SYRACUSE — There’s plenty of excitement these days about the Syracuse Crunch, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning. The team has been undefeated so far, through the first two rounds of the Calder Cup Playoffs. Last Friday, a “Pregame in the Plaza” was offered to fans getting ready for the game in which Syracuse would clinch the Eastern Conference Semifinal series… and local radio and TV personalities were there too.
UTICA-ROME — Last month, Shaun Andrews marked his 15th anniversary at 97.9 and 105.5 Kiss-FM (WSKS/WSKU). Earlier this week, the former intern who worked his way up to program director was recognized with a cake and a personalized plaque.
SYRACUSE — Longtime NewsChannel 2 (WKTV) anchor Bill Worden, who retired last November after 35 years with the Utica NBC affiliate, received the Syracuse Press Club’s Career Achievement Award this past weekend. Thanks to one of his former co-workers, we’ve got a few photos to share.
SYRACUSE — It’s not very often that you get the chance to see more than a dozen past and present top names from Syracuse television — from different stations — all together, in the same place. But that happened last weekend, when this group gathered to sign copies of Syracuse Television, the book chronicling the history of its namesake.
SYRACUSE — Our latest Picture of the Week headline has nothing to do with the 2:02 commercial breaks Chuck Woolery used to introduce during TV’s Love Connection back in the 80s. Rather, we’ve got two local morning radio co-hosts being photographed at two different recent events… and the photos came to us from two different contributors.
UTICA-ROME — A belated “hoppy birthday” to Big Frog 104 (WFRG) morning co-host Polly Wogg! Last week, she turned 40. Earlier this month, she asked Keith Urban if he’d sing her a birthday song. Although she didn’t get exactly what she asked for, Polly Wogg was still very excited about the special gift she receive from the country music star.
ALBANY — Sad news for fans this week, learning of the passing of Annette Funicello. The singer, dancer and actress who grew up in Utica lost a long battle with multiple sclerosis on Monday, at the age of 70. This week, an Ithaca radio personality remembers one special evening decades ago, when the former Mousketeer was his “date” during an Albany radio station event.
SYRACUSE — Did you hug a news anchor yesterday? If not, you may have to wait until “National Hug a News Anchor Day” comes around again next year. A couple of local stations observed the “holiday” and shared video online.
WASHINGTON, DC — Are you ready for Syracuse’s “Sweet 16″ game against Indiana tonight? We usually hold “Picture of the Week” until Friday, but given that this week’s photo has to do with the media frenzy surrounding tonight’s game, we decided to move the feature up by a day this week.
UTICA-ROME — Just a little over a week since the Mohawk Valley was jolted by a deadly shooting rampage, an unprecedented effort by local broadcasters. Journalists and disc jockeys set competition aside to help raise money for community organizations that are helping victims of the horrific events of March 13.