The Death of Rochester Radio

A Few days ago Entercom Radio announced that it pulled out of talks with Rochester's leading DJ "Brother Wease." Wease - real name Alan Levin - has been on the air at WCMF 96.5 FM for 22 years, and was one of the last truly unique and instantly recognizable radio personalities in Rochester. Entercom Regional Vice President Michael Doyle told the Democrat and Chronicle in a statement that he tried to keep him on: "We did our best to try and bring Wease back to WCMF, but in the end, were not able to reach an agreement." But Wease gives a different story, telling the newspaper "I am heartbroken to lose my team, and I'm heartbroken to lose the 22 years that I have behind me, because all those shows are gone." He apparently was given his letter of termination Thursday morning. The two parties had been in contract negotiations for weeks, with Wease off the air through most of it.

Sadly, this latest news comes as no surprise; it was only a few months ago that Entercom Rochester acquired WCMF and WPXYand fired 5 veteran DJ's including Dave Kane (also of WCMF) and WPXY's Pete "The Mayor" Kennedy. While Wease told the Democrat and Chronicle that his lawyers wouldn't let him comment, he did want to reassure his listeners - telling them he would be back. Shame on Entercom for further stripping any personality that was left from local radio. I hope they find that people value original programming, something this company and many of its competitors are making nearly impossible to find. And I hope Entercom learns this lesson the hard way - when listeners tune their dials elsewhere and the company is forced to sell the station back to people who care about quality.

While I will admit that I was not a listener of Brother Wease, he was a voice in radio that I respected. He is local - a native of Rochester, he cares deeply about his community. He took his listeners with him on his emotional, and successful, battle against cancer. When it was over, he wanted to be there for other victims, so he works to help cancer-related charities. He also founded "Wease Cares," a charity of his own that helps underprivileged kids in Rochester. And unlike so many other dry personalities, he is a DJ with personality. He is a Vietnam vet, and has held a fascinating array of other jobs, including being a mailman, construction worker, concert promoter, and a salesman. Lets hope that Wease can find a new frequency of airwaves to call home so that "radio DJ" doesn't have to be added to the list of former occupations.