Re: WHDH and Blue/ 1956

["David W. Harris" <dwh@totalnetnh.net>]

Dan Strassberg recalled:

> the stations that later were on 1130 (1100)
> began life--or had a life--on 1280 (1250). One of the 1280 stations was
> WNEW
> (now WBBR). One of the 1130 stations was WOV (now WADO). Around 1936. Arde
> Bulova, who already owned WNEW (and for a time owned WCOP here), bought all
> of the other 1280 stations and combined them with WNEW, which became a
> full-timer. He then arranged a frequency swap with the 1130 stations.
>
The resources handy to me don't help much with the WNEW-WOV swap, but I
did find some items to embellish your memories:

"President Roosevelt pressed a button in his study in the White House
last night as a signal for the opening of radio station WNEW, which will
operate on a full-time basis with a transmitter at Carlstadt, N.J.  The
new station represents a consolidation of WODA of Paterson, N.J., and
WAAM of Newark."  (New York Times, 2/14/34)

In other articles published prior to opening night, the Times saw fit to
print the following facts:  424-foot tower in Carlstadt, main studio at
Broad Street in Newark with auxiliary studio at 501 Madison Avenue in
NYC (the former Amalgamated Broadcasting System headquarters), 2.5 kw
day and 1 kw night, operating from "early morning to midnight."  The
following year the Times reported a push by owner Wodaam (or Wadaam)
Corp. to move up to 5 kw day, still on 1250 Newark.  That year also saw
the beginning of all-night operation--Arnold Passman's "The Deejays"
(NY: Macmillan, 1971) puts the debut of "Milkman's Matinee" with Stan
Shaw on 8/2/35, 2-7 a.m.  The 1941 Radio Annual has WNEW as a New York
station "serving New York and New Jersey 24 hours a day" with 5 kw on
1250.

As for 1100, the Times mentions WOV, WBIL, and WPG consolidating into a
5-kw, full-time station on that frequency with the WOV calls (12/3/39).

In March of '41, NARBA would have pushed WOV to 1130 and WNEW to 1280.
A few Internet sites (including
<http://www.oldradio.com/archives/general/3roll.htm#bydate>) say WOV and
WNEW exchanged call letters on 11/12/41.  There must be a story there
but apparently this news wasn't fit to print in the Times.  I checked
the Times Index throughout the early '40s and found no stories about the
swap.  A scan of the late city edition of the Times for 11/11 through
11/13/41 turned up no ads for either station and no change in the radio
listings.

Listings in the 1941 and 1945 Radio Annuals make it look like the calls
and formats moved but the owners stayed with their frequencies, Wadaam
on 1280 and the Greater New York Broadcasting Corp. on 1130.

The '45 Radio Annual has WNEW on 1130 with 10-kw transmitter at
Belleville Turnpike, Kearney, N.J., and WOV on 1280 with 5 kw from
Carlstadt.

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