Fw: WMEX, Natick

["Daniel Strassberg" <Dan.Strassberg@worldnet.att.net>]

God bless Bill Gates, et al. I again failed to receive the message even
though I _thought_ that I had switched off HTML formatting. It looks as
though Outlook Express forces you to manually switch off HTML with every
message (or at least every forwarded message) you send.

-----Original Message-----
From: Daniel Strassberg <Dan.Strassberg@worldnet.att.net>
To: boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org
<boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org>
Date: Wednesday, October 13, 1999 7:08 AM
Subject: Fw: WMEX, Natick


If you've seen this before, I apologize. I can't establish that it got to
the list, although it may have. Garrett explained that I probably had HTML
formatting enabled in the mail client (Outlook Express) in my new PC. I did
and I've now switched the setting to plaintext. I hope that this gets me the
copy on which I depend for confirmation that the message reached the
list.--Dan

I was listening to the radio in my car yesterday and happened to catch an ID
on WJLT. They IDed as WJLT Natick-Framingham-Boston as they have ever since
1060 returned to the air just before the 2/8/97 deadline imposed by the 1996
Communications Act. However, after the ID, I heard, "Coming soon--WMEX
Natick--Stay tuned!" I guess this means that the WMEX calls are returning to
the Boston area--as in the past, on AM. What else it means, I can only
speculate. I can't imagine that Great Commission Broadcasting would change
the calls of its station. I can't think of any special reason why a
Christian broadcaster would want a set of historic calls that have always
been associated with secular programming. It could mean that Great
Commission, which now owns WNEB in Worcester, is giving up its lease on the
Natick station, and Al Langer, who owns the facility, has leased it to
somebody else. Maybe the somebody else was once associated with WMEX or has
plans to resurrect the type of programming for which WMEX was known. That
would be what are now called oldies and/or talk featuring Jerry Williams. If
Williams really was sufficiently interested in getting back on the air in
the Boston area, he just might lease the facility--as Pat Whitley did in the
mid 80s. (Whitley used the calls WTTP.) 1060 still holds a CP for 40 kW-D/22
kW-CH from the WKOX sticks on Mt Wayte Ave in Framingham, the site of the
current 500W ND-D operation. If a new lessee were willing and able to spend
the bucks to construct the facilities for which Langer holds a CP (something
I imagine Williams could afford), 1060 could once again become quite a
powerful station. I still have my doubts about 40 kW from those tall towers,
because I think such high power would cause prohibited overlap with WBZ, but
even 22 kW would put quite a good signal in much of the market--especially
the affluent western suburbs. And I think it would be possible to get enough
night power (150W or so) for the station to be heard fairly well in Natick
and Framingham. As the announcement said, stay tuned.

--

Dan Strassberg, dan.strassberg@worldnet.att.net
Phone: 1-617-558-4205, eFax:
 1-707-215-6367