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.
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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.)
The world of online web rebroadcast of radio stations across the country has been put on hold. At issue, a 1999 union contract requiring advertising agencies to pay voice-over artists 300 percent of their normal fees if a radio commercial is simulcast on the web. Most radio stations across the country, including those in Syracuse, have temporarily suspended web broadcasting while the situation is addressed.
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http://syracuse.com/eguide/syrnewspapers/index.ssf?/entertainment/stories/20010426_fradio.html
Last fall, Syracuse AM station WNSS became the first station in the country to begin broadcasting programming provided by the Comedy World Network. On Wednesday, April 25, local Station Manager Ed Kilgore received a call from the network's General Manager Jay Clark, informing him that the network had run out of money. Hours later, 1260 AM went silent.
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http://www.syracuse.com/eguide/syrnewspapers/index.ssf?/entertainment/stories/20010426_fccomed.html
Local public broadcasting outlet WCNY has named Paul A. Dunn of Clinton, NY as its new station manager. Dunn, who steps up from his role as director of corporate support, will oversee WCNY-TV (channel 24) and public radio station "Classic FM" which is broadcast regionally on 91.3 FM in Syracuse (WCNY-FM), 89.5 FM in Utica (WUNY), and 90.9 FM in Watertown (WJNY).
The booster for Auburn station WPHR 106.9 FM won't be in Auburn, though that's the community of license applied for. The 1720-watt, vertical-only signal will broadcast from near the merge of I-81 and I-690 in downtown Syracuse. The request is subject to FCC approval.
Former WSEN Program Director and afternoon drive jock Jim Asker has joined AllAccess.com as head of their Nashville-based country office.