New England Radio Watcher: WCAP owner dies

[Scott D Fybush]

Israel ("Ike") Cohen, the longtime co-owner of WCAP(AM) 980 in
Lowell MA, died Monday morning (Oct. 31). He was in his mid-80s.
Ike and his brother Maurice started WCAP in 1951, as a 1000
watt daytimer. Under their ownership, it became a 5000 watt
fulltimer, the most powerful AM in the Merrimack Valley.

Ike and Maurice were the only owners WCAP ever had, but with Ike's
passing, the station is likely to change hands. Rumors have
WCAP going all-Spanish soon. WCAP's crosstown rival, WLLH,
is also going through changes. They're moving from their
current studios to new space in the Lowell Sheraton hotel,
they've seriously cut back news (eliminating bottom-hour casts
in PM drive, and cutting all news in midday), and there are rumors
that that station may be sold as well.

And 12 miles down the road in Lawrence MA, WCCM(AM) is still
for sale by Curt Gowdy. He sold CCM's sister station, WCGY-FM,
to American Radio Systems (they're running it as 70s "Eagle 93-7")
Rumors have CCM being either sold to local investors or being
donated to Merrimack College.

BTW, the WCCM call letters are actually a twisted roman numeral!
"CC" is of course 200, and when you subtract that from 1000 ("M"),
you get 800, which is where they are on the dial.

-=Scott Fybush - fyb...@world.std.com=-

[will...@delphi.com]

Scott D Fybush <fyb...@world.std.com> writes:

>Israel ("Ike") Cohen, the longtime co-owner of WCAP(AM) 980 in
>Lowell MA, died Monday morning (Oct. 31). He was in his mid-80s.
>Ike and his brother Maurice started WCAP in 1951, as a 1000
>watt daytimer. Under their ownership, it became a 5000 watt
>fulltimer, the most powerful AM in the Merrimack Valley.

There was a third brother. Teddy, who was never seen at the station, but
who was the Chief Operator.

WCAP, Lowell was the third WCAP, the others having been licensed to
somewhere in New Jersey, and, naturally, to our nation's capital. Ike,
being a former big time engineer at WHN and WMGM, was well connected. As
a consequence, some big time sports announcer (either Graham Mcnamee or
Ted Husing, I forget which) actually did the original sign-ons for all three
WCAPs. In the PBS "RADIO" PROGRAM A few years back, a station ID for one
of the former WCAPs was heard in the background at one point. Also, the
first airshift at THE Cap in Lowell was done by Ray Goulding, as a favor to
Ike.

There aren't many individual one station owners left. The duopolists
probably didn't even notice that one of the foundations on which their
soul less industry oriented towards trading radio stations like pork bellies
originated.

has passed on.

Willis Schmid