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| Donn Wuycik |
He was 60-years-of-age, according to timesonline.com.
"Donn was my boss, mentor, supporter but most of all a friend," state Rep. Rob Matzie, D-16, a former WMBA program director and newsman, said in a Facebook post Tuesday announcing the news. "His big heart and generosity touched many, and he will be missed."
Wuycik bought WMBA in 1986 and turned it into a 24/7 broadcasting outlet after decades of daily 6 a.m. to midnight hours. The news- and talk-oriented station was relocated from an Old Economy area neighborhood to a more visible and community accessible storefront location on Merchant Street.
In the late 1970s, Wuycik invested much of his life savings to buy TV camera equipment, launching a freelance news gathering business. Learning of an upstart sports cable network in Bristol, Conn., he auditioned with a tape he'd made of Beaver County's annual World Championship Snow Shovel Riding Contest. That network, ESPN, hired him to provide its "Sports Center" program with taped highlights of major Pittsburgh sporting events and later for West Coast games.
Wuycik sold WMBA in 2000 to Frank Iorio of competing Beaver Falls station WBVP 1230 AM. The two Beaver County stations have simulcast programs since, with studios in Beaver Falls.
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