PITTSBURGH -- Former News 10 Now reporter Jim Lokay is headed back east. But he's going further east than Syracuse... he'll continue right along Interstate 90's eastern terminus, where he's set to take over as the morning co-anchor at Boston ABC affiliate WCVB.
Rare to see such top-level announcements being made during the weekend, but both Clear Channel and National Public Radio have announced their new Chief Operating Officers today. At CC Media Holdings, "Chairman of Media and Entertainment Platforms" Bob Pittman gets promoted. And NPR's new leader will be Gary Knell, who transitions from the same title at Sesame Workshop.
SYRACUSE -- Plenty of recent staffing changes to report throughout CNY lately... we heard about some of these items earlier, but weren't quite sure if they were "official" public knowledge... until this week, when the Syracuse Press Club announced them in their latest newsletter.
UTICA/ROME -- Starting Monday, Mark Piersma will have a new co-host on his weekday show, Talk of the Town on Roser Communications Networks' WUTQ. Longtime local business leader Frank Elias will join the three-hour gabfest, according to a press release from the station.
SYRACUSE -- The long-awaited decision on parole for the man serving time for killing former Syracuse broadcaster Bill Leaf in 2006 has been postponed. A parole hearing for Matthew Benedict, 28, was supposed to be held today, but according to Bill's sister Maria, the hearing has been postponed due to a "paperwork issue" on Benedict's side.
SYRACUSE -- There's no doubt the Taste of Syracuse is hard to miss every June -- the festival closes several blocks of downtown streets to make way for dozens of vendors and concert stages. But beyond Syracuse, is the event really noticeable? Apparently the answer is yes -- at least for one camera watching from more than 400 miles away.
CORTLAND -- Former local radio and event disc jockey David McGrady has passed away. According to an obituary which appeared in the Syracuse Post Standard on Wednesday, McGrady, 44, had been battling colon cancer. He worked at radio stations in Cortland and Homer following his graduation from SUNY Geneseo.
SYRACUSE -- Among TV stations, it was a fairly even split between channels 3 and 9 for the 2011 Best of Syracuse awards. On the radio side, 93Q (WNTQ) is the big winner. The awards were announced in today's edition of the weekly Syracuse NewTimes newspaper.
SPRINGFIELD, MA -- A little over five months since Jim Tortora left the news director's office at NewsChannel 9 (WSYR-TV), he has a new job. He'll be leading the news department of ABC affiliate WGGB in Springfield, Massachusetts. In addition to the WGGB newscasts, the station also produces a 10:00pm newscast for a Fox affiliate carried on the station's 40.2 digital subchannel.
SYRACUSE -- You may have heard on the air (or read on CNYRadio.com's Facebook page), that 93Q (WNTQ) morning co-host Ted Long underwent gastric bypass surgery last week. We're glad to report he returned to work yesterday. According to a report published today, Long has already lost nearly 25 pounds -- and says he wants to shed another 125.