WEEI format change

[Doug Drown]

When did Shepard sell WAAB?  Bernard Waterman owned it when I was in my 
teens, and I was under the impression that that had been the case for some 
time.

I visited the studio on Mechanic Street once.  It was a rather elegant 
place, and all the equipment looked right up-to-date.  Waterman, I'm told, 
ran the station with an iron hand.  I don't know anything about his 
background, but he was accustomed to barking orders and having everyone 
kowtow to him.  Bud Sawyer, who has been in Portland for years, worked at 
WAAB in the early '60s.  He told me once that when he went to audition for 
his job there, there were, if memory serves, something like 58 candidates. 
When Waterman interviewed Bud, he came across as quite intimidating, and 
told Bud that his first concern was that he be pleased with the job Bud did. 
Bud shook his head and said, "I'm sorry sir, but MY first concern is that 
the listening audience be pleased with the job I do."

Waterman scowled and, after a momentary pause, looked at Bud and said, 
"You're hired."

-Doug

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Donna Halper" <dlh@donnahalper.com>
To: "Dan.Strassberg" <dan.strassberg@att.net>; "Kevin Vahey" 
<kvahey@comcast.net>
Cc: "Boston Radio Interest" <boston-radio-interest@rolinin.BostonRadio.org>
Sent: Friday, August 07, 2009 11:26 AM
Subject: Re: WEEI format change


> At 11:03 AM 8/7/2009, Dan.Strassberg wrote:
>>I'm quite sure that WAAB moved to Worcester in the 40s. It was
>>probably 1943 but could have been earlier. '43 was when the FCC ruled
>>out duopolies. That ruling resulted in the sale of many stations. But
>>Sheppard did not want to give up the (by then) 1440 signal, so he
>>moved it out of market. Donna Halper must know the exact date!
>
> But of course.  That's why you pay me the big bucks!  WAAB was originally 
> WLEX in Lexington, but the late great John Shepard III bought it and moved 
> it to Boston in April 1931.  The station finally moved to Worcester 
> (Shepard had been trying to get a Worcester property since 1930, but the 
> Federal Radio Commission kept turning him down) and WAAB went on the air 
> officially as a Worcester station on 13 December 1942.