WILD-AM Transmitting Dead Air

[Laurence Glavin]

On occasions for the past couple of days, WILD-AM has been transmitting an ok signal, but the program content so low it might as well be dead air. How's this 99 Revere Beach Parkway move working out?

 

[rapking]

WILD and Radio One is DEAD to Me . I hope they keep Transmitting Dead Air .

 

[raccoonradio]

They're currently doing (during weekdays) talk shows geared to the black community (including Rev Al,
Two Live Stews, Michael Eric Dyson, etc.
WILD has no site as of yet but here is Rev Al's:
http://www.sharptontalk.net/

 

[theAguy]

I thought that WILD was further down the road on what is called The Mystic Valley Parkway behind Sentry Ford with the old WEEI now WEZE Tower.

I think 99 Revere Beach Parway is where WXKS Am and the Kiss 108 relay tower is.

 

[raccoonradio]

bostonradio.org:
"2006 also saw a move of the WILD transmitter from its original site on Corporation Way in Medford (which was being taken for a new development) to a diplex on one tower of the WXKS(AM) site adjacent to the Wellington MBTA station, half a mile to the south. With the increased efficiency of the new tower, WILD's power changed from 5 kW days, 1 kW critical hours to 4.8 kW days, 1.9 kW critical hours."

 

[Eli Polonsky]

I've also heard some extremely low modulation on them at times very recently. Something could be intermittent...

Their engineering went down the tubes when they let engineer Grady Moates go a couple of years ago. He really cares about what the stations he works for sound like. After he was let go, they ran a mono mix in only one channel of their old AM stereo for a year, until they finally shut the stereo off. No one seems to care there any more.

 

[Neggy]

AGuy those are 590's sticks.

 

[flatcar]

Aside from Rap-King's taking the subject off-topic, The reason WILD is sounding so poorly is that they are transmitting out of a closet. The corporate engineers moved the station from a state-of-the-art studio to an old production room and left a "rat's nest" of loose cabling. Everytime you walk across the room, you trip over wiring. Grady was not "let go". He was a contract engineer and the corporate people decided he was not needed. Right now repairs are only made on as needed basis. Corporate took out the HD exciter for repair and hasn't been returned yet.

 

[Eli Polonsky]

Grady was not "let go". He was a contract engineer and the corporate people decided he was not needed. Right now repairs are only made on as needed basis.

It sounds like repairs are needed right about now...

 

[flatcar]

Yes they are, however the station is being moved again and as soon as they decide where to put them, I'll go and fix it.

 

[radiojay1]

To rapking

Rapking,
Take it from someone who's not black but listened to and used to enjoy 1090 WILD on a crappy signal in Johnston, RI. I love 70's and 80's old school music, and now I listen online to Magic 92.5 in San Diego. For years I thought Boston should have a Adult Urban Contemporary station on FM, but that too was only another dream, because unless you can start your own independent radio station, the commercial giants like Radio One only care about ratings and making money. Like they said, radio is a business, and business is all about money. If a format or station doesn't make money, it gets kicked to the curve. I do not like a lot of commercial radio station because of the music repitition, but still do listen to it when I am not able to access a computer. It's a shame that most radio stations today are driven only by ratings and money. I miss the days of when radio stations used to do their own thing, than the corperate monsters came and ate up most of the small independent radio stations, and turned them into repetitive (those that play music) money makers, playing only the "songs EVERYONE knows". I liked WILD because they had that local community feeling, and it was refreshing to hear classic soul music not being heard on several other stations. It seemed like the did their own thing, regardless of the other big music stations. At the time, I thought Radio One was not like the other corperate giants, because of the way WILD sounded. My feelings about Radio One changed when they had the chance to put WILD on FM, and instead, created another rap station. Now that really pissed me off. I thought Radio One was so stupid not to put the classic soul format on FM. So once they realized that Hot 97.7 wasn't going to compete with Jam'n 94.5, what do they do? They get rid of the station! I would think that they would put the classic soul format on 97.7 after the failure of Hot 97.7 Anyway, rapking, I know how you feel, but this is a business that no longer cares about what the listener has to say. They don't care about heritage, or formats that have been around for years, or how long someone have worked in the business, they only care about green pieces of paper with numbers on them. There are still some small independent radio stations around, but they are few and far between. Check out Magic 92.5 in San Diego. They are commercial, but they play some great old school. www.magic925.com

 

[rapking]

Re: To rapking

Rapking,
Take it from someone who's not black but listened to and used to enjoy 1090 WILD on a crappy signal in Johnston, RI. I love 70's and 80's old school music, and now I listen online to Magic 92.5 in San Diego. For years I thought Boston should have a Adult Urban Contemporary station on FM, but that too was only another dream, because unless you can start your own independent radio station, the commercial giants like Radio One only care about ratings and making money. Like they said, radio is a business, and business is all about money. If a format or station doesn't make money, it gets kicked to the curve. I do not like a lot of commercial radio station because of the music repitition, but still do listen to it when I am not able to access a computer. It's a shame that most radio stations today are driven only by ratings and money. I miss the days of when radio stations used to do their own thing, than the corperate monsters came and ate up most of the small independent radio stations, and turned them into repetitive (those that play music) money makers, playing only the "songs EVERYONE knows". I liked WILD because they had that local community feeling, and it was refreshing to hear classic soul music not being heard on several other stations. It seemed like the did their own thing, regardless of the other big music stations. At the time, I thought Radio One was not like the other corperate giants, because of the way WILD sounded. My feelings about Radio One changed when they had the chance to put WILD on FM, and instead, created another rap station. Now that really pissed me off. I thought Radio One was so stupid not to put the classic soul format on FM. So once they realized that Hot 97.7 wasn't going to compete with Jam'n 94.5, what do they do? They get rid of the station! I would think that they would put the classic soul format on 97.7 after the failure of Hot 97.7 Anyway, rapking, I know how you feel, but this is a business that no longer cares about what the listener has to say. They don't care about heritage, or formats that have been around for years, or how long someone have worked in the business, they only care about green pieces of paper with numbers on them. There are still some small independent radio stations around, but they are few and far between. Check out Magic 92.5 in San Diego. They are commercial, but they play some great old school. www.magic925.com

I understand everything you said , but my main point is , What does Radio One gain ,by Trashing this station ? Radio One is now Trashing this already weak signal . Almost no local program on this station. Radio One Fired most employee, that work at WILD . Radio One pissed off all WILD listeners . Who will want to buy 1090 ? It like going to a used car dealer , and trying to find the best lemon on the lot . I dont like it , but I understand selling 97.7 ( 30 million ) . I think Radio One should put a R&B Jack Format ( Touch FormaT that was on 1150 few years ago ) until they sell 1090 . Most People on this Board dont understand , That WILD was the Only R&B station in MA . If WBCN go Talk ( Big mistake ) , there other Rock Format stations, here in Boston . Back to my main point, What does Radio One gain, by Trashing a station, that Radio One trying to sell ?

 

[radiojay1]

I forgot to mention that I also prefer local programming over syndicated. Being the only R&B station in Boston, I think that they should have stayed that way, and also it used to be very community oriented station, and now it has no local flavor anymore, but Radio One does not care what we think, and only cares about the $, and they thought that syndicated programming would make more $. It is a shame that a city where 25% of the population is African-American, that there is no urban adult adult contemporary station, but unless someone starts their own LP station and pays for their own programming, it is just not happening.

 

[Eli Polonsky]

Radio One ... only cares about the $, and they thought that syndicated programming would make more $.

I doubt they think syndicated programming would make more money than local, but it allows them to slash all expenses and run it as a low-cost bare-bones automated operation. No local air talent to pay, practically no local production, probably just a skeleton crew of a couple of people to just keep the signal on the air until they sell it.

It is a shame that a city where 25% of the population is African-American, that there is no urban adult contemporary station, but unless someone starts their own LP station and pays for their own programming, it is just not happening.

There's no room on the dial for an LP station in greater Boston as determined by the FCC. It's not legally possible to start one in the area. That's one reason why we have pirates with urban programming on the air.