Harford County (July 27, 2004) -- We always knew New York was a tough town, but this is nuts. Former WBAL-TV (11) anchor Sade Baderinwa is in a New York City hospital as of this writing after being struck by a hit-and-run driver. Sade was in neighboring Hackensack, NJ, covering flood conditions there when she was hit by a car traveling at a high rate of speed. The incident took place around 9:30 pm Friday, July 23, and the WABC-TV anchor/reporter was thrown some ten feet by the impact. Sade was taken to the trauma unit of Hackensack University Medical Center. Although the vehicle was found some time later, the driver remains at large. As of Tuesday, July 27, Sade is reported to be in stable condition with a broken arm and other injuries. She was transferred to a hospital in Manhattan. Baderinwa went to New York from WBAL-TV less than a year ago, still (in my opinion) a little green for the nation's top TV market. Nevertheless, ratings for her 5:00 pm WABC newscast have been better than expected. Just goes to show what I know about TV. We wish Sade a full and speedy recovery. Having been the victim of a similar mishap four years ago, I know only too well the agony she's going through, and the slow, painful process of recovery.

Another former Baltimore TV anchor is the subject of numerous email inquiries these days. Katie Leahan left WJZ (13) earlier this year for a public information job with the Central Intelligence Agency. However, she reportedly found the commute from Baltimore to Northern Virginia too much to bear and quickly resigned. Since then, she's found employment as the public information officer for the Maryland Transportation Authority Police and has returned to using her full given name, Katherine.

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Closer to home, WJSS-AM (1330) in Havre de Grace is now known as "Kingdom Radio." Describing itself as a "multicultural Christian community station," WJSS is featuring an eclectic mix of gospel and contemporary Christian music and ministries 24/7. New owners Ronald and Dena Reeves took over in May. Mr. Reeves serves as the station's general manager, while Mrs. Reeves handles the public relations duties. Station manager Horace Tittle and on-air personality 'Deacon' Arnold Waldron have stayed on. The station, formerly WASA-AM, promises a new morning show, exciting promotions, hourly newscasts and more.

And finally, Arbitron's spring radio ratings have been released, with urban WERQ-FM (92.3) returning to the top spot, followed by country powerhouse WPOC-FM (93.1), which slipped to second. WBAL-AM (1090) finished third, followed by WWIN-FM (95.9), which rebounded nicely after taking a hit last year from WSMJ's conversion to smooth jazz/r&b. Jumping up two spots into fifth place is the aforementioned WSMJ-FM (104.3). The remainder of the top ten are: WLIF-FM (101.9), WQSR-FM (102.7), WCAO-AM (600), WWMX-FM (106.5), and WIYY-FM (98.7).

If I were in charge at WQSR, I'd update my resume. The stagnant oldies station, which, by the way, no longer promotes itself as "Goodtime Oldies" (to avoid being perceived as an old person's station -- it seems nobody in commercial radio wants to be associated with old people), is just three-tenths of a point ahead of AM gospel station WCAO. And WLIF isn't much better, just two-tenths in front of 'QSR. Probably the biggest surprise is the free fall of WWLG-AM (1370). After boosting power to 50,000 watts last year, the Pikesville-based station, which features the pop stylings of artists like Sinatra, Barry Manilow and Anne Murray, jumped into the top ten for the first time in their history. Since that ninth-place finish last summer, the bottom has literally dropped out, and WWLG has fallen from a 3.1 rating to a 0.9 in just nine months. That's a loss of nearly 10,000 listeners per quarter hour, leaving "Legends Radio" tied with two distant Washington stations for 20th place. Owner Nick Mangione's other station, WCBM-AM (680), remains in 14th position overall, but the news/talker slipped a bit from a 2.5 rating last winter to a 2.3 this spring. Mangione has pumped a lot of money into the two local stations recently, with new studios, increased power, and new tower sites. Declining ratings mean fewer listeners, and that usually results in lower advertising rates. Lower rates mean less income. WCBM/WWLG are two of just four locally owned commercial stations left in Baltimore. Let's hope they can weather the storm.

Have a question or comment? Email me at gwhelton@yahoo.com.

GH