SYRACUSE -- Attention journalists in Syracuse and all surrounding areas within the 21 counties covered by the Syracuse Press Club: the deadline to submit entries for the club's annual Professional Recognition Awards is less than one week away. Entries are due next Tuesday, January 31.
UTICA/ROME -- Looks like Hank Brown won't be returning to the radio as "your host for coffee and toast," at least not on WKAJ 1120 as he announced last month. Given the fact the station's construction permit expired before Brown made the announcement, it's no surprise the permit has been officially cancelled by the FCC.
UTICA -- NBC affiliate NewsChannel 2 (WKTV) is devoting much of the day tomorrow to a worthy local cause. From noon to 8pm, the station will broadcast a telethon to benefit the Stevens-Swan Humane Society. It's the animal shelter's biggest fundraiser each year.
SYRACUSE -- You may have heard the buzz about Upstate, a television sitcom shot and based in Syracuse. Most of the shooting for a pilot episode took place last fall, and now the finished product has been unveiled. After a debut at Syracuse Stage on Sunday, the episode will air locally on NewsChannel 9 (WSYR-TV) this Thursday.
BOSTON -- Former NewsChannel 9 (WSYR-TV) reporter and anchor Heather Hegedus has a new job, starting today. She's at Fox 25 (WFXT) in Boston. And forget about the usual "first day orientation" stuff, she's jumping right into the fire, filling-in for the station's 6pm anchor tonight.
SYRACUSE -- Longtime local radio personality and Syracuse University professor Dr. Roosevelt "Rick" Wright tells CNYRadio.com he's got a publishing deal for a book about the history of Syracuse radio. But he says he can't do it alone -- he's looking for help in putting together "the total package" of photos, posters, promotional materials, DJ histories and any other material related to radio's history in Syracuse.
ITHACA/CORTLAND -- At first, it was just Clear Channel's 800 stations. Then they added 570 more stations owned by Cumulus. A handful of religious stations were mixed in. And now, Ithaca College's WICB has the distinction of being among the first college stations streaming on Clear Channel's iHeartRadio platform.
SYRACUSE -- Two weeks after Bob Lonsberry took over afternoons at FM Newsradio 106.9 and 570 WSYR, his show has been extended by an extra hour. The Rochester-based host still takes to the airwaves at 3pm, but as of today, his show runs until 6pm rather than 5pm.
SYRACUSE -- Recently-unemployed rock jock Dave Frisina and his show "Soundcheck" will be back on the radio again within a few weeks. Today, Cumulus Media announced Frisina will be joining 105.9 The Rebel (WXTL). Cumulus ditched "The Big Talker" to launch the classic rock format earlier this month, not long after Frisina was suddenly dismissed from his old job at Galaxy classic rocker TK99/105 (WTKW/WTKV).
SYRACUSE and UTICA-ROME -- Earlier this week, we told you that Ryno was counting down his days doing mornings on modern rock KRock, as he started a new assignment hosting nights on classic rock TK99/105 (WTKW/WTKV). And today, KRock has revealed its plans: new morning host Dex Mitchell is set to make his debut on Monday.