Boston Radio News

BOSTON RADIO NEWS
February 2001 Volume 5 Number 2
Edited & Published by Keith Snow

*ANDY MOES Dies at 50
*Business 1060 Radio- -First Impressions
*News from around the dial
*Your Emails

*Andy Moes, co-host of "Blute and Moes in the Morning" on WRKO (680 am), passed away last night in his Milton home. Moes, a personal friend of this reporter, was a delightful, down-to-earth, honest man. He dressed in comfortable clothes, unconcerned with fashion demands. He had a realistic attitude toward what really mattered in life. When I spoke with him during his low points- -when he was doing his "Extravaganzas" on weekends at WRKO, I told him that one day he'd be the morning guy at WRKO. He told me it was "unlikely". When he was named co-host with the political Peter Blute, he wrote me an email that said simply, "you're right and I'm wrong. Check on the way". I never did receive that check, but did get a huge chuckle.

I first met Andy when he started at the old WRKO-FM. From there, he was teamed with Joe Martelle for a ten year stint as one of the top morning teams in Boston radio, while at WROR-FM.

If there is a lesson to be learned here, it is that we must take care of our health. Andy was the first to tell you that he was not in very good shape. And it seems, this cost him his life.

He leaves his lovely wife Diane, and an audience of fans who appreciated him so much. The microphone is silenced, but his voice, personality, and memories will live on in our hearts.

*Business 1060 Radio (WIBX) is going full throttle. But little has changed from its incarnation as WMEX. The best part of that station- -Gene Burns- -is gone. The worst part- -Frankie Boyer- -is still there.

There are a lot of positives at the station- -Bloomberg News, their local news, The Money Couple (Brad & Bonnie Bleidt) and Mark Mill's Market Wrap. But the weaknesses of the previous station- -lack of promotional dollars glares at you- -are still there. The Boston Business Journal AM Edition, which runs from 6-9 am has some great moments. Dave Anthony and the Money Couple do a nice job. Bailey and Stein (9-10) prove why newspaper guys should stay away from radio. It's a good promotional tool for a station sorely lacking promotion, but it's not a good show.

Bob Glovsky, a radio veteran, is helpful and wise from 10-noon. Boyer, from noon-1 pm, offers tips on herbs and non-traditional health cures. Lots of ads assure her presence on the station. But I shut it off when her voice comes on.

Attorney Steve Weisman, a former WRKO weekend guy, holds down the 1-3 pm slot. Despite his obvious intelligence, when he is not talking about the law, he's not as effective. Business radio is supposed to be Business Radio. Which leads me to Upton Bell. I like Upton. But his "Everybody's Business" show from 3-4 is very rarely related to business at all. It's like Alex Langer wanted to keep him there, so he said "let's pretend this is a business show".

Mark Mill's Market Wrap from 4-6 pm IS Business Radio. It's what we want to hear- -a wrapup of the stock exchanges, bond markets, commodity markets, etc.

Overall I give the station a C+, with the hopes that they put on more features to break up some of the monotonous shows. Also, let's hope they can start some major TV, Newspaper and Magazine advertising. The business community may support the station- -if they know about it.

NEWS FROM AROUND THE DIAL......

*Syndication has cost another job. Seems like every day, consolidation and syndication keep cutting into the radio job market. This month's victim is Chuck Igo, a very capable DJ at WROR-FM (105.7). His overnite shift has now gone the way of automation. Hopefully, Greater Boston Radio Group will find a place for him at WBOS-FM, WMJX-FM or one of their other music stations.

*Ron Van Dam, the former radio personality at the talented-defunct WMSX-AM (1410), is now anchoring the 9-11 am spot at crosstown WBET (1460 am). Also heard there, as fill-ins, are former WMSX folks Stu Rosenberg and Norm Gross. Gross also writes award-winning theatre reviews for PMPNetwork.com.

*Joe Cortese, one of our favorite DJ's, lost his midday gig at WBMX-FM (98.5). Cortese will be full time in their production department, while maintaining his weekend airtime with Friday night's "Back to the 80's" oldies show. The new midday jock? Erin O'Malley, last heard at a station in Portland, Oregon.

*Survivor's Million dollar winner Richard Hatch, a Rhode Island resident, is putting on his clothes, grabbing a microphone and joining WQSX-FM's (93.7) Morning show. He'll be joining current host Charles Wilde on the "Wilde and Hatch" show. Also rounding out a great on-air crew there are the lovely newsgal Karen Blake and Heather Gersten. Hatch is also a correspondent on "Entertainment Tonight" and is involved in a new NBC game show as well.

*Mike Barnicle, the formerly-disgraced plagiarizer at the Boston Globe, is fully resurrected. Barnicle's show at WTKK-FM (96.9) is growing in popularity; he's writing a column for the New York Daily News, and he's just been named host of a one-hour show called "The First 100 Days" on MSNBC Cable TV. He'll be commenting on the Bush Administration. He's really a nice guy, so I'm happy for him. But keep those thoughts original, Mike!

YOUR EMAILS.....

"I appreciate your newsletter as a fresh view of the radio scene" --Tom St. John, B101 Providence and Oldies 103 Boston.

"Your comment on Dr. Laura's show were incorrect. The old Dr. Laura show never was live on WRKO from 9 am to noon. It was delayed, from a previous day's feed, and run through an electronic squeezer to get an extra minute or so of commercials"- -T.S.

"It was wonderful to get your update in my inbox. As usual, it contained interesting information. Please keep it coming. For one, I missed you the past few months." - -H.M.

"I thought I would never listen to WRKO again when Leslie Gold left Two Chicks Dishing. My faith in the station was restored when the fabulous Lori Kramer returned to the airwaves with Kramer & McCarthy. But the new PD sucks and he screwed up WRKO again. He has lost a very loyal fan who will no longer listen to Jurassic radio. Bring back Kevin Straley!" - -B.S.

(Your emails are invited, and subject to editing for space. To subscribe: Send an email to radioratin@aol.com with "Subscribe" in the subject line. To unsubscribe, send an email with "unsubscribe" in the subject line. Materials seen in BOSTON RADIO NEWS are (c)2001 by BRN2000. The newsletter is also available for reading at PMP Network! The internet's Entertainment Superstation and Talkshowhosts.com. If you would like to post it on YOUR site, please email me for permission and we'll publicize it in our next issue!)

January 2001
Volume 5 Number 1
Edited & Published by Keith Snow

*WMEX Goes "Business Talk"
*WRKO Dumps the Doctor's Live Show
*Darlene McCarthy goes Daytime
*More News and Views

*WMEX (1060 am) will be airing a "CNBC-style" local business format, starting January 8th. Alex Langer, the station's owner and founder, says he hopes the new format will "build on the strength of our morning business show, adding lifestyle and entertainment and bring many top media business people in Boston to the air".

Langer writes, "We will be calling the station "Business 1060" and will be changing the call letters. Upton Bell and Gene Burns will continue to do features for us. The daytime programming will continue to be all local, but will be focused on business. Weekends will generally not change. When we add nighttime power, we are contemplating local non-business programming, such as Upton and others."

There's been a business radio void in Boston since WBNW went all-business a few years back. But the sales staff there couldn't make a go of it. Sales will have to be generated with large businesses like banks, commodity firms and insurance companies. That takes a special kind of sales staff. Plus, there'll need to have sales executives with lots of experience with ad agencies. I'm not sure if Langer has that force in place now.

Langer told Boston Radio News "There's been a void of a business station in Boston for five years. I feel this is where a local station with local ownership can be dominant and gain a long term foothold." Langer added, "it (business) is no longer a niche, but a popular sport. The support we have received from the media, charter advertisers, and the community has been tremendous".

Langer's marketing of WMEX was poor, but he assures BRN that Business 1060 will get promoted. "We will be kicking the station off with billboards on the expressway, airport access roads, and other highways. We have partnerships in place with WB 56, who will have cameras in our studios, with the Boston Business Journal and others."

I noticed the health show with Frankie Boyer has been calling itself , "the business of health". I hope that does not mean it will be part of the new Business 1060. Not a "healthy" start for a new format. Although, her show does seem to pull in a lot of sponsors (for herbal medicinal products and the like), it belongs in a weekend slot. Boyer is probably best-utlized for sponsored "features" throughout the broadcast day.

Good luck to Alex Langer and his staff. Local radio rules!

*WRKO (680 am) has given the Live version of Dr. Laura a kick in the pants. During the "election crisis", WRKO inserted the lovely Darlene McCarthy and the incredibly annoying Michael Goldman in her time slot to talk "politics". Since the local element seemed to generate phone calls and interest, PD Al Mayer is sticking with the formula. He's moved a tape version of Dr. Laura to the 7-10 pm spot.

*The aforementioned Darlene McCathy, meanwhile, has teamed with Doreen Vigue to form "Daytime Divas", a kind of Two Chicks Dishing-type morning show- -9 am to noon- -that features entertainment, and light-hearted fare. I think it's a much more pleasant listen than Dr. Laura. And, in fact, I kind of like it. Darlene, though, should go back to TV. She has such beauty and graced that is missed from the boob tube.

NEWS and VIEWS

(from press releases and emails):

"The Cooking Couple", Ellen and Michael Albertson, has moved from Saturdays on WMEX to Sundays from 1-3 pm on WBNW (1120 am) and WPLM (1390 am). The show is broadcast live from WBNW's new Newton studios. The Cooking Couple features recipes, celebrities, taste trends, and some genuine (and sometimes barf-inducing) "love" talk.

PMPNetwork.com, Mark Snyder's entertainment website, registered his FOUR MILLIONTH unique visitor, in November 2000. Link is down below.

Linda Cross tells Boston Radio News, they are looking for "aircheck" help in Boston. They need someone to tape specific shows for their clients. It's a paid gig. Call Linda at 888-206-9662 for information. ASAP!

Barry Scott, the "lost 45's" guru, tells Boston Radio News that his show is back on the Web. The show features top 40 records from the 70's and 80's that have been forgotten by mainstream radio. He features artists like Partridge Family, The Poppi Family, and the Bay City Rollers. A link to his site appears below.

Gary Sohmers, the self-proclaimed "king of pop culture", tells BRN he stopped doing his weekly talk show "Calling All Collectors" on WMEX. He said weekend shows "received no support from the radio station management, marketing or sales staff." He can still be seen regularly on the PBS-TV show, "Chubb's The Antiques Roadshow", and on the "WB in the Morning" program. Sohmers told BRN that "I am looking for an opportunity to continue my program if anyone is interested in appealing to the 17 million weekly Roadshow audience". His site link appears below.

TOP 13 SITE LINKS THIS MONTH

* Submitted in emails and discovered by Search Engines:

WBZ (WBZ 1030 am is Boston's News and Information Leader)
WRKO AM 680 (WRKO is Boston's #1 talk station)
Radio-Locator (MIT Site helps you locate stations around the USA)
Welcome to 1550 WNTN (WNTN is a local Newton-based station)
Barry Scott Welcomes You To "The Lost 45s" Web Site! (Barry's Lost 45's)
Talkshowhosts.com (Carol Nashe's radio site)
WMEX - Home (WMEX's Website)
100.7 WZLX...Boston's Only Classic Rock! (Classic Rock Site)
wbcn.com (Home of Howard Stern)
WUMB-FM Online (U Mass Boston's Great Radio Station)
PMP Network! The internet's Entertainment Superstation (Mark Snyder's Interview and Entertainment Site)
WEEI (Sports Radio for Boston)
allcollectors.com - Supplying The Demand of Collectors Worldwide (Gary Sohmer's Collector's Site)

(To subscribe: Send an email to radioratin@aol.com with "Subscribe" in the subject line. To unsubscribe, send an email with "unsubscribe" in the subject line. Materials seen in BOSTON RADIO NEWS are (c)2001 by BRN2000. The newsletter is also available for reading at PMP Network! The internet's Entertainment Superstation and Talkshowhosts.com. If you would like to post it on YOUR site, please email me for permission and we'll publicize it in our next issue!)

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