Herald: sticking points in the Carr issue

[Laurence Glavin]

>----- Original Message -----
>From: "A. Joseph Ross" 
>To: "Roger Kirk" , "Bob Nelson" 
>Subject: Re: Herald: sticking points in the Carr issue
>Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:47:48 -0500

>On 30 Aug 2007 Bob Nelson wrote:

> Howie's demands could include: a morning show, on an FM signal that
> doesn't fade at sunset,

Hold it...we're not talking about WXKS-AM or WTTT here.  WRKO runs 
50,000 watts at 680 on-the-dial at night, thus it's no slouch after
sunset.  I've listened to it at night on the streets of Manchester, NH
and on the Capes (i.e. Cod, Ann and Elizabeth...never been to Cape Pogue
but I'm sure it can be heard there at night too).  There's no doubt 
the null to the west is tough...just try hearing a useable signal in
the parking lot of the Wayside Inn in Sudbury (and the closer WEEI-AM 850
is not much better).  One time, when I was co-hosting a "Let's Talk About
Radio", Bob Bittner said he possessed or saw a population density map 
of the Boston urban area from before the buildout of arterial roads,
and the population at that time dropped precipitously one you got past 
Waltham. Thus when the antenna designs were made for those outlets, as 
the original  WEEI-AM at 590 and the old WNAC-AM 1260, WCOP-AM 1150, and
WMEX-AM 1510, only minimal signals were sent west.  Obviously the presence 
of protected stations all figure into it, but I wouldn't be surprised if
the operators of WEEI-590, WLAW, WCOP, and WMEX just didn'r foresee the
westward migration of the Metro Boston population.
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Boston AM stations' patterns might have been predicated on a large coastal
population, but one thing than impressed me about the original Big Three
in Providence was how WPRO-630, WEAN-790 and WJAR-920 beamed their signals
west from East Providence right toward the mainland rather than from some 
point west of Providence toward the Atlantic (a la WRNI-AM 1290 today) 
They must have lost some audience at night in Fall River, New Bedford
and Taunton. 

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