You Say "Skizzum", I Say "Sizz-um"...

[lglavin@mail.com]

So far nobody at the B.R.I.G. has commented about the technical operation of WQOM-AM 1060
in Natick/Boston.  When we last commented on the doings near Sewell Street in Ashland,
longtime tenant of the 1060 frequency, WBIX,  had ceased operations, and many were wondering if the
new Catholic-themed format would sign on weeks later with full power, or WBIX-AM's old
nighttime facilities.  Well, on November 1st itself, WQOM appeared, and with just a flicker of a
signal during the daytime, way short of its CP for 50K.  Using my radio with a relative display
of signal strength, I noted that for the first week, its signal where I live, Methuen, MA just
short of 30 miles north of Boston, WQOM came in with less signal strength than WILD-AM 1090
at full power.  Well into the second week, WQOM seemed at certain times of day to be close 
to or slightly stronger than WILD at full power.  Then voila, there was one afternoon when it eclipsed WILD
and seemed to have the same signal strength as WBIX did with 40K from Framingham.  The odd thing,
and maybe it's understandable while work was being done on its transmitter/antenna system,
you could never tell when it would be at full power, and never seemed to come up to that level until
mid-morning, as if it was necessary to have engineers at the transmitter site rather than use remote
control from the studio (wherever that is).  Now, as November ends, it appears that the signal can
reliably be received from early in the morning until sunset, as if it's settled on the parameters of its CP.
While I've listened for the past few days, one can tell how it differs from stations like WEZE-AM
590, which is more Protestant in its outlook (nothing invidious intended).  Speakers at WEZE-like stations seem
always to be using the Bible as reference;  speakers on WQOM refer constantly to bishops, the Pope,
who after all is a bishop, then the Bible.  But the real divider:  on WQOM, the word spelled "schism"
is pronounced SKIZZ-UM;  just about everywhere else these days, people pronounce it SIZZ-UM. 
Their website claims that the signal will reach 5.5 million people, nearly the whole population of
Massachusetts.  Considering that it will generate about 300 mv westward, about the same as 
non-directional  WILD-AM at full power, this seems unlikely.  Maybe the call letters could stand
for We Quote Outsize Metrics.