A CLASSICAL DILEMMA
WFLN'S DECISION TO DROP CLASSICAL MUSIC LEFT
ONLY 39 STATIONS IN THE COUNTRY STILL USING THE FORMAT. FOR
OUT-OF-WORK ANNOUNCERS, FINDING A COMPARABLE JOB WILL BE DIFFICULT.

Section: FEATURES MAGAZINE / ENTERTAINMENT

Page: D01

By Lesley Valdes, INQUIRER MUSIC CRITIC

Until WFLN-FM (95.7) dropped its classical format Sept. 5, there were 40 commercial stations in the United States that offered round-the-clock Bach and Beethoven. Now there are 39. Not even one per state.

So job prospects don't look promising for the classical announcers who were bounced when WFLN owner Greater Media Inc. dropped classical to play a type of ``hot A/C'' - adult contemporary rock.

``There aren't many options,'' says Dave Conant, former WFLN program director who was picked up by Temple University's public station WRTI-FM (90.1). ``You can switch formats, you can relocate to another market, you can take a big pay cut and maybe find work in a music library or record store.''

Announcers don't simply put on a CD and snooze. They write copy for the news or for advertisers; they record public-service announcements; they provide commentary for pieces selected by the program director. At WFLN, on-air hosts also ``ran their own boards,'' keeping time logs and monitoring controls, jobs done at many other stations by the audio engineer. ``Drive-time'' hosts also made musical selections.

Conant, 52, a former English teacher, has spent half his life as a professional broadcaster - 26 years, every one at the former WFLN in Roxborough.

And he's one of the lucky ones. Last week, Conant and former 'FLN announcers Jill Pasternak and Jack Moore (who divided his time between operations and on-air at WFLN) started work as announcers at WRTI. Greater Media Inc., which dropped WFLN's call letters and format, is paying their salaries, but for less than a year. No one has a contract, which adds to the uncertainties, though Conant stressed that he has worked all his life without one.

``It's not the ideal situation,'' he said referring to dividing the classical and jazz formats, ``but it's a lot better than it could have been,'' said the man whose cultivated larynx won him a legion of devoted listeners and the title ``Mr. FLN.'' Conant acknowledges the awkwardness of their compromise trade to the public station, which is run in part by student broadcasters, but said he's determined to cultivate optimism. ``There's enthusiasm here and interest in the format which we've sorely missed.''

Six former 'FLN announcers are now off the air. All 15 of the station's other employees, including sales and support staff, have continued to work for Greater Media. But they, too, have endured the anxiety and turmoil that accompanies any format shift. Jim Perry, who worked as engineer and relief announcer for four years, will remain at Greater Media as engineer. Perry had moved here from a chief-engineer post at a TV station in Hartford, Conn., ``to follow a longtime dream of working for classical radio.'' A clarinetist, he's disappointed, but glad to have a job.

Announcer Bill Shedden is looking for work at a local country-western station, music he calls his ``other love,'' and WFLN's gifted host Frank Kastner has his demo tape circulating far and wide.

Kastner was the first to ``sign on'' when WFLN went on the air 49 years ago. ``I can do big bands, I can do commercials, and years ago I did the television voice-overs for Bendix appliances and Tastykakes, but this music is my real love,'' said Kastner, who said that leaving WFLN feels ``like I've lost my whole family. It's just such a void.'' Kastner, 75, has four grown children, including a daughter who lives with him and studies at Drexel University.

Thirty-nine classical markets. Multiply by 10 - at most - to get the total number of full and part-time announcers at major-market classical station. The numbers aren't good, notes Robert Conrad, president, broadcast manager, and co-owner of Cleveland's WCLV classical radio. About 200 of some 300 public radio stations offer classical music in varying amounts, but most are ``trending'' to news and talk-show formats. As far as personnel goes, there's not a lot of movement here, either, Conrad said. Philadelphia's own public station WHYY-FM (90.9) dropped classical music seven years ago.

``There's a great deal of longevity [in classical radio] as opposed to rock and country, where stations tend to be revolving doors,'' Conrad continued. ``Two years is a long time for a disc jockey, but classical announcers stick around. These are people who love what they're doing, and they develop a presence and loyalty in the community.''

It's a kind of presence and loyalty that 'FLN folks know firsthand. Such loyalty prompted Dan and Susan Jefferson of Conshohocken to spend all of Frank Kastner's final 'FLN midnight shift on Sept. 5 in Kastner's Roxborough studio. The couple have listened to Kastner for decades, but he was meeting them for the first time. Later that day, Joseph Boyle Jr., a salesman in the area, tearfully arrived to tell Conant that he and his father had been listening to and learning from the program director for years.

``We're not just talking heads, we have very satisfying, gratifying relationships with people here,'' said Pasternak, who spent 11 years at WFLN. For the first four she juggled an administrative position at Jefferson Hospital until she got full-time radio work. Like most of these professionals, Pasternak is a musician, a harpist with a bachelor of science from Juilliard and a master's degree in public media from Rutgers University.

Pasternak also placed her resume and demo tapes into circulation this year as the anxiety levels rose over Greater Media's plans. In addition to her full-time work at 'FLN, she's done relief-announcing at WQXR in New York this year, sometimes working seven days a week in radio in two cities. When a 'QXR announcer broke a hip last winter, Pasternak spent six weeks covering his weekend morning shift.

``I'd leave WFLN on a Friday evening, go home, have dinner, drive to Trenton to take the 10 o'clock train to New York - it's cheaper than leaving from Philly. I'd spend the night in a studio, no blankets or pillows, just a chaise longue, and get up at 4:30 to be ready for the 5:30 newscast.'' When the shift was over at noon, she'd reverse the commute, leaving New York after lunch to go home to sleep in Center City, only to return to New York late that night.

Health insurance coverage is a continuing concern. According to Peter Bryant, an announcer who worked a weekend shift at WFLN and weekdays at a market research firm in Blue Bell, there were benefits at WFLN, but not particularly good ones; full-timer Schedden said he was fortunate to have his wife's coverage.

Bryant, 37, who is on the short list for program director of a public station, isn't keen on relocating his wife and 18-month-old son. Nor, he said, are the salaries as attractive as those in commercial radio, but the benefits are a lot better.

Like Bryant, part-time announcer William Gatens also has other employment; he is organist and choir director for the Church of the Good Shepherd in Rosemont and recently began work for a Gladwyne congregation. Both men praised Conant's efforts last year to restore more substantive classical programming to WFLN following the ``dumbing-down'' dictates initiated by onetime owner Secret Communications. Said Gatens: ``Dave put up with more aggravation than anyone will ever know.''

Given her unemployment and their two sons in high school, Kathleen Conant said she was grateful for WFLN's benefits package though the ``coverage was crazy, complicated. . . . Every time we'd take one of our sons to the dentist, they'd say, `Well, who's covering you now?' Fortunately we're not a family to go to the doctor much. Although Dave does take medicine for high blood pressure. Wonder why?''