Posts Tagged ‘WFXP’

Erie mainstream media shines spotlight on pirate radio operator

February 18th, 2010 joel

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.
Posted in Radio Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , 7 Comments »

WFXP begins prime-time hour newscast

January 18th, 2010 joel

24

With the new season of “24″ as a powerful lead-in, WFXP/Fox 66 begins Erie’s first hour-long prime-time newscast tonight at 10:00 PM.

Promos running Sunday night promised a greater and different approach to news, weather and sports for the 60-minute strip, which is slated to run 7 days a week. The prime-time news product should prove to be a powerful competitor to the current broadcast schedule. It also illuminates the reality of the cost of syndicated programming compared to repackaging local news.

What would make this move even more interesting is if WFXP put on a hip young anchor to match the prevailing network audience. I love Sean & Selina…but maybe a Jeremy Beecher-type would keep the high 18-35 year-old lead in.

Just my take.

Posted in Television Tags: , , , , , 3 Comments »

Raychel Vendetti returns to Erie TV

December 9th, 2009 joel
Raychel Vendetti

Raychel Vendetti

Just in time for holiday vacation relief comes news of the return to Erie television of former WSEE morning anchor/producer Raychel Vendetti. You’ll remember that Raychel along with Jennifer Mobilia was a causality on the on-air talent side of the merger of the Lilly Broadcasting newsrooms of WSEE and WICU back in June 2009.

This time, Raychel will have to take the long route up Peach Street to the studios of WJET/WFXP, where she says she’ll be “very part-time.”

The truth is I was contacted by Lou Baxter and asked if I would be interested in joining their crew as a part time reporter. Its on a very occasional basis – like Brian Sheridan. I have agreed and will work when they need me. I am excited to be back in the industry part time while I continue to develop the media production company my partner and I started after WSEE’s layoff.

That new venture, the LINEAR_ production house seems to be keeping her busy, but it will be great to see the spunky McDowell and Penn State-Behrend grad back on the beat in this town that she so loves.

Posted in Television Tags: , , , , , , , , , , 11 Comments »

No Fox 66 for most of ‘Idol’ finale

May 20th, 2009 joel

SINCE WE ARE TALKING OFF-AIR STATIONS: Just a reminder that WQLN-TV & FM will be off the air for about six hours today beginning at 8:00 AM while they install a transfer switch for their emergency generator system. WQLN is the lead station for the area’s Emergency Alert System.

YourErie.com is reporting that the digital transmitter for WFXP finally came back online just minutes before the winner was announced for the 2009 American Idol season, the nation’s perennial ratings leader. If over-the-air and distant cable viewers were keeping an eye on when the station came back online, they would have seen the announcement of Kris Allen as the new American Idol.

Here’s the release from YourErie.com, posted at 10:11 Wednesday evening:

The transmitter for WFXP Fox 66 went down just before 8 pm Wednesday, May 20th. The transmitter was back up and running just before 10 pm. The problem was an electrical issue that was through no fault of station employees or management and caused through forces beyond our control. We do appreciate your patience as Fox 66 engineers worked endlessly to identify the problem with the transmitter.

Time Warner Cable customers were able to continually receive the Fox 66 signal due to a fiber link that directly connects the station signal with Time Warner.

Viewers who receive the signal through other ways were without service.

In order to rebroadcast the season finale of American Idol, WFXP would have to receive permission from Fox Network.

If permission is granted and WFXP rebroadcasts the show, you will be notified ahead of time on YourErie.com, WJET Action News 24, and on WFXP Fox 66.

You can just feel the stress the management and engineers were navigating as they were down during the most important hours (except for the Super Bowl) of their broadcast year.

Editors’ note: much thanks to Dan Rapela, watching our back from Metro D.C., for the tweet alert while I was switching between the Cavs/Magic on TNT and Idol on Fox.

Posted in Radio, Television Tags: , , , , , , 1 Comment »

Poll: How well has Obama used the media?

May 4th, 2009 joel

Last week’s poll generated the greatest response since we started the blog. We asked, “Who is the most influential person in Erie media?” and I must admit the results were surprising with Mike Richwalsky of ErieBlogs.com getting 26% of the votes, followed by WJET/WFXP anchor Sean Lafferty with 18%. Brian Lilly was third with 12%, with a tie for fourth with ETN’s Ed Palattella and his boss Pat Howard at 11%. Certainly trying to measure influence is an inexact science, but it was interesting to see that reporters and anchors outperformed the managers who write their checks.

Last week we had the countdown to and then the celebration of the 100th day of President Obama’s administration. Considering the challenging times in which we live, the President’s poll numbers continue to be significantly strong. Perhaps part of that standing comes from his strong use of the media.

What do you think?

From a scale from 1 to 5, how well is President Obama using the media to advance his goals?

  • 5: The Obama administration is playing the media like a virtuoso, in near total control of its message and media coverage (56%, 15 Votes)
  • 4: the administration is doing a good job in controlling its message and managing positive media coverage (33%, 9 Votes)
  • 3: the President’s control of his message is about average for young administrations (7%, 2 Votes)
  • 1: the administration is managing the media poorly (4%, 1 Votes)
  • 2: the President is having some trouble getting his message out (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 27

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Posted in Polls Tags: , , , , , , , , , , No Comments »

Poll: who is most influential person in Erie media?

April 27th, 2009 joel

Last week, during the intense heat of the Erie cop YouTube controversy, we asked if there was any circumstance where you felt that the video should be taken down. 80% of respondents said, no, that it was a matter of free speech, while only 14 % said that there could be a circumstance that would precipitate its removal.

However, commenter max perhaps had the best point, that is sometimes missed by folks like elder law enforcement and old-media holdouts, that the viral nature of social media like YouTube made the whole question moot. One a post is out there, it is duplicated, modified, and distributed in such a way that it makes it impossible to track.

This week I’m throwing caution to the wind and asking a bodacious question: Who is the most influential person in Erie media. I’m including “the usual suspects,” but if you have other people you would like to nominate, just throw them in the comments or tweet @pressandtower and I’ll update the poll.

Because of that fact, I’m going to open up the voting so that you can answer more than once, in case a name appears later in the week that you wish to vote for. However, the polling software limits you to three votes total.

Who is the most influential person in Erie media?

  • Mike Richwalsky (26%, 31 Votes)
  • Sean Lafferty (18%, 22 Votes)
  • Brian Lilly (12%, 14 Votes)
  • Ed Palattella (11%, 13 Votes)
  • Pat Howard (11%, 13 Votes)
  • Lou Baxter (9%, 11 Votes)
  • Scott Bremner (7%, 9 Votes)
  • Julie Eisenman (5%, 6 Votes)
  • Peter Panepento (3%, 4 Votes)
  • Kevin Flowers (3%, 4 Votes)
  • Kevin MacDowell (2%, 2 Votes)
  • Rosanne Cheeseman (1%, 1 Votes)
  • Nancy Dymond (1%, 1 Votes)
  • Jim Riley (1%, 1 Votes)
  • Rick Sayers (1%, 1 Votes)
  • Tim Dunst (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 121

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Posted in Polls Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , 14 Comments »

JET-TV’s analog signal shuts down tonight

April 17th, 2009 joel

As we reported at the beginning of the month, WJET-TV will be the third Erie full-power television station to turn off their analog transmitter as part of the digital TV transition. The latest from YourErie.com:

WJET will cease analog transmission at 11:35 pm on Friday April 17th. During the four day transition to full power digital there are cable systems that will not be able to carry WJET due to their inability to pick up the signal. Those systems include Atlantic Broadband, Clarendon Cable, and Cable Communication Services, all in Warren County. Viewers who rely on an over the air signal will not be able see the station until early next week when the transition is finished, and you have successfully installed your digital converter box. During the WJET transition period the FOX66 signal will be interrupted at certain times for the safety of construction crews working on the tower.

The original timeline had WJET’s full-power digital signal up by Wednesday, and that WFXP would shut down their analog stream on Wednesday night right after the 10:00 news.

As always, whether you have a converter box or a digital television, the three most important things to do are, “rescan, rescan, and rescan.”

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