A faulty National Weather Service transmitter on Onondaga Hill was to blame for thousands of listeners of WRVO FM 90 not learning about a July 28 tornado warning until after the fact. The center of the bad weather that day was in the Skaneateles area where the station has a strong listener and donor support base. WRVO was unable to make the announcement until after the warning had passed due to the technical problems at the National Weather Service.
The price tag: $62 million. What Regent Communications gets in return: 12 radio stations owned by Brill Media in Reading, PA, Evansville, IN, Owensboro, KY, Duluth, MN, and Ft. Collins, CO. Look for the deal to be finalized late this year or early 2003. Regent's current holdings include nine stations in the Utica-Rome and Watertown markets.
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A two-day radiothon this past weekend sponsored by Utica's Lite 98.7 raised over $15,000 for the Children's Miracle Network. The proceeds will benefit the pediatric and maternity wards at Faxton-St. Luke'sHealthcare.
Jazz fans will want to tune in to WAER FM 88.3 this Sunday at noon for a two-hour program featuring performances from 15 artists who took to the stage at the 2001 Detroit International Jazz Festival. The special was produced for National Public Radio by Syracuse M&T Jazz Fest director Frank Malfitano.
Utica radio veteran Randy Jay is signing off for the last time this weekend at Lite 98.7. Jay, the station's morning man and program director, is leaving after a 12 year run. Word on the street is that he's headed to Atlanta for a job outside of radio. Afternoon drive jock Peter Naughton steps into the morning show slot while the station decides what to do for the long run.
It's that time of year again. For those attending this year's New York State Fair, as usual, it will be hard to avoid running into something related to one or more Syracuse radio stations. Here's what we know so far...
John Hogan has been given the nod to head up Clear Channel Communications' radio division. Hogan, who replaces outgoing CEO Randy Michaels, has served as a senior vice president and COO for the company. Clear Channel owns 16 radio stations in Syracuse and Utica.
Former 94 Rock jock Tommy Nast gets 96 pages of press in the form of a tribute put together by The Album Network. Nast, who has been with the trade publication for 20 years and is currently vice president of music and media, spent a couple years in the early 80's as the evening air personality at WSYR FM.
Gomez and Dave, TK-99's morning duo who are known to refer to food quite often on the air, last week accepted a challenge from a listener who suggested they try to go one show without mentioning food. The penalty for each slip would be a donation to the Food Bank of Central New York. It all happened a week ago Friday with more than $500 being raised.
WRVO FM 90 is on top once again in the latest Arbitron ratings for public radio stations in Central New York. Classic FM came in second with WAER a close third. Check out our ratings section for all of the details.