Posts Tagged ‘David Calabrese’

Top Erie media stories of 2009

January 1st, 2010 joel

Happy New Year and welcome to the “teens!”

As was the case with much of the last ten years, the decade ended last night with the media front and center of culture’s conversation. With top-talker Rush Limbaugh finally released from a Honolulu hospital, and Fox viewers in O&O markets thankful for a momentary reprieve from losing their football, media doings are never far from top-of-mind.

Here’s the top stories we were talking about in 2009, by month:

  • January: local TV stations and the Times-News cover the inauguration of President Barack Obama on January 20th
  • February: longtime Erie broadcaster and cancer machine inventor John Kanzius succumbs to cancer on February 18th
  • March: Nancy Dymond replaces David Calabrese as market manager of the Connoisseur Media radio cluster in Erie
  • April: a video capture of an apparently intoxicated off-duty Erie Police officer uploaded to YouTube created a local and national controversy about police relations with the minority community, and the new reality of social media
  • May: Lilly Broadcasting merged the newsrooms of WICU and WSEE, resulting in the elimination of about a dozen off-air and on-air jobs
  • June: WICU is the final TV station to switch off their analog transmitter and put Erie completely into the digital television age
  • Wards react to the reveal July: The seven day build of a home for Erie’s Clara Ward culminated in the July 2nd reveal of the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition house
  • August: Star 104/WRTS increased it’s dominance in Erie radio as the Spring 2009 Arbitron ratings were released
  • September: Former Erie Congressman Phil English began his high profile blog “Presque Isle to the Potomac” on GlobalErie.com
  • October: The Erie Times-News was named Newspaper of the Year by the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association
  • November: Erie’s most-visited media website, GoErie.com underwent a major redesign
  • December: The weekend of December 12th and 13th turned out to be one of national media attention on Erie, as Saturday Night Live mentioned the fictional “Erie Chamber of Commerce” as part of a PGA spoof over the Tiger Woods controversy, then a two-hour special episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition showcased the work of thousands of volunteers impacting an eastside Erie neighborhood.

Next week, we’ll talk with one of Erie’s top media watchers about the past year and what we might see in the new year. Stay tuned.

Posted in From The Editor Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , No Comments »

Dymond to take over Connoisseur/Erie

March 26th, 2009 joel

Connoisseur has named a replacement for ousted GM Dave Calabrese. From their corporate website:

Westport, CT – Nancy Dymond has been named Market Manager of Connoisseur Media’s Erie operation. Dymond will be responsible for Connoisseur’s market-leading group – WRTS (Star 104), WRKT (Rocket 101), WXBB (Bob), WTWF (The Wolf), WJET-AM and WFNN-AM.

Dymond has over 25 years of experience in radio sales and management. She has had a tremendous track record over the years as Vice President/General Manager for Fritz Broadcasting in Saginaw and Lansing Michigan, Cumulus Media in Flint Michigan, and as Director of Sales for Radio One in Detroit.

“It will be exciting working with such great stations and a company that believes in ‘good radio’ and serving the community”. I look forward to the challenge”, said Dymond.

Dymond will be taking over Erie’s most successful radio stations, such as the 50,000 watt powerhouse STAR 104. In the Fall Arbitron, Connoisseur Media’s 4 FM properties finished #1, #2, #3, and #4 with Adults 25-54 M-Sun 6a-12a.

“We are fortunate to have someone like Nancy leading our operation in Erie. She is a real radio pro. I’m confident she will continue to build upon our success,” said David Bevins, Connoisseur Media’s VP of Operations.

Connoisseur Media is headquartered in Westport, CT. In addition to Erie, the Company owns or operates radio stations in Billings (MT), Bismarck (ND), Bloomington (IL), Des Moines (IA), Huntington (WV), Omaha (NE), Rapid City (SD), and Wichita (KS).

Let’s hope Ms. Dymond finds Erie’s advertising climate as or more hospitable than Flint’s. Welcome Nancy!

Posted in Radio Tags: , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments »

Transitions: Rowe passes, Calabrese exits

March 19th, 2009 joel

Sympathy goes out to the WSEE family and the entire Erie television production community as they’ve lost one of their standard bearers. Longtime Production Manager Don Rowe passed away on Wednesday at Springhill. He was 78.

Don worked at Channel 35 for 41 years until his retirement in 1997. He was past president of NABET Local 28. The entire obituary can be found at GoErie.com.

P&T commenter Heavy D,  reports that David Calabrese, market manager of Connoisseur Media’s Erie cluster has been let go. We’ll try to get a comment from corporate today.

Although I didn’t agree with many of his tactics, David was one of the most responsive media executives I’ve dealt with since starting this blog. Best wishes to him on his transition.

Posted in From The Editor Tags: , , , , , 4 Comments »

Rush ‘laid off’ from WJET

December 12th, 2008 joel

Rush Limbaugh appears to be the latest victim of cost-cutting at Connoisseur Media’s WJET 1400.

In a response for a request for comment, CM-Erie General Manager David Calabrese indicated that station decided to go in a different direction:

The economy is tough and layoffs are everywhere, Rush is the victim of a slow economy and we decided to lay him off rather than affect someone locally.

Rush’s people were uncompromising with us. We feel that the Dennis Miller decision is a good one for the region and the station.

One can speculate that Rush’s new multi-million dollar contract has come into play with clearance renewals at the local level. Given the margin mandates that the corporate operators live under, the relatively inexpensive Dennis Miller show must have looked enticing.

Miller’s show launched in March 2007 and airs in Buffalo, Cleveland and Pittsburgh. He seems to take a lot of listener calls, and sprays tons of his intellectual conservative humor throughout the program.

By my calculations, Rush has been a mainstay of WJET middays since 1990 or 1991, when the call letters were WLKK and Tim DeCapua owned 1400 as a standalone AM.

Posted in Radio Tags: , , , , 5 Comments »

Shannon Solo no longer howling at The Wolf

September 18th, 2008 joel

Shannon Solo, widely regarded as the King of All Erie Media, for his multiplicity of talents in radio, television, theatre, music, and film, has been released from the morning show of WTWF (93.9 The Wolf). Melissa, the morning sidekick, is also reportedly gone.

Messages from The Press and Tower with either Solo or officials at Connoisseur Media were not immediately returned.

Wednesday morning drive on The Wolf was filled with liners and jingles, which when you mix with the voice tracked midday show and satellite evening block makes for quite the lackluster jukebox.

With the Fall 2008 ratings period beginning today, and WTWF’s sixth-place showing in the Spring book, Solo’s departure Tuesday fuels speculation of a format change. Could All-Beatles, or All-Christmas be next?

UPDATED: Message from David Calabrese, General Manager, Connoisseur Media, Erie, PA – Sept. 18, 2008 @ 9:30 AM ET:

Connoisseur Media has a commitment to our stations and the community. We strive to consistently improve ourselves in every possible area. We wish Shannon and Melissa the very best in their future endeavors but have decided to head in a different direction.

Starting Monday morning, we will welcome a new personality, Aimee “The Outlaw” Clemson to 93.9 the Wolf. Aimee has a long history in Erie Country radio, having worked for many years at Country 98 in mid days and often AM drive with the late “Uncle” Fred Horton. We are excited about this new direction for the station and hope that it demonstrates our commitment to our product and Country radio in Erie, PA.

Sounds like they’ll keep up the fight for the Country listener in Erie, PA.

Posted in Radio Tags: , , , , , , 94 Comments »

  • Recent Comments

    • Chris K: According to Wikipedia, Kristin Kane is at WSFL in Miami. And Topix is usually right about news p... »
    • Just In: Where is Kristin Kane? Is she still employed at WSEE/WICU?... »
    • PR: Surprisingly the info on 12/35 and 24 that gets posted on Topix usually is pretty close to what is h... »
    • Sylvester: Topix is nothing but a cesspool of rumor and gossip. I don't believe anything that comes from that a... »
    • jamison: If they get rid of Julie on the weekdays, I will forever stop watching 12 News This Morning. She is... »
    • Doug: Lisa Weismann still works for WSEE. She was filling in for Stephanie Schelkun on Mornings Live this ... »
    • Scott: Anyone having issues with Time Warner cable and channel 1309 during Cleveland Cavalier games? The H... »
    • Sylvester: When isn't there a shakeup at WSEE? The one thing that station could benefit the most from is the o... »
    • ric: Rachel is now on jet as a field reporter...but not sure how long that is going to last...she has onl... »
    • Just In: Totally agree with Tom Lavery, although I watch Erie, Ytown, and Cleveland news, Ytown looks very pr... »

    • Featured Video

    RSS FeedSubscribe to our RSS feed!
    Follow me on Twitter!Follow me on Twitter!

    • Sponsor

    • Twitter Updates

    • Share

      Add to Technorati Favorites

      News & Media Blogs - BlogCatalog Blog Directory
      See blogs and businesses for USA

    • Polls

      On a scale of one to three, how much do you agree with John Dudley's criticism of Erie native and NFL star Bob Sanders?

      View Results

      Loading ... Loading ...

    • Traffic