The Old WEEI

[nuhuc@juno.com (Rick Kelly)]

You wrote:

>Were CBS to switch WBZ to a 24-hours-a-day all-news outlet, they might
> at least break even. 

I think that's exactly the point:  they'd only break even.  It makes good
economic sense for them to continue the sports and talk blocks on 'BZ.

>I wonder if the late CBS chairman, Bill Paley, ordered WEEI to go to 
>all-news, since from 1967 until 1974, they were the only all-talk
station
> in the Boston market (and probably very successful with it). Despite 
>the good ratings, perhaps Paley wanted WEEI to go all-news, since he 
>ordered most of CBS' other AM stations to go that route 

I've never heard that, but until recently it had been part of the CBS
track record to use similar formats on their properties.  This was
particularly evident on the FM stations: in the 70's, most of them were
soft rock -- in the 80's most of 'em were CHR.

It's important to remember too that when we speak of WEEI/590 as all
news, we are speaking about a different era.  At that time, news/talk 
was a down right unusual format.  Most AM's in the late sixties were
running music as a major part of their format.  WEEI had an appropriate
and unique niche.

Rick Kelly














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