WGXC-90.7 FM

Radio News: Two more radio legends turn off mics

Mar 29, 2015 11:32 pm
Two radio legends announced their broadcast ends this week. New York City-area legend Vin Scelsa announced his retirment March 28. Scelsa was a freeform FM radio pioneer since 1967, lately hosting "Idiot's Delight" on WFUV (90.7 FM). Scelsa began at WFMU in East Orange, NJ, in November, 1967, and worked at WBAI, WABC-FM, WLIR-FM, WNEW-FM, WXRK-FM, and moved to WFUV in 2001. He also hosted a show on SiriusXM's "The Loft" satellite channel. "The kind of programming autonomy I've enjoyed, on both commercial and public radio over all these years, is unique," Scelsa said in a statement. "I am grateful to all the stations I've worked on for the privilege of being allowed to wander through their airwaves wherever my interests have taken me. I am grateful to my listeners for their support and their indulgence as we shared this journey together." Ben Sisario in The New York Times wrote that, "Mr. Scelsa had his playlists meander in sometimes whimsical fashion, mixing underground rock, folksy singer-songwriters, even show tunes. Between songs, he spoke passionately and at great length about the music he loved." Scelsa, who is mentioned in the 1981 Ramones song "It's Not My Place (In the 9 to 5 World)," will host his final shows on May 2, from 8-10 p.m. on WFUV, and April 30 on satellite radio. Also on March 28, Deutsche Welle transmitted its final broadcast from its Kigali, Rwanda relay station on 17,800 kHz, the SWLing blog reports. Deutsche Welle is Germany's international broadcaster, similar to the BBC World Service, France 24, Voice of America, Radio Canada International, Radio Free Europe, and Radio France Internationale. Lately, more and more of these services are cutting back their international broadcasts. Fortunately, a 2012 report in The Communication for Development Journal, found, "In 11 countries surveyed across Africa, local commercial radio grew by an average of 360 percent between 2000 and 2006, whereas community radio grew by a striking 1,386 percent, on average, over the same period."
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