From wollman@bimajority.org Tue Nov 2 21:57:54 2021 From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) Date: Tue, 2 Nov 2021 21:57:54 -0400 Subject: List? In-Reply-To: References: <9E0E0B11-EA94-48D6-9F1E-1711FF0084E2@gmail.com> <24750.63906.407492.566699@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <24961.60578.130487.797827@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> < said: > I?ve had this empty feeling: Is the list still alive? We?ve had > some action here on Cape Cod recently ? John H Garabedian sold his 4 > stations and Bob Bittner has joined the cape with an AM and FM. I see your message in the archives, along with several messages from the last few months, but I don't recall seeing any of those messages in my own inbox. So far as I know, mail is flowing; I get nightly email from the server itself (even if not from the list) and I was just able to deliver a test message to my GMail box (which was my number one suspicion for mail being dropped at the recipient end). Very puzzling. -GAWollman From wollman@bimajority.org Tue Nov 2 22:05:38 2021 From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) Date: Tue, 2 Nov 2021 22:05:38 -0400 Subject: List? In-Reply-To: References: <9E0E0B11-EA94-48D6-9F1E-1711FF0084E2@gmail.com> <24750.63906.407492.566699@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <24961.61042.254113.629175@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> < said: > I?ve had this empty feeling: Is the list still alive? We?ve had > some action here on Cape Cod recently ? John H Garabedian sold his 4 > stations and Bob Bittner has joined the cape with an AM and FM. Thanks, Paul (and Kevin), for urging me to look into this. It looks like Mailman's queue-runner process had stopped some time ago and was never restarted. (Usually this happens at boot time.) The last several months of list mail are now being processed. -GAWollman From LostCluster@lostcluster.me Tue Nov 2 22:58:00 2021 From: LostCluster@lostcluster.me (Ben Levy) Date: Tue, 2 Nov 2021 22:58:00 -0400 Subject: Boston Radio - Can somebody respond to this? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: It?s still working for me? Sent from Mail for Windows From: Kevin Vahey Sent: Tuesday, November 2, 2021 10:47 PM To: Boston Radio Group Subject: Boston Radio - Can somebody respond to this? I don't want to see this list die From kvahey@gmail.com Tue Nov 2 23:05:41 2021 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Tue, 2 Nov 2021 23:05:41 -0400 Subject: List? In-Reply-To: <24961.61042.254113.629175@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> References: <9E0E0B11-EA94-48D6-9F1E-1711FF0084E2@gmail.com> <24750.63906.407492.566699@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <24961.61042.254113.629175@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: Thanks Garrett for getting the jumper cables out On Tue, Nov 2, 2021 at 11:01 PM Garrett Wollman wrote: > > < said: > > > I?ve had this empty feeling: Is the list still alive? We?ve had > > some action here on Cape Cod recently ? John H Garabedian sold his 4 > > stations and Bob Bittner has joined the cape with an AM and FM. > > Thanks, Paul (and Kevin), for urging me to look into this. It looks > like Mailman's queue-runner process had stopped some time ago and was > never restarted. (Usually this happens at boot time.) The last > several months of list mail are now being processed. > > -GAWollman > > From wollman@bimajority.org Tue Nov 2 23:21:29 2021 From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) Date: Tue, 2 Nov 2021 23:21:29 -0400 Subject: List? In-Reply-To: References: <9E0E0B11-EA94-48D6-9F1E-1711FF0084E2@gmail.com> <24750.63906.407492.566699@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <24961.61042.254113.629175@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <24962.57.47098.152193@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> < said: > Thanks Garrett for getting the jumper cables out It is still quite likely that this list will not survive the end-of-life of Mailman 2. The list runs on software called GNU Mailman. At some point in the now-hazy past, the developers of Mailman decided to work on a different and incompatible mailing-list manager, confusingly also called "GNU Mailman", and discontinue working on the old Mailman that everyone still uses. Another group of developers sprang up to maintain the old Mailman, but this is not sustainable, because old Mailman is written in version 2 of the Python programming language. The Python developers decided to work on a different and incompatible programming language, confusingly also called "Python", and ended support for the old Python ended in early 2020. The packaging system that my server uses officially deprecated the old Python (and thus the old Mailman) at the end of last year, and it will be deleted soon. It hasn't gone away yet (and in fact there was a security patch applied last month) but at some point it will in fact stop working, and I do not have the time or the desire to hack on Python to keep it running. Different groups have taken their own approaches to the deficiencies of the various Mailman replacements (all, including the new Mailman, are missing some essential features). However, the traffic on this list is so limited, and most list members are more easily reachable in some other medium, so I'm dubious that it's worth the effort to completely replace the mailman installation with something else. The fact that I didn't hear from anyone in four months that the list was broken until Kevin contacted me on Twitter and Paul sent personal email is an indication of the state of the current level of interest in the list. -GAWollman From dlh@donnahalper.com Tue Nov 2 22:54:00 2021 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Tue, 2 Nov 2021 22:54:00 -0400 Subject: Boston Radio - Can somebody respond to this? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <0e777fd4-ac21-a3d6-c965-1ea737962c73@donnahalper.com> On 10/8/2021 5:48 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: > I don't want to see this list die I think a lot of folks either moved on or are no longer with us. I seldom see any posts to it any more, which is sad-- it used to be very active! -- Donna L. Halper, PhD Associate Professor of Communication & Media Studies Lesley University, Cambridge MA From joe@attorneyross.com Wed Nov 3 00:21:20 2021 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2021 00:21:20 -0400 Subject: List? In-Reply-To: <24962.57.47098.152193@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> References: <9E0E0B11-EA94-48D6-9F1E-1711FF0084E2@gmail.com> <24750.63906.407492.566699@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <24961.61042.254113.629175@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <24962.57.47098.152193@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <902d02ac-b899-73ed-dc4a-4508fcfa6338@attorneyross.com> I just thought nobody was posting.? Imagine my surprise just now when I saw a whole lot of posts going back to last summer! Oddly enough I had just been thinking of this list a few hours ago, when I was recalling Arnie Ginsburg's early Nighttrain show on WBOS 1600.? And I thought of posting a question and wondered whether the list would still function. My question was:? Does anyone remember whether Arnie was on before or after Ken Mayer's talk show? On 11/2/2021 11:21 PM, Garrett Wollman wrote: > < said: > >> Thanks Garrett for getting the jumper cables out > It is still quite likely that this list will not survive the > end-of-life of Mailman 2. > > The list runs on software called GNU Mailman. At some point in the > now-hazy past, the developers of Mailman decided to work on a > different and incompatible mailing-list manager, confusingly also > called "GNU Mailman", and discontinue working on the old Mailman that > everyone still uses. > > Another group of developers sprang up to maintain the old Mailman, but > this is not sustainable, because old Mailman is written in version 2 > of the Python programming language. The Python developers decided to > work on a different and incompatible programming language, confusingly > also called "Python", and ended support for the old Python ended in > early 2020. The packaging system that my server uses officially > deprecated the old Python (and thus the old Mailman) at the end of > last year, and it will be deleted soon. It hasn't gone away yet (and > in fact there was a security patch applied last month) but at some > point it will in fact stop working, and I do not have the time or the > desire to hack on Python to keep it running. > > Different groups have taken their own approaches to the deficiencies > of the various Mailman replacements (all, including the new Mailman, > are missing some essential features). However, the traffic on this > list is so limited, and most list members are more easily reachable in > some other medium, so I'm dubious that it's worth the effort to > completely replace the mailman installation with something else. The > fact that I didn't hear from anyone in four months that the list was > broken until Kevin contacted me on Twitter and Paul sent personal > email is an indication of the state of the current level of interest > in the list. > > -GAWollman > -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 617.367.0468 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Wed Nov 3 00:33:26 2021 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2021 00:33:26 -0400 Subject: List? In-Reply-To: References: <9E0E0B11-EA94-48D6-9F1E-1711FF0084E2@gmail.com> <24750.63906.407492.566699@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <8496e104-0535-39fd-d292-49bc3eb58b01@attorneyross.com> I'm in my 70s now, too.? I tend to listen to radio mostly in my car.? I listen to WCRB or WBUR and WGBH, depending on my mood.? I also listen to WATD. In fact, last Saturday while I was driving home from visiting a friend (both of us are vaccinated and wore masks, except while eating), I was listening to WATD's Oldies show and enjoyed some of the oldies of my teen years.? I also heard some newer "oldies" that I didn't like as much.? But the best one was when they played a recording of Groucho Marx singing "I've Got a Little List" from Gilbert & Sullivan's /The Mikado/.? I was in 9th grade in 1960 when the Bell Telephone Hour televised /The Mikado/ with Groucho playing the Lord High Executioner.? It was a welcome exotic oldie. At home, I tend to listen a lot on my computer, to WATD on weekends, when they play oldies, and, for classical music either KUSC in Los Angeles or WSCS, a low-power FM at Lake Sunapee, NH. On 10/30/2021 4:18 PM, Paul Currier wrote: > I just listened to the audio and read the Boston.com story. It >> appears that, prev, he had capitulated, softened due to prior >> pushbacks to tone-down his rhetoric on President Trump, and wasn?t >> going down that path with his opinion about a celebrity announcing >> their newfound non-binary status. That third rail triggered the bat >> phone and that triggered Matt. I suspect they?ll kiss and make up. > I hate to be asking on this of all mailing-lists, but is the radio > morning show still relevant? To 18-to-34-year-olds? Anecdotally, no > one I know under 30 will admit to listening to the radio at all. > > My parents are in their 70s now and they have the local country > station on whenever they're awake and not watching TV. Young people I > know get their music from Spotify and their spoken-word from podcasts > and audiobooks. (Traffic and weather from smartphone apps, and news > on social media or Google News.) > > -GAWollman > > -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 617.367.0468 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From dlh@donnahalper.com Wed Nov 3 00:36:20 2021 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2021 00:36:20 -0400 Subject: List? In-Reply-To: <24962.57.47098.152193@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> References: <9E0E0B11-EA94-48D6-9F1E-1711FF0084E2@gmail.com> <24750.63906.407492.566699@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <24961.61042.254113.629175@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <24962.57.47098.152193@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <6e4e8829-fe8d-24cf-4c16-0fd623516fb9@donnahalper.com> On 11/2/2021 11:21 PM, Garrett Wollman wrote: > The fact that I didn't hear from anyone in four months that the list > was broken until Kevin contacted me on Twitter and Paul sent personal > email is an indication of the state of the current level of interest > in the list. Not sure that's an accurate assessment. I've posted a couple of times and it didn't end up on the list, nor did it bounce. I was puzzled; but since Garrett has always been on top of these things over the years, I figured there must be a reason, and that some answer would emerge sooner or later.? (I wonder if other people's emails also got eaten by the internet monster.)? Bottom line, I think there is still some interest, but as I said earlier, a lot of folks either moved on or passed away or decided the list wasn't active.? Those of us who are still here value the list, and value your efforts-- even if we don't use BRI as often as we once did. -- Donna L. Halper, PhD Associate Professor of Communication & Media Studies Lesley University, Cambridge MA From kvahey@gmail.com Wed Nov 3 05:09:55 2021 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2021 05:09:55 -0400 Subject: The important thing is the list the list is alive again - 11/3/2021 Message-ID: First a big thank you to Garrett who has been in charge of the list from the beginning. I feel confident he will now figure out a way for the list to continue, Look the radio landscape we grew up with is irrelevant today. It is embarrassing that today I am more likely at home to ask Alexa to play a local radio station.than actually turn on the radio. From 011010001@interpring.com Wed Nov 3 07:52:56 2021 From: 011010001@interpring.com (Rob Landry) Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2021 07:52:56 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Boston Radio - Can somebody respond to this? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I'm still on it, but I haven't seen much traffic in a dog's age. If I haven't been very actiove lately, it's because most of my attention has been focused on two projects: 1) the acquisition of WFRD in Hanover, NH from Dartmouth College by our company, Sugar River Media; and 2) the forthcoming debut of Boston's first all-digital station on the AM band, which is set to debut on December 1. This is a client's station, not one of ours. Rob On Fri, 8 Oct 2021, Kevin Vahey wrote: > I don't want to see this list die > From 011010001@interpring.com Wed Nov 3 07:56:28 2021 From: 011010001@interpring.com (Rob Landry) Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2021 07:56:28 -0400 (EDT) Subject: List? In-Reply-To: References: <9E0E0B11-EA94-48D6-9F1E-1711FF0084E2@gmail.com> <24750.63906.407492.566699@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: Bob Bittner bought WBAS (not named for the nearby Bass River, despite seller Alex Langer's love of bass fishing; the call letters stood for "Brasil") 1240 AM and its translator at 106.5. Rob On Sat, 30 Oct 2021, Paul Currier wrote: > Hello Garrett and all, > > I?ve had this empty feeling: Is the list still alive? We?ve had some action here on Cape Cod recently ? John H Garabedian sold his 4 stations and Bob Bittner has joined the cape with an AM and FM. > > Thanks, > Paul Currier, radio nut who still misses AM and real radio in general. > > Sent from Mail for Windows > > From: Garrett Wollman > Sent: Wednesday, May 26, 2021 10:51 PM > To: billohno@gmail.com > Cc: boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org > Subject: Re: Matty in the Morning > > < said: > >> I just listened to the audio and read the Boston.com story. It >> appears that, prev, he had capitulated, softened due to prior >> pushbacks to tone-down his rhetoric on President Trump, and wasn?t >> going down that path with his opinion about a celebrity announcing >> their newfound non-binary status. That third rail triggered the bat >> phone and that triggered Matt. I suspect they?ll kiss and make up. > > I hate to be asking on this of all mailing-lists, but is the radio > morning show still relevant? To 18-to-34-year-olds? Anecdotally, no > one I know under 30 will admit to listening to the radio at all. > > My parents are in their 70s now and they have the local country > station on whenever they're awake and not watching TV. Young people I > know get their music from Spotify and their spoken-word from podcasts > and audiobooks. (Traffic and weather from smartphone apps, and news > on social media or Google News.) > > -GAWollman > > From pbencurrier@hotmail.com Wed Nov 3 10:01:04 2021 From: pbencurrier@hotmail.com (Paul Currier) Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2021 14:01:04 +0000 Subject: List? In-Reply-To: References: <9E0E0B11-EA94-48D6-9F1E-1711FF0084E2@gmail.com> <24750.63906.407492.566699@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <24961.61042.254113.629175@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: Thank you all! That enormous vacuum is gone!!!! Sent from Mail for Windows From: Kevin Vahey Sent: Tuesday, November 2, 2021 11:05 PM To: Garrett Wollman Cc: Paul Currier; (newsgroup) Boston-Radio-Interest Subject: Re: List? Thanks Garrett for getting the jumper cables out On Tue, Nov 2, 2021 at 11:01 PM Garrett Wollman wrote: > > < said: > > > I?ve had this empty feeling: Is the list still alive? We?ve had > > some action here on Cape Cod recently ? John H Garabedian sold his 4 > > stations and Bob Bittner has joined the cape with an AM and FM. > > Thanks, Paul (and Kevin), for urging me to look into this. It looks > like Mailman's queue-runner process had stopped some time ago and was > never restarted. (Usually this happens at boot time.) The last > several months of list mail are now being processed. > > -GAWollman > > From wollman@bimajority.org Wed Nov 3 22:48:16 2021 From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2021 22:48:16 -0400 Subject: List? In-Reply-To: <8496e104-0535-39fd-d292-49bc3eb58b01@attorneyross.com> References: <9E0E0B11-EA94-48D6-9F1E-1711FF0084E2@gmail.com> <24750.63906.407492.566699@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <8496e104-0535-39fd-d292-49bc3eb58b01@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: <24963.18928.224444.896258@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> < said: > I'm in my 70s now, too.? I tend to listen to radio mostly in my car.? I > listen to WCRB or WBUR and WGBH, depending on my mood.? I also listen to > WATD. I used to listen to broadcast and satellite radio a lot in my car, when that was the only form of audio readily available, but I've largely been listing to podcasts -- which are _the_ platform for spoken-word radio these days -- for the last few years. Since the pandemic has cut down on both commuting and driving more generally, that's meant that I have fewer and fewer "unprogrammed" listening hours where I might put on a broadcast station (usually WXRV or WERS) outside of the summer months when many shows go on hiatus or reruns. My current podcast subscriptions haven't changed much in four or five years, modulo a few shows that I unsubscribed when they ended production or went commercial. This list keeps me occupied for at least an hour a day, three days a week: * Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4 (weekly, rotates every 6 weeks, partial hiatus in August) * currently The Now Show, rotates with Dead Ringers and The News Quiz * More or Less from BBC Radio 4 and BBC World Service (two separate programs, with the shorter World Service one taking over the feed when the half-hour Radio 4 show is between series) (weekly) * The Kitchen Cabinet from BBC Radio 4 (alternates 6-week series with something else that I don't subscribe to) * Ideas from CBC Radio 1 (weekdays, but most episodes air 2-3 times during the year, so about 50% reruns, and some broadcast episodes do not make it to the podcast feed due to rights issues) * Quirks and Quarks from CBC Radio 1 (weekly, hiatus from Canada Day to Labor Day) * On the Media from WNYC (weekly hour plus a weekly "extra") * Radiolab from WNYC (weekly? most of the time?) * The Memory Palace from Radiotopia (the writer/voice talent/producer, Nate DiMeo, is a former Rhode Islander who used to work at one of the LA public radio factories) (semimonthly with occasional reruns, program description is intentionally vague because he wants the audience to come into it cold) * Gastropod, independent but now distributed by Vox Media (semimonthly) Having listened for a decade or more, I am of the opinion that OTM and Radiolab have both lost quite a bit of focus since 2015, but they're still occasionally interesting enough to listen to the intro before deciding to hit the "next" button. (The current Radiolab mini-series on audiotape has been quite interesting -- the most recent installment was about Bing Crosby switching from live to transcription to tape with some never-before-broadcast archival audio from the Crosby family archives.) Other than The Memory Palace and Gastropod, all of the rest are released for broadcast through traditional radio distribution channels. Radiotopia is part of PRX, which is one of the major distributors of programs to public radio, but the production style of TMP (variable length, no midroll spot breaks) makes it a poor fit for US broadcast schedules. If the BBC had a feed for Radio 4's Monday night comedy slot I'd probably subscribe to it. (Maybe they do now; I haven't checked in a while! Monday nights get the more traditional light entertainment, mostly panel games, whereas Fridays are always topical satire.) -GAWollman From fernworld@netzero.com Wed Nov 3 19:35:28 2021 From: fernworld@netzero.com (fernworld@netzero.com) Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2021 23:35:28 GMT Subject: List? Message-ID: <20211103.193528.19411.1@webmail06.dca.untd.com> My thanks as well. This is my way of watching what is left of local radio. My 37 years as a free lancer in a bunch of local stations ended a while ago as the whole industry got hollowed out by forces in and out of the owner's control. Webcasting is fun but it is damn hard to make economic sense. As I hit my 70s it is with really mixed emotions that I pay for my Sirius subscription. This email group is a nice window in to yesterday and today. Thanks to all and I hope it stays active as long as the tech behind it allows ---------- Original Message ---------- From: Paul Currier To: Kevin Vahey , Garrett Wollman Cc: "(newsgroup) Boston-Radio-Interest" Subject: RE: List? Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2021 14:01:04 +0000 Thank you all! That enormous vacuum is gone!!!! Sent from Mail for Windows From: Kevin Vahey Sent: Tuesday, November 2, 2021 11:05 PM To: Garrett Wollman Cc: Paul Currier; (newsgroup) Boston-Radio-Interest Subject: Re: List? Thanks Garrett for getting the jumper cables out On Tue, Nov 2, 2021 at 11:01 PM Garrett Wollman wrote: > > < said: > > > I?ve had this empty feeling: Is the list still alive? We?ve had > > some action here on Cape Cod recently ? John H Garabedian sold his 4 > > stations and Bob Bittner has joined the cape with an AM and FM. > > Thanks, Paul (and Kevin), for urging me to look into this. It looks > like Mailman's queue-runner process had stopped some time ago and was > never restarted. (Usually this happens at boot time.) The last > several months of list mail are now being processed. > > -GAWollman > > ____________________________________________________________ Choose to be safer online. Opt-in to Cyber Safety with NortonLifeLock. Plans starting as low as $6.95 per month.* https://store.netzero.net/account/showService.do?serviceId=nz-nLifeLock&utm_source=mktg&utm_medium=taglines&utm_campaign=nzlifelk_launch&utm_content=tag695&promoCode=A34454 From kenwvt@gmail.com Wed Nov 3 06:53:13 2021 From: kenwvt@gmail.com (Ken VanTassell) Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2021 06:53:13 -0400 Subject: Boston Radio - Can somebody respond to this? In-Reply-To: <0e777fd4-ac21-a3d6-c965-1ea737962c73@donnahalper.com> References: <0e777fd4-ac21-a3d6-c965-1ea737962c73@donnahalper.com> Message-ID: Most lists that I have been part of over the years have converted to Facebook groups. Ken On Tue, Nov 2, 2021 at 11:32 PM Donna Halper wrote: > On 10/8/2021 5:48 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: > > I don't want to see this list die > > I think a lot of folks either moved on or are no longer with us. I > seldom see any posts to it any more, which is sad-- it used to be very > active! > > > -- > Donna L. Halper, PhD > Associate Professor of Communication & Media Studies > Lesley University, Cambridge MA > > From tgordo49@gmail.com Thu Nov 4 00:17:34 2021 From: tgordo49@gmail.com (Tim Gordon) Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2021 00:17:34 -0400 Subject: Boston Radio - Can somebody respond to this? In-Reply-To: References: <0e777fd4-ac21-a3d6-c965-1ea737962c73@donnahalper.com> Message-ID: I'm deathly allergic to facebook/meta. Tim On Thu, Nov 4, 2021, 12:14 AM Ken VanTassell wrote: > Most lists that I have been part of over the years have converted to > Facebook groups. > > Ken > > On Tue, Nov 2, 2021 at 11:32 PM Donna Halper wrote: > > > On 10/8/2021 5:48 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: > > > I don't want to see this list die > > > > I think a lot of folks either moved on or are no longer with us. I > > seldom see any posts to it any more, which is sad-- it used to be very > > active! > > > > > > -- > > Donna L. Halper, PhD > > Associate Professor of Communication & Media Studies > > Lesley University, Cambridge MA > > > > > From 011010001@interpring.com Thu Nov 4 07:19:51 2021 From: 011010001@interpring.com (Rob Landry) Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2021 07:19:51 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Boston Radio - Can somebody respond to this? In-Reply-To: References: <0e777fd4-ac21-a3d6-c965-1ea737962c73@donnahalper.com> Message-ID: On Wed, 3 Nov 2021, Ken VanTassell wrote: > Most lists that I have been part of over the years have converted to > Facebook groups. Facebook is anathema to me; I won't go near it. Rob From mattosborne1976@yahoo.com Thu Nov 4 09:58:25 2021 From: mattosborne1976@yahoo.com (Matthew Osborne) Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2021 13:58:25 +0000 (UTC) Subject: Format changes, flankers, and the state of the industry today References: <689369989.377050.1636034305894.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <689369989.377050.1636034305894@mail.yahoo.com> In this week's NERW, it was reported that WDVI 100.5 FM Rochester NY (previously WVOR) has changed format to Country, ending a long run with some form of AC format.? It was also reported that their ratings under the previous 'Mix' format were in the low 2s.? This in itself is a shocking fall to me - as a 1999-2000 Rochester radio alum, I clearly remember those days when Mix 100.5 was a solid station with decent ratings and good billing.? We at WBEE saw them as a real competitor and threat in the market.? To see things got so bad there in the ensuing years is difficult to fathom for me. What shocks me even more is iHeartRadio's response to this.? They are turning arguably *the* best FM signal in that market into nothing more than a 'flanker' to co-owned news-conservative talk WHAM 1180. They will have only one live and local personality, with all other time parts syndicated and voice-tracked from in and out-of-market talent.? I would expect something like this for a lower-powered sub-optimal signal, but not a full market 50 KW class B FM. Is this what the radio industry has come to?? Where even the best and strongest signals in a market that used to stand completely on their own, are now seen as nothing more than low-budget flankers to another station in the market? Matthew OsborneWest Sand Lake, NY From 011010001@interpring.com Thu Nov 4 10:59:55 2021 From: 011010001@interpring.com (Rob Landry) Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2021 10:59:55 -0400 (EDT) Subject: your mail In-Reply-To: References: <689369989.377050.1636034305894.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2021 13:58:25 +0000 (UTC) From: Matthew Osborne To: "boston-radio-interest@lists.bostonradio.org" Subject: Format changes, flankers, and the state of the industry today > Is this what the radio industry has come to?? Where even the best and > strongest signals in a market that used to stand completely on their > own, are now seen as nothing more than low-budget flankers to another > station in the market? Matthew OsborneWest Sand Lake, NY It all boils down to dollars: how much does it cost, versus how much does it bring in. It surprises me that Eyeheart would make WHAM their centerpiece, though, because news/talk is a format with no future. Rush is dead; the grumpy old white guys who were his audience are fast following suit; what then? If Eyeheart is a publicly traded company, though, and I think it is, it will be under strong market pressure to mortgage the future for the present. That might be the answer to the riddle. Rob From obrienron2@gmail.com Thu Nov 4 14:31:03 2021 From: obrienron2@gmail.com (Ron) Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2021 14:31:03 -0400 Subject: Format changes, flankers, and the state of the industry today In-Reply-To: <689369989.377050.1636034305894@mail.yahoo.com> References: <689369989.377050.1636034305894.ref@mail.yahoo.com> <689369989.377050.1636034305894@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <003a01d7d1aa$1fdd95e0$5f98c1a0$@gmail.com> >>> Is this what the radio industry has come to? Or is it the state of (and reality of) advertising? -----Original Message----- From: Matthew Osborne Sent: Thursday, November 4, 2021 9:58 AM To: boston-radio-interest@lists.bostonradio.org Subject: Format changes, flankers, and the state of the industry today In this week's NERW, it was reported that WDVI 100.5 FM Rochester NY (previously WVOR) has changed format to Country, ending a long run with some form of AC format. It was also reported that their ratings under the previous 'Mix' format were in the low 2s. This in itself is a shocking fall to me - as a 1999-2000 Rochester radio alum, I clearly remember those days when Mix 100.5 was a solid station with decent ratings and good billing. We at WBEE saw them as a real competitor and threat in the market. To see things got so bad there in the ensuing years is difficult to fathom for me. What shocks me even more is iHeartRadio's response to this. They are turning arguably *the* best FM signal in that market into nothing more than a 'flanker' to co-owned news-conservative talk WHAM 1180. They will have only one live and local personality, with all other time parts syndicated and voice-tracked from in and out-of-market talent. I would expect something like this for a lower-powered sub-optimal signal, but not a full market 50 KW class B FM. Is this what the radio industry has come to? Where even the best and strongest signals in a market that used to stand completely on their own, are now seen as nothing more than low-budget flankers to another station in the market? Matthew OsborneWest Sand Lake, NY From mattosborne1976@yahoo.com Thu Nov 4 20:11:22 2021 From: mattosborne1976@yahoo.com (Matthew Osborne) Date: Fri, 5 Nov 2021 00:11:22 +0000 (UTC) Subject: Format changes, flankers, and the state of the industry today In-Reply-To: References: <689369989.377050.1636034305894.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <279183191.514418.1636071082260@mail.yahoo.com> On Thursday, November 4, 2021, 10:59:56 AM EDT, Rob Landry <011010001@interpring.com> wrote: >It surprises me that Eyeheart would make WHAM their centerpiece, though, because news/talk >is a format with no future. I couldn't agree with you more, despite the fact WHAM has traditionally been the highest rated station in their Rochester cluster for some time now,.? The 25-54 demo of 2000 is now 46-75 years old, and little to no effort is being made to update that format to bring in any younger listeners. >If Eyeheart is a publicly traded company, though, and I think it is, it will be under strong market >pressure to mortgage the future for the present. That might be the answer to the riddle. I suspect you are spot on here - nothing else seems to make any logical sense to me. Matthew OsborneWest Sand Lake Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2021 13:58:25 +0000 (UTC) From: Matthew Osborne To: "boston-radio-interest@lists.bostonradio.org" Subject: Format changes, flankers, and the state of the industry today > Is this what the radio industry has come to?? Where even the best and > strongest signals in a market that used to stand completely on their > own, are now seen as nothing more than low-budget flankers to another > station in the market? Matthew OsborneWest Sand Lake, NY It all boils down to dollars: how much does it cost, versus how much does it bring in. It surprises me that Eyeheart would make WHAM their centerpiece, though, because news/talk is a format with no future. Rush is dead; the grumpy old white guys who were his audience are fast following suit; what then? If Eyeheart is a publicly traded company, though, and I think it is, it will be under strong market pressure to mortgage the future for the present. That might be the answer to the riddle. Rob From wollman@bimajority.org Fri Nov 5 01:23:32 2021 From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) Date: Fri, 5 Nov 2021 01:23:32 -0400 Subject: Format changes, flankers, and the state of the industry today In-Reply-To: <003a01d7d1aa$1fdd95e0$5f98c1a0$@gmail.com> References: <689369989.377050.1636034305894.ref@mail.yahoo.com> <689369989.377050.1636034305894@mail.yahoo.com> <003a01d7d1aa$1fdd95e0$5f98c1a0$@gmail.com> Message-ID: <24964.49108.342462.774356@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> < said: >>>> Is this what the radio industry has come to? > Or is it the state of (and reality of) advertising? That certainly has a lot to do with what's happened to pretty much all linear media. As I said the other day, I'm not listening to broadcast radio all that much, and I'm watching TV even less, but I have noticed that the TV advertising that I do see is dominated by the lowest of low-rent advertisers. The other day I was watching the Skate America figure-skating competition, which used to get decent audiences, and the most noticeable advertisers were a quack memory nostrums and an adult-diaper delivery service. Oh, and of course the inevitable asbestos ambulance-chasers. This probably goes a long way to explain why Comcast is shutting down NBCSN at the end of the year. I think it's pretty clear that most sports now figure they can extract more money from a subscription-only streaming model, even for live events, than they can from the sort of advertisers left trying to reach octogenarians via linear TV advertising. Comcast presumably makes enough from the Olympics to keep that on broadcast for some years to come, but sports with multiple competitions in a year are not going to be seen on that platform with any reliability. (Killing off NBCSN at least helps Comcast deal with their long-standing problem of "which of NBC's five different sports streaming sites will have the coverage of event X", because there will soon only be four of them.) -GAWollman From 011010001@interpring.com Fri Nov 5 07:04:19 2021 From: 011010001@interpring.com (Rob Landry) Date: Fri, 5 Nov 2021 07:04:19 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Format changes, flankers, and the state of the industry today In-Reply-To: <24964.49108.342462.774356@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> References: <689369989.377050.1636034305894.ref@mail.yahoo.com> <689369989.377050.1636034305894@mail.yahoo.com> <003a01d7d1aa$1fdd95e0$5f98c1a0$@gmail.com> <24964.49108.342462.774356@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: On Fri, 5 Nov 2021, Garrett Wollman wrote: > As I said the other day, I'm not listening to broadcast radio all that > much, and I'm watching TV even less, but I have noticed that the TV > advertising that I do see is dominated by the lowest of low-rent > advertisers. TV as we used to know it is moribund. TV programming is expensive to produce, and immediacy is less important for TV (except for live events like the recently concluded World Series) than it is for radio. YouTube and subscription streaming services are TV's future, I think. > (Killing off NBCSN at least helps Comcast deal with their long-standing > problem of "which of NBC's five different sports streaming sites will > have the coverage of event X", because there will soon only be four of > them.) Part of the problem is that Comcast, which is a delivery company, now owns the content it delivers. Very little good will come of that, I think. Rob From kvahey@gmail.com Fri Nov 5 08:55:18 2021 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Fri, 5 Nov 2021 08:55:18 -0400 Subject: Format changes, flankers, and the state of the industry today In-Reply-To: References: <689369989.377050.1636034305894.ref@mail.yahoo.com> <689369989.377050.1636034305894@mail.yahoo.com> <003a01d7d1aa$1fdd95e0$5f98c1a0$@gmail.com> <24964.49108.342462.774356@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: Having been a long-time freelancer doing sports I am seeing the cutbacks everywhere. One of the biggest issues facing radio/TV is sales departments have no clue how to sell to an older demographic. CBS decided to bail out of local radio a few years ago and found a willing sucker in Entercom (Audacy). On Fri, Nov 5, 2021 at 7:45 AM Rob Landry <011010001@interpring.com> wrote: > > > > On Fri, 5 Nov 2021, Garrett Wollman wrote: > > > As I said the other day, I'm not listening to broadcast radio all that > > much, and I'm watching TV even less, but I have noticed that the TV > > advertising that I do see is dominated by the lowest of low-rent > > advertisers. > > TV as we used to know it is moribund. TV programming is expensive to > produce, and immediacy is less important for TV (except for live events > like the recently concluded World Series) than it is for radio. YouTube > and subscription streaming services are TV's future, I think. > > > (Killing off NBCSN at least helps Comcast deal with their long-standing > > problem of "which of NBC's five different sports streaming sites will > > have the coverage of event X", because there will soon only be four of > > them.) > > Part of the problem is that Comcast, which is a delivery company, now owns > the content it delivers. Very little good will come of that, I think. > > > > Rob From ashboy1951@gmail.com Fri Nov 5 09:34:41 2021 From: ashboy1951@gmail.com (Doug Drown) Date: Fri, 5 Nov 2021 09:34:41 -0400 Subject: Format changes, flankers, and the state of the industry today In-Reply-To: References: <689369989.377050.1636034305894.ref@mail.yahoo.com> <689369989.377050.1636034305894@mail.yahoo.com> <003a01d7d1aa$1fdd95e0$5f98c1a0$@gmail.com> <24964.49108.342462.774356@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: As a non-professional somewhat outside the loop, I keep wondering how corporations such as Audacy, iHeart, Chancellor, et.al. can continue to make money in the long term. As suggested, there are still a lot of people who listen to terrestrial radio, but they're mostly over 50 (like me). That, combined with the aforesaid cluelessness about (or even, in some cases, *interest in) *that demographic, things don't bode well. Why invest in a boat with a slow leak that's eventually going to sink it? -Doug On Fri, Nov 5, 2021 at 8:58 AM Kevin Vahey wrote: > Having been a long-time freelancer doing sports I am seeing the > cutbacks everywhere. > > One of the biggest issues facing radio/TV is sales departments have no > clue how to sell to an older demographic. > > CBS decided to bail out of local radio a few years ago and found a > willing sucker in Entercom (Audacy). > > > On Fri, Nov 5, 2021 at 7:45 AM Rob Landry <011010001@interpring.com> > wrote: > > > > > > > > On Fri, 5 Nov 2021, Garrett Wollman wrote: > > > > > As I said the other day, I'm not listening to broadcast radio all that > > > much, and I'm watching TV even less, but I have noticed that the TV > > > advertising that I do see is dominated by the lowest of low-rent > > > advertisers. > > > > TV as we used to know it is moribund. TV programming is expensive to > > produce, and immediacy is less important for TV (except for live events > > like the recently concluded World Series) than it is for radio. YouTube > > and subscription streaming services are TV's future, I think. > > > > > (Killing off NBCSN at least helps Comcast deal with their long-standing > > > problem of "which of NBC's five different sports streaming sites will > > > have the coverage of event X", because there will soon only be four of > > > them.) > > > > Part of the problem is that Comcast, which is a delivery company, now > owns > > the content it delivers. Very little good will come of that, I think. > > > > > > > > Rob > From fernworld@netzero.net Fri Nov 5 11:43:26 2021 From: fernworld@netzero.net (fernworld@netzero.net) Date: Fri, 5 Nov 2021 15:43:26 GMT Subject: Format changes, flankers, and the state of the industry today Message-ID: <20211105.114326.26618.0@webmail10.dca.untd.com> For the smaller stations with a local market, the sales folks have a much smaller sales target list as well......Gone are the local banks, independent insurance agents, car dealers, butchers, bakers, independent hardware stores and on and on that were the lifeblood of these stations, and their local programming like sports. Some executive in Hartford couldn't care less that the high school football in a place in Mass where they have a branch could have their games on the radio. Or that the local station had a news department. Locally, Gerard Moynihan stands tall with his continuing support for school sports and their student athletes. When he hands the reins of his business over, no telling if that will continue. ---------- Original Message ---------- From: Kevin Vahey To: Rob Landry <011010001@interpring.com> Cc: bri Subject: Re: Format changes, flankers, and the state of the industry today Date: Fri, 5 Nov 2021 08:55:18 -0400 Having been a long-time freelancer doing sports I am seeing the cutbacks everywhere. One of the biggest issues facing radio/TV is sales departments have no clue how to sell to an older demographic. CBS decided to bail out of local radio a few years ago and found a willing sucker in Entercom (Audacy). On Fri, Nov 5, 2021 at 7:45 AM Rob Landry <011010001@interpring.com> wrote: > > > > On Fri, 5 Nov 2021, Garrett Wollman wrote: > > > As I said the other day, I'm not listening to broadcast radio all that > > much, and I'm watching TV even less, but I have noticed that the TV > > advertising that I do see is dominated by the lowest of low-rent > > advertisers. > > TV as we used to know it is moribund. TV programming is expensive to > produce, and immediacy is less important for TV (except for live events > like the recently concluded World Series) than it is for radio. YouTube > and subscription streaming services are TV's future, I think. > > > (Killing off NBCSN at least helps Comcast deal with their long-standing > > problem of "which of NBC's five different sports streaming sites will > > have the coverage of event X", because there will soon only be four of > > them.) > > Part of the problem is that Comcast, which is a delivery company, now owns > the content it delivers. Very little good will come of that, I think. > > > > Rob ____________________________________________________________ Sponsored by https://www.newser.com/?utm_source=part&utm_medium=uol&utm_campaign=rss_taglines_more What This Week's Results Mean for Trump http://thirdpartyoffers.netzero.net/TGL3231/618551606b33651600cb8st01duc1 Pfizer: COVID Pill Results Are Beyond Our 'Wildest Dreams' http://thirdpartyoffers.netzero.net/TGL3231/618551608a14d51600cb8st01duc2 Gulf Countries Ban Eternals http://thirdpartyoffers.netzero.net/TGL3231/61855160a90d851600cb8st01duc3 From joe@attorneyross.com Fri Nov 5 17:21:25 2021 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Fri, 5 Nov 2021 17:21:25 -0400 Subject: Format changes, flankers, and the state of the industry today In-Reply-To: References: <689369989.377050.1636034305894.ref@mail.yahoo.com> <689369989.377050.1636034305894@mail.yahoo.com> <003a01d7d1aa$1fdd95e0$5f98c1a0$@gmail.com> <24964.49108.342462.774356@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <040b9e98-92a8-dbfd-5deb-6287e45c7f31@attorneyross.com> From time to time, investors do very well by investing in a boat with a slow leak and successfully fixing the leak.? It's happened often enough and sometimes spectacularly. On 11/5/2021 9:34 AM, Doug Drown wrote: > As a non-professional somewhat outside the loop, I keep wondering > how corporations such as Audacy, iHeart, Chancellor, et.al. can continue to > make money in the long term. As suggested, there are still a lot of people > who listen to terrestrial radio, but they're mostly over 50 (like me). > That, combined with the aforesaid cluelessness about (or even, in some > cases, *interest in) *that demographic, things don't bode well. Why invest > in a boat with a slow leak that's eventually going to sink it? > > -Doug > > > > On Fri, Nov 5, 2021 at 8:58 AM Kevin Vahey wrote: > >> Having been a long-time freelancer doing sports I am seeing the >> cutbacks everywhere. >> >> One of the biggest issues facing radio/TV is sales departments have no >> clue how to sell to an older demographic. >> >> CBS decided to bail out of local radio a few years ago and found a >> willing sucker in Entercom (Audacy). >> >> >> On Fri, Nov 5, 2021 at 7:45 AM Rob Landry <011010001@interpring.com> >> wrote: >>> >>> >>> On Fri, 5 Nov 2021, Garrett Wollman wrote: >>> >>>> As I said the other day, I'm not listening to broadcast radio all that >>>> much, and I'm watching TV even less, but I have noticed that the TV >>>> advertising that I do see is dominated by the lowest of low-rent >>>> advertisers. >>> TV as we used to know it is moribund. TV programming is expensive to >>> produce, and immediacy is less important for TV (except for live events >>> like the recently concluded World Series) than it is for radio. YouTube >>> and subscription streaming services are TV's future, I think. >>> >>>> (Killing off NBCSN at least helps Comcast deal with their long-standing >>>> problem of "which of NBC's five different sports streaming sites will >>>> have the coverage of event X", because there will soon only be four of >>>> them.) >>> Part of the problem is that Comcast, which is a delivery company, now >> owns >>> the content it delivers. Very little good will come of that, I think. >>> >>> >>> >>> Rob -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459-2004 617.367.0468 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From dave@skywaves.net Sat Nov 6 01:44:55 2021 From: dave@skywaves.net (Dave Doherty) Date: Fri, 5 Nov 2021 19:44:55 -1000 Subject: Format changes, flankers, and the state of the industry today In-Reply-To: <040b9e98-92a8-dbfd-5deb-6287e45c7f31@attorneyross.com> References: <689369989.377050.1636034305894.ref@mail.yahoo.com> <689369989.377050.1636034305894@mail.yahoo.com> <003a01d7d1aa$1fdd95e0$5f98c1a0$@gmail.com> <24964.49108.342462.774356@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <040b9e98-92a8-dbfd-5deb-6287e45c7f31@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: <000601d7d2d1$6e79e8c0$4b6dba40$@skywaves.net> ...or ignoring the leak, sailing the ship with paying customers for years, paying dividends to the investors on each voyage --- until it sinks, kills the passengers and crew, and the company goes bankrupt. The corporation is liable, but its shareholders are not. The investors get to keep their dividends, they just don't get any from the final voyage. -d -----Original Message----- From: Boston-Radio-Interest On Behalf Of A. Joseph Ross Sent: Friday, November 05, 2021 11:21 AM To: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org Subject: Re: Format changes, flankers, and the state of the industry today From time to time, investors do very well by investing in a boat with a slow leak and successfully fixing the leak. It's happened often enough and sometimes spectacularly. On 11/5/2021 9:34 AM, Doug Drown wrote: > As a non-professional somewhat outside the loop, I keep wondering how > corporations such as Audacy, iHeart, Chancellor, et.al. can continue > to make money in the long term. As suggested, there are still a lot > of people who listen to terrestrial radio, but they're mostly over 50 (like me). > That, combined with the aforesaid cluelessness about (or even, in some > cases, *interest in) *that demographic, things don't bode well. Why > invest in a boat with a slow leak that's eventually going to sink it? > > -Doug > > > > On Fri, Nov 5, 2021 at 8:58 AM Kevin Vahey wrote: > >> Having been a long-time freelancer doing sports I am seeing the >> cutbacks everywhere. >> >> One of the biggest issues facing radio/TV is sales departments have >> no clue how to sell to an older demographic. >> >> CBS decided to bail out of local radio a few years ago and found a >> willing sucker in Entercom (Audacy). >> >> >> On Fri, Nov 5, 2021 at 7:45 AM Rob Landry <011010001@interpring.com> >> wrote: >>> >>> >>> On Fri, 5 Nov 2021, Garrett Wollman wrote: >>> >>>> As I said the other day, I'm not listening to broadcast radio all >>>> that much, and I'm watching TV even less, but I have noticed that >>>> the TV advertising that I do see is dominated by the lowest of >>>> low-rent advertisers. >>> TV as we used to know it is moribund. TV programming is expensive to >>> produce, and immediacy is less important for TV (except for live >>> events like the recently concluded World Series) than it is for >>> radio. YouTube and subscription streaming services are TV's future, I think. >>> >>>> (Killing off NBCSN at least helps Comcast deal with their >>>> long-standing problem of "which of NBC's five different sports >>>> streaming sites will have the coverage of event X", because there >>>> will soon only be four of >>>> them.) >>> Part of the problem is that Comcast, which is a delivery company, >>> now >> owns >>> the content it delivers. Very little good will come of that, I think. >>> >>> >>> >>> Rob -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459-2004 617.367.0468 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From kvahey@gmail.com Sat Nov 6 04:09:09 2021 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Sat, 6 Nov 2021 04:09:09 -0400 Subject: Format changes, flankers, and the state of the industry today In-Reply-To: <000601d7d2d1$6e79e8c0$4b6dba40$@skywaves.net> References: <689369989.377050.1636034305894.ref@mail.yahoo.com> <689369989.377050.1636034305894@mail.yahoo.com> <003a01d7d1aa$1fdd95e0$5f98c1a0$@gmail.com> <24964.49108.342462.774356@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> <040b9e98-92a8-dbfd-5deb-6287e45c7f31@attorneyross.com> <000601d7d2d1$6e79e8c0$4b6dba40$@skywaves.net> Message-ID: I will NEVER figure out Entercom's logic when they had to divest the Boston cluster after they bought CBS Radio. Nobody saw the side deal with iHeart coming It is what it is, On Sat, Nov 6, 2021 at 2:43 AM Dave Doherty wrote: > > ...or ignoring the leak, sailing the ship with paying customers for years, paying dividends to the investors on each voyage --- until it sinks, kills the passengers and crew, and the company goes bankrupt. The corporation is liable, but its shareholders are not. The investors get to keep their dividends, they just don't get any from the final voyage. > > -d > > -----Original Message----- > From: Boston-Radio-Interest On Behalf Of A. Joseph Ross > Sent: Friday, November 05, 2021 11:21 AM > To: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org > Subject: Re: Format changes, flankers, and the state of the industry today > > From time to time, investors do very well by investing in a boat with a slow leak and successfully fixing the leak. It's happened often enough and sometimes spectacularly. > > On 11/5/2021 9:34 AM, Doug Drown wrote: > > As a non-professional somewhat outside the loop, I keep wondering how > > corporations such as Audacy, iHeart, Chancellor, et.al. can continue > > to make money in the long term. As suggested, there are still a lot > > of people who listen to terrestrial radio, but they're mostly over 50 (like me). > > That, combined with the aforesaid cluelessness about (or even, in some > > cases, *interest in) *that demographic, things don't bode well. Why > > invest in a boat with a slow leak that's eventually going to sink it? > > > > -Doug > > > > > > > > On Fri, Nov 5, 2021 at 8:58 AM Kevin Vahey wrote: > > > >> Having been a long-time freelancer doing sports I am seeing the > >> cutbacks everywhere. > >> > >> One of the biggest issues facing radio/TV is sales departments have > >> no clue how to sell to an older demographic. > >> > >> CBS decided to bail out of local radio a few years ago and found a > >> willing sucker in Entercom (Audacy). > >> > >> > >> On Fri, Nov 5, 2021 at 7:45 AM Rob Landry <011010001@interpring.com> > >> wrote: > >>> > >>> > >>> On Fri, 5 Nov 2021, Garrett Wollman wrote: > >>> > >>>> As I said the other day, I'm not listening to broadcast radio all > >>>> that much, and I'm watching TV even less, but I have noticed that > >>>> the TV advertising that I do see is dominated by the lowest of > >>>> low-rent advertisers. > >>> TV as we used to know it is moribund. TV programming is expensive to > >>> produce, and immediacy is less important for TV (except for live > >>> events like the recently concluded World Series) than it is for > >>> radio. YouTube and subscription streaming services are TV's future, I think. > >>> > >>>> (Killing off NBCSN at least helps Comcast deal with their > >>>> long-standing problem of "which of NBC's five different sports > >>>> streaming sites will have the coverage of event X", because there > >>>> will soon only be four of > >>>> them.) > >>> Part of the problem is that Comcast, which is a delivery company, > >>> now > >> owns > >>> the content it delivers. Very little good will come of that, I think. > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> Rob > > -- > A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459-2004 > 617.367.0468 ? http://www.attorneyross.com > > > > From 011010001@interpring.com Sat Nov 6 13:40:13 2021 From: 011010001@interpring.com (Rob Landry) Date: Sat, 6 Nov 2021 13:40:13 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Format changes, flankers, and the state of the industry today In-Reply-To: <20211105.114326.26618.0@webmail10.dca.untd.com> References: <20211105.114326.26618.0@webmail10.dca.untd.com> Message-ID: On Fri, 5 Nov 2021, fernworld@netzero.net wrote: > For the smaller stations with a local market, the sales folks have a > much smaller sales target list as well......Gone are the local banks, > independent insurance agents, car dealers, butchers, bakers, independent > hardware stores and on and on that were the lifeblood of these stations, > and their local programming like sports. Actually, that's not true, at least in the upper Connecticut valley. Rob From markwats@comcast.net Sat Nov 6 17:06:43 2021 From: markwats@comcast.net (Mark Watson) Date: Sat, 6 Nov 2021 17:06:43 -0400 Subject: Boston Radio - Can somebody respond to this? In-Reply-To: <0e777fd4-ac21-a3d6-c965-1ea737962c73@donnahalper.com> References: <0e777fd4-ac21-a3d6-c965-1ea737962c73@donnahalper.com> Message-ID: <038f01d7d352$35990a00$a0cb1e00$@comcast.net> Donna Halper wrote: > I think a lot of folks either moved on or are no longer with us. I seldom see any posts to it any more, which is sad-- it used to be very active! I thought the list had quietly vanished until I saw Garrett's post explaining what happened, which explains why my post I made some time ago about the passing of Maurice Cohen appeared the other night. As others have mentioned, some of the folks who used to chime in regularly have passed away or moved on. There's an abundance of radio groups on Facebook which have a substantial following. Thank You Garrett for checking into what happened with the server and for keeping the list alive for all these years. Mark Watson From richard@chonak.com Tue Nov 9 20:25:09 2021 From: richard@chonak.com (Richard Chonak) Date: Tue, 9 Nov 2021 20:25:09 -0500 Subject: Another Boston pirate gone? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1bbba525-841e-c4c3-5a74-66f98f1f11ef@chonak.com> Station 10-10 was coming in here yesterday (10 mi n of Boston) with a clear video feed: it appeared to be running a B&W horror movie, but there was no audio.? An on-screen label identified the sender as "WOWO Westmoreland". Today there's no video either, but occasionally the signal-strength meter shows a couple of bars (2 out of 10) and the screen lights up for a second or so. --RC On 8/3/21 10:33 PM, Paul B. Walker, Jr. wrote: > Could a TV channel 6 moving to the Candleabra spell the end of a pirate? > > Posted on radiodiscussions: > https://www.radiodiscussions.com/threads/might-b87-7-be-the-most-legit-mainstream-pirate-in-the-us.734909/post-6411858 > The FCC has approved the move of the Ch 6 LPTV station W06DH, licensed to > Westmoreland, NH - to the Cabot Street (aka Candelabra) tower in Needham at > 1000 feet. This will affect B87.7, and anything else on 87.7 or 87.9. While > the LPTV signal itself may not be overpowering, they will soon be > interfering with a licensed station. From map@mapinternet.com Wed Nov 10 12:08:15 2021 From: map@mapinternet.com (m casey) Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2021 17:08:15 +0000 Subject: Boston-Radio-Interest Digest, Vol 25, Issue 57 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <0100017d0ad252b0-e2f5e358-a288-4c63-8490-025e02449aea-000000@email.amazonses.com> Anyone watching atsc 3.0 tv yet. It?s on the air in Hartford. I didn?t check Boston. Mark Casey, K1MAP Near Springfield From: boston-radio-interest-request@lists.BostonRadio.org Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 2021 12:02 PM To: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org Subject: Boston-Radio-Interest Digest, Vol 25, Issue 57 Send Boston-Radio-Interest mailing list submissions to boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit https://lists.BostonRadio.org/mailman/listinfo/boston-radio-interest or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to boston-radio-interest-request@lists.BostonRadio.org You can reach the person managing the list at boston-radio-interest-owner@lists.BostonRadio.org When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Boston-Radio-Interest digest..." From jjlehmann@comcast.net Wed Nov 10 20:41:13 2021 From: jjlehmann@comcast.net (jjlehmann@comcast.net) Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2021 20:41:13 -0500 Subject: Another Boston pirate gone? In-Reply-To: <1bbba525-841e-c4c3-5a74-66f98f1f11ef@chonak.com> References: <1bbba525-841e-c4c3-5a74-66f98f1f11ef@chonak.com> Message-ID: <065401d7d69d$3a557e90$af007bb0$@comcast.net> 10.10 is another move in from Westmoreland, NH, WWOO-LD, transmitting from One Beacon St in Boston, the former home of analog WMFP 62. Jeff Lehmann Rockland, MA -----Original Message----- From: Boston-Radio-Interest On Behalf Of Richard Chonak Sent: Tuesday, November 9, 2021 8:25 PM To: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org Subject: Re: Another Boston pirate gone? Station 10-10 was coming in here yesterday (10 mi n of Boston) with a clear video feed: it appeared to be running a B&W horror movie, but there was no audio. An on-screen label identified the sender as "WOWO Westmoreland". Today there's no video either, but occasionally the signal-strength meter shows a couple of bars (2 out of 10) and the screen lights up for a second or so. --RC On 8/3/21 10:33 PM, Paul B. Walker, Jr. wrote: > Could a TV channel 6 moving to the Candleabra spell the end of a pirate? > > Posted on radiodiscussions: > https://www.radiodiscussions.com/threads/might-b87-7-be-the-most-legit > -mainstream-pirate-in-the-us.734909/post-6411858 > The FCC has approved the move of the Ch 6 LPTV station W06DH, licensed > to Westmoreland, NH - to the Cabot Street (aka Candelabra) tower in > Needham at > 1000 feet. This will affect B87.7, and anything else on 87.7 or 87.9. > While the LPTV signal itself may not be overpowering, they will soon > be interfering with a licensed station. From LostCluster@lostcluster.me Wed Nov 10 22:37:07 2021 From: LostCluster@lostcluster.me (Ben Levy) Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2021 22:37:07 -0500 Subject: Another Boston pirate gone? In-Reply-To: <065401d7d69d$3a557e90$af007bb0$@comcast.net> References: <1bbba525-841e-c4c3-5a74-66f98f1f11ef@chonak.com> <065401d7d69d$3a557e90$af007bb0$@comcast.net> Message-ID: ?10.10? doesn?t make any sense to me? is this an interferer to 1010 WINS out of NYC, or the 10th DT hitching a ride on NBC 10 Boston?s signal? Ben Sent from Mail for Windows From: jjlehmann@comcast.net Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 2021 9:14 PM To: 'Richard Chonak'; Subject: RE: Another Boston pirate gone? 10.10 is another move in from Westmoreland, NH, WWOO-LD, transmitting from One Beacon St in Boston, the former home of analog WMFP 62. Jeff Lehmann Rockland, MA -----Original Message----- From: Boston-Radio-Interest On Behalf Of Richard Chonak Sent: Tuesday, November 9, 2021 8:25 PM To: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org Subject: Re: Another Boston pirate gone? Station 10-10 was coming in here yesterday (10 mi n of Boston) with a clear video feed: it appeared to be running a B&W horror movie, but there was no audio. An on-screen label identified the sender as "WOWO Westmoreland". Today there's no video either, but occasionally the signal-strength meter shows a couple of bars (2 out of 10) and the screen lights up for a second or so. --RC On 8/3/21 10:33 PM, Paul B. Walker, Jr. wrote: > Could a TV channel 6 moving to the Candleabra spell the end of a pirate? > > Posted on radiodiscussions: > https://www.radiodiscussions.com/threads/might-b87-7-be-the-most-legit > -mainstream-pirate-in-the-us.734909/post-6411858 > The FCC has approved the move of the Ch 6 LPTV station W06DH, licensed > to Westmoreland, NH - to the Cabot Street (aka Candelabra) tower in > Needham at > 1000 feet. This will affect B87.7, and anything else on 87.7 or 87.9. > While the LPTV signal itself may not be overpowering, they will soon > be interfering with a licensed station. From richard@chonak.com Wed Nov 10 23:18:26 2021 From: richard@chonak.com (richard@chonak.com) Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2021 23:18:26 -0500 Subject: Another Boston pirate gone? Message-ID: Thanks: tonight the letters on-screen match the call sIgn WWOO.?Tonight they showed the original version of "Little Shop of Horrors", still sans soundtrack.--RCSent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE device------ Original message------From: jjlehmann@comcast.netDate: Wed, Nov 10, 2021 8:42 PMTo: 'Richard Chonak';boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org;Cc: Subject:RE: Another Boston pirate gone?10.10 is another move in from Westmoreland, NH, WWOO-LD, transmitting from One Beacon St in Boston, the former home of analog WMFP 62. Jeff Lehmann Rockland, MA -----Original Message----- From: Boston-Radio-Interest On Behalf Of Richard Chonak Sent: Tuesday, November 9, 2021 8:25 PM To: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org Subject: Re: Another Boston pirate gone? Station 10-10 was coming in here yesterday (10 mi n of Boston) with a clear video feed: it appeared to be running a B&W horror movie, but there was no audio. An on-screen label identified the sender as "WOWO Westmoreland". Today there's no video either, but occasionally the signal-strength meter shows a couple of bars (2 out of 10) and the screen lights up for a second or so. --RC On 8/3/21 10:33 PM, Paul B. Walker, Jr. wrote: > Could a TV channel 6 moving to the Candleabra spell the end of a pirate? > > Posted on radiodiscussions: > https://www.radiodiscussions.com/threads/might-b87-7-be-the-most-legit > -mainstream-pirate-in-the-us.734909/post-6411858 > The FCC has approved the move of the Ch 6 LPTV station W06DH, licensed > to Westmoreland, NH - to the Cabot Street (aka Candelabra) tower in > Needham at > 1000 feet. This will affect B87.7, and anything else on 87.7 or 87.9. > While the LPTV signal itself may not be overpowering, they will soon > be interfering with a licensed station. From jjlehmann@comcast.net Wed Nov 10 22:45:57 2021 From: jjlehmann@comcast.net (Jeff Lehmann) Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2021 22:45:57 -0500 Subject: Another Boston pirate gone? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <57DAC641-4B0D-42D7-9BDD-9EB0A28C4A63@comcast.net> To make things even more confusing, ?NBC 10 Boston? is actually 15.1? This new WWOO is using the wrong virtual channel number. Not sure what virtual channel it?s supposed to be. Neither is supposed to use 10 because of the proximity to WJAR in Providence. Jeff Lehmann > On Nov 10, 2021, at 10:40 PM, Ben Levy wrote: > > ??10.10? doesn?t make any sense to me? is this an interferer to 1010 WINS out of NYC, or the 10th DT hitching a ride on NBC 10 Boston?s signal? > > Ben > > Sent from Mail for Windows > > From: jjlehmann@comcast.net > Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 2021 9:14 PM > To: 'Richard Chonak'; > Subject: RE: Another Boston pirate gone? > > 10.10 is another move in from Westmoreland, NH, WWOO-LD, transmitting from One Beacon St in Boston, the former home of analog WMFP 62. > > Jeff Lehmann > Rockland, MA > > -----Original Message----- > From: Boston-Radio-Interest On Behalf Of Richard Chonak > Sent: Tuesday, November 9, 2021 8:25 PM > To: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org > Subject: Re: Another Boston pirate gone? > > Station 10-10 was coming in here yesterday (10 mi n of Boston) with a clear video feed: it appeared to be running a B&W horror movie, but there was no audio. An on-screen label identified the sender as "WOWO Westmoreland". > > Today there's no video either, but occasionally the signal-strength meter shows a couple of bars (2 out of 10) and the screen lights up for a second or so. > > --RC > > >> On 8/3/21 10:33 PM, Paul B. Walker, Jr. wrote: >> Could a TV channel 6 moving to the Candleabra spell the end of a pirate? >> >> Posted on radiodiscussions: >> https://www.radiodiscussions.com/threads/might-b87-7-be-the-most-legit >> -mainstream-pirate-in-the-us.734909/post-6411858 >> The FCC has approved the move of the Ch 6 LPTV station W06DH, licensed >> to Westmoreland, NH - to the Cabot Street (aka Candelabra) tower in >> Needham at >> 1000 feet. This will affect B87.7, and anything else on 87.7 or 87.9. >> While the LPTV signal itself may not be overpowering, they will soon >> be interfering with a licensed station. > > > > > From kvahey@gmail.com Wed Nov 10 21:43:29 2021 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2021 21:43:29 -0500 Subject: Another Boston pirate gone? In-Reply-To: <065401d7d69d$3a557e90$af007bb0$@comcast.net> References: <1bbba525-841e-c4c3-5a74-66f98f1f11ef@chonak.com> <065401d7d69d$3a557e90$af007bb0$@comcast.net> Message-ID: 10.10 is currently showing 'The House on the Haunted Hill' with no audio and a graphic saying WWOO Westmoreland On Wed, Nov 10, 2021 at 9:15 PM wrote: > > 10.10 is another move in from Westmoreland, NH, WWOO-LD, transmitting from One Beacon St in Boston, the former home of analog WMFP 62. > > Jeff Lehmann > Rockland, MA > > -----Original Message----- > From: Boston-Radio-Interest On Behalf Of Richard Chonak > Sent: Tuesday, November 9, 2021 8:25 PM > To: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org > Subject: Re: Another Boston pirate gone? > > Station 10-10 was coming in here yesterday (10 mi n of Boston) with a clear video feed: it appeared to be running a B&W horror movie, but there was no audio. An on-screen label identified the sender as "WOWO Westmoreland". > > Today there's no video either, but occasionally the signal-strength meter shows a couple of bars (2 out of 10) and the screen lights up for a second or so. > > --RC > > > On 8/3/21 10:33 PM, Paul B. Walker, Jr. wrote: > > Could a TV channel 6 moving to the Candleabra spell the end of a pirate? > > > > Posted on radiodiscussions: > > https://www.radiodiscussions.com/threads/might-b87-7-be-the-most-legit > > -mainstream-pirate-in-the-us.734909/post-6411858 > > The FCC has approved the move of the Ch 6 LPTV station W06DH, licensed > > to Westmoreland, NH - to the Cabot Street (aka Candelabra) tower in > > Needham at > > 1000 feet. This will affect B87.7, and anything else on 87.7 or 87.9. > > While the LPTV signal itself may not be overpowering, they will soon > > be interfering with a licensed station. > > > > From walkerbroadcasting@gmail.com Thu Nov 11 10:46:45 2021 From: walkerbroadcasting@gmail.com (Paul B. Walker, Jr.) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2021 06:46:45 -0900 Subject: Another Boston pirate gone? In-Reply-To: References: <1bbba525-841e-c4c3-5a74-66f98f1f11ef@chonak.com> <065401d7d69d$3a557e90$af007bb0$@comcast.net> Message-ID: I was remotely curious about this and know nothing about it.. so I see the owner is in Florida but has the same phone number as a company in Mississippi that owns radio stations in Lafayette, IN On Thu, Nov 11, 2021 at 6:31 AM Kevin Vahey wrote: > 10.10 is currently showing 'The House on the Haunted Hill' with no > audio and a graphic saying WWOO Westmoreland > > On Wed, Nov 10, 2021 at 9:15 PM wrote: > > > > 10.10 is another move in from Westmoreland, NH, WWOO-LD, transmitting > from One Beacon St in Boston, the former home of analog WMFP 62. > > > > Jeff Lehmann > > Rockland, MA > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Boston-Radio-Interest < > boston-radio-interest-bounces@lists.BostonRadio.org> On Behalf Of Richard > Chonak > > Sent: Tuesday, November 9, 2021 8:25 PM > > To: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org > > Subject: Re: Another Boston pirate gone? > > > > Station 10-10 was coming in here yesterday (10 mi n of Boston) with a > clear video feed: it appeared to be running a B&W horror movie, but there > was no audio. An on-screen label identified the sender as "WOWO > Westmoreland". > > > > Today there's no video either, but occasionally the signal-strength > meter shows a couple of bars (2 out of 10) and the screen lights up for a > second or so. > > > > --RC > > > > > > On 8/3/21 10:33 PM, Paul B. Walker, Jr. wrote: > > > Could a TV channel 6 moving to the Candleabra spell the end of a > pirate? > > > > > > Posted on radiodiscussions: > > > https://www.radiodiscussions.com/threads/might-b87-7-be-the-most-legit > > > -mainstream-pirate-in-the-us.734909/post-6411858 > > > The FCC has approved the move of the Ch 6 LPTV station W06DH, licensed > > > to Westmoreland, NH - to the Cabot Street (aka Candelabra) tower in > > > Needham at > > > 1000 feet. This will affect B87.7, and anything else on 87.7 or 87.9. > > > While the LPTV signal itself may not be overpowering, they will soon > > > be interfering with a licensed station. > > > > > > > > > From raccoonradio@gmail.com Thu Nov 11 11:23:24 2021 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2021 11:23:24 -0500 Subject: Another Boston pirate gone? In-Reply-To: References: <1bbba525-841e-c4c3-5a74-66f98f1f11ef@chonak.com> <065401d7d69d$3a557e90$af007bb0$@comcast.net> Message-ID: TV channel 10.10...yes... On Wednesday, November 10, 2021, Ben Levy wrote: > ?10.10? doesn?t make any sense to me? is this an interferer to 1010 WINS > out of NYC, or the 10th DT hitching a ride on NBC 10 Boston?s signal? > > Ben > > Sent from Mail for Windows > > From: jjlehmann@comcast.net > Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 2021 9:14 PM > To: 'Richard Chonak'; > Subject: RE: Another Boston pirate gone? > > 10.10 is another move in from Westmoreland, NH, WWOO-LD, transmitting from > One Beacon St in Boston, the former home of analog WMFP 62. > > Jeff Lehmann > Rockland, MA > > -----Original Message----- > From: Boston-Radio-Interest bounces@lists.BostonRadio.org> On Behalf Of Richard Chonak > Sent: Tuesday, November 9, 2021 8:25 PM > To: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org > Subject: Re: Another Boston pirate gone? > > Station 10-10 was coming in here yesterday (10 mi n of Boston) with a > clear video feed: it appeared to be running a B&W horror movie, but there > was no audio. An on-screen label identified the sender as "WOWO > Westmoreland". > > Today there's no video either, but occasionally the signal-strength meter > shows a couple of bars (2 out of 10) and the screen lights up for a second > or so. > > --RC > > > On 8/3/21 10:33 PM, Paul B. Walker, Jr. wrote: > > Could a TV channel 6 moving to the Candleabra spell the end of a pirate? > > > > Posted on radiodiscussions: > > https://www.radiodiscussions.com/threads/might-b87-7-be-the-most-legit > > -mainstream-pirate-in-the-us.734909/post-6411858 > > The FCC has approved the move of the Ch 6 LPTV station W06DH, licensed > > to Westmoreland, NH - to the Cabot Street (aka Candelabra) tower in > > Needham at > > 1000 feet. This will affect B87.7, and anything else on 87.7 or 87.9. > > While the LPTV signal itself may not be overpowering, they will soon > > be interfering with a licensed station. > > > > > > From raccoonradio@gmail.com Thu Nov 11 11:30:14 2021 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2021 11:30:14 -0500 Subject: Another Boston pirate gone? In-Reply-To: References: <1bbba525-841e-c4c3-5a74-66f98f1f11ef@chonak.com> <065401d7d69d$3a557e90$af007bb0$@comcast.net> Message-ID: According to a post on AVS Forum: "WWOO-LD is on RF 28 not 10, their old New Hampshire location used Virtual 10, but after it moves to Boston they will be required by the FCC to change their virtual number before they can turn on their new signal. This will be far from the first time that a LPTV signal changed their virtual number to protect full power and/or Class A stations after a move, so it's pretty much a non-issue." Source: https://www.avsforum.com/threads/providence-ri-hdtv.265419/page-212 On Thursday, November 11, 2021, Bob Nelson wrote: > TV channel 10.10...yes... > > On Wednesday, November 10, 2021, Ben Levy > wrote: > >> ?10.10? doesn?t make any sense to me? is this an interferer to 1010 WINS >> out of NYC, or the 10th DT hitching a ride on NBC 10 Boston?s signal? >> >> Ben >> >> Sent from Mail for Windows >> >> From: jjlehmann@comcast.net >> Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 2021 9:14 PM >> To: 'Richard Chonak'; >> Subject: RE: Another Boston pirate gone? >> >> 10.10 is another move in from Westmoreland, NH, WWOO-LD, transmitting >> from One Beacon St in Boston, the former home of analog WMFP 62. >> >> Jeff Lehmann >> Rockland, MA >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: Boston-Radio-Interest > @lists.BostonRadio.org> On Behalf Of Richard Chonak >> Sent: Tuesday, November 9, 2021 8:25 PM >> To: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org >> Subject: Re: Another Boston pirate gone? >> >> Station 10-10 was coming in here yesterday (10 mi n of Boston) with a >> clear video feed: it appeared to be running a B&W horror movie, but there >> was no audio. An on-screen label identified the sender as "WOWO >> Westmoreland". >> >> Today there's no video either, but occasionally the signal-strength meter >> shows a couple of bars (2 out of 10) and the screen lights up for a second >> or so. >> >> --RC >> >> >> On 8/3/21 10:33 PM, Paul B. Walker, Jr. wrote: >> > Could a TV channel 6 moving to the Candleabra spell the end of a pirate? >> > >> > Posted on radiodiscussions: >> > https://www.radiodiscussions.com/threads/might-b87-7-be-the-most-legit >> > -mainstream-pirate-in-the-us.734909/post-6411858 >> > The FCC has approved the move of the Ch 6 LPTV station W06DH, licensed >> > to Westmoreland, NH - to the Cabot Street (aka Candelabra) tower in >> > Needham at >> > 1000 feet. This will affect B87.7, and anything else on 87.7 or 87.9. >> > While the LPTV signal itself may not be overpowering, they will soon >> > be interfering with a licensed station. >> >> >> >> >> >> From richard@chonak.com Fri Nov 12 00:10:20 2021 From: richard@chonak.com (Richard Chonak) Date: Fri, 12 Nov 2021 00:10:20 -0500 Subject: Another Boston pirate gone? In-Reply-To: References: <1bbba525-841e-c4c3-5a74-66f98f1f11ef@chonak.com> <065401d7d69d$3a557e90$af007bb0$@comcast.net> Message-ID: <87132722-b542-e8f4-1da6-2c44b66f237a@chonak.com> The company's website has a profile of the owner, engineer Jeff Winemiller: https://lowcountry34media.com/meet-jeff-winemiller If I understand right, their business model aims to turn their 195 LPTV licenses into stations that can be carriers for startup networks. https://lowcountry34media.com/our-mission --RC From obrienron2@gmail.com Thu Nov 11 10:57:21 2021 From: obrienron2@gmail.com (Ron) Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2021 10:57:21 -0500 Subject: Another Boston pirate gone? In-Reply-To: References: <1bbba525-841e-c4c3-5a74-66f98f1f11ef@chonak.com> <065401d7d69d$3a557e90$af007bb0$@comcast.net> Message-ID: <001f01d7d714$d00e39f0$702aadd0$@gmail.com> Interesting. Any chance someone can post a screenshot? R -----Original Message----- From: Boston-Radio-Interest On Behalf Of Kevin Vahey Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 2021 9:43 PM To: Jeff Lehmann Cc: boston-radio-interest@lists.bostonradio.org Subject: Re: Another Boston pirate gone? 10.10 is currently showing 'The House on the Haunted Hill' with no audio and a graphic saying WWOO Westmoreland On Wed, Nov 10, 2021 at 9:15 PM wrote: > > 10.10 is another move in from Westmoreland, NH, WWOO-LD, transmitting from One Beacon St in Boston, the former home of analog WMFP 62. > > Jeff Lehmann > Rockland, MA > > -----Original Message----- > From: Boston-Radio-Interest > On Behalf Of > Richard Chonak > Sent: Tuesday, November 9, 2021 8:25 PM > To: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org > Subject: Re: Another Boston pirate gone? > > Station 10-10 was coming in here yesterday (10 mi n of Boston) with a clear video feed: it appeared to be running a B&W horror movie, but there was no audio. An on-screen label identified the sender as "WOWO Westmoreland". > > Today there's no video either, but occasionally the signal-strength meter shows a couple of bars (2 out of 10) and the screen lights up for a second or so. > > --RC > > > On 8/3/21 10:33 PM, Paul B. Walker, Jr. wrote: > > Could a TV channel 6 moving to the Candleabra spell the end of a pirate? > > > > Posted on radiodiscussions: > > https://www.radiodiscussions.com/threads/might-b87-7-be-the-most-leg > > it > > -mainstream-pirate-in-the-us.734909/post-6411858 > > The FCC has approved the move of the Ch 6 LPTV station W06DH, > > licensed to Westmoreland, NH - to the Cabot Street (aka Candelabra) > > tower in Needham at > > 1000 feet. This will affect B87.7, and anything else on 87.7 or 87.9. > > While the LPTV signal itself may not be overpowering, they will soon > > be interfering with a licensed station. > > > > From joe@attorneyross.com Thu Nov 18 23:56:34 2021 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Thu, 18 Nov 2021 23:56:34 -0500 Subject: An homage? Probably not. Message-ID: <5e462434-f56c-fef6-ac1e-867dc9efa904@attorneyross.com> Watching the swearing-in ceremony of Boston's new mayor, I noticed that she referred to her family as the "Wu-train."? That could have been an homage to Arnie Ginsburg, if she weren't so young.? At 36, it's unlikely that she would have meant it that way. -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 617.367.0468 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From kvahey@gmail.com Tue Nov 23 11:01:53 2021 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2021 11:01:53 -0500 Subject: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN Message-ID: Al Perry passed away on November 5th https://devitofuneralhomes.com/obituaries/alfred-r-perry/ From dlh@donnahalper.com Tue Nov 23 11:15:25 2021 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2021 11:15:25 -0500 Subject: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: On 11/23/2021 11:01 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: > Al Perry passed away on November 5th > > https://devitofuneralhomes.com/obituaries/alfred-r-perry/ I read this in the Boston Globe this morning, and I was surprised-- I don't recall anyone mentioning it before.? As a music director, and later as a radio consultant, I spent many years working with him and the late great Jerry Brenner. -- Donna L. Halper, PhD Associate Professor of Communication & Media Studies Lesley University, Cambridge MA From scott@fybush.com Tue Nov 23 12:01:45 2021 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2021 12:01:45 -0500 Subject: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I had a fairly lengthy obit in my column this week. On Tue, Nov 23, 2021, 11:52 AM Donna Halper wrote: > On 11/23/2021 11:01 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: > > Al Perry passed away on November 5th > > > > https://devitofuneralhomes.com/obituaries/alfred-r-perry/ > > I read this in the Boston Globe this morning, and I was surprised-- I > don't recall anyone mentioning it before. As a music director, and > later as a radio consultant, I spent many years working with him and the > late great Jerry Brenner. > > -- > Donna L. Halper, PhD > Associate Professor of Communication & Media Studies > Lesley University, Cambridge MA > > From joe@attorneyross.com Tue Nov 23 23:44:19 2021 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2021 23:44:19 -0500 Subject: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I wonder if anyone is left who ran the original WBCN and the Concert Network.? I wonder how many people are left, besides me,? who were listeners in those days. On 11/23/2021 12:01 PM, Scott Fybush wrote: > I had a fairly lengthy obit in my column this week. > > On Tue, Nov 23, 2021, 11:52 AM Donna Halper wrote: > >> On 11/23/2021 11:01 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: >>> Al Perry passed away on November 5th >>> >>> https://devitofuneralhomes.com/obituaries/alfred-r-perry/ >> I read this in the Boston Globe this morning, and I was surprised-- I >> don't recall anyone mentioning it before. As a music director, and >> later as a radio consultant, I spent many years working with him and the >> late great Jerry Brenner. >> >> -- >> Donna L. Halper, PhD >> Associate Professor of Communication & Media Studies >> Lesley University, Cambridge MA >> >> -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 617.367.0468 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From obrienron2@gmail.com Wed Nov 24 11:42:19 2021 From: obrienron2@gmail.com (Ron) Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2021 11:42:19 -0500 Subject: 6 Bay Tower/antenna visible on Storrow Westbound near BU? Message-ID: <000401d7e152$3f5482f0$bdfd88d0$@gmail.com> For a number of years, while traveling west on Storrow, I see a building (probably on the BU campus) that has what appears to be a 6 bay vertical antenna on it. (I tried to attach a photo, but it wouldn't go through.) I am guessing some of our radio friends on this list have spotted the same tower/antenna on their Storrow treks! Anyone know what I am looking at? Thanks! R From 011010001@interpring.com Wed Nov 24 11:53:35 2021 From: 011010001@interpring.com (Rob Landry) Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2021 11:53:35 -0500 (EST) Subject: 6 Bay Tower/antenna visible on Storrow Westbound near BU? In-Reply-To: <000401d7e152$3f5482f0$bdfd88d0$@gmail.com> References: <000401d7e152$3f5482f0$bdfd88d0$@gmail.com> Message-ID: That's a backup site for WBUR. It used to be the main site, before WBUR got its site at 1165 Chestnut Street in Newton; in those days, 50,000 watts ERP from the old site wrought quite a bit of havoc across the river in Cambridge. Rob On Wed, 24 Nov 2021, Ron wrote: > For a number of years, while traveling west on Storrow, I see a building > (probably on the BU campus) that has what appears to be a 6 bay vertical > antenna on it. > > > > (I tried to attach a photo, but it wouldn't go through.) > > > > I am guessing some of our radio friends on this list have spotted the same > tower/antenna on their Storrow treks! > > > > Anyone know what I am looking at? > > > > Thanks! > > > > R > From kvahey@gmail.com Wed Nov 24 01:13:56 2021 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2021 01:13:56 -0500 Subject: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: WBCN was struggling in 1968. Not having any affiliation with the BSO crippled them and they had overhead paying rent for studio and transmitter in the Back Bay while WCRB and WGBH had less overhead. WBCN as a rock station was spawned by the success a year earlier of WTBS-FM ( now WMBR) FM was entering the mainstream as WJIB became a rating powerhouse almost overnight, WKOX-FM flipped from easy listening to Top 40 and would become WVBF and WRKO-FM became WROR. WBCN did upgrade to stereo in 1967 but most classical recordings were in mono but flipping to rock opened the door to college students who had bought FM tuners for their dorm rooms. FM was still facing an uphill climb as most car radios only had AM and that continued into the late '70s. On Wed, Nov 24, 2021 at 12:16 AM A Joseph Ross wrote: > > I wonder if anyone is left who ran the original WBCN and the Concert > Network. I wonder how many people are left, besides me, who were > listeners in those days. > > On 11/23/2021 12:01 PM, Scott Fybush wrote: > > I had a fairly lengthy obit in my column this week. > > > > On Tue, Nov 23, 2021, 11:52 AM Donna Halper wrote: > > > >> On 11/23/2021 11:01 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: > >>> Al Perry passed away on November 5th > >>> > >>> https://devitofuneralhomes.com/obituaries/alfred-r-perry/ > >> I read this in the Boston Globe this morning, and I was surprised-- I > >> don't recall anyone mentioning it before. As a music director, and > >> later as a radio consultant, I spent many years working with him and the > >> late great Jerry Brenner. > >> > >> -- > >> Donna L. Halper, PhD > >> Associate Professor of Communication & Media Studies > >> Lesley University, Cambridge MA > >> > >> > > -- > A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 > 617.367.0468 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Wed Nov 24 23:54:22 2021 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2021 23:54:22 -0500 Subject: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: College students never listened to classical?? I often did.? I also did classical music programs at WMUA when I was at UMass.? Around that time a radio station in Springfield or Hartford became a WCRB affiliate under the callsign WCRX.? And it was someone else on my corridor in the dorm who told me about it, so that I started listening. I'm not sure, but I think WCRX may have formerly been WHCN, the Hartford affiliate of the Concert Network. I've thought for a long time that WBCN and WXHR as classical music stations had a major problem in that they depended on advertising revenue, but with only an FM signal, they didn't have an audience for ad revenue.? WCRB had an AM signal, which gave them a big edge in the classical music market, including a? regular drive-time audience.? At some point very late in the 1960s Harvey Labs blew up WTAO and made it an AM signal for WXHR, but it was too late, and with a daytime only signal, didn't have an afternoon drivetime audience year round. On 11/24/2021 1:13 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: > WBCN was struggling in 1968. Not having any affiliation with the BSO > crippled them and they had overhead paying rent for studio and > transmitter in the Back Bay while WCRB and WGBH had less overhead. > > WBCN as a rock station was spawned by the success a year earlier of > WTBS-FM ( now WMBR) > > FM was entering the mainstream as WJIB became a rating powerhouse > almost overnight, WKOX-FM flipped from easy listening to Top 40 and > would become WVBF and WRKO-FM became WROR. > > WBCN did upgrade to stereo in 1967 but most classical recordings were > in mono but flipping to rock opened the door to college students who > had bought FM tuners for their dorm rooms. > > FM was still facing an uphill climb as most car radios only had AM and > that continued into the late '70s. > > > > > > > On Wed, Nov 24, 2021 at 12:16 AM A Joseph Ross wrote: >> I wonder if anyone is left who ran the original WBCN and the Concert >> Network. I wonder how many people are left, besides me, who were >> listeners in those days. >> >> On 11/23/2021 12:01 PM, Scott Fybush wrote: >>> I had a fairly lengthy obit in my column this week. >>> >>> On Tue, Nov 23, 2021, 11:52 AM Donna Halper wrote: >>> >>>> On 11/23/2021 11:01 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: >>>>> Al Perry passed away on November 5th >>>>> >>>>> https://devitofuneralhomes.com/obituaries/alfred-r-perry/ >>>> I read this in the Boston Globe this morning, and I was surprised-- I >>>> don't recall anyone mentioning it before. As a music director, and >>>> later as a radio consultant, I spent many years working with him and the >>>> late great Jerry Brenner. >>>> >>>> -- >>>> Donna L. Halper, PhD >>>> Associate Professor of Communication & Media Studies >>>> Lesley University, Cambridge MA >>>> >>>> >> -- >> A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 >> 617.367.0468 ?http://www.attorneyross.com -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 617.367.0468 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From 011010001@interpring.com Thu Nov 25 12:21:49 2021 From: 011010001@interpring.com (Rob Landry) Date: Thu, 25 Nov 2021 12:21:49 -0500 (EST) Subject: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: On Wed, 24 Nov 2021, A Joseph Ross wrote: > College students never listened to classical?? I often did.? I also did > classical music programs at WMUA when I was at UMass.? Around that time a > radio station in Springfield or Hartford became a WCRB affiliate under the > callsign WCRX.? And it was someone else on my corridor in the dorm who told > me about it, so that I started listening. Unless I'm mistaken, it afterwards became WAQY. It was co-owned with WCRB and a station in Syracuse, NY whose call letters I have momentarily forgotten (WONO?). There was also a Providence station -- 94.1? Everything but the Waltham stations were sold when Charles River Broadcasting fell on hard times. Later int he 1990s, CRB built a new "empire" that included WFCC and WKPE on Cape Cod, WCRI on Block Island, and WCNX 1180 AM in Hope Valley, RI. Rob From 011010001@interpring.com Thu Nov 25 12:15:11 2021 From: 011010001@interpring.com (Rob Landry) Date: Thu, 25 Nov 2021 12:15:11 -0500 (EST) Subject: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: On Wed, 24 Nov 2021, Kevin Vahey wrote: > FM was still facing an uphill climb as most car radios only had AM and > that continued into the late '70s. That, I think, is why WCRB would be the last survivng commercial classical station in the market. WBCN and WXHR were only on FM, but WCRB had 1330 AM. It also owned a sound contracting business that kept it alive for a few years, although by the time I got there (1985), the sound contracting business was losing money and it was the radio station that carried it. Rob From elipolo881@gmail.com Thu Nov 25 12:52:33 2021 From: elipolo881@gmail.com (Eli Polonsky) Date: Thu, 25 Nov 2021 12:52:33 -0500 Subject: 6 Bay Tower/antenna visible on Storrow Westbound near BU? Message-ID: Yes, that's now WBUR's #2 backup site, on the BU Law building. WBUR moved their main TX from there to 1165 Chestnut St. in Newton Upper Falls (formerly known as the "FM-128" tower) in the 1990's, and then a few years ago moved it across Route 128 to the American Radio Systems tower (formerly known as the "Westinghouse Tower") on Cedar St. in Needham. The 1165 Chestnut St. Newton tower is now WBUR's first backup site. If both of those sites in the Newton/Needham area (or the links to them) go down, then they go to their second backup on the BU Law building. As of 2020 (when I was one of 29 people laid off from WBUR), we were still instructed to turn on the BU Law building antenna de-icers just prior to severe winter storms "just in case". EP Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2021 11:53:35 -0500 (EST) From: Rob Landry <011010001@interpring.com> To: Ron Cc: boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org Subject: Re: 6 Bay Tower/antenna visible on Storrow Westbound near BU? > That's a backup site for WBUR. It used to be the main site, before WBUR got its site at 1165 Chestnut Street in Newton; in those days, 50,000 watts ERP from the old site wrought quite a bit of havoc across the river in Cambridge. Rob On Wed, 24 Nov 2021, Ron wrote: > For a number of years, while traveling west on Storrow, I see a building > (probably on the BU campus) that has what appears to be a 6 bay vertical > antenna on it. From ehennessy@verizon.net Thu Nov 25 13:48:39 2021 From: ehennessy@verizon.net (Ed Hennessy) Date: Thu, 25 Nov 2021 18:48:39 +0000 (UTC) Subject: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <2079958697.5487402.1637866119555@mail.yahoo.com> There was WXCN in Providence, part of the Concert Network, which became WLKW-FM (101.5).? Not sure if? AM 990 was related to 101.5 at that time (It was WLKW (AM) later). WHJY 94.1 was the FM partner of WHJJ.? Was that the one owned by CRB that was also classical before changing to AOR? And WAQY was licensed to Springfield (as 102.1 remains today) and would have competed with Hartford's Concert Netwirk station, 105.9 WHCN. Ed Hennessy -----Original Message----- From: Rob Landry <011010001@interpring.com> To: A Joseph Ross Cc: Boston Radio Group Sent: Thu, Nov 25, 2021 12:21 pm Subject: Re: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN On Wed, 24 Nov 2021, A Joseph Ross wrote: > College students never listened to classical?? I often did.? I also did > classical music programs at WMUA when I was at UMass.? Around that time a > radio station in Springfield or Hartford became a WCRB affiliate under the > callsign WCRX.? And it was someone else on my corridor in the dorm who told > me about it, so that I started listening. Unless I'm mistaken, it afterwards became WAQY. It was co-owned with WCRB and a station in Syracuse, NY whose call letters I have momentarily forgotten (WONO?). There was also a Providence station -- 94.1? Everything but the Waltham stations were sold when Charles River Broadcasting fell on hard times. Later int he 1990s, CRB built a new "empire" that included WFCC and WKPE on Cape Cod, WCRI on Block Island, and WCNX 1180 AM in Hope Valley, RI. Rob From 011010001@interpring.com Thu Nov 25 14:33:36 2021 From: 011010001@interpring.com (Rob Landry) Date: Thu, 25 Nov 2021 14:33:36 -0500 (EST) Subject: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN In-Reply-To: <2079958697.5487402.1637866119555@mail.yahoo.com> References: <2079958697.5487402.1637866119555@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: You are right; WCRB's Providence station was 101.5 not 94.1. They never owned any AMs other than 1330 in Waltham. I seem to recall that the Providence station was acquited from Mitch Hastings (WXCN?) when Concert Network fell on hard times, only to be sole some years later when CRB fell on hard times. It was largely pointless as a WCRB simulcast because 102.5 covered Providence quite well. > And WAQY was licensed to Springfield (as 102.1 remains today) and would have > competed with Hartford's Concert Netwirk station, 105.9 WHCN. According to Wikipedia, Charles River was WAQY's original owner, the station signing on as WCRX in 1953. So, it would have been a direct competitor to Mitch Hastings' WHCN in Hartford. Rob From kvahey@gmail.com Thu Nov 25 04:36:50 2021 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Thu, 25 Nov 2021 04:36:50 -0500 Subject: When did FM become mainstream in Boston - Re: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Joe - FM in the mid-'60s was niche radio. I had a cousin that became a top-tier banker in Boston who spent a fortune on a home system to listen to WKOX-FM 105.7 and would become a major sponsor on WJIB. We had the pure college stations WERS, WBUR, WTBS, and commercial WHRB. WBOS 92.9 found a niche playing Broadway albums, WHIL-FM 107.9 had a loyal country audience. WXHR 96.9, WGBH 89.7, WCRB 102.5, WBCN 104.1, and WBZ 106.7 tried combinations of classical and jazz. WHDH 94.5, WCOP 100.7, and WEEI 103.3 didn't do much of anything until the FCC ordered at least 12 hours a day separate from AM. WHDH did air Bruins or Celtics games when there was a conflict with AM. WLLH at 99.5 also attracted a Boston audience simulcasting AM Top-40. and then there was the sleeping giant in Plymouth at 99.1 WPLM. That became important in the '70s. I pinpoint the mainstream shift to FM to1976 when the Red Sox moved to WMEX ( later WITS ) 1510. WMEX then leased time on WWEL 107.9 for night games and fans rushed to get FM converters for their cars. I became aware of the power of FM when I was a boarding student at a prep school in Woonsocket, RI in the mid-'60s. I knew AM signals were directional but I was dumbfounded that WICE1290 in Providence was not audible 14 miles away day or night. On Wed, Nov 24, 2021 at 11:54 PM A Joseph Ross wrote: > > College students never listened to classical? I often did. I also did classical music programs at WMUA when I was at UMass. Around that time a radio station in Springfield or Hartford became a WCRB affiliate under the callsign WCRX. And it was someone else on my corridor in the dorm who told me about it, so that I started listening. > > I'm not sure, but I think WCRX may have formerly been WHCN, the Hartford affiliate of the Concert Network. > > I've thought for a long time that WBCN and WXHR as classical music stations had a major problem in that they depended on advertising revenue, but with only an FM signal, they didn't have an audience for ad revenue. WCRB had an AM signal, which gave them a big edge in the classical music market, including a regular drive-time audience. At some point very late in the 1960s Harvey Labs blew up WTAO and made it an AM signal for WXHR, but it was too late, and with a daytime only signal, didn't have an afternoon drivetime audience year round. > > On 11/24/2021 1:13 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: > > WBCN was struggling in 1968. Not having any affiliation with the BSO > crippled them and they had overhead paying rent for studio and > transmitter in the Back Bay while WCRB and WGBH had less overhead. > > WBCN as a rock station was spawned by the success a year earlier of > WTBS-FM ( now WMBR) > > FM was entering the mainstream as WJIB became a rating powerhouse > almost overnight, WKOX-FM flipped from easy listening to Top 40 and > would become WVBF and WRKO-FM became WROR. > > WBCN did upgrade to stereo in 1967 but most classical recordings were > in mono but flipping to rock opened the door to college students who > had bought FM tuners for their dorm rooms. > > FM was still facing an uphill climb as most car radios only had AM and > that continued into the late '70s. > > > > > > > On Wed, Nov 24, 2021 at 12:16 AM A Joseph Ross wrote: > > I wonder if anyone is left who ran the original WBCN and the Concert > Network. I wonder how many people are left, besides me, who were > listeners in those days. > > On 11/23/2021 12:01 PM, Scott Fybush wrote: > > I had a fairly lengthy obit in my column this week. > > On Tue, Nov 23, 2021, 11:52 AM Donna Halper wrote: > > On 11/23/2021 11:01 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: > > Al Perry passed away on November 5th > > https://devitofuneralhomes.com/obituaries/alfred-r-perry/ > > I read this in the Boston Globe this morning, and I was surprised-- I > don't recall anyone mentioning it before. As a music director, and > later as a radio consultant, I spent many years working with him and the > late great Jerry Brenner. > > -- > Donna L. Halper, PhD > Associate Professor of Communication & Media Studies > Lesley University, Cambridge MA > > > -- > A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 > 617.367.0468 ? http://www.attorneyross.com > > > -- > A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 > 617.367.0468 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From dlh@donnahalper.com Thu Nov 25 17:45:38 2021 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Thu, 25 Nov 2021 17:45:38 -0500 Subject: When did FM become mainstream in Boston - Re: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <25848cc0-d81c-4979-5500-f4fa1ac6526f@donnahalper.com> On 11/25/2021 4:36 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: > Joe - FM in the mid-'60s was niche radio. That's true. It was mainly audiophiles who listened to it, and until the mid-60s, a majority of FMs nationwide programmed mostly classical or "good music"-- or they simulcast the AM sister-station that owned them. Then, the FCC issued a ruling that FM had to have? its own unique formats, and not just simulcast the AM. That opened the door to more formats on FM, and so did the baby boomers being in college and wanting something that wasn't top-40. But a lot of us still only had AM radios, and I don't recall really listening to FM till about 1968. My own career began on AM, and AM was still a factor for music in Boston well into the mid-70s. -- Donna L. Halper, PhD Associate Professor of Communication & Media Studies Lesley University, Cambridge MA From elipolo881@gmail.com Thu Nov 25 12:11:06 2021 From: elipolo881@gmail.com (Eli Polonsky) Date: Thu, 25 Nov 2021 12:11:06 -0500 Subject: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN Message-ID: Ron Della Chiesa was at WBCN when it was classical Boston Concert Network in the mid-'60s. Ron continues to host the Boston Symphony Orchestra broadcasts on WCRB, and his specialty show featuring Frank Sinatra on Sunday nights on WPLM in Plymouth. Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2021 23:44:19 -0500 From: A Joseph Ross To: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org Subject: Re: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN > I wonder if anyone is left who ran the original WBCN and the Concert Network.? From joe@attorneyross.com Thu Nov 25 22:58:19 2021 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Thu, 25 Nov 2021 22:58:19 -0500 Subject: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <51732f74-bb23-0ef5-f74e-802c7e89feaa@attorneyross.com> Makes sense.? By 1985, there were a lot of cars with AM-FM radios. My parents' 1977 Oldsmobile, which I took over in 1988, had an AM-FM radio, too.? In fact, I think that was the only part of that car that never broke down.? Someone should have gone to jail for the way Detroit was building cars in the 1970s. On 11/25/2021 12:15 PM, Rob Landry wrote: > > > On Wed, 24 Nov 2021, Kevin Vahey wrote: > >> FM was still facing an uphill climb as most car radios only had AM and >> that continued into the late '70s. > > That, I think, is why WCRB would be the last survivng commercial > classical station in the market. WBCN and WXHR were only on FM, but > WCRB had 1330 AM. It also owned a sound contracting business that kept > it alive for a few years, although by the time I got there (1985), the > sound contracting business was losing money and it was the radio > station that carried it. > > > Rob -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 617.367.0468 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Thu Nov 25 23:01:03 2021 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Thu, 25 Nov 2021 23:01:03 -0500 Subject: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: People seem to have forgotten that WBUR was a classical station for awhile in the 1970s and 1980s, for most of the day until 4:00 PM, when they carried all Things Considered. On 11/25/2021 12:21 PM, Rob Landry wrote: > > > On Wed, 24 Nov 2021, A Joseph Ross wrote: > >> College students never listened to classical?? I often did.? I also >> did classical music programs at WMUA when I was at UMass.? Around >> that time a radio station in Springfield or Hartford became a WCRB >> affiliate under the callsign WCRX.? And it was someone else on my >> corridor in the dorm who told me about it, so that I started listening. > > Unless I'm mistaken, it afterwards became WAQY. It was co-owned with > WCRB and a station in Syracuse, NY whose call letters I have > momentarily forgotten (WONO?). There was also a Providence station -- > 94.1? > > Everything but the Waltham stations were sold when Charles River > Broadcasting fell on hard times. Later int he 1990s, CRB built a new > "empire" that included WFCC and WKPE on Cape Cod, WCRI on Block > Island, and WCNX 1180 AM in Hope Valley, RI. > > > Rob -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 617.367.0468 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Thu Nov 25 23:25:56 2021 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Thu, 25 Nov 2021 23:25:56 -0500 Subject: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN In-Reply-To: References: <2079958697.5487402.1637866119555@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <4517056a-f3ee-d3e4-1064-3318d5edabd4@attorneyross.com> 1953?? That doesn't sound right.? I first became aware of WCRX classical around 1966.? If it existed sooner, I think I would have known of it.? Besides, WCRB wasn't networking its classical programming until some time in the early 1960s.? Copying WQXR in New York, they first called their chain "the CRB Network," then called it "Concert Radio, the CR network."? WCRB-FM wasn't even on the air in 1953. On 11/25/2021 2:33 PM, Rob Landry wrote: > > You are right; WCRB's Providence station was 101.5 not 94.1. They > never owned any AMs other than 1330 in Waltham. > > I seem to recall that the Providence station was acquited from Mitch > Hastings (WXCN?) when Concert Network fell on hard times, only to be > sole some years later when CRB fell on hard times. It was largely > pointless as a WCRB simulcast because 102.5 covered Providence quite > well. > >> And WAQY was licensed to Springfield (as 102.1 remains today) and >> would have >> competed with Hartford's Concert Netwirk station, 105.9 WHCN. > > According to Wikipedia, Charles River was WAQY's original owner, the > station signing on as WCRX in 1953. So, it would have been a direct > competitor to Mitch Hastings' WHCN in Hartford. > > > Rob -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 617.367.0468 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Thu Nov 25 23:27:06 2021 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Thu, 25 Nov 2021 23:27:06 -0500 Subject: When did FM become mainstream in Boston - Re: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Yes, but FM was probably more popular on college campuses than elsewhere in the mid-1960s.? Having matriculated at UMass (Amherst) in 1963, I thought the popularity of FM had to do with the fact that we had a student-operated station.? While many dorms had some sort of carrier-current transmission of WMUA, many students had FM radios by then.? I think that another reason for students having FM radios at that time and place was because other than WBZ, there was no good station in the area playing rock or rock & roll & roll music, and WBZ's signal wasn't always easy to receive at night.? But WHYN-FM in Springfield, simulcasting an AM station whose signal didn't reach us, came in very well. I got an FM converter for my car sometime in the 1970s or 1980s, sometime after WCRB stopped simulcasting with its AM station.? The AM station was called WHET, but it remained owned by Charles River Broadcasting at first and simulcasted WCRB some of the time.? At some point I saw a car converter on sale at Radio Shack and bought it.? Following the instructions, I installed it myself, using double-sided tape to attach it just below the AM radio.? The only difficult part was connecting it to my car's power supply.? I considered asking the people who serviced my car to do it, but instead, I parked the car illegally in front of the apartment building where I lived, then hung a long extension cord out my 3rd-floor livingroom window , connected my soldering iron, and made the connection to the car's fusebox.? Finally, the connection made, I took the soldering iron upstairs, reeled in the extension cord, and then rushed back down and moved the car before any police came to give me a ticket. On 11/25/2021 4:36 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: > Joe - FM in the mid-'60s was niche radio. > > I had a cousin that became a top-tier banker in Boston who spent a > fortune on a home system to listen to WKOX-FM 105.7 and would become a > major sponsor on WJIB. > > We had the pure college stations WERS, WBUR, WTBS, and commercial WHRB. > > WBOS 92.9 found a niche playing Broadway albums, WHIL-FM 107.9 had a > loyal country audience. > > WXHR 96.9, WGBH 89.7, WCRB 102.5, WBCN 104.1, and WBZ 106.7 tried > combinations of classical and jazz. > > WHDH 94.5, WCOP 100.7, and WEEI 103.3 didn't do much of anything until > the FCC ordered at least 12 hours a day separate from AM. WHDH did air > Bruins or Celtics games when there was a conflict with AM. > > WLLH at 99.5 also attracted a Boston audience simulcasting AM Top-40. > and then there was the sleeping giant in Plymouth at 99.1 WPLM. That > became important in the '70s. > > I pinpoint the mainstream shift to FM to1976 when the Red Sox moved to > WMEX ( later WITS ) 1510. WMEX then leased time on WWEL 107.9 for > night games and fans rushed to get FM converters for their cars. > > I became aware of the power of FM when I was a boarding student at a > prep school in Woonsocket, RI in the mid-'60s. > > I knew AM signals were directional but I was dumbfounded that WICE1290 > in Providence was not audible 14 miles away day or night. > > > > > > > > > On Wed, Nov 24, 2021 at 11:54 PM A Joseph Ross wrote: >> College students never listened to classical? I often did. I also did classical music programs at WMUA when I was at UMass. Around that time a radio station in Springfield or Hartford became a WCRB affiliate under the callsign WCRX. And it was someone else on my corridor in the dorm who told me about it, so that I started listening. >> >> I'm not sure, but I think WCRX may have formerly been WHCN, the Hartford affiliate of the Concert Network. >> >> I've thought for a long time that WBCN and WXHR as classical music stations had a major problem in that they depended on advertising revenue, but with only an FM signal, they didn't have an audience for ad revenue. WCRB had an AM signal, which gave them a big edge in the classical music market, including a regular drive-time audience. At some point very late in the 1960s Harvey Labs blew up WTAO and made it an AM signal for WXHR, but it was too late, and with a daytime only signal, didn't have an afternoon drivetime audience year round. >> >> On 11/24/2021 1:13 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: >> >> WBCN was struggling in 1968. Not having any affiliation with the BSO >> crippled them and they had overhead paying rent for studio and >> transmitter in the Back Bay while WCRB and WGBH had less overhead. >> >> WBCN as a rock station was spawned by the success a year earlier of >> WTBS-FM ( now WMBR) >> >> FM was entering the mainstream as WJIB became a rating powerhouse >> almost overnight, WKOX-FM flipped from easy listening to Top 40 and >> would become WVBF and WRKO-FM became WROR. >> >> WBCN did upgrade to stereo in 1967 but most classical recordings were >> in mono but flipping to rock opened the door to college students who >> had bought FM tuners for their dorm rooms. >> >> FM was still facing an uphill climb as most car radios only had AM and >> that continued into the late '70s. >> >> >> >> >> >> >> On Wed, Nov 24, 2021 at 12:16 AM A Joseph Ross wrote: >> >> I wonder if anyone is left who ran the original WBCN and the Concert >> Network. I wonder how many people are left, besides me, who were >> listeners in those days. >> >> On 11/23/2021 12:01 PM, Scott Fybush wrote: >> >> I had a fairly lengthy obit in my column this week. >> >> On Tue, Nov 23, 2021, 11:52 AM Donna Halper wrote: >> >> On 11/23/2021 11:01 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: >> >> Al Perry passed away on November 5th >> >> https://devitofuneralhomes.com/obituaries/alfred-r-perry/ >> >> I read this in the Boston Globe this morning, and I was surprised-- I >> don't recall anyone mentioning it before. As a music director, and >> later as a radio consultant, I spent many years working with him and the >> late great Jerry Brenner. >> >> -- >> Donna L. Halper, PhD >> Associate Professor of Communication & Media Studies >> Lesley University, Cambridge MA >> >> >> -- >> A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 >> 617.367.0468 ?http://www.attorneyross.com >> >> >> -- >> A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 >> 617.367.0468 ?http://www.attorneyross.com -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 617.367.0468 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From elipolo881@gmail.com Fri Nov 26 01:02:18 2021 From: elipolo881@gmail.com (Eli Polonsky) Date: Fri, 26 Nov 2021 01:02:18 -0500 Subject: WBUR antennas over the years Message-ID: On Thu, Nov 25, 2021 at 10:38 PM Ron wrote: > Thanks Eli, > > > > I seem to recall (back in the 70?s?), that WBUR had a free standing tower > on campus that you could see from the street. > > > > Is my recollection correct? What years was that in use? > I believe you're thinking of the tower that was at the BU School of Communications, 630 Commonwealth Ave. From what I can find, it was in use beginning sometime around the late 1950's or early 1960's, when the station moved from their first original studio and antenna building on Exeter St. in the Back Bay. I don't know for how long that one at 630 Comm. was in use, I think through the 1960's and at least some of the '70s, maybe later. Their next move was to the one on the BU Law building (the current second backup), but I don't know when that happened. EP From obrienron2@gmail.com Thu Nov 25 22:38:35 2021 From: obrienron2@gmail.com (Ron) Date: Thu, 25 Nov 2021 22:38:35 -0500 Subject: WBUR antennas over the years Message-ID: <003b01d7e277$17dc2d10$47948730$@gmail.com> Thanks Eli, I seem to recall (back in the 70?s?), that WBUR had a free standing tower on campus that you could see from the street. Is my recollection correct? What years was that in use? (I recall a sign on the tower saying ?WBUR-FM 90.9) R From: Eli Polonsky Sent: Thursday, November 25, 2021 12:53 PM To: boston-radio-interest@lists.bostonradio.org Cc: 011010001@interpring.com; obrienron2@gmail.com Subject: Re: 6 Bay Tower/antenna visible on Storrow Westbound near BU? Yes, that's now WBUR's #2 backup site, on the BU Law building. WBUR moved their main TX from there to 1165 Chestnut St. in Newton Upper Falls (formerly known as the "FM-128" tower) in the 1990's, and then a few years ago moved it across Route 128 to the American Radio Systems tower (formerly known as the "Westinghouse Tower") on Cedar St. in Needham. The 1165 Chestnut St. Newton tower is now WBUR's first backup site. If both of those sites in the Newton/Needham area (or the links to them) go down, then they go to their second backup on the BU Law building. As of 2020 (when I was one of 29 people laid off from WBUR), we were still instructed to turn on the BU Law building antenna de-icers just prior to severe winter storms "just in case". EP Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2021 11:53:35 -0500 (EST) From: Rob Landry < 011010001@interpring.com> To: Ron < obrienron2@gmail.com> Cc: boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org Subject: Re: 6 Bay Tower/antenna visible on Storrow Westbound near BU? > That's a backup site for WBUR. It used to be the main site, before WBUR got its site at 1165 Chestnut Street in Newton; in those days, 50,000 watts ERP from the old site wrought quite a bit of havoc across the river in Cambridge. Rob On Wed, 24 Nov 2021, Ron wrote: > For a number of years, while traveling west on Storrow, I see a building > (probably on the BU campus) that has what appears to be a 6 bay vertical > antenna on it. From dave@skywaves.net Fri Nov 26 10:51:09 2021 From: dave@skywaves.net (Dave Doherty) Date: Fri, 26 Nov 2021 07:51:09 -0800 Subject: WBUR antennas over the years In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <007701d7e2dd$6e8504a0$4b8f0de0$@skywaves.net> Here's a link to the FCC's History Cards for WBRU. You can probably tease out the dates from the info in the file. https://bit.ly/3FQIpmt Note that there are two types of cards. First are the CP & License records, then the Application records. Most older stations have these cards. They are provided as links from the Query products. Google "FCC FM Query" for a link. The same works for AM and TV. -d Dave Doherty Skywaves Consulting LLC PO Box 11382 Bainbridge Island, WA 201-248-5620 (cell & text) -----Original Message----- From: Boston-Radio-Interest On Behalf Of Eli Polonsky Sent: Thursday, November 25, 2021 10:02 PM To: boston-radio-interest@lists.bostonradio.org Subject: Re: WBUR antennas over the years On Thu, Nov 25, 2021 at 10:38 PM Ron wrote: > Thanks Eli, > > > > I seem to recall (back in the 70?s?), that WBUR had a free standing > tower on campus that you could see from the street. > > > > Is my recollection correct? What years was that in use? > I believe you're thinking of the tower that was at the BU School of Communications, 630 Commonwealth Ave. From what I can find, it was in use beginning sometime around the late 1950's or early 1960's, when the station moved from their first original studio and antenna building on Exeter St. in the Back Bay. I don't know for how long that one at 630 Comm. was in use, I think through the 1960's and at least some of the '70s, maybe later. Their next move was to the one on the BU Law building (the current second backup), but I don't know when that happened. EP From obrienron2@gmail.com Fri Nov 26 12:02:53 2021 From: obrienron2@gmail.com (Ron) Date: Fri, 26 Nov 2021 12:02:53 -0500 Subject: FYI: Jack Gale & WMEX Message-ID: <002201d7e2e7$73d2da40$5b788ec0$@gmail.com> Over Thanksgiving, someone asked me about Jack Gale and his years at WMEX. I don't think I've heard anyone (until now) mention Jack Gale and WMEX. Does anyone know anything about his years there? Any remember hearing him? What years? http://thegreatdeejays.com/jackgale.html From scott@fybush.com Fri Nov 26 08:37:38 2021 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Fri, 26 Nov 2021 08:37:38 -0500 Subject: WBUR antennas over the years In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Since the FCC made scans of its history cards available online a few years ago, it's gotten much easier to trace these bits of history. According to WBUR's history cards, then: 4/3/50 - license to cover for 380 watts (!) from 84 Exeter St 4/23/51 - 20 kW from 84 Exeter St 7/17/58 - 20 kW/160' from 640 Comm Ave 9/29/76 - 22.5 kW/260' from 765 Comm Ave (Law School Bldg.) The move to 1165 Chestnut happened after the end of the history cards in 1980. I believe it was licensed there at 7.2 kW/305m in Dec. 1987. And the move to the Cedar Street tower was just a few years ago, licensed 8/9/17 with 8.6 kW/358m. On 11/26/2021 1:02 AM, Eli Polonsky wrote: > On Thu, Nov 25, 2021 at 10:38 PM Ron wrote: > >> Thanks Eli, >> >> >> >> I seem to recall (back in the 70?s?), that WBUR had a free standing tower >> on campus that you could see from the street. >> >> >> >> Is my recollection correct? What years was that in use? >> > > I believe you're thinking of the tower that was at the BU School of > Communications, 630 Commonwealth Ave. From what I can find, it was in use > beginning sometime around the late 1950's or early 1960's, when the station > moved from their first original studio and antenna building on Exeter St. > in the Back Bay. > > I don't know for how long that one at 630 Comm. was in use, I think through > the 1960's and at least some of the '70s, maybe later. Their next move was > to the one on the BU Law building (the current second backup), but I don't > know when that happened. > > EP > From 011010001@interpring.com Fri Nov 26 12:37:59 2021 From: 011010001@interpring.com (Rob Landry) Date: Fri, 26 Nov 2021 12:37:59 -0500 (EST) Subject: When did FM become mainstream in Boston - Re: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: When WBOS went rock in January, 1982, it was interesting to compare the sound of recent songs, which had been produced with FM radio in mind, with songs from before about 1972, which had much more prominent midrange and less prominent low and high ends. Those songs had been produced for AM radio. Rob On Thu, 25 Nov 2021, Kevin Vahey wrote: > Joe - FM in the mid-'60s was niche radio. > > I had a cousin that became a top-tier banker in Boston who spent a > fortune on a home system to listen to WKOX-FM 105.7 and would become a > major sponsor on WJIB. > > We had the pure college stations WERS, WBUR, WTBS, and commercial WHRB. > > WBOS 92.9 found a niche playing Broadway albums, WHIL-FM 107.9 had a > loyal country audience. > > WXHR 96.9, WGBH 89.7, WCRB 102.5, WBCN 104.1, and WBZ 106.7 tried > combinations of classical and jazz. > > WHDH 94.5, WCOP 100.7, and WEEI 103.3 didn't do much of anything until > the FCC ordered at least 12 hours a day separate from AM. WHDH did air > Bruins or Celtics games when there was a conflict with AM. > > WLLH at 99.5 also attracted a Boston audience simulcasting AM Top-40. > and then there was the sleeping giant in Plymouth at 99.1 WPLM. That > became important in the '70s. > > I pinpoint the mainstream shift to FM to1976 when the Red Sox moved to > WMEX ( later WITS ) 1510. WMEX then leased time on WWEL 107.9 for > night games and fans rushed to get FM converters for their cars. > > I became aware of the power of FM when I was a boarding student at a > prep school in Woonsocket, RI in the mid-'60s. > > I knew AM signals were directional but I was dumbfounded that WICE1290 > in Providence was not audible 14 miles away day or night. > > > > > > > > > On Wed, Nov 24, 2021 at 11:54 PM A Joseph Ross wrote: >> >> College students never listened to classical? I often did. I also did classical music programs at WMUA when I was at UMass. Around that time a radio station in Springfield or Hartford became a WCRB affiliate under the callsign WCRX. And it was someone else on my corridor in the dorm who told me about it, so that I started listening. >> >> I'm not sure, but I think WCRX may have formerly been WHCN, the Hartford affiliate of the Concert Network. >> >> I've thought for a long time that WBCN and WXHR as classical music stations had a major problem in that they depended on advertising revenue, but with only an FM signal, they didn't have an audience for ad revenue. WCRB had an AM signal, which gave them a big edge in the classical music market, including a regular drive-time audience. At some point very late in the 1960s Harvey Labs blew up WTAO and made it an AM signal for WXHR, but it was too late, and with a daytime only signal, didn't have an afternoon drivetime audience year round. >> >> On 11/24/2021 1:13 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: >> >> WBCN was struggling in 1968. Not having any affiliation with the BSO >> crippled them and they had overhead paying rent for studio and >> transmitter in the Back Bay while WCRB and WGBH had less overhead. >> >> WBCN as a rock station was spawned by the success a year earlier of >> WTBS-FM ( now WMBR) >> >> FM was entering the mainstream as WJIB became a rating powerhouse >> almost overnight, WKOX-FM flipped from easy listening to Top 40 and >> would become WVBF and WRKO-FM became WROR. >> >> WBCN did upgrade to stereo in 1967 but most classical recordings were >> in mono but flipping to rock opened the door to college students who >> had bought FM tuners for their dorm rooms. >> >> FM was still facing an uphill climb as most car radios only had AM and >> that continued into the late '70s. >> >> >> >> >> >> >> On Wed, Nov 24, 2021 at 12:16 AM A Joseph Ross wrote: >> >> I wonder if anyone is left who ran the original WBCN and the Concert >> Network. I wonder how many people are left, besides me, who were >> listeners in those days. >> >> On 11/23/2021 12:01 PM, Scott Fybush wrote: >> >> I had a fairly lengthy obit in my column this week. >> >> On Tue, Nov 23, 2021, 11:52 AM Donna Halper wrote: >> >> On 11/23/2021 11:01 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: >> >> Al Perry passed away on November 5th >> >> https://devitofuneralhomes.com/obituaries/alfred-r-perry/ >> >> I read this in the Boston Globe this morning, and I was surprised-- I >> don't recall anyone mentioning it before. As a music director, and >> later as a radio consultant, I spent many years working with him and the >> late great Jerry Brenner. >> >> -- >> Donna L. Halper, PhD >> Associate Professor of Communication & Media Studies >> Lesley University, Cambridge MA >> >> >> -- >> A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 >> 617.367.0468 ? http://www.attorneyross.com >> >> >> -- >> A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 >> 617.367.0468 ? http://www.attorneyross.com > From 011010001@interpring.com Fri Nov 26 13:04:40 2021 From: 011010001@interpring.com (Rob Landry) Date: Fri, 26 Nov 2021 13:04:40 -0500 (EST) Subject: When did FM become mainstream in Boston - Re: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN In-Reply-To: <25848cc0-d81c-4979-5500-f4fa1ac6526f@donnahalper.com> References: <25848cc0-d81c-4979-5500-f4fa1ac6526f@donnahalper.com> Message-ID: On Thu, 25 Nov 2021, Donna Halper wrote: > That's true. It was mainly audiophiles who listened to it, and until the > mid-60s, a majority of FMs nationwide programmed mostly classical or "good > music"-- or they simulcast the AM sister-station that owned them. Then, the > FCC issued a ruling that FM had to have? its own unique formats, and not just > simulcast the AM. That opened the door to more formats on FM, and so did the > baby boomers being in college and wanting something that wasn't top-40. But a > lot of us still only had AM radios, and I don't recall really listening to FM > till about 1968. My own career began on AM, and AM was still a factor for > music in Boston well into the mid-70s. KFRC 610 AM in San Francisco was still running a top 40 format in 1985. They had promos that said things like "FM causes brain damage". It probably didn't hurt that there was no FM that covered the Bay Area effectively, and in the city (or The City, as it was often called) all the FMs were plagued with massive multipath distortion. Rob From 011010001@interpring.com Fri Nov 26 13:30:06 2021 From: 011010001@interpring.com (Rob Landry) Date: Fri, 26 Nov 2021 13:30:06 -0500 (EST) Subject: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: On Thu, 25 Nov 2021, A Joseph Ross wrote: > People seem to have forgotten that WBUR was a classical station for awhile > in the 1970s and 1980s, for most of the day until 4:00 PM, when they carried > all Things Considered. What I heard was that then-B.U. President John Silber wanted itto play classical music, but the woman who ran the station, whose name I've momentarily forgotten, wanted to do a news-talk format. Rob From 011010001@interpring.com Fri Nov 26 13:36:29 2021 From: 011010001@interpring.com (Rob Landry) Date: Fri, 26 Nov 2021 13:36:29 -0500 (EST) Subject: When did FM become mainstream in Boston - Re: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: On Thu, 25 Nov 2021, A Joseph Ross wrote: > Yes, but FM was probably more popular on college campuses than elsewhere in > the mid-1960s.? Having matriculated at UMass (Amherst) in 1963, I thought the > popularity of FM had to do with the fact that we had a student-operated > station.? While many dorms had some sort of carrier-current transmission of > WMUA, many students had FM radios by then. Yet almost all of the ads on WHRB were for their carrier-current AM; indeed, they and the other Ivy League college stations formed "The Ivy Network" to represent them to aad agencies. The Ivy Network was run out of WYBC at Yale, according to what I was told, and eventually died an agonizing death in the early 1970s. WHRB's carrier-curret AM wnt away in 1973. Rob From dlh@donnahalper.com Fri Nov 26 13:04:49 2021 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Fri, 26 Nov 2021 13:04:49 -0500 Subject: FYI: Jack Gale & WMEX In-Reply-To: <002201d7e2e7$73d2da40$5b788ec0$@gmail.com> References: <002201d7e2e7$73d2da40$5b788ec0$@gmail.com> Message-ID: <7afc88a7-2af0-2689-24d5-431862530ecb@donnahalper.com> On 11/26/2021 12:02 PM, Ron wrote: > Over Thanksgiving, someone asked me about Jack Gale and his years at WMEX. > > I don't think I've heard anyone (until now) mention Jack Gale and WMEX. > Does anyone know anything about his years there? Any remember hearing > him? What years? He wasn't there for very long, from what his autobiography says. If memory serves, he lasted about 14 months. Late 1963 to early 1965, and he did mornings. I think he was one of the folks who used the "Fenway" name. He did not have fond memories of the late Mac Richmond... -- Donna L. Halper, PhD Associate Professor of Communication & Media Studies Lesley University, Cambridge MA From scott@fybush.com Fri Nov 26 08:56:48 2021 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Fri, 26 Nov 2021 08:56:48 -0500 Subject: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN In-Reply-To: <4517056a-f3ee-d3e4-1064-3318d5edabd4@attorneyross.com> References: <2079958697.5487402.1637866119555@mail.yahoo.com> <4517056a-f3ee-d3e4-1064-3318d5edabd4@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: You're correct in your recollections - WCRX 102.1 in Springfield came on the air 3/15/67, according to the FCC history cards. The studio (such as it was) was at the Sheraton Motor Inn on Chestnut Street, and the transmitter was (and has always remained) at the WWLP-TV site on Provin Mountain. WCRB only ran WCRX for five years. It was sold to the owners of WTYM 1600 in 1972. The 101.5 Providence saga is longer and more interesting. T. Mitchell Hastings put it on the air in 1955 with 20 kW from Jerimoth Hill near the CT state line. It was WTMH then, before becoming WXCN in 1957 (and apparently WPCN for a few weeks before changing back to WXCN). It moved to Neutaconkanut Hill in Johnston in 1962. Mitch lost the station in bankruptcy in 1963, with the bankruptcy trustees selling it to WCRB in 1964. It was WCRQ for four years, then was sold to WLKW(AM) in 1968, becoming WLKW-FM. s On 11/25/2021 11:25 PM, A Joseph Ross wrote: > 1953?? That doesn't sound right.? I first became aware of WCRX classical > around 1966.? If it existed sooner, I think I would have known of it. > Besides, WCRB wasn't networking its classical programming until some > time in the early 1960s.? Copying WQXR in New York, they first called > their chain "the CRB Network," then called it "Concert Radio, the CR > network."? WCRB-FM wasn't even on the air in 1953. > > On 11/25/2021 2:33 PM, Rob Landry wrote: >> >> You are right; WCRB's Providence station was 101.5 not 94.1. They >> never owned any AMs other than 1330 in Waltham. >> >> I seem to recall that the Providence station was acquited from Mitch >> Hastings (WXCN?) when Concert Network fell on hard times, only to be >> sole some years later when CRB fell on hard times. It was largely >> pointless as a WCRB simulcast because 102.5 covered Providence quite >> well. >> >>> And WAQY was licensed to Springfield (as 102.1 remains today) and >>> would have >>> competed with Hartford's Concert Netwirk station, 105.9 WHCN. >> >> According to Wikipedia, Charles River was WAQY's original owner, the >> station signing on as WCRX in 1953. So, it would have been a direct >> competitor to Mitch Hastings' WHCN in Hartford. >> >> >> Rob > From rickkelly@gmail.com Fri Nov 26 12:40:32 2021 From: rickkelly@gmail.com (Rick Kelly) Date: Fri, 26 Nov 2021 12:40:32 -0500 Subject: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN In-Reply-To: <4517056a-f3ee-d3e4-1064-3318d5edabd4@attorneyross.com> References: <2079958697.5487402.1637866119555@mail.yahoo.com> <4517056a-f3ee-d3e4-1064-3318d5edabd4@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: I don't think it was 1953 for WCRX either. I thought it was more like 1966. I had a conversation with the Chief Engineer at WAQY when I was there in the late 1970's, and he said the original plan was to just rebroadcast the WCRB signal, at 102.5 on 102.1 from Provin Mountain in Agawam MA. However, in testing the rebroadcast, the WCRB signal was not clearly readable and overwhelmed by the 102.1 signal. The simulcast from Boston had to be reconfigured (somehow...) Rick Kelly On Thu, Nov 25, 2021, 11:58 PM A Joseph Ross wrote: > 1953? That doesn't sound right. I first became aware of WCRX classical > around 1966. If it existed sooner, I think I would have known of it. > Besides, WCRB wasn't networking its classical programming until some > time in the early 1960s. Copying WQXR in New York, they first called > their chain "the CRB Network," then called it "Concert Radio, the CR > network." WCRB-FM wasn't even on the air in 1953. > > On 11/25/2021 2:33 PM, Rob Landry wrote: > > > > You are right; WCRB's Providence station was 101.5 not 94.1. They > > never owned any AMs other than 1330 in Waltham. > > > > I seem to recall that the Providence station was acquited from Mitch > > Hastings (WXCN?) when Concert Network fell on hard times, only to be > > sole some years later when CRB fell on hard times. It was largely > > pointless as a WCRB simulcast because 102.5 covered Providence quite > > well. > > > >> And WAQY was licensed to Springfield (as 102.1 remains today) and > >> would have > >> competed with Hartford's Concert Netwirk station, 105.9 WHCN. > > > > According to Wikipedia, Charles River was WAQY's original owner, the > > station signing on as WCRX in 1953. So, it would have been a direct > > competitor to Mitch Hastings' WHCN in Hartford. > > > > > > Rob > > -- > A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 > 617.367.0468 ? http://www.attorneyross.com > From denapoli137@msn.com Sat Nov 27 13:37:16 2021 From: denapoli137@msn.com (Dennis D) Date: Sat, 27 Nov 2021 13:37:16 -0500 Subject: FYI: Jack Gale & WMEX In-Reply-To: <002201d7e2e7$73d2da40$5b788ec0$@gmail.com> References: <002201d7e2e7$73d2da40$5b788ec0$@gmail.com> Message-ID: Check out Remembering WMEX 1510 Boston Sent from my iPhone > On Nov 26, 2021, at 12:02 PM, Ron wrote: > > ?Over Thanksgiving, someone asked me about Jack Gale and his years at WMEX. > > I don't think I've heard anyone (until now) mention Jack Gale and WMEX. > Does anyone know anything about his years there? Any remember hearing > him? What years? > > http://thegreatdeejays.com/jackgale.html > > From dlh@donnahalper.com Sat Nov 27 14:14:51 2021 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Sat, 27 Nov 2021 14:14:51 -0500 Subject: FYI: Jack Gale & WMEX In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <202111271951.1ARJpmH0029030@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Yes, he was one of the numerous deejays to be "Fenway" at WMEX.Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G, an AT&T 5G smartphone -------- Original message --------From: Dennis D Date: 11/27/21 1:38 PM (GMT-05:00) To: Ron Cc: boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org Subject: Re: FYI: Jack Gale & WMEX Check out Remembering WMEX 1510 BostonSent from my iPhone> On Nov 26, 2021, at 12:02 PM, Ron wrote:> > ?Over Thanksgiving, someone asked me about Jack Gale and his years at WMEX.> > I don't think I've heard anyone (until now) mention Jack Gale and WMEX.> Does anyone know anything about his years there???? Any remember hearing> him?? What years?? > > http://thegreatdeejays.com/jackgale.html > > From obrienron2@gmail.com Sat Nov 27 15:22:31 2021 From: obrienron2@gmail.com (Ron) Date: Sat, 27 Nov 2021 15:22:31 -0500 Subject: FYI: Jack Gale & WMEX In-Reply-To: References: <002201d7e2e7$73d2da40$5b788ec0$@gmail.com> Message-ID: <004b01d7e3cc$81d1c1c0$85754540$@gmail.com> >> Check out Remembering WMEX 1510 Boston For those that havn't joined the FB group mentioned above, you might find it interesting: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1559602687673269/ I found this discussion of Jack Gale: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1559602687673269/posts/2425601207740075 -----Original Message----- From: Dennis D Sent: Saturday, November 27, 2021 1:37 PM To: Ron Cc: boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org Subject: Re: FYI: Jack Gale & WMEX Check out Remembering WMEX 1510 Boston Sent from my iPhone > On Nov 26, 2021, at 12:02 PM, Ron wrote: > > ?Over Thanksgiving, someone asked me about Jack Gale and his years at WMEX. > > I don't think I've heard anyone (until now) mention Jack Gale and WMEX. > Does anyone know anything about his years there? Any remember hearing > him? What years? > > http://thegreatdeejays.com/jackgale.html > > From raccoonradio@gmail.com Sat Nov 27 06:11:14 2021 From: raccoonradio@gmail.com (Bob Nelson) Date: Sat, 27 Nov 2021 06:11:14 -0500 Subject: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: >>the woman who ran the station, whose name I've momentarily forgotten, wanted to do a news-talk format. The name Jane Christo comes to mind but who knows, >From MA Broadcasters Hall of Fame Visionary General Manager of WBUR from 1979?2004. One of the country?s first female managers of a top 10 radio station in a major market; Jane transformed a special-interest radio station with a polyglot format in the 1970s into a competitive mainstream radio station by the mid-1980s, and into one of Boston?s top 10 radio stations by the mid-1990s. She demonstrated to her colleagues around the country that the future of public radio was in news and information. She pioneered new techniques in public radio fund-raising, and saw the potential of the Internet far earlier than most. She took local productions ?Car Talk,? ?Only A Game,? ?Here and Now,? ?The Connection,? and ?On Point? to a national audience. https://www.massbroadcastershof.org/hall-of-fame/hall-of-fame-2012/jane-christo/ On Fri, Nov 26, 2021 at 1:31 PM Rob Landry <011010001@interpring.com> wrote: > > > On Thu, 25 Nov 2021, A Joseph Ross wrote: > > > People seem to have forgotten that WBUR was a classical station for > awhile > > in the 1970s and 1980s, for most of the day until 4:00 PM, when they > carried > > all Things Considered. > > What I heard was that then-B.U. President John Silber wanted itto play > classical music, but the woman who ran the station, whose name I've > momentarily forgotten, wanted to do a news-talk format. > > > Rob > From dlh@donnahalper.com Sun Nov 28 18:16:51 2021 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Sun, 28 Nov 2021 18:16:51 -0500 Subject: Jack Gale In-Reply-To: <2112243501.2068496.1638140918149@mail.yahoo.com> References: <1343448070.1960295.1638139949956.ref@mail.yahoo.com> <1343448070.1960295.1638139949956@mail.yahoo.com> <2112243501.2068496.1638140918149@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: According to the Baltimore Sun, "Jack Gale, a popular morning host with the old WITH-AM radio station and a record company owner and producer, died Jan. 24 (2018) at his home in Sebring, Fla. He was 92." I have his obit, if anyone wants it. -- Donna L. Halper, PhD Associate Professor of Communication & Media Studies Lesley University, Cambridge MA From bostonradio.org-list@wsfd.ath.cx Wed Nov 24 14:55:13 2021 From: bostonradio.org-list@wsfd.ath.cx (Dave) Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2021 14:55:13 -0500 Subject: WBCN, Channel-13, and the old Hancock tower In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: On 11/24/21 12:00 PM, boston-radio-interest-request@lists.BostonRadio.org wrote: >From: A Joseph Ross >Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2021 23:44:19 -0500 >Subject: Re: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN > >I wonder if anyone is left who ran the original WBCN and >the Concert Network. I wonder how many people are left, >besides me, who were listeners in those days. Ahhh. WBCN. Long time lurker, I'm going to finally crawl out from under this rock. My father, Jim Bonney was the titular Chief Engineer for WBCN in the 50's/60's. And once, while he was on vacation, I made $ subbing in for him doing the weekly transmitter checks and log signing on the 27th/28th upper equipment floor of the old Hancock tower. Does that qualify me as 'working' for WBCN? As a kid I would frequently accompany him on his rounds when he did his weekly station visits. He built and was full-time Chief Engineer for WBUR but also, over the years, had 'Chief Operator' responsibility for WBCN, WERS, WPAW/WXTR, the Boston end of the WMTW-TV microwave link, a radio-page company, and other stations/facilities too numerous and/or lost in my memory to remember right now. Once at WBCN I even got to stand on top of the Hancock weather beacon when the tower monkey's were servicing the antenna. Going up the stairs inside the flashing blue beacon was a memory-maker. Which brings me around to a Question I've had for years: On the upper equipment floor of the old Hancock tower, colocated with the WBCN transmitter was another, non-operating transmitter. Which may have been a television transmitter. I have seen an old reference to a Boston Channel-13. Could this have been it? And can anyone provide confirmation? Was it ever licensed/operational? Thanx, Dave From m_carney@yahoo.com Sun Nov 28 21:29:12 2021 From: m_carney@yahoo.com (Maureen Carney) Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2021 02:29:12 +0000 (UTC) Subject: WBCN, Channel-13, and the old Hancock tower In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <40533292.6143887.1638152952972@mail.yahoo.com> At the beginning of TV (circa 1948 or 49) WHDH applied for channel 13 with the transmitter on the Hancock Tower. The freeze came along, channel 13 wound up in Portland and WHDH got channel 5. Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android On Sun, Nov 28, 2021 at 9:22 PM, Dave wrote: On 11/24/21 12:00 PM, boston-radio-interest-request@lists.BostonRadio.org wrote: >From: A Joseph Ross >Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2021 23:44:19 -0500 >Subject: Re: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN > >I wonder if anyone is left who ran the original WBCN and >the Concert Network.? I wonder how many people are left, >besides me, who were listeners in those days. Ahhh.? WBCN. Long time lurker, I'm going to finally crawl out from under this rock. My father, Jim Bonney was the titular Chief Engineer for WBCN in the 50's/60's.? And once, while he was on vacation, I made $ subbing in for him doing the weekly transmitter checks and log signing on the 27th/28th upper equipment floor of the old Hancock tower.? Does that qualify me as 'working' for WBCN? As a kid I would frequently accompany him on his rounds when he did his weekly station visits.? He built and was full-time Chief Engineer for WBUR but also, over the years, had 'Chief Operator' responsibility for WBCN, WERS, WPAW/WXTR, the Boston end of the WMTW-TV microwave link, a radio-page company, and other stations/facilities too numerous and/or lost in my memory to remember right now. Once at WBCN I even got to stand on top of the Hancock weather beacon when the tower monkey's were servicing the antenna.? Going up the stairs inside the flashing blue beacon was a memory-maker. Which brings me around to a Question I've had for years: On the upper equipment floor of the old Hancock tower, colocated with the WBCN transmitter was another, non-operating transmitter.? Which may have been a television transmitter.? I have seen an old reference to a Boston Channel-13.? Could this have been it?? And can anyone provide confirmation?? Was it ever licensed/operational? Thanx, Dave From dave@skywaves.net Sun Nov 28 23:21:38 2021 From: dave@skywaves.net (Dave Doherty) Date: Sun, 28 Nov 2021 20:21:38 -0800 Subject: WBCN, Channel-13, and the old Hancock tower In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <002101d7e4d8$9bdd9d20$d398d760$@skywaves.net> Plain text of the response from Maureen Carney: --- At the beginning of TV (circa 1948 or 49) WHDH applied for channel 13 with the transmitter on the Hancock Tower. The freeze came along, channel 13 wound up in Portland and WHDH got channel 5. --- That's a very cool convergence of history and personal memories! -d Dave Doherty Skywaves Consulting LLC PO Box 11382 Bainbridge Island, WA 201-248-5620 (cell & text) -----Original Message----- From: Boston-Radio-Interest On Behalf Of Dave Sent: Wednesday, November 24, 2021 11:55 AM To: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org Subject: WBCN, Channel-13, and the old Hancock tower On 11/24/21 12:00 PM, boston-radio-interest-request@lists.BostonRadio.org wrote: >From: A Joseph Ross >Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2021 23:44:19 -0500 >Subject: Re: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN > >I wonder if anyone is left who ran the original WBCN and >the Concert Network. I wonder how many people are left, >besides me, who were listeners in those days. Ahhh. WBCN. Long time lurker, I'm going to finally crawl out from under this rock. My father, Jim Bonney was the titular Chief Engineer for WBCN in the 50's/60's. And once, while he was on vacation, I made $ subbing in for him doing the weekly transmitter checks and log signing on the 27th/28th upper equipment floor of the old Hancock tower. Does that qualify me as 'working' for WBCN? As a kid I would frequently accompany him on his rounds when he did his weekly station visits. He built and was full-time Chief Engineer for WBUR but also, over the years, had 'Chief Operator' responsibility for WBCN, WERS, WPAW/WXTR, the Boston end of the WMTW-TV microwave link, a radio-page company, and other stations/facilities too numerous and/or lost in my memory to remember right now. Once at WBCN I even got to stand on top of the Hancock weather beacon when the tower monkey's were servicing the antenna. Going up the stairs inside the flashing blue beacon was a memory-maker. Which brings me around to a Question I've had for years: On the upper equipment floor of the old Hancock tower, colocated with the WBCN transmitter was another, non-operating transmitter. Which may have been a television transmitter. I have seen an old reference to a Boston Channel-13. Could this have been it? And can anyone provide confirmation? Was it ever licensed/operational? Thanx, Dave From wollman@bimajority.org Sun Nov 28 23:58:17 2021 From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) Date: Sun, 28 Nov 2021 23:58:17 -0500 Subject: WBCN, Channel-13, and the old Hancock tower In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <24996.24041.933791.382493@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> < said: > At the beginning of TV (circa 1948 or 49) WHDH applied for channel > 13 with the transmitter on the Hancock Tower. The freeze came along, > channel 13 wound up in Portland and WHDH got channel 5. Of course, channel 13 was only possible in Boston because WJAR was on channel 11 in Providence (one of many stations that proved to be short-spaced to New York City). After the freeze, WJAR moved from 11 to 10, allowing 12 to be allocated in Providence for what would become WPRO-TV, requiring channel 13 to be moved farther away (and opening up channel 11 on the NH Seacoast). Similarly, WNHC-TV moving from channel 6 to channel 8 allowed a new channel 6 allocation in New Bedford (as well as WRGB's move from 4 to 6 in Schenectady. -GAWollman From joe@attorneyross.com Mon Nov 29 01:06:31 2021 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2021 01:06:31 -0500 Subject: WBCN, Channel-13, and the old Hancock tower In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Why would there have been a Boston end of a WMTW-TV microwave link? That was channel 8 in Poland Springs, Maine. On 11/24/2021 2:55 PM, Dave wrote: > On 11/24/21 12:00 PM, > boston-radio-interest-request@lists.BostonRadio.org wrote: > > >From: A Joseph Ross > >Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2021 23:44:19 -0500 > >Subject: Re: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN > > > >I wonder if anyone is left who ran the original WBCN and > >the Concert Network.? I wonder how many people are left, > >besides me, who were listeners in those days. > > Ahhh.? WBCN. > > Long time lurker, I'm going to finally crawl out from under this rock. > > My father, Jim Bonney was the titular Chief Engineer for WBCN in the > 50's/60's.? And once, while he was on vacation, I made $ subbing in > for him doing the weekly transmitter checks and log signing on the > 27th/28th upper equipment floor of the old Hancock tower.? Does that > qualify me as 'working' for WBCN? > > As a kid I would frequently accompany him on his rounds when he did > his weekly station visits.? He built and was full-time Chief Engineer > for WBUR but also, over the years, had 'Chief Operator' responsibility > for WBCN, WERS, WPAW/WXTR, the Boston end of the WMTW-TV microwave > link, a radio-page company, and other stations/facilities too numerous > and/or lost in my memory to remember right now. > > Once at WBCN I even got to stand on top of the Hancock weather beacon > when the tower monkey's were servicing the antenna.? Going up the > stairs inside the flashing blue beacon was a memory-maker. > > Which brings me around to a Question I've had for years: > > On the upper equipment floor of the old Hancock tower, colocated with > the WBCN transmitter was another, non-operating transmitter. Which may > have been a television transmitter.? I have seen an old reference to a > Boston Channel-13.? Could this have been it?? And can anyone provide > confirmation?? Was it ever licensed/operational? > > Thanx, > > Dave > > -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 617.367.0468 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Mon Nov 29 01:22:13 2021 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2021 01:22:13 -0500 Subject: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN In-Reply-To: References: <2079958697.5487402.1637866119555@mail.yahoo.com> <4517056a-f3ee-d3e4-1064-3318d5edabd4@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: That's a little later than I thought, but it makes a lot more sense than 1953.? I've just corrected the Wikipedia entry. On 11/26/2021 8:56 AM, Scott Fybush wrote: > You're correct in your recollections - WCRX 102.1 in Springfield came > on the air 3/15/67, according to the FCC history cards. The studio > (such as it was) was at the Sheraton Motor Inn on Chestnut Street, and > the transmitter was (and has always remained) at the WWLP-TV site on > Provin Mountain. > > WCRB only ran WCRX for five years. It was sold to the owners of WTYM > 1600 in 1972. > > The 101.5 Providence saga is longer and more interesting. T. Mitchell > Hastings put it on the air in 1955 with 20 kW from Jerimoth Hill near > the CT state line. It was WTMH then, before becoming WXCN in 1957 (and > apparently WPCN for a few weeks before changing back to WXCN). It > moved to Neutaconkanut Hill in Johnston in 1962. > > Mitch lost the station in bankruptcy in 1963, with the bankruptcy > trustees selling it to WCRB in 1964. It was WCRQ for four years, then > was sold to WLKW(AM) in 1968, becoming WLKW-FM. > > s > > On 11/25/2021 11:25 PM, A Joseph Ross wrote: >> 1953?? That doesn't sound right.? I first became aware of WCRX >> classical around 1966.? If it existed sooner, I think I would have >> known of it. Besides, WCRB wasn't networking its classical >> programming until some time in the early 1960s.? Copying WQXR in New >> York, they first called their chain "the CRB Network," then called it >> "Concert Radio, the CR network."? WCRB-FM wasn't even on the air in >> 1953. >> >> On 11/25/2021 2:33 PM, Rob Landry wrote: >>> >>> You are right; WCRB's Providence station was 101.5 not 94.1. They >>> never owned any AMs other than 1330 in Waltham. >>> >>> I seem to recall that the Providence station was acquited from Mitch >>> Hastings (WXCN?) when Concert Network fell on hard times, only to be >>> sole some years later when CRB fell on hard times. It was largely >>> pointless as a WCRB simulcast because 102.5 covered Providence quite >>> well. >>> >>>> And WAQY was licensed to Springfield (as 102.1 remains today) and >>>> would have >>>> competed with Hartford's Concert Netwirk station, 105.9 WHCN. >>> >>> According to Wikipedia, Charles River was WAQY's original owner, the >>> station signing on as WCRX in 1953. So, it would have been a direct >>> competitor to Mitch Hastings' WHCN in Hartford. >>> >>> >>> Rob >> -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 617.367.0468 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Mon Nov 29 00:54:29 2021 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2021 00:54:29 -0500 Subject: WBUR antennas over the years In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: As I thought, the tower on the Law School was the WBUR antenna when I was a student there. On 11/26/2021 8:37 AM, Scott Fybush wrote: > Since the FCC made scans of its history cards available online a few > years ago, it's gotten much easier to trace these bits of history. > > According to WBUR's history cards, then: > > 4/3/50 - license to cover for 380 watts (!) from 84 Exeter St > 4/23/51 - 20 kW from 84 Exeter St > 7/17/58 - 20 kW/160' from 640 Comm Ave > 9/29/76 - 22.5 kW/260' from 765 Comm Ave (Law School Bldg.) > > The move to 1165 Chestnut happened after the end of the history cards > in 1980. I believe it was licensed there at 7.2 kW/305m in Dec. 1987. > And the move to the Cedar Street tower was just a few years ago, > licensed 8/9/17 with 8.6 kW/358m. > > On 11/26/2021 1:02 AM, Eli Polonsky wrote: >> On Thu, Nov 25, 2021 at 10:38 PM Ron wrote: >> >>> Thanks Eli, >>> >>> >>> >>> I seem to recall (back in the 70?s?), that WBUR had a free standing >>> tower >>> on campus that you could see from the street. >>> >>> >>> >>> Is my recollection correct?? What years was that in use? >>> >> >> I believe you're thinking of the tower that was at the BU School of >> Communications, 630 Commonwealth Ave. From what I can find, it was in >> use >> beginning sometime around the late 1950's or early 1960's, when the >> station >> moved from their first original studio and antenna building on Exeter >> St. >> in the Back Bay. >> >> I don't know for how long that one at 630 Comm. was in use, I think >> through >> the 1960's and at least some of the '70s, maybe later. Their next >> move was >> to the one on the BU Law building (the current second backup), but I >> don't >> know when that happened. >> >> EP >> -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 617.367.0468 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Mon Nov 29 01:41:33 2021 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2021 01:41:33 -0500 Subject: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <39b790a0-952d-cfb2-53ef-8e206165bf62@attorneyross.com> The name sounds familiar, but I'm trying to figure out the history of when WBUR would have been classical.? I think it may have been that it was classical as long as Silber was president of BU, but switched to public affairs afterwards. When I first started listening to FM, in December 1958, WBUR and WERS sounded very much alike.? They were largely run by students studying broadcasting.? Both stations signed on around 2:00 PM during the school year and 5:00 PM in the summer, and classical music was most of what they played. I guess at some point BU took over WBUR from the School of Public Communications, while students continued to run WERS, although eventually with more of a variety of music forms.? For awhile in the early 1970s, they had a Rock & Roll oldies program on Saturday nights, hosted by someone who called himself Al Payola.? At one ;point they had a phone-in trivia contest, and I called in and won some ice cream.? When I went to collect it at the Friendly's in Coolidge Corner, the man there told me Al Payola's real name, but I don't remember it.? Nor do I remember what the trivia questions were that I answered. On 11/27/2021 6:11 AM, Bob Nelson wrote: > >>the woman who ran the station, whose name I've > momentarily forgotten, wanted to do a news-talk format. > > The name Jane Christo comes to mind but who knows, > From MA Broadcasters Hall of Fame > Visionary General Manager of WBUR from 1979?2004. One of the country?s > first female managers of a top 10 radio station in a major market; > Jane transformed a special-interest radio station with a polyglot > format in the 1970s into a competitive mainstream radio station by the > mid-1980s, and into one of Boston?s top 10 radio stations by the > mid-1990s. She demonstrated to her colleagues around the country that > the future of public radio was in news and information. She pioneered > new techniques in public radio fund-raising, and saw the potential of > the Internet far earlier than most. She took local productions ?Car > Talk,? ?Only A Game,? ?Here and Now,? ?The Connection,? and ?On Point? > to a national audience. > > https://www.massbroadcastershof.org/hall-of-fame/hall-of-fame-2012/jane-christo/ > > On Fri, Nov 26, 2021 at 1:31 PM Rob Landry <011010001@interpring.com> > wrote: > > > > On Thu, 25 Nov 2021, A Joseph Ross wrote: > > > People seem to have forgotten that WBUR was a classical station > for awhile > > in the 1970s and 1980s, for most of the day until 4:00 PM, when > they carried > > all Things Considered. > > What I heard was that then-B.U. President John Silber wanted itto > play > classical music, but the woman who ran the station, whose name I've > momentarily forgotten, wanted to do a news-talk format. > > > Rob > -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 617.367.0468 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From joe@attorneyross.com Mon Nov 29 01:59:10 2021 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A Joseph Ross) Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2021 01:59:10 -0500 Subject: WBCN, Channel-13, and the old Hancock tower In-Reply-To: <24996.24041.933791.382493@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> References: <24996.24041.933791.382493@hergotha.csail.mit.edu> Message-ID: <8726aa92-5446-6143-2612-52c2ef3f870d@attorneyross.com> I remember WRGB's move.? We moved from Allston to Albany just after Thanksgiving 1953.? At that time, WRGB, channel 4, was the only VHF station and the only one we could watch.? Albany's first UHF station, WROW-TV, channel 41, was on for limited hours, but WRGB, nominally an NBC affiliate, carried programs from all four networks, sometimes at strange times.? CBS's Ed Sullivan Show (originally called "Toast of the Town") was shown on Friday evening.? Bishop Fulton J. Sheen's Tuesday night show on DuMont was on Sunday afternoon, as was Jack Benny (CBS).? Those shows were by kinescope and were often a couple of weeks late.? I seem to remember some Christmas shows in mid-January. This also sometimes produced some unintended humor.? One time the WRGB announcer said "The following is a kinescope recording."? This was immediately followed by the TV show starting with someone shouting "Live from Hollywood!"? My sister and I thought that was awfully funny. On 11/28/2021 11:58 PM, Garrett Wollman wrote: > < said: > >> At the beginning of TV (circa 1948 or 49) WHDH applied for channel >> 13 with the transmitter on the Hancock Tower. The freeze came along, >> channel 13 wound up in Portland and WHDH got channel 5. > Of course, channel 13 was only possible in Boston because WJAR was on > channel 11 in Providence (one of many stations that proved to be > short-spaced to New York City). After the freeze, WJAR moved from 11 > to 10, allowing 12 to be allocated in Providence for what would become > WPRO-TV, requiring channel 13 to be moved farther away (and opening up > channel 11 on the NH Seacoast). Similarly, WNHC-TV moving from > channel 6 to channel 8 allowed a new channel 6 allocation in New > Bedford (as well as WRGB's move from 4 to 6 in Schenectady. > > -GAWollman > -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 617.367.0468 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From elipolo881@gmail.com Mon Nov 29 02:44:13 2021 From: elipolo881@gmail.com (Eli Polonsky) Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2021 02:44:13 -0500 Subject: WBCN, Channel-13, and the old Hancock tower Message-ID: Though there appears to be no mention of this in station histories on either bostonradio.org or Wikipedia, I seem to recall that the old WHDH-FM 94.5 also used to transmit from the old Hancock in the 1960's, along with 104.1 WBCN. I'm guessing that it probably did through the 1950's as well. I don't know when the 94.5 transmitter was moved to the "FM-128" tower at 1165 Chestnut St. Newton Upper Falls, but I think it was before. or around when, WHDH-FM became WCOZ with its original "Cozy" beautiful music format in 1972. I didn't pay much attention to WHDH-FM after it stopped playing rock in the late '60s, so I didn't hear exactly when that happened. EP Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2021 14:55:13 -0500 From: Dave To: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org Subject: WBCN, Channel-13, and the old Hancock tower > On the upper equipment floor of the old Hancock tower, colocated with the WBCN transmitter was another, non-operating transmitter. Which may have been a television transmitter. I have seen an old reference to a Boston Channel-13. Could this have been it? And can anyone provide confirmation? Was it ever licensed/operational? Thanx, Dave From kvahey@gmail.com Mon Nov 29 02:34:16 2021 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2021 02:34:16 -0500 Subject: WBCN, Channel-13, and the old Hancock tower In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hi Dave You mentioned the WMTW link For reasons that were never fully explained to me the Boston link to Saddleback Mountain in NH passed through 25 Granby Street which was Boston Catholic TV/WIHS/WSBK. Can you shed any light on this? My guess is that WMTW-TV must have gotten the Sunday Mass feed from BCTV and somehow that is how the circuit was created. On Sun, Nov 28, 2021 at 9:20 PM Dave wrote: > > On 11/24/21 12:00 PM, > boston-radio-interest-request@lists.BostonRadio.org wrote: > > >From: A Joseph Ross > >Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2021 23:44:19 -0500 > >Subject: Re: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN > > > >I wonder if anyone is left who ran the original WBCN and > >the Concert Network. I wonder how many people are left, > >besides me, who were listeners in those days. > > Ahhh. WBCN. > > Long time lurker, I'm going to finally crawl out from under this rock. > > My father, Jim Bonney was the titular Chief Engineer for WBCN in the > 50's/60's. And once, while he was on vacation, I made $ subbing in for > him doing the weekly transmitter checks and log signing on the 27th/28th > upper equipment floor of the old Hancock tower. Does that qualify me as > 'working' for WBCN? > > As a kid I would frequently accompany him on his rounds when he did his > weekly station visits. He built and was full-time Chief Engineer for > WBUR but also, over the years, had 'Chief Operator' responsibility for > WBCN, WERS, WPAW/WXTR, the Boston end of the WMTW-TV microwave link, a > radio-page company, and other stations/facilities too numerous and/or > lost in my memory to remember right now. > > Once at WBCN I even got to stand on top of the Hancock weather beacon > when the tower monkey's were servicing the antenna. Going up the stairs > inside the flashing blue beacon was a memory-maker. > > Which brings me around to a Question I've had for years: > > On the upper equipment floor of the old Hancock tower, colocated with > the WBCN transmitter was another, non-operating transmitter. Which may > have been a television transmitter. I have seen an old reference to a > Boston Channel-13. Could this have been it? And can anyone provide > confirmation? Was it ever licensed/operational? > > Thanx, > > Dave > > From kvahey@gmail.com Mon Nov 29 04:01:52 2021 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2021 04:01:52 -0500 Subject: WBCN, Channel-13, and the old Hancock tower In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: WERS signed on from the Hancock in 1949 On Mon, Nov 29, 2021 at 3:18 AM Eli Polonsky wrote: > > Though there appears to be no mention of this in station histories on > either bostonradio.org or Wikipedia, I seem to recall that the old WHDH-FM > 94.5 also used to transmit from the old Hancock in the 1960's, along with > 104.1 WBCN. I'm guessing that it probably did through the 1950's as well. > > I don't know when the 94.5 transmitter was moved to the "FM-128" tower at > 1165 Chestnut St. Newton Upper Falls, but I think it was before. or around > when, WHDH-FM became WCOZ with its original "Cozy" beautiful music format > in 1972. I didn't pay much attention to WHDH-FM after it stopped playing > rock in the late '60s, so I didn't hear exactly when that happened. > > EP > > Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2021 14:55:13 -0500 > From: Dave > To: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org > Subject: WBCN, Channel-13, and the old Hancock tower > > > On the upper equipment floor of the old Hancock tower, colocated with > the WBCN transmitter was another, non-operating transmitter. Which may > have been a television transmitter. I have seen an old reference to a > Boston Channel-13. Could this have been it? And can anyone provide > confirmation? Was it ever licensed/operational? > > Thanx, > Dave From dlh@donnahalper.com Mon Nov 29 12:45:43 2021 From: dlh@donnahalper.com (Donna Halper) Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2021 12:45:43 -0500 Subject: WBCN, Channel-13, and the old Hancock tower In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: On 11/29/2021 4:01 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: > WERS signed on from the Hancock in 1949 From the article I wrote for the Emerson alumni magazine in 1998:? "Very few people outside of the Emerson community realized what a momentous occasion Monday, November 14, 1949 was. It had been preceded, on November 2, by a dedication ceremony, then a few days of equipment testing, and the granting of the license by the FCC on November 10th; on November 14th, Emerson's new FM station, WERS, turned on its transmitter officially.? The engineer who did it (G. Bradford Tiffany, class of 1951) recalls that there was no announcement, no major media blitz-- just a program test for a while, and then, a day or two later, regular broadcasts began-- from 2 pm to 8 pm weekdays." -- Donna L. Halper, PhD Associate Professor of Communication & Media Studies Lesley University, Cambridge MA From 011010001@interpring.com Mon Nov 29 13:27:11 2021 From: 011010001@interpring.com (Rob Landry) Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2021 13:27:11 -0500 (EST) Subject: WBCN, Channel-13, and the old Hancock tower In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I think WERS is the oldest surviving FM in the Boston market. The oldest in New England is, of course, WSRS. Rob On Mon, 29 Nov 2021, Donna Halper wrote: > From the article I wrote for the Emerson alumni magazine in 1998:? "Very few > people outside of the Emerson community realized what a momentous occasion > Monday, November 14, 1949 was. It had been preceded, on November 2, by a > dedication ceremony, then a few days of equipment testing, and the granting > of the license by the FCC on November 10th; on November 14th, Emerson's new > FM station, WERS, turned on its transmitter officially.? The engineer who did > it (G. Bradford Tiffany, class of 1951) recalls that there was no > announcement, no major media blitz-- just a program test for a while, and > then, a day or two later, regular broadcasts began-- from 2 pm to 8 pm > weekdays." From joe@attorneyross.com Mon Nov 29 16:22:48 2021 From: joe@attorneyross.com (A. Joseph Ross) Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2021 16:22:48 -0500 Subject: WBCN, Channel-13, and the old Hancock tower In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Since the FM-128 tower was originally the tower of WHDH-TV channel 5, I would have thought that WHDH-FM would have moved there around the time that WHDH-TV went on, which was November 1957. On 11/29/2021 2:44 AM, Eli Polonsky wrote: > Though there appears to be no mention of this in station histories on > either bostonradio.org or Wikipedia, I seem to recall that the old WHDH-FM > 94.5 also used to transmit from the old Hancock in the 1960's, along with > 104.1 WBCN. I'm guessing that it probably did through the 1950's as well. > > I don't know when the 94.5 transmitter was moved to the "FM-128" tower at > 1165 Chestnut St. Newton Upper Falls, but I think it was before. or around > when, WHDH-FM became WCOZ with its original "Cozy" beautiful music format > in 1972. I didn't pay much attention to WHDH-FM after it stopped playing > rock in the late '60s, so I didn't hear exactly when that happened. > > EP > > Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2021 14:55:13 -0500 > From: Dave > To:boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org > Subject: WBCN, Channel-13, and the old Hancock tower > >> On the upper equipment floor of the old Hancock tower, colocated with > the WBCN transmitter was another, non-operating transmitter. Which may > have been a television transmitter. I have seen an old reference to a > Boston Channel-13. Could this have been it? And can anyone provide > confirmation? Was it ever licensed/operational? > > Thanx, > Dave -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459-2004 617.367.0468 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From scott@fybush.com Mon Nov 29 16:31:37 2021 From: scott@fybush.com (Scott Fybush) Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2021 16:31:37 -0500 Subject: WBCN, Channel-13, and the old Hancock tower In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <2a171201-9b67-17ea-cae6-7d23db069290@fybush.com> Now that the FCC history cards are scanned and available to all, we needn't guess anymore. (I wish I'd had access to those resources when I wrote those bostonradio.org histories 25+ years ago!) WHDH-FM was originally applied for on 105.7 from Bear Hill in Waltham in 1947. The 88-108 FM band assignments were realigned in 1948, moving WHDH-FM's permit to 94.5 from the old Hancock. It signed on there in 1949. In 1959, WHDH-FM applied to move to the new WHDH-TV tower in Newton. The license to cover that move was granted 10/8/63. The only major Boston FM station that has stayed in the same location longer is, of course, WGBH, now past 70 years on Blue Hill. s On 11/29/2021 4:22 PM, A. Joseph Ross wrote: > Since the FM-128 tower was originally the tower of WHDH-TV channel 5, I > would have thought that WHDH-FM would have moved there around the time > that WHDH-TV went on, which was November 1957. > > On 11/29/2021 2:44 AM, Eli Polonsky wrote: >> Though there appears to be no mention of this in station histories on >> either bostonradio.org or Wikipedia, I seem to recall that the old >> WHDH-FM >> 94.5 also used to transmit from the old Hancock in the 1960's, along with >> 104.1 WBCN. I'm guessing that it probably did through the 1950's as well. >> >> I don't know when the 94.5 transmitter was moved to the "FM-128" tower at >> 1165 Chestnut St. Newton Upper Falls, but I think it was before. or >> around >> when, WHDH-FM became WCOZ with its original "Cozy" beautiful music format >> in 1972. I didn't pay much attention to WHDH-FM after it stopped playing >> rock in the late '60s, so I didn't hear exactly when that happened. >> >> EP >> >> Date: Wed, 24 Nov 2021 14:55:13 -0500 >> From: Dave >> To:boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org >> Subject: WBCN, Channel-13, and the old Hancock tower >> >>> On the upper equipment floor of the old Hancock tower, colocated with >> the WBCN transmitter was another, non-operating transmitter.? Which may >> have been a television transmitter.? I have seen an old reference to a >> Boston Channel-13.? Could this have been it?? And can anyone provide >> confirmation?? Was it ever licensed/operational? >> >> Thanx, >> Dave > From kvahey@gmail.com Tue Nov 30 02:17:56 2021 From: kvahey@gmail.com (Kevin Vahey) Date: Tue, 30 Nov 2021 02:17:56 -0500 Subject: WBCN, Channel-13, and the old Hancock tower In-Reply-To: <9cc6133f-35d7-93e7-f259-b5d054b148b7@attorneyross.com> References: <9cc6133f-35d7-93e7-f259-b5d054b148b7@attorneyross.com> Message-ID: What was WMTW-FM today is WHOM 94.9 and a good car radio can lock into the signal from just north of Boston to Montreal. On Tue, Nov 30, 2021 at 1:44 AM A Joseph Ross wrote: > > What the Wikipedia article misses is that there once was also a WMTW-FM on Mt. Washington. I got its signal in Bedford, MA back in the early 1960s. I remember it being affiliated with the Concert Network. > > On 11/29/2021 3:02 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: > > WMTW-TV rivaled WMUR-TV for being a barebones operation in those days. > > The OTA signal from Mt Washington was inferior to Channels 6 and 13 in > Portland and Channels 3 and 5 in Burlington. > > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WMTW_(TV) > > Portland, Maine actually had 3 VHF stations before any other market in > New England. but WMTW was never a major player in Southern Maine which > remains true to this day. > > On Mon, Nov 29, 2021 at 1:08 AM A Joseph Ross wrote: > > Why would there have been a Boston end of a WMTW-TV microwave link? That > was channel 8 in Poland Springs, Maine. > > On 11/24/2021 2:55 PM, Dave wrote: > > On 11/24/21 12:00 PM, > boston-radio-interest-request@lists.BostonRadio.org wrote: > > From: A Joseph Ross > Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2021 23:44:19 -0500 > Subject: Re: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN > > I wonder if anyone is left who ran the original WBCN and > the Concert Network. I wonder how many people are left, > besides me, who were listeners in those days. > > Ahhh. WBCN. > > Long time lurker, I'm going to finally crawl out from under this rock. > > My father, Jim Bonney was the titular Chief Engineer for WBCN in the > 50's/60's. And once, while he was on vacation, I made $ subbing in > for him doing the weekly transmitter checks and log signing on the > 27th/28th upper equipment floor of the old Hancock tower. Does that > qualify me as 'working' for WBCN? > > As a kid I would frequently accompany him on his rounds when he did > his weekly station visits. He built and was full-time Chief Engineer > for WBUR but also, over the years, had 'Chief Operator' responsibility > for WBCN, WERS, WPAW/WXTR, the Boston end of the WMTW-TV microwave > link, a radio-page company, and other stations/facilities too numerous > and/or lost in my memory to remember right now. > > Once at WBCN I even got to stand on top of the Hancock weather beacon > when the tower monkey's were servicing the antenna. Going up the > stairs inside the flashing blue beacon was a memory-maker. > > Which brings me around to a Question I've had for years: > > On the upper equipment floor of the old Hancock tower, colocated with > the WBCN transmitter was another, non-operating transmitter. Which may > have been a television transmitter. I have seen an old reference to a > Boston Channel-13. Could this have been it? And can anyone provide > confirmation? Was it ever licensed/operational? > > Thanx, > > Dave > > > -- > A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 > 617.367.0468 ? http://www.attorneyross.com > > > -- > A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 > 617.367.0468 ? http://www.attorneyross.com From billohno@gmail.com Tue Nov 30 04:25:23 2021 From: billohno@gmail.com (billohno@gmail.com) Date: Tue, 30 Nov 2021 04:25:23 -0500 Subject: WBCN, Channel-13, and the old Hancock tower In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <72D67D59-2313-4A74-ACA1-CABCC9843CE2@gmail.com> > On Nov 30, 2021, at 2:19 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: > > ?What was WMTW-FM today is WHOM 94.9 and a good car radio can lock into > the signal from just north of Boston to Montreal When we relocated from Lowell, Mass. to Shoreham, Vermont in 2000, the two OTA stations I was able to bring with me were WBZ on the AM side and WHOM on the FM side, the latter of which boasts a decent signal just about wherever I drive throughout the state. Bill O?Neill > > > >> On Tue, Nov 30, 2021 at 1:44 AM A Joseph Ross wrote: >> >> What the Wikipedia article misses is that there once was also a WMTW-FM on Mt. Washington. I got its signal in Bedford, MA back in the early 1960s. I remember it being affiliated with the Concert Network. >> >> On 11/29/2021 3:02 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: >> >> WMTW-TV rivaled WMUR-TV for being a barebones operation in those days. >> >> The OTA signal from Mt Washington was inferior to Channels 6 and 13 in >> Portland and Channels 3 and 5 in Burlington. >> >> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WMTW_(TV) >> >> Portland, Maine actually had 3 VHF stations before any other market in >> New England. but WMTW was never a major player in Southern Maine which >> remains true to this day. >> >> On Mon, Nov 29, 2021 at 1:08 AM A Joseph Ross wrote: >> >> Why would there have been a Boston end of a WMTW-TV microwave link? That >> was channel 8 in Poland Springs, Maine. >> >> On 11/24/2021 2:55 PM, Dave wrote: >> >> On 11/24/21 12:00 PM, >> boston-radio-interest-request@lists.BostonRadio.org wrote: >> >> From: A Joseph Ross >> Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2021 23:44:19 -0500 >> Subject: Re: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN >> >> I wonder if anyone is left who ran the original WBCN and >> the Concert Network. I wonder how many people are left, >> besides me, who were listeners in those days. >> >> Ahhh. WBCN. >> >> Long time lurker, I'm going to finally crawl out from under this rock. >> >> My father, Jim Bonney was the titular Chief Engineer for WBCN in the >> 50's/60's. And once, while he was on vacation, I made $ subbing in >> for him doing the weekly transmitter checks and log signing on the >> 27th/28th upper equipment floor of the old Hancock tower. Does that >> qualify me as 'working' for WBCN? >> >> As a kid I would frequently accompany him on his rounds when he did >> his weekly station visits. He built and was full-time Chief Engineer >> for WBUR but also, over the years, had 'Chief Operator' responsibility >> for WBCN, WERS, WPAW/WXTR, the Boston end of the WMTW-TV microwave >> link, a radio-page company, and other stations/facilities too numerous >> and/or lost in my memory to remember right now. >> >> Once at WBCN I even got to stand on top of the Hancock weather beacon >> when the tower monkey's were servicing the antenna. Going up the >> stairs inside the flashing blue beacon was a memory-maker. >> >> Which brings me around to a Question I've had for years: >> >> On the upper equipment floor of the old Hancock tower, colocated with >> the WBCN transmitter was another, non-operating transmitter. Which may >> have been a television transmitter. I have seen an old reference to a >> Boston Channel-13. Could this have been it? And can anyone provide >> confirmation? Was it ever licensed/operational? >> >> Thanx, >> >> Dave >> >> >> -- >> A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 >> 617.367.0468 ? http://www.attorneyross.com >> >> >> -- >> A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 >> 617.367.0468 ? http://www.attorneyross.com > From 011010001@interpring.com Tue Nov 30 08:34:32 2021 From: 011010001@interpring.com (Rob Landry) Date: Tue, 30 Nov 2021 08:34:32 -0500 (EST) Subject: WBCN, Channel-13, and the old Hancock tower In-Reply-To: <72D67D59-2313-4A74-ACA1-CABCC9843CE2@gmail.com> References: <72D67D59-2313-4A74-ACA1-CABCC9843CE2@gmail.com> Message-ID: If I'm not mistaken, WHOM has the largest coverage area of any FM station in the country. Before all the drop-ins, it could be heard from Montreal to Block Island. Concert Network used it as an intercity relay among its other stations, but never owned WHOM. Rob On Tue, 30 Nov 2021, billohno@gmail.com wrote: > > >> On Nov 30, 2021, at 2:19 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: >> >> ?What was WMTW-FM today is WHOM 94.9 and a good car radio can lock into >> the signal from just north of Boston to Montreal > > When we relocated from Lowell, Mass. to Shoreham, Vermont in 2000, the two OTA stations I was able to bring with me were WBZ on the AM side and WHOM on the FM side, the latter of which boasts a decent signal just about wherever I drive throughout the state. > > Bill O?Neill > > >> >> >> >>> On Tue, Nov 30, 2021 at 1:44 AM A Joseph Ross wrote: >>> >>> What the Wikipedia article misses is that there once was also a WMTW-FM on Mt. Washington. I got its signal in Bedford, MA back in the early 1960s. I remember it being affiliated with the Concert Network. >>> >>> On 11/29/2021 3:02 AM, Kevin Vahey wrote: >>> >>> WMTW-TV rivaled WMUR-TV for being a barebones operation in those days. >>> >>> The OTA signal from Mt Washington was inferior to Channels 6 and 13 in >>> Portland and Channels 3 and 5 in Burlington. >>> >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WMTW_(TV) >>> >>> Portland, Maine actually had 3 VHF stations before any other market in >>> New England. but WMTW was never a major player in Southern Maine which >>> remains true to this day. >>> >>> On Mon, Nov 29, 2021 at 1:08 AM A Joseph Ross wrote: >>> >>> Why would there have been a Boston end of a WMTW-TV microwave link? That >>> was channel 8 in Poland Springs, Maine. >>> >>> On 11/24/2021 2:55 PM, Dave wrote: >>> >>> On 11/24/21 12:00 PM, >>> boston-radio-interest-request@lists.BostonRadio.org wrote: >>> >>> From: A Joseph Ross >>> Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2021 23:44:19 -0500 >>> Subject: Re: RIP Al Perry - former GM of WBCN >>> >>> I wonder if anyone is left who ran the original WBCN and >>> the Concert Network. I wonder how many people are left, >>> besides me, who were listeners in those days. >>> >>> Ahhh. WBCN. >>> >>> Long time lurker, I'm going to finally crawl out from under this rock. >>> >>> My father, Jim Bonney was the titular Chief Engineer for WBCN in the >>> 50's/60's. And once, while he was on vacation, I made $ subbing in >>> for him doing the weekly transmitter checks and log signing on the >>> 27th/28th upper equipment floor of the old Hancock tower. Does that >>> qualify me as 'working' for WBCN? >>> >>> As a kid I would frequently accompany him on his rounds when he did >>> his weekly station visits. He built and was full-time Chief Engineer >>> for WBUR but also, over the years, had 'Chief Operator' responsibility >>> for WBCN, WERS, WPAW/WXTR, the Boston end of the WMTW-TV microwave >>> link, a radio-page company, and other stations/facilities too numerous >>> and/or lost in my memory to remember right now. >>> >>> Once at WBCN I even got to stand on top of the Hancock weather beacon >>> when the tower monkey's were servicing the antenna. Going up the >>> stairs inside the flashing blue beacon was a memory-maker. >>> >>> Which brings me around to a Question I've had for years: >>> >>> On the upper equipment floor of the old Hancock tower, colocated with >>> the WBCN transmitter was another, non-operating transmitter. Which may >>> have been a television transmitter. I have seen an old reference to a >>> Boston Channel-13. Could this have been it? And can anyone provide >>> confirmation? Was it ever licensed/operational? >>> >>> Thanx, >>> >>> Dave >>> >>> >>> -- >>> A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 >>> 617.367.0468 ? http://www.attorneyross.com >>> >>> >>> -- >>> A. Joseph Ross, J.D. ? 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 ? Newton, MA 02459 >>> 617.367.0468 ? http://www.attorneyross.com >> >