From a railcar leak of anhydrous ammonia in Minot, N.D. to last year's northeast blackout, the media is catching some flak for not keeping the public informed. Is the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to blame?

In this week's Syracuse New Times cover story, Jack Bradigan Spula and Erica S. Brath examine some of the issues facing the FCC and what a recent panel discussion at Syracuse University had to contribute to the debate.
Source (link may no longer work):
newtimes.rway.com/2004/041404/cover.shtml

SYRACUSE -- What do a short order cook, a bouncer, and a zamboni driver all have in common? Give up? They're all jobs that Matt Jacobs tackled before setting his sights on rock and roll.   Jacobs, who goes by Big Smoothie on the air at 95X (WAQX), has been holding court during the evenings at the Syracuse active rock station since last summer. But what makes Matt tick outside of the studio? 

Howard Stern's show continues to cause headaches for Clear Channel Communications.

The FCC has fined the media conglomerate $495,000 for airing material from Stern's show which the commission deemed indecent. Infinity Broadcasting, the company that actually syndicates the program, was not fined.

One of the six stations named in the ruling is WNVE in Rochester.
Source (link may no longer work):
fmqb.com/Article.asp?id=22551

TK-99/105 morning man Dave Coombs is leaving Syracuse for a morning drive slot at Citadel Communications' KFNZ, an all-sports station in Salt Lake City.

Dave's last day on the air with longtime partner Glenn 'Gomez' Adams is today.

Starting Monday, TK's new morning show will be called "Gomez and Marne." Marne Mason has been a part of TK's morning team since June 2002.

TalkRadio 1390 WFBL is the new radio home of Syracuse SkyChiefs baseball, and they'll get their first crack at it at Thursday's season opener against the Rochester Red Wings.

Opening Day ceremonies are set to start at 3:30 with player introductions, acknowledgement of local dignitaries on hand, and the ceremonial first pitch. SkyChiefs announcer and WFBL sports director, Bob McElligott will serve as master of ceremonies before stepping into the broadcast booth for the play-by-play action.

This month's tasty read for the Sunny 102 Book Club is Tim Green's The First 48, and as a special treat, Green will be on hand at this Wednesday's book club meeting at the DeWitt Barnes & Noble.

Sunny 102 (WZUN) morning man, Big Mike Fiss, who has known Green since his days at Liverpool High School, says he's thrilled that Tim will be joining him to discuss his latest novel.

Lisa Webber is off to New England, and that leaves Big Frog 104 (WFRG) in search of a new morning show co-host. Webber has been with the station since her move from Albany's 107.7 WGNA in October 2002.

There's an old George Jones song called "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes?" WSCP listeners got that question answered today with Syracuse radio veteran Bob Paris stepping in as the station's new morning man.

Paris, who most recently worked at Oldies 92.1 (WSEN), takes over from Fred Lewis who had been with the classic country station for decades.

WSCP can be heard on 1070 AM, 101.7 FM, and 101.3 FM in Syracuse.

During the 1970s, Joe Wilson spent time as an air personality for WTLB and WRUN in Utica-Rome as well as a reporter for The AG Radio Network.

Wilson died Thursday after a brief illness at a veterans hospital in Iowa City, Iowa. Known for his on-air sense of humor and work with veterans groups, his last stint on the air was on WADR in the 1980s.

With managers from most local media outlets in attendance, Thursday's public forum on broadcasting held at Syracuse University got a bit spirited at times.

Clear Channel Syracuse manager Joel Delmonico and Newhouse Dean Dave Rubin continued their debate over WSYR's coverage of last year's blackout, while Galaxy chief Ed Levine told FCC commissioner Michael Copps that new fines for indecency would be a "noose around the neck" for broadcasters in markets the size of Syracuse.
Source (link may no longer work):
www.syracuse.com/entertainment/poststandard/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-7/1080899980275223.xml