This weekend's Countryfest featuring Patty Loveless at the Oswego Speedway has been cancelled by WSCP 101.7.
WSCP's owner, Galaxy Communications, cited a Loveless promotion sponsored by competitor B104.7 (WBBS) and the country singer's management's failure to halt their participation with the B104.7 event as reasons for the cancellation of the show.
The Arbitron spring book is out for the Utica-Rome market and there weren't too many surprises.
The top six stations all held their rank but Lite 98.7's comfortable three point lead over Regent sister station Big Frog 104 (WFRG) has shrunk to a half a point.
Clear Channel had mixed results: 96.9 WOUR and KISS-FM both gained at least a point, while Bob 102.5 (WRBY) and Kool 93.5 (WUCL) both lost ground.
Mornings just got a bit busier for Keith Kobland.
The morning anchor for WTVH's 5 on Your Side just last week picked up news duties on Big Mike's show on Sunny 102 (WZUN).
Kobland, a 1981 North Syracuse graduate, got his start in Syracuse radio as part of 570 WSYR's news team before making the switch to television in 1989.
With a commanding lead in Arbitron numbers for the Ithaca market released last week, Q-Country (WQNY) has nearly doubled its ratings in the past six months.
Lite 97 slipped into second place with a 14.4 which is a nearly 4 point increase for the Eagle Broadcasting AC station.
Syracuse country station B104.7 (WBBS) has launched a contest giving listeners a chance to win dinner with country star Patty Loveless while she's in town next weekend for Countryfest at the Oswego Speedway.
Things get a little sticky when you consider that it's B104.7's competitor, WSCP AM/FM, that is bringing the star to town. WSCP's owner, Galaxy Communications is threatening to sue, while Clear Channel's Joel Delmonico says, "there's no way it could hurt or damage the concert."
Citadel Broadcasting collected a whopping $418 million on its sale of 12 million shares of common stock during Friday's IPO.
Trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CDL, the company, which owns and operates 151 FM and 64 AM stations in 44 markets, will use some of the proceeds to pay down its $389 million in debt.
Citadel owns six stations in Central New York: 93Q (WNTQ), 95X (WAQX), Lite 105.7 (WLTI), ESPN Radio 1260 (WNSS), I100 (WIII), and NewsTalk 920 (WKRT).
In Arbitron numbers released today for the Syracuse radio market, Y94FM (WYYY) and Lite 105.5 (WLTI) both clocked in with the best ratings either station has seen in over two years. Y94FM had the biggest jump of all the Syracuse stations with a 1.5 increase, which helped move them from 7th to 5th in market rank.
National Public Radio (NPR) and Slate Magazine have teamed up to produce a new daily newsmagazine which will air locally on WRVO FM 90 beginning next week.
Day to Day is NPR's first collabortive effort with a commercial media outlet since the network debuted in 1970.Veteran NPR correspondant Alex Chadwick will host the hour-long show which will air at 1 p.m. weekdays following Fresh Air.
Source (link may no longer work):
www.wrvo.fm/daytoday.html
There are a couple of new Central New York radio airchecks at NortheastAirchecks.com as they add to their growing roster of sound clips from the past.
Listen to Don Rossi on WFBL in Syracuse from 1980 and from Utica-Rome's WRUN, its a 1979 tape of Jeff Moulton.
Source (link may no longer work):
www.northeastairchecks.com
Conservative radio talk host Rush Limbaugh has signed on with ESPN to provide a weekly opinion piece on the network's Sunday NFL Countdown show beginning in September.
Limbaugh, who is a huge football fan, says, "I get to take my observations from the living room couch to the ESPN studios and talk football with the best journalists and players in the business."
Limbaugh's afternoon radio show airs on 570 WSYR in Syracuse, NewsRadio 950 (WIBX) in Utica-Rome, and 790 WTNY in Watertown.
Source (link may no longer work):
espn.go.com/nfl/news/2003/0714/1580436.html