This week the humble blog comes full circle, as it again spotlights WHOT/1330 (now WGFT) in Youngstown. In this aircheck from 1971, energetic afternoon personality Michael C. Richards keeps the music coming, with headlines provided by newsman Al DeJulio. To avoid any legal hassles, the editor has cut most of the music from this unscoped aircheck. The commercials and newscasts are intact.
At the time of this recording, Richards had recently departed rival WNIO/1540. He was just the latest in a string of personalities and reporters who left WNIO for 1330 in the early 70's, thereby shortcircuiting 1540's attempts to dethrone WHOT as the market's leading music station. Richards would later work at WFAH/1310 and WDJQ/92.5 in Alliance.
As the station i.d's indicate, WHOT was frequently simulcast on its sister station, WRED/101.1. This practice would continue into the mid-70's, when WRED took on the 'HOT call letters before switching to WSRD. WSRD's popular AOR format was broadcast until 1984, when 1330's longrunning Top 40 format migrated to FM and dispatched "The Wizard" from the Mahoning Valley's airwaves. WHOT is now owned by Cumulus Broadcasting. WGFT is owned by Bernard Group.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
A Certain Ethnic Radio Station
Forgive NEO Airchecks if its editor chooses to open this post with a reference to a series of comedy sketches that appeared on the late, great Big Chuck and Little John television program. Perhaps it's fitting, given that the humble blog this time around features WXEN/106.5 (now WHLK), a longtime on-air provider of ethnic music and programming heard in Cleveland during the 1960's and 70's.
This submission comes to us courtesy of Salvation Army. No, really. The reel-to-reel tapes that contain the following recordings were recently found at the aforementioned thrift store. Recordings of programs heard on WCLV/95.5 (now found at 104.9) were also retrieved and are being edited for a future post.
What you'll hear here is a representation of WXEN as it was heard during the spring and summer of 1970. Included are portions of two separate programs hosted by Archie Rothman, the first of which is an encore tribute to singer/actress Judy Garland. Also heard are the odd commercial, public service announcement and snippets of ethnic music programs that aired immediately prior to Rothman's shows.
For more details concerning the history of WXEN, go here.
This submission comes to us courtesy of Salvation Army. No, really. The reel-to-reel tapes that contain the following recordings were recently found at the aforementioned thrift store. Recordings of programs heard on WCLV/95.5 (now found at 104.9) were also retrieved and are being edited for a future post.
What you'll hear here is a representation of WXEN as it was heard during the spring and summer of 1970. Included are portions of two separate programs hosted by Archie Rothman, the first of which is an encore tribute to singer/actress Judy Garland. Also heard are the odd commercial, public service announcement and snippets of ethnic music programs that aired immediately prior to Rothman's shows.
For more details concerning the history of WXEN, go here.
Monday, July 18, 2011
...And We're Back.
No doubt you've noticed a recent dearth of airchecks or any news whatsoever from the humble blog. As it happens from time to time, RealLife has made free time for such pursuits scarce, indeed. That said, the editor would like to inform readers that new features are in the works. Upcoming submissions will include some rare audio of Cleveland stations WXEN/106.5 and WCLV/95.5.
Stay tuned...
Stay tuned...
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Spotlight On Sports
Anybody who has spent time in northeast Ohio knows how seriously folks in the region take their sports, be it professional or high school level action. With that in mind, NEO Airchecks this week spotlights a pair of Youngstown-Warren area play-by-play veterans, Larry Miklas and Tim Continenza.
At the start of this composite aircheck of Warren's WRBP/1440, Continenza, the host of "Valley Sportsline", addresses the impending departure of then-Cleveland Browns head coach Chris Palmer. Next up is a a pre-game segment from a 2001 high school boys basketball broadcast, followed by the opening minutes of the same game featuring Warren Harding and Youngstown-Ursuline.
Larry Miklas started his radio career in the 1970's as an on-air personality at Sharon, Pennsylvania's WPIC/790. He moved on to WGRP/940 in nearby Greenville before eventually returning to the Ohio airwaves at WTCL/1570 in Warren. During the 1980's the former steelworker was on-air at WRRO/1440 in Warren, using the name "Larry Summers". Miklas went on to call thousands of high school football and basketball games, primarily for WBBW/1240, WRTK/1390 and WASN/1330. (At the time of this week's featured aircheck, WRBP/1440 was the sister station of WASN, which was owned by Otter Communications.) Along the way, he would also call a season of games on WHK/1420 for the Cleveland Thunderbolts, the city's first arena football team. Following a brief illness, Larry Miklas passed away in July 2010.
Tim Continenza is no stranger to sports fans in the Mahoning Valley, having spent time as a play-by-play man and host at WRRO/1440 during its sport talk format of the mid/late 1990's. Continenza reappeared at 1440 during its ownership by Otter Comunications. After the station was sold to current owner Salem Communications in 2001, he was occasionally heard calling high school games for the station, then sporting the call letters WHKW. Continenza now fills the same role for the Meadville, Pennsylvania-based Allegheny news/talk sports network, which is heard on WMGW/1490, WTIV/1230 and WFRA/1450.
At the start of this composite aircheck of Warren's WRBP/1440, Continenza, the host of "Valley Sportsline", addresses the impending departure of then-Cleveland Browns head coach Chris Palmer. Next up is a a pre-game segment from a 2001 high school boys basketball broadcast, followed by the opening minutes of the same game featuring Warren Harding and Youngstown-Ursuline.
Larry Miklas started his radio career in the 1970's as an on-air personality at Sharon, Pennsylvania's WPIC/790. He moved on to WGRP/940 in nearby Greenville before eventually returning to the Ohio airwaves at WTCL/1570 in Warren. During the 1980's the former steelworker was on-air at WRRO/1440 in Warren, using the name "Larry Summers". Miklas went on to call thousands of high school football and basketball games, primarily for WBBW/1240, WRTK/1390 and WASN/1330. (At the time of this week's featured aircheck, WRBP/1440 was the sister station of WASN, which was owned by Otter Communications.) Along the way, he would also call a season of games on WHK/1420 for the Cleveland Thunderbolts, the city's first arena football team. Following a brief illness, Larry Miklas passed away in July 2010.
Tim Continenza is no stranger to sports fans in the Mahoning Valley, having spent time as a play-by-play man and host at WRRO/1440 during its sport talk format of the mid/late 1990's. Continenza reappeared at 1440 during its ownership by Otter Comunications. After the station was sold to current owner Salem Communications in 2001, he was occasionally heard calling high school games for the station, then sporting the call letters WHKW. Continenza now fills the same role for the Meadville, Pennsylvania-based Allegheny news/talk sports network, which is heard on WMGW/1490, WTIV/1230 and WFRA/1450.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
The Sound of Tiger Town
Recession, a major oil spill, high gas prices and unrest in the Middle East. These topics could all be ripped from recent headlines, but not in this case. NEO Airchecks invites you to revisit the Carter era via this week's aircheck, which focuses on dimunitive WTIG/990 in Massillon. This recording comes to us courtesy of friend Ron Leader of Warren, Ohio. In this aircheck from 1979, he's handling morning drive while keeping the mood light with his own brand of one-liners and stories. Listen for his jab at the economic downturn while discussing the trend in media towards nostalgia.
WTIG first took to the local airwaves in 1957 as a 250-watt daytimer, but was eventually granted a modest nighttime signal. For a large portion of of its history, the station had a Top 40 format that was commonly known as "Tiger Radio". It currently airs a sports talk format using the positioner "ESPN 990", a nod to its status as an ESPN affiliate. Also heard is a local morning show hosted by owner Ray Jeske, Massillon Tigers football and Cincinnati Reds baseball. Jeske purchased WTIG in the 1980's and later moved its studios from downtown's Massillon Building to the transmitter site in nearby Newman.
WTIG first took to the local airwaves in 1957 as a 250-watt daytimer, but was eventually granted a modest nighttime signal. For a large portion of of its history, the station had a Top 40 format that was commonly known as "Tiger Radio". It currently airs a sports talk format using the positioner "ESPN 990", a nod to its status as an ESPN affiliate. Also heard is a local morning show hosted by owner Ray Jeske, Massillon Tigers football and Cincinnati Reds baseball. Jeske purchased WTIG in the 1980's and later moved its studios from downtown's Massillon Building to the transmitter site in nearby Newman.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Odds and Ends
The humble blog's latest feature is an aircheck of the late WRTK/1390 in Youngstown. Using the positioner "Real Talk 1390", WRTK was, for a few years, the unofficial competitor for market leading talker WKBN/570. The lineup featured nationally-syndicated host Don Imus in mornings, plus local personalities such as Thomas John and Vince Camp. Heard here are Valley sports guru John Caparanis, news director Don Ferguson with headlines and WYTV channel 33 meteorologist Stan Boney. After several years of hosting a local sports talk show on WBBW/1240, Caparanis was most recently heard on WANR/1570 (now WHTX). Ferguson, who previously ran newsrooms at WBBW and Warren's WRRO/1440, has apparently been out of the business since 1999.
The station started life in 1939 as WFMJ and was owned by the Youngstown Vindicator. When the newspaper decided to get out of the radio business in 1990, the station was sold to the owners of WHOT/1330 and 101.1. The historic WHOT call letters were then transferred to the 1390 frequency for an adult standards format. In 1994, Connoisseur Communications bought WHOT/1390 and The "Real Talk" format debuted the following year under the WRTK banner. The format lasted until 1999, when it was replaced by adult standards and the station took its current call letters WNIO. WNIO is now owned by Clear Channel and broadcasts a sports talk format using the positioner "The Sports Animal." As a result of Clear Channel's maneuvers to buy WRTK, those calls wound up at WNIO's original dial position of 1540, where they remained until last year.
The station started life in 1939 as WFMJ and was owned by the Youngstown Vindicator. When the newspaper decided to get out of the radio business in 1990, the station was sold to the owners of WHOT/1330 and 101.1. The historic WHOT call letters were then transferred to the 1390 frequency for an adult standards format. In 1994, Connoisseur Communications bought WHOT/1390 and The "Real Talk" format debuted the following year under the WRTK banner. The format lasted until 1999, when it was replaced by adult standards and the station took its current call letters WNIO. WNIO is now owned by Clear Channel and broadcasts a sports talk format using the positioner "The Sports Animal." As a result of Clear Channel's maneuvers to buy WRTK, those calls wound up at WNIO's original dial position of 1540, where they remained until last year.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Graveyard Shift
After a lengthy hiatus from the humble blog, your editor is happy to return with the latest discoveries from the world of airchecks. This week NEO Airchecks spotlights the overnight personality, represented here in a 1973 recording of Big Al Knight on WHOT/1330in Youngstown. He was the alter ego of longtime WHOT PD Dick Thompson. Many Mahoning Valley residents still recall how they speculated about the true identity of Big Al.
What may come as a surprise to some readers is the fact that Knight's airshift was voicetracked, long before the word and practice was as common as it is in today's radio industry. As you'll find out later, the secret was known among the area's radio folk, and at least one personality at a rival station was happy to fill in the listeners on that fact.
Thompson would stay with WHOT well into the 1980's before a short-lived retirement from the business. He would return to radio at WNIO/1540 in the mid-90s, stay on board through the station's eventual transition to 1390, then depart for WSOM/600 in 2001 with former WHOT and WFMJ personality Johnny Kay. Both retired in 2007.
As mentioned, Big Al's presence on Memorex caught the attention of a crosstown rival. Steve "Baby" Michaels, then holding down overnights at WFMJ/1390, regularly took shots at his competitor. An example of this can be heard on a 1971 aircheck of a New Year's Eve broadcast with morning man Ted Alexander. Michaels' "tribute" to Big Al can be heard beginning at 11:38, followed by a purported reponse from his target.
Special thanks to NEO Airchecks friend and regular contributor Jerry Coleman for providing these airchecks.
What may come as a surprise to some readers is the fact that Knight's airshift was voicetracked, long before the word and practice was as common as it is in today's radio industry. As you'll find out later, the secret was known among the area's radio folk, and at least one personality at a rival station was happy to fill in the listeners on that fact.
Thompson would stay with WHOT well into the 1980's before a short-lived retirement from the business. He would return to radio at WNIO/1540 in the mid-90s, stay on board through the station's eventual transition to 1390, then depart for WSOM/600 in 2001 with former WHOT and WFMJ personality Johnny Kay. Both retired in 2007.
As mentioned, Big Al's presence on Memorex caught the attention of a crosstown rival. Steve "Baby" Michaels, then holding down overnights at WFMJ/1390, regularly took shots at his competitor. An example of this can be heard on a 1971 aircheck of a New Year's Eve broadcast with morning man Ted Alexander. Michaels' "tribute" to Big Al can be heard beginning at 11:38, followed by a purported reponse from his target.
Special thanks to NEO Airchecks friend and regular contributor Jerry Coleman for providing these airchecks.
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