• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Who’s minding the “store”?

D

DavidZ

Last night at 7 p.m. I turned my radio to Entercom’s Central Massachusetts sports leader WVEI-AM 1440 in Worcester to find out the final score of the Boston Red Sox game. Imagine my surprise (well, not really) when I heard a legal ID for Citadel’s WSKO-AM/FM “The score” in Providence, Rhode Island. I’m not sure if they were in the process of just leaving the Pawtucket Red Sox broadcast, but either way, it’s no excuse to give the legal Id of a competing company’s sports stations. I finally heard a legal Id for WVEI around 7:10.

As I pointed out in an earlier post about the Celtics, WVEI is the forgotten step-child of Entercom’s Massachusetts stations. It was only purchased by Entercom because it came as a package with sister station WAAF. Since they pulled the local programs several years ago (Gary Tanguay & Greg Dickerson broke into broadcasting at WVEI - then known as WWTM "Worcester's team"), they treat the central Massachusetts station as nothing more than a repeater for the “mother” ship. If anyone in Providence believes that local Rhode Island programming will be added to WEEI-FM, I don’t think it will ever happen in spite of their “promises” when they purchased the station.

IMHO, Entercom should sell WVEI so that Central Massachusetts could get an owner that would return local programming at least in morning and afternoon drive. Although the signal quality at night is not the best, it does have a great day time signal that could prove successful with local programming in one of the fastest growing areas of Massachusetts.
 
Speaking of localism...

It's all about the money... Entercom might sell if offered some cash, but I'm sure that promising advertisers 'bonuses' on WVEI pays the bills.

You know, speaking of localism, do any of you remember when 1440 was WFTQ (14-Q) - a good Pop music station in AM stereo? It was a shame that station had to go. They did some cool TV ads as I recall. And while I'm on the subject - around the same time period (early 1980s) WORC was live Top 40 and kicking serious Worcester A$$. Then they went country, also in AM Stereo and sounded pretty damn good through the late 80s. But nobody could beat market leading WTAG. Knight Quality did such a great job with 580. From an audio quality standpoint, they sounded better, be it in mono or in AM Stereo than WBZ -which USED to have the best sound in New England before IBOC ruined things (but I digress). Remember the programming? Music up until 1988, then Rush displaced my ol' friend from Athol, Rick (Brackett) Bellamy in Mid-Days... then talk shortly after. As I recall, Paul Tuthill was doing news all the time on WTAG.

Sorry... just broke my own rule about staying on topic LOL.

> IMHO, Entercom should sell WVEI so that Central
> Massachusetts could get an owner that would return local
> programming at least in morning and afternoon drive.
> Although the signal quality at night is not the best, it
> does have a great day time signal that could prove
> successful with local programming in one of the fastest
> growing areas of Massachusetts.
> <P ID="signature">______________
</P>
 
Retro WORC (Was: Re: Speaking of localism...)

Steve West recalls:

> And while I'm on the subject
> - around the same time period (early 1980s) WORC was live
> Top 40 and kicking serious Worcester A$$. Then they went
> country, also in AM Stereo and sounded pretty damn good
> through the late 80s. But nobody could beat market leading
> WTAG.

Wasn't WORC a top-40 station from the late 1950's through the mid 1980's??
 
Re: Speaking of localism...Worcester's 14WFTQ

Yes, I do remember Worcester's 14WFTQ...Actually, I worked there from 1979 till 1987. It was an excellent full-service station with a great morning team, solid news and weather reporting, great personalities, and Celtics basketball. It actually beat WTAG in the key 25-54 demo in book after book after book in the early and mid 80s. Not bad for a station at 1440 AM!

Dave

> It's all about the money... Entercom might sell if offered
> some cash, but I'm sure that promising advertisers 'bonuses'
> on WVEI pays the bills.
>
> You know, speaking of localism, do any of you remember when
> 1440 was WFTQ (14-Q) - a good Pop music station in AM
> stereo? It was a shame that station had to go. They did
> some cool TV ads as I recall. And while I'm on the subject
> - around the same time period (early 1980s) WORC was live
> Top 40 and kicking serious Worcester A$$. Then they went
> country, also in AM Stereo and sounded pretty damn good
> through the late 80s. But nobody could beat market leading
> WTAG. Knight Quality did such a great job with 580. From
> an audio quality standpoint, they sounded better, be it in
> mono or in AM Stereo than WBZ -which USED to have the best
> sound in New England before IBOC ruined things (but I
> digress). Remember the programming? Music up until 1988,
> then Rush displaced my ol' friend from Athol, Rick
> (Brackett) Bellamy in Mid-Days... then talk shortly after.
> As I recall, Paul Tuthill was doing news all the time on
> WTAG.
>
> Sorry... just broke my own rule about staying on topic LOL.
>
> > IMHO, Entercom should sell WVEI so that Central
> > Massachusetts could get an owner that would return local
> > programming at least in morning and afternoon drive.
> > Although the signal quality at night is not the best, it
> > does have a great day time signal that could prove
> > successful with local programming in one of the fastest
> > growing areas of Massachusetts.
> >
>
 
Re: Retro WORC (Was: Re: Speaking of localism...)

> Steve West recalls:
>
> > And while I'm on the subject
> > - around the same time period (early 1980s) WORC was live
> > Top 40 and kicking serious Worcester A$$. Then they went
> > country, also in AM Stereo and sounded pretty damn good
> > through the late 80s. But nobody could beat market leading
> > WTAG.
>
> Wasn't WORC a top-40 station from the late 1950's through
> the mid 1980's??

Yes, and also an Oldies station, still in AM stereo, in the late 80's and early 90's. I think that was after they were country. Dave O'Gara, currently on WORC-FM (98.9) was PD.
 
Re: Speaking of localism...

> You know, speaking of localism, do any of you remember when
> 1440 was WFTQ (14-Q) - a good Pop music station in AM
> stereo?

It still runs the AM Stereo carrier today as WVEI, though all the program material is mono.
 
Re: Retro WORC (Was: Re: Speaking of localism...)

> > Steve West recalls:
> >
> > > And while I'm on the subject
> > > - around the same time period (early 1980s) WORC was
> live
> > > Top 40 and kicking serious Worcester A$$. Then they
> went
> > > country, also in AM Stereo and sounded pretty damn good
> > > through the late 80s. But nobody could beat market
> leading
> > > WTAG.
> >
> > Wasn't WORC a top-40 station from the late 1950's through
> > the mid 1980's??
>
> Yes, and also an Oldies station, still in AM stereo, in the
> late 80's and early 90's. I think that was after they were
> country. Dave O'Gara, currently on WORC-FM (98.9) was PD.
>

It's one of those "depends on who you ask" sorta things, but WORC was allegedly the first radio station in America to spin a Beatles song.
 
Re: Retro WORC (Was: Re: Speaking of localism...)

> It's one of those "depends on who you ask" sorta things, but
> WORC was allegedly the first radio station in America to
> spin a Beatles song.

Apparently, there were many stations across the country that were playing rock'n'roll in the early 60's that were "the first in America to play a Beatles song".
 
Re: Retro WORC (Was: Re: Speaking of localism...)

> Yes, and also an Oldies station, still in AM stereo, in the
> late 80's and early 90's. I think that was after they were
> country. Dave O'Gara, currently on WORC-FM (98.9) was PD.
>

I remember 14Q ( I think my sister listened to that station alot) and I remember listening to WORC-AM wayyyyy back during my...hmmmm...grade school years probably. Always listened to Dave O'Gara in the mornings with Philip James Lagious doing the news.

Phil's news "out-tro": I'm Philip James Lagious, WORC News. Now, let's say Hello Dave O'Gara"

Both Dave and Phil together: "Helloooo Dave O'Gara"

For some reason, my mother always hated Phil's voice.

What Dave played as current hits back then, he is now playing as oldies 30 years later on WORC-FM.
30 years ago would bring us back to 1975. Anyone remember any of the on-air personalities from those days at WORC-AM?
 
Re: Retro WORC (Was: Re: Speaking of localism...)

> >
> > Wasn't WORC a top-40 station from the late 1950's through
> > the mid 1980's??
>
> Yes, and also an Oldies station, still in AM stereo, in the
> late 80's and early 90's.

Even though they were broadcasting in stereo, I'd say 95% of the music during that oldies incarnation was in mono...apparently they'd hung onto the old library thru the country phase (and it hadn't gotten pillaged too badly) and were using the original 45s and/or mono albums. I remember them playing a lot of low-charting songs and local hits.

Oddly, they went thru a brief period of doing classic rock before going talk...for some reason they turned OFF the stereo then.
 
Re: Retro WORC (Was: Re: Speaking of localism...)

Me too (on Phil's voice). It always reminded me of Bullwinkle.

Dave

> > Yes, and also an Oldies station, still in AM stereo, in
> the
> > late 80's and early 90's. I think that was after they were
>
> > country. Dave O'Gara, currently on WORC-FM (98.9) was PD.
> >
>
> I remember 14Q ( I think my sister listened to that station
> alot) and I remember listening to WORC-AM wayyyyy back
> during my...hmmmm...grade school years probably. Always
> listened to Dave O'Gara in the mornings with Philip James
> Lagious doing the news.
>
> Phil's news "out-tro": I'm Philip James Lagious, WORC News.
> Now, let's say Hello Dave O'Gara"
>
> Both Dave and Phil together: "Helloooo Dave O'Gara"
>
> For some reason, my mother always hated Phil's voice.
>
> What Dave played as current hits back then, he is now
> playing as oldies 30 years later on WORC-FM.
> 30 years ago would bring us back to 1975. Anyone remember
> any of the on-air personalities from those days at WORC-AM?
>
 
Re: Retro WORC (Was: Re: Speaking of localism...)

Didn't Bill Robert do afternoons on 14WFTQ for a while in the late 80's or early 90's? Anyone know what he's up to?


> > It's one of those "depends on who you ask" sorta things,
> but
> > WORC was allegedly the first radio station in America to
> > spin a Beatles song.
>
> Apparently, there were many stations across the country that
> were playing rock'n'roll in the early 60's that were "the
> first in America to play a Beatles song".
>
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom