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  :// Rock on: WROV celebrates its 20th Twenty years later, WROV remains a radio force in the Roanoke Valley  | Friday, February 27, 2009  It's 1974 inside an oft-modified Quonset hut that is the home of WROV-AM. A 4-year-old boy sits on his father's lap, telling a dumb joke on air during the afternoon shift.When the joke is over, the father cues up sound effects of loud laughter and applause. (read more - The Roanoke Times)
 ION Media requested and was granted a channel repositioning for it's O&O WPXV-DT on Charter Communication's Manteo NC cable system. WPXV will move from channel 64 to it's over-the-air channel number 49 within 60 days... (2/27/2009)
| Friday, February 27, 2009 Greg Burton, who hosted the afternoon radio show "Hardly Workin'" on Red Zebra's Sports "ESPN Radio 950" WXGI Richmond, is back. Burton's show will be back in its original 4-7 p.m. timeslot beginning Monday, March 2.WXGI fired Burton at the end of December to cut costs. The station was using "The Sports Reporters" from sister "ESPN 980" WTEM. Burton's show, originally called "The Drive, debuted on July 19, 2004.
Fox News has redone their website at www.foxnews.com... (1/27/2009)
| Thursday, February 26, 2009WHRO, the local public broadcasting company, stands to lose $650,000 in state funding if the House budget plan is approved this week, its chief executive said Wednesday. (read more - The Virginian-Pilot)
| Thursday, February 26, 2009 Cable giant Liberty Media Corp. doesn't plan to combine the satellite operations of DirecTV Group Inc. with Sirius XM Radio Inc., Chief Executive Greg Maffei said. (read more - Los Angeles Times)
| Thursday, February 26, 2008 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... Max Media of Hampton Roads, LLC has hired Michael Tate to coordinate a series of ground breaking advertising workshops at various locations throughout Hampton Roads. The object of this initiative is designed to provide local businesses wishing to make some sense out of today's complicated and often volatile advertising environment. (read more - Max Media Hampton Roads)
Group has stations in Hampton Roads and Charlottesville | Wednesday, February 25, 2008 As a result of the current economic climate, Saga has instituted a companywide 5% pay cut across both full- and part-time employees as of the March 13 payroll, R&R has learned. In exchange, the company will give employees two additional floating holidays this year. (read more - Radio & Records)
| Wednesday, February 25, 2008FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... Westwood One, Inc. today announced that its Metro Traffic division has gone live with a national traffic video network from TrafficLand, providing its traffic reporters access to over 5,000 live video cameras 24/7, 365 days a year. (read more - Westwood One)
| Tuesday, February 24, 2008 The Popular Assembly Of New Horizons 3000 And His Successors' Adult Album Alternative/Public Radio "Revolutionary Radio Williamsburg" WRRW-LP/100.9 Williamsburg (whew...) is set to change its frequency to 102.5 on Friday, February 27.The FCC granted a CP (construction permit) for WRRW-LP to move to an abandoned LPFM frequency (deleted Christian Life Center of Williamsburg's WJRX-LP) because of the impending move of Cox Radio Alternative "Y101" WDYL/101.1 Chester to 100.9/Lakeside in the Richmond market. The change from 100.9 to 102.5 on Friday is scheduled for 7:15 a.m.
| Tuesday, February 24, 2009 PD and morning host Smokin’ Joe (Sanchez) is gone from Somar Communications' Mainstream Rock "97-7 The Rocket" WYRX Lexington Park due to budget cuts. He was with The Rocket for just 13 months.Sanchez was previously heard mornings on Centennial Broadcasting's "Rock 104.9/105.5" WWRT/Strasburg/Front Royal, WWRE/Berryville/Winchester. He's on the prowl for his next gig... reach him at radiojoe73/dawt/yahoo.com.
| Saturday, February 21, 2009The Virginian-Pilot, battling the recession, will lay off 30 more workers and suspend the print version of Port Folio Weekly, its 26-year-old free arts and entertainment weekly. (read more - The Virginian-Pilot)
TV station turns analog signal back on | Saturday, February 21, 2009WHSV-TV3 restored full programming to its analog signal at 4 p.m. Friday after two lawmakers called on the station to reconsider limiting the broadcast on that signal to news and other informational programming. (read more - Harrisonburg The Daily News-Record)
| Saturday, February 21, 2009York County residents are a major step closer to having an innovative, reliable and competitive alternative for their cable television services, thanks to a unanimous vote by the Board of Supervisors Tuesday night (Feb. 17) authorizing Verizon to offer its fiber-optic-powered FiOS TV. (read more - Verizon)
Longtime broadcaster Bishop Levi E Willis Sr, based in Norfolk, passed away this morning... (2/20/2009)
| Friday, February 20, 2009 Metro Networks, which provides morning and afternoon rush-hour traffic reports to many local radio stations, will shutter its Hampton Roads office on Feb. 27. (read more - The Virginian-Pilot)
Westwood One's Metro Traffic Norfolk office is closing next Friday, February 27. Operations will be moving to Washington DC... (2/19/2009)
| Thursday, February 19, 2009 Verizon FiOS TV customers are happier with their service than subscribers of six other major U.S. cable, satellite and telco TV providers, according to a survey by analyst firm Strategy Analytics. (read more - Multichannel News)
| Friday, February 20, 2009Group head Allen Shaw has several moves to announce, starting with the departure of Fredericksburg market manager Shawn Sloan to form his own marketing company. (read more - Radio-Info.com)
| Thursday, February 19, 2009 Cox Communications will add 5 high-definition channels to its lineup in the South Hampton Roads beginning February 26, 2009.New HD channels include FX HD, Cartoon Network HD, Speed Channel HD, Fox News Channel HD and E! HD. With the added networks, Cox will offer HD customers more than 54 HD choices with no additional programming charge. (read more - TradingMarkets)
Richmond Times-Dispatch, WSLS-DT Roanoke included | Thursday, February 19, 2009Media General, Inc. announced today that it is implementing an employee furlough program in the face of an economy that continues to contract, causing the advertising market to further weaken. (read more - Yahoo! Finance)
Will be available on radioNtenna (WHRV 89.5FM HD3) and online | Wednesday, February 18, 2009FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... Hunter Hughes brings Hunter at Sunrise, his special LIVE blend of acoustic and eclectic music to radioNtenna (WHRV 89.5 FM HD3), public radio’s digital channel for progressive music, Sunday, March 1, 7am – 12noon. (read more - WHRV)
Hampton Roads voice, Marvin D. Henry, has passed away... (2/18/2009)
| Tuesday, February 17, 2009As President Obama now has signed a law to delay the switch to digital television to June, independent television station WDRL appears to be the only local TV station that will cease broadcasting its analog signal (today). (read more - Roanoke Times)
| Tuesday, February 17, 2009WHRO, the public broadcasting company on Channel 15, and WTVZ, on Channel 33, will turn off their analog signals shortly before midnight. (read more - The Virginian-Pilot)
| Tuesday, February 17, 2009Beginning with tomorrow's paper, you will see some changes in the makeup of your Monday-to-Saturday Roanoke Times. (read more - Roanoke Times)
| Tuesday, February 17, 2009Today marks a big change in the way you watch television. WCAV CBS 19 and its sister stations WVAW ABC 16 and WAHU FOX 27 all turned off their analog systems and switched over to a digital signal. (read more - Charlottesville Newsplex)
| Tuesday, February 17, 2009WHRO-TV/DT Hampton/Norfolk Chief Technology Officer, John Heimerl, says their digital TV transition help hotline has fielded almost 1,000 calls. Most of the callers are saying they have no coupons, no converters. Heimerl said, "They will not spend the $40 when there is hope they eventually may get a coupon."
| Tuesday, February 17, 2009Sirius XM Radio Inc., the satellite broadcaster, will receive $530 million in loans from John Malone’s Liberty Media Corp. in exchange for board seats and an equity stake, avoiding a bankruptcy filing. (read more - Bloomberg)
| Tuesday, February 17, 2009 For three years, we've been hearing the same refrain: As of midnight tonight, all television stations in the country will begin digital broadcasting only.Except all won't. Only some will. (read more - Richmond Times-Dispatch)
| Monday, February 16, 2009Even though Congress pushed the national DTV deadline to June 12th. we made the decision to start the switch today. "There were a number of factors involved. We didn't want to confuse viewers further. We've been advertising for a year now that the date was February 17th. There's also a great expense to continue to operate our analog transmitter," said Newsplex General Manager Brad Ramsey. (read more - Charlottesville Newsplex)
WPXW/66 Washington, WPXV/49 Norfolk are affected | Monday, February 16, 2009 Ion Television today announced that, to help reduce any consumer confusion caused by the recent decision by Congress to delay the nationwide shut-off of analog television transmission, it is moving its HD launch from Feb. 16 to March 16. (read more - TVTechnology)
Richmond’s country station continues 19th year commitment to St. Jude | Monday, February 16, 2009FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... WKHK/K95 held the 19th annual “K95 Country Cares for St. Jude Kids Radiothon” February 12th and 13th. K95 raised $118,561.72 in donations during the two day event. (read more - WKHK)
| Saturday, February 14, 2009Last-minute demands by the Federal Communications Commission have forced NBC 29 to adjust its plans to cease its traditional over-the-air analog TV broadcast on Tuesday. (read more - Charlottesville The Daily Progress)
Richmond's WRIC/8 ABC is included | Friday, February 13, 2009Young Broadcasting Inc. (YBTVA), owner of 10 TV stations affiliated with the CBS and ABC networks, said Friday it has filed for Chapter 11 protection in U.S. bankruptcy court in the Southern District of New York. (read more - Associated Press)
| Friday, February 13, 2009Clear Channel Richmond cut two longtime jocks from CHR "Q94" WRVQ/94.5 on Monday. Gone are Bob Somers, 35 years experience, and Shotgun John with nearly 30 years at the station. Shotgun John continues to voicetrack overnights as "Big John" on "Big Country 105.3" WBNN Dillwyn/Charlottesville.
Verizon FiOS TV in Richmond and Hampton Roads just recently added Golf Channel HD to its lineup... (2/12/2009)
WHRO won't be able to increase power on digital channel 16 | Wednesday, February 11, 2009WBOC's DTV transition is not going to happen next week as planned. The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday night denied WBOC's request to turn off its analog transmitter on Feb. 17. (read more - WBOC)
MSO serves Suffolk and several smaller communites in the western parts of Tidewater | Wednesday, February 11, 2009 Struggling Charter Communications Inc., the nation's fourth largest cable operator, said Thursday that it plans to file a prearranged Chapter 11 bankruptcy by April 1.Charter, which is controlled by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, said it has reached an agreement in principle with certain debt holders to reduce its debt... (read more - TVNEWSDAY)
| Wednesday, February 11, 2009 Muzak Holdings LLC, the maker of elevator music, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Tuesday.The company had heavy debt load, and it filed to try to refinance some of its debt. (read more - MSNBC)
| Wednesday, February 11, 2009Do you love weather? If you’re fascinated by rainfall amounts, snow flurries, sunrises, wind speed, humidity levels and everything else the atmosphere has to offer, join our league of Pilot 13 Weather Spotters! (read more - The Virginian-Pilot)
| Tuesday, February 10, 2009Sirius XM Satellite Radio has been working with advisers to prepare for a possible bankruptcy filing in a move that could put pressure on the satellite company EchoStar, which owns a substantial amount of the company’s debt. (read more - The New York Times)
With WBOC-TV Salisbury turning off it's analog transmitter on channel 16 on February 17, Hampton Roads' PBS affiliated WHRO-DT will be able to go full-power, 1 million watts, on its digital channel 16. Because of interference with WBOC's analog signal, WHRO's digital signal has essentially been at reduced power (~30%) ever since sign-on over five years ago... (2/10/2009)
| Tuesday, February 10, 2009WVEC-TV, smarting from the recession, has laid off an unidentified number of employees, its general manager said today. (read more - The Virginian-Pilot)
| Tuesday, February 10, 2009Local TV LLC "NewChannel 3" WTKR (CBS) Norfolk debuted a new website this morning at WTKR.com. The station has dumped the WorldNow template for the Tribune-based website.
| Tuesday, February 10, 2009Willis Lee Stone cleaned showcases and windows for his father's jewelry store in Blackstone and worked as a soda jerk before he came to be known as the "Voice of Emporia" on radio station WEVA. (read more - Richmond Times-Dispatch)
| Tuesday, February 10, 2009Raycom Media "NBC12" WWBT recently named Ashley Swann as morning co-anchor of "NBC12 News Today." Swann previously had been co-anchor of "NBC12 First @ Four." She has replaced Casey Nicholson, who decided not to renew her contract. At Young Broadcasting's "8News" WRIC (ABC), Amie McLain takes over as Anchor/Reporter for "Good Morning Richmond" and "8News at 9." She replaces Anita Blanton, who left WRIC for Hearst-Argyle's "Eyewitness News 5" KOCO Oklahoma City OK. Before coming to Richmond, McLain worked in Fort Myers FL at Waterman Broadcasting's "NBC2" WBBH as a reporter and fill-in anchor. She also spent two years in Hagerstown MD at Nexstar Broadcasting's "NBC25" WHAG as the weekend anchor.
MNTV: Broadcast model 'not working' | Tuesday, February 10, 2009 My Network TV said it will essentially get out of the business of presenting original programming except for professional wrestling, a sign of how the economy is hurting the television business. (read more - TVNEWSDAY) (read more - MediaLife)
| Tuesday, February 10, 2009Two local television broadcasters applied Monday for federal approval to stop broadcasting analog signals on Feb. 17 and move to an all-digital format. (read more - Daily Press)
| Monday, February 9, 2009 The budget axe just keeps swinging, paying a visit to Belo Broadcasting's "13NEWS" WVEC (ABC) Hampton/Norfolk. On-air, we hear the station loses weekend/swing Sports Anchor Pete Pochkowski.Also out at Channel 13, is an Executive Producer, a photographer, a commercial producer, two production assistants and a graphics person. Stay tuned...
Looking for weather on Local TV LLC's "NewsChannel 3" WTKR (CBS) Norfolk website? Nothing there except a text forecast for today, tonight and tomorrow and a tiny 7-day VIPER Planning forecast. That's it... We hear that a new layout will be coming soon to the station's website... (2/9/2009)
| Monday, February 9, 2009Opie and Anthony are the sophomoric and bombastic duo who once wrought havoc on FM radio along the East Coast. (read more - The Virginian-Pilot)
| Saturday, February 7, 2009Just because Congress pushed back to June the deadline for switching from analog to digital broadcasting doesn't mean TV stations have to wait that long. WHRO, the local public broadcasting company, still plans to drop its analog signal on Feb. 17... (read more - The Virginian-Pilot)
| Friday, February 6, 2009After years of preparation and months of advertising, the digital television transition is upon us. Even though Congress passed a bill postponing the transition until June 12 on Wednesday, WHSV TV3 is moving forward with the long-awaited change on February 17. (read more - WHSV.com)
| Friday, February 6, 2009FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... The Hampton Roads Sports Hall of Fame has begun online voting for what will become its second inaugural class. The online voting, open to all fans, began this week and will eventually play a role in choosing the men and women who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this summer. (read more - Hampton Roads Sports Hall of Fame)
| Friday, February 6, 2009 Some Hampton Roads television stations are planning to pull the plug on their over-the-air analog programming beginning Feb. 17 despite a recent effort by Congress to extend the digital television switch over until June 12. One local broadcaster, WSKY-TV Channel 4, already has pulled its analog signal off the air... (read more - Daily Press)
| Thursday, February 5, 2009The following HD channels are now available... Bravo HD (channel 761), CMT HD (733), CNBC HD+ (725), Comedy Central HD (732), Hallmark Movie Channel HD (859), Lifetime Movie Network HD (809), Lifetime Network HD (709), MTV HD (722), Nickelodeon HD (729), Planet Green HD (813), Sci-Fi HD (740), Spike HD (756), USA HD (718), Versus HD (734) and VH1 HD (767).
| Thursday, February 5, 2009 Congratulations to Howard University's Urban AC WHUR/96.3 Washington and Mike Chandler's System Communications Gospel "Rejoice 100.9" WFMI Southern Shores/Virginia Beach for picking up Radio Station Of The Year awards (major market and large market respectively) at the 24th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards. The event was held several weeks ago in Nashville.Local TV stations in most Virginia markets will be running the awards show on various dates and times during the next several weeks and airs nationally on Gospel Music Channel March 1 and on WGN America March 9. Check your local listings.
Charlottesville's CBS19, ABC16 and FOX27 choose not to go along | Wednesday, February 4, 2009The Digital Television switch is coming soon, but exactly how much time do you have to get prepared? Wednesday lawmakers voted to postpone the transition but, CBS19, ABC16 and FOX27 are still moving forward on the original date. (read more - CBS19)
| Wednesday, February 4, 2009FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... 97-3 The Eagle/WGH-FM presents the 18th Annual Jimmy Ray and Jen St. Valentine’s Day “Mass Wedding”, Thursday, February 12, 2009 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. (read more - WGH-FM)
| Wednesday, February 4, 2009 Max Media's "ESPN Radio 1310" WGH Newport News/Virginia Beach celebrates 10 years being with ESPN Radio."We were the second station to be with ESPN Radio sportstalk," noted Program Director Tony Mercurio. ESPN Radio only had play-by-play of sporting events in the mid 90's. "I got a phone call in mid-January of 1999, from ESPN Radio that they were finally going to have ESPN Radio sportstalk," Mercurio added. On February 1, 1999, WGH was officially full-time with ESPN Radio, the second station to do so behind WMVP/1000 Chicago.
Fox Cable Networks outlets add distribution with cable operator | Wednesday, February 4, 2009Fox Cable Networks said it has a new multi-year agreement with Cox Communications to add distribution of Fuel TV in several markets and will gain Cox carriage of FX HD and Speed HD as part of an earlier deal. (read more - Multichannel News)
Red Zebra Broadcasting Progressive Talk "Obama 1260" WWRC Washington becomes Business News/Talk "Money 1260" on Monday, February 9... (2/3/2009)
| Monday, February 2, 2009 Great Scott Broadcasting dumps Adult/Variety Hits "107-7 Joe FM" WKHI Fruitland/Salisbury MD for "Hot Country 107.7" very early this morning. The station is automated using Dial Global's Hot Country format.The FCC just recently granted the station a CP (construction permit) to reduce its power but increase its antenna height. The move will slightly increase it coverage area especially for the target market, Salisbury. It'll be an uphill battle where Salisbury already receives five Country formatted signals (WICO/97.5, WBEY/97.9, WWFG/99.9, WAAI/100.9, WXJN/105.9)... (2/2/2009)
| Monday, February 2, 2009 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... Hampton Roads #1 rated morning team; WAVY News 10’s Kerri Furey, Don Roberts, Cheryl Tan and Meteorologist Jon Cash are expanding their talents to FOX43 News at 7am, beginning Monday, February 2nd. (read more - WVBT)
| Monday, February 2, 2009The top three markets watching the Super Bowl last night were Pittsburgh (WPXI/11), averaging a 53.6/70, Hampton Roads (WAVY/10) was second at 52.6/72 and Jacksonville (WTLV/12) third at 50.6/71. The network, NBC, averaged 42.1/65...
| Thursday, January 29, 2009FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... 100.5 Max-FM (WXMM-FM) and Peabody’s Night Club, 209 21st Street at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront... (read more - WXMM)
| Thursday, January 29, 2009"Pilot 13 News" - a weeknight newscast produced in a partnership among The Virginian-Pilot, WVEC TV-Channel 13 and Cox Communications Inc. - will cease after Friday. But the partnership will go on, company executives said. (read more - The Virginian-Pilot)
DirecTV launched HD LILs (local-in-local) for the Tri-Cities TN-VA DMA on Wednesday. Included HD channels were WCYB/NBC, WJHL/CBS, WEMT/FOX and WSBN/PBS... (1/29/2009)
| Thursday, January 29, 2009Ice accumulation on the antenna used by Amherst radio station WAMV 1420-AM knocked the station off the air at 7 p.m. Tuesday. (read more - Amherst New Era Progress)
| Wednesday, January 28, 2009A bill to delay the date for mandatory conversion of all broadcast television signals from analog to digital failed in the House on Wednesday. (read more - FOX Business)
Washington and Hampton Roads ION stations in initial launch | Wednesday, January 28, 2009Ion is making the move to high def, starting with 20 markets within its 55-market footprint, including New York and Los Angeles, Feb. 16. The remaining markets will launch in HD later in 2009.The company’s digital multicast channels, Qubo and ION Life, will also be available in HD to cable and satellite operators later in 2009. (read more - Broadcasting & Cable)
"CBS Evening News with Katie Couric" will run a one-time only primetime airing tonight at 8... (1/28/2009)
| Tuesday, January 27, 2009FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... WTKR NewsChannel 3 is the only station in Hampton Roads to broadcast live local news completely in 1080i high definition. (read more - WTKR)
| Tuesday, January 27, 2009 The City of Newport News starts streaming its government access channel "Newport News TV" (NNTV) (Cox channel 48, Verizon FiOS 19) today, offering LIVE streaming and ON DEMAND video of their award winning programming at www.nngov.com.
| Tuesday, January 27, 2009 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... 92.9 The Wave (WVBW-FM) is the proud recipient of the Laurence E. Richardson Community Service Award from The Virginia Association of Broadcasters for their “Wave Goodbye to Kids Cancer” Radiothon. The award is presented in the name of Laurence E. Richardson, a past-president of the Virginia Association of Broadcasters... (read more - WVBW)
| Tuesday, January 27, 2009 Tribune owned CW affiliate "DC50" WDCW-DT Washington DC has signed an agreement to air "this tv," a general entertainment television network designed for digital television subchannels. The network is a joint venture between film/TV studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting.The diginet already airs in Richmond on Sinclair Broadcast Group's WRLH-DT/35-2.
| Tuesday, January 27, 2009LIN TV "FOX43" WVBT Virginia Beach debuts a 7 a.m., one-hour newscast next Monday, February 2. The newscast, to be anchored by Kerry Furey and Cheryl Tan, will not be a rerun of their sister station's 6 a.m. show "WAVY News 10 Today." No word if there will be LIVE weather segments. "FOX43 News at 7" will replace Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures at 7 and rotating informercial outlets at 7:30.
| Monday, January 26, 2009 Entercom Communications has frozen all wage increases for 2009 including several top company executives. Entercom owns WPTE/94.9, WVKL/95.7, WWDE/101.3 and WNVZ/104.5 in the Hampton Roads market.
| Monday, January 26, 2009Saga Communications OM Mike Beck said, "I’m very pleased to announce the return of Tim Parker to WNOR. It’s hard to imagine a better fit for the PM Drive position on FM99. After all, Tim held that slot for over a decade before leaving in 2007. Tim also reassumes his duties as Music Director for WNOR. Sonja, the current MD, is promoted to Marketing Director for TCI and remains APD for WNOR."
| Monday, January 26, 2009 Positive Alternative Radio Christian AC "Spirit FM" WPAR/90.3 Salem, WRXT/91.3 Lynchburg/Roanoke (and over a dozen other signals in the state) has named Dave Crosier the station's new Program Director and Music Director.Colleen Larkins has been appointed APD and will handle weekday overnight duties.
| Sunday, January 25, 2009 Local TV LLC "NewsChannel 3" WTKR (CBS) Norfolk is scheduled to launch high-definition newscasts tomorrow evening at 5 p.m. The station recently has made tweaks to its news set in preparation for the HD launch. WTKR will join LIN TV's WAVY (10/NBC) and "FOX43" WVBT to do HD news.Belo Broadcasting's WVEC (13/ABC) was the first to do standard definition widescreen news broadcasts but have no near future plans to go HD.
“The Daily Buzz” weatherman Mitch Engish to appear at CW27 Health & Fitness Expo | Saturday, January 24, 2009FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... Free to be healthy. Free to be fit. Free to be the best you in 2009 at the CW 27 Health & Fitness Expo which will take place on Saturday, February 7, 2009 from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. at the Norfolk SCOPE... (read more - WGNT)
| Friday, January 23, 2009 DCRTV reported Allbritton cut at least 30 employees earlier today at "ABC7" WJLA and sister cable net "NewsChannel 8." The firings weren't just limited to the company's DC operations.Allbritton's Roanoke station, "ABC13" WSET, lost at least a half-dozen people including Night Team Anchor and reporter Maria Black, a promotions manager, web designer, Master Control operator. We hear there was a pay cut, across the board, for all employees.
ZGS Communications is now again airing Telemundo programming on its low-power TV station, WKYV-LP (channel 45) Richmond. A glitch had the imformercial network, ONTV4U, airing for a week and a half... (1/23/2009)
| Friday, January 23, 2009 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... Lisa Allen, Program Director of Your Country 99.7 WCYK in Charlottesville, Virginia has announced the promotion of morning personality/ music director Tom Morgan to Assistant Program Director. Morgan joined WCYK two years ago as afternoon personality and moved to mornings earlier this week. (read more - WCYK)
Clear Channel Richmond OM Dave Symonds is now programming CHR "Q94" WRVQ/94.5 (in addition to Soft AC "Lite 98" WTVR) after Boomer was fired earlier this week... (1/22/2009)
| Thursday, January 22, 2009 Entercom Urban AC "95-7 R&B" WVKL was the most listened to radio station (12+, All Persons, Mon-Sun 6a-Mid) in Hampton Roads during the Fall 2008 radio ratings period according to Arbitron. The ratings period covered September 18 thru December 10...
2. Entercom Rhythmic "Z104" WNVZ/104.5 3. Clear Channel Urban "103Jamz" WOWI/102.9 4t. Max Media Country "97-3 The Eagle" WGH Clear Channel Urban AC "105-3 KISS FM" WKUS 6. Sinclair News/Talk WNIS/790 7. Entercom Modern AC "94.9 The Point" WPTE 8. Max Media Contemporary Inspirational "Star 94.1" WXEZ 9. Entercom Soft AC "2WD" WWDE/101.3 10. Max Media Classic Hits/AC "92-9 The Wave" WVBW
Switch to digital TV may not be as smooth as advertised | Wednesday, January 21, 2009Joyce Powell can get a dozen analog channels with her seven-year-old television set. But when she hooked up a converter box to prepare for next month's transition to digital broadcasts, she discovered that she couldn't receive any local channels... (read more - The Washington Post)
Clear Channel Richmond has let go CHR "Q94" WRVQ/94.5 Program Director Boomer (along with a dozen plus others) as the company trims 1,850+ employees today... (1/20/2009)
| Monday, January 19, 2009FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... East Carolina Radio's Country "Dixie 105.7" WRSF, Classic Hits "102.5 The Shark" WERX, Classic Rock "95.3 The Rock" WOBR, and Soft AC "Mix 96" WKJX will carry live coverage of the Presidential Inauguration from several radio networks, bringing the historic moment to listeners across Northeastern North Carolina on Tuesday. Dixie (WRSF-FM 105.7) will air coverage from CBS Radio News, The Shark (WERX-FM 102.5) and The Rock (WOBR-FM 95.3) will carry CNN Radio's coverage, while Mix 96 (WKJX-FM 96.7) will carry live coverage anchored by East Carolina Radio News Director Sam Walker.
| Friday, January 16, 2009FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... FCC Associate Media Bureau Chief, William D. Freedman, will visit Norfolk, Virginia to hold an “Ask the FCC” event at the Norview Community Center. (read more - FCC)
| Friday, January 16, 2009FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... Tuesday, January 20, the nation will witness history in the Inauguration of Barack Obama as President. www.WFLSNews.com brings you this historic day with six hours of continuous live Inauguration coverage, including the Inaugural parade, the swearing in, and Obama’s Inaugural address. (read more - VARTV Press Room)
| Friday, January 16, 2009Circuit City Stores will seek Bankruptcy Court approval to begin the process to liquidate the assets of the company. (read more - TWICE)
| Thursday, January 15, 2009FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... Lisa Allen, Program Director of Your Country 99.7 WCYK, has announced a new on-air line-up for the station. (read more - WCYK)
| Thursday, January 15, 2009FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has announced his resignation from the chairmanship effective January 20. Martin, who has been at the comission for eight years as both a commissioner and chairman, will become a senior fellow at The Aspen Institute in Washington DC. Martin is the fourth chairman in a row to do so.
WJHL/11 and WSJK/2 concerned | Thursday, January 15, 2009The federal government has bungled implementing digital television and should delay or phase in the process, a Federal Communications Commission official said here Tuesday. (read more - Bristol Herald Courier)
| Thursday, January 15, 2009The public is invited to attend a night of rememberance, celebrating the life of Bill Blake, former WXBQ morning show host. (read more - Bristol Herald Courier)
Up to 9 TV stations in Virginia and DC to participate this year | Tuesday, January 13, 2009The (OMVC), an alliance of U.S. broadcasters dedicated to accelerating the development of mobile digital television, today announced the first wave of broadcasters that have committed to launching mobile digital television (DTV) services in 2009. (read more - WAVY.com)
| Tuesday, January 13, 2009District of Columbia Mayor Adrian M. Fenty signed legislation into law Monday night (Jan. 12) approving Verizon's cable franchise in the city. As part of the 15-year agreement, Verizon will make FiOS TV available throughout the District over the next nine years. The first residents will be able to order FiOS TV within a year. (read more - Verizon)
Verizon FiOS TV recently renewed its retransmission agreement with CBS which includes the O&O (owned and operated) "CW27" WGNT Portsmouth... (1/13/2009)
| Tuesday, January 13, 2009Red Zebra Broadcasting Sports "ESPN 950" WXGI Richmond plugs in "The Sports Reporters," hosted by Steve Czaban and Andy Pollin, from sister DC station, "ESPN 980" WTEM. "The Sports Reporters" fills the spot preiously held by Greg Burton.
| Tuesday, January 13, 2009 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... Studio Center Total Production, the Nation’s largest production company, announces the purchase of Hampton Roads’ premier on camera talent agency Atlantic Talent. (read more - Studio Center)
More cuts at Red Zebra Broadcasting Sports "ESPN 950" WXGI Richmond as the station's Director of Production/Promotions/Public Affairs, Al Green, has been let go. This is on the heels of afternoon host, Greg Burton, getting fired at the end of December... (1/13/2009)
Cox Radio and Virginia Blood Services team help raise over 480 pints of blood | Tuesday, January 13, 2009 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... Cox Radio Richmond (WKHK K95, WKLR 96.5, WMXB 103.7, WDYL Y101.1) and Virginia Blood Services joined forces for the Resolution Blood Drive 2009 on January 12th. This annual blood drive shattered last year’s record of 283 pints of blood by collecting a total of 481 pints of useable blood. Over 550 people showed up in support of the blood drive. (read more - Cox Radio Richmond)
Someone has edited the entry for Local TV LLC "NewsChannel 3" WTKR (CBS) Norfolk on Wikipedia, stating the station will start doing HD newscasts tomorrow at noon. True? But we also have been told it'll happen before the month ends. Stay tuned... (1/13/2009)
Cox Radio and Virginia Blood Services team up for annual blood drive | Monday, January 12, 2009FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE... Cox Radio Richmond (WKHK K95, WKLR 96.5, WMXB 103.7, WDYL Y101.1) and Virginia Blood Services have joined forces for the Resolution Blood Drive 2009, happening today, January 12th 7am-7pm in the ballroom of the Sheraton Park South, 9901 Midlothian Turnpike. (read more - Cox Radio Richmond)
Liberty University's religious "Victory FM" WRVL/88.3 Lynchburg can now be heard on Virginia Tech Foundation's WVTW-HD3/88.5-3 Charlottesville... (1/11/2009)
| Saturday, January 10, 2009Clear Channel Norfolk (Classic Top 40 WCDG/92.1, Urban WOWI/102.9, Urban AC WKUS/105.3, Smooth AC WJCD/107.7) VP/Market Manager Reggie Jordan has be let go. He had held the position since late 2003. Ruth Stoutermire will oeversee both the Norfolk and Richmond. markets.
| Saturday, January 10, 2009 When the North Carolina state-wide PBS network, UNC-TV, did their soft test Wednesday during the call-in show "DTV: Are You Getting It?," about 10% of the 800 phone calls were from viewers that saw the analog shutoff message.UNC-TV has two more soft tests scheduled along with the rest of the TV broadcasters in North Carolina. The first is set for Thursday, January 15; a five-minute test at 6:25 p.m. followed by a two-minute test at 7:30 p.m. Broadcasters in the state will be doing another one in February prior to the analog shutoff date.
| Saturday, January 10, 2009Metro Traffic Richmond's office is officially closed (as of Friday, January 2) when Richmond radio reporter, Chris Dennison, signed off. Their operations, we're told, have been absorbed by Westwood One's Silver Spring MD office, just north of DC. Norfolk is the last functioning operations center in Virginia but rumors are it could close sometime this year. Stay tuned...
| Saturday, January 10, 2009Last week, LIN TV WAVY (10/NBC) Portsmouth 5:30 p.m. newscast producer Danny Epperson exited the station with his 15 years of media experience to produce "HearSay with Cathy Lewis" on Hampton Roads Educational Telecommunications Association's WHRV/89.5 Norfolk. Epperson is also producing "What Matters" (also hosted by Cathy Lewis) on sister TV station WHRO (15/PBS) Friday's at 8:30 p.m.
| Saturday, January 10, 2009 With station vet Harvey "Big Bird" Kojan's exit at the PD chair at Active Rock "FM99" WNOR/98.7, Mike Beck (PD at sister Classic Hits "106.9 The Fox" WAFX) adds WNOR's PD strips. Beck gets a new title too, Operations Manager for the cluster.Former afternooner/APD Tim Parker is filling in, for now, to handle FM99's afternoon shift. Parker's main focus is work at Studio Center. Sonja remains the APD and MD for the station.
| Friday, January 9, 2009We had our overworked desktop computer turn into a big brick. Hard-drive and data is fine but the rest of the machine is now in the trash. Slowly getting things back to normal. Stay tuned...
| Tuesday, January 6, 2009Raycom Media and Local TV announced Tuesday that the two broadcasters will swap stations in Alabama and Kentucky. (read more - Broadcasting & Cable)
| Tuesday, January 6, 2009BREAKING NEWS: Raycom Media and Local TV LLC announced that they have entered into a definitive Asset Exchange Agreement, with Local TV swapping "FOX6" WBRC Birmingham AL for Raycom's "CBS6" WTVR Richmond (plus additional consideration). The transaction is expected to close sometime during the first half of 2009. Local TV owns "NewsChannel 3" WTKR (CBS) Norfolk.
| Tuesday, January 6, 2009Greg Burton, who hosted the afternoon radio show "Hardly Workin'" on Red Zebra's Sports "ESPN Radio 950" WXGI Richmond, was let go last week. He said Red Zebra's actions were related to cost-cutting. We hear Burton will continue to call games for VCU. His first show on WXGI, "The Drive," debuted on July 19, 2004.
| Monday, January 5, 2009The following television stations have scheduled DTV readiness tests by turning off or interrupting their analog TV signals: WTKR-TV (channel 3) - Tuesday, 6:30 a.m.WTKR and WUND are the two TV stations in the market designated as "nightlight." They will remain on the air for 30 days after the digital transition for public information.
| Monday, January 5, 2009 Shocker! Active Rock "FM99" WNOR/98.7 Norfolk PD Harvey "Big Bird" Kojan has been canned after programming the station for over 15 years. Big Bird was also doing afternoons. Reach out to Kojan at askbigbird@gmail.com.Also let go was the cluster's General Sales Manager, Jaqueline Schillereff-Jackson. She took over both station (WNOR and WAFX) last year when Barry Haugh was let go. And the cluster's webmaster, Jason Hillegas, was pink-slipped. Editor's note: I found an eerie article about Kojan and the station that appeared in Airplay Monitors back in November 2002. Kojan said the airstaff had remained relatively intact over the years. And it remained that way several years after the article was written until the past two years. My, how times have REALLY changed...
RTN carried on WSET-DT Roanoke and WJLA-DT Washington DC | Monday, January 5, 2009 As a result of a financial feud with its former corporate parent, Retro Television Network went dark for a few hours early Sunday morning as it made a sooner-than-expected flash cut to a new master control and uplink center in Chattanooga, Tenn. (read more - TVNEWSDAY)
| Thursday, January 1, 2009 At the end of yesterday's noon newscast, "NBC12" WWBT Richmond anchor Casey Nicholson announced she was leaving the station. She mentioned her contract was up, a new contract was offered but she choose to turned it down. Nicholson is expecting a baby in less than two months.Nicholson says she'll be back at WWBT filling in and doing special projects, as her family's schedule permits. She was originally hired to anchor NBC12's 4 p.m. newscast back in 2006, but was quickly moved to the morning newscast with the sudden announcement that Andrea McDaniel was leaving the morning show.
As "promised," DirecTV stopped carrying the standard-definition signal of Sky Television's Independent "Channel 4 Hampton Roads" WSKY-DT Manteo two mintues after 6 a.m. today... (1/1/2009)
| Thursday, January 1, 2009Viacom's cable networks will remain available to Time Warner Cable... subscribers, after eleventh-hour talks between the media giant and the country's second-biggest MSO resulted in an agreement in principle on carriage terms. (read more - Multichannel News)
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