UTICA-ROME -- For thirty years, he was known as "The Doctor" in afternoon drive on WOUR. That ended in 2007, when Clear Channel eliminated most of WOUR's staff just before the company sold its cluster to current owner Galaxy Communications. Today, locally-owned Arjuna Broadcasting announced Kraus is returning to 92.7 The Drive (WXUR).
UTICA-ROME -- June is a special time of year for "Genesee Joe" Trisolino. He says he's not sure of the exact date, but another June means another anniversary with heritage classic rocker 96.9 WOUR, and this year in particular is especially notable: it's his 20th anniversary with the station. Joe reminded us of the milestone late last week and we took the opportunity to ask him for some reflections on the past two decades.
UTICA-ROME -- Officials from locally-owned 92.7 The Drive (WXUR) say they're excited to be "stepping up" this year to provide "an assisting capacity" for the City of Utica's Independence Day parade and fireworks show. As has been the case since 2009, the fireworks will be launched over Proctor Park.
SYRACUSE and UTICA-ROME -- From the "better late than never" file, syndicated talk show host Neal Boortz is getting ready to hang up his headphones. Boortz made the announcement live on his own program last week, heard on over 200 stations nationwide, including the two-market CNY Talk Radio trimulcast (WFBL/Syracuse, WMCR-A/Oneida, WUTI/Utica).
Updated 6/10 -- CAMBRIDGE, MA -- For a quarter-century, listeners nationwide have enjoyed listening to brothers Tom and Ray Magliozzi, known as "Click and Clack," every Saturday morning on NPR's Car Talk. Today, the duo announced plans to retire this fall, but fans need not worry -- shows will continue to air every weekend into the foreseeable future.
SYRACUSE -- Ask viewers to name people who work in local TV news and you'll probably hear names like Matt Mulcahy, Carrie Lazarus, Rod Wood, Jackie Robinson, Christie Casciano and Michael Benny pretty often. How about Roger Mirabito or Kristy Smorol? People inside local TV news know these names, but outside of their respective stations' walls, they are among the many "unsung heroes" who play major roles in bringing the news to you every day and night. This week, co-workers are saying goodbye to both, as they head onto new jobs outside of broadcasting.
SYRACUSE -- More often than not, when a radio station changes its call letters, that's usually a hint (or an after-effect) of a format change. But at 1300AM from Fulton, this is one of those "not" cases. After nearly ten years in the FCC record books as WAMF, the Radio Disney affiliate owned by Cram Communications is still running Radio Disney, but it's now officially known as WOSW.
SYRACUSE -- When a broadcast personality is gone for just a week or two, it's usually for a vacation. When it's been about a month -- as has been the case with Classic FM (WCNY-FM) morning host Bill Shedden -- listeners start to wonder if there's been a lineup change. But fans need not worry, as station management tells CNYRadio.com that Shedden will return.
SYRACUSE -- After many years with Clear Channel rhythmic CHR Hot 107.9 (WWHT), Marty "the One Man Party" has a new radio home. This past weekend, he made his debut on crosstown competitor 93Q (WNTQ). His addition to the weekend/fill-in roster comes on top of working in the sales department for the Cumulus Media.
UTICA-ROME -- If you've been eager to find out what the new owners of 1450 WKAL/Rome plan to do with the signal, it appears you'll have to wait a bit longer. After WKAL's owners told the FCC it had finally resumed full-time broadcasting for the first time in nearly a year, the station went silent again just three days later, citing "technical difficulties." Nearly another month later, and the station remains dark.