Indiana RadioWatch: March 6, 2004
Just compiling what you see in the blog (http://indianaradio.blogspot.com/) - More soon, including a story (and
photos) of a southeast Indiana radio station transmitter stick that was struck in a lightning storm.
Northeast
From http://www.wbni.org
WBNI Off The Air -- High Winds Cause New Damage to Station's Transmission Line
"WBNI was taken off the air Sunday afternoon as high winds weakened
repairs made last fall to the station's transmission line. The
resulting new leaks have caused a loss of line pressure that forced
the station to turn its transmitter off. New transmission line will
be brought in from Chicago on Monday to replace the damaged sections.
It is NIPR's goal to restore service as quickly as possible. All of
us at NIPR appreciate your support and patience and apologize for
the inconvenience."
IRW listened to W204BF (88.7fm, Fort Wayne), the translator of WBNI's
sister station WBOI (91.3fm, Orland). Within 15 minutes, it was
mentioned
several times that WBNI was off the air, and they were hoping to be
back
on the air sometime tomorrow (Tuesday 9 March.)
We're sorry to have to report the passing (1/27) of Charlie Willer, who
spent most of his time in Fort Wayne radio. In Fort Wayne, he worked at
carrier current station WITB (based at the Indiana Institute of
Technology, more commonly known now as Indiana Tech), and as "Charlie
Franklin" at WPTH (now WAJI), WAFX (now WLYV), and WZRQ (now WSHI).
Outside of Fort Wayne, he had stops in Lafayette and Archbold, Ohio.
Beyond radio announcing, he owned his production company (Charles
Willer
Productions; he was "Audio Architect"). Charlie also composed classical
music - Someone commented to IRW that he was with Charlie when they
were
visiting Indiana University - Bloomington. While inside a building,
Charlie spotted a piano, and immediately sat down and started to play,
making up a tune in his head that sounded beautiful.
Outside of radio, he was active in Jugglers Anonymous and was highly
regarded for his knowledge of railroad trains.
Willer influenced many just starting in broadcasting to further their
careers - perhaps most notably the Chairman and Publisher of Radio Ink
- B. Eric Rhodes. Yesterday, Rhodes spoke with IRW: "Charlie Willer was
responsible for getting me into radio. He has been my best friend since
I was 14 years old. He was a creative genius who could have ended up in
NY or LA, but he loved Indiana and wanted to stay there surrounded by the
people he loved. I never met anyone in my life who has so many friends."
Tom Andrews, GM at WLKI in Angola, also worked with Charlie and
commented
to IRW "Charlie was one of those people who spread a sense of joy
wherever
he went."
On a more personal note, IRW knew Charlie as he e-mailed us often with
stories and questions. IRW appreciated his wide knowledge and the
education it provided us on historical radio in Fort Wayne and
Northeast
Indiana.
On Monday 2 February, WXKE (102.9fm, Huntington) dropped its simulcast
with Alternative/WXTW (102.3fm, Auburn) and changed format to standards
as
"The River."
Artistic Media Partners' Market Manager Linda Bradley exits. She was
responsible for Fort Wayne stations Country/WBTU (93.3fm, Kendallville)
and Lite AC/WSHI (106.3fm, Columbia City). She arrived in July, 2003
from
Director of Sales for Clear Channel's Poughkeepsie, New York stations.
Rock/WBYR (98.9fm, Van Wert, Ohio) midday lady Cristi Cantle exits
after
just over a month at "The Bear" for mornings at WXZZ in Lexington,
Kentucky.
Lite AC/WSHI (106.3fm, Columbia City) drops syndicated morning duo
Bob and Sheri and returns Kenny Edwards in mornings. Edwards did
mornings until the station changed formats from Standards to Lite
AC at the end of 2003.
Davin and Ana Friendly, the husband and wife morning duo at CHR/WNHT
(96.3fm, Churubusco) move to mornings at sister Hot AC/WYLT (103.9fm,
Fort
Wayne). Replacing The Friendly's are Goose (who moves from nights to
mornings) and Van (really Brian VanBokkelen, last at WLHR in Panama
City,
Florida). Goose and Van team up as "The Hits Morning Madhouse." Goose's
former night slot now remains unfilled, but we hear OM/PD "Big" Dave
Eubanks is actively looking...
Northcentral
Meteorologist Larry Mowry exits WSBT-TV (Channel 22, South Bend [CBS])
for the Windy City. Mowry joins ABC-owned WLS-TV (Channel 7, Chicago,
Illinois) for Saturday morning weather forecasts during their new
6am-7am newsblock. According to The Chicago Sun-Times' media guru Robert Feder,
he had worked at WSBT since 2001.
Eastcentral
The FCC has cleared an application by Educational Media Foundation (The
K-LOVE folks) for a translator on 101.7fm, licensed to Richmond
(primary station: WOKL [96.9fm, Troy, Ohio]). If no petitions to deny
were filed last week, the FCC will grant a construction permit. IRW
wonders if this will cause any "static" with second adjacent
Hot AC/WFMG (101.3fm, Richmond)?
Central
Hot AC/WZPL (99.5fm, Greenfield) PD Scott Sands adds OM duties, and is
also now Director of Internet Development for parent company Mystar
Communications Corp. Sands has been PD at WZPL since October, 1999,
joining from KFMB in (sunny) San Diego, California.
Westcentral
Religious/WSPV (90.5fm, Greencastle) changes call letters to WIKL (IRW
presumes it stands for "Indy's K-Love").
Employment Opportunities
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY: Looking for a new opportunity with a growing
and diverse company? We have these immediate opportunities:
DOS - Indianapolis
TV Sales Mgr. - Indianapolis
Let us here from you! Send your resume to our VP of HR (sgolsch at
radio-one dot com) or fax to 301.918.9274. Inquiries will be kept
confidential.
Marketing Consultants
Start Date: Immediately
Employment Type: Full Time
Location: Fort Wayne, IN
Station Information: WBTU/WSHI
2100 Goshen Road
Fort Wayne, IN 46808
Looking for an exciting career? Are you outgoing and enthusiastic with
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Artistic Media Partners in Fort Wayne has openings on their Sales and
Marketing Team. Previous sales experience is preferred. Send resume to:
Artistic Media Partners
2100 Goshen Road
Fort Wayne, IN 46808
Artistic Media Partners is an equal opportunity employer
EOE
Travis Broadcasting has 3 Senior Sales Executive positions available to
sell its 6-station combo in Ft. Wayne. Great formats (N/T, Classic
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minimum of 2 years radio sales experience.
Email resume in MS Word format in complete confidence to:
jobs at travisbroadcasting dot com
That's it for this issue. See you in a week!
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All pages Copyright
Blaine Thompson. Articles, photos, corrections, and other contributions should be
e-mailed to the editors.