SYRACUSE -- The market's only Italian-American radio show will have a new home when the new year begins, and maybe some new listeners as it expands to new markets. Starting on New Year's Day, Ciao! with Joey Nigro and Jim Battaglia will move to Classic FM (WCNY-FM). Ciao! will still begin at 3pm on Sunday afternoons, just like when it aired on Oldies 1050 (WSEN).
UTICA/ROME -- When you think of morning radio in the Mohawk Valley, you might come up with names like Matt Herkimer and Polly Wogg, Mark Richards, Big Poppa, Gomez and Dave, Bob Cain, Big Mike, Bill Keeler or Hank Brown. But some students and neighbors of Utica College already miss "The Fat Old Man," who recently ended a five-year run on the college's 90.7 WPNR.
SYRACUSE -- Kudos to the crew at K-Rock (WKRL/WKRH) on being named "Modern Rock Station of the Year" by national trade publication FMQB. The award was based on votes cast by members of the radio and record industries. K-Rock, owned locally by Galaxy Communications, was up against other "secondary market" contenders, stations in markets ranked 51-100.
NEW YORK CITY -- Former YNN Syracuse reporter Narmeen Choudhury, in just two job hops, has landed in the nation's biggest TV market. Four years after leaving Syracuse to work in Hartford, Connecticut, Choudhury has accepted a reporting position at New York City's WPIX.
SYRACUSE -- It's a double dose of holiday favorites on "The Wax Museum," a specialty show which airs Sunday nights on Love Radio WVOA 95.3, 98.1 and 103.9. This weekend, legendary vocalist Sonny Farrar will join the guys live in-studio to perform some of his own Christmas favorites. And there's more holiday favorites the following Sunday -- Christmas night.
WASHINGTON, DC -- You're watching something on television. All the sudden, a commercial break begins and you're blown out of your seat by the abrupt increase in audio volume. Perhaps a family member yells at you to turn down the TV, even though you never turned it up in the first place. Thanks to some new FCC regulations, viewers are counting down to the end of that annoying phenomenon.
ITHACA/CORTLAND -- Saga's Cayuga Radio Group cluster in Ithaca is accepting applications for a full-time traffic assistant. As you might have guessed, we're talking about the "scheduling commercials" kind of traffic, not reporting about road work and car accidents.
ITHACA/CORTLAND -- Lite Rock 97.3 (WYXL) is hosting a Christmas party for Ithaca-area children on Monday, December 18 from 6-8pm. The station is looking for individuals, organizations and businesses willing to donate some time to help make the event a memorable success for the kids who'll be in attendance.
SYRACUSE -- Syracuse native Dusty Rhodes, who started his career at WOLF before graduating from SU and moving to Cincinnati, will be back on local airwaves again this Christmas Eve. The 50th anniversary of the nationally-known "Dusty Rhodes Christmas Show" will be carried locally on WCNY-HD2.
SYRACUSE -- Viewers have been asking, and NewsChannel 9 (WSYR-TV) today explained the noted recent absence of longtime anchor Rod Wood. He's recovering after "a minor surgical procedure," according to a statement released by the station this afternoon.