The Answer

[Eli Polonsky]

On 12/26/04 11:31 PM, "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@attorneyross.com> wrote:

> On 26 Dec 2004 at 12:20, Laurence Glavin wrote:
> 
>> There are comparatively few stations that have their transmitting
>> towers at the same site as their studio location...WKOX was one of
>> them...
> 
> Another is WJIB in Cambridge.

Also WNTN Newton.

It's not very common for major market AM stations to have transmitters
at their studio locations. Unlike FM or TV, broadcast AM towers are
not mounted on buildings, and there is generally not suitable terrain
right in an urban area for them. AM towers are best constructed on
damp ground somewhere just outside of the urban area they serve.

However, major market broadcasters usually want the studios to be in
the city they serve (or easily accessible nearby), so the studios are
often not in an appropriate place for their AM towers.

Also, when a directional antenna pattern is required by the station,
the towers are usually built outside the city in the direction of the
required null, and the signal directed toward the city they serve.

More AM stations tend to be located with their tower sites when the
COL is a suburban or rural town with open areas on which studios and
grounded AM towers can be built on the same site, especially for
lower power or daytime only AM stations which can serve an immediate
area without having to utilize a directional pattern.

If you include FM stations in the Boston area, WZLX still (for now)
has their studios in the Prudential, and their antenna on the roof.
Also, some of the college stations have their transmitters on their
campuses, though not on the very same buildings as their studios.

Eli Polonsky