Posts Tagged ‘WERG’

Erie mainstream media shines spotlight on pirate radio operator

Now that the FCC has identified Marshall Jones as operating a radio station without a license, he is telling his story to Erie’s mainstream media.

Last night on WJET/WFXP, John Treanor reported a package on Jones where they showed that he continues to operate the station with a computer, some microphones and a transmitter connected to a small mast at the top of a building in Erie’s Little Italy neighborhood. Despite the possiblity of major penalties, Treanor reports that Jones is determined to continue with 90.1 The Movement:

But Jones, a former Super Soul Saturday DJ, tells us he can’t stop – if he’s not on air, a whole genre would disappear in the city.

“The question always remained, why don’t we have this 24 hours a day, what do we have to do to do it and basically I went ahead and said let’s see what happens, you know what I mean,” says Jones…

…Jones is staying on air as long as he can before getting fined – his dream is to make the movement legal.

“I have to I have to go forward and see what it is that has to be done to make this happen,” Jones says.

This morning (Thursday), David Bruce continues his reporting on the pirate radio stations in the Times-News, complete with pictures of Jones’s operation. Bruce describes the chain of events leading to the sign-on:

A club disc jockey and former announcer at Gannon University’s WERG-FM, Jones said that he started broadcasting in October because there wasn’t enough urban music being played in Erie.
“Blacks, whites, Hispanics all had a major concern about the type of music played in Erie 24/7,” Jones said. “It was my mission to get this station up and running.”
Jones said that he started broadcasting at the low-frequency limits, then increased power.
“The response from people was so strong that I just turned it up,” Jones said. “Then someone ratted me out to the FCC.”
One problem was that Jones’ signal was intruding on the signals of other, licensed, radio stations, said A.J. Miceli, who oversees WERG as Gannon University’s chairman of theater, communications and fine arts.
What’s a little frightening to me is that the FCC doesn’t need any more incentive to fine these guys; once they find a unlicensed station and cite it, the breaking of Federal law has already occurred. If you happen to have  a kindly Enforcement Agent who will write you a warning first, it’s wise to take that as a blessing and not push the issue. We’ll keep watching this unfold.

Press and Tower Podcast-Jan. 13, 2010

A.J. Miceli in the WERG Audio Production Studio

The significance of the tectonic change in the media landscape locally and nationally in the last decade has not been lost on AJ Miceli.

The chair of the Comm Arts department at Gannon University sounds off on the toll taken and opportunity embedded in the state of media today after such a period of change that we find ourselves in.  In our podcast, we discussed a broad range of topics, hopefully with a firm grasp of the tough reality that media organizations find themselves in. Thanks to AJ for taking the time with me and thanks to you for listening.

Download The Press and Tower Podcast for Jan. 13, 2010 or listen below.

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Poll: will you participate in a media fundraiser?

We have our winner from our two-week long poll of the most listened to radio morning shows by our Press and Tower readers. It’s WQLN and Morning Edition, as 12% of our poll respondents said that they listened to most in the past week. Runners up included WERG, WXKC, and WJET all with 9% of the votes cast.

This is the time for bell ringing, non-perishable food item gathering, coat collecting, and turkey-dropping. The Erie media gets involved with helping our fellow man during the holidays, and we want to know if you will be getting into the spirit too.

Will you be participating in a media fundraiser during the holidays?

  • No (64%, 14 Votes)
  • Yes (27%, 6 Votes)
  • Maybe (9%, 2 Votes)

Total Voters: 22

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Radio passages: Cervi, Twomey mourned, Kasem retires

Over the past few weeks the radio community both locally and nationally has seen more losses.

The founder of WVCC, now WMVL/Linesville-Meadville, Art Cervi passed away on Sunday, June 14th at the Soldiers and Sailors Home in Erie. He was 89. According to the obituary in the Meadville Tribune, Cervi was a World War II veteran who went to work at Westinghouse in Pittsburgh after the war. It wasn’t until he was 50 years old when he went after his dream and began WVCC after receiving notoriety as a DJ of big band and pop music first in Pittsburgh then throughout the Meadville area. He operated WVCC for 33 years, selling it to Joe Vilkie in 2003. I remember Art as a very kind and generous gentleman who was in his element out in the public, holding court on “radio row” every year at the Crawford County Fair.
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RIP: Radio & Records last issue Friday

Radio & RecordsMy addiction to the trade newspaper Radio & Records began at age 17. 29 years later, it’s over.

Nielsen Media announced that the last issue of R&R will be Friday’s, and the radioandrecords.com website has already been taken down.

My first exposure was those many years ago in the lounge area on the second floor of the old Gannon Theatre, where outside of the faculty offices, you could do some last minute homework, get your WERG or theatre mail, pontificate on the latest move in Erie media (had to start somewhere!), and read R&R.

I did a lot of reading R&R.
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Guest post: Are radio personalities valued?

Chet LaPrice

Editor’s Note: Chet LaPrice is one of those guys who eats, sleeps, and breathes radio. Chet is the Operations Manager of 90.5 WERG radio at Gannon University, one of the few non-NPR college stations that has a solid measured listening audience, where he and his students have put together a very tasty alternative rock station. Chet is a broadcast veteran, having worked at several local stations over the past twenty years, including WLKK, K-104, Planet Radio 93-9, and for ten years at Country 98 WXTA: where he was Music Director and hosted the midday show. Today he asks a question about the value radio broadcasters place on their on-air talent.

I am looking for feedback from radio talent as to how they feel they are treated by their employers and companies. There are so many external forces that we have no control over (economy, new media competition, etc.), but is there more we could be doing from WITHIN the industry to better train, hone, and nurture the talented people who make our product compelling and interesting to listen to? The following link takes you to a quick 10-question survey that tries to gauge how well our industry is treating those who actually create and manage the content we provide. If you currently work in radio or have ever done so full time, I would appreciate some honest feedback.

Please know in advance that your answers are tabulated anonymously and I don’t even ask which broadcast company you work for. This is strictly for academic purposes.

SURVEY LINK: ARE YOU VALUED AS A TALENTED BROADCASTER?

Who are Erie’s black bloggers?

For the past few weeks I have been on a quest to educate myself on the acceptance and participation in the new media by Erie’s minority community. Sorry to say, I have not been very successful in getting information on how connected African-American, Hispanic and other ethnic minority members are to the various outlets of new media.

Let me preface in saying that it seems like we have at least adequate participation in the mainstream media by minorities. In addition to newspaper and television reporters and production staffs, you can hear minority voices on community access television and on the radio. In fact 90.5 WERG does a great service to our community in providing media balance through the highly regarded Super Soul Weekend programming, as well as the Sunday ethnic shows.
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