Boston AM dial 50 years ago

[Rob Landry]

On Tue, 26 Nov 2013, George Allen wrote:

> Me also.  Altho I spent some quality time there in the late 60s and 
> early 70s, I don't recall any pre-classical history.  Did Ted Jones buy 
> the station or start it from scratch?

Ted was hired as a salesman by the original owners, and ended up buying 
them out in partnership with one Stephen Paine, whom I never met. Paine 
was chairman when I was hired (December, 1985), and Ted was vice-chairman.

Unfortunately for some of us, Ted never bought out Paine or his heirs, one 
of whom, I was told, used an obscure provision of state law to force the 
sale of WCRB to Greater Media in 2006, despite the provision in Ted's will 
that the station was not to be sold, nor the format changed from 
classical, for 100 years.

For the stockholders the sale could not have been better timed. Greater 
Media paid $100 million for WCRB, but three years later Nassau sold the 
current WCRB 99.5 FM to WGBH for only $14 million.


Rob