I forgot to mention WRLM and WBET
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A
argytunes
Guest
Here's one I'll bet you can't answer? And it's related to the topic!
If ALL of us really missed the aforementioned radio stations that much....why didn't the listeners complain when they went through format or personnel changes? Moreover...why didn't we (as listeners) threaten to withdraw advertiser support if the on-air product was terrible?
Instead of reminiscing about the good old days, what's wrong with calling attention and possibly doing something about what's on the air NOW?
I'm not going to make a case for satellite radio...but honestly...some of the "pay radio formats" are much more interesting to listen to than some of the syndicated crap that's playing on many stations these days! :
argytunes
If ALL of us really missed the aforementioned radio stations that much....why didn't the listeners complain when they went through format or personnel changes? Moreover...why didn't we (as listeners) threaten to withdraw advertiser support if the on-air product was terrible?
Instead of reminiscing about the good old days, what's wrong with calling attention and possibly doing something about what's on the air NOW?
I'm not going to make a case for satellite radio...but honestly...some of the "pay radio formats" are much more interesting to listen to than some of the syndicated crap that's playing on many stations these days! :
argytunes
...Here's one I'll bet you can't answer?....
Maybe, maybe not.
...If ALL of us really missed the aforementioned radio stations that much....why didn't the listeners complain when they went through format or personnel changes?...
Well, there is no evidence that people didn't complain. In fact, in my experience, there were always complaints whenever the smallest change was made...every format, program, and on-air personality had their loyal supporters. Stations used to brace for the usual barage of complaints. Unfortunately for the complainers, their complaints had been overtaken by events. I can't think of one station which switched because they had too many listeners or were making too much money. When your audience is heading south, you change with the times and try to find format that works.
Of course, switches happened for myiad reasons. WEZE had a small but loyal following for their album oriented soft rock, but when they were sold to Stu Epperson, a religious operator, they were going religion...that's why Epperson bought them. Same with the lot of other stations which changed hands. Changing format and talent was why the new owners bought them. Sometimes, corporate owners were converting all their O&Os to standard formats (as CBS did with News on the AMs, such as WEEI (the 590 one.) And sometimes some formats (say, music of your life) that weren't commercially viable on a major metro station were viable on smaller stations who could survive with niche formats and small audiences
The big AM music stations had no choice. It was change or go broke. By the time WRKO ditched rock, the rock audience had already migrated to FM. Ten thousand letters weren't going to get them to forget about the 250,000 listeners who had voted with their feet.
..... Moreover...why didn't we (as listeners) threaten to withdraw advertiser support if the on-air product was terrible? ....
1, because secondary boycotts almost never work, 2, the big advertisers judge whether the on-air product is terrible by looking into a Arbitron book. You may write to me telling my my air product sucks, but if I'm doing a 7 where I used to do a 2.5, your letter will be rocketed into the 'nut' file. Same with advertisers. You can tell them you're never going to buy another one of their widgets because they advertise on the Joe Blow show, but if their books tell them sales are up 10% since they added Joe Blow to their ad mix, they will politely thank you for your imput and figure that your lack of patronage is just a cost of doing business.
Only only successful listener intervention that I can recall in Boston is when WBZ fired Brudnoy and then had to hire him back.
The big difference there was that Brudnoy, at the time of his firing, was doing big numbers, and making money for the station, and was fired for lifestyle issues by a disapproving GM.
Since his firing didn't involve any rational business or audience reason the adverse listener reaction had a lot of traction, and worked.
Instead of reminiscing about the good old days, what's wrong with calling attention and possibly doing something about what's on the air NOW?
Do exactly what? If the format is working for them, they don't care what you think. If it isn't working, they'll try to fix it...that's what management is paid to do. It's why they pay GMs and program directors rather than just hire another secretary receptionist to answer the phones.
I'm not going to make a case for satellite radio...but honestly...some of the "pay radio formats" are much more interesting to listen to than some of the syndicated crap that's playing on many stations these days!
Well, the sat radio business model is a lot different than the commercial terrestrial radio one, and the terrestrial one seems to be working and the sat one is on life support. Right now, the sat ops are pleading with the Feds to let them change that model before they turn into one or two of the biggest bust-outs in business history. Most brokerage houses don't like what they see and wonder if it can ever really work the way it is set up. It seems to be a cure for which there was no known disease.
Regards.
TSB
Maybe, maybe not.
...If ALL of us really missed the aforementioned radio stations that much....why didn't the listeners complain when they went through format or personnel changes?...
Well, there is no evidence that people didn't complain. In fact, in my experience, there were always complaints whenever the smallest change was made...every format, program, and on-air personality had their loyal supporters. Stations used to brace for the usual barage of complaints. Unfortunately for the complainers, their complaints had been overtaken by events. I can't think of one station which switched because they had too many listeners or were making too much money. When your audience is heading south, you change with the times and try to find format that works.
Of course, switches happened for myiad reasons. WEZE had a small but loyal following for their album oriented soft rock, but when they were sold to Stu Epperson, a religious operator, they were going religion...that's why Epperson bought them. Same with the lot of other stations which changed hands. Changing format and talent was why the new owners bought them. Sometimes, corporate owners were converting all their O&Os to standard formats (as CBS did with News on the AMs, such as WEEI (the 590 one.) And sometimes some formats (say, music of your life) that weren't commercially viable on a major metro station were viable on smaller stations who could survive with niche formats and small audiences
The big AM music stations had no choice. It was change or go broke. By the time WRKO ditched rock, the rock audience had already migrated to FM. Ten thousand letters weren't going to get them to forget about the 250,000 listeners who had voted with their feet.
..... Moreover...why didn't we (as listeners) threaten to withdraw advertiser support if the on-air product was terrible? ....
1, because secondary boycotts almost never work, 2, the big advertisers judge whether the on-air product is terrible by looking into a Arbitron book. You may write to me telling my my air product sucks, but if I'm doing a 7 where I used to do a 2.5, your letter will be rocketed into the 'nut' file. Same with advertisers. You can tell them you're never going to buy another one of their widgets because they advertise on the Joe Blow show, but if their books tell them sales are up 10% since they added Joe Blow to their ad mix, they will politely thank you for your imput and figure that your lack of patronage is just a cost of doing business.
Only only successful listener intervention that I can recall in Boston is when WBZ fired Brudnoy and then had to hire him back.
The big difference there was that Brudnoy, at the time of his firing, was doing big numbers, and making money for the station, and was fired for lifestyle issues by a disapproving GM.
Since his firing didn't involve any rational business or audience reason the adverse listener reaction had a lot of traction, and worked.
Instead of reminiscing about the good old days, what's wrong with calling attention and possibly doing something about what's on the air NOW?
Do exactly what? If the format is working for them, they don't care what you think. If it isn't working, they'll try to fix it...that's what management is paid to do. It's why they pay GMs and program directors rather than just hire another secretary receptionist to answer the phones.
I'm not going to make a case for satellite radio...but honestly...some of the "pay radio formats" are much more interesting to listen to than some of the syndicated crap that's playing on many stations these days!
Well, the sat radio business model is a lot different than the commercial terrestrial radio one, and the terrestrial one seems to be working and the sat one is on life support. Right now, the sat ops are pleading with the Feds to let them change that model before they turn into one or two of the biggest bust-outs in business history. Most brokerage houses don't like what they see and wonder if it can ever really work the way it is set up. It seems to be a cure for which there was no known disease.
Regards.
TSB
K
KWUM
Guest
The best/only radio station that I listened to was WILD fm.. It had the best music - classic soul and r&b and great informative intelligent conversation as well..I was deeply upset and saddened when the station was sold..nothing like it.. Jamin 94.5 tries to be is a joke and could not compare .. nothing on the fm dial worth listening to now.. just canned pop, nails on chalkboard metal, and vapid blatherin talk prgramming
W
webcastboy
Guest
Speaking of the original question here...I miss the old 103.7 WWRX when it was Classic Rock with Imus in the morning...back before Imus was an ocean of suck. The no repeats thing was a cliche, and they stretched what "classic rock" meant...but it did help make for a decent variety of pretty good stuff.
I also used to have 98.7 WXZR (Z-Rock) on my car radio ALL the time while growing up in Connecticut. That station kicked ass...usually 9 out of 10 songs was something I liked to listen to. Since then, no station, satellite or webcast has ever come close to that ratio. Of course, that could be reflective of how badly my taste in music sucked when I was growing up. (damn did it ever!) But hell, I was entertained and I suppose that's all that matters for a station like that.
Can't say there's any station in Boston that I miss, even after living here more than a decade. But I'm still undecided if I miss WERS's old block format or not.
I also used to have 98.7 WXZR (Z-Rock) on my car radio ALL the time while growing up in Connecticut. That station kicked ass...usually 9 out of 10 songs was something I liked to listen to. Since then, no station, satellite or webcast has ever come close to that ratio. Of course, that could be reflective of how badly my taste in music sucked when I was growing up. (damn did it ever!)
But hell, I was entertained and I suppose that's all that matters for a station like that.Can't say there's any station in Boston that I miss, even after living here more than a decade. But I'm still undecided if I miss WERS's old block format or not.
F
FPB
Guest
>WCAS 740 am 1973-1979<
>
Agreed. Also, WADN, Walden1120.
>Seriously, though...I miss Allston-Brighton Free Radio<
>
Agreed here, too. We really thought we might be The Little Station that Could. Maybe someday we will!
Others I miss:
WCRN 2000 - 2003 with their swing format
WRCA- when they had a great eclectic mix of show tunes and old-time radio.
WFNX, but only when they first started. They were small, fiesty and they didn't suck.
WJDA -even if they were canned for most of the day, they were a great little station.
And back in the '60's my childhood heroes - WDRC, 1360, Hartford, CT. They had a music director who KNEW how to pick hits, and they had a TON of awards to prove it. They even get mention at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.
>
Agreed. Also, WADN, Walden1120.
>Seriously, though...I miss Allston-Brighton Free Radio<
>
Agreed here, too. We really thought we might be The Little Station that Could. Maybe someday we will!
Others I miss:
WCRN 2000 - 2003 with their swing format
WRCA- when they had a great eclectic mix of show tunes and old-time radio.
WFNX, but only when they first started. They were small, fiesty and they didn't suck.
WJDA -even if they were canned for most of the day, they were a great little station.
And back in the '60's my childhood heroes - WDRC, 1360, Hartford, CT. They had a music director who KNEW how to pick hits, and they had a TON of awards to prove it. They even get mention at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.
O
oomboppamaumau
Guest
WESX in the a.m., with their folksy newsreader (a Mr. Needham?). All the "big doings" in Salem, Marblehead, Peabody (fires and car accidents, mainly!) and the metropolis that surrounds them! That must have been an even better station before it went mainly bird-fed.
Second that WCRN-swing-era vote, as well. Sounded a lot like the evening schedule today on "AM 740" out of Toronto.
Second that WCRN-swing-era vote, as well. Sounded a lot like the evening schedule today on "AM 740" out of Toronto.
My two mossed missed stations
a) V66,where The music format was a cross between progressive rock and urban contemporary, in a style appealing to those who were fans of BOTH progressive rock and urban contemporary.
b)WLLH in the mid 70s. It had community based news (for my area) AND music.
a) V66,where The music format was a cross between progressive rock and urban contemporary, in a style appealing to those who were fans of BOTH progressive rock and urban contemporary.
b)WLLH in the mid 70s. It had community based news (for my area) AND music.
mgpt6 said:
Nor does WBPX.
mgpt6 said:
WVJV-TV (better known as "V-66") was THE very FIRST TV station in the Boston market to operate in Stereo, from the very first day they turned on, in early 1985. WGBH-TV (PBS, Channel 2) followed soon thereafter. By the fall of 1985, WBZ, WCVB and WNEV went Stereo as well as did Providence's WJAR and WPRI.
M
masscarnage99
Guest
I miss WIQH 88.3 back in the 90's if this station is even still running. I could get it in Billerica from its little 10 watt transmitter. I remember them upgrading to 100 watts I for a brief time but then it suddenly disappeared one day. Also WBMT, another station that was not an easy catch when I had moved to Chelmsford in 1995.
I never thought I would say this but the former incarnation of 92.9 WBOS is my most-missed station.
Unfortunately I'm just out of the range of WXRV (unless all the stars are aligned just right) so WBOS was my AAA station of choice.
As Joni Mitchell writes in her hit song Big Yellow Taxi - "Don’t it always seem to go that you don't know what you’ve got ‘Til it's gone"
Unfortunately I'm just out of the range of WXRV (unless all the stars are aligned just right) so WBOS was my AAA station of choice.
As Joni Mitchell writes in her hit song Big Yellow Taxi - "Don’t it always seem to go that you don't know what you’ve got ‘Til it's gone"
A
ArtSpooner
Guest
WBZ, when their lineup was as follows:
Carl DeSuze
Dave Maynard
Jay Dunn
Jefferson Kaye
Bruce Bradley
Dick Summer
Actually I miss not being seventeen, more than I miss the radio station.
Carl DeSuze
Dave Maynard
Jay Dunn
Jefferson Kaye
Bruce Bradley
Dick Summer
Actually I miss not being seventeen, more than I miss the radio station.
In no certain order........
1. WRKO-FM/98.5 (1966-1968) Top 40/oldies hybrid with "ARKO, the shy but friendly robot!"
2. WROR/98.5 (1968-1979) "Hit Parade, '68, '69, '70" and "The Golden Great, 98!" (oldies)
3. WVBF/105.7 (1971-1976) "Stereo 105", Top 40/Rocker ("EEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeelectronic Mama!")
4. WCOP-FM/100.7 (1973-1974) "Total Gold 101", Drake-Chenault Oldies during the one year oldies war against WROR.
5. WCGY/93.7 (1974-1979) "The Rock Garden" and (1980-1984) during "Blue Suede Radio", oldies
honorable mention to WACQ ("1150/The Q"). Probably one of the best sounding AM stations around. Great format. Also WCAV/97.7 (1976-1979), "The FM Cave" Top 40/oldies.
73,
Peter Q. George (K1XRB)
Whitman, Massachusetts
1. WRKO-FM/98.5 (1966-1968) Top 40/oldies hybrid with "ARKO, the shy but friendly robot!"
2. WROR/98.5 (1968-1979) "Hit Parade, '68, '69, '70" and "The Golden Great, 98!" (oldies)
3. WVBF/105.7 (1971-1976) "Stereo 105", Top 40/Rocker ("EEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeelectronic Mama!")
4. WCOP-FM/100.7 (1973-1974) "Total Gold 101", Drake-Chenault Oldies during the one year oldies war against WROR.
5. WCGY/93.7 (1974-1979) "The Rock Garden" and (1980-1984) during "Blue Suede Radio", oldies
honorable mention to WACQ ("1150/The Q"). Probably one of the best sounding AM stations around. Great format. Also WCAV/97.7 (1976-1979), "The FM Cave" Top 40/oldies.
73,
Peter Q. George (K1XRB)
Whitman, Massachusetts
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