Channel Surfing
by Laura Nachman
Bucks County Courier Times
January 25, 2005

We’re Living Here in Allentown?

The Lehigh Valley is the new “hot spot” for local stations.  Within the last six months both WPVI and WCAU have set up bureaus there.  Walter Perez is the WPVI Lehigh Valley reporter and Stacy Weaver is the WCAU reporter.  KYW and WTXF don’t have specific reporters for that region yet.

Former WCAU anchor and reporter Joe Vazquez, who was fired a couple of months ago for acting inappropriately in front of an intern, found a new job. He will join the San Francisco CBS affiliate as a reporter. Philadelphia is the number five market.  San Francisco is number six.

A couple of familiar names have popped up on radio.  Former WMMR 93.3-FM disc jockey Cindy Drue was heard on the graveyard shift on WMGK 102.9-FM and “Bubba” John Stevens filled in for Debbie Calton the other day. Maybe WMGK morning man and former WMMR “Morning Zookeeper” John DeBella got them in.

Remember Drue from the old “Rock Reports” on Channel 3 in the 80’s before “Saturday Night Live?” Stevens was part of the WMMR glory lineup of “The Morning Zoo” with DeBella and Mark the Shark, Pierre Robert, and Joe Bonnadonna.

Ray Koob and Michael Tearson of WMGK are also former WMMR personalities. 

In the fall Arbitron ratings, WMGK was in 13^th place with listeners 12 and up.  However, it dropped from a 3.5 share of the audience last fall to 2.8.

Speaking of WMGK, the classic rock station will be getting some new competition in February as “The Hawk” 94.5-FM will switch dial positions with WPST 97.5-FM. “The Hawk” and WPST are both owned by Nassau Broadcasting.  According to radio insiders, the reason for the switch is so “The Hawk” can better compete with WMGK on stronger signal 97.5-FM.

Christy Springfield, who was at 98.1-FM since its “Hot Hits” days twenty years ago, moved to WPEN 950-AM.  Springfield will work middays. She did the same shift at WOGL, but was demoted to weekends a few months ago.

This week “Simple Life 3: Interns” with Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie debuts on Fox.  “Newlyweds:  Nick and Jessica” is back for season three. And “The Ashlee Simpson Show” returns for season two.