January 11, 1999

By Vince Santarelli

We lost another radio station in New York City last month when the New York Times pulled the plug on WQEW, its AM outlet. WQEW was the only place in New York where folks who listened to Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, and Ella Fitzgerald could tune in to hear their favorites. The Times then entered into an eight-year lease with Radio Disney, which will pipe its all-kids format on the 1560 frequency.

The only word that I can think of to describe the Times' decision to do this is "gutless."

Down through the years, we've said goodbye to WMCA (in 1970), WINS (in 1965), WMGM (in 1962), WABC (in 1982), WHN (in 1987), WYNY (in 1996), and a few others that I might not be remembering. Each goodbye was a sad experience, but with each goodbye, we can look back with fond memories.

The December 27 loss of WQEW will not be remembered with fondness. While some fans of the station have taken Disney to task for killing their favorite format, it is not Disney who did wrong this time. It is the people who run the New York Times. They are the folks who gagged the WQEW hosts. They are the folks who pulled the plug on the microphone for that final week of broadcasting.

A spokesperson for the Times was quoted as saying that the hosts would have nothing to say about the end of the station. She went on to say that their policy might change as the end drew closer. What she didn't say was that the Times had no intention of giving these radio professionals their fair chance to end their runs with dignity. What she didn't say was that the Times was going to treat this group of professionals like a gaggle of kindergartners who couldn't be counted on to say the right things.

The way the New York Times handled the end of WQEW was one of the biggest tragedies in the history of New York radio. This was an insult added to injury, and then sprinkled with salt. Somehow, I never imagined that the New York Times, one of the most respected newspapers in the country, would come out of this change smelling like ? well, like something that you wouldn't want to step in.

Bob Jones, Lee Arnold, Stan Martin, Batt Johnson, Chuck Leonard, Holly Levis, Bill Jerome, and Jonathan Schwartz all deserved better. The folks who listened faithfully to WQEW also deserved something better than commercials telling them where they could go after the plug was pulled. Actually, the Times telling us all where to go would have been better than what they did.

Cancel my subscription.

Vince Santarelli is the New York correspondent for RadioDigest.com. In addition, he also publishes Apple Bites, a newsletter dedicated to radio in the nation's number-one market.