It the "what ever happened to ..." department, former 80's WSYR/WYYY Program Director and air personality Fred Horton is leaving his PD post at WBEE in Rochester.

Nationally syndicated talk host Jim Bohannon has signed a three-year contract extension with Westwood One. Bohannon's late-night call-in show airs on more than 300 radio stations nationwide, including WSYR AM 570 here in Syracuse and WIBX AM 950 in Utica.

R&R ONLINE has confirmed rumors of a pending split between Westwood One Radio Networks and veteran talk host Bruce Williams. A WW1 spokesperson said affiliates have been notified of the June 15th final air date for the show, but it's still not officially known if Williams will be moving to Las Vegas-based Talk America Radio Networks. Williams' show is heard locally on WSYR.

Syracuse University's multimedia center at 316 Waverly Ave. was rededicated Thursday as the Robert B. Menschel Media Center. In addition to the student-run radio station WJPZ FM, the $3.2 million reconstruction also includes improvements to photographic darkroom facilities, University Union Television, and a convenience store.

More than 60 people packed into Pompey Town Hall Monday night to hear about a request to build a 1,000-foot-tall tower near the corner of Sweet and Sevier Roads. The tower would be used by public radio and television stations WCNY. WCNY President Michael Fields had not expected such vocal opposition.

After a 2½ year absence, the 2001 Syracuse Area Music Awards will be handed out on November 9th at Syracuse's historic Landmark Theatre. This year's event, the sixth Sammy awards presentation, is co-sponsored by the Syracuse New Times and Galaxy Communications.

Central New York based radio group Galaxy Communications has agreed to purchase traditional country formatted WSCP FM 107.1 and AM 1070. 

Local web radio outlet syracusebroadcast.com announced that it will carry WSYR's computer advice show "Random Access" Sundays from noon until two. The show's hosts Al Fasdolt and Gene Wolf field callers' questions on PC and Mac hardware and software.

Arbitron has released its latest quarterly numbers. B104.7 (WBBS) remains a strong leader in the Syracuse market, Y94FM (WYYY) moves from third to seventh overall, while AM 1260 WNSS (formerly Comedy World) slips off the ratings radar screen altogether.

Related Link:
http://syracuse.com/entertainment/stories/20010504_farbs.html

No doubt about it, Clear Channel Communications is the radio industry's heaviest hitter. The group owns 1,200 stations in the United States including six in Syracuse.  A recent article in Salon.com characterizes them as "Radio's Big Bully."  Galaxy Communications' Ed Levine is quoted in the piece.  (2008 Update: the article is still live on Salon's website - click here to read it.)