Posts Tagged ‘WFGO’

Martin remembered by Warvel

July 29th, 2011 joel

Craig Warvel and Frank Martin - courtesy of Chris Tarbell's JET website

One of the longest and most successful teams in Erie broadcasting history was Frank Martin and Craig Warvel, who were consistently top-rated in the 1980’s and 1990’s. The partnership began on WJET-AM in 1981 and would continue through the jump to FM and the top of the ratings heap in the late 80’s and early 90’s. They finally split upon the purchase of JET and Froggy by NextMedia and Frank went on to finish his career playing the great songs of his AM days on Froggy and Warvel became solidly ensconced as the undisputed morning drive leader on Star 104. Martin and Warvel were as familiar to the families of the 80’s and 90’s and Frank as a JET Good Guy was to the generation of the 60’s and 70’s.

We are grateful that Craig Warvel shared his thoughts and memories about working with Frank Martin, who passed away on Monday at the age of 85 here on Press and Tower.

(more…)

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Frank Martin passes at 85

July 25th, 2011 joel

Craig Warvel and Frank Martin celebrating WJET's 42nd anniversary of broadcasting (courtesy Chris Tarbell's JET website)

Messages of sympathy and support are streaming in from across the country at the news that the most well-known personality in eighty years of Erie radio history, Frank Martin died Monday of lung cancer at the age of 85.

Martin was such a fixture on AM drive radio in Erie that Mayor Lou Tullio gave him the title of “Morning Mayor” and it stuck for decades on end. He is best known as handing wake up duties on WJET 1400, where legend has it that at one point in the 1960′s, over 60% of all radios turned on in the morning were tuned to Frank Martin. He made the transition to FM in the mid-1980′s and eventually went back to playing hits from his hey day on oldies Froggy 94.7.

Frank Martin retired on July 4th, 2003 leaving his mark in the memories of countless Erie radio listeners and everyone in the broadcast community for the past 50 years. Recording of his broadcasts reside in The Paley Center for Media in New York City.

I had the privilege of working with him at WJET-AM in 1983-84, I don’t think I ever shook that star-struck composure as the legend I knew from childhood took over the “air chair” from my little occasional overnight shift. He was a total professional whose audience was top priority.

I’m sure many more folks will weigh in on condolences and memories. Meanwhile we exclaim gratitude for our friend on the other side of the radio, the Morning Mayor Frank Martin.

Posted in Radio Tags: , , , , , 18 Comments »

Former K104 jock Chris Tarbell passes

May 28th, 2011 joel
Chris Tarbell

Chris Tarbell

Waking up to shocking news this morning that Erie native and former radio personality Chris Tarbell has passed away Friday evening in Lynchburg, VA.

Those on Facebook have been following Chris’s situation all week as he suffered from a massive heart attack on Sunday. Dozens of posts praying for his healing and recovery have now turned to words of condolences and memories.

Chris was a classic Erie guy who followed his passions where they would go while making so many friends along the way. From his own bio on erieradio.tripod.com:

Chris started at K104 two weeks after high school graduation, in June of 1988.  His stay lasted until 1990, when he thought the grass was greener, then returned through 1991.

Weekend nights and overnights were his specialty, along with week-day overnights, and fill-in on every day-part at one time or another.  His other claim to fame: portraying Pockets the K104 Kangaroo.

He went on to work for JET Broadcasting until 1995 when took a job with the Millcreek School District doing TV production. He has video and technical work ever since, most recently with the City of Lynchburg, Virginia.

To say that he loved Erie radio does not indicate the passion he had for it. He created the aforementioned Erie Radio history site, paying tribute to the many DJ’s passing through our area. In addition he made websites about the history of Erie television, professional baseball teams, and the Erie Blades.

Funeral arrangements have not been released. Our sincere condolences go to his family and Chris’s so many friends that are feeling this loss.

Posted in Radio Tags: , , , , 10 Comments »

Poll: what type of new radio station would you like for Erie?

August 23rd, 2010 joel

Last time we polled our readers about their Facebook habits. Perhaps the most alarming statistic was that over one-third of our poll respondents don’t do Facebook (I’m just glad they read blogs!). Some 43% said that they only allow real-life current and former friends and acquaintances to be Facebook friends. Nobody said that they had an totally open Facebook friend policy.

This week we will be talking about the latest Erie radio ratings, and in one of my conversations with those who watch the local radio market was the fact that there has been no station format changes in the past few years. The climate has stayed the same since the big BOB launch that replaced the old Froggy 94.

Without stating an opinion that we are due for somebody to flip formats, let’s ask the question about the kind of new station you would like to listen to. The format designations below are from AllAccess.com. If you want to add another, leave a note in the comments and I’ll add it to the poll. Only one vote each please.

If an Erie radio station was considering a format flip, what kind of new station would you like to listen to?

  • Alternative (Linkin Park, Amberlin, Jimmy Eat World) (24%, 18 Votes)
  • I don't know/don't care (14%, 10 Votes)
  • Triple A (Sheryl Crow, Jack Johnson, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers) (12%, 9 Votes)
  • Oldies (11%, 8 Votes)
  • News/Talk/Sports (9%, 7 Votes)
  • Nostalgia/Easy Listening (9%, 7 Votes)
  • Urban/UAC (Chris Brown, Drake, Monica) (9%, 7 Votes)
  • Contemporary Christian/Religious (Chris Tomlin, Newsboys, Mercy Me) (3%, 2 Votes)
  • Hot-Modern-Adult Contemporary (Train, Lady Antebellum, Colbie Caillat) (3%, 2 Votes)
  • Top 40/Rhythmic-Crossover (Usher, Enrique Iglesias, B.O.B.) (1%, 1 Votes)
  • Top 40/Mainstream (Eminem, Katy Perry, Adam Lambert) (1%, 1 Votes)
  • Rock (Ozzy Osborne, Alice In Chains, Godsmack) (1%, 1 Votes)
  • Country (Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts, Kenny Chesney) (1%, 1 Votes)
  • Jazz (2%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 74

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Posted in Polls Tags: , , , , , , 34 Comments »

Poll: Who will survive until 2020?

December 28th, 2009 joel

P&T readers tend to have a love/hate relationship with radio stations that offer the all-Christmas formats during the holidays. In our poll, the same percentage said that they were more likely as said “less likely” to go to a “Holly, Jolly”-formatted station.

As I said yesterday, the “aughts” has been a tumultuous decade for media, even locally. Remember it was nearly  ten years ago when Myron Jones sold Jet-FM and Froggy to Next Media, ending local control. And then we truly became a one-newspaper-town in September 2000, as the long and painful process of merging the Morning News and Erie Daily Times came to fruition. Of course, P&T has covered extensively the merger of the WICU and WSEE newsrooms this past June.

Even with all that change, we have not seen a media outlet go dark since the Daily Times stopped landing on our stoop in the afternoon sun. Since World War II, that’s the only major media stream to stop cold: every licensed radio and television station continues to operate with FCC authority, and the Times Publishing  Co. still delivers seven days a week.

So my question to you is, will that be the case in the next ten years? Will we actually lose media streams, or will they morph to an online presence and dump their transmitters or presses? Honestly, the question makes me shiver, but it is worth the ask.

On a scale from 1 to 5, will the current traditional Erie media streams (newspaper, TV, radio) exist in ten years?

  • 2 - It's not likely (49%, 21 Votes)
  • 4 - I think so (19%, 8 Votes)
  • 1 - Not a chance (16%, 7 Votes)
  • 3 - I'm not sure (12%, 5 Votes)
  • 5 - Absolutely (4%, 2 Votes)

Total Voters: 43

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Posted in Polls Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment »

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    Press and Tower is a web community for Erie Pennsylvania's producers and consumers of newspapers, radio and television stations, and new media outlets. We connect, celebrate, complain, and communicate about all aspects of media.

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