Indiana RadioWatch: February 10, 1999
Northeast
Rock/WBYR (98.9fm/Van Wert, Ohio) picks up Shannon Norris for mid-days, replacing the departed Roxanne McVay. Norris'
last gig was at WIMZ in Knoxville, Tennessee.
With the departure of OM/PD Weasel from Alternative/WEJE (96.3fm, Churubusco), MD Kyle Guderian takes over the
reigns, while a search for a new PD goes on. Production Director Brian Michel is in charge of Modern AC/WYSR
(94.1fm, Roanoke) and Rhythmic/WGL-FM (102.3fm, Auburn).
Contrary to what's been heard, News-Talk/WOWO (1190am, Fort Wayne) hasn't lowered its power at night, yet.
Former AC/WAJI (95.1fm, Fort Wayne) morning man Mike Kendall makes the big jump, resurfacing at R&B/WXXY-WYXX (both
103.1fm, suburban Chicago, Illinois).
Fort Wayne's NPR affiliate, WBNI (89.1fm, Fort Wayne) adds several new programs to its lineup. Fresh Air starts,
weeknights, at 7pm with host Terry Gross. Marketplace (a financial show from Public Radio International), Sunday
Performance Today, the Montreal Symphony, and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra are also added to the weekly lineup.
All Things Considered moves to weekdays at 4pm.
Northcentral
Standards/WHLY and WJVA flip call letters. 1580am in South Bend is now WJVA while 1620am takes WHLY. On Monday
1 February, WJVA flipped format to Country & Western.
AC/WHFB (99.9fm, Benton Harbor, Michigan) flips to Country, under an LMA with the owners of WSBT & WNSN. They're
calling themselves "Hot Country 99.9"
Across town, Country/WBYT (100.7fm, South Bend) promotes weekender Kelsey Quinn to nights. Quinn replaces Tami
Wells, who is now production director.
Northwest
Country/WKOA (105.3fm, Lafayette) adds Kevin McKay as a part-time jock. McKay was last doing overnights at WDEZ
in Wausau, Wisconsin.
Eastcentral
News-Talk/WHON (930am, Centerville) welcomes Russ Walker for mornings.
Central
Sports/WXFN (1340am) and Hot AC/WLBC (104.1fm, both Muncie) are sold by DRMS Communcations. The new owner,
Sabre Communications, owns stations in New York and northern Pennsylvania. This is their first venture into
Indiana.
Congrats to Religious/WGNR(AM) & FM (1470am, 97.9fm, both Anderson). They celebrated their first anniversary January
26, 1999.
Community radio in the Circle City is two steps closer to reality. Indianapolis-based "CityRadio" recently
received approval from the FAA and the Indiana Department of Transportation to increase their tower height.
Southwest
The FCC grants two Evansville LPTV Displacements: WWAZ-LP moves from Channel 52 to Channel 17, while WEOA-LP moves from
Channel 67 to Channel 50.
Southeast
Hot AC/WRZQ (107.3fm, Greensburg) becomes, quite possibly, the first station to start its own Internet Service Provider on
the side. QMIX.NET started offering Internet access to customers, at the end of January.
Arbitrons
Country/WFMS takes first place honors in Indianapolis, dropping slightly, followed by Rocker WFBQ. Also, CHR/WZPL drops
slightly. Mostly flat showings for WIBC, WTLC, WHHH, and WNAP.
Up to the Summit City (Fort Wayne) where reigning champ Country/WQHK extends its lead by almost 3 (!) points, followed by
AC/WAJI and co-owned Oldies/WLDE. Notable gains for Standards/WSHI, Alternative/WEJE, and Urban/WJFX (now R&B). In its
first book as Sports, WHWD takes a sizable hit.
Down by the river (Evansville), AC/WIKY stays at the top of the heap, followed by Country/WKDQ and CHR/WSTO. Country/WYNG
jumps, but mostly flat ratings for WGBF, WJPS, WDKS and WABX.
Irish-land (South Bend) sees Country/WBYT posting a nice increase, to stay #1. Following is CHR/WNDV and News-Talk/WSBT.
WHLY/WJVA goes up, while WNSN and WRBR take sizable hits.
That's it for this issue! See you in two weeks...
Blaine Thompson
Indiana RadioWatch
irw@well.com
Back to the Archive Index
All pages Copyright
Blaine Thompson. Articles, photos, corrections, and other contributions should be
e-mailed to the editors.