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 :// Premiere Radio Networks checks into "The Keith Sweat Hotel"  | Wednesday, February 28, 2007 Keith Sweat, the legendary R&B singer and music producer, has broadened his musical empire with the launch of a new radio show – The Keith Sweat Hotel. Debuting today, the program airs Sunday through Friday from 7 p.m. – midnight in all time zones. It launches on 12 stations including WMXD-Detroit, WMIB-Miami and WKUS-Norfolk. (read more - Premiere Radio Networks)
Talks may lead to temporary cutoff in Richmond tonight | Wednesday, February 28, 2007Comcast residents in Richmond could temporarily lose Fox access. Richmond-area Comcast subscribers could temporarily lose access to "American Idol," NASCAR races and other Fox programming after midnight (Editor's Note: The actual time is 2 a.m.). Comcast Corp. and Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc., which owns Fox Richmond, are negotiating a deal that would require the nation's largest cable company to pay for use of Sinclair's TV stations. (read more - Richmond Times-Dispatch)
| Wednesday, February 28, 2007  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... For the fifth consecutive year, the East Carolina Radio Group will provide the most in-depth coverage of the ACC Tournament of any electronic media outlet in northeastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia.Mix 96’s Sam Walker will be live in Tampa, Florida with “Behind the Bench at the ACC Tournament,” featuring exclusive interviews and insight into the college basketball’s premiere conference tournament. (read more - VARTV Press Room)
| Monday, February 26, 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... You've seen her weekday mornings giving the traffic report on WVEC-Channel 13. Beginning with the March issue of Lifestyles: Voice of the Boomer Generation in Hampton Roads, Adams, age 48, will appear each month as a special guest columnist. Adams will primarily focus on communications issues facing women ages 42 to 65. (read more - VARTV Press Room)
| Monday, February 26, 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... On Monday February 26, 2007 Rich Roth and Larry Richmond announced that their radio show “The Sportsline” will now also be carried in Harrisonburg, VA on ESPN Radio 1360 WHBG.“The Sportsline” has been in regional syndication since September 5, 2006. The Show originates from its flagship station, 105.9 WLNI-FM in Lynchburg, Monday-Friday from 6-8 pm. Other stations currently carrying the show include, ESPN Radio 1440 WKLV in Blackstone, Virginia and FOX Sports Radio 1190 WBDY and 1240 WKEZ in Bluefield, Virginia. (read more - VARTV Press Room)
 Commonwealth Public Broadcasting Corporation's new WCNV/89.1 Heathsville/Northern Neck is now on the air. The station is a satellite of Classical/Jazz/Public Affairs WCVE/88.9 Richmond..... (2/25/2007)
| Sunday, February 25, 2007Adios, Jim. It’s off to Bowling Green in his native Kentucky for Jim Lawrence, who was cut loose by WAVY in January after 16 years on the job, mostly as the weekend meteorologist. Lawrence, he of the Mr. Nice Guy persona, this week takes over as the weather reporter on NBC affiliate WNKY in Bowling Green as well as its sister station on the digital tier, which carries CBS programming. (read more - The Virginian-Pilot)
Entercom Modern AC "94.9 The Point" WPTE Virginia Beach has been testing their HD Radio signal. It was on yesterday but the blending from the analog signal to digital signal being way off. This morning... nothing..... (2/23/2007)
| Friday, February 23, 2007 For the first two years of their existence, the Washington Nationals have been something of a rumor in Hampton Roads. It's easy to see why. Unlike the Baltimore Orioles, the Nats weren't on this area's primary cable-TV outlet.That's all about to change. (read more - The Virginian-Pilot)
| Thursday, February 22, 2007 ION Media Networks today announced the launch of ION Life, the country’s first broadcast television network dedicated to content promoting active lifestyles, personal growth and wellness. ION Life debuted on Monday, February 19th as a 24/7 digital broadcast network on ION Media Networks’ television station group. In addition, ION Life presents a weekly one-hour branded program on the company’s flagship network, ION Television, reaching over 93 million homes. (read more - Ion Media Networks)Editor's note: Ion Life has not launched on Ion O&O WPXV-DT/49 Norfolk.
| Wednesday, February 21, 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... Bill Cahill, Regional Vice President of Programming for Clear Channel, announced that 1140 WRVA Assistant Program Director Michael Clifford has been promoted to Program Director for Sports Radio 910. Clifford will continue in his current capacity for 1140 WRVA, including Producer for The Mac Watson Show from 3-6 PM. (read more - VARTV Press Room)
| Wednesday, February 21, 2007A Cox Hampton Roads source said today that the regional sports network, MASN (Mid-Atlantic Sports Network), will be launched on its system Wednesday, March 28 on Channel 39. MASN will carry all the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals 300+ baseball games LIVE. The Cox source went on to say, "During the season, if both teams are playing at the same time, one game will broadcast on MASN, Channel 39, and the other game will broadcast on (local origination) Cox 11, Channel 11." Cox customers will be able watch the Nationals/Orioles exhibition game LIVE on MASN from Norfolk's Harbor Park. With this announcement, Cox shuffles and realigns some channels. MASN on channel 39 will become part of the Expanded Service package. Religious programmer INSP gets bumped from channel 39 to the back of the Faith & Values digital tier on channel 263. Superstation WGN will move from 72 to channel 97. Jewelry TV which just recently moved to 97 gets pushed up to channel 51 where it moves Cinemax up to channel 72. Jewelry TV and Cox Media infomercial programming will share channel 51.
LIN TV's WAVY (10/NBC) Portsmouth continues to tell its news viewers to watch a competing network's programming in primetime; FOX's "American Idol" on WAVY's sister station "FOX43" WVBT Virginia Beach..... (2/21/2007)
| Wednesday, February 21, 2007 GREAT NEWS! Our upgrades are 100% complete! Cox is proud to announce that we have just completed our second speed increase in 15 months at no additional cost to you! (read more - Cox Hampton Roads)
| Tuesday, February 20, 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... 97.3 The Eagle (WGH-FM) continues their support for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital® by arranging to have Gretchen Wilson perform an exclusive acoustic performance on Thursday, February 22nd at Have A Nice Day Café in the Waterside Festival Marketplace in Downtown Norfolk.Gretchen Wilson will select tracks from her albums "Here For The Party" and "All Jacked Up" to perform in an intimate audience not to exceed 600 people. (read more - VARTV Press Room)
| Tuesday, February 20, 2007The Virginian-Pilot entertainment reporter Larry Bonko says that Katy Watkins Payne recently passed away in Dallas. It was Katy and her husband Charles Payne that launched AM1600 (now WCPK) Chesapeake in 1967 and also launched WNRN/94.9 Virginia Beach in 1984. Payne, who was 82 years-old, died after battling a long illness. Bonko went on to say that Charlie Payne is doing "well after open-heart surgery. He’s been elected to the Texas Radio Hall of Fame."
Relative newcomers' merged operation targets established NBC29 | Monday, February 19, 2007Harold Wright, the longtime chief of Charlottesville’s NBC television affiliate, dropped by the station’s bustling newsroom on a recent afternoon to check up on the day’s top stories. “What have we got today,” Wright asked the desk editor, surrounded by squawking police scanners and reporters speaking hurriedly into telephones. (read more - Charlottesville Daily Progress)
| Monday, February 19, 2007New York Times (to be Local TV, LLC) owned "Your NewsChannel 3" WTKR (CBS) Norfolk morning traffic reporter Jennifer Cooper turned in her resignation Friday (2/16). We hear she exited the station to be back home with family for personal reasons. Cooper was with Channel 3 just under two years... WTKR has a new Interim News Director, Nancy Nydam. She replaces ND Jeff Parsons who accepted a job with Internet Broadcasting, a Minneapolis MN-based company that produces content for 70+ TV station websites. Nydam has made stops in Boston, Atlanta and San Francisco. One of Nydam's first acts of business? She axes "LIVE in the (community) Mobile Newsroom..." Reporters are now simply saying "LIVE."
Next, full council will consider company's pact with Richmond | Saturday, February 17, 2007 A City Council committee voted unanimously last night to let the state's largest telephone company bring cable TV competition to most homes in Richmond.It approved a 15-year franchise agreement negotiated with Verizon Virginia by the city. The agreement will go before the full council Feb. 26. (read more - Richmond Times-Dispatch)
| Thursday, February 15, 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... Red Zebra Broadcasting announces that starting Monday February 19th “SportsPhone with Big Al” returns to the air in Richmond mornings from 8am-10am.Jeff Wyatt, Chief Programming Officer for Red Zebra revealed, “We reviewed the feedback and messages from Richmond listeners for the last few months. One day in meetings we heard ourselves saying ‘Man they really miss this guy’! So we discussed with Al and starting Monday Richmond’s got a new and even improved SportsPhone with Big Al every morning starting at 8.” (read more - VARTV Press Room)
| Thursday, February 15, 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... On February 20, WRIR Richmond Independent Radio FM 97.3, is pausing the music to broadcast the voices of the homeless. For 15 continuous hours, WRIR will participate in a nationwide radio project, the 10th Annual Homelessness Marathon, to call attention to the crisis of homelessness affecting Richmond and our nation.“The Homelessness Marathon is a consciousness-raising event and we’re very pleased to have public affairs programming that enables this type of proactive radio content. (read more - VARTV Press Room)
| Wednesday, February 14, 2007Eric Mychaels, who served as Director of Urban Operations for Clear Channel Norfolk (WOWI/102.9, WKUS/105.3), has exited. He also was the programmed Urban "103Jamz" WOWI/102.9. Mychaels joined the CC Norfolk cluster three years ago. No replacement has been announced.
| Wednesday, February 14, 2007The regional sports network, MASN (Mid-Atlantic Sports Network), will be launched by April 1 on Comcast Richmond, we've learned. The net will be available on channels 43 and 19, one being an overflow channel. It appears that Richmond Comcast customers will miss the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles spring training this year but will be able to view all regular season games. MASN is the first regional sports network in the mid-Atlantic area owned by two Major League Baseball franchises -- the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles.
| Monday, February 12, 200797-3 The Eagle/WGH-FM presents the 16th Annual St. Valentine's Day "Mass Wedding", Wednesday, February 14, 2007 at Grand Affairs in Virginia Beach. 97-3 The Eagle, Morning show personalities Jimmy Ray Dunn and Jennifer Lewis, selected couples on the air that requested to get married for Valentine's Day. All in all, fifty-five couples have agreed to say "I Do" during the live broadcast on Valentine's Day.The ceremony will be performed by Harold McGee, Marriage Commissioner for the City of Virginia Beach. (read more - VARTV Press Room)
| Monday, February 12, 2007Live radio and webcast of the VHSL Basketball Tournament needs sponsor/sponsors. Valley Sports Radio will provided the play-by-play of all 18 games of the tourney in Richmond March 7-10. It will be available online at www.valleysportsradio.com and to local radio stations. If you have a client/clients who would sponsor this popular event, resulting in a nice commission for you, please contact Craig Orndorff at 540-459-5690 or sportsbroadcast@hotmail.com.
| Monday, February 12, 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... Red Zebra Broadcasting announces the debut of “The Bram Weinstein Show” on five of it’s Mid-Atlantic regional stations.The Bram Weinstein Show” takes the noon to 1 slot that has been occupied by “Redskins Lunch” for the NFL Season. Red Zebra VP of Operations Tod Castleberry had this to say about the new show, “The Bram Weinstein Show is a fresh, energetic, and entertaining look at the world of sports. (read more - VARTV Press Room)
| Monday, February 12, 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... Red Zebra Broadcasting has named Buck Albritton as Director of Sales and acting Station Manager for ESPN Radio 950 AM effective February 2007.Buck had this to say about the opportunity, “I’m very pleased to join the growing Red Zebra organization helping to bring Richmond’s ESPN 950 into the limelight of the business community. (read more - VARTV Press Room)
| Monday, February 12, 2007Ashley Roberts has joined Media General's "NewsChannel 10" WSLS (NBC) Roanoke as a reporter. Roberts comes to Channel 10 after two years at another Media General station, "News 13" WMBB (ABC) Panama City FL... Also, WSLS has announced that Ros Runner will be its new chief meteorologist. He currently predicts weather on weekends for Raycom's "CBS6" WTVR Richmond. Runner has been with Channel 6 since August 2002, freelancing for them until becoming full-time with the station just over two years ago. Runner, replaces Jamey Singleton, who was fired amid controversy last November. Runner's last day with CBS6 is March 4.
| Friday, February 9, 2007 A local radio talent who couldn't fit any more into his crowded schedule just did. John Castleberry's days got a lot busier two weeks ago with the debut of his talk show, airing 2-4 p.m. weekdays on 102.1 The Game, the area's first FM all-sports radio station. (read more - The Virginian-Pilot)
| Friday, February 9, 2007Tony Mercurio, program director and host of "The Tony Mercurio Show" on (Max Media) ESPN Radio 1310 (WGH), broadcast his 500th ODU Lady Monarch basketball game on Thursday night, February 8, 2007. The Lady Monarchs won at Northeastern 89-75. (read more - VARTV Press Room)
| Friday, February 9, 2007WTVR's Ric Young and Lee Mahaffey will co-anchor WUPV's 10 p.m. newscast, scheduled to debut March 5. The 35-minute "CW News @ 10" -- which will compete with WRLH's hourlong 10 p.m. newscast -- will also feature WTVR meteorologist Mike Goldberg and sports director Lane Casadonte. (read more - Richmond Times-Dispatch)
The Hampton Roads Saga Communications cluster (WNOR/98.7, WAFX/106.9, WJOI/1230) has a rare opening -- this time for Director of Marketing/Promotions. Click "Classified Ads" on the left navigation panel for the complete details.If your station/organization has any positions available (media oriented), get them on VARTV! You would be surprised who's reading..... (2/9/2007)
 | Thursday, February 8, 2007All Lynchburg Hillcats games, regular season and post-season, can be heard live on WKDE 105.5 FM in 2007, as announced by the organization today. In addition, all games will be streamed live over the internet via the team’s online presence, www.lynchburg-hillcats.com. (read more - Lynchburg Hillcats)
Gray Television has announced that it will be launching "TV3 Winchester" on March 5. The announcement was made on tonight's 6 p.m. newscast on WHSV (3/ABC) Harrisonburg..... (2/7/2007)
The FCC grants the translator swap between Positive Alternative Radio (PAR) and Liberty University.PAR gets W273BB (102.5)/Richmond to do 10 watts and will rebroadcast CCM (Christian Contemporary Music) "Virginia's Positive Hits" WJYJ/90.5 Fredericksburg. Liberty gets W244BP (96.7)/Charlottesville to do 10 watts and W268BD (101.5)/Harrisonburg to do 13 watts. Liberty will rebroadcast it's CCM "Victory FM" WRVL/88.3 Lynchburg on both translators..... (2/06/2007)
| Tuesday, February 6, 2007Lynchburg-based Liberty University agrees to buy 20 translators (repeaters), all in Virginia, from Edgewater Broadcasting and Radio Assist Ministry. The price tag is $260,000. Most of the translators aren't even on the air but had plans to rebroadcast various noncommercial religious stations within the state and NE North Carolina.
| Tuesday, February 6, 2007We're hearing that Raycom Media's "CBS6" WTVR Richmond announced that Ric Young and Lee Mahaffey have been named anchors of the "CW Richmond" WUPV (65) Ashland/Richmond new 10 p.m. newscast. Shelby Brown will be replacing Mahaffey's shift as morning anchor of "CBS6: Weekend Morning News."
We're sad to hear that Jeff Armstrong, who was the Sales Manager at WTVZ (FOX33) Norfolk in the late 80s and worked in sales at WGNT-TV, PilotOnline, and most recently at WSKY-TV (4/IND) Manteo, died on January 30th..... (2/5/2007)
The Star Radio Group's WFLS website, WFLS.com, is going through an extreme makeover..... (2/5/2007)
| Sunday, February 4, 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... ReaLife Productions, LLC will offer digital broadcast quality audio for TV, INTERNET, RADIO, and more. Advertising agencies, radio and television stations, internet advertisers and the like can now call on one location for all audio, video, recording and web hosting needs.Budget cuts and lack of training has diminished the quality of commercial messages for media advertisers. (read more - VARTV Press Room) Editor's Note: "ALL AVAILABLE TALENT, PLEASE EMAIL RESUME & :60 DEMO TO REALIFEPRODUCTIONS@COMCAST.NET (imaging demo's welcome, but please send as separate file) WE WILL POST ALL DEMO'S TO THE SITE (under construction)..."
WTVZ returns after almost one month off cable systems in NE NC | Saturday, February 3, 2007Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. announced today that it has entered into a multi-year retransmission consent agreement with Mediacom Communications Corp. The agreement, which expires December 31, 2009, allows Mediacom to carry the analog and digital signals of 24 television stations owned or programmed by Sinclair in 16 markets to approximately 700,000 of Mediacom's subscribers. (read more - Sinclair Broadcast Group)
| Friday, February 2, 2007Mark Rawlinson, middays with Max Media Contemporary Inspirational "Star 94.1" WXEZ Yorktown, was recently awarded the "Champion in Media" Award from Virginia One Church, One Child. The organization's goal is to increase the adoption rates of African-American children. Rawlinson also received the Radio Personality Award from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), started by Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Both groups gave the awards to acknowledge Rawlison's and the station's efforts in community programming.
WRLH included | Friday, February 2, 2007Comcast Corp. said Thursday that its rights to retransmit signals of Baltimore's Fox and CW networks have been extended for another month while the cable provider continues negotiating with Sinclair Broadcasting Group Inc. on a new deal. Comcast and station owner Sinclair, based in Hunt Valley, agreed to extend their current contract through March 1. It was set to expire Monday. (read more - The Baltimore Sun)
Radio listeners mourn loss of "Mic Lord" | Friday, February 2, 2007 Radio personalities at WOWI-FM (102.9), "103 Jamz," paid tribute to their colleague, Shawn Austin, on Friday following his sudden death the day before. Austin went by the radio name, "Mic Lord," and was part of the "Boodah Brothers" morning show team on the hip-hop station. (read more - Daily Press)
| Friday, February 2, 2007Meet WTKR’s new weekend anchor team: Bob Matthews and Stacy Davis. Before being promoted to the anchor desk, they proved themselves to be TV beat reporters as solid as an oak door. (read more - The Virginian-Pilot)
| Friday, February 2, 2007FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... Shawn Austin, known as MIC Lord, a 103 Jamz Radio Personality, died peacefully on February 1, 2007 of natural causes. Shawn Austin was born in Asbury Park, New Jersey but raised from an early age in Suffolk, Virginia. He later attended Hampton University. Shawn dedicated his life to his family, friends and his love of Hip Hop. He was community minded and loved by all who knew him. (read more - VARTV Press Room)
| Thursday, February 1, 2007Bill Cahill, Regional Vice President of Programming for Clear Channel, announced that 1140 WRVA morning show host Jimmy Barrett has been promoted to Program Director for the station. Barrett will continue hosting Richmond’s Morning News from 5:00-9:00AM. Market Manager Ruth Stoutermire says, “Jimmy brings a wealth of experience and a personal passion for WRVA. We are very excited to add Jimmy to our management team.” (read more - VARTV Press Room)
| Thursday, February 1, 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... CapSan Media today announced Shawn Matthews has been hired as morning show host for WFMZ/Hertford, NC (Classic Hits 104-9). He can be heard from 6 to 10am weekday mornings.Mr. Matthews most recently worked with Clear Channel/Raleigh, but he is not entirely new to Outer Banks radio. From 1999 to 2003 he served as the Corporate OM for a group of stations... (read more - VARTV Press Room)
| Thursday, February 1, 2007Shawn Austin, a radio personality known as “Mic Lord” on hip hop station 103 Jamz, died last night, co-workers said. Cause of death was not immediately known. Austin, a New Jersey native who attended high school in Suffolk, was 38. He joined the “Boodah Brothers” morning show in 2004, plucked for his skill as a rapper and his jokes. (read more - The Virginian-Pilot)
Hmmm... Former longtime LIN TV WAVY (10/NBC) meteorologist Jim Lawrence was spotted in the hallways Monday of 613 Woodis Ave. Where's that? The WVEC (13/ABC) studios in Norfolk. Was he there to say he thinks Channel 13's radar is better than Channel 10's? (1/31/2007)
| Wednesday, January 31, 2007A trespassing charge filed by former WSLS (Channel 10) weatherman Jamey Singleton against reporter Denise Eck lasted less than a minute in court Tuesday morning. A judge dismissed the charge after hearing from Roanoke Commonwealth's Attorney Don Caldwell that Singleton could not prove Eck had been warned to stay away from his residence. (read more - The Roanoke Times)
| Tuesday, January 30, 2007 VIRGINIA BEACH, VA * Star 94.1 (WXEZ-FM) launched their 4th Annual Praise and Hope Radiothon to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital® on Thursday, January 25th from Greenbrier Mall in Chesapeake. The event ran from 6:00 AM until 7:00 PM on Thursday and continued from 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM on Friday, February 26th. The annual event raises money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital®... (read more - VARTV Press Room)
| Tuesday, January 30, 2007 Chesapeake-Portsmouth Broadcasting Corp (CPBC) has returned WLES/580 to the air from its new COL (community of license) of Bon Air. The station had been off the air nearly eleven months while the move from Lawrenceville to the Richmond area was made. Even though its now doing 250 watts day and 27 watts night, it's still a large coverage area for the station on the very low end of the AM dial.CPBC has decided to simulcast sister station (Truth Broadcasting's) Christian Talk "830 The Truth" WTRU Kernersville/Greensboro NC on WLES. WLES was doing Oldies before leaving the air early March 2006.
| Tuesday, January 30, 2007Former WRVQ/WHTE/WUMX Programmer, resigned from his sales position with Clear Channel Richmond yesterday. While the future is under wraps waiting formal release... you can bet it's coming soon! "I have learned a lot in my 3+ years selling for Clear Channel Richmond, and my new plans involve utilizing my experience in sales, programming, and promotions... stand by!"
| Tuesday, January 30, 2007FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... 97.3 The Eagle (WGH-FM) kicked-off their 16th Annual Country Cares for St. Jude Kids® Radiothon on Thursday, January 25th from Greenbrier Mall in Chesapeake. The event ran from 6:00 AM until midnight on Thursday and continued from 6:00 AM until 10:00 PM on Friday, January 25th. The annual event raises money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital®, the world's premier center for the research and treatment of cancer and other catastrophic childhood diseases. (read more - VARTV Press Room)
| Tuesday, January 30, 2007EVER WONDER which television station has the most accurate weather forecast? Is it "Your Weather" on News Channel 3, the Super Doppler 10 of WAVY, 13 News' Weather Lab meteorologists or The Weather Channel's "Local on the 8s"? (read more - The Virginian-Pilot)
| Monday, January 29, 2007Max Media Country "97-3 Eagle" WGH Newport News raised a record $354,000 in the station's annual St. Jude Country Cares Radiothon at the end of last week. The 2-day event was held at Greenbrier Mall in Chesapeake and sister Contemporary Inspirational "Star 94.1" WXEZ raised $81,145 in their St. Jude Radio Cares Radiothon.
| Monday, January 29, 2007 In addition to the just announced appointment of Martin Snead as General Manager of Red Zebra's Sports "102.1 The Game" WWHV (soon to be WXTG) Virginia Beach, RZ has retained the former Urban "Hot 102.1" Program Director Parish Brown as Operations Manager/PD for the new station. Chad Gaston continues as the station's Production and Promotions Director with "sales stars" Diana Lanclos and Cassandra Fountain remaining as well. Plans are underway to move the offices of WXTG from Birdneck Rd to downtown Virginia Beach -- Town Center.
| Monday, January 29, 2007FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... Red Zebra Broadcasting announces the Washington Redskins have made the move to the FM dial and the newest station in Hampton Roads THE GAME 102.1FM. In addition to all Redskins games in 2007, THE GAME 102.1FM will carry “The Joe Gibbs Show”, “Redskins Lunch from Redskins Park” and shows featuring current and past Redskins players during the NFL season. (read more - VARTV Press Room)
| Monday, January 29, 2007FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... Red Zebra Broadcasting is proud to announce 23 year broadcast and marketing veteran Martin Snead as General Manager of their newest acquisition WWHV-FM in Virginia Beach. He takes over effective January 29th with the new format that will be announced this week.Most recently, Martin was part of the Paxson Communications/ PAX TV Network start-up in 1998 as VP/GM for WPXV-TV 49 in Norfolk, Virginia Beach. (read more - VARTV Press Room)
| Monday, January 29, 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... Red Zebra Broadcasting announces the debut of a premiere FM Sports Talk station in the Hampton Roads area Monday January 29th.The station brings the excitement and immediacy of national sports talk entertainment to the FM audience from Fox Sports. (read more - VARTV Press Room)
Area sportscaster, John Castleberry, gets daily show | Sunday, January 28, 2007The Washington Redskins radio broadcasting arm, Red Zebra Broadcasting, will launch, during the overnight hours Monday morning, "102.1 The Game, Redskins Radio" with Fox Sports Radio on WWHV/Virginia Beach. Here's the initial line-up on The Game:
| Sunday, January 28, 2007 More FCC happenings around the state:
| Sunday, January 28, 2007Starting (tomorrow), WTKR’s Miss Mary Sunshine, Bianca Martinez, joins the 5 p.m. newscast, which badly needs a boost. Channel 3’s ratings at the dinner hour have been in Nielsen’s basement so long they’re gathering mildew. Arriving with Martinez is a change of format. The 5 p.m. newscast goes interactive. (read more - The Virginian-Pilot)
| Saturday, January 27, 2007 Richmond-based Cavalier Telephone announced yesterday that it plans to begin offering it's IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) service to Hampton Roads residents by February 15. The company's 100% digital TV service has about 1,500 customers in the Richmond area, launched in May 2006. When the service was first announced there, company officials said that Norfolk, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Metro Washington, DC would be available "in the coming months." That hasn't materialized until now.Besides Richmond, Williamsburg is the only other area where Cavalier TV is available. Even though the service does not offer HD channels, it does boost over 150 available TV channels. Cavalier's announcement comes on the heels of Verizon's launch of its all-fiber optic TV service called FiOS earlier this month. Cavalier TV's offerings in Hampton Roads can be found on their website at www.cavtel.com.
| Saturday, January 27, 2007 LIN TV's WAVY (10/NBC) Portsmouth has picked up Virginia-raised meteorologist Cheryl Nelson as the station's fourth on-air weather personality. Nelson replaces longtime "Wavy" meteorologist Jim Lawrence, who's contract was not renewed. Nelson comes to Wavy from State College PA-based AccuWeather.com where she had several duties including weather forecasting online. Before AccuWeather, she was a meteorologist for "NBC3" WSTM and "UPN6" WSTQ Syracuse for two years. Nelson received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Meteorology from the Penn State. She holds the AMS (American Meteorological Society) Seal of Approval, and is a member of the National Weather Association. Even though Nelson is back in Virginia, she will continue to be an active member of the Penn State Alumni Recruitment Team and the Miss America Organization.
| Friday, January 26, 2007"Where possible, our stations and the HD Alliance try to present formats on HD-2 not heard on traditional radio stations. With the return of the Jazz format to Hampton Roads on the main channel of 107.7 WJCD, we felt it was a good time to improve our HD-2 line up. We are also in the process of significantly upgrading the equipment at our sites to improve the sound and dependability of our HD channels. WCDG is being worked on as I write this. Expect to hear an even better result on all stations shortly..."
| Thursday, January 25, 2007 Several FCC happenings around the state:
PAX, then "i" and now Ion TV | Thursday, January 25, 2007 ION Media Networks, Inc. today announced that its flagship television network, reaching over 90 million U.S. homes, will be rebranded to “ION Television”, consistent with the company’s corporate brand identity. This move reflects the energy and vision behind the network’s plans to expand its programming and viewership. The new brand will be introduced to viewers on air beginning Monday, January 29, 2007. (read more - Ion)Editor's Note: Ion has affiliates in Hampton Roads on WPXV/49 Norfolk, in Roanoke on WPXR/38 and Washington on WPXW/66 Manassas.
What's going on at Sinclair Communications' Rhythmic AC "Energy 106-1" WNRJ Poquoson/Norfolk? The station seems to be leaning, heavily, towards Urban. The station's playlist is featuring mostly today's Urban artists and from the past. Stay tuned... (1/24/2007)
| Wednesday, January 24, 2007Yesterday we told you that Clear Channel had shuffled some of their HD2 streams earlier this month but probably no one heard. We were wrong. We received several emails stating indeed the changes were heard. But all is not well in the digital radio world. All the readers stated the Clear Channel HD2 streams have been inconsistent. Both the "The Jazz CLUB" on 107.7-2 and "Classic Soul" on 105.3-2 are not always on the air. There's no HD2 at all on 92.1-2 where "Country Mix" is to be heard. We also stated that WCDG-HD2 (92.1-2) jettisoned Adult Standards "Vegas Gold" but the format could be heard digitally on Saga's "Joy" WJOI-HD (1230). Nope, as of yesterday no HD radio on WJOI.
| Wednesday, January 24, 2007
| Wednesday, January 24, 2007Congrats to Max Media Country "97-3 The Eagle" WGH morning co-host Jennifer Lewis on her new baby girl Annalise, born yesterday at 3:24. "Anna" and mom are doing well...
| Tuesday, January 23, 2007... that no one heard. Earlier this month, Clear Channel Norfolk reshuffled their HD2 streams. The Smooth Jazz format that was heard on WKUS-HD2 (105.3-2) was moved to WJCD/107.7. In its place, Classic R&B "Classic Soul" is now on 105.3-2. WJCD-HD2 (107.7-2) was doing Country Variety "Country Mix" but is now doing Traditional Jazz "The Jazz CLUB." WCDG-HD2 (92.1-2) jettisons Adult Standards "Vegas Gold" in favor of "Country Mix" dropped by WJCD. Note that Adult Standards can still be heard digitally on Saga's "Joy" WJOI-HD (1230). The "Studio 1200" Hip-Hop Mixes stream on WOWI-HD2 (102.9-2) remains.
| Tuesday, January 23, 2007Meteorologist Jim Lawrence is no longer part of the weather team at WAVY-TV, Channel 10. Lawrence's last day was Sunday after his contract was not renewed. Lawrence joined WAVY in 1991 and worked primarily as weekend weathercaster. Before that, he was a local radio personality on WTAR. (read more - Daily Press)
| Tuesday, January 23, 2007Big news for Entercom Norfolk... The Hampton Roads radio ratings will be released a bit later today, but we've learned that The Steve Harvey Morning Show on Urban AC "95-7 R&B" WVKL takes the 25-54 "money" demo in the mornings, easily beating The Tom Joyner Morning Show heard on cross-town Urban AC "105-3 Kiss FM" WKUS. Entercom dumped it's local morning show with Busta Brown for Steve Harvey at the beginning of September 2006 and it's paying off big-time for them. More to come later...
| Monday, January 22, 2007Sinclair Broadcast Group and Time Warner Cable late Friday signed a three-year retransmission consent agreement effecting about 1 million of Time Warner’s subscribers in Maine, Ohio, New York. Terms were not disclosed. (read more - MediaWeek.com) Editor's Note: TWC has the former Adelphia system in Pasquotank County (Elizabeth City ) in NE NC...
Congratulations to former Music Director/midday personality Brion O'Brion (Entercom Urban AC "95-7 R&B" WVKL Norfolk) on his new baby girl Brielle Natalia-Janae. Brielle Natalia-Janae was born Thursday, January 18 at 10:30 a.m. at Christi's St. Joseph Medical Center in Wichita KS. She weighed in at 6lbs, 15 oz and was 19 1/4 inches long. Mom, dad and Brielle are all doing well... (1/22/2007)
| Sunday, January 21, 2007Gotta grin today when I read this morning's Daily Break section of The Virginian-Pilot. Entertainment reporter Larry Bonko says, "No big deal. The folks at WWDE-FM (101.3) say there is no drastic format change afoot despite what you’ve read on the Internet (who could that be referring to?)." Bonko continues with, "They’re just fine-tuning the “soft rock” sound (for the several hours I listened, I didn't hear any fine-tuning), clearing out on-air clutter (all the recent and very good on-air personalities are gone) while repackaging some programming (a box is a box, no matter how you reshape it)." Expecting a big change by going Continuous Soft Rock, we're still getting the same ol' station... Speaking of deception, "SOFT ROCK, 2WD" is put on by the same fine folks (Entercom) who informed us a couple of weeks ago the Z Morning Zoo on sister "Z104" WNVZ was pulled off the air because contract negotiations. After The Zoo returned to the air, in an email to listeners, the Morning Zoo said, "(s)tarting immediately, as part of our new agreement, Z104 will cut the number of commercials by 20% every hour, every day. That's 72 less commercials every single day, 365! Honestly, that's what took so long with our negotiation." Are you kidding me? The following day in The Virginian-Pilot Bonko writes, "Soon after returning to his morning slot Monday, (Zoo co-host Nick) Taylor acknowledged talk that suggested the contract stalemate was nothing but a publicity stunt during fall ratings. Taylor said that accusation was false, as did the station’s new general manager, Chris Wheat." Again, are you kidding me? It WAS a publicity stunt and it worked very well. Not only did it dupe many listeners, it also duped The Virginian-Pilot... twice and appeared on two local TV station websites as real news (still have the screenshot from WTKR.com). What's the point to all of this ranting? Not really sure, but I do feel much better...
Suspect is a "television program manager" at WRIC | Saturday, January 20, 2007A Colonial Heights man is charged with impersonating a police officer in Chesterfield. William Blank, 64, is accused of using a gold badge to try and pull over another motorist on Chippenham Parkway. (read more - NBC12) (read more - CBS6)
| Friday, January 19, 2007 Longtime weekend weather meteorologist Jim Lawrence has been let go, contract not being renewed, by LIN TV's WAVY (10/NBC) Portsmouth. Lawrence joined WAVY in June 1991 as a fill-in weathercaster. In October 1995, he became a full-time weathercaster for the station and its local weather outlet LWS (Local Weather Station) which is now known as WAVY Weather Station. According to his station bio, which can not be directly accessed thru the WAVY website anymore says, "(h)e is a member and seal holder of both the American Meteorological Society and the National Weather Association. Long-time residents of Hampton Roads can remember that Jim spent nearly 20 years as a personality for one of the area's best radio stations." Recent weather promos on the station visibly show that Lawrence is gone from the weather team. Lawrence's last day with the station is Sunday the 21st... New York Times' (soon to be Local TV LLC, which has been formed by investor group Oak Hill Capital Partners) "Your NewsChannel 3" WTKR (CBS) Norfolk News Director Jeff Parsons turned in his resignation this week. He told the staff that he has accepted a job with Internet Broadcasting, a Minneapolis MN-based company that produces content for 70+ TV station websites, and will be leaving after the February ratings period. Parsons replaced John Wessling in late September 2004. When VARTV first reported Parsons' arrival in Hampton Roads, we quoted website FTVLive that said "...he's (Parsons) no stranger to managing last place newsrooms (as WTKR is). Parsons was most recently the ND at Meredith's WGCL in Atlanta, a troubled station that routinely finishes 4th. He got axed from GCL earlier this year..." Nothing has changed in 2+ years at WTKR...
| Thursday, January 18, 2007WRLH's "Fox News at Ten" soon could have competition. WUPV is planning to launch a 10 p.m. local newscast as early as March. The new 35-minute newscast, still very much in the planning stages, is the result of the new shared-services agreement between WTVR, Richmond's CBS affiliate, and WUPV, the area's CW affiliate. (read more - Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Sinclair Communications' Rhythmic AC "Energy 106-1" WNRJ Poquoson/Norfolk adds cross-town swing talent Joe Fu from Entercom Rhythmic "Z104" WNVZ/104.5 Norfolk. Fu will handle nights at Energy starting on Monday, January 22..... (1/22/2007)
| Wednesday, January 17, 2007 Aimee Norton has joined Media General's "NewsChannel 10" WSLS (NBC) Roanoke as a reporter. Norton comes from Quincy Newspapers' WVVA (6/NBC) Bluefield WV where she spent one year as a weekend anchor and reporter. She also spent six months at Thomas Broadcasting's WOAY (4/ABC) Oak Hill/Beckley WV... Over at Lynchburg's Allbritton "ABC13" WSET, reporter Jeremy Mills has returned from active duty with the US military. Mills has been away from work at WSET since last summer...
| Wednesday, January 17, 2007  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... WGNT-TV, CW27 has officially begun ramping up its Digital Marketing Efforts with the appointment of two seasoned Digital Marketing Executives very familiar with the Hampton Roads area. Ambler “Hatch” Hatchett and Steven Shaw have relocated across town to WGNT-TV, CW27, from the area’s CBS affiliate... (read more - VARTV Press Room)
| Wednesday, January 17, 2007Former Sinclair Communications CHR "The Zone @ 106.1" WZNR (now Rhythmic AC "Energy 106-1") night jock Special K, just got upped at Susquehanna CHR "104 KRBE" 104.1 Houston TX as the station's morning show stuntboy, full-time. Special K had been doing part-time work at KRBE for the past several months.
| Wednesday, January 17, 2007Chicago Sun-Times columnist Robert Feder says that Lincoln Financial Media "NBC12" WWBT Richmond weekend anchor Sean Lewis has been hired as an anchor/reporter at CLTV (Chicagoland's Television), Tribune's cable-only news channel. Lewis starts in March.
| Tuesday, January 16, 2007Belo WVEC (13/ABC) Hampton/Norfolk Executive News Director Rich Lebenson told staffers that beginning this week, weekend anchor Vanessa Coria will begin working on consumer and lifestyle reports for the station's early morning newscast, "13 News Daybreak." The reports will air Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays...  Andria Borba will be joining WVEC as a reporter later this month. Borba is currently working at BlueStone TV's "NewsChannel 7" KRCR (ABC) Redding/Chico CA, market #130. According to her bio at that station, Borba joined KRCR as a producer of the early evening newscasts in December 2002. A few months later, she started filing “Health Matters” reports. Borda is a California native, born and raised in the small city of Gustine. She received her degree in Broadcast Journalism from California State University at Long Beach...Channel 13 had a part-time reporter position but that has been changed to a full-time position. Mary Nelson will move from a 3-day to 5-day work week within the next couple of weeks...
| Tuesday, January 16, 2007LIN TV WAVY (10/NBC) Portsmouth co-morning anchor Kerri Furey is expecting her second child April 3... Belo WVEC (13/ABC) Hampton reporter/anchor Sandra Parker will give birth the following month... Jennifer Lewis from the Jimmy Ray and Jen show on Max Media Country "97.3 The Eagle" WGH Newport News is due this month...
| Tuesday, January 16, 2007VIRGINIA BEACH, VA – 97-3 The Eagle (WGH-FM) has been presented the Laurence E. Richardson Community Service Award from The Virginia Association of Broadcasters for “Disney Kids”. Each year the Laurence E. Richardson Community Service Award is given to a radio or television station that demonstrates the value of community service across the Commonwealth of Virginia. (read more - VARTV Press Room)
| Monday, January 15, 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... Communications Systems WFMI REJOICE 100.9 FM Southern Shores NC won the most prestigious award in the Gospel Music industry, STELLAR Award for “Gospel Radio Station of the Year,” this past weekend. This STELLAR Award recognizes the best Gospel stations in America. The 2007 STELLAR Awards were held Saturday night January 13th at the Grand Ol’ Opry in Nashville, TN. REJOICE 100.9 won top honors in the medium market category, 3 million and below, representing the Norfolk/Virginia Beach market. REJOICE 100.9 was nominated for a STELLAR award last year also. REJOICE 100.9 station Co-owner/GM Mike Chandler orchestrated the station’s fast rise in just over 3 years.
| Monday, January 15, 2007Lincoln Financial Media "NBC12" WWBT Richmond anchor Gene Cox announced this afternoon that reporter Ashley Swann (formerly) Wharton has been named the permanent co-anchor of station's "12 News First at 4" newscast. Swann had been filling in since Christina White's departure last year. As noted on VARTV, WWBT originally had hired Casey Kelly to anchor the 4:00 p.m. newscast, but she is now anchoring the morning news with the departure of long time anchor Andrea McDaniel.
Instructional videos feature local schoolkids | Sunday, January 14, 2007It’s a new career for LeAnne Rains Benedetto, formerly a television anchorwoman at WAVY and WTKR and a former member of Dick Lamb’s radio “Breakfast Bunch.” She heads up LeAnne Rains & Co. Media Services. The company’s ongoing project is the Green Team recycling program in the Virginia Beach public schools. How best to get youngsters interested in recycling? Put your message in a rap video, which is precisely what Rains has done. (read more - The Virginian-Pilot)
| Saturday, January 13, 2007Belo's WVEC (13/ABC) Hampton/Norfolk has ditched their old music package for a new one. Did they want to? Probably not. SESAC, the performing rights organization that represents songwriters and publishers and their right to be compensated for having their music performed in public, recently won a ruling which allowed them to collect back royalties from any television station using music covered under their license. This included WVEC and many other stations. WVEC used Stephen Arnold who uses SESAC as opposed to BMI and ASCAP, because they had much lower fees at the time. Stations were "stuck." Either keep their music and pay the back fees, or drop Stephen Arnold before 1/1/07. Belo had a new music package created for its stations that used music from Stephen Arnold. Or, a station could choose an existing package from 615 Music. So far, KHOU, WCNC, WFAA, and WVEC have gone with the new music package called Propulsion.
On this morning's "12 News Today Saturday," WWBT (NBC) Richmond anchor TaRhonda Thomas announced meteorologist Sagay Galindo gave birth to a baby girl, Milan Ashleigh Galindo this past Tuesday. Thomas also said she is also pregnant and about four weeks away from the birth of her child..... (1/13/2007)
Move marks return to morning radio for half of 'Jeff & Jeff Show' | Saturday, January 13, 2007Starting Monday, one of Richmond's most familiar on-air personalities will be back on morning radio -- Jeff Beck, who will become the first live and local voice for WWLB (98.9 Liberty). Beck, who was half of the popular "Jeff & Jeff Show" on WRXL-FM (102.1) in the 1990s, is changing jobs at Main Line Broadcasting. (read more - Richmond Times-Dispatch)
| Saturday, January 13, 2007The National Press Photographers Foundation, Inc., is pleased to announce that Erik Meltzer of WCAV-TV in Charlottesville, VA, is the winner of the 2007 Gordon Yoder Award of $1,000 to assist with the expenses of attending the National Press Photographers Association's 2007 NPPA NewsVideo Workshop in Norman, OK. (read more - National Press Photographers Association)
| Friday, January 12, 2007 AT&T announced Friday that it will extinguish the six-year-old Cingular Wireless name in order to apply the AT&T brand to the mobile carrier’s offerings.AT&T will launch an ad campaign Monday explaining the move. "AT&T, BellSouth and Cingular are now one company, and going to market with our services under one brand is the right thing to do," CEO Ed Whitacre said in a prepared statement. (read more - MultiChannel News)
| Friday, January 12, 2007Star Radio Group's "Classic Rock 96.9" WWUZ Bowling Green/Fredericksburg/Richmond makes it a Very Brady New Year, grabbing Beasley Broadcast Group's Alternative "99X" WXNR/99.5 Grifton/Greenville NC afternoon announcer Brady to fill its vacant morning spot. He has spent much of his career on the Outer Banks, but also did mornings at Mel Wheeler CHR "K92" WXLK/92.3 Roanoke in the late 90's/early 00's. Brady takes over for longtime 96.9 morning man Rich Creeger, who left the station late last year for Citadel Communications Country "Red 102.3" WCAT Carlisle/Harrisburg PA to do mornings and to be the station's APD (Assistant Program Director). Listen for Brady on 96.9 beginning early in February.
| Thursday, January 11, 2007FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... Veteran air talent Reid Snider formerly with WSMJ 101.1 and WJZV 93.1 Richmond, and WCJZ Charlottesville has been ousted at WSBZ The Sea Breeze in Fort Walton Beach/Destin, FL. BA's new Smooth Jazz Network replaces him in the morning drive position. Snider first appeared on WSMJ in the morning slot, later to serve as morning talent and PD at WJZV 93.1. (read more - VARTV Press Room)
| Thursday, January 11, 2007At the Washington bureau of the Belo newspaper chain, two veteran television reporters whose stories appeared on Belo's 19 broadcast stations (including WVEC 13/ABC Hampton/Norfolk) were laid off and are to be replaced by videographers who will shoot digital video for the Web sites of Belo's 11 newspapers, including the Dallas Morning News. (read more - The Washington Post)
| Thursday, January 11, 2007Charter Communications Inc. has dropped the high-definition channel of ABC affiliate WVEC from its cable lineup. Negotiations between Charter and station owner Belo Corp. recently broke down, and Charter stopped carrying the station’s high-definition signal... (read more - The Virginian-Pilot)
| Thursday, January 11, 2007 The staffs of both "CBS6" WTVR Richmond and "CW Richmond" WUPV/65 Ashland/Richmond have been notified that the sale of WUPV from Bell Broadcasting to Southeastern Media Holdings (SMH) has been finalized. SMH is a subsidiary of Raycom Media that owns WTVR.SMH got its fourth station when it agreed to buy WUPV for $47M from Bell in late August 2006. Bell Broadcasting, headed by CEO Jim Lockwood Jr., bought the station for $10M in 1997. A shared services agreement was set up with WTVR in September. Sometime this year, WUPV will operate out of WTVR’s Broad Street facility. One of the on-air changes, we hear, is that WUPV will launch a 10 p.m. newscast, supplied by Channel 6. The new newscast would go head-to-head with Sinclair Broadcasting's "FOX News at 10" on WRLH/35 sometime this Spring. WRLH's newscast is produced by Lincoln Financial Media's "NBC12" WWBT. WTVR has been actively seeking anchors and reporters. Interestingly, reported here just yesterday, Mark Holmberg resigned from the Richmond Times-Dispatch to take an on-air position with WTVR "soon." Could we see him on Channel 65?
| Thursday, January 11, 2007Richmond's morning television got another shake-up this week. Christina Feerick is the new anchor of WRIC's "Good Morning Richmond," trading places with Gwen Williams, who'll anchor the station's morning newscast on the weekends. "Gwen is a prominent part of this news organization," said WRIC's station manager, Matthew Zelkind, noting that the weekend newscasts are among the station's most highly rated news shows. (read more - Richmond Times-Dispatch)
| Wednesday, January 10, 2007 The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted Davidson Media Group's WLEE/990 a changed in the station's community of license (COL) from Richmond to East Highland Park. In addition to the new COL, the station can increase its power from 1kW to 4kW during the day and just 13 watts to 2kW at night. WLEE currently does Gospel as Joy 990.
| Wednesday, January 10, 2007Reporter Mark Holmberg is going from black and white to full color. The Richmond Times-Dispatch crime writer and column finalist for the Pulitzer Prize submitted his resignation to T-D editors last week. Now the man who made his name reporting the gritty underbelly of Richmond’s back alleys is preparing to begin reporting for WTVR-TV 6 News very soon. (read more - Style Weekly)
| Wednesday, January 10, 2007 With a 4-2 vote City Council members Tuesday night denied a local Christian radio station permission to build a new transmission tower in north Newport News.Officials with World Outreach Worship Center told the council they could not accept some of the city's 27 conditions for the new tower. (read more - Daily Press)
| Tuesday, January 9, 2007 Middayer Paul McCoy with Entercom AC "2WD" WWDE/101.3 Hampton/Norfolk has resigned and will land middays at cross-town competitor Max Media Classic Hits/AC "92-9 The Wave" WVBW Suffolk/Norfolk. McCoy's new place of employment is literally minutes away from WWDE. He had been with Entercom Norfolk since the mid-90s, first at "Z104" WNVZ/104.5 Norfolk then moving to 2WD. McCoy starts at The Wave on Monday, January 15.
| Tuesday, January 9, 2007 Sharon Gregory, a 10-year veteran of Waterman Broadcasting's "ABC7" WZVN/26 Naples FL news and the station's main anchor, has been picked up by sister station "NBC29" WVIR Charlottesville. Notable is the fact Gregory resigned Friday, October 27, 2006 from WZVN after an early morning drunken-driving arrest in North Naples. The Bonita Daily News reported that "Collier County sheriff's deputy (saw Gregory) swerving in and out of the lane in which she was driving." After performing several field sobriety exercises, she submitted to a Breathalyzer test; "blowing" a .158, nearly twice the state's .08 law. No word yet when she starts on-air at NBC29.
| Monday, January 8, 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... CapSan Media today announced Matt Cooper will return to the Outer Banks of North Carolina and join the company as Program Director and Morning Show host for 99.1 The Sound, WVOD. Mr. Cooper will be back on the air at the AAA formatted station February 1st.Matt has spent the last two years in Charleston, SC programming AAA/Modern AC hybrid WALC for Clear Channel. (read more - VARTV Press Room)
| Monday, January 8, 2007The Z Morning Zoo from Entercom Rhythmic "Z104" WNVZ/104.5 Norfolk is back on the air this morning after being pulled off the air last week. In an email to listeners, the Morning Zoo says they will be with the station until 2010. Also, "(s)tarting immediately, as part of our new agreement, Z104 will cut the number of commercials by 20% every hour, every day. That's 72 less commercials every single day, 365! Honestly, that's what took so long with our negotiation." Yeah, right...
FOX35 and MyTVRichmond could be dropped on February 5 | Sunday, January 7, 2007Sinclair Broadcast Group could end up yanking 30 stations off of Comcast because of an ongoing battle over retransmission consent - leaving some 3 million customers without their broadcast signal. Sinclair's carriage deal with Comcast is up Feb. 5 and the broadcaster is demanding cash from the cable operator to carry its stations in 23 markets. Comcast, the nation's biggest cable operator, is refusing to pay cash and says Sinclair is the only broadcaster with which it can't reach a deal. (read more - Broadcasting & Cable)
| Saturday, January 6, 2007Multiple sources are telling us that Sinclair Communications, Red Zebra Broadcasting (Washington Redskins radio broadcast group) and FOX Sports Radio have come to an agreement that will put FSR on WWHV/102.1 Virginia Beach. The station announced yesterday on air just after 5 p.m. that on January 29 it will no longer be Urban formatted "Hot 102.1." Sinclair had the affiliation for FSR on WTAR/850 Norfolk. That station dumped "TalkRadio 850" for "FOX Sports Radio 850" just after midnight on 1/30/2006. Six months later, it trashed most of the FOX Sports programming and went back to its former format -- Talk but with a brand new line-up. Some of the changes reported here on VARTV just two days ago at WNIS/790 Norfolk and WTAR were a result to plug up any remaining FSR shows with new and/or moved shows. When it was announced that Red Zebra was acquiring bankrupt WWHV last year, some statements were made that implied WWHV would have the ESPN Radio affiliation for Hampton Roads just like the other Red Zebra stations in Richmond (WXGI/950) and in DC. Max Media which runs "ESPN Radio 1310" WGH Newport News/Norfolk and officials with ESPN Radio in Dallas both confirmed that this was not going to happen. WGH ended up signing a multiyear extension for ESPN Radio. At the same time, WWHV couldn't run the Washington Redskins football games because Sinclair had the broadcast rights through the 2006 season. When Sinclair decided to end the contract with FOX Sports after just one year, Red Zebra struck a deal to carry the programming on WWHV. The Washington Redskins football games move to WWHV.
| Saturday, January 6, 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... WSKY-TV 4, a locally owned and operated independent television station recently added Mary K. Stott to their team as the new Marketing Coordinator / Special Projects Producer. Mary’s main focus will be to expand on the established projects at WSKY-TV 4 and create new ones to further involve the station with community events. (read more - VARTV Press Room)
| Saturday, January 6, 2007Drew Allen began asking Verizon workers about the company's Fios TV service almost two years ago, when they started laying fiber-optic cables through his yard.Last week, the retired Navy captain turned on Fios TV in his home near First Colonial Road - becoming one of the first Hampton Roads residents to launch the new pay-television service. "I've been waiting and waiting and waiting," said Allen, who now receives Verizon's "triple play" - phone, high-speed Internet and TV service. (read more - The Virginian-Pilot)
Sinclair Communications indeed pulled the TV signal of "MyTVZ" WTVZ/33 Norfolk from area Mediacom Communications systems including Camden, Currituck, Perquimans, Chowan, Bertie, Washington Counties in eastern North Carolina. Mediacom is showing the STARZ! preview channel instead and is running a "crawl" telling people to go to www.befairsinclair.com. More on this story two newsblurbs below..... (1/6/2007)
| Friday, January 5, 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... The five year run of HOT 102.1 as Virginia Beach’s #1 for Hip Hop and R&B will come to an end Jan 29th Red Zebra Broadcasting announces today.In an unprecedented move the station’s personalities will remain on the air to salute their audience through their final Farewell Party on Jan 28th. Russ Parr in the mornings, Parish Brown in midday’s, Chad “Smooth” Gaston in afternoons and Dion “Showtime” Chavis at night will continue with their shows live each day playing the Hip Hop and R&B they’ve become known for in the communities of Norfolk and Virginia Beach. “Smooth” will make the announcement at 5pm on the air today. (read more - VARTV Press Room) Editor's Note: Here's the audio clip of the announcement made on the air.
"MyTVZ" WTVZ Norfolk could be dropped tonight | Friday, January 5, 2007 A potentially precedent-setting battle between MediaCom Communications and Sinclair Broadcast Group over broadcast TV retransmission rights payments escalated today, with MediaCom saying it will drop 22 Sinclair stations from its cable systems in 12 states at midnight tonight.MediaCom Chairman and CEO Rocco B. Commisso said he is being forced to drop the stations after failing to reach agreement on a new carriage contract... (read more - TV Week)
What's going on at Red Zebra Broadcasting's recently acquired Urban "Hot 102.1" WWHV Virginia Beach? Been hearing on-air teasers with an announcement coming at 5 p.m. today. Stay tuned... (1/5/2007)
| Friday, January 5, 2007The great shoot-out for the lion's share of the cable TV market in the Tidewater area has started – but you would never know it if you had to depend on the participants for the information. Santa was not the only one who came at Christmas this year. At the same time, Verizon FIOS-TV installers began installing access to their fiber-optic TV network into requesting homes in the Great Neck area of Virginia Beach. (read more - VirginiaNewsSource.com)
| Thursday, January 4, 2007 Alternative "96X" WROX/96.1 Exmore/Norfolk night slammer Alfredo Torres exits the station immediately. Sister Rhythmic AC "Energy 106-1" WNRJ Poquoson/Norfolk afternooner James Steele moves to nights on 96X. He'll continue his voicetracking duties on Energy...Nationally syndicated talker Bill O'Reilly will be carried LIVE in Hampton Roads beginning Monday, January 8 on WTAR/850 Norfolk. His show ran tape-delayed on News/Talk WNIS/790 Norfolk from 6-8 p.m. weekdays. O'Reilly, on WTAR, will go head-to-head with Rush Limbaugh on WNIS weekdays noon to 2 p.m. Programs on WTAR from 7 a.m. through the evening expert shows will all be LIVE... Holly Williams, formerly of Entercom Norfolk, has joined the cluster for sales and will also be heard weekends on Variety Hits "93.7 BOB FM" WPYA Chesapeake. Prior to Entercom, she previously programmed 96X in it's heyday... The logo for Rhythmic AC "Energy 106-1" got a slight makeover... gone are the circles...  
WTKR Norfolk to change hands | Thursday, January 4, 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... The New York Times Company has entered into an agreement to sell its Broadcast Media Group, consisting of nine network-affiliated television stations, their associated Web sites and the Digital Operating Center, to Oak Hill Capital Partners for $575 million. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the first half of 2007. (read more - The New York Times Company)
| Thursday, January 4, 2007Casey Kelly just joined WWBT as its "First at 4" co-anchor and already she has a new assignment: co-anchor of the morning news. Kelly, formerly an anchor for a TV station in Albany, N.Y., became morning and noon co-anchor for the station this week. The promotion resulted from former morning anchor Andrea McDaniel's surprise announcement that she was stepping down. (read more - Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Something to ponder... What has changed, musically, at Entercom's "2WD" WWDE/101.3 Hampton/Norfolk? They say "Continuous Soft Rock." They sound like an AC station. Hmmm... (1/4/2007)
| Wednesday, January 3, 2007Entercom Norfolk pulled "The Z Morning Zoo" off the air this morning on Rhythmic "Z104" WNVZ/104.5. After that, the station went on auto-pilot. An email to the station's listener's club list said... "We're writing today to inform you that Z104 Management and The Z Morning Zoo (Nick, Tricia and Shaggy) are currently in contract talks for 2007. This process has been going on behind the scenes for several months. Clearly, the management at Z104 didn't expect these contract negotiations to become so public. Unfortunately, that's the reality we're currently facing. We are taking steps to ensure the best possible programming on Z104 well into the future. Right now, however, that future is in question. We're faced with possible cutbacks. Until this situation is resolved, we are unable to proceed with normal Z104 programming. We hope to have an update for you as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience as we work through this process. And, THANK YOU for listening to Z104." Editor's Note: Malarkey... Didn't Shaggy just sign a three contract extension? Keep listening, which they want you to do, to find out the real story...
Mike Murphy is back in Richmond | Wednesday, January 3, 2007That's what we're hearing... Many changes at Main Line Broadcasting's Richmond cluster. First, Joey Butler is out as the Program Director of 60s/70s Hits "Oldies 107.3" WBBT//WARV/100.3. Jeff Beck, the Program Director at sister "93.1 The Wolf, Country That Rocks" WLFV, relinquishes his PD stripes to take on mornings at Variety Hits "98.9 Liberty" WWLB. To fill the PD voids at Oldies and The Wolf, Main Line welcomes Mike Murphy back to Richmond as the cluster's Director of Programming. Murphy left Cox Radio Alternative "Y101" WDYL/101.1 for a similar position with CBS Radio Baltimore's WHFS/105.7 in September 2005. Kelly, middays at Oldies, has decided to leave after being with the station for nearly five years and on various Richmond airwaves since early 1996.
Resulting in significantly more choice for viewers | Wednesday, January 3, 2007FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... LIN TV Corp. (which includes WAVY/10 NBC Portsmouth and WVBT/43 FOX Virginia Beach) today announced that it has reached an agreement with Verizon for retransmission services of its broadcast stations through Verizon’s FiOS TV to consumers in LIN TV’s markets, providing greater choice for subscription television and on-demand programming via Verizon’s all-digital, fiber-optic network. (read more - LIN TV)
| Tuesday, January 2, 2007The General Manager of WDBJ Television announced today that he plans to retire in 2007. Bob Lee turns 64-years-old this year. (read more - WDBJ.com)
| Monday, January 1, 2007 Sinclair Broadcast Group has dropped The Tube Music Network from the second digital channel in 29 of its markets including "MyTVZ" WTVZ/33 Norfolk and "MyRDC" WRDC/27 Raleigh. An announcement on Sinclair's "CW Baltimore" WNUV digital channel 54-2 says The Tube is not airing there due to "contractual terms."Sinclair entered into an agreement with the Tube Music Network to air their 24-hour music video programming on back on March 23, 2006. The Tube also airs in Richmond on Raycom Media's "CBS6" WTVR on digital channel 6-3.
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