WTSV's long silence

[NHRadio]

I have a question. I came across the FCC list of silent stations in the Engineering board, and noticed WTSV Claremont is on it. A check of CDBS shows it dark since 6/29/2009. In March 2010 they applied for and were granted their 2nd 6 month STA to remain silent.
So does the STA stop the clock on the "12 months of silence and you lose the license" thing? Is the new "on the air or else" date September 2010 (6 months after the STA)?

 

[slipcue]

WTSV's been back on the air for a month or so, I think. Now, is WNHV dark?

 

[raccoonradio]

I was passing through the area last weekend and did note 910 WNHV was off air

 

[Dusty Dale Brooks]

So two heritage AMs in the Connecticut Valley are now gone: WTSV and WNHV. It's the same thing all over the country. I hear AM broadcasters tell me they are just shutting off the transmitter and turning out the lights.

Tonight on the NBC nightly news I saw apiece on a great national trend: volunteers saving downtown movie houses. Why can't volunteers save small town radio stations.

Seriously.

 

[Oldbones]

So two heritage AMs in the Connecticut Valley are now gone: WTSV and WNHV. It's the same thing all over the country. I hear AM broadcasters tell me they are just shutting off the transmitter and turning out the lights.

Tonight on the NBC nightly news I saw apiece on a great national trend: volunteers saving downtown movie houses. Why can't volunteers save small town radio stations.

Earlier in this thread the observation was made that WTSV was back on the air.

As far as "volunteers saving small town radio stations", do I hear you offering? I'm guessing that the facilities of most of these stations have been neglected for decades. Maybe you could rebuild something that had a decent signal, but it would still cost $$$$ and you'd probably want an FM translator to go with it. A graveyard channel AM is hardly worth the bother today.

 

[davect]

A good example is WCFR in Springfield, VT. An AM daytimer in limbo especially after the FM changed COL and left town. A local guy stepped in and started leasing it from the owner, providing local jocks and content. Last year they got an FM translator up and running. I hear they're doing OK. http://www.springfieldsvariety.com/

 

[Dusty Dale Brooks]

Dave, isn't that something like what happened in Bennington with WBTN?

WCFR, when the Zezza's owned it, was a good little station. They had listeners and they had a lot of advertisers. It was another great NNE launching pad for jocks. Two people come to mind immediately, my old friends Dick McDonough and Wild Bill Peterson (Wayne Smith).

 

[ajaynejr]

Another Connecticut Valley station that had gone dark is WDCR in Hanover. Also a graveyarder, on 1340.

The transmitter appeared to have been well maintained until some nearby construction damaged a part of the ground system. But I suppose the transmitter site could be leased (the land is not for sale) and repairs made without a construction permit.

The new broadcaster will have to provide new studios since the existing studios are still in use -- putting the same broadcasts on the Internet, and running sister station WFRD.

 

[Dusty Dale Brooks]

My Gosh WDCR's gone?

I assume Dartmouth College must have spun it off by now.

I worked there as a volunteer in the summer of 1967 while also working at the Lake Morey Inn in Fairlee, VT. At that time there were some guys running the station who went on to great things in the industry: Scott McQueen and Ted Nixon who co-founded Sconnix. Bill Moyes was a founder of Transtar/Unistar and The Research Group. Paul Gambaccini went to London and until recently was a presenter on BBC2. He also wrote a couple of books on rock music.

They had studios on the second floor of Robinson Hall on The Green at Dartmouth. The two on-air studios were 3X and 4Q.

They sold spots and though the students ran it, in those days, WDCR was the #1 station in the mid valley despite being block programmed.

 

[WEFWradio]

WCFR, when the Zezza's owned it, was a good little station. They had listeners and they had a lot of advertisers. It was another great NNE launching pad for jocks. Two people come to mind immediately, my old friends Dick McDonough and Wild Bill Peterson (Wayne Smith).

More specifically when Carlo Zezza owned it, I'm pretty sure Frank bought it back from Sconnix in the late 70s and kind of ran it into the ground. Is Carlo still with us?
You're right though, late 60s-thru-mid 70s it was a decent station. Sounded like it belonged in a much larger market. I passed thru those doors myself many moons ago.

Someone told me that Wayne (who went by "Bill Donovan" in Providence & New Haven) committed suicide.

 

[Lester Young]

Carlo Zezza has been dead perhaps 30 years.

WNHV, I had forgotten about that Heritage AM. Rex Marshall, of "Reynolds Aluminum" advertising spokesperson fame, was the owner way back.

 

[slipcue]

The Zezza family (Frank) owned WCFR until 1986, I believe - Frank did a great job in nurturing talent through those years (including Steve Torre - now the PD of "Mad Dog Radio" on Sirius/XM, and Frank Cesno - formerly of CNN, both of whom got their first radio jobs from Frank). Carlo did pass away app. 25 years ago.

 

[Schuyler]

WCFR AM&FM was owned by Sconnix in the mid- to late-70s but Frank Zezza was still there. He was the GSM, IIRC. If his family owned it in the 80s they must have bought it back from the Sconnix group when that company started moving into bigger markets.

 

[Lester Young]

WCFR AM&FM was owned by Sconnix in the mid- to late-70s but Frank Zezza was still there. He was the GSM, IIRC. If his family owned it in the 80s they must have bought it back from the Sconnix group when that company started moving into bigger markets.

That's precisely what happened, Sconnix sold it back to an investment group that had Frank as one of its members. Somewhere along the way, Frank sold it to Mike Bernhardt, who ran for Governor in the late 80s or early 90s...

 

[slipcue]

WCFR AM&FM was owned by Sconnix in the mid- to late-70s but Frank Zezza was still there. He was the GSM, IIRC. If his family owned it in the 80s they must have bought it back from the Sconnix group when that company started moving into bigger markets.

That's precisely what happened, Sconnix sold it back to an investment group that had Frank as one of its members. Somewhere along the way, Frank sold it to Mike Bernhardt, who ran for Governor in the late 80s or early 90s...

Actually - you're close - Sconnix bought it from Carlo - sold to a group headed by Frank in the late 70's. Frank's group sold to Quality Communications in 1986. Mike bought it in 1992 and then sold to Rob Wolf in 1998.

 

[PRND21]

WCFR was still owned by Frank Zezza and Springfield attorney George Lamb when I left in the spring of '87. I believe it was sold to some putz from MA. later in '87. WCFR wasn't run into the ground, it was a casualty of economic decline in Springfield, Bellows Falls, Windsor, Vermont and Charlestown and Claremont, NH.

WCFR AM&FM was owned by Sconnix in the mid- to late-70s but Frank Zezza was still there. He was the GSM, IIRC. If his family owned it in the 80s they must have bought it back from the Sconnix group when that company started moving into bigger markets.

That's precisely what happened, Sconnix sold it back to an investment group that had Frank as one of its members. Somewhere along the way, Frank sold it to Mike Bernhardt, who ran for Governor in the late 80s or early 90s...

Actually - you're close - Sconnix bought it from Carlo - sold to a group headed by Frank in the late 70's. Frank's group sold to Quality Communications in 1986. Mike bought it in 1992 and then sold to Rob Wolf in 1998.

 

[Dusty Dale Brooks]

Bill died in early 1980 while at WLAV-FM in Grand Rapids, MI. They were a classic rocker and he was the PD. By then he was known as "Doc" Donovan

The cause of death according to a co-worker of his at the time was cardiac arrest to due a drug overdose.
He never mentioned suicide in fact your post is the first I've heard of that. I knew his wife, and I called to extend a message of condolences, but I never got to speak to her. I was working Denver at the time and unable to get back for the funeral.

Wild Bill was really getting into the uppers in Ft. Wayne (WMEE, WLYV) and I suspect that jones followed him when the company transferred him up to Grand Rapids I visited Doc in late 1978. It was a fun weekend. He had hired a great night jock he was anxious me to meet. I had Saturday dinner with she, he, and Bill's wife Patty. Then we retired to Bill's house for an evening of airchecks and Stroh's beer. That "hot" nigh jock was a woman usung the air name Patty Haze. She didn't stay in Grand Rapids long and went to Chicago, then took a job in LA at KFI while Tim Kelly and Big Ron O'Brien were there. Soon after Doc died I called Patty in LA but she really had very little info to pass along about Doc.


Doc's abiding goal in life was to work ar CKLW. On Friday night we met in Detroit to make a pilgtimage to The Big8 studios in Windsor. Doc play a current WMEE aircheck for Super Max Kinkle. He liked it promised to pass ot along to the PD. Nothing ever came out of that trip so Bill continued to toil in Grand Rapids.



Bill Peterson, Wild Bill Donovan could have woeked ar CKLW, he had the chops.. The waiting was obviously the hardest par

 

[Dusty Dale Brooks]

As you can see by the time stamp it was late last night. I fell asleep at the computer!

To continue the post...Doc always wanted to work at CKLW, but it never happened despite sending them several tapes. He had worked at WNHC as well as WMEE (both Drake clones), in fact he was one of the biggest Drake freaks I have ever known. I think he would have sounded great on 'CK.

I could go on and on about that incredibly dedicated radio guy.

I'm just really glad he is remembered.