ITHACA/CORTLAND -- Frank Lischak is back for his second tour of duty as General Manager of Z95.5 (WFIZ). Lischak was GM when the station launched in 2008, ending a stretch of 15+ years during which the Ithaca market had no CHR-formatted radio stations.
SYRACUSE -- There are some new voices delivering weather forecasts for four of Clear Channel's six local radio stations. As of Monday, FM Newsradio 106.9 and 570 WSYR plus two other stations started using meteorologists from AccuWeather.com, ending a three-year affiliation with The Weather Channel's radio services.
CENTRAL NEW YORK -- Dozens of national-level advertisers and two radio stations -- one in Hawaii and one in Massachusetts -- have severed ties with The Rush Limbaugh Show, over some well-publicized remarks Limbaugh made on-air recently. But when it comes to affiliates in the three markets covered by CNYRadio.com, it appears Limbaugh's future is secure.
SYRACUSE -- Listeners probably won't notice any changes on-air, but there's been a change behind the scenes at WOLF Radio Inc.'s MOViN 100.3 and 96.5 (WMVN). The change should make things a little easier for one staff member who's had a pretty full plate over the past two years.
UTICA-ROME -- For the second time in a week, Gary "Big Poppa" Spears is getting national exposure for "breaking" celebrity news. On Friday morning, he spoke with Johnny "The Unit" Manfre, a close friend of Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino from the popular MTV series Jersey Shore. The pair's interview about the reported pregnancy of Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi was quickly picked up by the popular celebrity news website TMZ.
UTICA-ROME -- The sale of 100.7 WRCK appears to be getting closer and closer to completion. This afternoon, current owner EMF started looping a message telling listeners of the syndicated "Air1" network to change their station preset buttons to nearby Air1 affiliate 93.5 WOKR.
UTICA-ROME -- The three AM stations bringing ESPN Radio programming to the Mohawk Valley will soon have some help on the FM side of the dial. Galaxy Communications says sports fans will soon be able to listen to ESPN Radio at 99.1FM, thanks to the $40,000 purchase of translator W256AJ.
UTICA-ROME -- They call it "America's Greatest Heart Weekend," and it all started with the annual WIBX Heart Radiothon 41 years ago. Since then, the radiothon and a run have been joined by a walk, a health expo and NBC affiliate WKTV's Heart Telethon. Working together, the events raised more than $1.1 Million for the American Heart Association.
OSWEGO -- Last week, Scott Fybush tipped us off to the mid-January collapse of the tower of WWLF 96.7FM, the Oswego simulcast of New Country WOLF 105.1. In his latest Tower Site of the Week column on fybush.com, he's got some photos of the tower from 2011. During the trip, he also has tower shots from WVOA-FM, along with tower and studio shots from WRVO and WNYO on the SUNY Oswego campus. Click here to check it out!
SYRACUSE -- Do you recognize the two broadcasters in this 1984 photo, taken inside 62-WHEN when it was located on Old Liverpool Road in Liverpool? As of last year, they're back in the same newsroom once again. One more clue: one of these people had a birthday yesterday.