Panel to be Broadcast Over WHAV Aug. 26, Aug. 29
Turning Back the Clock on Local Radio

Hear the entire panel discussion at 9 p.m., Monday, August 26, and 9 p.m., Thursday, August 29 at WHAV.net and affiliated cable television stations.

Scott Fybush

Dr. Donna L. Halper

Dan Kennedy

Marc Lemay

William J. Macek

Kevin McKinney

One of the most distinguished panels of media experts ever assembled in New England came together Wed., June 19 in Haverhill. The group discussed the future of on-air music and news following the New England premiere screening of “Corporate FM: The Killing of Local Commercial Radio.”

The event, which took place at Chunky’s Cinema and Pub in Haverhill, helped raised money for nonprofit WHAV’s FM expansion. The movie discusses how consolidation of broadcast media into just a few hands has harmed the public.

“What really struck me about (the movie) is the loss of a really vital local, community medium. I’m not as interested in the music end so much of it as I am the news and public affairs end of it. And that has been absolutely devastating to watch over the years,” said Dan Kennedy, assistant professor, Northeastern University School of Journalism.

Besides Kennedy, the panel included Corporate FM Director Kevin McKinney; Dr. Donna L. Halper, associate professor of communications, Lesley University; William J. Macek, owner of WPKZ, Fitchburg, and New England radio owner/operated for 22 years; and Marc Lemay, communications manager, Greater Lawrence Family Health Center, and former WHAV news director. It was moderated by Scott Fybush. Fybush began his broadcast career in the Merrimack Valley at Lowell’s WCAP. In the decades since, he has worked on the air and behind the scenes in both commercial radio and public radio, including Boston’s WBZ and WXXI in his native Rochester, N.Y.

Halper turned the discussion to music. She was music director at a radio station in Cleveland when she received a record from a then-unsigned rock band, Rush. Unlike corporate-owned radio stations today, she explained, she had the freedom to play the music, which helped propel Rush into the big time.

 “One of the things radio does better than anyone, any mass medium, is to befriend the listener. When I think of my favorite station, I think of a best friend. I played ‘Working Man’ by Rush because I knew people in that market felt that way, that they would identify with those lyrics…this has been like 40 years of my life and I will not let this industry die,” said Halper tearfully, winning loud applause.

Macek and Lemay lamented the lack of business support for local radio stations.

“I never tell anybody they should buy just radio. I always have said a piece of your advertising budget should be spent on radio because we can deliver those people that are within 10 to 15 miles of the front door of their business.”

Lemay gave an example of the original WHAV unsuccessfully trying to sell ads for local high school football games. He said there were some regulars who supported airing the games, but others came up with myriad excuses for walking away. “One of the things I experienced right here in Haverhill was not local radio giving up on the community, but the community giving up on local radio…If the radio stations aren’t supported then the radio stations can’t exist.”

McKinney offered an alternative hypothesis. “There’s a chicken and egg thing here and I would argue, Marc, that the thing that got cut first was the medium. When you cut the medium, people are going to where the content is. The more you cut back radio, the more you have go somewhere else to look for that content.”

Macek added, “We have to figure out ways to be competitive, to survive in this marketplace. And the more we can do in getting support from the community’s businesses and professionals in advertising the more we can then add to doing things locally with the public and get more listeners that way.”

Hear the entire panel discussion at 9 p.m., Monday, August 26, and 9 p.m., Thursday, August 29 at WHAV.net and affiliated cable television stations. For more resources from the panelists, books and materials, click here.

More local news, free membership option, gift shop online
Revamped WHAV Website Delivers Additional Listener Benefits

Expanded local news, a new free membership option, an online gift and book shop and volunteer page are among the improvements at WHAV’s website at www.WHAV.net.

WHAV’s home page now features local news headlines as well as listings from the radio station’s “Community Spotlight” and “JamCast” series. The news section teases stories that can be heard in greater detail over the air from the Edwin V. Johnson Newsroom.

A revamped Membership page now provides free online registration for listeners who wish to receive WHAV updates by email. Full membership options for students and senior citizens ($10 per year) and others (beginning at $25 per year) are also available with a convenient online payment system. Full members receive a variety of additional benefits including membership cards, bumper stickers, exclusive invitations and more.

The online Gifts and Books page was inspired by such WHAV contributors as Tom Bergeron, Scott Fybush, David Goudsward, Dr. Donna Halper (see book cover at left), Dan Kennedy and James Vanderpol. Each has been heard over WHAV and their offerings provide much greater insight into their works.

Many requests from those who wish to learn more about broadcasting is answered by the Volunteers page. Opportunities include one-time, short-term and long-term volunteer assignments. These include news correspondents, day staffing, ambassadors/street teams, membership campaign/pledge drive workers and program/production assistants. As the new page indicates, “You have the options of learning the latest broadcasting tools or just making sure residents receive the information they need.” Those interested can complete an online form to learn more.

Brand New Episodes for the First Time in 50 Years
New ‘Suspense’ Radio Series from Hollywood Joins WHAV Lineup this Fall

Hollywood is revisiting the golden age of radio with an updated series of “Suspense” that begins airing over WHAV this fall. The first episode, which airs Monday, Sept.  9, is based on the work of H.P. Lovecraft who spent time in the Merrimack Valley during the 1920s.

The adaptation of Lovecraft’s “Cool Air” stars Adrienne Wilkinson, Daamen Krall, Dana Perry-Hayes and Christopher Duva. David Goudsward, formerly of Haverhill and author of the new book “H.P. Lovecraft in the Merrimack Valley,” analyses the story.

“Similar to Lovecraft’s stories inspired in the Merrimack Valley (such as “The Shadow Over Innsmouth” which starts in Newburyport), “Cool Air” reflects the city in which Lovecraft was living—NYC. The story takes place in a brownstone that was actually describing the home and bookstore of Lovecraft’s long-time friend George Kirk on West 14th Street. The story’s protagonist Dr. Munoz bears more than a passing resemblance to Lovecraft’s neighbor, State Senator William Lathrop Love, M.D. In addition to this marvelous radio adaption for the revived Suspense, there is also a film adaptation, one of three segments of the film Necronomicon (1993) with the location moved to Boston’s Back Bay,” Goudsward said.

The updated Suspense debuts at 10 p.m., Monday, Sept. 9, with an encore performance at 1 a.m. at www.WHAV.net and participating public access television stations throughout the Merrimack Valley.

Adrienne Wilkinson may be best known for her role as Xena’s daughter from the television series “Xena: Warrior Princess.” She has also appeared in “Charmed,” “Days of Our Lives,” “ER,” “Angel,” “Venice,” “Goodnight Burbank” and “Reflections.” Daamen Krall’s work include “The Lion King,” “Garfield,” “South Park,” “The Simpsons Movie,” “Night At The Museum” and dozens of others.

The original Suspense aired on CBS from 1942 to 1962. It featured such Hollywood stars as Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Vincent Price and Peter Lorre. The original Suspense included an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Dunwich Horror.”

The WHAV call letters have been associated with local broadcasting since 1947. WHAV is today operated by Public Media of New England Inc., a not-for-profit corporation. Since 2004, the call has served the Merrimack Valley’s pioneer Internet radio station at WHAV.net and a number of public access cable television stations in Andover, Haverhill and Methuen, and Plaistow and Sandown, N.H. The station is also heard over AM 1640 in northern Haverhill and Plaistow, N.H.

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