP
- WBT in North Carolina, one of the oldest transmitter sites still in use
- A unique horizontal antenna perched on the Odd Fellows' Hall south of downtown Los Angeles
- KSTP, overlooking Highway 61 in St. Paul, Minnesota
- New York City's newest AM site, located in Secaucus, New Jersey
- WCLO, the hometown radio station of Janesville, Wisconsin
- XEWW, south of Rosarito Beach in Mexico
- Deer Point, a major transmitter site rising 4,200 feet above Boise, Idaho
- The broadcast site of Pittsburgh's legendary KDKA
- A nearly 70-year-old site in Phoenix, now surrounded by a shopping center parking lot
- A sunset photo showcasing WGHP-TV in High Point, North Carolina
In addition to tower photos, the calendar's monthly pages include significant dates in radio and television history, as well as civil and religious holidays and the start of each season.
The 2010 calendars cost $18 each, postpaid ($19.44 including sales tax for New York State residents), and can be purchased by check (payable to "Scott Fybush") or money order to 92 Bonnie Brae Avenue, Rochester NY 14618. Orders can also be placed with major credit cards at www.fybush.com.
"I've traveled all over the country to see radio stations, often after an engineer invited me," says Fybush, who also edits The Radio Journal and the radio directory site 100000watts.com and anchors newscasts for NPR member station WXXI in Rochester, NY.
Condolences
Pittsburgh:PBRTV wishes to express condolences to a couple of people in the local broadcast media.
- To Joe DeNardo whose wife, Dolores passed away on Monday at the age of 78. According to the obit, Joe and Dolores would have celebrated 57 years of marriage this month.
- To Porky Chedwick whose son, Paul passed away on Saturday.