SYRACUSE -- He's been filling in most mornings since Chris Barnes left for Washington in January... and now "Big Jim" Donovan has been officially named morning news anchor at Clear Channel's FM Newsradio 106.9 and 570 WSYR. The title also comes with a promotion from part-time to full-time status for the veteran Syracuse radio personality.
SYRACUSE -- She has appeared on other local TV stations and in various local print publications. Starting this weekend, Julie Taboulie will have her very own weekly program to share her favorite Lebanese and Middle Eastern recipes. "Cooking with Julie Taboulie" debuts this Saturday at 1:30pm on PBS affiliate WCNY-DT 24.1.
SYRACUSE -- The private equity firm which owns NewsChannel 9 (WSYR-TV) could be looking to sell the ABC affiliate and the other 55 stations it owns under the Newport Television umbrella. That's according to sources who say Newport's parent, Providence Equity Partners, has retained the services of a firm to "explore" options for Newport's future -- options which could include the sale of the company.
UTICA-ROME -- Although listeners first discovered WUTQ's expansion to the 100.7FM frequncy about ten days ago, Roser Communications Network officially announced the changes Monday night. In addition, the company says it has hired Taylor Harris to host the music hours heard middays on the four-frequency simulcast.
Updated 8:05pm -- SYRACUSE -- Public stations WRVO and WAER dominate the list of radio winners for the 2011 Syracuse Press Club Professional Recognition Awards Contest. On the TV news side, cablecaster YNN and Syracuse ABC affiliate NewsChannel 9 were neck-and-neck for bragging rights on picking up the most awards. The list was released just this afternoon, and awards will be conferred at the SPC's annual banquet in May.
SYRACUSE -- Can you name all the Channel 3 (WSTM) news staffers in this photo from nearly 25 years ago? It's just one photo from an entire album of archived photos entitled "CNY Central History," posted online earlier this week.
UTICA -- Just a little over six months since Nexstar Broadcasting revived the local news operation at ABC affiliate WUTR and Fox afffiliate WFXV (in high-definition, no less), primary co-anchor Caroline Gable has exited the station. CNYTVNews.com readers alerted us to the change, and News Director Joe Parker confirms.
OSWEGO -- A new full-power repeater for NPR affiliate WRVO has received the final step of approval from the FCC. Transmitting at 89.3FM from a tower near Clayton, the new WRVH brings WRVO programming to listeners along the Saint Lawrence River, including Alexandria Bay.
OSWEGO -- The State University of New York College at Oswego has a job opening for a broadcast/media engineer. The description doesn't mention WRVO, the powerhouse NPR affiliate located on-campus, but rather, the student-run facilities including WNYO-FM 89.9, cablecast WTOP 10, along with the school's academic audio and video production facilities.
Updated 3/18 at 7:00pm -- UTICA-ROME -- It may not be a surprise to local prognosticators, but it's now official: 100.7 WRCK is now simulcasting the hybrid news/talk/music format originally branded as "95.5 WUTQ." WRCK's new owner, Utica-based Roser Communications Network, has already applied to change WRCK's call sign to WUTQ-FM.