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Wikipedia

WBZ (AM)

January 09, 2024

WBZ (1030 AM) is a commercial AM radio station, licensed to Boston, Massachusetts, and owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc.[4][5][6] Its studios and offices are located on Cabot Road in the Boston suburb of Medford.

WBZ
Broadcast areaGreater Boston
Frequency1030 kHz
BrandingWBZ NewsRadio 1030
Programming
Language(s)English
FormatNews and talk
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
WBWL, WJMN, WRKO, WXKS, WXKS-FM, WZLX, WZRM
History
First air date
September 19, 1921;
102 years ago (1921-09-19)
Former frequencies
  • 833 kHz (1921–22)
  • 750 kHz (1922–23)
  • 710 kHz (1923)
  • 790 kHz (1923)
  • 890 kHz (1923–25)
  • 900 kHz (1925–28)
  • 990 kHz (1928–41)
Call sign meaning
randomly assigned by the Department of Commerce; previously assigned to a cargo ship[1] which burned the previous year[2]
Technical information[3]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID25444
ClassA
Power50,000 watts unlimited
Transmitter coordinates
42°16′44″N 70°52′34″W / 42.27889°N 70.87611°W / 42.27889; -70.87611 (main)
42°21′52″N 71°8′4″W / 42.36444°N 71.13444°W / 42.36444; -71.13444 (auxiliary)
Repeater(s)107.9 WXKS-FM HD2 (Medford)
Links
Public license information
  • Public file
  • LMS
WebcastListen live (via iHeartRadio)
Websitewbznewsradio.iheart.com

WBZ's format features all-news programming most of the day and overnight, and talk radio programming in the evening. The station's programming is also carried on the second HD Radio channel of co-owned WXKS-FM.[7] WBZ is the designated Primary Entry Point (PEP) for the Emergency Alert System (EAS) in New England (except in Maine and Connecticut).

WBZ is a clear-channel station (officially classified as Class A), with a transmitter power output of 50,000 watts, and employing a directional antenna that sends a majority of its signal westward. Its two-tower array and transmitter site are in Hull, Massachusetts. WBZ can be heard during daylight hours throughout much of New England. Under the right conditions, it can be heard as far east as New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Canada; as far south as Eastern Long Island; and as far west as the suburbs of Hartford, Connecticut, and Albany, New York. Its nighttime signal covers at least 38 American states and much of Eastern Canada.[8][9][10][11][12]

WBZ was granted its first license by the United States Department of Commerce on September 15, 1921, and was originally located in Springfield, Massachusetts, before moving to Boston in 1931. It is the oldest broadcasting station in New England, and one of the oldest in the United States. It was founded, and owned for most of its existence, by Westinghouse Broadcasting and its successor CBS Radio.

Programming edit

WBZ has long been one of the highest-rated stations in the Boston area.[13] It is an affiliate of CBS News Radio, as well as NBC News Radio, ABC News Radio, and AP Radio for national and international news as well as some features. The bulk of the station's schedule, except some weekend programming, is produced in-house. WBZ is heavily involved in charitable work, including its annual Christmastime fund drive for the Boston Children's Hospital, which it does along with TV station WBZ-TV.

WBZ runs an all-news format during the day and overnight. In the evening, it airs talk programming. Radio personality Dan Rea hosts an interview and call-in show on weeknights, with other hosts on weekend evenings. The station had been the home of talk host David Brudnoy for 18 years, until the day before his death in 2004. Other past personalities included talk show host Bob Kennedy, poet/radio host Dick Summer, and disc jockeys Bruce Bradley, Jeff Kaye, and Ron Landry.[14] WBZ also featured shows from Larry Justice, jazz DJ-turned-talkmaster Norm Nathan, late-night talker and humorist Larry Glick, and morning hosts Carl DeSuze, Tom Bergeron, and Dave Maynard. For decades, WBZ was the radio home of Boston meteorologist Don Kent.

History edit

In November 1920, the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company established its first broadcasting station, KDKA, located in its plant in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The station was set up to promote the sale of Westinghouse radio receivers. This initial station proved successful, so in 1921 the company expanded its activities by building three additional stations, beginning with WBZ, and followed by WJZ in Newark, New Jersey (now WABC in New York City), and KYW, originally in Chicago, and now in Philadelphia.

1921–1931: Springfield edit

On September 15, 1921, Westinghouse was issued a Limited Commercial license[15] with the randomly assigned call sign WBZ.[16] The new station initially transmitted on a wavelength of 375 meters (800 kHz),[17][18] before moving to 360 meters (833 kHz) with a power of 100 watts.[19] It was located at the company's East Springfield facility on Page Boulevard. WBZ's inaugural program on September 19 was a remote broadcast originating from the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield.[20]

When WBZ began operations, there were no specific government standards for what constituted a broadcasting station. A small number of stations were already providing regularly scheduled entertainment broadcasts, most of which operated under Amateur or Experimental licenses. (A prime example was the American Radio & Research Corporation's experimental station, 1XE in Medford Hillside, Massachusetts, near Boston, which was relicensed in early 1922 as WGI.) Effective December 1, 1921, the U.S. government formally established regulations to define a broadcasting station, by setting aside two wavelengths — 360 meters for entertainment, and 485 meters (619 kHz) for official weather and other government reports — and requiring the stations to hold a Limited Commercial license.[21]

WBZ was one of a handful of stations which already met the new standard, and its initial license was the first Limited Commercial license that had specified broadcasting on the 360-meter wavelength that would be formally designated by the December 1 regulations. By some interpretations, this made WBZ America's first broadcasting station,[22] and in 1923 the Department of Commerce, referring to WBZ, stated that "The first broadcasting license was issued in September, 1921".[23] However, WBZ's priority is not widely recognized,[24] when compared to other stations with earlier heritages, in particular KDKA, WWJ in Detroit, and KQW in San Jose, California (now KCBS in San Francisco).

 
Maude Gray, Prima Donna of the Aborn Musical Comedy Co., performing at WBZ (1922)[25]

By early 1922, WBZ's studios were set up at the luxurious Hotel Kimball in Metro Center Springfield.[20] Programs consisted of general entertainment and information, including live music (often classical and opera), sports, farm reports, special events, and public affairs programming.[20] Despite being housed in Springfield's top hotel, the station's location in a mid-sized city rendered it somewhat difficult to attract top-flight artists.[19] That prompted Westinghouse to open a remote studio on February 24, 1924, at the Hotel Brunswick in Boston.[20] Because of its wide reach, the station often referred to itself as "WBZ New England", as opposed to associating itself solely with Springfield or Boston.[20]

Following the opening of the Boston studio, WBZ expanded its news programming via a partnership with the Boston Herald and Traveler newspapers,[20] and carried pro and college sports broadcasts, including Boston Bruins hockey, Boston Braves baseball, and Harvard Crimson football.[20] WBZ's Bruins broadcasts, which began in early December 1924, made it the first Boston station to broadcast a professional hockey game; the first play-by-play announcer for the hockey broadcasts was local sportswriter Frank Ryan.[26] Its broadcast of the Boston Braves' home opener on April 14, 1925, made WBZ the first Boston station to broadcast a local major league baseball game;[27] the announcer was comedian (and baseball fan) Joe E. Brown.[28]

WBZ increased its transmitter power to 2,000 watts by April 1925.[29] But the station still had difficulty reaching Boston listeners.[19] This led Westinghouse to inaugurate, on August 20, 1925, a 250-watt relay station, WBZA, located in Boston and transmitting on 1240 kHz.[20][30] Efforts were soon made to change WBZA to a synchronous repeater, transmitting on the same frequency as WBZ, 900 kHz, but the process proved difficult, as the two transmitters often interfered with each other, even in Boston. For nearly a year, while the technology was being perfected, WBZA shifted between the two transmitting frequencies, before finally going to full-time synchronous operation in June 1926.[19]

The power of the WBZ transmitter in East Springfield continued to be boosted. On March 31, 1926, it was granted permission to operate with 5,000 watts.[30] By 1927, it was operating with 15,000 watts.[31] Meanwhile, a combination of WBZ's growth and continued difficulties with the WBZA signal led the station to move its Boston studio to the Statler Hotel (now the Boston Park Plaza) on June 1, 1927,[30] and activate a new WBZA transmitter on June 9.[20] On November 11, 1928, under the provisions of the Federal Radio Commission's (FRC) General Order 40, WBZ and WBZA were assigned exclusive national use of a "clear channel" frequency, 990 kHz.[30]

Amidst the technical changes, WBZ began sharing its programs by network with other radio stations. By 1925, it often shared programs with WJZ in New York City (which was transferred from Westinghouse to the Radio Corporation of America in May 1923), and a WBZ program commemorating the 150th anniversary of Paul Revere's "Midnight Ride" was also fed to WRC in Washington, D.C., and WGY in Schenectady, New York.[20] This paved the way for the station to become a charter affiliate of the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) on November 15, 1926, carrying the WJZ-originated NBC Blue Network beginning on January 1, 1927.[30][32] With this change the station began running commercials for the first time. Previously Westinghouse had financed its stations through the profits from radio receiver sales. During this time, the station became known for having its own troupe of actors and actresses who produced and performed live radio plays: the "WBZ Players" made their radio debut in the spring of 1928,[33] and continued into the 1930s.

1931–1956: NBC affiliation edit

 
Until 1962, 1,000 watt WBZA in Springfield, Massachusetts, also on 1030 kHz, relayed WBZ's 50,000 watt signal[34]

By 1931, Westinghouse had concluded that WBZ's primary market was Boston, so on February 21 the station began using a new transmitter site located at Millis, Massachusetts.[35][36] The site was chosen to provide service not only to Boston but also to Worcester and Providence, Rhode Island.[37] At the same time WBZA was transferred from Boston to using the East Springfield transmitter, which now operated with 1,000 watts and relayed WBZ's programming to an area that was inadequately served by the Millis transmitter.[38][39]

The Boston studios (which now served as WBZ's main studios) moved as well, relocating on July 1, 1931, to the Hotel Bradford.[35] (Some programs continued to originate from the WBZA Springfield studios at the Hotel Kimball.)[39] WBZ offered its first Boston Marathon coverage on April 19, 1931.[40] The following year, Westinghouse leased WBZ and WBZA to NBC, while maintaining ownership of the broadcast licenses.[41] During the late 1930s, WBZ began to offer more local news coverage. Previously, only major events were regularly covered.[20]

NBC's management of WBZ and WBZA ended on July 1, 1940, and Westinghouse resumed full control over the stations.[42] Shortly afterward, on July 27,[43] WBZ relocated its transmitter site once more, to its current location in Hull.[37] A directional antenna array was constructed, consisting of two 520-foot- (160-meter) tall towers.[44] The move was twofold: the Millis site, 25 miles (40 kilometers) southwest of Boston, had not provided as strong a signal to the market as was intended,[37] even after power increases to 25,000 watts in 1931 and 50,000 watts in 1933.[20] A key disadvantage of the Millis site was that the signal had to travel over land to Boston. In contrast the Hull site featured a highly conductive salt water path to the city.[37]

The Hull site also provided ample space for WBZ's shortwave station,[37] which had been founded at Springfield as W1XAZ in November 1929.[30] It later operated from Millis as W1XK, ultimately becoming WBOS.[37] WPIT, the shortwave station operated by KDKA in Pittsburgh, moved its transmitters to Hull at this time, and in 1941 its operations were folded into WBOS.[37] The shortwave transmitters soon began carrying government-provided programming (a service that ultimately evolved into the Voice of America) that would remain the shortwave station's primary function until leaving the air permanently in 1953.[37] The Hull site would also serve as the home for WBZ's first FM sister station, which operated from there as W1XK, W67B, and then WBZ-FM on several frequencies off and on from November 7, 1940, until November 21, 1948.[45]

Under the provisions of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement, on March 29, 1941, WBZ's "clear channel" assignment was shifted to its present frequency, 1030 kHz.[37] WBZ transferred from the Blue Network to the NBC Red Network on June 15, 1942.[43][46] This allowed the station to retain a link with NBC after the Justice Department ordered NBC to divest of one its two radio networks. (It opted to sell the Blue Network, which became ABC, the American Broadcasting Company.) Like other major-market network-affiliated radio stations of the time, WBZ broadcast a few hours of local programming, including Vaudeville-like musical performances from Max Zides, Tom Currier, and others, during those hours when NBC was not feeding programs to affiliates.

The station expanded into television on June 9, 1948, when WBZ-TV (channel 4) first signed on as an NBC television affiliate. Westinghouse built new studios at 1170 Soldiers Field Road in the Allston section of Boston to house both the radio and television stations, with the new facility opening on June 17 of that year. (Parts of the new facility containing the master control and TV transmitter had already been in use).[43] The transmission tower built at the studios for WBZ-TV would replace the Hull site as WBZ-FM's transmitter.[37] It remained there until Hurricane Carol destroyed the tower on August 31, 1954.[47] A power outage caused by the storm disrupted WBZ's programming for three minutes.[48] Don Kent started as a meteorologist at the station in 1951, for a tenure that would endure for over three decades.[49] The following year, WBZ expanded its broadcasting schedule to 24-hour-a-day programming.[49]

1956–1985: becoming a full-service powerhouse edit

During the 1950s, entertainment shows began moving to television, with the amount of music programming on radio increasing as a result. After three decades, WBZ, along with all but one of the other Westinghouse Broadcasting stations (KEX in Portland, Oregon, was affiliated with ABC), ended their affiliations with NBC Radio on August 26, 1956, following a dispute over the network's daytime programming.[50] That prompted the station to program middle of the road music around the clock. The best known host in WBZ's history, Dave Maynard, joined the station in 1958.[49] Another beloved WBZ host was Carl DeSuze, who joined WBZ in April 1942.[43] He remained at the station until 1985.[51] DeSuze was the station's morning man for over three decades. Another popular WBZ voice was longtime news anchor Gary LaPierre, who began at the station in September 1964.[52]

At the outset, WBZ's full-service radio format leaned toward middle of the road music, but also featuring an increasing amount of rock and roll. Within a few years, after the demise of top 40 on WCOP (1150 AM, now WWDJ) in 1962 and with WMEX (1510 AM) as the lone top 40 in Boston, WBZ switched to a full-time top 40 format.[53] The combination of hit music, popular hosts (such as evening DJ "Juicy Brucie" Bradley who did the daily top-10 countdown), powerful signal, and top-notch news coverage, made WBZ the dominant radio station in the market. It continued to run public affairs programming including "Shape-up Boston," "Stomp Smoking" and the 1969 "T-Group 15," a project produced by public affairs director Jerry Wishnow in which nine black and white school-decentralization activists in a room for 22 hours with microphones and cameras until compromises were reached. The edited broadcast included four hours of audience reaction with the participants and was aired on WBZ for 15 hours without commercials.[54][55]

WBZ re-established an FM station on December 15, 1957, transmitting from the brand new WBZ-TV tower in Needham, operating at 106.7 MHz.[56] This incarnation of WBZ-FM provided limited simulcasts of the AM station and largely had its own programming, including classical music and Ed Beech's Just Jazz program from WRVR in New York City. The station remained in mono through this period, but beginning on December 31, 1971, an automated top 40 format was launched in stereo, apparently in an attempt to blunt the popularity of WRKO (680 AM). WBZ-FM was sold by Group W (which Westinghouse had rebranded its broadcasting division in 1963) to Greater Media in 1981, ultimately becoming WMJX.[57]

WBZA continued to serve Springfield with a simulcast of WBZ's programming until July 1962, when the East Springfield transmitter was shut down to allow Westinghouse to purchase WINS in New York City, as the company already owned seven AM radio stations — the maximum allowed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) at that time.[58] The closure of WBZA ended over 40 years of transmission from East Springfield. The towers continued to stand atop the former Westinghouse plant in East Springfield for five more decades, until their removal on November 5, 2011, to accommodate redevelopment at the site of the factory.[59][60] By then, they were among the oldest broadcast facilities still standing.[61]

Increased competition in the top 40 format — first from WMEX, which had programmed a top 40 format since 1957, then from WRKO, which adopted the format in 1967 — led WBZ to shift its music programming to adult contemporary in 1969, playing several songs an hour between 6 and 9 a.m. (though it was not unheard of for Carl DeSuze to play only one, if any, song an hour during his show), 10 to 12 songs an hour between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., and 4 to 6 songs an hour between 4 and 7 p.m. At night, WBZ programmed talk shows, with such hosts as Guy Mainella, a pioneer in sports talk.[62] Also heard were Jerry Williams in the evenings and Larry Glick's overnight show (the latter two held the same popular shifts at WMEX years earlier). Music was programmed during the day on weekends. This format was similar to sister station KDKA in Pittsburgh. By 1978, Mainella, who had been the host of Calling All Sports since its inception on July 15, 1969,[52][62] had been replaced with Bob Lobel and Upton Bell.[63] For much of its time as a full-service AC, WBZ used the slogan "The Spirit of New England" (made famous by a 1988 JAM Creative Productions jingle package of the same name).

Beginning in the late 1960s, WBZ made a major push into live play-by-play sports. From 1966 through 1979, and again from 1991 through 1994, WBZ was home to radio broadcasts of New England Patriots football. This brought Gil Santos to the station.[52] In the fall of 1969, WBZ regained the radio rights to the Boston Bruins[52] (which it had lost in 1951), and began carrying Boston Celtics basketball. The Bruins stayed through the 1977-78 season. The Celtics left WBZ after the team's 1980-81 NBA Championship season. During the years when the Bruins and Celtics were both on WBZ and both playing at the same time, one of them (usually the Celtics) would be heard on WBZ-FM. WBZ broadcast the United States Football League's Boston Breakers during the 1983 season (its lone season in Boston).[64] Also heard were Boston College Eagles football from 1987[65] through 1991.[66] Starting in 1972, WBZ's football broadcasts featured the play-by-play team of Gil Santos and Gino Cappelletti.[63][64][65]

During the 1970s, WBZ was one of a number of clear channel AM stations that petitioned to be allowed to increase their power. WBZ would have used 500,000 watts transmitting from Provincetown, Massachusetts, to reach all of New England during the day. A backlash from smaller stations led to the petition being denied and station protections limited to a 750-mile radius.[53]

WBZ became an affiliate of ABC Radio on January 1, 1980;[51] ABC was the descendant of the Blue Network, which WBZ had dropped 38 years earlier. The ABC affiliation allowed the station to begin airing Paul Harvey's daily broadcasts, which were previously heard in Boston on WEZE (1260 AM, now WBIX) and, later, WECB, the carrier current station at Emerson College.[67] Later in the year, a schedule shuffle ended Carl DeSuze's run on the morning show (which was taken over by Dave Maynard), and he was moved to middays; the overnight show was then taken over by Bob Raleigh,[51] who had been WBZ's midday host since June 1976.[63] Calling All Sports was also dropped in favor of an early evening talk show, hosted at various points by David Finnegan, Lou Marcel, and Peter Meade.[68] Former overnight host Larry Glick was moved first into late evenings and then into afternoons,[69] and ultimately left the station in May 1987.[51]

1985–2003: becoming a news/talk station edit

In the 1980s, WBZ began to cut back on its music programming; for instance, an expanded afternoon news block was launched on December 2, 1985.[51] The following year, David Brudnoy began to host the station's late-evening talk show.[51] In June 1990, WBZ announced that it would replace Brudnoy with Tom Snyder's ABC Radio talk show,[70] with his last show airing July 13;[71] listener complaints[72] led the station to return Brudnoy to the air by the end of September.[73] It was late in 1985 that American Top 40 moved to WBZ from WROR (98.5 FM, now WBZ-FM), remaining on WBZ until the program moved to WZOU (94.5 FM, now WJMN) in 1988.

WBZ continued its full-service AC format—by this point featuring four songs an hour[74]—until January 1991, when Gulf War coverage led the station to stop playing music on a regular basis and pivot to news and talk full-time,[53][75] joining WRKO and WHDH (850 AM, now WEEI) in the format.[76] Program director David Bernstein, upon hearing the news of the war's start, ordered the on-duty engineer to remove the music carousel from the studio, vowing that "This station will never play music again;" even before the war, Bernstein had been considering dropping music from WBZ, theorizing that the station's listeners were listening for the personalities and not the songs.[76] Separately, morning show producer Bill Flaherty and morning host Tom Bergeron also concluded that it was not appropriate for WBZ to play music in the midst of the war.[77] The format change became permanent on March 4, 1991; concurrently, WBZ began promoting itself as "Boston's News Station",[74] positioning the station as the primary competitor for all-news station WEEI (590 AM, now WEZE).[76] WBZ has, from time to time, played music on special occasions even after the change to news/talk; the station still offered 24 hours of Christmas music beginning on Christmas Eve through 1995, and it carried the audio of the Boston Pops' Fourth of July concert and fireworks display from 2003[78] through 2016; additionally, WBZ, along with sister stations WODS (103.3 FM, now WBGB) and WZLX (100.7 FM), carried the Beatles Let It Be... Naked album premiere on November 13, 2003.[79][80]

When WEEI dropped its all-news format for all-sports programming in September 1991, WBZ began a marketing campaign to convince former WEEI listeners to switch to WBZ;[81] this was followed on January 13, 1992, with a shift to all-news programming during drive time (5 to 10 a.m. and 3 to 7 p.m.).[82] On September 28 the station became an all-news station from 5 a.m.–7 p.m.[83] following the end of the two midday talk shows hosted by Tom Bergeron, who had moved to middays following the launch of the morning news block[84] (the noon hour, which separated the Bergeron shifts, was already occupied by a news program); the station's nighttime programming continued to be filled by David Brudnoy and Bob Raleigh's talk shows.[83]

Initially, the new format was not carried over to WBZ's weekend schedule; while a weekend morning news block was launched,[83] the weekend afternoon schedule remained devoted to specialty talk shows until September 3, 1994, when the station introduced information-oriented sports shows, branded as WBZ Sports Saturday and WBZ Sports Sunday.[85][86] WBZ's sports commitment included the return of the Boston Bruins Radio Network to the station in 1995;[87] however, the station lost the New England Patriots to WBCN (104.1 FM, now WWBX) starting with the 1995 season,[88] and for several seasons afterward WBZ was an affiliate of the New York Giants Radio Network. NFL regulations only allowed WBZ to carry Giants' games not played at the same time as Patriots' games.[89] As with the weekday lineup, talk continued to be programmed at night, including three of the specialty shows (Kid Company on Saturday evenings and a revived Calling All Sports and Looking at the Law on Sunday evenings), a Saturday night talk show hosted by Lovell Dyett,[85] and an overnight show with former WHDH host Norm Nathan.[90]

WBZ added an affiliation with the CBS Radio Network on March 6, 1995, making it one of a handful of stations to carry both CBS Radio and ABC Radio (however, the station ceased an affiliation with CNN Radio).[91] Five months later, on August 1, Westinghouse announced that it was purchasing CBS,[92] a transaction that was completed on November 24;[93] as a result, WBZ came under the CBS Radio banner.[53] 76 years of Westinghouse ownership came to an end on December 1, 1997, when the Westinghouse Electric Corporation changed its name to CBS Corporation.[94] CBS's radio stations, including WBZ, were spun off into a new public company, Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, in 1998 (a move that removed the Group W name from the station's license);[95] Viacom announced its acquisition of the publicly held stake in Infinity on August 15, 2000 (shortly after it merged with CBS Corporation),[96] a transaction completed on February 21, 2001 (though Viacom, and CBS before the merger, had always held a majority stake in Infinity).[97] Even after coming under common ownership with the CBS Radio Network, it would not be until 2000 before CBS's hourly newscast replaced ABC's during WBZ's overnight programming.[53]

As its ownership shifted, WBZ continued to modify its program schedule. After Norm Nathan's death on October 29, 1996,[90] his Friday night/Saturday morning show was taken over by Steve LeVeille, and his Saturday night/Sunday morning show went to former WSSH-FM (99.5, now WCRB) morning host Jordan Rich.[98] Bob Lobel (by now WBZ-TV's sports director) and Upton Bell returned to the station on May 17, 1997, for a Sunday night sports show (with Calling All Sports moving to Saturdays).[99] Another sports show, The McDonoughs on Sports with Sean McDonough and Will McDonough aired during the 1997 NFL season as a lead-in to CBS Radio Sports' broadcast of Monday Night Football, preempting David Brudnoy's program;[100] the first two hours of his Friday show were preempted in favor of a cooking show, Olives' Table with Todd English, from August 1997[101] through August 1998.[102]

The Sports Saturday and Sports Sunday blocks were discontinued in April 1998 in favor of an expansion of the all-news format to weekend afternoons;[103] Calling All Sports and The Bob Lobel Show were not affected,[104] though Lobel's show was replaced with Sunday Sports Page with Dan Roche and Steve DeOssie that July after a management-ordered cut-off of a call on the July 12 broadcast drove Lobel to resign from his show on July 13.[105][106] Bob Raleigh began to cut back his on-air presence during the late 1990s, with Kevin Sowyrda taking over the Sunday night/Monday morning slot for a time;[98] he eventually retired on June 9, 1999,[107] with Steve LeVeille taking his place in the overnight hours and Jordan Rich taking over the Friday night/Saturday morning show.[108] Shortly afterward, David Brudnoy gave up the 10 p.m.-12 a.m. portion of his show;[107] this timeslot was given to Lowell Sun columnist and former WLLH (1400 AM) host Paul Sullivan.[109]

For a time starting in the fall of 2001, the station relaunched the 1 p.m. hour of the Midday News as the WBZ Business Hour, with an increased focus on business news;[110] this program was similar to one on Los Angeles sister station KNX (WBZ has since returned to regular news in the 1 p.m. hour). Later that year, weekend sports talk was abandoned completely, with Calling All Sports, which had been a leased-time program owned and produced by Norm Resha since its revival in 1991,[111] moving to WTKK (96.9 FM) on December 2.[62] WBZ then launched a Saturday evening talk show hosted by Pat Desmarais, while a simulcast of the CBS television program 60 Minutes was added on Sunday evenings on January 13, 2002.[112]

2003–2017 edit

 
Horizontal version of WBZ's current logo, used since July 1, 2010

David Brudnoy announced on September 23, 2003, that he had skin cancer[113][114] (he had also been fighting AIDS since 1994);[87] a farewell broadcast aired on December 8, 2004, and he died the next day, with tribute shows airing over the following two nights.[115] Per Brudnoy's wish, Paul Sullivan took over the 8 p.m.–midnight time slot in January 2005, with the 7 p.m. hour given to an expansion of the WBZ Afternoon News.[115] That March, WBZ began streaming its programming on the web, along with Infinity's other news and talk stations.[116]

When Viacom split into two companies on December 31, 2005, Infinity became part of the new CBS Corporation and reverted to the CBS Radio name.[117] That same day, WBZ dropped Paul Harvey after the station's contract to carry his broadcasts expired (however, despite coming under the CBS Radio banner once more, the station still maintains an affiliation with ABC News Radio);[118] in addition, the station dropped Looking at the Law, a legal advice show hosted by Neil Chayet, after its January 8, 2006, broadcast in favor of brokered financial programs.[119]

Longtime morning news anchor Gary LaPierre, who anchored WBZ's morning newscasts for nearly 40 years, retired from WBZ at the end of 2006. Governor Mitt Romney declared the day of his final broadcast, December 29, 2006, "Gary LaPierre Day". Romney, Senator Ted Kennedy, Mayor Tom Menino, former Mayor Ray Flynn, former Governor Michael Dukakis, and other notables called in during his final broadcast.[120] LaPierre was replaced on the WBZ Morning News with Ed Walsh, a former morning host at WOR in New York City who had been anchoring at WCBS,[121] starting with the 9:30 a.m. half-hour of the December 29 Morning News.[120] LaPierre continued to be heard on the station on occasion through voiceover work.[122]

Meanwhile, evening host Paul Sullivan was fighting a brain tumor, which was discovered on November 22, 2004—shortly before Brudnoy's death.[123] After undergoing several surgeries over the next two and a half years, Sullivan announced on June 21, 2007, that he would step down from the evening talk show,[124] with his final show, led by Jordan Rich, airing on June 28;[122] he died on September 9.[125] Rich and WBZ-TV reporter Dan Rea served as substitute hosts in the interim;[124] on October 1, Rea, who in the 1970s served as a weekend host for the station before moving to television in 1976, became the new host of the show, renamed NightSide with Dan Rea.[126]

On December 31, 2008, WBZ let go overnight talk show host Steve LeVeille, sports anchor Tom Cuddy and Saturday night talk show hosts Lovell Dyett[127] and Pat Desmarais.[128] LeVeille was replaced by Jon Grayson (whose show originates from St. Louis sister station KMOX), while Dyett and Desmarais were replaced by the syndicated Kim Komando Show. After listener efforts were made to restore LeVeille and Dyett to the station, WBZ announced on January 27, 2009, that LeVeille would reassume his shift on February 2, while Dyett would host a half-hour early morning public affairs program on Sundays.[129] Cuddy would subsequently return to the station as well that May.[130] While Jordan Rich retained his weekend overnight show, the 2–5 a.m. portion of the program began to be simulcast on sister station WCCO in Minneapolis–Saint Paul. Long-time sports director Gil Santos retired after 38 years with the station on January 30, 2009; after a week-long fill-in by Bob Lobel,[131] Walt Perkins took over as morning sports anchor on February 7.[132]

The Bruins once again left WBZ following the 2008-09 season, after CBS Radio launched a third incarnation of WBZ-FM on 98.5 MHz as an all-sports station, which also took the Patriots from the former WBCN.[133] (The station simulcast WBZ-FM's broadcast of Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals between the Bruins and the Vancouver Canucks, allowing fans in areas of New England not served by a Bruins radio network affiliate to hear the game;[134] additionally, WBZ briefly carried Bruins games that conflict with WBZ-FM's Patriots broadcasts, a function that subsequently moved to WZLX. WBZ also carried a Boston Celtics broadcast on January 11, 2014, due to conflicts with both a Patriots game on current Celtics flagship station WBZ-FM and a Bruins game on WZLX.[135])

Ed Walsh retired after four years as morning news anchor on November 30, 2010;[136] Rod Fritz then took over as interim anchor (with Gary LaPierre guest anchoring for a week in early December),[137] with Joe Mathieu, formerly of Sirius XM Radio's P.O.T.U.S. channel, taking over on May 16, 2011.[138][139] The station added a monthly one-hour interview show hosted by Mathieu, WBZ Newswatch, on January 26, 2012.[140][141] Overnight host Steve LeVeille retired from WBZ on June 8, 2012;[142] after a year of rotating guest hosts that included Jennifer Brien, Morgan White Jr., Bradley Jay, and Dean Johnson, Brien was named the new host on June 25, 2013.[143] On October 3, 2013, the station announced it was canceling the Jen Brien Show with immediate effect.[144] Bradley Jay then took over the overnight show, renamed Jay Talking.

WBZ, along with fellow CBS Radio all-news stations WINS in New York City, KYW in Philadelphia, and WNEW-FM in Washington, D.C., added an affiliation with Westwood One News in 2014.[145] Jordan Rich ended his weekend talk show on July 3, 2016, but continues to do feature segments for the station.[146] Joe Mathieu left WBZ on April 28, 2017;[147] that August, the station announced Josh Binswanger, who hosted Kid Company on the station in the early 1990s and has worked for WBZ-TV, as its new morning news anchor,[148] while Mathieu joined WGBH (89.7 FM) as its morning anchor.[149] By the end of 2017, the staff included Deb Lawler and Josh Binswanger as morning anchors; Mary Blake and Rod Fritz as midday anchors; Jeff Brown and Laurie Kirby as afternoon anchors; and Dan Rea and Bradley Jay as nighttime talk show hosts.

Since 2017: End of Westinghouse heritage and sale to iHeartMedia edit

On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with Entercom (which locally owned WEEI, WEEI-FM, WKAF, WRKO and WAAF); the sale would be conducted using a Reverse Morris Trust so that it would be tax-free. While CBS shareholders retained a 72% ownership stake in the combined company, Entercom was the surviving entity, separating WBZ radio (both 1030 and FM 98.5) from WBZ-TV and WSBK-TV;[150][151] for the first time since WBZ-TV's inception in 1948, WBZ radio and television would be under separate ownership. On October 10, CBS Radio announced that as part of the process of obtaining regulatory approval of the merger, WBZ would be one of sixteen stations that would be divested by Entercom, along with sister stations WBZ-FM and WZLX, as well as WRKO and WKAF (WBMX, WODS, WEEI AM/FM and WAAF would be retained by Entercom, while WBZ-FM would be traded to Beasley Broadcast Group in exchange for WMJX).[152]

On November 1, iHeartMedia announced that it would acquire WBZ (AM), WZLX, WRKO and WKAF. To meet ownership limits set by the FCC, WKOX would be divested to the Ocean Stations Trust in preparation for a permanent buyer.[153] The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and was consummated on November 17.[154][155] iHeart then began operating WBZ, WKAF, and WZLX under a local marketing agreement.[5] The sale of WBZ, WRKO, WZLX, and WKAF to iHeart was completed on December 19, 2017, ending WBZ's 96 years of lineage under the same ownership.[6] As part of the sale, CBS Corporation entered into a long-term license agreement with iHeartMedia and Beasley Broadcast Group for continued usage of the call sign on both WBZ and WBZ-FM;[156] corporate successor Paramount Global currently holds the trademark for "WBZ" as a brand.[157]

On March 30, 2018, iHeartMedia announced that anchor Rod Fritz was let go.[158] On August 25, 2018, after 70 years, WBZ left the Soldiers Field Road studios (which continue to house WBZ-TV) and moved to facilities on Cabot Road in Medford, putting it in the same building as iHeartMedia's other Boston stations.[159] On January 15, 2020, as part of an iHeartMedia restructuring, WBZ laid off political commentator Jon Keller (who remains with WBZ-TV), morning news anchor Deb Lawler, overnight host Bradley Jay, and sports anchor Tom Cuddy.[160]

Hall of Fame edit

In February 2007, the station created the WBZ Radio Hall of Fame. Gary LaPierre was the first inductee, on February 16;[161] Gil Santos was the second when he was inducted on July 9, 2009,[162] and Dave Maynard was the third with his induction on September 15, 2009.[163] Carl DeSuze became the fourth inductee (and the first to be inducted posthumously) on September 19, 2011, coinciding with WBZ's 90th anniversary.[164]

Awards edit

 
Jonathan Elias, Joe Mathieu, Lisa Hughes and Peter Casey at the 73rd Annual Peabody Awards for WBZ's coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing.

WBZ received the 2010 Marconi award in the legendary stations category from the National Association of Broadcasters.[165]

In 2014, WBZ, along with sister station at the time, WBZ-TV, received a Peabody Award for its coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing.[166]

The station has won numerous Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for excellence in journalism. In 2017, awards included Overall Excellence, Best Newscast, Excellence in Social Media, and Excellence in Writing. In 2016, WBZ went on to win the National Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Newscast.[167]

Notable on-air staff edit

Notes and references edit

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Aerial view of the Hull transmitter site

External links edit

  • Official website
  • WBZ in the FCC AM station database
  • WBZ in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
  • FCC History Cards for WBZ (covering 1927-1981)
Preceded by Radio home of the New England Patriots
1991–1995 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Radio home of the Boston Bruins
1995–2009 		Succeeded by

January 09, 2024
1030, commercial, radio, station, licensed, boston, massachusetts, owned, operated, iheartmedia, studios, offices, located, cabot, road, boston, suburb, medford, wbzboston, massachusettsbroadcast, areagreater, bostonfrequency1030, khzbrandingwbz, newsradio, 10. WBZ 1030 AM is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Boston Massachusetts and owned and operated by iHeartMedia Inc 4 5 6 Its studios and offices are located on Cabot Road in the Boston suburb of Medford WBZBoston MassachusettsBroadcast areaGreater BostonFrequency1030 kHzBrandingWBZ NewsRadio 1030ProgrammingLanguage s EnglishFormatNews and talkAffiliationsCBS News RadioNBC News RadioABC News RadioAP RadioOwnershipOwneriHeartMedia iHM Licenses LLC Sister stationsWBWL WJMN WRKO WXKS WXKS FM WZLX WZRMHistoryFirst air dateSeptember 19 1921 102 years ago 1921 09 19 Former frequencies833 kHz 1921 22 750 kHz 1922 23 710 kHz 1923 790 kHz 1923 890 kHz 1923 25 900 kHz 1925 28 990 kHz 1928 41 Call sign meaningrandomly assigned by the Department of Commerce previously assigned to a cargo ship 1 which burned the previous year 2 Technical information 3 Licensing authorityFCCFacility ID25444ClassAPower50 000 watts unlimitedTransmitter coordinates42 16 44 N 70 52 34 W 42 27889 N 70 87611 W 42 27889 70 87611 main 42 21 52 N 71 8 4 W 42 36444 N 71 13444 W 42 36444 71 13444 auxiliary Repeater s 107 9 WXKS FM HD2 Medford LinksPublic license informationPublic fileLMSWebcastListen live via iHeartRadio Websitewbznewsradio wbr iheart wbr comWBZ s format features all news programming most of the day and overnight and talk radio programming in the evening The station s programming is also carried on the second HD Radio channel of co owned WXKS FM 7 WBZ is the designated Primary Entry Point PEP for the Emergency Alert System EAS in New England except in Maine and Connecticut WBZ is a clear channel station officially classified as Class A with a transmitter power output of 50 000 watts and employing a directional antenna that sends a majority of its signal westward Its two tower array and transmitter site are in Hull Massachusetts WBZ can be heard during daylight hours throughout much of New England Under the right conditions it can be heard as far east as New Brunswick and Nova Scotia Canada as far south as Eastern Long Island and as far west as the suburbs of Hartford Connecticut and Albany New York Its nighttime signal covers at least 38 American states and much of Eastern Canada 8 9 10 11 12 WBZ was granted its first license by the United States Department of Commerce on September 15 1921 and was originally located in Springfield Massachusetts before moving to Boston in 1931 It is the oldest broadcasting station in New England and one of the oldest in the United States It was founded and owned for most of its existence by Westinghouse Broadcasting and its successor CBS Radio Contents 1 Programming 2 History 2 1 1921 1931 Springfield 2 2 1931 1956 NBC affiliation 2 3 1956 1985 becoming a full service powerhouse 2 4 1985 2003 becoming a news talk station 2 5 2003 2017 2 6 Since 2017 End of Westinghouse heritage and sale to iHeartMedia 3 Hall of Fame 4 Awards 5 Notable on air staff 6 Notes and references 7 External linksProgramming editWBZ has long been one of the highest rated stations in the Boston area 13 It is an affiliate of CBS News Radio as well as NBC News Radio ABC News Radio and AP Radio for national and international news as well as some features The bulk of the station s schedule except some weekend programming is produced in house WBZ is heavily involved in charitable work including its annual Christmastime fund drive for the Boston Children s Hospital which it does along with TV station WBZ TV WBZ runs an all news format during the day and overnight In the evening it airs talk programming Radio personality Dan Rea hosts an interview and call in show on weeknights with other hosts on weekend evenings The station had been the home of talk host David Brudnoy for 18 years until the day before his death in 2004 Other past personalities included talk show host Bob Kennedy poet radio host Dick Summer and disc jockeys Bruce Bradley Jeff Kaye and Ron Landry 14 WBZ also featured shows from Larry Justice jazz DJ turned talkmaster Norm Nathan late night talker and humorist Larry Glick and morning hosts Carl DeSuze Tom Bergeron and Dave Maynard For decades WBZ was the radio home of Boston meteorologist Don Kent History editIn November 1920 the Westinghouse Electric amp Manufacturing Company established its first broadcasting station KDKA located in its plant in East Pittsburgh Pennsylvania The station was set up to promote the sale of Westinghouse radio receivers This initial station proved successful so in 1921 the company expanded its activities by building three additional stations beginning with WBZ and followed by WJZ in Newark New Jersey now WABC in New York City and KYW originally in Chicago and now in Philadelphia 1921 1931 Springfield edit On September 15 1921 Westinghouse was issued a Limited Commercial license 15 with the randomly assigned call sign WBZ 16 The new station initially transmitted on a wavelength of 375 meters 800 kHz 17 18 before moving to 360 meters 833 kHz with a power of 100 watts 19 It was located at the company s East Springfield facility on Page Boulevard WBZ s inaugural program on September 19 was a remote broadcast originating from the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield 20 When WBZ began operations there were no specific government standards for what constituted a broadcasting station A small number of stations were already providing regularly scheduled entertainment broadcasts most of which operated under Amateur or Experimental licenses A prime example was the American Radio amp Research Corporation s experimental station 1XE in Medford Hillside Massachusetts near Boston which was relicensed in early 1922 as WGI Effective December 1 1921 the U S government formally established regulations to define a broadcasting station by setting aside two wavelengths 360 meters for entertainment and 485 meters 619 kHz for official weather and other government reports and requiring the stations to hold a Limited Commercial license 21 WBZ was one of a handful of stations which already met the new standard and its initial license was the first Limited Commercial license that had specified broadcasting on the 360 meter wavelength that would be formally designated by the December 1 regulations By some interpretations this made WBZ America s first broadcasting station 22 and in 1923 the Department of Commerce referring to WBZ stated that The first broadcasting license was issued in September 1921 23 However WBZ s priority is not widely recognized 24 when compared to other stations with earlier heritages in particular KDKA WWJ in Detroit and KQW in San Jose California now KCBS in San Francisco nbsp Maude Gray Prima Donna of the Aborn Musical Comedy Co performing at WBZ 1922 25 By early 1922 WBZ s studios were set up at the luxurious Hotel Kimball in Metro Center Springfield 20 Programs consisted of general entertainment and information including live music often classical and opera sports farm reports special events and public affairs programming 20 Despite being housed in Springfield s top hotel the station s location in a mid sized city rendered it somewhat difficult to attract top flight artists 19 That prompted Westinghouse to open a remote studio on February 24 1924 at the Hotel Brunswick in Boston 20 Because of its wide reach the station often referred to itself as WBZ New England as opposed to associating itself solely with Springfield or Boston 20 Following the opening of the Boston studio WBZ expanded its news programming via a partnership with the Boston Herald and Traveler newspapers 20 and carried pro and college sports broadcasts including Boston Bruins hockey Boston Braves baseball and Harvard Crimson football 20 WBZ s Bruins broadcasts which began in early December 1924 made it the first Boston station to broadcast a professional hockey game the first play by play announcer for the hockey broadcasts was local sportswriter Frank Ryan 26 Its broadcast of the Boston Braves home opener on April 14 1925 made WBZ the first Boston station to broadcast a local major league baseball game 27 the announcer was comedian and baseball fan Joe E Brown 28 WBZ increased its transmitter power to 2 000 watts by April 1925 29 But the station still had difficulty reaching Boston listeners 19 This led Westinghouse to inaugurate on August 20 1925 a 250 watt relay station WBZA located in Boston and transmitting on 1240 kHz 20 30 Efforts were soon made to change WBZA to a synchronous repeater transmitting on the same frequency as WBZ 900 kHz but the process proved difficult as the two transmitters often interfered with each other even in Boston For nearly a year while the technology was being perfected WBZA shifted between the two transmitting frequencies before finally going to full time synchronous operation in June 1926 19 The power of the WBZ transmitter in East Springfield continued to be boosted On March 31 1926 it was granted permission to operate with 5 000 watts 30 By 1927 it was operating with 15 000 watts 31 Meanwhile a combination of WBZ s growth and continued difficulties with the WBZA signal led the station to move its Boston studio to the Statler Hotel now the Boston Park Plaza on June 1 1927 30 and activate a new WBZA transmitter on June 9 20 On November 11 1928 under the provisions of the Federal Radio Commission s FRC General Order 40 WBZ and WBZA were assigned exclusive national use of a clear channel frequency 990 kHz 30 Amidst the technical changes WBZ began sharing its programs by network with other radio stations By 1925 it often shared programs with WJZ in New York City which was transferred from Westinghouse to the Radio Corporation of America in May 1923 and a WBZ program commemorating the 150th anniversary of Paul Revere s Midnight Ride was also fed to WRC in Washington D C and WGY in Schenectady New York 20 This paved the way for the station to become a charter affiliate of the National Broadcasting Company NBC on November 15 1926 carrying the WJZ originated NBC Blue Network beginning on January 1 1927 30 32 With this change the station began running commercials for the first time Previously Westinghouse had financed its stations through the profits from radio receiver sales During this time the station became known for having its own troupe of actors and actresses who produced and performed live radio plays the WBZ Players made their radio debut in the spring of 1928 33 and continued into the 1930s 1931 1956 NBC affiliation edit nbsp Until 1962 1 000 watt WBZA in Springfield Massachusetts also on 1030 kHz relayed WBZ s 50 000 watt signal 34 By 1931 Westinghouse had concluded that WBZ s primary market was Boston so on February 21 the station began using a new transmitter site located at Millis Massachusetts 35 36 The site was chosen to provide service not only to Boston but also to Worcester and Providence Rhode Island 37 At the same time WBZA was transferred from Boston to using the East Springfield transmitter which now operated with 1 000 watts and relayed WBZ s programming to an area that was inadequately served by the Millis transmitter 38 39 The Boston studios which now served as WBZ s main studios moved as well relocating on July 1 1931 to the Hotel Bradford 35 Some programs continued to originate from the WBZA Springfield studios at the Hotel Kimball 39 WBZ offered its first Boston Marathon coverage on April 19 1931 40 The following year Westinghouse leased WBZ and WBZA to NBC while maintaining ownership of the broadcast licenses 41 During the late 1930s WBZ began to offer more local news coverage Previously only major events were regularly covered 20 NBC s management of WBZ and WBZA ended on July 1 1940 and Westinghouse resumed full control over the stations 42 Shortly afterward on July 27 43 WBZ relocated its transmitter site once more to its current location in Hull 37 A directional antenna array was constructed consisting of two 520 foot 160 meter tall towers 44 The move was twofold the Millis site 25 miles 40 kilometers southwest of Boston had not provided as strong a signal to the market as was intended 37 even after power increases to 25 000 watts in 1931 and 50 000 watts in 1933 20 A key disadvantage of the Millis site was that the signal had to travel over land to Boston In contrast the Hull site featured a highly conductive salt water path to the city 37 The Hull site also provided ample space for WBZ s shortwave station 37 which had been founded at Springfield as W1XAZ in November 1929 30 It later operated from Millis as W1XK ultimately becoming WBOS 37 WPIT the shortwave station operated by KDKA in Pittsburgh moved its transmitters to Hull at this time and in 1941 its operations were folded into WBOS 37 The shortwave transmitters soon began carrying government provided programming a service that ultimately evolved into the Voice of America that would remain the shortwave station s primary function until leaving the air permanently in 1953 37 The Hull site would also serve as the home for WBZ s first FM sister station which operated from there as W1XK W67B and then WBZ FM on several frequencies off and on from November 7 1940 until November 21 1948 45 Under the provisions of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement on March 29 1941 WBZ s clear channel assignment was shifted to its present frequency 1030 kHz 37 WBZ transferred from the Blue Network to the NBC Red Network on June 15 1942 43 46 This allowed the station to retain a link with NBC after the Justice Department ordered NBC to divest of one its two radio networks It opted to sell the Blue Network which became ABC the American Broadcasting Company Like other major market network affiliated radio stations of the time WBZ broadcast a few hours of local programming including Vaudeville like musical performances from Max Zides Tom Currier and others during those hours when NBC was not feeding programs to affiliates The station expanded into television on June 9 1948 when WBZ TV channel 4 first signed on as an NBC television affiliate Westinghouse built new studios at 1170 Soldiers Field Road in the Allston section of Boston to house both the radio and television stations with the new facility opening on June 17 of that year Parts of the new facility containing the master control and TV transmitter had already been in use 43 The transmission tower built at the studios for WBZ TV would replace the Hull site as WBZ FM s transmitter 37 It remained there until Hurricane Carol destroyed the tower on August 31 1954 47 A power outage caused by the storm disrupted WBZ s programming for three minutes 48 Don Kent started as a meteorologist at the station in 1951 for a tenure that would endure for over three decades 49 The following year WBZ expanded its broadcasting schedule to 24 hour a day programming 49 1956 1985 becoming a full service powerhouse edit During the 1950s entertainment shows began moving to television with the amount of music programming on radio increasing as a result After three decades WBZ along with all but one of the other Westinghouse Broadcasting stations KEX in Portland Oregon was affiliated with ABC ended their affiliations with NBC Radio on August 26 1956 following a dispute over the network s daytime programming 50 That prompted the station to program middle of the road music around the clock The best known host in WBZ s history Dave Maynard joined the station in 1958 49 Another beloved WBZ host was Carl DeSuze who joined WBZ in April 1942 43 He remained at the station until 1985 51 DeSuze was the station s morning man for over three decades Another popular WBZ voice was longtime news anchor Gary LaPierre who began at the station in September 1964 52 At the outset WBZ s full service radio format leaned toward middle of the road music but also featuring an increasing amount of rock and roll Within a few years after the demise of top 40 on WCOP 1150 AM now WWDJ in 1962 and with WMEX 1510 AM as the lone top 40 in Boston WBZ switched to a full time top 40 format 53 The combination of hit music popular hosts such as evening DJ Juicy Brucie Bradley who did the daily top 10 countdown powerful signal and top notch news coverage made WBZ the dominant radio station in the market It continued to run public affairs programming including Shape up Boston Stomp Smoking and the 1969 T Group 15 a project produced by public affairs director Jerry Wishnow in which nine black and white school decentralization activists in a room for 22 hours with microphones and cameras until compromises were reached The edited broadcast included four hours of audience reaction with the participants and was aired on WBZ for 15 hours without commercials 54 55 WBZ re established an FM station on December 15 1957 transmitting from the brand new WBZ TV tower in Needham operating at 106 7 MHz 56 This incarnation of WBZ FM provided limited simulcasts of the AM station and largely had its own programming including classical music and Ed Beech s Just Jazz program from WRVR in New York City The station remained in mono through this period but beginning on December 31 1971 an automated top 40 format was launched in stereo apparently in an attempt to blunt the popularity of WRKO 680 AM WBZ FM was sold by Group W which Westinghouse had rebranded its broadcasting division in 1963 to Greater Media in 1981 ultimately becoming WMJX 57 WBZA continued to serve Springfield with a simulcast of WBZ s programming until July 1962 when the East Springfield transmitter was shut down to allow Westinghouse to purchase WINS in New York City as the company already owned seven AM radio stations the maximum allowed by the Federal Communications Commission FCC at that time 58 The closure of WBZA ended over 40 years of transmission from East Springfield The towers continued to stand atop the former Westinghouse plant in East Springfield for five more decades until their removal on November 5 2011 to accommodate redevelopment at the site of the factory 59 60 By then they were among the oldest broadcast facilities still standing 61 Increased competition in the top 40 format first from WMEX which had programmed a top 40 format since 1957 then from WRKO which adopted the format in 1967 led WBZ to shift its music programming to adult contemporary in 1969 playing several songs an hour between 6 and 9 a m though it was not unheard of for Carl DeSuze to play only one if any song an hour during his show 10 to 12 songs an hour between 9 a m and 4 p m and 4 to 6 songs an hour between 4 and 7 p m At night WBZ programmed talk shows with such hosts as Guy Mainella a pioneer in sports talk 62 Also heard were Jerry Williams in the evenings and Larry Glick s overnight show the latter two held the same popular shifts at WMEX years earlier Music was programmed during the day on weekends This format was similar to sister station KDKA in Pittsburgh By 1978 Mainella who had been the host of Calling All Sports since its inception on July 15 1969 52 62 had been replaced with Bob Lobel and Upton Bell 63 For much of its time as a full service AC WBZ used the slogan The Spirit of New England made famous by a 1988 JAM Creative Productions jingle package of the same name Beginning in the late 1960s WBZ made a major push into live play by play sports From 1966 through 1979 and again from 1991 through 1994 WBZ was home to radio broadcasts of New England Patriots football This brought Gil Santos to the station 52 In the fall of 1969 WBZ regained the radio rights to the Boston Bruins 52 which it had lost in 1951 and began carrying Boston Celtics basketball The Bruins stayed through the 1977 78 season The Celtics left WBZ after the team s 1980 81 NBA Championship season During the years when the Bruins and Celtics were both on WBZ and both playing at the same time one of them usually the Celtics would be heard on WBZ FM WBZ broadcast the United States Football League s Boston Breakers during the 1983 season its lone season in Boston 64 Also heard were Boston College Eagles football from 1987 65 through 1991 66 Starting in 1972 WBZ s football broadcasts featured the play by play team of Gil Santos and Gino Cappelletti 63 64 65 During the 1970s WBZ was one of a number of clear channel AM stations that petitioned to be allowed to increase their power WBZ would have used 500 000 watts transmitting from Provincetown Massachusetts to reach all of New England during the day A backlash from smaller stations led to the petition being denied and station protections limited to a 750 mile radius 53 WBZ became an affiliate of ABC Radio on January 1 1980 51 ABC was the descendant of the Blue Network which WBZ had dropped 38 years earlier The ABC affiliation allowed the station to begin airing Paul Harvey s daily broadcasts which were previously heard in Boston on WEZE 1260 AM now WBIX and later WECB the carrier current station at Emerson College 67 Later in the year a schedule shuffle ended Carl DeSuze s run on the morning show which was taken over by Dave Maynard and he was moved to middays the overnight show was then taken over by Bob Raleigh 51 who had been WBZ s midday host since June 1976 63 Calling All Sports was also dropped in favor of an early evening talk show hosted at various points by David Finnegan Lou Marcel and Peter Meade 68 Former overnight host Larry Glick was moved first into late evenings and then into afternoons 69 and ultimately left the station in May 1987 51 1985 2003 becoming a news talk station edit In the 1980s WBZ began to cut back on its music programming for instance an expanded afternoon news block was launched on December 2 1985 51 The following year David Brudnoy began to host the station s late evening talk show 51 In June 1990 WBZ announced that it would replace Brudnoy with Tom Snyder s ABC Radio talk show 70 with his last show airing July 13 71 listener complaints 72 led the station to return Brudnoy to the air by the end of September 73 It was late in 1985 that American Top 40 moved to WBZ from WROR 98 5 FM now WBZ FM remaining on WBZ until the program moved to WZOU 94 5 FM now WJMN in 1988 WBZ continued its full service AC format by this point featuring four songs an hour 74 until January 1991 when Gulf War coverage led the station to stop playing music on a regular basis and pivot to news and talk full time 53 75 joining WRKO and WHDH 850 AM now WEEI in the format 76 Program director David Bernstein upon hearing the news of the war s start ordered the on duty engineer to remove the music carousel from the studio vowing that This station will never play music again even before the war Bernstein had been considering dropping music from WBZ theorizing that the station s listeners were listening for the personalities and not the songs 76 Separately morning show producer Bill Flaherty and morning host Tom Bergeron also concluded that it was not appropriate for WBZ to play music in the midst of the war 77 The format change became permanent on March 4 1991 concurrently WBZ began promoting itself as Boston s News Station 74 positioning the station as the primary competitor for all news station WEEI 590 AM now WEZE 76 WBZ has from time to time played music on special occasions even after the change to news talk the station still offered 24 hours of Christmas music beginning on Christmas Eve through 1995 and it carried the audio of the Boston Pops Fourth of July concert and fireworks display from 2003 78 through 2016 additionally WBZ along with sister stations WODS 103 3 FM now WBGB and WZLX 100 7 FM carried the Beatles Let It Be Naked album premiere on November 13 2003 79 80 When WEEI dropped its all news format for all sports programming in September 1991 WBZ began a marketing campaign to convince former WEEI listeners to switch to WBZ 81 this was followed on January 13 1992 with a shift to all news programming during drive time 5 to 10 a m and 3 to 7 p m 82 On September 28 the station became an all news station from 5 a m 7 p m 83 following the end of the two midday talk shows hosted by Tom Bergeron who had moved to middays following the launch of the morning news block 84 the noon hour which separated the Bergeron shifts was already occupied by a news program the station s nighttime programming continued to be filled by David Brudnoy and Bob Raleigh s talk shows 83 Initially the new format was not carried over to WBZ s weekend schedule while a weekend morning news block was launched 83 the weekend afternoon schedule remained devoted to specialty talk shows until September 3 1994 when the station introduced information oriented sports shows branded as WBZ Sports Saturday and WBZ Sports Sunday 85 86 WBZ s sports commitment included the return of the Boston Bruins Radio Network to the station in 1995 87 however the station lost the New England Patriots to WBCN 104 1 FM now WWBX starting with the 1995 season 88 and for several seasons afterward WBZ was an affiliate of the New York Giants Radio Network NFL regulations only allowed WBZ to carry Giants games not played at the same time as Patriots games 89 As with the weekday lineup talk continued to be programmed at night including three of the specialty shows Kid Company on Saturday evenings and a revived Calling All Sports and Looking at the Law on Sunday evenings a Saturday night talk show hosted by Lovell Dyett 85 and an overnight show with former WHDH host Norm Nathan 90 WBZ added an affiliation with the CBS Radio Network on March 6 1995 making it one of a handful of stations to carry both CBS Radio and ABC Radio however the station ceased an affiliation with CNN Radio 91 Five months later on August 1 Westinghouse announced that it was purchasing CBS 92 a transaction that was completed on November 24 93 as a result WBZ came under the CBS Radio banner 53 76 years of Westinghouse ownership came to an end on December 1 1997 when the Westinghouse Electric Corporation changed its name to CBS Corporation 94 CBS s radio stations including WBZ were spun off into a new public company Infinity Broadcasting Corporation in 1998 a move that removed the Group W name from the station s license 95 Viacom announced its acquisition of the publicly held stake in Infinity on August 15 2000 shortly after it merged with CBS Corporation 96 a transaction completed on February 21 2001 though Viacom and CBS before the merger had always held a majority stake in Infinity 97 Even after coming under common ownership with the CBS Radio Network it would not be until 2000 before CBS s hourly newscast replaced ABC s during WBZ s overnight programming 53 As its ownership shifted WBZ continued to modify its program schedule After Norm Nathan s death on October 29 1996 90 his Friday night Saturday morning show was taken over by Steve LeVeille and his Saturday night Sunday morning show went to former WSSH FM 99 5 now WCRB morning host Jordan Rich 98 Bob Lobel by now WBZ TV s sports director and Upton Bell returned to the station on May 17 1997 for a Sunday night sports show with Calling All Sports moving to Saturdays 99 Another sports show The McDonoughs on Sports with Sean McDonough and Will McDonough aired during the 1997 NFL season as a lead in to CBS Radio Sports broadcast of Monday Night Football preempting David Brudnoy s program 100 the first two hours of his Friday show were preempted in favor of a cooking show Olives Table with Todd English from August 1997 101 through August 1998 102 The Sports Saturday and Sports Sunday blocks were discontinued in April 1998 in favor of an expansion of the all news format to weekend afternoons 103 Calling All Sports and The Bob Lobel Show were not affected 104 though Lobel s show was replaced with Sunday Sports Page with Dan Roche and Steve DeOssie that July after a management ordered cut off of a call on the July 12 broadcast drove Lobel to resign from his show on July 13 105 106 Bob Raleigh began to cut back his on air presence during the late 1990s with Kevin Sowyrda taking over the Sunday night Monday morning slot for a time 98 he eventually retired on June 9 1999 107 with Steve LeVeille taking his place in the overnight hours and Jordan Rich taking over the Friday night Saturday morning show 108 Shortly afterward David Brudnoy gave up the 10 p m 12 a m portion of his show 107 this timeslot was given to Lowell Sun columnist and former WLLH 1400 AM host Paul Sullivan 109 For a time starting in the fall of 2001 the station relaunched the 1 p m hour of the Midday News as the WBZ Business Hour with an increased focus on business news 110 this program was similar to one on Los Angeles sister station KNX WBZ has since returned to regular news in the 1 p m hour Later that year weekend sports talk was abandoned completely with Calling All Sports which had been a leased time program owned and produced by Norm Resha since its revival in 1991 111 moving to WTKK 96 9 FM on December 2 62 WBZ then launched a Saturday evening talk show hosted by Pat Desmarais while a simulcast of the CBS television program 60 Minutes was added on Sunday evenings on January 13 2002 112 2003 2017 edit nbsp Horizontal version of WBZ s current logo used since July 1 2010David Brudnoy announced on September 23 2003 that he had skin cancer 113 114 he had also been fighting AIDS since 1994 87 a farewell broadcast aired on December 8 2004 and he died the next day with tribute shows airing over the following two nights 115 Per Brudnoy s wish Paul Sullivan took over the 8 p m midnight time slot in January 2005 with the 7 p m hour given to an expansion of the WBZ Afternoon News 115 That March WBZ began streaming its programming on the web along with Infinity s other news and talk stations 116 When Viacom split into two companies on December 31 2005 Infinity became part of the new CBS Corporation and reverted to the CBS Radio name 117 That same day WBZ dropped Paul Harvey after the station s contract to carry his broadcasts expired however despite coming under the CBS Radio banner once more the station still maintains an affiliation with ABC News Radio 118 in addition the station dropped Looking at the Law a legal advice show hosted by Neil Chayet after its January 8 2006 broadcast in favor of brokered financial programs 119 Longtime morning news anchor Gary LaPierre who anchored WBZ s morning newscasts for nearly 40 years retired from WBZ at the end of 2006 Governor Mitt Romney declared the day of his final broadcast December 29 2006 Gary LaPierre Day Romney Senator Ted Kennedy Mayor Tom Menino former Mayor Ray Flynn former Governor Michael Dukakis and other notables called in during his final broadcast 120 LaPierre was replaced on the WBZ Morning News with Ed Walsh a former morning host at WOR in New York City who had been anchoring at WCBS 121 starting with the 9 30 a m half hour of the December 29 Morning News 120 LaPierre continued to be heard on the station on occasion through voiceover work 122 Meanwhile evening host Paul Sullivan was fighting a brain tumor which was discovered on November 22 2004 shortly before Brudnoy s death 123 After undergoing several surgeries over the next two and a half years Sullivan announced on June 21 2007 that he would step down from the evening talk show 124 with his final show led by Jordan Rich airing on June 28 122 he died on September 9 125 Rich and WBZ TV reporter Dan Rea served as substitute hosts in the interim 124 on October 1 Rea who in the 1970s served as a weekend host for the station before moving to television in 1976 became the new host of the show renamed NightSide with Dan Rea 126 On December 31 2008 WBZ let go overnight talk show host Steve LeVeille sports anchor Tom Cuddy and Saturday night talk show hosts Lovell Dyett 127 and Pat Desmarais 128 LeVeille was replaced by Jon Grayson whose show originates from St Louis sister station KMOX while Dyett and Desmarais were replaced by the syndicated Kim Komando Show After listener efforts were made to restore LeVeille and Dyett to the station WBZ announced on January 27 2009 that LeVeille would reassume his shift on February 2 while Dyett would host a half hour early morning public affairs program on Sundays 129 Cuddy would subsequently return to the station as well that May 130 While Jordan Rich retained his weekend overnight show the 2 5 a m portion of the program began to be simulcast on sister station WCCO in Minneapolis Saint Paul Long time sports director Gil Santos retired after 38 years with the station on January 30 2009 after a week long fill in by Bob Lobel 131 Walt Perkins took over as morning sports anchor on February 7 132 The Bruins once again left WBZ following the 2008 09 season after CBS Radio launched a third incarnation of WBZ FM on 98 5 MHz as an all sports station which also took the Patriots from the former WBCN 133 The station simulcast WBZ FM s broadcast of Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals between the Bruins and the Vancouver Canucks allowing fans in areas of New England not served by a Bruins radio network affiliate to hear the game 134 additionally WBZ briefly carried Bruins games that conflict with WBZ FM s Patriots broadcasts a function that subsequently moved to WZLX WBZ also carried a Boston Celtics broadcast on January 11 2014 due to conflicts with both a Patriots game on current Celtics flagship station WBZ FM and a Bruins game on WZLX 135 Ed Walsh retired after four years as morning news anchor on November 30 2010 136 Rod Fritz then took over as interim anchor with Gary LaPierre guest anchoring for a week in early December 137 with Joe Mathieu formerly of Sirius XM Radio s P O T U S channel taking over on May 16 2011 138 139 The station added a monthly one hour interview show hosted by Mathieu WBZ Newswatch on January 26 2012 140 141 Overnight host Steve LeVeille retired from WBZ on June 8 2012 142 after a year of rotating guest hosts that included Jennifer Brien Morgan White Jr Bradley Jay and Dean Johnson Brien was named the new host on June 25 2013 143 On October 3 2013 the station announced it was canceling the Jen Brien Show with immediate effect 144 Bradley Jay then took over the overnight show renamed Jay Talking WBZ along with fellow CBS Radio all news stations WINS in New York City KYW in Philadelphia and WNEW FM in Washington D C added an affiliation with Westwood One News in 2014 145 Jordan Rich ended his weekend talk show on July 3 2016 but continues to do feature segments for the station 146 Joe Mathieu left WBZ on April 28 2017 147 that August the station announced Josh Binswanger who hosted Kid Company on the station in the early 1990s and has worked for WBZ TV as its new morning news anchor 148 while Mathieu joined WGBH 89 7 FM as its morning anchor 149 By the end of 2017 the staff included Deb Lawler and Josh Binswanger as morning anchors Mary Blake and Rod Fritz as midday anchors Jeff Brown and Laurie Kirby as afternoon anchors and Dan Rea and Bradley Jay as nighttime talk show hosts Since 2017 End of Westinghouse heritage and sale to iHeartMedia edit On February 2 2017 CBS Radio announced it would merge with Entercom which locally owned WEEI WEEI FM WKAF WRKO and WAAF the sale would be conducted using a Reverse Morris Trust so that it would be tax free While CBS shareholders retained a 72 ownership stake in the combined company Entercom was the surviving entity separating WBZ radio both 1030 and FM 98 5 from WBZ TV and WSBK TV 150 151 for the first time since WBZ TV s inception in 1948 WBZ radio and television would be under separate ownership On October 10 CBS Radio announced that as part of the process of obtaining regulatory approval of the merger WBZ would be one of sixteen stations that would be divested by Entercom along with sister stations WBZ FM and WZLX as well as WRKO and WKAF WBMX WODS WEEI AM FM and WAAF would be retained by Entercom while WBZ FM would be traded to Beasley Broadcast Group in exchange for WMJX 152 On November 1 iHeartMedia announced that it would acquire WBZ AM WZLX WRKO and WKAF To meet ownership limits set by the FCC WKOX would be divested to the Ocean Stations Trust in preparation for a permanent buyer 153 The merger was approved on November 9 2017 and was consummated on November 17 154 155 iHeart then began operating WBZ WKAF and WZLX under a local marketing agreement 5 The sale of WBZ WRKO WZLX and WKAF to iHeart was completed on December 19 2017 ending WBZ s 96 years of lineage under the same ownership 6 As part of the sale CBS Corporation entered into a long term license agreement with iHeartMedia and Beasley Broadcast Group for continued usage of the call sign on both WBZ and WBZ FM 156 corporate successor Paramount Global currently holds the trademark for WBZ as a brand 157 On March 30 2018 iHeartMedia announced that anchor Rod Fritz was let go 158 On August 25 2018 after 70 years WBZ left the Soldiers Field Road studios which continue to house WBZ TV and moved to facilities on Cabot Road in Medford putting it in the same building as iHeartMedia s other Boston stations 159 On January 15 2020 as part of an iHeartMedia restructuring WBZ laid off political commentator Jon Keller who remains with WBZ TV morning news anchor Deb Lawler overnight host Bradley Jay and sports anchor Tom Cuddy 160 Hall of Fame editIn February 2007 the station created the WBZ Radio Hall of Fame Gary LaPierre was the first inductee on February 16 161 Gil Santos was the second when he was inducted on July 9 2009 162 and Dave Maynard was the third with his induction on September 15 2009 163 Carl DeSuze became the fourth inductee and the first to be inducted posthumously on September 19 2011 coinciding with WBZ s 90th anniversary 164 Awards edit nbsp Jonathan Elias Joe Mathieu Lisa Hughes and Peter Casey at the 73rd Annual Peabody Awards for WBZ s coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing This section needs expansion with information on other awards won by the station over the years You can help by adding to it May 2011 WBZ received the 2010 Marconi award in the legendary stations category from the National Association of Broadcasters 165 In 2014 WBZ along with sister station at the time WBZ TV received a Peabody Award for its coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing 166 The station has won numerous Regional Edward R Murrow Awards for excellence in journalism In 2017 awards included Overall Excellence Best Newscast Excellence in Social Media and Excellence in Writing In 2016 WBZ went on to win the National Edward R Murrow Award for Best Newscast 167 Notable on air staff editDavid Brudnoy Neil Chayet Looking at the Law Larry Glick Gary LaPierre Dan Rea Jordan Rich Charles Osgood The Osgood File Jerry WilliamsNotes and references edit Commercial and Government Radio Stations of the United States Edition June 30 1920 Santa Elena Grace Steamship Co WBZ page 43 MV Santa Elena July 27 1920 www wrecksite eu Facility Technical Data for WBZ Licensing and Management System Federal Communications Commission iHeart Beasley Bonneville Make Gains In Entercom CBS Deal November 1 2017 insideradio com a b Venta Lance December 10 2017 Alt 102 9 amp KUBE 104 9 Tacoma To Flip Monday RadioInsight Retrieved December 11 2017 While iHeart has begun operating 1030 WBZ 97 7 WKAF and 100 7 WZLX in the Boston market and Sports 1090 The Fan KFNQ Seattle via LMA a b Consummation Notice CDBS Public Access Federal Communications Commission December 19 2017 Retrieved December 20 2017 iHM Boston Debuts WBZ Simulcast on WXKS FM HD2 Radio Online December 19 2017 Retrieved December 20 2017 How To Get Around MIT web mit edu Retrieved May 19 2021 Jordan Rich From the airwaves to the pages of a book Lowell Sun February 14 2021 Retrieved May 19 2021 NorthEast Radio Watch by Scott Fybush www fybush com Retrieved May 19 2021 TPR The Public s Radio TPR thepublicsradio org Retrieved May 19 2021 Kennedy Dan January 28 2004 No shout Zone CommonWealth Magazine Retrieved May 19 2021 CBS Radio Stations Win Four NAB Marconi Awards Press release CBS Radio October 1 2010 Retrieved July 16 2017 Ron Landry Tribute wjma radiohistory net Retrieved July 16 2017 First WBZ license issued September 15 1921 Limited Commercial license serial 224 issued to the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company in Springfield Massachusetts for a three month period A separate Experimental license with the call sign 1XAE was issued at the same time The Form 761 station application requested the call letters KDKS be assigned if possible however that call sign had already been issued to a ship named Salvor Radio Phone Program Fall River Massachusetts Evening News November 22 1921 page 7 With The Radiophone Folks QST January 1922 page 29 a b c d Mishkind Barry February 10 2004 WBZ and WBZA in Boston Springfield Hammond Museum of Radio Retrieved April 10 2011 a b c d e f g h i j k l Halper Donna L January 2 2001 WBZ s Early History The Archives BostonRadio org Retrieved April 10 2011 Miscellaneous Amendments to Regulations Radio Service Bulletin January 3 1922 page 10 Limited Commercial licenses had been issued since the government had begun licensing stations in 1912 Broadcasting was added as one of the available service categories and not all Limited Commercial stations were authorized to make broadcasts intended for the general public Hilliard Robert 2010 The Broadcast Century and Beyond Focal Press p 25 ISBN 978 0 240 81236 6 Bureau of Navigation Radio Communication Report of the Secretary of Commerce July 1 1923 page 221 Sec 122 Westinghouse Opens Station WBZ History of Radio to 1926 by Gleason L Archer 1938 pages 215 216 Ampico in the Knabe Heard Over Half of U S Through Station WBZ at Springfield Mass The Music Trades November 17 1922 page 17 Hockey Contests to be Broadcast Washington DC Evening Star December 3 1924 p 35 WBZ to Broadcast Baseball Opener Boston Herald April 14 1925 7 Through the Static New Britain Connecticut Daily Herald April 15 1925 p 18 Radio Service Bulletin United States Department of Commerce Bureau of Navigation May 1 1925 p 9 Retrieved October 30 2016 a b c d e f Donna L Halper March 14 2010 WBZ NewsRadio 1030 History 1920s CBS Boston Retrieved April 10 2011 Halper Donna L January 2 2001 The Eastern Massachusetts Radio Timeline The Archives BostonRadio org Retrieved April 10 2011 Mishkind Barry December 6 2009 The NBC section The Broadcast Archive Retrieved April 10 2011 Walter Gordon Behind the Scenes with the WBZ Players Springfield MA Republican July 1 1928 p 6C WBZ WBZA advertisement Broadcasting August 9 1954 page 15 a b WBZ NewsRadio 1030 History 1930s CBS Boston March 14 2010 Retrieved April 10 2011 Radio Service Bulletin U S Department of Commerce Radio Division March 31 1931 p 12 Retrieved October 30 2016 a b c d e f g h i j Fybush Scott August 5 2005 WBZ 65 Years in Hull part I Tower Site of the Week Retrieved April 10 2011 Radio Service Bulletin U S Department of Commerce Radio Division June 30 1931 p 22 Retrieved October 30 2016 a b Fybush Scott September 19 2001 WBZ at Eighty Tower Site of the Week Retrieved April 10 2011 Griffith Bill April 15 2005 As always stations will cover a lot of ground The Boston Globe ISSN 0743 1791 OCLC 66652431 Retrieved April 11 2011 The Eastern Massachusetts Radio Timeline The Archives BostonRadio org Retrieved April 11 2011 Westinghouse Takes Over Management And Operation of Four Stations July 1 Broadcasting July 1 1940 p 20 Retrieved October 30 2016 a b c d WBZ NewsRadio 1030 History 1940s CBS Boston Retrieved April 11 2011 Antenna Structure Registration 1003436 fcc gov Miller Jeff Earliest FM Radio Stations History of American Broadcasting Retrieved April 11 2011 Red Letter Day in Boston Broadcasting June 8 1942 pp 38 39 Retrieved October 30 2016 The Boston Radio Dial WBOS FM The Archives BostonRadio org August 16 2009 Retrieved April 16 2011 Carol Storms Through New England Toppling One TV Ten Radio Towers Broadcasting Telecasting September 6 1954 p 52 Retrieved October 30 2016 a b c WBZ NewsRadio 1030 History 1950s CBS Boston Retrieved April 11 2011 NBC Scores Westinghouse s Quitting Starts Actively Seeking Replacements Broadcasting Telecasting July 16 1956 p 7 Retrieved October 30 2016 a b c d e f WBZ NewsRadio 1030 History 1980s CBS Boston Retrieved April 15 2011 a b c d WBZ NewsRadio 1030 History 1960s CBS Boston Retrieved April 16 2011 a b c d e The Boston Radio Dial WBZ AM The Archives BostonRadio org August 13 2009 Retrieved April 16 2011 The Boston Marathon Newsweek January 13 1969 Public Affairs Mixes Public And Private PDF Broadcast Management Engineering May 1980 Retrieved April 7 2015 WBZ FM Makes Bow on 106 7 Mc Broadcasting Telecasting December 23 1957 p 60 Retrieved October 30 2016 The Boston Radio Dial WMJX FM The Archives BostonRadio org August 16 2009 Retrieved April 16 2011 WBZA is no more Broadcasting August 6 1962 p 46 Retrieved October 30 2016 Original 90 Year Old WBZ Radio Towers Taken Down In Springfield CBS Boston November 6 2011 Retrieved November 7 2011 Original WBZ Towers Come Down All Access November 7 2011 Retrieved November 7 2011 Fybush Scott August 15 2007 Where Are the Oldest Tower Sites Radio World Retrieved October 30 2016 a b c Griffith Bill December 7 2001 Mainella was right guy for Calling All Sports The Boston Globe Third ed ISSN 0743 1791 OCLC 66652431 ProQuest 405434339 Archived from the original on November 5 2012 Retrieved April 20 2011 subscription content preview a b c WBZ NewsRadio 1030 History 1970s CBS Boston Retrieved April 16 2011 a b Boston New Orleans Portland Breakers Trivia USFL info Retrieved April 17 2011 a b Craig Jack August 29 1987 BC shifts to WBZ Bell Lobel out The Boston Globe ISSN 0743 1791 OCLC 66652431 Archived from the original on November 5 2012 Retrieved April 17 2011 subscription content preview Craig Jack March 3 1992 BC football moves to WEEI The Boston Globe ISSN 0743 1791 OCLC 66652431 Archived from the original on November 5 2012 Retrieved April 17 2011 subscription content preview Fybush Scott March 2 2009 A Great Voice is Stilled NorthEast Radio Watch Retrieved April 17 2011 Pollard George Muck Made Meyer Grub Street Retrieved April 21 2011 Larry Glick obituary The Boston Globe ISSN 0743 1791 OCLC 66652431 Retrieved April 21 2011 Bickelhaupt Susan June 27 1990 WBZ lets Brudnoy go The Boston Globe ISSN 0743 1791 OCLC 66652431 Archived from the original on November 5 2012 Retrieved April 16 2011 subscription content preview Thomas Jack July 12 1990 A rare gentleman leaves BZ tomorrow The Boston Globe ISSN 0743 1791 OCLC 66652431 Archived from the original on November 5 2012 Retrieved July 16 2017 subscription content preview Bickelhaupt Susan August 28 1990 Brudnoy tight lipped about BZ talks The Boston Globe ISSN 0743 1791 OCLC 66652431 Archived from the original on October 11 2017 Retrieved July 16 2017 subscription content preview Thomas Jack September 13 1990 Brudnoy plans a classic comeback at WBZ The Boston Globe ISSN 0743 1791 OCLC 66652431 Archived from the original on November 5 2012 Retrieved April 16 2011 subscription content preview a b Street Talk PDF Radio amp Records March 8 1991 p 24 Retrieved August 25 2018 Bickelhaupt Susan January 25 1991 War knocks music off WBZ s programming The Boston Globe ISSN 0743 1791 OCLC 66652431 Archived from the original on October 21 2013 Retrieved April 16 2011 subscription content preview a b c The Day The Music Died PDF Radio amp Records July 14 2000 pp 48 50 Retrieved December 8 2022 Seiffert Don September 17 2021 From Sound of Silence to killing the music to TikTok WBZ at 100 Boston Business Journal Retrieved December 8 2022 Simon Clea June 30 2005 WBZ expands Fourth coverage The Boston Globe ISSN 0743 1791 OCLC 66652431 Archived from the original on November 6 2012 Retrieved June 25 2011 subscription content preview Bachman Katy November 10 2003 Infinity Will Let It Be With Beatles Telecast Mediaweek Retrieved April 16 2011 Fybush Scott November 17 2003 FCC Cites Jarad Antenna Violations archive li Archived from the original on October 20 2007 Retrieved July 16 2017 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link Johnson Dean August 28 1991 WBZ to target WEEI s stranded news junkies archive is Archived from the original on January 31 2013 Retrieved July 16 2017 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link subscription content preview Johnson Dean January 3 1992 WBZ AM to go all news in drive time Boston Herald Retrieved April 16 2011 subscription content preview a b c Bickelhaupt Susan September 24 1992 A new station for news WBZ AM The Boston Globe ISSN 0743 1791 OCLC 66652431 Archived from the original on November 5 2012 Retrieved April 16 2011 subscription content preview Johnson Dean July 30 1992 Bergeron to leave BZ radio Boston Herald Retrieved April 17 2011 subscription content preview a b Fybush Scott D New England Radio Watcher WBZ WHDH WEEI rec radio broadcasting Google Groups Retrieved April 17 2011 Craig Jack August 28 1994 Some microphones still open The Boston Globe ISSN 0743 1791 OCLC 66652431 Archived from the original on November 5 2012 Retrieved April 17 2011 subscription content preview a b WBZ NewsRadio 1030 History 1990s CBS Boston Retrieved April 15 2011 Baker Jim November 18 1994 BCN lures Pats archive is Archived from the original on February 1 2013 Retrieved April 17 2011 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link subscription content preview Fybush Scott 1995 The Year in Review New England RadioWatch Retrieved April 17 2011 a b Fybush Scott October 31 1996 Norm Nathan 1926 1996 New England RadioWatch Retrieved April 17 2011 Fybush Scott D New England Radio Watcher WHAV goes spanish rec radio broadcasting Google Groups Retrieved April 17 2011 Fabrikant Geraldine August 2 1995 CBS accepts bid by Westinghouse The New York Times Retrieved April 18 2011 Dow Jones November 25 1995 Westinghouse Completes CBS Acquisition The New York Times Retrieved April 18 2011 Westinghouse 2 Company Plan Dropped The New York Times November 15 1997 Retrieved April 18 2011 Fybush Scott November 13 1998 So Long WWJY North East RadioWatch Retrieved April 18 2011 Viacom to Buy the Rest of Infinity s Shares The New York Times August 16 2000 Retrieved April 19 2011 Viacom Infinity seal broadcasting merger Spartanburg Herald Journal February 22 2001 Retrieved April 19 2011 a b Fybush Scott January 29 1998 A Sinclair Sale North East RadioWatch Retrieved April 20 2011 Fybush Scott May 22 1997 Back to Boston North East RadioWatch Retrieved April 20 2011 Fybush Scott May 1 1997 Trouble for Brian Dodge North East RadioWatch Retrieved April 20 2011 Fybush Scott August 7 1997 A Change of Sale North East RadioWatch Retrieved April 20 2011 Fybush Scott August 20 1998 Non Compete The Battle Continues North East RadioWatch Retrieved April 20 2011 Baker Jim March 21 1998 WBZ weekends lose sports voice Boston Herald Retrieved April 20 2011 subscription content preview Fybush Scott March 26 1998 New CHR on the Cape North East RadioWatch Retrieved April 20 2011 Manly Howard July 14 1998 Lobel pulls plug on Sunday radio gig The Boston Globe ISSN 0743 1791 OCLC 66652431 Archived from the original on November 5 2012 Retrieved April 20 2011 subscription content preview Fybush Scott July 18 1998 Lobel Leaves BZ Radio North East RadioWatch Retrieved April 20 2011 a b Fybush Scott April 16 1999 Raleigh Retires Bruds Cuts Back Hours at WBZ North East RadioWatch Retrieved April 20 2011 Fybush Scott June 4 1999 The End of CBL Is Near North East RadioWatch Retrieved April 20 2011 Fybush Scott June 18 1999 CBL The Final Countdown North East RadioWatch Retrieved April 20 2011 Simon Clea November 15 2001 Assessing WBZ s financial hour The Boston Globe ISSN 0743 1791 OCLC 66652431 Archived from the original on November 5 2012 Retrieved April 23 2011 subscription content preview Craig Jack January 6 1991 Do it yourself show on WBZ The Boston Globe ISSN 0743 1791 OCLC 66652431 Archived from the original on November 5 2012 Retrieved April 22 2011 subscription content preview Fybush Scott January 23 2002 Big Changes at WAVZ North East RadioWatch Retrieved April 22 2011 Fybush Scott September 29 2003 WHAM Fires Lonsberry archive li Archived from the original on October 8 2007 Retrieved July 16 2017 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link WBZ NewsRadio 1030 History 2000s CBS Boston Retrieved April 22 2011 a b Fybush Scott December 13 2004 Remembering David Brudnoy NorthEast Radio Watch Retrieved April 20 2011 Fybush Scott March 7 2005 Shakeup in State College NorthEast Radio Watch Retrieved April 22 2011 Bloomberg News December 15 2005 Infinity Broadcasting to Become CBS Radio The New York Times Retrieved April 19 2011 Fybush Scott January 9 2006 New Troubles for Maynard s WAVM NorthEast Radio Watch Retrieved April 22 2011 Fybush Scott January 16 2006 Maine Sports Legend Dies in House Fire North East RadioWatch Retrieved April 23 2011 a b Fybush Scott January 8 2007 WNEW Gets Fresh NorthEast Radio Watch Retrieved April 22 2011 Fybush Scott December 4 2006 WCRB WKLB Make the Big Switch NorthEast Radio Watch Retrieved April 23 2011 a b Fybush Scott July 2 2007 Emotional Signoff for WBZ s Sullivan NorthEast Radio Watch Retrieved April 23 2011 Fybush Scott November 29 2004 New Sounds for Nova Scotia and N B North East RadioWatch Retrieved April 23 2011 a b Kahn Joseph P June 22 2007 WBZ radio s Sullivan to step down after one more show The Boston Globe ISSN 0743 1791 OCLC 66652431 Retrieved April 23 2011 Simon Clea September 10 2007 Paul Sullivan popular WBZ radio talk show host dies at 50 The Boston Globe ISSN 0743 1791 OCLC 66652431 Retrieved April 23 2011 Simon Clea October 6 2007 Back at the mike Rea has mixed emotions The Boston Globe ISSN 0743 1791 OCLC 66652431 Retrieved April 23 2011 Heslam Jessica January 8 2009 Steve LeVeille speaks Boston Herald Retrieved January 12 2009 Shanahan Mark Rhone Paysha January 15 2009 Bulger film has big time backing The Boston Globe ISSN 0743 1791 OCLC 66652431 Retrieved January 27 2009 Heslam Jessica January 27 2009 Steve LeVeille and Lovell Dyett return to WBZ after listeners sound off Boston Herald Retrieved January 27 2009 Fybush Scott May 25 2009 On Memorial Day No On Air Rewound NorthEast Radio Watch Retrieved April 24 2011 Fybush Scott February 2 2009 Groundhog Day Brings Leveille Return NorthEast Radio Watch Retrieved April 24 2011 Building a relationship The Boston Globe February 7 2009 ISSN 0743 1791 OCLC 66652431 Retrieved April 24 2011 Fybush Scott July 20 2009 Remembering Walter Cronkite WBCN and WQXR NorthEast Radio Watch Retrieved April 24 2011 Thomas One Save Away From History One Win From Cup CBS Boston June 14 2011 Retrieved June 14 2011 Game 7 will also be simulcast on WBZ NewsRadio 1030 am Where To Hear Patriots Bruins Celtics On Saturday Night CBS Boston January 9 2014 Retrieved January 11 2014 Bishop Stewart November 5 2010 WBZ morning radio anchor to retire The Boston Globe ISSN 0743 1791 OCLC 66652431 Retrieved July 16 2011 Fybush Scott November 29 2010 Entercom to Buy Phoenix s WFNX NorthEast Radio Watch Retrieved April 25 2011 Joe Mathieu Joining WBZ Boston All Access April 5 2011 Retrieved April 25 2011 Joe Mathieu Takes Over As WBZ s Morning Drive Anchor CBS Boston May 16 2011 Retrieved May 18 2011 Making Moves Wednesday January 25 2012 archive is January 25 2012 Archived from the original on January 27 2012 Retrieved July 16 2017 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link Heslam Jessica January 25 2012 WBZ radio debuts monthly newsmaker show Boston Herald Retrieved January 26 2012 Shanahan Mark Goldstein Meredith June 5 2012 Steve LeVeille is retiring from WBZ Radio The Boston Globe ISSN 0743 1791 OCLC 66652431 Retrieved July 2 2013 Jen Brien Takes Overnights At WBZ A Boston All Access June 26 2013 Retrieved July 2 2013 Jen Brien Exits Overnights At WBZ A Boston All Access October 3 2013 Retrieved July 2 2013 WINS KYW WBZ A WNEW Affiliate With Westwood One News All Access October 29 2014 Retrieved November 22 2017 WBZ s Jordan Rich Stepping Away From Overnight Talk Show CBS Boston May 19 2016 Retrieved October 11 2017 Joe Mathieu To Exit WBZ A Boston All Access April 25 2017 Retrieved October 11 2017 WBZ Welcomes Back Josh Binswanger Radio Ink August 24 2017 Retrieved October 11 2017 Joe Mathieu To Join WGBH Boston As Morning Edition Anchor All Access May 16 2017 Retrieved October 11 2017 CBS Sets Radio Division Merger With Entercom Variety February 2 2017 Retrieved February 2 2017 CBS and Entercom Are Merging Their Radio Stations Fortune Retrieved February 2 2017 Venta Lance October 10 2017 Entercom Narrows Down 16 Stations To Be Divested To Complete CBS Radio Merger RadioInsight Retrieved October 11 2017 Entercom Trades Boston amp Seattle Spin Offs To iHeartMedia For Richmond amp Chattanooga RadioInsight November 1 2017 Entercom Receives FCC Approval for Merger with CBS Radio Entercom November 9 2017 Retrieved November 17 2017 Venta Lance November 17 2017 Entercom Completes CBS Radio Merger Radio Insight Retrieved November 17 2017 Exhibit 2 8 Execution Version Trademark License Agreement TV Station Brands by and between CBS Broadcasting Inc CBS Mass Media Corporation and CBS Radio Inc and certain subsidiaries of CBS Radio Inc www sec gov November 16 2017 Retrieved February 27 2020 WBZ Trademark of CBS Mass Media Corp Registration Number 2463746 Serial Number 76033841 trademarks justia com Justia Trademarks Retrieved February 28 2020 Shanahan Mark March 30 2018 Changes continue at WBZ News Radio The Boston Globe ISSN 0743 1791 OCLC 66652431 Retrieved March 30 2018 Sweeney Emily August 24 2018 WBZ NewsRadio 1030 bids goodbye to Soldiers Field Road in Brighton The Boston Globe ISSN 0743 1791 OCLC 66652431 Retrieved August 25 2018 DeCosta Klipa Nik January 15 2020 Jon Keller says his WBZ radio run is over amid iHeartMedia layoffs Boston com Retrieved November 25 2020 Fybush Scott February 19 2007 A Great Week for NE Radio History NorthEast Radio Watch Retrieved April 25 2011 Fybush Scott July 13 2009 A Month On DTV Transition Still Tangled NorthEast Radio Watch Retrieved April 26 2011 Fybush Scott September 21 2009 Remembering Fred Cusick NorthEast Radio Watch Retrieved April 26 2011 Lutz Jaime September 19 2011 WBZ AM celebrates 90th birthday archive li Archived from the original on September 25 2011 Retrieved July 16 2017 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link WBZ AM Named Legendary Station National Association of Broadcasters September 30 2010 Retrieved July 16 2017 Coverage of Boston Marathon Bombings WBZ TV Boston and WBZ Newsradio 1030 The Peabody Awards Retrieved July 16 2017 WBZ NewsRadio Wins 4 Regional Murrow Award boston cbslocal com April 25 2017 Retrieved August 27 2019 nbsp Aerial view of the Hull transmitter siteExternal links editOfficial website WBZ in the FCC AM station database WBZ in Nielsen Audio s AM station database FCC History Cards for WBZ covering 1927 1981 Preceded by590 WEEI Radio home of the New England Patriots1991 1995 Succeeded by104 1 WBCNPreceded by590 WBNW Radio home of the Boston Bruins1995 2009 Succeeded by98 5 WBZ FM Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title WBZ AM amp oldid 1188851450, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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