Stations Merge, Staffers Resign
The wave of mergers and acquisitions sweeping the radio business has reached East Hampton's shores. On June 10, the East Hampton Broadcasting Group, which owns WEHM, and the C&S Radio Corporation, the owner of WBEA, based in Amagansett, announced they were joining forces as Hamptons Media Holdings Inc. The merger requires approval of the Federal Communications Commission.
Under the merger, both stations will remain on the air, but their offices will be combined. The company will be jointly managed by Frederick Seegal, president of Wasserstein Perella and Company, a New York investment banking firm, and Derrick Cephas, an attorney, who launched WBEA with a partner, Robert Shriver. Mr. Seegal recently acquired a majority stake in WEHM.
Although the pair said that on-air and other personnel changes were not envisioned, two key staff members of WEHM have announced they are leaving the station.
Going Elsewhere
Paul Conroy, who served as WEHM's general manager until Tuesday, has joined WBAZ in Southold. Steve Richards, WEHM's program director and morning disk jockey, said this week he was unhappy over the station's decision to merge "with an inferior product" and had taken a similar job with a station elsewhere "in the region."
"Steve and I were the first two employees, and we're leaving," said Mr. Conroy. "I think that tells you something. The station isn't going to remain the same."
Mr. Richards, who oversaw the creation of WEHM's format, which blends contemporary and older rock music, said he had given his "life" to the station and was concerned about possible programming changes that would make its sound similar to WBEA, whose format features more dance music and is, he said, "more generic," like other FM rock stations.
Won't Be The Same
"It's like The East Hampton Star merging with The Waldo Tribune," added Ivor Pine, a former disk jockey at WEHM who moved to KISS in Los Angeles a year ago. Mr. Pine was also one of WEHM's first employees.
But Mr. Seegal said their concerns were misguided.
"Both guys were opposed to the merger, so they decided to move on," he said yesterday, "but the station will continue with the same format as in the past."
Mr. Seegal said WEHM "doesn't really need a general manager." It is, however, looking for a replacement for Mr. Richards, he said.
At WBEA, Zoe Kamitses will stay on as general manager. "We've got everyone in place, and we're excited about the merger," she said yesterday.
Economies Of Scale
When he bought into the station, Mr. Seegal said one of his first priorities would be to make the station profitable. But both he and Mr. Cephas said the merger, in which no money changed hands, was not necessary for either's survival, but would help in the long run.
"In the East Hampton market, broadly defined you'd have to include both forks, there are an awful lot of radio stations and newspapers," Mr. Seegal said. "At some point it is logical that there will be winners and losers. We want to position ourselves to be one of the winners."
"It made very good business sense, given the economies we can enjoy and the opportunities available to us," said Mr. Cephas.
"We haven't worked through the details, but we are going to be under the same roof, which in and of itself offers some benefits," Mr. Seegal said.
WEHM's studio is on Pantigo Road in East Hampton. WBEA operates from a building off Main Street in Amagansett. Both men said all aspects of the business would be reviewed in the coming months.
The merger was made possible when the Government relaxed rules prohibiting broadcasting companies from owning more than one station in the same market. Mr. Cephas said he saw "no stumbling blocks" that would prevent approval within three months.