West Michigan: December 2006 Archives

There are a few things you probably didn't know about Rob St. Mary, the new news director at WOOD-AM (1300). First, he has lost more than 140 pounds since 2000. "It was all a result of diet and exercise, and I have kept it off," he said ... WGRD team expands- Morning-drive radio listeners in mid-Tennessee will get Free Beer and Hot Wings every weekday. Nashville's mainstream rock radio station WPCZ-FM (102.9, The Buzz) recently replaced The Bob and Tom Show with the local gents on WGRD-FM (97.9), which is syndicated on several other stations across the country... Yet another station picks up Free Beer show (Fri 12/1)

Morning-drive radio listeners in mid-Tennessee will get Free Beer and Hot Wings every weekday. Nashville's mainstream rock radio station WPCZ-FM (102.9, The Buzz) recently replaced The Bob and Tom Show with the local gents on WGRD-FM (97.9), which is syndicated on several other stations across the country... WGRD team expands (Sun 12/3)

Top five stations among listeners age 12 and above for the first fall ratings trend in Grand Rapids were WBCT-FM, WSNX-FM, WOOD-AM, WGRD-FM, and WLAV-FM... Grand Rapids 12+ ratings, Fall phase 1

After Jan. 1, listeners may not recognize the Voice of Niles-Buchanan. That became apparent Wednesday when Gloria Cooper, the voice behind Niles-based WNIL-AM radio station's "Here's Gloria'' program, announced on the air her intention to resign Dec. 29. Not only is Cooper leaving but so, too, is the station's operations manager and jack-of-all-trades, Ric Clingaman. The loss of Cooper and Clingaman will leave the station, billed as the Voice of Niles-Buchanan and Hometown 1290, without its hometown feel. Beginning in 2007, the around-the-clock station will be fully automated and will transmit programming solely by satellite, Clingaman said... Niles radio losing local program voices (Thu 12/7)

Coats 4 Kids, Frostbite 4 WSNX's Internio:
CLEAR CHANNEL Top 40 WSNX/GRAND RAPIDS' "THE PLAYHOUSE" morning star PUDDIN shared the following with ALL ACCESS: "Morning show stunt punk INTERNIO 'THE MEXICAN INTERN' is recovering and celebrating. He was brave or dumb enough to bare all, to bring attention to an overlooked problem. INTERNIO stood outside collecting 'Coats 4 Kids' to make the point that there are kids in this city that have to deal with this problem every day. After less than four hours, he picked up over 300 coats, sweaters, and sweatshirts for kids who didn't have them earlier today." By the way, the outside temperature during this stunt was 14 degrees -- with a wind chill of zero. "Oh, did I mention we made him wear the BORAT swimsuit?" PUDDIN adds. "Does workmen's comp cover self-induced frostbite?" (Fri 12/8)

I have always been a fan of Aris Hampers. He had been a West Michigan radio fixture for 35 years, and I miss him on the airwaves since he was let go from Clear Channel's WBFX-FM (101.3) in September. What's Aris up to now? I heard him on the air last month at WLAV-FM (96.9) when he dropped in as a Friday morning guest on the Kevin Matthews show. The two have been friends since their Grand Valley college days. "We had a gas -- a lot of fun," Hampers said from his Aris' Disc Shop in the Celebration Cinema North complex. "Although getting up at 5:30 -- well, I'm more of a noon kind of guy"... Broadcast notes: Aris has new best friend in Asia (Sun 12/10)

O'Kelly Named PD At WFGR:
LEN O'KELLY is joining REGENT Oldies WFGR (OLDIES 98.7)/GRAND RAPIDS as PD/morning host, effective JANUARY 2. O'KELLY has been serving as a commercial producer at TRIBUNE Talk WGN-A/CHICAGO and has been imaging WYIN-TV (LAKESHORE PUBLIC TELEVISION)/GARY-MERRILLVILLE, IN and voice tracking for CLEAR CHANNEL Soft AC WBXX/BATTLE CREEK, previously handled production director and overnight hosting duties at the former "REAL OLDIES 1690" WRLL-A and, before that, was APD/MD for then-Oldies WJMK/CHICAGO and PD of WODJ/GRAND RAPIDS. (Wed 12/13)

Darren Arriens Named PD At Rock 107.5/Tucson:
CITADEL Rock WKLQ and Top 40 WHTS/GRAND RAPIDS PD and Top 40 WJIM/LANSING MD DARRIN ARRIENS is heading to sister Classic Rock KHYT (ROCK 107.5)/TUCSON as PD. KHYT GM KEN KOWALCEK says that "we are thrilled to welcome DARRIN to TUCSON. It's always great to be able to find great talent in your own company and DARRIN comes to us from our sister stations in GRAND RAPIDS. We know he and his wife SUSAN will love TUCSON and his years of experience at heritage rock stations like WRIF-FM in DETROIT and WIOT-FM in TOLEDO mean that ROCK 107.5 is in excellent hands and the future looks great!"

ARRIENS adds that he is "absolutely thrilled to be moving along to CITADEL TUCSON and program KHYT. HERB CROWE, KEN KOWALCEK and the rest of the staff are a total class act and they are setting the pace for radio in TUCSON. I am leaving some of the best and smartest people I have ever worked with in GRAND RAPIDS. Regional President MATT HANLON is truly a visionary and it was a great learning experience to work with him the past three years. He is also a mentor and a friend. I am richer for the experience of working with him. I also want to thank OM BRENT ALBERTS, who is a great programmer with a mountain of experience and savvy. For me, this is a win win situation; I will miss GRAND RAPIDS and the people at CITADEL there, but I also look forward to teaming up with some great colleagues in TUCSON. Finally, I would like to thank JUDY ELLIS and FARID SULEMAN for their confidence in my abilities. It is great to be a part of the CITADEL team!" (Wed 12/13)

Grey Named PD At WKLQ:
With yesterday's announcement that CITADEL Rock WKLQ and Top 40 WHTS/GRAND RAPIDS PD and Top 40 WJIM/LANSING MD DARRIN ARRIENS is heading to sister Classic Rock KHYT (ROCK 107.5)/TUCSON as PD, that left the WKLQ PD slot open for a few minutes, but now it's filled: WKLQ APD/afternoon host MICHAEL GREY gets the promotion to PD to replace ARRIENS. GREY says "I can't believe they fell for it. In all seriousness, I can't say thanks enough to DARRIN, MATT HANLON and BRENT ALBERTS for giving me the keys- I'm looking forward to taking KLQ to the next level." ALBERTS, CITADEL's VP Rock, added "MICHAEL has earned this opportunity, and we're happy to see him grow into this position. We feel great about the future of KLQ." Now, who's gonna replace GREY as APD and ARRIENS as midday host? (Thu 12/14)

Bubba Gets Overnights At WKFR:
CUMULUS Top 40 WKFR/BATTLE CREEK, MI swing shifter and "RAY's Pig Pen Radio" lackey BUBBA picks up Overnights for the station starting in JANUARY. PD/middayer KRUZE tells ALL ACCESS that he's "happy that we've greatly decreased BUBBA's likelihood of being arrested from the hours of Midnight-5am." (Thu 12/14)

The holiday classics haven't changed that much -- radio stations still turn to Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole and Burl Ives to spread Yuletide cheer. But your chances of hearing them on the radio are growing fast. This week, more than 400 stations from Maine to Hawaii -- West Michigan included -- were playing Christmas tunes around the clock to bring in listeners and advertising dollars. Some cities have as many as five or six stations competing for holiday listeners. Most of the programming kicked off after Thanksgiving; the earliest station switched in October before trick-or-treaters made the rounds... Radio stations tuned in to holidays (Fri 12/15)

'Tis the season for radio change-ups. Len O'Kelly will join Regent Broadcasting in January as program director and morning man on Oldies station WFGR-FM (98.7). Current morning guy Robb Stewart is "investigating career options," said Phil Catlett, president and general manager of Regent Broadcasting's local stations. The addition of O'Kelly gives Catlett a new person to oversee the day-to-day programming of WFGR... Oldies station gets new program director (Sun 12/17)

Leaving the Michigan winter behind is Darrin Arriens of Citadel Radio. He was responsible for rock station WKLQ-FM (107.3), top 40 WHTS-FM (105.3 Hot FM) and Lansing station WJIM. Arriens heads to Tucson... Arriens off to Arizona (Sun 12/17)

WSNX-FM (104.5) collected more than 300 coats and winter accessories for Catholic Social Services during "The Playhouse Morning Show" Dec. 7. It was bone-chilling cold for scantily clad personality Internio Banderas... A chilling experience at fundraiser (Sun 12/17)

Grand Rapids-area high schools combined to win two state football championships this fall, grabbed a state title in girls basketball and two state crowns in both girls cross country and girls tennis. Must-See TV really is back for area fans considering all the noise those teams made. The Michigan High School Athletic Association, along with Fox Sports Network Detroit, has produced "MHSAA Magazine." The 30-minute show will debut at 7 p.m. Thursday on FSN... FSN highlights state champions (Mon 12/18)

WGRD Auctions Everything Under Its Tree:
REGENT Alternative WGRD/GRAND RAPIDS is auctioning off everything under and on its CHRISTMAS tree this year, with prizes including autographed ornaments from HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS, THE FRAY, NICKELBACK, and KID ROCK, snowboards autographed by FALL OUT BOY, autographed guitars from PANIC! AT THE DISCO and SHINEDOWN, a NINE INCH NAILS autographed poster, and more. Click here to see the eBAY listings and bid; you have until DECEMBER 21 at 3p ET to get those bids in. The auction benefits the HELEN DEVOS CHILDRENS HOSPITAL and is sponsored by CITGO. (Mon 12/18)

The planned consolidation of the WOTV broadcast facility and staff into WOOD-TV's operations that began earlier this year is nearly complete. All WOTV operations in Battle Creek will be moved to WOOD TV in Grand Rapids by the end of this year, according to Diane Kniowski, WOOD/WOTV/WXSP president and general manager. Three positions will be cut in the move, she said in a news release Wednesday. Gerry Barnaby, WOTV features reporter, will no longer be a part of the team. Barnaby has been with either WOOD TV or WOTV since 1993... WOTV/WOOD consolidation nearly completed (Thu 12/21)

"Barnaby here" is a phrase television viewers will no longer hear on the West Michigan airwaves. In a consolidation move, management at WOOD-TV (Channel 8) has decided to shut down its Battle Creek office and move all of the operations at sister station WOTV (Channel 41) to Grand Rapids, the staff was told on Wednesday... Barnaby gets ax by WOOD (Thu 12/21)

Some PBS television stations in Michigan are planning to feature the 2006 Hope College Christmas Vespers service this weekend. Held on Dec. 2 and 3, the service was filmed by WGVU-TV of Grand Rapids and made available to PBS affiliates nationwide. WGVU-TV 35 and WGVK-TV 52 of Kalamazoo will be broadcasting the program on Friday at 10 p.m.; Saturday, at 2 p.m.; Sunday at 11 p.m.; and Monday at 1 and 4 p.m... Hope's Christmas Vespers to air on PBS stations (Thu 12/21)

The New York Yankees had completed spring training and were headed north when the Bronx Bombers made a stop in Atlanta during the spring of 1925. The Yankees were in town to play the Atlanta Crackers at Ponce de Leon Park, and Babe Ruth came running in from the outfield after the eighth inning. A 7-year-old Ernie Harwell came sneaking up to the dugout with a pen in hand and asked Ruth for an autograph. "But kid, you don't have anything for me to sign," Harwell recalled Ruth saying in his recently released Ernie Harwell's Audio Scrapbook... Harwell tells interesting stories in audio scrapbook (Thu 12/21)

Radio personality Robert S is offering a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest of the people behind the door-gluing vandalism at Union High School... Radio host offers cash to catch super-glue vandals (Thu12/21)

Battle Creek Unlimited is happy to take the old Fort Custer post headquarters from its current owners, WOTV Ch. 41. But Jim Hettinger, BCU's president and chief executive officer, said what's inside the building probably will be more valuable than the structure itself. "The real value in the deal, if it works for us, is the audio-video equipment that we'll be donating to the schools," Hettinger said Thursday. "There's some pretty sophisticated equipment in there." Hettinger said WOTV's owner, LIN Broadcasting, is simply walking away, leaving almost everything in the building... WOTV building may be razed (Fri 12/22)

In the spirit of the holiday, I checked in with a few of West Michigan's TV personalities who are in different homes for the holidays. After 32 years in broadcasting, Barry Shanley, 60, former news anchor at WZZM-TV in the 1980s, is making a difference in the lives of teenagers ... Kim Covington, former WZZM-TV anchor, enjoys her new position as weekend news anchor and education reporter at station KPNX-TV (Channel 12) in Phoenix ... Former WOOD-TV (Channel 8) meteorologist Ginger Zee is enjoying life in Chi-town... Checking in with former local broadcasters (Sun 12/24)

The year was 1973, and Doc Severinsen, then the band leader on NBC-TV's "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson," had been selected to appear at Niles' first-ever Four Flags Area Apple Festival. Festival officials chose him in part because of the free publicity they hoped Severinsen would generate during his Tonight Show banter with Carson. But as Gloria Cooper, the voice behind Niles-based WNIL-AM radio station's "Here's Gloria'' program recalls it, local residents didn't like what they heard. Or thought they heard... Loss of Niles' radio personality may make us all a little crazy (Fri 12/22)

A Grand Rapids-based TV station will air a documentary about the late President Gerald R. Ford, who grew up in Grand Rapids, at 1 and 10 p.m. today. “Time and Chance: Gerald Ford's Appointment With History” is a 60-minute film produced by WGVU Productions that traces Ford's years from Grand Rapids to Washington, D.C... WGVU to air Ford documentary today (Thu 12/28)

Radio ratings for the second trend of the fall ratings period was released yesterday by Arbitron for Grand Rapids. WBCT-FM continues to be the top-rated station 12+, followed by WOOD-AM, WSNX-FM, WOOD-FM, and WLAV-FM...
Review the list here (Thu 12/28)

Larry Langford may live in Chicago, but his area radio station give him a strong tie to southwestern Michigan. Langford, a spokesperson for the Chicago Fire Department, is the owner of WGTO 910 AM in Cassopolis. On Thursday, he said he is close to closing the deal to purchase the WDOW 1440 AM studio in Dowagiac. The Dowagiac station is currently owned by LeSEA Broadcasting, a South Bend, Ind., based broadcasting company that broadcasts Christian and Jewish programming. "LeSEA has been a Godsend to me to make the way for us to make the purchase," Langford said. He added the acquisition will give him the opportunity to restore more local service to the region... WDOW sale may impact local radio coverage (Fri 12/29)