Posts Tagged ‘WJET’

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.

Deep Background for February 14-20, 2010

Your media checklist:

  • check out the new anchor team at 11:00 on WSEE
  • follow the play-by-play of Gannon University’s undefeated woman’s basketball team on WJET-AM
  • enjoy the amazing images from the Vancouver Winter Olympics, including the incredible super slo-mo
  • scan the want ads in the Erie Times-News for the non-existent new media jobs
  • leave a comment at Press and Tower

Remember you can also e-mail me or tweet @pressandtower.

Embrace the chaos!

Poll: Who will survive until 2020?

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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Twas the night before Christmas, 1983

Editor’s note: I was in the checkout line at Tops Tuesday and the cashier and the fellow in front of me were reminiscing about what they were doing on Christmas Eve…not last year or even recently, but in 1983, the year the Christmas blizzard came to town.

That’s how indelible that particular Christmas is in the memories of the people of Erie. So I bring you my classic remembrance, original posted on my Radio Free JoJo blog in 2007.

WJET 1400 Stereo

WJET 1400 Stereo

During Tom Atkins weather forecast last night on Jet TV, he had a trivia question about which Christmas had 20″ of snow and wind chills of 40-50 below. “Of course,” I told my wife, “it was the Christmas of 1983.”
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WICU wants your memories for anniversary show on Dec. 26th

The nostalgic among us media types are getting excited for the WICU 60th Anniversary show, which is scheduled for Saturday, December 26th at 7:00 PM.

Another pic from the WICU12 archives. Tune in to the WICU 60t... on Twitpic

WICU Weekends: 1983

There are lots of different reasons why a show like this might be highly anticipated, so I’ll share mine: the people…like this crew.

From left, Harry Hairston, Evan Lovett, Steve Bohen, and Paul Wagner. This was the exact weekend team when I was interning at Ch. 12 in the Fall  of 1983. Each Saturday and Sunday I wrote news copy, and checked the wire and went out on stories with the camera crews and fully caught the broadcasting bug.

WICU and NBC were unstoppable back then, with the network exchanging its former dismal ratings performance for nights full of Must-See TV, especially Thursdays with Cosby, Family Ties, Cheers, Night Court, and Hill Street Blues the year after graduation. Meanwhile, Ch. 12 being the only VHF as well as the oldest  television station in the market began the 1980’s with same strength and power as it did in the 1970’s, 60’s, and 50’s.

Things began to tighten up ratings wise as the 1980’s continued and personnel changes ensued with the eventual toppling of the 12 empire from its #1 perch by WJET.

No matter what, however, they’ve always had great people and the station will celebrate their contributions for the anniversary celebration. Get some previews of the show by clicking on my original 60th anniversary post. Great pictures like the one above are available on WICU’s TwitPic feed.

The station wants to hear from you, so they’ve  set up a new blog to take your “I Remember” comments. Go to: wicu12.wordpress.com where you will also see more nostalgia.

Poll: are you listening to all-Christmas radio?

If the Press and Tower poll is any indication, Erie’s Clara Ward story on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition which aired on WJET/ABC last night got a huge share in the Erie DMA. Our poll had 7 of 10 of respondents definitely or possibly watching the two-hour tear-jerking special.

Both WXKC/Classy 100 and WCTL 106.3 have exchanged their regular music  rotations for all-Christmas since at least Black Friday. I personally love it…but what about you?

Are you more or less likely to listen to an all-Christmas radio station?

  • Definately more likely (39%, 11 Votes)
  • Less likely for sure (39%, 11 Votes)
  • About the same (22%, 6 Votes)

Total Voters: 28

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Deep Background for December 13-19, 2009

This is it! The big night for the generosity of the people of Erie, Pennsylvania to be showcased for two hours on national television is here!

Erie’s Clara Ward and her new home will be shown in a two-hour special edition of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition tonight (Sunday) at 8:00 on ABC. Locally, WJET will air a “Making of Extreme Makeover” one-hour show preceding the network at 7:00 PM.

We’ve waited almost six months for this moment…and it’s here. Lets talk about it. Leave a comment in the box below this post, or e-mail joel@nataliemedia.com or tweet @pressandtower.

Embrace the “Move That Bus!!” chaos!