ITHACA/CORTLAND -- While your editor was away on vacation, the long-awaited debut of new radio station WITH 90.1 took place on Monday. The joint venture between Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva and WXXI in Rochester also offers an HD2 channel.
GENEVA -- After hearing the WRVO-sponsored Syracuse appearance of "Says You!" is limited to balcony seating after all the floor-level seats sold out, WEOS General Manager Aaron Read says there's plenty of good seats available for the show's stop in Geneva. Some tickets include a chance to meet the host and panelists.
SYRACUSE -- The Tipp Hill-based KISS-FM is looking for new ways to get on the air with a low-power FM transmitter in Syracuse. The station is also exploring the possibilities of simulcasting on transmitters in several other nearby communities.
ITHACA/CORTLAND -- It's a special edition of the locally-produced Homemade Jam this weekend on rocker I-100 (WIII). The show will be paying tribute to Cortland native and rock star Ronnie James Dio, who died this past Monday at the age of 67. Dio's wife announced last November that Dio had been diagnosed with stomach cancer.
SYRACUSE -- Listeners to Oldies 1050 (WSEN-AM) had the chance to meet some of the station's hosts during an Auto Showcase co-sponsored by the station recently at the State Fairgrounds. Not only were local personalities on hand, but at least one nationally-syndicated host made an appearance as well.
OSWEGO -- The Environment Report which airs weekday mornings on WRVO will be going away soon. "Due to a lack of sustainable funding," the station explains Friday, June 4 will be the final day for the daily reports. However, WRVO's newsroom says it's not completely abandoning environmental issues.
ITHACA/CORTLAND -- ROI Broadcasting's top 40 Z95.5 (WFIZ) is looking for a morning co-host. Didn't they just hire one? Yep, about two months after the station announced the arrival of Nikii, PD and morning co-host Corey tells us Nikii had "family/personal problems and had to move back to her hometown in Ohio."
SYRACUSE -- Play-by-play broadcasts of Syracuse Crunch hockey will have a new home starting this fall. The team has signed a deal with Citadel Broadcasting's The Score 1260 (WSKO), ending a long-lasting partnership with Clear Channel's Sportsradio 620 WHEN.
SYRACUSE -- The new afternoon show Disturbing the Peace was supposed to debut yesterday on The New ESPN Radio (WTLA/WSGO/W249BC/W259AX). But listeners who tuned in during the advertised 2-6pm timeslot heard ESPN network programming instead. We checked in with Galaxy Communications management to see what happened.
UTICA-ROME -- Country station Big Frog 104 (WFRG) will be celebrating 22 years on the air with Frogfest 22 next month at Verona Beach State Park. And this year, MCA Nashville recording artist Josh Turner will appear as the headline act. The station made the announcement Monday morning, after naming several other local acts over the past few weeks.