Tidbits … (mostly things I’ve missed…)

Lisa Washington, who spent the last 5 years at KDKA-TV (2) as a reporter and anchor, has left the station to head to Scranton, PA where she is the new evening anchor at WNEP-TV (16). The Pittsburgh Courier’s Rob Taylor, Jr. did a nice report on Washington earlier this month just before she left town.

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Contributing reporter, Ken, recently checked in with an update regarding WQZS owner, Roger Wahl.

NO JAIL TIME FOR WQZS OWNER

A Somerset County radio station owner charged with luring men to a woman’s home through a fake dating profile will not do any jail time.

Roger Wahl, owner of WQZS (93.3 FM), licensed to Meyersale, was sentenced yesterday [November 16] to three years of restricted probation.  He had pleaded guilty earlier in the year to a felony charge of criminal use of a communication facility, and misdemeanor charges of tampering with evidence, identity theft, invasion of privacy and other charges.  

As a condition of Wahl’s probation, he will spend four months on electronic monitoring, and he will not be allowed on the air at WQZS.  Wahl, 70, founded the station in the late 80s, going on the air in the fall of 1992.  He has hosted the morning show since then, known as “The Commander”. 

The guilty plea to the felony charge has pretty much sealed Wahl’s fate as WQZS’s licensee.  According to the FCC, a convicted felon is not permitted to hold a license, but according to the FCC’s Policy Regarding Character Qualifications in Broadcast Licensing, Wahl could request a hearing on mitigating factors as outlined in the FCC’s Character Policy Statement and have the opportunity to state why his “misconduct should not result in disqualification.”  (FCC 90-195, adopted May 10, 1990)

As such, if the FCC revokes Wahl’s license, he has the opportunity to contest it, and if he does, it could tie the license up for years.  Whether Wahl chooses to undertake a potentially expensive legal proceeding remains unknown.  Over the summer, Wahl had attempted to transfer the station’s license to his adult daughter, Wendy Sipple, in a token $10 transaction.  The FCC initially approved the transfer but rescinded its approval pending the outcome of today’s proceedings.  

(The Daily American of Somerset contributed to this story)

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Marshall Adams checked in this week with news that Wilkins Broadcasting’s WWNL (1080) will have its FM translator on by the beginning of December. The 4-tower AM site in Hampton Township will host the translator antenna (W280FG) which is at 103.9 FM.

I know you’re sitting there saying, “wait a minute! That’s WKHB-FM’s (Scottdale) and WWIZ-FM’s (West Middlesex) frequency?” You’re right, it is. But the signal is only 8 watts which will effectively make the 50,000 AM daytimer a 24-hour station. One should get the signal pretty well in Hampton, Shaler and McCandless Townships – particularly all of North Park and a few miles in either direction of the PA-8 exit of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Not sure that will affect KHB or the current Christmas music format on WWIZ.