PBRTV - Pittsburgh Area Radio/TV Mailbag
PBRTV - Pittsburgh Area Radio & TV
PBRTV Mailbag January 13-31, 2001
hi there,
ok guys and gals what are the departures at clear channel pittsburgh?
(January 30, 2001)
Eric's Musings: As I said, "Stay tuned..." We'll find out more as we know more.
Eric I just wanted to let you know. some of the FINE OLDIES on WZUM will move to WWCS AM 540 begining monday evenning feb 5 2001.
Thank You for posting it on your web site. (January 28, 2001)
I Thought I Would Let You Know in the Wheeling-Steubenville
Market, The PBS Stations Are WNPB-TV Part of West Virginia
Public Broadcasting Situated in Morgantown and Serves the
Northern Panhandle and WOUC-TV Channel 44 in Cambridge Which
is Viewed in the Ohio Part of the Wheeling-Steubenville
TV Market. Also AT&T Cable Subscribers Get Channel 18 WBWO
Which is the WB Affiliate. Bill S. Wheeling, WV (January 27, 2001)
Eric ~ I was watching Imus in the Morning on MSNBC (also heard locally
on Sportsradio 1330 The Fan WFNN.) Anyways, there was a Promo for The
Mitch Albom show (the radio show) to debut this Monday @ 3 to 5 PM
eastern on MSNBC. I am not sure if his syndicated show is on the
weekends in The 'Burgh but it is on in Erie on WLKK 1400. I found his
show on WJR 760 about 2 years ago when it was "Albom in the afternoon" &
was still a local show catering to Detroit. The show is still on WJR on
a daily basis. Definitely a talent in the radio world as well as TV on
ESPN with "The Sports Reporters" & books (Tuesdays' with Morrie.) This
could be an advantage for Mitch on TV over the "I Man." Mitch will be on
3 PM eastern / Noon pacific where Don is on at 6 AM eastern / 3 AM
pacific. Anybody interested in great talk radio should set their VCRs'
or TIVOs' to check this out. Tom Lavery (January 26, 2001)
Eric ~ WHUZ out of Saegertown / Meadville is now officially "WUZZ 94" or
"WAS 94." Playing classic hits from '65 to about '81. Tweaking the sound
from new & classic rock to a Classic sound like Y 103 in Youngstown OR
Channel 97 in the 'Burgh. Thus Leaving Meadville with Either listening
to ROCKET 101 or CD 93.3 for any new rock (Or 102.3 the Point, for now
anyways.) The station does sound good but could sound "too safe" by
playing only Classic Rock where a full time AOR station filled the void
before the change......The new rumor is that although WJET 102.3 was
sold from Next Media to Regent, the WJET call letters were not part of
the deal. Those calls may go to the 93.9 station when it signs on.
Hopefully that is the case & that it will be called "Jet 94" or "93.9
The Jet." The Legacy of Jet radio was sadly pushed aside by Jet
Broadcasting when The Flop, I mean The Point debuted. It would be a good
place for a WJET good guys reunion weekend, (hint hint.)........... In
this town our radio legends include Frank Martin who has worked at 2
stations, WJET & Currently at Froggy 94.7. Bill Shannon who led K 104 in
it's heyday was last at WXTA Country 98 & now teaches communications at
Mercyhurst college & operates WMCE the campus station at 88.5 & 104.9.
AND Sandy Beach From WJET 1400 is now doing aftenoons on WBEN am 930 in
Buffalo, New York. Later Eric & I will be watching for more "frogs."
TEL. (January 22, 2001)
just discovered your site on the web. it's very nice, thanks for
constructing it. i used to run x15 back in 1989. thanks again good luck. bree (January 19, 2001)
Eric's Response: I remember you! I had you for Radio 1 and 2 at AIP in 1996/1997! Thanks for stopping by!
I AGREE WITH THE STATEMENT ON 1-18, THE R&B OLDIES FORMAT OF THE 60'S AND
70'S WOULD FIT ON WZUM. THE KIDS OF THE ERA [ MYSELF INCULDED ] LISTENED
THEN AND WE WILL LISTEN NOW. WZUM HAS A GOOD SIGNAL @ NIGHT IN THE EASTERN
PARTS OF THE CITY. A GREAT SIGNAL IN GREENTREE, BALDWIN AND THAT PART OF
SOUTH HILLS. LISTENING TO WZUM BRINGS BACK MANY GOOD MEMORIES.
(January 19, 2001)
I was just updating on my reading of PBRTV, that I got so behind on during the Holidays, and saw several articles about WNUF in the Mailbag. In the mid 80's,(my teenage years) I went to school in Greensburg, and would always listen to WNUF. I was aware of this station in the early 80's from a summer job that would bring me to the Pittsburgh area.I also could pick them up weakly, in Bedford, when ever our 100.9 would sign off at midnight. Little did I know, it was the "twilight" days of WNUF. I was upset when it went off, and the new "Me too" format took it's place.It came on sudden, one night I was listening, and they said "this is the last broadcast of WNUF". They pulled out all the stops, with "bandstand" shows, and comedy shows.The final words were "this is not goodbye, just so long"-then they went dark for a few weeks,until that other crap come on.That was back in 1985. One main DJ or "personality" I remember there was Bob Studebaker, who is now PD at WDUQ. Bob and I made an email contact about half a year ago. This was lost in a "Crash", and I pretty much forgot what he said. An other personality was David Marshall. Earlier in the 80's, there was a lady at night. I remember some of the stuff that was mentioned in the Mailbag articles, such as "The Band Show"(That was from 9:00PM till sometime in the morning, themed by Moonlight Serenade) and "tell it to Early" (He used to bash the Turnpike Howard Johnson's restaurants, for which I worked at that time). They had an evening show called "Cafe Continental"(7:00PM,to 9:00PM, with the lottery number sponsored by The Coin Exchange) which was very laid back "Dinner music". Also there was"The Golf Show" (Saturday Afternoons IIRC),which was a big band show with golf scores from various country clubs interspaced between the musical selections. They had a Polka show on Saturday mornings. In the early 80's, they advertised Greensheet Classified Adds, but this disappeared into the later 80's. I remember their slogan as being "Home of the Sounds that Swing", New Kensington-Pittsburgh. They had UPI radio news at the top of each hour, and a UPI sports, or business report at a quarter till the hour. There was "Comedy Corner" at 9:15 AM, and 5:15PM each day, where they would play an old time radio comedy. It also seems like they sold very little advertising, when I was listening in the 80's.
Yes, this was a one of a kind station, very unique, and I miss it to this day. The "Adult Standards" and MOYL stations don't even come close.In fact, they are even getting crappier. I have several airchecks of WNUF. One real noisy tape recorded from Bedford, and three or four tapes made from Greensburg. Chuck (January 19, 2001)
JUST A FEW THOUGHTS ON THE ARTICLE ABOUT FORMAT CHANGES AT WZUM 1590 FROM
SOMEONE WHO WORKED THERE IN THE LATE 60'S. WHY WOULD YOU GO TO THE TROUBLE
TO GET A STATION BACK ON THE AIR TO DO NOTHING WITH IT?? THE OLDIES ON THE
WEEKEND WERE THE ONLY GOOD IDEA TRIED. SWITCHING TO A JAZZ FORMAT MAKES NO
SENSE--THE LIMITED AUDIENCE FOR JAZZ DOES NOT WANT TO HEAR IT ON THE AM
BAND. IF THIS OWNER HAD ANY SENSE HE WOULD RESURRECT THE IDENTICAL FORMAT
FROM THE LATE 60'S AS THERE IS DEFINITELY ROOM FOR ANOTHER OLDIES STATION IN
THIS AREA. AND AS FAR AS THE MORNING PROGRAMMING HOW MANY TIMES CAN YOU
TALK ABOUT THE SAME TRAFFIC JAMS??? WHAT'S NEXT, LIVE TENNIS MATCHES. I
WOULD BE INTERESTED IN OTHER PEOPLES VIEWS ON THIS.
(January 18, 2001)
Hi Eric,
I read and re-read your info on the latest ratings and I thought it odd that WDSY didn't show up at all, which I thought was really strange since they're usually at least in the top five. For a moment I thought that all those stupid frogs around Pittsburgh finally ate the "daisy". But after checking WDSY is still there at #4 (slightly behind - b94), WXDX is #5, WJAS and WSHH tied at #6, WWSW takes #7, WAMO/WSSZ and WJJJ tied at #8, WKST, WRRK and WZPT all tied for #9 and WLTJ at #10. (January 18, 2001)
Eric's Response: Mea Culpa...
Have you forgotten or chosen not to use WANB 103.1 FM and 1580 AM?
WANB WAyNesBurg.
WANB has been existance from the '50's to the present. Country music is it's current format.
Find your site quite interesting. (January 17, 2001)
Eric's Response: Well I'll be...oops!...I will update it in the next round of updates! Thank you! By the way readers, I will never not "use" a station assuming it is in the counties of the areas included on PBRTV. Please point out more that one may not be aware of!
I enjoy attempting to read your site--trying to read blue and red on a black background (especially when you have italicized the words) is very difficult. I realize you are going for a certain "look" but I can't "look" at the site for very long. I like solid black (or 7.5 black if you're in tv) but not as a primary background "color" -- don't forget --black is the absence of color in television lingo. (January 15, 2001)
Eric's Response: I have to be perfectly honest here. I didn't create the black background. When PBRTV was created as a part of DCRTV, the background was that of DCRTV's. It seems to work out well and Dave Hughes and I receive very FEW complaints about it. I am planning on working out the color scheme. Trust me it's on my list, but as for the background, it's going to stay as is. Trust me, it looks awful on white! I appreciate your concern and your understanding!
ON MONDAY FEB. 12 2001 WBGN TV WILL BE PROVIDING E.T.A. EXPERT TRAFFIC
ADVISORY. FROM NEAL SPENCE AND HIS CREW. THE SERVICE IS CURRENTLY ON WZUM
AM 1590 FROM 5AM TO 10AM. BEGINING FEB 5 2001 IT WILL BE ON WZUM ALSO
IN THE PM FROM 4P TO 6P. THEY SAY LIVE TRAFFIC PICTURES ON WBGN.
(January 15, 2001)
Eric's Response: Yes, I have actually neglected one rather major announcement. Neal and Sky Puppy are back in action on WZUM. It seems that the signal is now coming through loud and reasonably clear!
The following is a conglomeration of research done over a period of several emails by contributor "Josh".
1.According to an employee of WBGN TV, that I e-mailed, there are 2 channel 35's. The one in Uniontown is owned by Bruno-Goodworth (former Turnpike TV) Broadcasting, and the one in Pittsburgh is owned by Perez Broadcasting. Apprarently, they are operating on Ch62 as well, because that is their STL (Studio Transmitter Link). Their studios are in Eastland Mall, and the transmitter is on WQED's tower. The actual station is W29AV, which is owned by Benjamin Perez Broadcasting, but has not yet been updated. It is listed under Turnpike Television. It is listed on the same street as W35AW. Under FCC law, they are allowed to change their channel from 29 to 35, and has not yet been shown in the FCC database. So, to sum it up, Ch35 is W29AV owned by Benjamin Perez Broadcasting, and is legal. Perez Broadcasting is also known as Abacus. Now, aren't we glad we got that settled? :-)
2. Ok, here is what I have that so far is official:
Channel 35 Pittsburgh is licensed to Johnstown Channel 35 by Ben Perez of Abacus TV, and he moved it to Pittsburgh. Channel 62 is the STL (Studio Transmitter Link). Channel 35 WANT-TV is a fictionous call sign. It will soon be registered as WONT-LP. The station is operating on a STA (Special Temporary Authority), by the FCC.
3. Here is the official license info on WONT-LP. Click Here
(January 13, 2000)
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