Dick Carr's syndicated Big Bands, Ballads & Blues has picked up its 40th affiliate station. Beginning next month, WRUN in Utica-Rome will carry the two-hour weekly show featuring a mix of adult standards and jazz masters.

The program is hosted and produced by Syracuse resident Dick Carr and is marketed by the WOR Radio Network.

Bob Edwards, the sole host of National Public Radio's Morning Edition since its debut 25 years ago, is being forced out of that position.

"It's part of a natural evolution," said NPR spokeswoman Laura Gross. "We just felt it was time for a change."

Edwards, 56, will become a senior correspondent for the show. Steve Inskeep and Renee Montagne will step in until a permanent replacement is found.

Morning Edition airs locally on WAER and WRVO.
Source (link may no longer work):
www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/03/23/npr.edwards.ap/index.html

This week WRVO will preempt much of its regular programming to present live coverage of Senate hearings by the National Commission on the Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States.

Coverage begins at 9 a.m. Tuesday with testimony expected from Colin Powell, Madeline Albright, and Donald Rumsfeld. On Wednesday questioning turns to George Tenet, Samuel Berger, and Richard Clark.

WRVO's coverage will run until about 5 p.m. each day.

There's a new frog in town at WFRY in Watertown.

Bud Money, who has worked in the Utica-Rome market and most recently at Clear Channel Syracuse as a traffic reporter and weekend jock, moves to Froggy 97's afternoon drive slot beginning next week.

Money, who will use the name Bud Green on the air, replaces Matt 'Bullfrog' Raismann who exited last month.

One of MTV's original VJs, John 'J.J.' Jackson, died Wednesday of an apparent heart attack while driving home from dinner in Los Angeles. He was 62.

Jackson, who has been a syndicated radio personality for Westwood One since 1990, was host of The Beatle Years which airs on Oldies 92.1 (WSEN) in Syracuse and Z93 (WCIZ) in Watertown.
Source (link may no longer work):
www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/18/obit.vj.jackson.ap/index.html

Marty's 'one man party' in the morning on Hot 107-9 (WWHT) has a new co-host. Syracuse native Shannon Wells is heading north from 'The Zone' (WOZN) in Greensboro, North Carolina where she's done middays for the past year. Before that, Wells had worked weekends at WXKS in Boston.

Eleven years in the business and all at one station. For 93Q's midday jock, assistant program director, and music director, Jimmy Olsen, it has been a fun ride so far.

Find out Olsen's take on Howard Stern, satellite radio, media censorship, the American Idol phenomenon, and WNTQ's infamous "Q Cash" promotion in this week's All Access...
Source (link may no longer work):
allaccess.com

Jeanne Ashley left Y94FM (WYYY) five years ago this month for Kansas City, and from the sounds of it, things seem to be going well.

Ashley, who handled Y94FM's midday shift from 1997-99 after stints at K-Rock (WKLL) and Lite 98.7 (WLTW) in Utica-Rome, is now the midday jock and music director at Kansas City's Star 102 (KSRC).

Find out more from the latest 'Ten Questions With...' profile on All Access.
Source (link may no longer work):
allaccess.com

From its brand new $20,000 studio high atop the Onondaga Hotel, radio station WFBL's debut in 1924 marked the beginning of a new era for Syracuse. In the 80 years since then, the station, as well as the market, have gone through a myriad of changes, but through it all WFBL has managed to survive.

In this special report for CNYRadio.com, we take a look at the station's history, from its humble beginnings all the way up to its latest incarnation.

Click here for the exclusive in-depth article.

John Dote's daily hour of local morning talk on WIBX came to an end last week.

Dote's show, Behind the Headlines, has been replaced by a new local magazine show called First Look which airs weekday mornings at 8 a.m. and is hosted by Jim Rondenelli and Dave Andrews.

Station management had given Dote the option to move his show to sister station WRUN, but he declined.
Source (link may no longer work):
www.uticaod.com/archive/2004/03/05/news/27442.html