WADR

UTICA/ROME — It’s a joint effort between radio and TV stations in the Mohawk Valley, and organizers say this year’s “Stuff the Bus” toy drive is on pace to surpass last year’s total of 8,000+ toys.  The entire thing wraps up with two events taking place tomorrow — in New Hartford and in Utica.

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.

UTICA/ROME — While the rain of Hurricane-turned-Tropical Storm Irene wasn’t too intense for Syracuse, the Utica/Rome area got hit quite hard.  Several streets in Oneida and Herkimer Counties have been closed due to severe flooding, and in fact, the NYS Thruway remains closed as of Tuesday night between Syracuse and Amsterdam.  The locally-owned Roser cluster

UTICA/ROME — Until now, the Buffalo Bills Radio Network has had a gap in coverage between Syracuse and Albany. That gap will be at least partially filled this season as Roser Communications Network’s 95.5FM (WUTQ/WADR/W238CA) becomes the network’s newest affiliate.

CLEVELAND, OH — Former Utica/Rome sports talk host Adam “The Bull” Gerstenhaber is headed west.  Most recently part of the weekend/fill-in roster at New York’s WFAN, Gerstenhaber has been tapped to help launch a brand new sports talk station in Cleveland.  The new station launches later this month.

UTICA/ROME — The three-station simulcast (two AMs and an FM translator) known as B95.5 will be rebranding itself come Monday as “95.5FM WUTQ, your FM local news and talk headquarters.”  The station, which has combined local talk with “beautiful music,” will be focusing more on news and talk programming.  As a result, longtime morning host

UTICA/ROME — Bill Keeler’s new show, which streams online at MOVARadio.com, is already running into some information superhighway speedbumps.  Keeler says “it’s been impossible for me to keep up” after losing two staffers, including one who unexpectedly exited for a competing station.

UTICA/ROME — Dick Nellis, who worked at a number of Mohawk Valley stations including WLFH, WADR, WALY and WUTQ, has passed away.  Nellis, who also worked at stations in the Hudson Valley region south of Albany, was 70.

UTICA/ROME — Some slight confusion between two stations on adjacent frequencies has caused Arbitron to revise its audience estimates for the Utica-Rome market.  The revisions, due out Tuesday at 10:00am, are expected to result in higher numbers for adult standards B95.5/WUTQ/WADR.

UTICA/ROME — Roser Communications Network is seeking a new host for Talk of the Town, the two-hour local talk show which airs weekday mornings on the trimulcast of B95.5 (W238CA), WUTQ and WADR.  Former host Mike Walsh has accepted a new job elsewhere.