He welcomes double duty
CBS didn't have to look long for a new program director for WBCN-FM (104.1). Following the June 10 departure of Dave Wellington, who had helmed the rock station for four years, CBS named Mike Thomas to the top spot. The new PD was already in the group's Brighton headquarters as the program director for sister station WZLX-FM (100.7). That makes Thomas the first program director in the station's 50-year history to not be focusing specifically on the one station. But Thomas, who came to WZLX in 2006, doesn't sound worried.
"The whole radio industry has changed," says Thomas. Indeed, the move can be seen as the obvious next step in a consolidation process that began when WBCN was moved in 2005 to the Brighton headquarters of CBS sister station WBMX-FM (98.5) and WZLX followed in 2007. "The days of stations owned by the same company being bitter rivals is over."
This view holds across the industry. "Double-teaming or triple- teaming the PD is becoming almost the norm," says Tom Taylor, executive news editor of the industry website Radio-Info.com. He points to Wellington, announced this week as the program director of two
With Thomas's two jobs, he will be straddling two similar but distinct formats. While WBCN calls itself "the rock of Boston" and plays newer music, WZLX focuses on classic rock, aiming for an older audience. Because of the format similarities, WZLX has long been a next step for WBCN veterans.
But if WZLX has a clear and consistent format, WBCN sounds very much like a station in flux. The station had originally been music-centered, switching from its early classical sound to rock in the 1960s. The adoption of "The Howard Stern Show" in the 1990s put talk and humor in the mix, and now similar talk shows air during the critical weekday mornings and afternoon drive times, with the modern rock returning middays and evenings.
If Thomas is planning any changes, he's keeping those plans under wraps. "The music is a huge part of the history of WBCN. The music is going to continue to be a big part," he says. "But like with everything else, there are more choices these days. Having very entertaining personalities is [also] going to be a big part."
Spinning the dial
Ann Spencer Gates wasn't on Boston radio for very long. But for the five years (1981-86) that the Buffalo, native cohosted "The Mystery Girls" show on WMBR-FM (88.1), she provided a fresh take on the local punk scene and a focal point for local music fans. Gates, who went on to music-industry jobs in New York and LA, died July 6 after a two-year battle with breast cancer. She was 49. . . . WBOS-FM (92.9) will once again host its free summer concerts but has moved the Thursday evening concerts from Copley Square to City Hall Plaza. The renamed "City Steps Concerts" series will feature Thriving Ivory on July 17, Tracy Bonham on July 31, and English Beat on Aug. 21, all starting at 6 p.m.
