WTAE ready to go with the new set; WPXI seems to be on hold with new studios
Pittsburgh:WTAE-TV will unveil the new news set on Tuesday (9/4) at 5:00 PM. A picture (available in the PG news story) shows meteorologist Dimitrius Ivory behind the new two-desk weather set. The remainder of the new digs includes a monitor in front of the news desk as well as one which can pop up behind the anchors. Over the last few weeks the newscasts have originated from the newsroom desk.
Meanwhile, I am little perplexed about what is going on with the new WPXI-TV studios. Reports earlier in the summer said that the newscasts would begin to come from the new studios but now it doesn't seem so. In the same PG story, it says that Bill Cardille (who signed Channel 11 on as WIIC on 9/1/1957) was invited to be a part of the ribbon cutting ceremony at the new studios but is now unable now that the ceremony has been postponed from just after Labor Day to later in September. (One assumes that the ribbon cutting comes BEFORE something opens...but one could be wrong!) Either way, the 50th Anniversary special for the station will air on 9/22 at 10:00 PM.
Speaking of Chilly Billy: Cardille goes on to host his 37th annual Jerry Lewis Telethon this weekend on WPXI. He began hosting it in 1970 when the station picked up the telethon. Originally Channel 53 carried the telethon but it was in that year - one week before the telethon - that the station went dark due to financial reasons. Channel 11 was quick to pick it up and make Cardille the host with former radio personality Perry Marshall.
Finally, check out Rick Sebak's blog as he and his crew are travelling the Lincoln Highway (U. S. Route 30) for another exciting national documentary.
Non-comms have listeners, too
Pittsburgh: PBRTV readers sometimes ask how they can find out how many people are listening to those stations at the shallow end of the FM dial (88.1 to 91.9).Arbitron, NPR and others are quick to point out that pubcasters don't compete on a ratings basis with commercial stations, but of course, the non-comms do show up in diaries. A nonprofit group called Radio Research Consortium tracks Arb's numbers for subscribing public stations.
According to the Spring 2007 RRC report, if they were ranked among commercial stations, Duquesne University's news-jazz WDUQ-FM (90.5) would have tied WLTJ-FM (92.9) for 14th place among all listeners age 12 and up. Classical WQED-FM (89.3) would be in 15th place and independent album-alternative WYEP-FM (91.3) would be 16th, both just ahead of religious-talk WORD-FM (101.5).
How did you live this long without this information?
(The region's other public broadcasters are not Arbitron subscribers, and do not show up in RRC's reports. As always, Arbitron ratings are copyrighted by Arbitron Inc.)
Ratings-go-round
Pittsburgh: Sometimes the Pittsburgh Arbitron ratings start to look like the Playboy Jazz Poll in the 1960s. Year after year, it's "Lionel Hampton on Vibes."
We stole that very old joke from someone. But anyway, the latest survey (out last week) of listeners aged 12 and up shows the usual suspects in the Top 10. Heritage rocker WDVE-FM (102.5) is in first place; news-talk KDKA (1020) is second; hit country WDSY-FM (107.9) is third. (The full chart is available from Radio & Records. The Arbitron ratings are a copyrighted service of Arbitron Inc.)
"Your greatest hits" WWSW-FM (94.5) is in fourth place, still holding onto the gains it made when it dropped most of its '60s oldies in favor of more '70s and '80s songs.
Rounding out the top 10, in order, are "FM News Talk" WPGB-FM (104.7); nostalgia WJAS (1320); "Bob FM" WRRK-FM (96.9); urban AC WAMO-FM (106.7); the combined "Froggy" country simulcast of WOGI-FM (98.3 Duquesne) and WOGG-FM (94.9 Oliver); and "soft rock" WSHH-FM (99.7).
We haven't seen a breakdown of key demographic groups, but we sure hope the numbers are fantastic for "The Zone" WTZN-FM (93.7). Otherwise, Pittsburgh's "Man" station, the FM talker featuring Scott Paulsen, Dennis Miller and John McIntire, is in big trouble. It's in 19th place among all listeners 12-plus; according to Arbitron, it's got about half the audience it had as "K-Rock" in summer 2006.
WTZN is the latest of CBS Radio's outlets to struggle with the company's "Free FM" mix of entertainment and talk.
Butler County's "All Hitz" WLER-FM (97.7) shows up in the Pittsburgh ratings for the first time in recent memory at 24th place, as does Morgantown's 6kW rocker, WCLG-FM (100.1) at 27th place.
Meanwhile, R&R reports that ESPN Radio has entered into a multi-year agreement to have its five owned-and-operated stations, including Pittsburgh's WEAE (1250), tracked by the new Arbitron Portable People Meter.
The PPM directly measures the radio signals that nearby consumers are listening to, and is expected to provide more accurate data than the current diary system, which requires listeners to write down the stations they were hearing.
The PPM is being rolled out by Arbitron in New York City in December. Pittsburgh is expected to convert to the PPM in September 2009.
WTAE, WGAL parent company to go private
Pittsburgh, National News: The largest investor in WTAE-TV's parent company plans to take the corporation private.
According to The Hollywood Reporter and other sources, Hearst Corp. wants to buy the approximately 26 percent of Hearst-Argyle Television that it doesn't already own. (Company press release here.)
Hearst-Argyle was formed in 1997 by a merger between Argyle Television Holdings and Hearst's broadcasting division, which then included a mix of TV and radio stations, including Pittsburgh's former WTAE (1250) and WDRV-FM (96.1). (The company still retains an AM/FM combo in Baltimore, though the other radio outlets have been divested.)
The company currently trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "HTV." The acquisition of the remaining shares of Hearst-Argyle would cost Hearst Corp. an estimated $600 million, according to AP.
Founded by legendary mogul William Randolph Hearst and still controlled by his descendants, Hearst Corp. owns several of the most influential U.S. newspapers, including the Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle and Seattle Post-Intelligencer, along with magazines like Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, Harper's Bazaar, O, Popular Mechanics, Redbook and Seventeen.
Besides WTAE-TV, Hearst-Argyle owns 25 TV stations, including 12 ABC affiliates and 10 NBC affiliates, like Central Pennsylvania's WGAL-TV (8). Hearst also owns 20 percent of ESPN and part of the Lifetime and A&E cable networks.
The sign guy must have been a radio junkie...
Pittsburgh:
Actually we're betting that the sign guy probably has no recollection before 1985. However, take a look at this restaurant sign from a recent promotion. It's supposed to say "Bob-B-Q", but if you look carefully, it actually says "Bob 13 Q"! For those of us in the Pittsburgh radio market, it's a sign of the times - past and present - Bob-FM and 13Q get an unintentional shout out!
Pirates' Frattare in Focus
Pittsburgh: About the only good thing about the Pirates' current stretch of 15 straight losing seasons has been the stability in the broadcast booth.
A native of upstate New York, Lanny Frattare, 59, is in his 32nd year as the "voice of the Pirates."
Frattare was the subject of a cover story in Focus, the Tribune-Review Sunday magazine. According to writer John Grupp, Frattare has now called 4,800 games, more than any broadcaster in the franchise's history, including the legendary "Gunner," Bob Prince.
It hasn't all been peanuts and Cracker Jack. The Ithaca College graduate, who shares play-by-play duties with Greg Brown, talks openly about problems in his marriage that forced him to sleep on manager Jim Leyland's couch, and a struggle with clinical depression that kept him off the air for 10 days in 2004.
Oh, yeah, and then there was the time he accidentally "killed" James Earl Jones ....
Monday morning nostalgia fix
Pittsburgh, Monday Morning Nostalgia Fix: TV antenna installers were busy 50 years ago this week. Customers in Pittsburgh's suburbs whose rooftop aerials were tuned to KDKA-TV (2) --- the only commercial VHF TV station in town for nine years --- now needed upgraded antennas to pull in WIIC-TV (11), which would begin regular programming in a few days.
On Aug. 29, 1957, the Monessen Daily Independent and other newspapers reported that WIIC had signed on Aug. 28 with a test pattern:
"However, station officials said viewers will not receive (a) quality signal until Sunday afternoon when the NBC-TV affiliate goes on the air 'officially.'
"WIIC engineers are still testing the 100,000-watt transmitter and the test pattern may be off periodically while adjustments are made. They also report that the test pattern will be transmitted at only about 20 per cent of WIIC's normal power.
"The station's transmitter is the first of the kind built by RCA to overcome the difficult terrain features of western Pennsylvania. A specially-designed helical antenna will sit atop the 800-foot tower giving it an overall height of 842 feet. As a result, engineers predict shadow areas in the WIIC Channel 11 coverage area will be virtually eliminated.
"The test patterns will be on daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. until the regular programming begins Sunday at 5 p.m."
On Aug. 30, Mayor David Lawrence issued a proclamation designating the following week as "WIIC Week" in Pittsburgh. According to an Associated Press dispatch, "Lawrence had been active in helping Pittsburgh secure its second commercial VHF television station."
Meanwhile, a month earlier, stockholders of Irwin Community Television Inc. of Westmoreland County had agreed to sell their interest in a license on Channel 4 to Television City Inc.
Television City was owned jointly by KQV (1410) and Hearst Publishing Co., operators of WCAE (1250) radio and the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph newspaper. It would move the Channel 4 allocation from Irwin to Pittsburgh and eventually erected the transmitter for WTAE-TV in Elizabeth Township, not far from the Westmoreland County border; the Hearst station signed on one year later, in September 1958.
WATM's Boddorf profiled
Johnstown-Altoona-State College: The Altoona Mirror profiles WATM-TV (23) anchor and reporter Angie Boddorf.
A Clarion University of Pennsylvania graduate, her first job was as an assignment desk assistant and news writer at WTAE-TV (4) in Pittsburgh. She also did an internship at KDKA-TV (2).
Boddorf's advice for aspiring TV reporters? "Take advantage of every opportunity you can during college. If you can get a part-time job in a newsroom, do it."
Who the heck is 'Union Facts'?
Pittsburgh: Have you heard those commercials on several Pittsburgh AM radio stations from a group calling itself "The Center For Union Facts" that attack the United Food & Commercial Workers' union, which represents clerks at several area Giant Eagle stores, and which is trying to organize Wal-Marts?According to a 2006 story in USA Today, they're the product of a "sleazy" and "sophomoric" lobbyist who has also attacked Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine. Rick Berman is described as a "secretive" lawyer who doesn't release lists of his clients, but they are suspected to include major retailers, restaurant chains and tobacco companies.
A liberal political magazine, The American Prospect, says Berman spent much of the 1990s and early 2000s "waging "a never-ending public-relations assault on doctors, health advocates, scientists, food researchers, and just about anyone else who highlights the health downsides of eating junk food or being obese."
One left-wing group, the Center for Media and Democracy, says Berman's current anti-union project began last year with a $3 million TV ad campaign in which actors portraying union members complained about their unions' alleged wastefulness and discrimination. Recent newspaper ads have compared union leaders to the Ugandan dictator Idi Amin and the president of Iran. (More from The Wall Street Journal.)
There's no word yet on why Berman has decided to grace Pittsburgh with his talents; unionized Giant Eagle workers peacefully approved a contract with the supermarket chain several weeks ago. And we haven't heard any reports that Wal-Mart workers in Western Pennsylvania are planning to unionize, though the UFCW did stage an anti-Wal-Mart rally last year.
Still, Berman's spots (which are as subtle as a fist to the face) are at least a respite from ads for Enhansulin and male-potency tablets.
(Full disclosure: The writer is a longtime member of UAW Local 1981.)
Central Pa. station promises local focus
Johnstown-Altoona-State College: A low-powered TV station near State College says it will soon provide Central Pennsylvania with a unique, local focus, according to the Centre Daily Times. General Manager Sam Jordan Jr. claims the programming will be a "labor of love" and offer content not seen on stations in Johnstown and Altoona.Owned by Pathway Community Radio Inc. of Jamestown, N.Y., and licensed to nearby Bellefonte, W13BY-CA is currently rebroadcasting religious programming from Pittsburgh-based Cornerstone TeleVision on Channel 13, but will switch to a new, local feed from studios on Benner Pike starting Sept. 3.
The 223-watt station has been on the air since 1990; it previously served as an outlet for the "Video Jukebox Network" and as a repeater for WJAC-TV (6) in Johnstown. Pathway purchased the station three years ago for a reported $49,000.
Still, although Jordan promises local public affairs and news coverage from Centre County, much of the day's schedule will be filled with syndicated programs like "The 700 Club" and courtroom shows, and the station is negotiating with an unnamed network to become its State College affiliate.
Jordan, who was part of a similar effort at WRDE-TV in Rehoboth Beach, Del., says the State College area is the number one growth market in Central Pennsylvania and offers plenty of room for expansion; the station is also seeking a translator to rebroadcast its signal to Altoona and Johnstown.
Pathway's owner is Sinan Mimaroglu, general manager of central New York-based Armstrong Transmitter Corp., which builds AM, FM and VHF broadcasting equipment.
WFMJ's Marzullo off to Cinci
Youngstown, Misc. Ohio: WFMJ-TV's Frank Marzullo marks his last day on the station today. Seen on Channel 21's morning and noon newscasts, Marzullo is headed to WXIX-TV (19) across the state in Cincinnati.
A local alternative newspaper had named Marzullo the city's "favorite weathercaster" for three straight years; besides WFMJ, the Youngstown State graduate has also worked at WTAP-TV (15) in Parkersburg, W.Va.
Marzullo recorded a special "farewell" to WFMJ's viewers that's available on the station's website. WXIX, a Fox affiliate, says Marzullo will appear on the station's 10 p.m. newscast on Fridays and Saturdays, in addition to other duties.
More from the Vindicator.
WYTV's new owner puts staff on probation
Youngstown: Most employees of WYTV-TV (33) are in effect being forced to reapply for their jobs, reports the Youngstown Vindicator.And if the station's new owner, Parkin Television, keeps them, they'll lose their seniority and have to go through a 90-day probation period.
It's the latest nasty shock to hit the staff at WYTV, which recently learned that CBS affiliate WKBN-TV (27) will be taking over many of its production functions. WKBN's owner, New Vision Television, has close corporate ties with Parkin; indeed, the two companies share office space in Los Angeles, and New Vision has an option to buy WYTV within a year.
More than 50 reporters, cameramen, producers and technicians at WYTV, an ABC affiliate, and more than 30 at WKBN, are represented by the National Association of Broadcast Engineers and Technicians. Local union president Jeff Necko tells the Vindy that Parkin still hasn't said how many might be laid off at either station.
The Mighty Blog of Fun(TM) known as Ohio Media Watch has analysis of the moves, which its anonymous author predicted several weeks ago ... and which were explicitly denied at the time by Todd Parkin of Parkin Broadcasting.
"How can you trust an owner who does this?" asks OMW. "When WYTV promotes whatever its newscasts will become after WKBN/WYFX takes them over, how will they promote them? Will they proudly note that '33 News' is 'a more efficient station,' with less people replaced by people you already see on two other channels? We doubt it."
Spots urge Ohio pols to back Iraq war
Youngstown: New commercials running on Youngstown's WFMJ-TV (21) urge Congress not to "surrender" and pull troops out of Iraq. The spots, reports the Cleveland Plain Dealer, are paid for by a non-profit group called "Freedom's Watch." It has close ties to President Bush, and its board of directors includes several former campaign fundraisers and former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.The spots are apparently aimed at Republican congressmen who might be wavering in their support of the increasingly unpopular U.S. occupation of Iraq. The PD believes the Youngstown targets are U.S. Senator George Voinovich and Rep. Steve LaTourette.
Local actors 'Kill' time in Spike show
Pittsburgh: Cheri Petrini-Hayden and her husband, Dan, know what it's like to get caught in the crossfire of a bank robbery. Fortunately, says Maryann Gogniat Eidemiller in the Tribune-Review, it was all acting ... the Haydens, of Hempfield Township, are two of the many local actors featured in Spike TV's miniseries "The Kill Point," filmed in Pittsburgh during the spring.Petrini-Hayden is one of the customers who run out of the bank; her husband has a speaking role as a police officer. (Maybe it's typecasting. In his day job, he's a juvenile probation officer in Westmoreland County.)
"A lot of people ask me if it was hard to act scared," Petrini-Hayden says. "But the special effects are so realistic that you are actually frightened. You can feel everyone else's intensity around you. This is serious, and the actors' minds are in it and you get such a gut reaction that you really feel afraid."
WPXI slates 'retro' TV channel
Pittsburgh: More news from the digital wonderland ... WPXI-TV (11) will roll out a retro TV channel on Oct. 15 on one of its digital auxiliary channels (11.3, for those of you playing along at home). People who can receive WPXI-DT over the air will be able to see it right away, according to Scott Tady of the Beaver County Times, but Comcast and Armstrong cable are expected to pick it up eventually.
WPXI is one of 19 outlets that's offering or will soon offer the "Retro Television Network," which will air shows like "I Love Lucy," "Magnum: PI," "Little House on the Prairie" and "Happy Days."
There are even thoughts of airing old tapes of local classics like "Chiller Theater" and Sam Nover's sports interview show, "One on One."
Mark Barash, WPXI director of programming, tells Tady, "I can't tell you how often viewers call me asking us to bring classic programming back to modern television." RTN's lineup includes "Family Ties" and "Mission: Impossible," which are currently carried on the low-powered WBGN network; presumably they'll disappear from those stations.
RTN is a new venture by Little Rock, Ark., based Equity Broadcasting, which owns more than 30 TV stations and one FM radio station, though nothing in Pittsburgh or the neighboring markets.
We're holding out hopes for "In Search Of..." with Leonard Nimoy and "The Million-Dollar Movie," but that's probably just us. Maybe classic Pirates games could be added, too ... you know, from before they began their decline into perpetual crapitude.
Monday morning nostalgia fix
Monday Morning Nostalgia Fix, National News:In honor of Karl Rove's imminent departure from President Bush's White House staff, here's a clip of the CBS Evening News With Walter Cronkite from Jan. 18, 1972, via YouTube.
Besides the chance to see Rove with hair (I know how he feels), it's a real reminder of how much TV news has changed in 35 years. TV reporters no longer get the time to "set a scene" the way Dan Rather does here. And look, ma ... no annoying crawl at the bottom of the screen! (PBRTV propeller-hat tip to Boing Boing.)
49-19+11=Digital TV
Pittsburgh: There's local news from what Harry Shearer mockingly calls "the digital wonderland," courtesy of Scott Fybush's NorthEast Radio Watch.Most stations are now simulcasting traditional analog TV signals on their existing frequencies, or channels, and digital TV signals on other frequencies. When analog TV signs off for good in February 2009, stations are supposed to give up their analog channels and move everything to the digital channels. Digital TV is supposed to allow broadcasters to send out either one "high-definition" TV signal or six different "standard-definition" broadcast feeds at the same time.
Fybush says that under the most recent FCC plan, Pittsburgh's CW affiliate, CBS owned-and-operated WPCW-TV (19), will give up its digital signal on channel 49 and move to the current channel 11, while NBC affiliate WPXI-TV (11) will give up 11 and stay on its digital channel 48.
But it won't matter, Fybush notes, because your snazzy new digital TV (assuming you've bought one) will still show WPXI as "channel 11" and WPCW as "channel 19," rendering the traditional channel numbers all but meaningless.
(Remember, you can't watch digital TV on a regular TV without a conversion box, and the regular broadcasts are set to disappear in 2009. Now would be a good time to check the credit limit on your MasterCard.)
By the way, according to Shearer's Aug. 19 broadcast of Le Show (heard locally on WDUQ-FM), FCC regulations concerning the "public interest, convenience and necessity" of local broadcasting only apply to a station's main digital TV channel, not the ancillary channels.
And there's nothing that compels stations to broadcast high-definition TV on their main channel, so for many viewers, the promise of "high-quality digital TV pictures" will never materialize.
Consequently, Shearer says some digital stations are already running their main digital channels in low-definition digital TV (which, as he noted, can look pretty choppy at times) and paid programming or static images (like weather maps) on the other channels. ("Ask yourself," says Shearer, "what entertainment company would consistently prefer to have one profit center on its channel, rather than up to six?")
That's why you might wind up seeing programming that Shearer calls "crap" on the digital TV secondary channels ... not that you could tell the difference, as he wryly noted.
It sounds like viewers are getting digital TV, all right ... mainly the middle digit.
For better or worse, Mowod everywhere on jazz scene
Pittsburgh: The Tribune-Review's Bob Karlovits has an excellent profile of Tony Mowod, nighttime host on WDUQ-FM (90.5) who's also syndicated around the country as part of the JazzWorks service that the station partners with.
The founder of the Pittsburgh Jazz Society, Mowod, 71, is a fixture at local concerts and is being honored Saturday with a "Walt Harper All That Jazz" award at Hill House, Uptown.
Mowod worked at the former WAZZ (860), WYDD-FM (104.7) and WTAE (1250) in the 1960s and '70s before quitting radio to open his own nightclub; he was lured back into radio by former WAMO general manager Judy Jankowski and program director Ron Chavis, and has been at WDUQ, the Duquesne University pubcaster, since 1987.
Not everyone thinks Mowod is an entirely positive force for jazz in Pittsburgh. A few people tell Karlovits that Mowod is involved in too many activities and appears at too many events. They say his refusal to promote new talent, broaden his playlist, or explore different artists on his show is stifling the local scene.
But others say Mowod is simply delivering what a mainstream audience wants to hear. "I'm just trying to get people to listen to jazz," he says.
WYNE 1530 flips to Oldies in AM Stereo
Erie-Meadville: WYNE 1530 (which is owned by Mercyhurst College) is no longer simulcasting with WMCE 88.5 / 104.9. The 1,000 watt daytimer has flipped to oldies. I received an e-mail from my former "Country 98" boss, Bill Shannon. He has been with the communications department of Mercyhurst for several years, but has now moved to the North East campus. He says that the station is entirely digital up to the transmitter and testing at this point, but the format will feature the sound of the 50's, 60's & a little bit of the 70's. Other interesting facts he shared include the fact that they are currently broadcasting in AM Stereo using the Motorola C-Quam exciter. WYNE could also be the first in the area to broadcast in HD once an HD exciter is purchased & installed in the future. The limited daytime signal of WYNE will receive help in the future. The FCC is changing the rules in order to allow AM stations (mostly daytime only stations) to add an FM translator, which will allow the station to broadcast 24 hours a day. In between songs, you will hear an occasional PAMS jingle updated and in stereo. Bill is looking to bring back the boss jock sound of the mid to late 1960's to the airwaves with help from his friends who worked with him at WWKB 1520 in Buffalo. They are recording liners, etc. to help with that vintage sound. The station will be a new teaching facility with a two year Radio Concentration liberal arts degree program. He'll cover everything from on-air, news, sports & sales. While WYNE will focus primarily on the North East area, I'm sure that there will be some in Erie who will enjoy live & local oldies over the satellite fed oldies over on WFNN 1330.Bob FM knocks Star 104 off top spot
Erie-Meadville: It looks like Erie radio listeners love "94.7 Bob FM." The new variety hits station (which was oldies "Froggy 94.7") has knocked top 40 powerhouse "Star 104" off the top spot in the latest book. The book was very good for Connoisseur Media who owns the top 2 stations as well as rock station "Rocket 101" (which moved up to 3rd) and "93.9 The Wolf", which has been impressive in it's first 2 books with it's younger leaning country format. "The Wolf " is tied for 4th with Citadel AC, "Classy 100." Meanwhile, Citadel Broadcasting has lost some momentum since fall of '06. While classic rock outlet "Z102.3" holds steady at 5th, 6th place belongs to "Country 98" which has lost it's dominance since "The Wolf" signed on last year. The first of the AM stations is talk outlet "Jet Radio 1400" in 7th followed in 8th by WRIE "ESPN 1260 The Score." The sports station flipped from nostalgia after WFNN 1330 flipped from sports to oldies in order to fill the void left by the flip on 94.7. Some listeners of WRIE's previous format flipped over to "AM 740" CHWO from Toronto, moving the 50,000 watt powerhouse to tie for 9th with christian contemporary, WCTL. 10TH place is a tie between WFNN 1330 and the Meadville / Oil City country duo of "Froggy 100.3 / 98.5." Not surprisingly, "FM 96" from London, Ontario was not even in the last book. The active rock station can no longer be heard locally in some parts of Erie because of a new low powered FM station WXNM, also at 95.9. Hopefully, the new station can find another spot on the dial.Monday morning nostalgia fix
Pittsburgh, Monday Morning Nostalgia Fix: "Toll television, like Gaul, is divided into three parts," goes the lede of a United Press dispatch on "pay television." "They are called phonevision, subscriber-vision and telemeter. All three systems can be delivered by wire, like your telephone, or by air like the telecasts you receive now. Wire is the more expensive method, but one of its virtues is that presumably, the show would not have to be scrambled to thwart free-loaders."
It sounds a lot like today's situation, with satellite TV delivered "by air" and cable connected to homes "to thwart free-loaders," but the story appeared in local newspapers on Aug. 13, 1957 --- 50 years ago today.
Pay television certainly seemed like an attractive idea to Pittsburgh-area viewers who otherwise could only receive two local channels --- KDKA-TV (2) and WQED-TV (13). There was a third, WENS-TV (16), but few people had TV sets equipped with UHF tuners. When WENS signed off for good about two weeks later, on Aug. 31, 1957, it's unlikely many people noticed; it reappeared a few years later as a low-powered sister station to WQED.
Also today, United Press reported that WJAS (1320) and its FM outlet at 99.7 were being sold to NBC. The stations' owner would use the money to invest in Pittsburgh's second commercial VHF TV outlet, WIIC-TV (11), which went on the air Sept. 1, 1957, the day after WENS went dark.
According to this TV grid from the now-defunct Charleroi Mail newspaper, on TV tonight, viewers could see The Phil Silvers Show, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The $64,000 Question, The Man Called X, and The Nat King Cole Show.
On the radio, KDKA (1020) had Pirates baseball with Bob Prince, while KQV (1410), which wasn't yet a Top 40 outlet (and was still a CBS affiliate), offered "music for reading," Amos 'n Andy, and news with Edward R. Murrow. Tommy Riggs and Bill Nesbit were spinning records at WCAE (1250).
WQLN-TV signed on 40 years ago
Erie-Meadville: It was 40 years ago when a new TV station would take to the Erie airwaves. A year after WJET-TV (24) signed on, a new form on TV would sign on with Education as it's mission. WQLN-TV (54) signed on at 6pm on Sunday August 13, 1967. This would add a 4th TV station to the area which included WICU TV 12, WSEE TV 35, WJET & now WQLN. (Just in case you youngsters were wondering, there was no cable in 1967.) You can read about the well written history of WQLN TV & FM 91.3 at http://www.wqln.org. The late Paul Brown (who was WQLN's first employee) kept track of the history & wrote the article. My first memories of WQLN are those I have as a youngster at Waterford Elementary in the 1970's. The kids programs were a lot of fun for a younger "yours truly." I recall programs like "Sesame Street", "The Electric Company", "3-2-1 Contact", "The Letter People" and of course, "Mister Rogers Neighborhood." Who would have thought that I would become a part of the WQLN family back in 1997. It was a move that I am very glad that I made after my future at WXTA "Country 98" was uncertain because of the sale of that station. Please feel free to send us your memories of WQLN.No Steelers pre season on Time Warner or Dish Network
Erie-Meadville: Monday's sports section featured an article concerning the blackout of the Steelers / Packers pre season game. The game was on Fox Sports Pittsburgh but was not available for Time Warner customers in Erie county. I checked Dish Network & the game was also blacked out there and probably on Directv as well. I wasn't upset because I could watch it on KDKA HD or WYFX / WFXI SD (which is on WKBN's digital sub channel.) I also put on the Browns / Chiefs game on WYTV HD. The reporter on the article said that it's probably due to Erie being a Buffalo Bills market. It just doesn't make sense to black out the Steelers or Browns if the Bills are not even playing on the same night (or even on the same channel.) Sheesh, blackouts during pre season. Now I've seen (or not seen) everything.Stations return to airwaves
Pittsburgh:As of 10:45 AM today, WJAS was broadcasting via its 1320 allocation. PBRTV wonders if the station is running on low power as of yet.
WKHB and WKFB returned to the airwaves sometime today as well and seem to be broadcasting at full power (5.5kw and .75kw respectively).
Update on power-affected stations...
Pittsburgh:According to Ron Antill of Renda Broadcasting, WJAS was knocked off the air around 3:00 PM on 8/9. Both transmitters and the back-up generator were all affected. The generator was working as of the early morning 8/10. In regard to the station Antill says, "In the meantime, the show must go on and WJAS continues to operate via the internet at 1320WJAS.com."
Meanwhile over at WKHB/WKFB, Barry Banker reports that the transmitter power may not return until sometime Saturday.
(Disclosure: The Editor works part-time for WKHB/WKFB and was on duty when the power was cut from the station transmitter.)
Storm knocks stations off air
Pittsburgh: At least three area AM stations were off the air Thursday afternoon --- WKHB (620) in Irwin, WKFB (770) in Jeannette, and WJAS (1320) in Pittsburgh --- while a fourth, McKeesport-licensed WPTT (1360) was operating at low power. The outages are apparently a result of severe thunderstorms that swept through the region at three different times yesterday.The eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh were among the communities hit hardest by the storms; WJAS broadcasts from a site in the city's East End, near Swissvale, while WKHB and WKFB share a site in North Huntingdon, Westmoreland County. WPTT, which uses a site in Greenfield for its daytime 5 kW service, switched to its 1 kW nighttime directional site in Lincoln Borough, Allegheny County, during afternoon drive.
As of Friday morning, Duquesne Light and Allegheny Power both reported widespread outages, and more than 25,000 customers were without electricity; 620, 770 and 1320 were still silent at 7 a.m. More details as they roll into PBRTV.
[Full disclosure: The author is a part-time employee of WKHB.]
Sportscaster DeMaro recovering from "scary" incident
Pittsburgh: "It was dark blood," says Rocco DeMaro, "scary blood." And it was running down the left side of his head after the WPGB-FM (104.7) sportscaster was hit by an errant softball at a game in Robinson Township on July 1.
DeMaro, who hosts the "Extra Innings" Pirates post-game show, was rushed to Allegheny General Hospital, North Side, where doctors told him he had five skull fractures, a concussion and a punctured ear drum. Maybe scariest of all for a broadcaster, he also had suffered damage to the part of the brain that controls speech communication --- meaning he had a hard time speaking and writing.
The outpouring of support from the station and the Pirates has been overwhelming, says DeMaro, 29, who is making a miraculous recovery and hopes to return to work Sept. 1.
Joe Starkey had details in the Tribune-Review.
It's happened again...(A brief musing)
Pittsburgh:A few months back, we had some severe weather blow through the Pittsburgh region and one of the local affiliates broke in on top of an all-important ending to a program. Uproar city took place at that time with emails coming in to PBRTV, The Post-Gazette and the poor guy who made the unfortunate decision to go with the news regarding the weather rather than the ending of the program.
(more)"Oh, Rob!"
Pittsburgh: [Mini-commentary from Jason Togyer]At the end of his most recent Q&A on the Post-Gazette website, TV critic Rob Owen writes about the "Save Jericho" campaign that included several Pittsburghers, including PBRTV friend Clarke Ingram. Owen offers "a guide to how to make friends, influence TV critics (rather than pester and annoy them) and get what you ultimately want, attention for your show."
One line in particular stands out:
There's a lot on our plates, seemingly more shows every day. Throw in local TV, and the TV critic job is one that can take over a critic's life.
Robbo, calm down. You're the TV critic, for crying out loud. No offense, but try switching jobs with the night police reporter for a month. Or with the guy who wakes up at 2 a.m. to deliver the darn paper.
As a failed newspaper TV critic myself, I can speak with some authority when I say it's not the hardest job a person can possibly have. You watch TV for a living. There are people who would give their pinky fingers to sit around, watch TV, complain ... and collect a paycheck for doing it.
Owen's other points have some validity, but I swear, whenever I hear a TV critic whine about "how hard my job is," I can hear in the background a tiny violin playing "Hearts and Flowers."
[The preceding was a PBRTV editorial. Responsible replies are welcome. Hat tip: Aaron Barnhart's TVBarn.com.]
Morning Newscast to air on Fox 66
Erie-Meadville: Jack Tirak over at "Erie Media Go Round" received a press release from WJET & WFXP concerning a new newscast. "Fox 66 News in the Morning" will begin to air a live & local newscast weekdays from 8 - 9am beginning September 4th. Trina Orlando & Meteorologist Tom DiVecchio will host the newscast along with live reports from Fox 66 & Jet TV reporters. This move could help Fox 66 gain viewers who are not up for the local morning news programs that air between 5 and 7am. It will also be a great tie-in with Fox 66 news reports that air weekday mornings on Z102.3 during "The Bob & Tom Show." The same team also handles weather & news for crosstown rivals Rocket 101 under the "Jet TV" branding.Town to town, up and down the dial
Pittsburgh: In this week's installment of NorthEast Radio Watch, PBRTV friend Scott Fybush reports on a complicated series of moves south of Pittsburgh by Educational Media Foundation.EMF is a California-based non-profit corporation that has acquired more than 100 low-power FM radio translators around the country to rebroadcast its "K-Love" Christian music format.
Back in January, EMF purchased an unbuilt FM license on 98.5 mHz for the borough of Meyersdale, Somerset County, at an FCC auction for $376,000. Now EMF has gotten FCC approval to move the license to another Somerset County borough, Confluence, a community of about 800 people that's best known around these parts for whitewater rafting along the Youghiogheny River. It's also on the biking/hiking trail between Cumberland and Pittsburgh.
"By itself, the new WKEL won't even approach Pittsburgh rimshot status," Fybush notes. "But it will put a decent signal over much of Fayette County, including Uniontown and Connellville, and it will eliminate the need for EMF to feed its chain of (as yet unbuilt) 'K-Love' translators serving Pittsburgh from a primary station way down in Grafton, West Virginia."
EMF has pledged to follow all of the rules for commercially-licensed stations, including construction of a studio to serve Confluence, Fybush says. The station would be licensed at 1.1 kW from a tower in Fayette County, halfway between Connellsville and Confluence.
But Fybush predicts, based on paperwork EMF filed with the FCC, that it will eventually change the station's status to "non-commercial," apply for a local studio waiver, and use WKEL to simulcast KLVR-FM in California.
"It's all strictly within the letter of the rules, as is everything that EMF does, but it seems --- to us, anyway --- to stretch the spirit of the rules more than a little bit," he says.
Meanwhile, Pat Cloonan of the McKeesport Daily News reports the FCC has authorized Bob Stevens' Broadcast Communications Inc. to move WANB-FM (103.1) from Waynesburg to Mt. Pleasant.
The move, which includes a power upgrade from 970 watts to 4.4 kW, would enable WANB to serve most of Westmoreland and Fayette counties, along with large chunks of Allegheny, Washington and Greene counties. (In fact, most of WANB's present service area in Greene County will fall under the "primary contour" of the new signal, though reception may suffer along the West Virginia border.)
In the Pittsburgh region, Stevens also owns WKHB (620), licensed to Irwin, and WKFB (770), licensed to Jeannette; the stations share studios in North Versailles Township. The WANB move, writes Cloonan, also includes transferring BCI's WROG-FM (102.9) from Cumberland, Md., to Chambersburg, Pa., "which would put WROG into the larger Hagerstown, Md., market."
(In the interest of full disclosure: Both this correspondent and the editor of PBRTV work part-time for Broadcast Communications Inc.)
Monday morning nostalgia fix
Pittsburgh, Monday Morning Nostalgia Fix: The University of Pittsburgh's Digital Research Library is scanning thousands of historic photographs from various collections, including the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, and Pitt's own archives.
Begun in 2002, the project was originally funded in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Although that original grant has run out, the effort continues with support from various contributors and the University itself.
Here's a small piece of a photo from the Pittsburgh City Photographer's collection. The image, snapped on May 13, 1965, shows an animated billboard that promotes Channel 11, then known as WIIC-TV ("The Eyes of Pittsburgh"). To view the complete image, click here.
Unless I miss my guess, the photo was taken on Grant Street near the present site of One Mellon Bank Center (or Bank of New York Mellon or whatever it's called now), but feel free to add your correction in the comments below.
(We don't think this photo is copyrighted, since it was taken by a government agency, and we also think publishing a small portion is fair use, but we're trying to play it safe here. Please, don't sue us. We're poor!)
Don't expect to lose 5 PM newscasts
Pittsburgh:Recently TV stations in New York and Miami dropped their long-time 5 PM newscasts in favor of 7 PM newscasts. However, Rob Owen says that while it's a logical move, don't expect it to happen in Pittsburgh. It's logical to move the newscast since people work longer hours and aren't getting home from work as early. However the 5 PM newscast ratings are strong and solid even though they skew an older audience.
KDKA GM Chris Pike tells Owen that it's more likely that they will add more local news rather than subtract although the station has no plans to do either. KDKA is the only Pittsburgh station which has dared to start a 4 PM newscast which has been successful for the last few years. Pike adds that local stations are unique with their local content in the era of hundreds of cable channels. Meanwhile, WTAE news director Bob Longo thinks a trend might begin once news directors nationwide see what happens with the stations in NYC and Miami, but thinks that a 7 PM newscast in Pittsburgh would be "in addition to" not "instead of". Meanwhile, WPXI's Ray Carter wonders why bother with the "winning formula" of news from 5 - 6:30 PM followed by NBC News and then an hour of game shows at 7 PM.
Also in this article...
Rob Owen finds out why Fred Honsberger hasn't been doing his television program on PCNC since a leg break last year. Honsberger says that it has been a slow recovery - one that got even slower after a perferated ulcer was found for which he had surgery. He continues to do his KDKA radio show from home since walking is difficult. Honzman also adds that his TV program was a "moonlighting job" and has even told PCNC to move ahead if they desire although they have no plans to do so.
Finally (as in, this is the last part of this story), Patrice King Brown was married over the weekend to KDKA co-worker and medical reporter Dr. Paul Nemiroff in Palm Springs.
Regional Emmys announced
Pittsburgh:It's been the same way for years, but this year something is different. WTAE is abstaining from the Emmys. 4's news director, Bob Longo resigned as a member of NATAS stating that Philadelphia seems to be favored over Pittsburgh - even though it's their chapter. (Not that anyone asked, but we found this YouTube Video of Longo professing his theory of what SHOULD happen.) Anyhow, according to the Post-Gazette, historically WPXI and KDKA have sat out from the awards. This year, KDKA has 11 nominations and WQED has 20 nominations - mostly for OnQ. WPXI is sitting out from submissions but has been nominated for one award. The awards will be presented on 9/15.
Open mouth, insert foot
Pittsburgh: The Post-Gazette and KDKA-TV (2) are apologizing for remarks made by one of the newspaper's sportswriters on a talk show.
Paul Zeise, who said suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick "would have been better off raping a woman" than being accused of running dogfights, will not be invited to appear on KDKA's "Sunday Showdown" again, says the station's general manager, Chris Pike.
In a prepared statement, the P-G said that Zeise's comments "do not represent" the views of the newspaper, while Zeise apologized for using "a poor choice of analogies" to "characterize a professional athlete's legal situation." KDKA also apologized during yesterday's 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts.
Details from Bob Smizik in the Post-Gazette.