worthy competition - was Boom Boom

[Doug Drown]

It was Monahan, and he was still living at the time. 
My teacher, whom I haven't seen in years, is in Florida and still with 
us in his 90s. 
WAVZ and WTRY were first-rate Top 40 stations.  I don't know the 
backgrounds of the then-owners, other than that Mr. Monahan, whose 
first name I can't remember, was originally from Fitchburg.   -Doug



Quoting "Dan.Strassberg" <dan.strassberg@att.net>:
> That must have been in the days when WAVZ and WTRY were owned by
> Kopps-Monahan Communications Inc (hence the New Haven FM calls--WKCI). 
> So was your teacher's brother Kopps or Monahan? Or was Monahan already
> gone by the time to which you are referring?
>
> -----
> Dan Strassberg (dan.strassberg@att.net)
> eFax 1-707-215-6367
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Doug Drown" <revdoug1@myfairpoint.net>
> To: "Doug Drown" <revdoug1@myfairpoint.net>; "=?utf-8?b??="
> <boston-radio-interest-bounces@tsornin.BostonRadio.org>; "'Dave
> Doherty'" <dave@skywaves.net>; "'Dan.Strassberg'"
> <dan.strassberg@att.net>; "Linc Reed-Nickerson"
> <linc@reed-nickerson.com>; "=?utf-8?b??=" <kvahey@gmail.com>
> Cc: "''" <Boston-radio-interest@rolinin.bostonradio.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, October 27, 2010 6:38 PM
> Subject: Re: worthy competition - was Boom Boom
>
>
> That is interesting . . . I wasn't aware that was the case in so many
> places.   Did Burlington, Bridgeport and New Haven have competing rock
> stations?  I very well remember WAVZ in New Haven, another station I
> used to listen to at night in Ashburnham.  It was owned by my sixth
> grade teacher's brother, as was WTRY.  He was quite proud of that. 
>
> When I first came to Maine at the end of '76, WCSH in Portland had a
> Top 40 format.  I think WLOB was still playing rock at that time; I
> don't remember whether WJAB still was.  Perhaps so, because IIRC it
> had
> changed its calls to WJBQ by then.  Three stations out of four, in one
> small-to-medium market, all doing Top 40?
>
>   -Doug
>
>
>
> Quoting Kevin Vahey <kvahey@gmail.com>:
> > KBR dominated inside the city limits but had a woeful signal at
> > night
> >
> > FEA dominated Nashua and Concord
> >
> > When I visited PTR the all night guy was at the xmtr (this would be
> > 68-69) They
> > had all Harris cart machines with cue tones to start the next cart. 
> > Funny how it worked - in many markets the weaker signal dominated
> > the core city,
> > the stronger signal the burbs
> >
> > NY WMCA over WABC
> > Bost WMEX over WBZ until WRKO came along
> > Manchester WKBR over WFEA
> > Portand WJAB over WLOB
> > Providence WICE over WPRO
> > Sprinhgfield WTXL over WHYN
> > Buffalo WYSL over WKBW
> > Sent on from my BlackBerry® so typos are because of tiny keys
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: "Doug Drown" <revdoug1@myfairpoint.net>
> > Sender: boston-radio-interest-bounces@tsornin.BostonRadio.org
> > Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2010 15:27:20
> > To: 'Doug Drown'<revdoug1@myfairpoint.net>; 'Dave
> > Doherty'<dave@skywaves.net>;
> > 'Dan.Strassberg'<dan.strassberg@att.net>; Linc
> > Reed-Nickerson<linc@reed-nickerson.com>
> > Cc: ''<Boston-radio-interest@rolinin.bostonradio.org>
> > Subject: Re: worthy competition - was Boom Boom
> >
> > >> OK, which one was Union9-9272 and which one was TT4-5107... Dave
> > >> Dougherty will know. 
> >
> > I know too, but I'll defer to Dave. 
> > My girlfriend, 68, has told me that WKBW used to have a huge night
> > listenership in Maine.  Her late husband, who lived most of his life
> > in
> > Maine and was a DJ and station manager for about fifteen years
> > before
> > going into education, regarded WKBW as THE radio station that all
> > Top
> > 40 stations should emulate. 
> > The WPTR towers in Colonie are still being used by the station's
> > successor WDCD, but the WPTR call letters were removed from them a
> > few
> > years ago, and I believe the Albany Street studio --- which wasn't
> > all
> > that old --- has been vacated.   I don't know where WDCD's current
> > digs
> > are. 
> > I sometimes used to listen to WKBR in Manchester on FM.  This was in
> > the mid- to late sixties; I think the AM was on 1250 by then, but we
> > couldn't get it out Fitchburg way.  WFEA, on the other hand, came in
> > reasonably well.  Both stations had a good sound; which one
> > dominated
> > the market?
> >
> >   -Doug
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Quoting Linc Reed-Nickerson <linc@reed-nickerson.com>:
> > > At night in Unity, Maine, where I miss-spent the summers of my
> > teenage years,
> > > WPTR was what every kid listened to!  Even in Actom, MA WPTR and
> > > WKBW
> > > were often
> > > listened to.  OK, which one was Union9-9272 and which one was
> > > TT4-5107... Dave
> > > Dougherty will know.  Got to visit the WKBW transmitter circa
> > > 1976, but not
> > > WPTR, although I've driven by it on the throughway many times, as
> > > recently as 3
> > > years ago.  Yes, Kid Rock (All Summer Long) makes me think of my
> > > teen
> > > summers in
> > > Unity, wonder what became of Donna (who is now 67)?
> > >
> > > I find the comments about the viability of the "worthy competitor"
> > > very
> > > interesting.  Manchester, New Hampshire was a good example, with
> > > WKBR (then
> > > 1240) being the top station in the market, even at 250 watts!
> > >
> > > The change to 1250 and 5kW probably did little but generate
> > > additional expense
> > > (although possibly more revenue because of the higher power). 
> > > Some
> > > claimed they
> > > lost listeners when the shifted frequency because 1250 on the
> > > river
> > > had better
> > > coverage in some areas than the DA on the granite shelf on
> > > Goffstown
> > > Back Road. They had to add a 5th tower to modify the daytime
> > > pattern
> > > a year or so after it
> > > was built.  Too bad the original 1240 site is now gone, because it
> > might have
> > > made sense to go back to 1240 in recent times, if it would still
> > > fit. WFTN in
> > > Franklin might be the stopper, but with ground conductivity in NH
> > > being what it
> > > is it might have fit.  1250 to 1240 would be a minor change per
> > > the
> > > current FCC
> > > policies. 
> > > And remember when WTAO was a significant player in Boston in the
> > > early 1950's?
> > >
> > > Speaking of ground conductivity, it's so bad on the Oregon Coast
> > > 820
> > > with a 1kW
> > > has about a 20 mile radius, 1kW on 1230 in Burns on the other hand
> > > has a 75 mile
> > > radius.  According to FCC conductivity maps, both locations are
> > > the
> > same, but
> > > having made measurements I know the away from the shore in Oregon
> > > the
> > > conductivity is 0.5 to 0.1.  If your transmitter is in from the
> > > coast, as many
> > > on the Oregon coast are, you don't get much help from the seawater
> > > conductivity. There's a 50kW in Reedsport, OR that doesn't have
> > > the coverage of
> > my 1230 in
> > > Burns!
> > >
> > > Linc
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: boston-radio-interest-bounces@tsornin.BostonRadio.org
> > > [mailto:boston-radio-interest-bounces@tsornin.BostonRadio.org] On
> > > Behalf Of Doug
> > > Drown
> > > Sent: Wednesday, October 27, 2010 6:55 AM
> > > To: Dave Doherty; Dan.Strassberg
> > > Cc: =?utf-8?b??=
> > > Subject: Re: Boom Boom Brannigan passes on
> > >
> > > That Drum real estate ad was really clever.  Little WSNY
> > > positioned
> > > itself as a worthy local competitor to WGY.  Though in the '60s
> > > and
> > > '70s when visiting in Schenectady I was fixated on WPTR and WTRY,
> > > I did
> > > listen to WSNY occasionally and found that it was a well-run
> > > station. There were many such stations in middle-market cities,
> > > little bantams
> > > that held up well to the big guys.  I think of WNEB in Worcester
> > > from
> > > my adolescence --- 1230 kHz, 1 kw daytime, 250 at night, a CBS
> > > affiliate with a format geared toward middle- to older-aged
> > > adults.  It
> > > had good DJs, good local news and sports coverage, all in all
> > > doing a
> > > fine job competing against full-service NBC powerhouse WTAG and
> > > the two
> > > hotly competitive Top 40 stations, WAAB and WORC.   -Doug
> > >
> > > Quoting "Dan.Strassberg" <dan.strassberg@att.net>:
> > > > I remember Edwardson and Putney from WGY in my college days
> > > > (early to
> > > > mid '50s). In those days, though, Steve Fitz was on little WSNY,
> > > > a
> > > > 250W Class IV on 1240. WSNY sounded amazingly professional for
> > > > such a
> > > > small station--its signal reached the entire Capital District by
> > > > day
> > > > but was competitive only in Schenectady and adjoining
> > > > communities,
> > > > such as Rotterdam. Weak signal or not, WSNY appeared to have
> > > > sold out
> > > > its entire schedule month after month, year after year. Always
> > > > ~17
> > > > minutes of commercials per hour from sign-on to sign-off. Most
> > > > of the
> > > > commercials were locally produced. Many used jingle packages
> > > > that were
> > > > designed for specific types of businesses (furniture stores,
> > > > variety
> > > > stores etc) and could be tailored to specific businesses simply
> > > > by
> > > > inserting the advertiser's name, address, and phone number. Some
> > > > ads
> > > > used proprietary jingles, however. The one that I guess I will
> > > > never
> > > > forget was for W Baldwin Drum Real Estate: "Drum's along the
> > > > Mowhawk/with his eye on pro-per-teee." Ended with the beat of a
> > > > tom-tom over which was whispered W Baldwin Drum...W Baldwin
> > > > Drum... W
> > > > Baldwin Drum... Very memorable. Probably moved a lot of houses
> > > > and
> > > > farms. 
> > > > -----
> > > > Dan Strassberg (dan.strassberg@att.net)
> > > > eFax 1-707-215-6367
> > > >
> > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > From: "Dave Doherty" <dave@skywaves.net>
> > > > To: "D. A." <donald_astelle@yahoo.com>;
> > > > <boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org>; "Doug Drown"
> > > > <revdoug1@myfairpoint.net>
> > > > Cc: <JPolsinelle@firstcardinal.com>
> > > > Sent: Tuesday, October 26, 2010 10:17 PM
> > > > Subject: Re: Boom Boom Brannigan passes on
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > >I met Boom-Boom in 1968 or maybe 1969 at the WPTR studios. 
> > > > >Another
> > > > >WPTR DJ, Roy Urbinas, who eventually wound up in Plattsburgh
> > > > >and may
> > > > >have originally hailed from there, cut a couple of voicers for
> > > > >me,
> > > > >and Roy introduced us. Boom Boom was an interesting character,
> > > > >very
> > > > >pleasant, and the first "Boss Jock" I ever met. 
> > > > > Not long after, I worked summers as a tech at WGY, pushing
> > > > > buttons
> > > > > and whatnot for Bill Edwardson, Jack Shannon, Harry Downey,
> > > > > Earl
> > > > > Pudney, and Steve Fitz. 
> > > > > -Dave Doherty
> > > > >
> > > >
> > >
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