Weekend Update

UPDATE: Confirmed -- South Jersey's 'Cruisin' 92.1' Doesn't Flip! Post That Station Was Becoming 'NBC Sports Radio 92.1' Proven Prank UPDATE Monday, April 1: It's rare when "a station doesn't flip formats" is news -- but this is one time that it is, at least to those who've followed this story. First, the latest update, followed by our earlier update. Then we'll get to the original Sunday report, an attempt at "fresh content" for a Monday morning following a long weekend. We have now confirmed that WVLT-FM is still "Cruisin' 92.1" today. It seems that Mark Harris ran out of creamer for his coffee. So he reluctantly got dressed, left his office, and went to a nearby convenience store. He deliberately punched up preset 2 on his car radio, which is set to 92.1 FM. And sure enough, WVLT-FM was still his second favorite radio station for in-car listening, Oldies "Cruisin' 92.1" -- confirming our earlier reports that the board site post about a Monday flip was indeed a prank -- possibly, says Mark, "a very sick April Fool's Day prank." The "very sick" reference, he admits, was only because the possibility of a flip caused him personal distress. (And this guy programs the "Total Popular Music" format -- based entirely on currents and recurrents?) Earlier today, in a prior update we told you: Several hours after our [original] report was published [seen below] -- although it is not cited -- "Radio Wreck" posted in the RadioDiscussions thread previously cited: "I don't believe this for a second," adding, "The article on courier post doesn't load and I just did a search on that site and others and there is nothing about a format change." Also, "Josh" posted, "The truth is this may be just an April Fool's joke from the original poster." Just a coincidence? Or did our "investigative" (?) reporting trigger those posts? By the way, so far no confirmation today (April 1) of any change of programming at WVLT-FM. A new Google search today for "NBC Sports Radio 92.1 Philadelphia" shows only one result -- our original Sunday report! Now back to the original Sunday report: We're still trying to get a definite handle on this one. According to a post at RadioDiscussions.com, "Cruisin' 92.1" WVLT-FM, Vineland, NJ, which reaches a substantial portion of the Philadelphia market, is set to flip to a Sports Talk format, but in checking on this we found some serious questions that have yet to be resolved. RadioDiscussions member "DToTheJ" posted, "The station claims it's not making enough money with oldies/brokered programming, so starting tomorrow, they will become 'NBC Sports Radio 92.1 Philadelphia.' Coincidentally, NBC Sports Radio goes 24/7 tomorrow, with new shows including an afternoon drive program, 'Under Center,' which is co-hosted by former Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb. Eytan Shander (formerly of WIP and WPEN) also co-hosts NBCSR's late evening show." That post offers a link to a report from the Courier Post, based in Camden, NJ (near Philadelphia). However, clicking the link, we received "Unfortunately, that page could not be found." A search of the CourierPost's site failed to find any similar report. Also, a Google search turned up no reports listed elsewhere on this. One follow-up post at RadioDiscussions suggested, "Maybe it's an April Fools joke?" Or did the news leak out too soon, before on-air staff were told they're out? If a prank, was it originated by "DToTheJ" -- who usually is on top of real news in radio, and whom we've known in the past from other sites. Mark Harris is especially interested in finding out the real story, if there is one, about a flip away from Oldies at WVLT-FM. "In my car there are two presets -- one for Classic Hits WOGL-FM, Philadelphia, and one for 'Cruisin' 92.1' WVLT-FM. I don't spend that much time driving these days, but when I do, I listen to one of those two stations, often switching between them for a somewhat different flavor of music memories," says Harris. Our favorite former radio personality (Harris) says he also checked with someone he knows who works (has worked?) at WVLT-FM (as recently as this past week) as an on-air host. "There's nothing like that happening here that I know of," said the host (who is still listed on the WVLT website as a "current daily personality"). He added, "Gee, at least I hope not." UPDATED: Is There Any 'Love' Left in Minneapolis? Change is in the air at the Cumulus Minneapolis "Love 105" trimulcast of WGVX-FM, WGVY-FM, and WGVZ-FM. The questions being raised include what's the current format, because of the music mix now being aired -- and is it still "Love 105" due to a change of identity on the station's website, but not (yet) on the air. AllAccess.com reports that while the website now shows the new "Radio 105" logo, "afternoon personality Jill still called it 'Love 105,' and a liner cooed that it's 'The new sound of Love 105'." Writes All Access, "And that new sound? The playlist currently plays No Doubt's 'It's My Life," Toto's 'Africa,' Lady Gaga's 'The Edge Of Glory," Dido's 'Thank You' and Ed Sheeran's 'The A Team'." Meanwhile, Lance Venta at RadioInsight.com writes, "We’re expecting that the 'Radio 105' identity will be tied to a stunt leading into the debut of a CBS Sports Radio affiliate in the market. Perhaps one to be branded as 'The Ticket'?" All Access tells us, "Stunting will likely continue all weekend and into Monday -- no word on when the format wheel stops or what it lands on." They are awaiting further word from Operations Manager Scott Jameson. Venta also notes that "the station’s Twitter account has changed to @105RadioMN." (We're sorry we missed getting a firsthand report on all this. We were busy hiding Easter eggs.) In a Saturday (March 30) update, Venta posts, "At 8:00 this morning the trimulcast dropped the AC format (The station hasn’t been Oldies in about a year, despite what other sites claim) and has begun stunting with a broad music mix. No imaging is present between the songs. Among the artists heard so far are Harry Belafonte, Queen, Fats Domino, Cameo, Elvis Costello, Joe Cocker, Max-A-Million, and the theme song to the Jeffersons." UPDATE Monday, April 1: The Cumulus Minneapolis trimulcast is now "Sports Radio 105 The Ticket" -- partnering with CBS Sports Radio, and featuring the Sports Talk network's full daily on-air lineup.