WATERTOWN — Reginald James Pettiford, perhaps better known by his on-air nickname “Jimbo,” has passed away.  The afternoon drive personality from Classic Hits Z93 (WCIZ) was 56 years old.  Updated 12/24 at 11am with arrangements. [More »]

UTICA — Calling hours for longtime local radio host Joe Graziano are set for today (Tuesday) from 3-6pm at the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes at 2222 Genesee Street.  According to the Utica Observer-Dispatch, a Mass of Christian Burial and Celebration of Life with military honors will follow the visitation.  As reported earlier, Graziano died on Friday at the age of 74.  He spent the last several years of his career hosting the Cuppa Joe Show on WRUN, and later on WUTQ/WADR.

UTICA/ROME — Joe Graziano, a Mohawk Valley radio fixture whose career spanned more than half a century, passed away on Friday at the age of 74.  During the last several years of his career, Graziano hosted the Cuppa Joe Show on at least three different radio stations. [More »]

FLORIDA — A former owner of WSGO(AM) and the man who started WGES-FM has died.  Robert Gessner was 86 years old when he passed away in Florida.  Today, you might know WGES-FM better as WTKV, the Oswego-based repeater of Galaxy classic rocker TK99 (WTKW).  Dave Bullard has a complete profile on Gessner’s accomplishments at oswegocountytoday.com.

Updated 9/17 with arrangements – UTICA-ROME — NBC affiliate WKTV is reporting the death of retired local broadcaster Jack Fredericks, at the age of 84.  Fredericks spent most of his long career at the TV station atop Smith Hill, but he broke into the business while he was still in high school, as an announcer for WIBX. [More »]

Updated 9/13 with arrangements – SYRACUSE — Longtime Syracuse radio and TV journalist Jerry Barsha has passed away at the age of 83.  His broadcasting career spanned more than three decades, most of it at 1030 James Street, dating back to the days when channel 3 was WSYR-TV and it shared the building with WSYR 570. [More »]

WATERTOWN — Longtime North Country broadcaster George Neher died today at the age of 65.  Neher, who worked for decades at WWNY radio and WTNY, was found dead by his wife inside their home at about 1:20 this afternoon. [More »]

UTICA-ROME — Bruce Manning, a former Utica radio anchor and PR director for the Mohawk Valley Comets hockey team, has died following a heart attack at the age of 55. [More »]

SYRACUSE — Jack Abert, founding member of local band The Monterays, who went onto become what colleagues called a “trailblazing pioneer” in radio sales, died last weekend in Florida at the age of 63. [More »]

NATIONWIDE — If you catch the top-of-hour news on WIBX/Utica, WTNY/Watertown, WHCU/Ithaca or any other CBS affiliate, you’ll notice something missing today: those quick little “chirp” tones that had been part of the newscasts for more than three decades. [More »]