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Wikipedia

WRKO

April 25, 2023

WRKO (680 AM) is a commercial news/talk radio station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts, serving Greater Boston and much of surrounding New England. Owned by iHeartMedia, WRKO is a Class B AM station that provides secondary coverage to portions of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Maine during the day, but is highly directional at night to protect a number of clear-channel stations on adjacent frequencies. WRKO serves as the Boston affiliate for ABC News Radio, Coast to Coast AM and This Morning, America's First News with Gordon Deal; syndicated personalities Joe Pags, John Batchelor and Bill Cunningham; the flagship station of The Howie Carr Show, and the home of radio personality Jeff Kuhner. The WRKO studios are located in the Boston suburb of Medford, while the station transmitter resides in nearby Burlington. Besides its main analog transmission, WRKO simulcasts over the HD2 subchannel of sister station WZLX,[1] and streams online via iHeartRadio.

WRKO
Broadcast areaNew England
Frequency680 kHz
BrandingWRKO AM 680
Programming
FormatNews/talk
AffiliationsABC News Radio
Compass Media Networks
Premiere Networks
Total Traffic and Weather Network
Ownership
Owner
WBWL, WBZ, WJMN, WXKS, WXKS-FM, WZLX, WZRM
History
First air date
December 19, 1937; 85 years ago (1937-12-19)
Former call signs
WLAW (1937–1953)
WNAC (1953–1967)
Call sign meaning
former owner RKO General
Technical information
Facility ID1902
ClassB
Power50,000 watts
Transmitter coordinates
42°29′25″N 71°13′05″W / 42.490278°N 71.218056°W / 42.490278; -71.218056
Repeater(s)100.7 WZLX-HD2 (Boston)
Links
WebcastListen live (via iHeartRadio)
Websitewrko.iheart.com

WRKO is one of three AM stations owned by iHeartMedia in the Boston market that features a spoken word format; WBZ is all news during the day and overnight, with local talk in the evening, while WXKS carries a nationally syndicated conservative talk line up.

History

WLAW (1937–1953)

Not to be confused with WLAW or WLAW-FM, two radio stations in Whitehall, Michigan.

The station first went on the air as WLAW on December 19, 1937, at 680 on the AM dial. The station was licensed to Lawrence, Massachusetts, some 25 miles north of Boston; its transmitter was in nearby Andover. It was owned and operated by Hildreth and Rogers, publishers of the Lawrence Daily Eagle and Evening Tribune.[2] Initially a 1,000-watt daytime-only station, WLAW would boost its power to 5,000 watts in 1940; the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) also granted the station authority to operate at night, using a directional antenna to protect the signals of KPO in San Francisco, which had been the dominant station on the clear channel of 680 kHz, and WPTF in Raleigh, North Carolina, which had also been granted nighttime service on the channel.[3]

In 1945, WLAW applied to boost its power to 50,000 watts, and relocate its transmitter to Burlington;[4] the station would make this upgrade in 1947.[5] In conjunction with the move, WLAW opened a Boston studio[6] on Tremont Street in the theater district;[7] it also maintained a third studio in Lowell.[8] The owners also acquired an FM station: WLAW-FM (93.7 FM) was officially dedicated on November 10, 1947.[9] In mid-1951, WLAW and WLAW-FM moved to new studios at the Hotel Bradford in Boston.[10]

WNAC (1953–1967)

For the Boston radio station which identified as WNAC from 1922 to 1953, see WBIX.
Not to be confused with former Boston television station WNAC-TV (Boston) or Providence television station WNAC-TV.

In May 1953, General Teleradio, General Tire's broadcasting division and owner of WNAC (1260 AM), bought WLAW and WLAW-FM from Hildreth and Rogers for $475,000; and concurrently sold WNAC to Vic Diehm and Associates for $125,000.[11][12] WLAW's availability was seen as a way to "upgrade" the signal for WNAC; in 1947, the FCC denied a request to allow WNAC (1260 AM) to move to 1200 kHz and boost its power, using a directional 50,000-watt transmitter.[13][14] On June 17, 1953, General Teleradio changed WLAW's call letters to WNAC, moved the old 1260 AM format to 680 AM, and reassigned on- and off-air personnel. In effect, this new WNAC (680 AM) licensed to Lawrence became the successor to WNAC (1260 AM) licensed to Boston. For this reason, this transaction is seen as WNAC "moving" from 1260 AM to 680 AM.

Vic Diehm and Associates subsequently changed 1260 AM's calls to WVDA and launched a new format on that station utilizing WLAW's former studios.[11][15] WLAW-FM had its license surrendered, as WNAC-FM (98.5 FM) was retained by General Teleradio;[11] a separate station on 93.7 FM also licensed to Lawrence signed on in 1960 as WGHJ; now known as WEEI-FM.[16] While the new WNAC was, for all intents and purposes, a Boston station, its city of license remained in Lawrence until July 25, 1957;[5] at least until 1962, the legal station identification was "WNAC Boston-Lawrence."

For a brief time in 1956 and 1957, WNAC was affiliated with both the Mutual Broadcasting System and the NBC Radio Network after WBZ dropped NBC programming. WNAC remained a Mutual affiliate until the network, of which General Tire (by then doing business as RKO Teleradio Pictures) was a part-owner, was sold in July 1957.[17] WNAC also lost the NBC Radio affiliation to WEZE (1260 AM) (the former WVDA) in 1957. By December 1959, RKO Teleradio adopted the RKO General banner.[5][18]

WNAC-FM changed call letters to WRKO-FM on May 10, 1957,[19] but retained its simulcast of WNAC's programming until 1963, when separate programming was inaugurated for half of the broadcast day.

WNAC, along with WRKO-FM and WNAC-TV (channel 7), were nearly sold by RKO General to NBC as part of a multi-city transaction and station trade between the two companies announced in March 1960.[20][21] This arrangement wound up under review at both the FCC and the U.S. Department of Justice due to issues involving NBC's previous exchange of assets with Westinghouse Broadcasting in Cleveland and Philadelphia. Ultimately, the RKO-NBC transaction never materialized.[22]

Top 40 era

On October 12, 1966, WRKO-FM dropped its simulcast of WNAC outside of overnights and morning drive, and introduced an automated top 40 format.[23][24] Owing to WRKO-FM's relative success with that format, RKO General changed WNAC's call sign to WRKO on March 3, 1967, and the format also switched to Top 40;[25][26][27] both stations would still simulcast each other for 11 hours a day.[28][29] With this move, the Yankee Network, of which WNAC and predecessor WNAC (1260 AM) had been the flagship station of since 1929, ceased operations.[30]

The move to a Top 40 format in March 1967 was an enormous success. For the next decade, WRKO was one of Boston's top-rated radio stations, and absolutely dominant among its target audience of listeners in the 18-34 demographic. Known to its listeners as "The Big 68," WRKO was home to such well-known personalities as longtime morning man Dale Dorman, Chuck Knapp, Joel Cash, Johnny Dark, J. J. Wright, J. J. Jeffrey, Harry Nelson (afternoon drive and later PD of WRKO in 1978), Shadoe Stevens, Frank Kingston Smith (who was known as "Bobby Mitchell"), Steve Anthony and many others. Mel Phillips, who replaced Bob Henabery as program director, served in that position from 1967 to 1972 before being replaced by Scotty Brink.

WRKO in 1967 even took a dig at market leader WBZ, a Westinghouse Broadcasting station that played popular music. In advance of WRKO's format change to Top 40, WBZ tried to get in front of WRKO by adopting the slogan "Boss Radio" (used on famous RKO General top 40 station KHJ in Los Angeles). WRKO, in response, was rumored to have had their DJs reading a liner that said "WRKO, putting the Boss in the Restinghouse." WRKO did ultimately drive WBZ out of the top 40 format.

WRKO's other main competitor was WMEX, which was Boston's original Top 40 station, starting the format in 1957. Even though WMEX's city ratings were good, it had a highly directional signal and did not effectively reach many of the suburbs, especially at night. WRKO (and the growing popularity of FM rock stations) eventually drove WMEX to a format change in 1975, with WRKO remaining Boston's sole AM Top 40 station. In May 1975, WRKO's airborne traffic reporter, "The Red Baron" (Rick Blumberg), joined the morning team with Dale Dorman and Bill Rossi. The Red Baron was both the pilot and traffic reporter, flying at 1000 feet over Boston, in a fixed wing aircraft. 1975 and 1976 were the only years that WRKO had an aircraft in the sky.

WRKO was propelled in its success by the introduction of the so-called Drake format originated by radio programmer Bill Drake. In contrast to other Top 40 formats at the time, it featured a limited playlist of only the top hits, with strict minimal talk and a more music approach presented in a straightforward manner. This format was adopted by other stations across the country, including RKO General stations KHJ in Los Angeles, WHBQ in Memphis and WOR-FM in New York (now WEPN-FM). Virtually any station using the Drake sound rose to the top of its market.

By the end of the 1970s, however, rock and Top 40 radio had begun to migrate from AM to FM. In a three-year period from 1978 to 1981, WRKO lost a chunk of its audience. The station tried to compete with the surge in FM listening, first with a short-lived focus on album cuts and later by switching to more of an adult contemporary music format, featuring a morning program with market legend Norm Nathan. A switch to a country music format was also reportedly briefly considered. In 1980, WRKO began running talk programming during evening hours. On September 27, 1981, the station switched to an all-talk format; at 6:00 p.m. on that date, Justin Clark played the last song, "American Pie" by Don McLean.

Talk era

 
former logo

After switching to the talk radio format, Norm Nathan was retained as morning host; the initial lineup also included Dick Syatt in late mornings, Dr. Harry Sobel in middays, Jerry Williams in afternoon drive, and Guy Mainella and David Brudnoy in evenings.[31] As it moved to more issue-oriented talk, some of the most prominent talk radio hosts in the country broadcast on WRKO, such as Gene Burns, the aforementioned Williams, Ted O'Brien, and Paul Parent.

But throughout the 1980s, WRKO's parent company, General Tire and Rubber, later renamed Gencorp, was under multiple federal investigations and ultimately under an FCC investigation due to its "lack of candor" for failing to disclose unlawful operations by General Tire. In the midst of the investigation into its parent company's problems, RKO General found itself under investigation for reciprocal trade practices involving several of its properties, and later for double billing by a radio network it organized, the RKO Radio Network. The FCC license hearings culminated in the loss of the company's license to operate WNAC-TV;[32] RKO General sold the station assets to New England Television Corporation, who was awarded a license for a replacement station.[33][34] WNAC-TV signed off permanently on May 21, 1982, with WNEV-TV (now WHDH-TV) taking its place the next morning.[35][36]

After a long and protracted battle, FCC administrative law judge Edward Kuhlmann ruled on August 11, 1987, that all of RKO General's broadcast licenses, including WRKO's license, be denied renewal;[37][38][39] this excluded WOR-TV, which had its city of license changed from New York to Secaucus, New Jersey, in an attempt to avoid the loss of its license, then was divested to MCA Inc. nine months prior to the ruling.[40] Gencorp initially appealed the ruling,[41] but was advised by the FCC that any appeal would be denied, and that their stations should be divested instead so as to avoid the indignity of additional license stripping without compensation.[42] As part of the settlements worked out in Boston, New York, Memphis, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles and San Francisco, WRKO and its FM sister station, WROR (the former WNAC-FM and WRKO-FM; now WBZ-FM), were sold to Atlantic Ventures Corp., operated by cable television executive Steve Dodge, for $28 million in November 1988;[43] Gencorp only received $17.5 million, with the rest being awarded to past applicants that had competed for the licenses.[44]

On December 1, 1992, Atlantic Ventures acquired WHDH (850 AM) from New England Television Corporation, which had put the station up for sale to help pay down debt;[45] the sale put the two talk stations under the same ownership.[46] Atlantic Ventures merged with two other radio groups, Stoner Broadcasting Systems and Multi Market Communications, on June 5, 1993, to form American Radio Systems;[47] the combined company would then purchase the intellectual property of WEEI (590 AM) from Back Bay Broadcasters on August 15, 1994.[48] As part of the deal, WHDH would change its call letters to WEEI, and change format to sports radio; The Rush Limbaugh Show, Howie Carr and the "Skyway Patrol" traffic report branding were all moved from WHDH to WRKO in the transaction, which was consummated on August 29.[48]

Westinghouse Electric Corporation, then-parent company of CBS Radio, announced its acquisition of American Radio Systems in September 1997;[49] the merger was completed in 1998.[43] As the combined company would have controlled 59 percent of advertising revenues in the Boston market, as well as three of the top five radio stations, in April 1998 the Department of Justice ordered CBS to divest WRKO, WEEI, WAAF (now WKVB), and WEGQ (now WEEI-FM), as well as KSD and KLOU in St. Louis and WOCT in Baltimore, as a condition of its approval of the merger.[50] In August 1998, Entercom announced plans to acquire the four Boston-area stations, along with WWTM (now WVEI), from CBS for $140 million.[51]

WRKO was, from 1986 to 1994, the flagship station for the Boston Red Sox. In 2006, Entercom inked a 10-year deal to make WRKO the co-flagship station for the Red Sox Radio Network along with WEEI; WEEI once again became the sole flagship station on August 26, 2009. WRKO also carried Boston Celtics basketball broadcasts from 2005 to 2007, when WEEI assumed the flagship station role.

Howie Carr took over for Jerry Williams in the afternoon drive time slot in 1994; Williams would move first to late mornings,[52] then to weekend afternoons in January 1997,[53] before leaving WRKO altogether in October 1998.[54] The Howie Carr Show eventually was picked up by other talk stations around New England and briefly syndicated by ABC Radio Networks before syndication was taken over by Entercom, and ultimately, by Carr himself.[55] After a lengthy labor dispute between Carr and Entercom in 2007, WRKO dropped the program in November 2014, with Carr signing WMEX as a replacement affiliate for the Boston market.[56] WRKO and Howie Carr reached an agreement to carry the show again on March 16, 2015, but with the station as an affiliate instead of acting as his employer.[57]

On November 16, 2006, all on-air news anchors and traffic reporters were fired.[58] WGBH-TV's Beat the Press reported that the news and traffic reporters were informed individually and received severance pay. WRKO contracted with Metro Networks (now the Total Traffic and Weather Network) to provide hourly news updates, including traffic and weather, during the day. In announcing the decision, WRKO said that the station's local news and issues would be driven by the talk show hosts, instead of the news anchors.

The station itself made news in early November 2006, when late morning host John DePetro was fired following his on-air description of gubernatorial candidate Grace Ross as a "fat lesbian."[59][60] Former Massachusetts House Speaker Tom Finneran was then hired as WRKO's morning-drive host in January 2007, replacing Scott Allen Miller;[61] WRKO host Todd Feinburg was added as a co-host in January 2009. Finneran was dropped from the lineup at the end of May 2012;[62][63] his replacement, Michele McPhee, was paired with Fineburg until October 31, when Jeff Kuhner was moved into the time slot.[64][65]

Massachusetts state trooper Grant Moulison was WRKO's lead traffic reporter from 1985 until retiring from the force in April 2006, with 32 years of service behind him.[66]

WRKO has notably dropped The Rush Limbaugh Show from its schedule two different times: the first time came in March 2010 when Clear Channel Communications (now iHeartMedia, current owners of WRKO) launched a talk station of its own on WXKS (1200 AM), and picked up the affiliation rights to it and other programs syndicated by Premiere Networks; this also included Coast to Coast AM, which WRKO aired in overnights.[67] After WXKS changed formats from talk radio to all-comedy in August 2012, both Rush Limbaugh and Coast to Coast AM returned to WRKO's lineup.[68][69] WRKO dropped Rush Limbaugh again in May 2015, citing the expenses for running Limbaugh had risen too steeply;[70] Kuhner was moved to the midday time slot; the replacement morning show, co-hosted by Kim Carrigan and Doug "VB" Goudie, featured material from Boston.com as part of a content partnership with The Boston Globe.[71]

iHeart era

On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with Entercom;[72] that October 10, CBS and Entercom placed WRKO, along with WKAF, WBZ, WBZ-FM, and WZLX, up for divestiture as part of the process of obtaining regulatory approval of the merger.[73] iHeartMedia acquired WRKO, WBZ, WZLX and WKAF as part of a multi-market station and asset swap between it and Entercom; to meet ownership limits set by the FCC, WKOX was designated to be divested.[74] The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and consummated on November 17.[75][76] Until WKOX's spinoff into the Ocean Stations Trust was completed, WRKO was operated by the Entercom Divestiture Trust, while the sister stations began being operated by iHeart once the merger closed.[77] iHeart began operating WRKO on December 19, 2017; on that date, it completed its acquisition of WRKO, WZLX, WKAF, and WBZ.[78][79] With the ownership change, WRKO added a simulcast on the HD-2 signal of WZLX.[1]

WRKO's studios moved to iHeartMedia's facilities in Medford in July 2018; the main talk studio is shared with WBZ.[80]

In late November 2018, WRKO moved Jeff Kuhner back to morning drive and Doug Goudie to middays, with Kim Carrigan exiting the station.[81] Two years later, iHeart laid off Goudie,[82] and announced a new show to be hosted by Grace Curley and produced by the Howie Carr Radio Network, which was launched on January 4, 2021.[83]

Programming

WRKO has three local conservative talk shows on its weekday schedule; Jeff Kuhner hosts the drive time program,The Grace Curley Show airs in early afternoons, and The Howie Carr Show, hosted by Howie Carr, airs in late afternoons; the latter two programs are regionally syndicated to a number of other talk stations in New England, and the 4 p.m. ET hour of Carr's show is simulcast on the cable network Newsmax TV. The Financial Exchange with Barry Armstrong, a regionally syndicated financial talk show, airs in late mornings. Conservative talk shows hosted by Jesse Kelly (syndicated via Premiere Networks); and Joe Pags (syndicated via Compass Media Networks) air during the evening hours. Paranormal/conspiracy theory oriented program Coast to Coast AM with George Noory airs through the overnight hours, via Premiere Networks. This Morning, America's First News with Gordon Deal, also syndicated via Compass Media Networks, airs in the early morning hours.

WRKO airs several weekend talk programs, including: Gun Talk, Free Talk Live, The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show and The Lutheran Hour; syndicated shows hosted by Gil Gross and Bill Cunningham; and assorted brokered programming. ABC News Radio begins most hours at night and on weekends, with local news updates provided by sister station WBZ.

References

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External links

  • Official website
  • FCC History Cards for WRKO
  • WRKO in the FCC AM station database
  • WRKO on Radio-Locator
  • WRKO in Nielsen Audio's AM station database

April 25, 2023
wrko, commercial, news, talk, radio, station, licensed, boston, massachusetts, serving, greater, boston, much, surrounding, england, owned, iheartmedia, class, station, that, provides, secondary, coverage, portions, massachusetts, connecticut, rhode, island, h. WRKO 680 AM is a commercial news talk radio station licensed to Boston Massachusetts serving Greater Boston and much of surrounding New England Owned by iHeartMedia WRKO is a Class B AM station that provides secondary coverage to portions of Massachusetts Connecticut Rhode Island New Hampshire and Maine during the day but is highly directional at night to protect a number of clear channel stations on adjacent frequencies WRKO serves as the Boston affiliate for ABC News Radio Coast to Coast AM and This Morning America s First News with Gordon Deal syndicated personalities Joe Pags John Batchelor and Bill Cunningham the flagship station of The Howie Carr Show and the home of radio personality Jeff Kuhner The WRKO studios are located in the Boston suburb of Medford while the station transmitter resides in nearby Burlington Besides its main analog transmission WRKO simulcasts over the HD2 subchannel of sister station WZLX 1 and streams online via iHeartRadio WRKOBoston MassachusettsBroadcast areaNew EnglandFrequency680 kHzBrandingWRKO AM 680ProgrammingFormatNews talkAffiliationsABC News Radio Compass Media Networks Premiere Networks Total Traffic and Weather NetworkOwnershipOwneriHeartMedia iHM Licenses LLC Sister stationsWBWL WBZ WJMN WXKS WXKS FM WZLX WZRMHistoryFirst air dateDecember 19 1937 85 years ago 1937 12 19 Former call signsWLAW 1937 1953 WNAC 1953 1967 Call sign meaningformer owner RKO GeneralTechnical informationFacility ID1902ClassBPower50 000 wattsTransmitter coordinates42 29 25 N 71 13 05 W 42 490278 N 71 218056 W 42 490278 71 218056Repeater s 100 7 WZLX HD2 Boston LinksWebcastListen live via iHeartRadio Websitewrko wbr iheart wbr comWRKO is one of three AM stations owned by iHeartMedia in the Boston market that features a spoken word format WBZ is all news during the day and overnight with local talk in the evening while WXKS carries a nationally syndicated conservative talk line up Contents 1 History 1 1 WLAW 1937 1953 1 2 WNAC 1953 1967 1 3 Top 40 era 1 4 Talk era 1 5 iHeart era 2 Programming 3 References 4 External linksHistory EditWLAW 1937 1953 Edit Not to be confused with WLAW or WLAW FM two radio stations in Whitehall Michigan The station first went on the air as WLAW on December 19 1937 at 680 on the AM dial The station was licensed to Lawrence Massachusetts some 25 miles north of Boston its transmitter was in nearby Andover It was owned and operated by Hildreth and Rogers publishers of the Lawrence Daily Eagle and Evening Tribune 2 Initially a 1 000 watt daytime only station WLAW would boost its power to 5 000 watts in 1940 the Federal Communications Commission FCC also granted the station authority to operate at night using a directional antenna to protect the signals of KPO in San Francisco which had been the dominant station on the clear channel of 680 kHz and WPTF in Raleigh North Carolina which had also been granted nighttime service on the channel 3 In 1945 WLAW applied to boost its power to 50 000 watts and relocate its transmitter to Burlington 4 the station would make this upgrade in 1947 5 In conjunction with the move WLAW opened a Boston studio 6 on Tremont Street in the theater district 7 it also maintained a third studio in Lowell 8 The owners also acquired an FM station WLAW FM 93 7 FM was officially dedicated on November 10 1947 9 In mid 1951 WLAW and WLAW FM moved to new studios at the Hotel Bradford in Boston 10 WNAC 1953 1967 Edit For the Boston radio station which identified as WNAC from 1922 to 1953 see WBIX Not to be confused with former Boston television station WNAC TV Boston or Providence television station WNAC TV In May 1953 General Teleradio General Tire s broadcasting division and owner of WNAC 1260 AM bought WLAW and WLAW FM from Hildreth and Rogers for 475 000 and concurrently sold WNAC to Vic Diehm and Associates for 125 000 11 12 WLAW s availability was seen as a way to upgrade the signal for WNAC in 1947 the FCC denied a request to allow WNAC 1260 AM to move to 1200 kHz and boost its power using a directional 50 000 watt transmitter 13 14 On June 17 1953 General Teleradio changed WLAW s call letters to WNAC moved the old 1260 AM format to 680 AM and reassigned on and off air personnel In effect this new WNAC 680 AM licensed to Lawrence became the successor to WNAC 1260 AM licensed to Boston For this reason this transaction is seen as WNAC moving from 1260 AM to 680 AM Vic Diehm and Associates subsequently changed 1260 AM s calls to WVDA and launched a new format on that station utilizing WLAW s former studios 11 15 WLAW FM had its license surrendered as WNAC FM 98 5 FM was retained by General Teleradio 11 a separate station on 93 7 FM also licensed to Lawrence signed on in 1960 as WGHJ now known as WEEI FM 16 While the new WNAC was for all intents and purposes a Boston station its city of license remained in Lawrence until July 25 1957 5 at least until 1962 the legal station identification was WNAC Boston Lawrence For a brief time in 1956 and 1957 WNAC was affiliated with both the Mutual Broadcasting System and the NBC Radio Network after WBZ dropped NBC programming WNAC remained a Mutual affiliate until the network of which General Tire by then doing business as RKO Teleradio Pictures was a part owner was sold in July 1957 17 WNAC also lost the NBC Radio affiliation to WEZE 1260 AM the former WVDA in 1957 By December 1959 RKO Teleradio adopted the RKO General banner 5 18 WNAC FM changed call letters to WRKO FM on May 10 1957 19 but retained its simulcast of WNAC s programming until 1963 when separate programming was inaugurated for half of the broadcast day WNAC along with WRKO FM and WNAC TV channel 7 were nearly sold by RKO General to NBC as part of a multi city transaction and station trade between the two companies announced in March 1960 20 21 This arrangement wound up under review at both the FCC and the U S Department of Justice due to issues involving NBC s previous exchange of assets with Westinghouse Broadcasting in Cleveland and Philadelphia Ultimately the RKO NBC transaction never materialized 22 Top 40 era Edit On October 12 1966 WRKO FM dropped its simulcast of WNAC outside of overnights and morning drive and introduced an automated top 40 format 23 24 Owing to WRKO FM s relative success with that format RKO General changed WNAC s call sign to WRKO on March 3 1967 and the format also switched to Top 40 25 26 27 both stations would still simulcast each other for 11 hours a day 28 29 With this move the Yankee Network of which WNAC and predecessor WNAC 1260 AM had been the flagship station of since 1929 ceased operations 30 The move to a Top 40 format in March 1967 was an enormous success For the next decade WRKO was one of Boston s top rated radio stations and absolutely dominant among its target audience of listeners in the 18 34 demographic Known to its listeners as The Big 68 WRKO was home to such well known personalities as longtime morning man Dale Dorman Chuck Knapp Joel Cash Johnny Dark J J Wright J J Jeffrey Harry Nelson afternoon drive and later PD of WRKO in 1978 Shadoe Stevens Frank Kingston Smith who was known as Bobby Mitchell Steve Anthony and many others Mel Phillips who replaced Bob Henabery as program director served in that position from 1967 to 1972 before being replaced by Scotty Brink WRKO in 1967 even took a dig at market leader WBZ a Westinghouse Broadcasting station that played popular music In advance of WRKO s format change to Top 40 WBZ tried to get in front of WRKO by adopting the slogan Boss Radio used on famous RKO General top 40 station KHJ in Los Angeles WRKO in response was rumored to have had their DJs reading a liner that said WRKO putting the Boss in the Restinghouse WRKO did ultimately drive WBZ out of the top 40 format WRKO s other main competitor was WMEX which was Boston s original Top 40 station starting the format in 1957 Even though WMEX s city ratings were good it had a highly directional signal and did not effectively reach many of the suburbs especially at night WRKO and the growing popularity of FM rock stations eventually drove WMEX to a format change in 1975 with WRKO remaining Boston s sole AM Top 40 station In May 1975 WRKO s airborne traffic reporter The Red Baron Rick Blumberg joined the morning team with Dale Dorman and Bill Rossi The Red Baron was both the pilot and traffic reporter flying at 1000 feet over Boston in a fixed wing aircraft 1975 and 1976 were the only years that WRKO had an aircraft in the sky WRKO was propelled in its success by the introduction of the so called Drake format originated by radio programmer Bill Drake In contrast to other Top 40 formats at the time it featured a limited playlist of only the top hits with strict minimal talk and a more music approach presented in a straightforward manner This format was adopted by other stations across the country including RKO General stations KHJ in Los Angeles WHBQ in Memphis and WOR FM in New York now WEPN FM Virtually any station using the Drake sound rose to the top of its market By the end of the 1970s however rock and Top 40 radio had begun to migrate from AM to FM In a three year period from 1978 to 1981 WRKO lost a chunk of its audience The station tried to compete with the surge in FM listening first with a short lived focus on album cuts and later by switching to more of an adult contemporary music format featuring a morning program with market legend Norm Nathan A switch to a country music format was also reportedly briefly considered In 1980 WRKO began running talk programming during evening hours On September 27 1981 the station switched to an all talk format at 6 00 p m on that date Justin Clark played the last song American Pie by Don McLean Talk era Edit former logo After switching to the talk radio format Norm Nathan was retained as morning host the initial lineup also included Dick Syatt in late mornings Dr Harry Sobel in middays Jerry Williams in afternoon drive and Guy Mainella and David Brudnoy in evenings 31 As it moved to more issue oriented talk some of the most prominent talk radio hosts in the country broadcast on WRKO such as Gene Burns the aforementioned Williams Ted O Brien and Paul Parent But throughout the 1980s WRKO s parent company General Tire and Rubber later renamed Gencorp was under multiple federal investigations and ultimately under an FCC investigation due to its lack of candor for failing to disclose unlawful operations by General Tire In the midst of the investigation into its parent company s problems RKO General found itself under investigation for reciprocal trade practices involving several of its properties and later for double billing by a radio network it organized the RKO Radio Network The FCC license hearings culminated in the loss of the company s license to operate WNAC TV 32 RKO General sold the station assets to New England Television Corporation who was awarded a license for a replacement station 33 34 WNAC TV signed off permanently on May 21 1982 with WNEV TV now WHDH TV taking its place the next morning 35 36 After a long and protracted battle FCC administrative law judge Edward Kuhlmann ruled on August 11 1987 that all of RKO General s broadcast licenses including WRKO s license be denied renewal 37 38 39 this excluded WOR TV which had its city of license changed from New York to Secaucus New Jersey in an attempt to avoid the loss of its license then was divested to MCA Inc nine months prior to the ruling 40 Gencorp initially appealed the ruling 41 but was advised by the FCC that any appeal would be denied and that their stations should be divested instead so as to avoid the indignity of additional license stripping without compensation 42 As part of the settlements worked out in Boston New York Memphis Chicago Fort Lauderdale Los Angeles and San Francisco WRKO and its FM sister station WROR the former WNAC FM and WRKO FM now WBZ FM were sold to Atlantic Ventures Corp operated by cable television executive Steve Dodge for 28 million in November 1988 43 Gencorp only received 17 5 million with the rest being awarded to past applicants that had competed for the licenses 44 On December 1 1992 Atlantic Ventures acquired WHDH 850 AM from New England Television Corporation which had put the station up for sale to help pay down debt 45 the sale put the two talk stations under the same ownership 46 Atlantic Ventures merged with two other radio groups Stoner Broadcasting Systems and Multi Market Communications on June 5 1993 to form American Radio Systems 47 the combined company would then purchase the intellectual property of WEEI 590 AM from Back Bay Broadcasters on August 15 1994 48 As part of the deal WHDH would change its call letters to WEEI and change format to sports radio The Rush Limbaugh Show Howie Carr and the Skyway Patrol traffic report branding were all moved from WHDH to WRKO in the transaction which was consummated on August 29 48 Westinghouse Electric Corporation then parent company of CBS Radio announced its acquisition of American Radio Systems in September 1997 49 the merger was completed in 1998 43 As the combined company would have controlled 59 percent of advertising revenues in the Boston market as well as three of the top five radio stations in April 1998 the Department of Justice ordered CBS to divest WRKO WEEI WAAF now WKVB and WEGQ now WEEI FM as well as KSD and KLOU in St Louis and WOCT in Baltimore as a condition of its approval of the merger 50 In August 1998 Entercom announced plans to acquire the four Boston area stations along with WWTM now WVEI from CBS for 140 million 51 WRKO was from 1986 to 1994 the flagship station for the Boston Red Sox In 2006 Entercom inked a 10 year deal to make WRKO the co flagship station for the Red Sox Radio Network along with WEEI WEEI once again became the sole flagship station on August 26 2009 WRKO also carried Boston Celtics basketball broadcasts from 2005 to 2007 when WEEI assumed the flagship station role Howie Carr took over for Jerry Williams in the afternoon drive time slot in 1994 Williams would move first to late mornings 52 then to weekend afternoons in January 1997 53 before leaving WRKO altogether in October 1998 54 The Howie Carr Show eventually was picked up by other talk stations around New England and briefly syndicated by ABC Radio Networks before syndication was taken over by Entercom and ultimately by Carr himself 55 After a lengthy labor dispute between Carr and Entercom in 2007 WRKO dropped the program in November 2014 with Carr signing WMEX as a replacement affiliate for the Boston market 56 WRKO and Howie Carr reached an agreement to carry the show again on March 16 2015 but with the station as an affiliate instead of acting as his employer 57 On November 16 2006 all on air news anchors and traffic reporters were fired 58 WGBH TV s Beat the Press reported that the news and traffic reporters were informed individually and received severance pay WRKO contracted with Metro Networks now the Total Traffic and Weather Network to provide hourly news updates including traffic and weather during the day In announcing the decision WRKO said that the station s local news and issues would be driven by the talk show hosts instead of the news anchors The station itself made news in early November 2006 when late morning host John DePetro was fired following his on air description of gubernatorial candidate Grace Ross as a fat lesbian 59 60 Former Massachusetts House Speaker Tom Finneran was then hired as WRKO s morning drive host in January 2007 replacing Scott Allen Miller 61 WRKO host Todd Feinburg was added as a co host in January 2009 Finneran was dropped from the lineup at the end of May 2012 62 63 his replacement Michele McPhee was paired with Fineburg until October 31 when Jeff Kuhner was moved into the time slot 64 65 Massachusetts state trooper Grant Moulison was WRKO s lead traffic reporter from 1985 until retiring from the force in April 2006 with 32 years of service behind him 66 WRKO has notably dropped The Rush Limbaugh Show from its schedule two different times the first time came in March 2010 when Clear Channel Communications now iHeartMedia current owners of WRKO launched a talk station of its own on WXKS 1200 AM and picked up the affiliation rights to it and other programs syndicated by Premiere Networks this also included Coast to Coast AM which WRKO aired in overnights 67 After WXKS changed formats from talk radio to all comedy in August 2012 both Rush Limbaugh and Coast to Coast AM returned to WRKO s lineup 68 69 WRKO dropped Rush Limbaugh again in May 2015 citing the expenses for running Limbaugh had risen too steeply 70 Kuhner was moved to the midday time slot the replacement morning show co hosted by Kim Carrigan and Doug VB Goudie featured material from Boston com as part of a content partnership with The Boston Globe 71 iHeart era Edit On February 2 2017 CBS Radio announced it would merge with Entercom 72 that October 10 CBS and Entercom placed WRKO along with WKAF WBZ WBZ FM and WZLX up for divestiture as part of the process of obtaining regulatory approval of the merger 73 iHeartMedia acquired WRKO WBZ WZLX and WKAF as part of a multi market station and asset swap between it and Entercom to meet ownership limits set by the FCC WKOX was designated to be divested 74 The merger was approved on November 9 2017 and consummated on November 17 75 76 Until WKOX s spinoff into the Ocean Stations Trust was completed WRKO was operated by the Entercom Divestiture Trust while the sister stations began being operated by iHeart once the merger closed 77 iHeart began operating WRKO on December 19 2017 on that date it completed its acquisition of WRKO WZLX WKAF and WBZ 78 79 With the ownership change WRKO added a simulcast on the HD 2 signal of WZLX 1 WRKO s studios moved to iHeartMedia s facilities in Medford in July 2018 the main talk studio is shared with WBZ 80 In late November 2018 WRKO moved Jeff Kuhner back to morning drive and Doug Goudie to middays with Kim Carrigan exiting the station 81 Two years later iHeart laid off Goudie 82 and announced a new show to be hosted by Grace Curley and produced by the Howie Carr Radio Network which was launched on January 4 2021 83 Programming EditWRKO has three local conservative talk shows on its weekday schedule Jeff Kuhner hosts the drive time program The Grace Curley Show airs in early afternoons and The Howie Carr Show hosted by Howie Carr airs in late afternoons the latter two programs are regionally syndicated to a number of other talk stations in New England and the 4 p m ET hour of Carr s show is simulcast on the cable network Newsmax TV The Financial Exchange with Barry Armstrong a regionally syndicated financial talk show airs in late mornings Conservative talk shows hosted by Jesse Kelly syndicated via Premiere Networks and Joe Pags syndicated via Compass Media Networks air during the evening hours Paranormal conspiracy theory oriented program Coast to Coast AM with George Noory airs through the overnight hours via Premiere Networks This Morning America s First News with Gordon Deal also syndicated via Compass Media Networks airs in the early morning hours WRKO airs several weekend talk programs including Gun Talk Free Talk Live The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show and The Lutheran Hour syndicated shows hosted by Gil Gross and Bill Cunningham and assorted brokered programming ABC News Radio begins most hours at night and on weekends with local news updates provided by sister station WBZ References Edit a b iHM Boston Debuts WBZ Simulcast on WXKS FM HD2 Radio Online December 19 2017 Retrieved December 20 2017 1000 New Watts Broadcasting Magazine December 15 1937 p 76 50 kw For WPTF WLAW Full Time PDF Broadcasting August 1 1940 p 50 B Retrieved January 12 2022 Power Increase Requests Filed PDF Broadcasting September 3 1945 p 80 Retrieved January 12 2022 a b c FCC History Cards for WRKO Morrill Named Manager Of WLAW in Lawrence PDF Broadcasting Telecasting September 2 1946 p 22 Retrieved January 12 2022 WLAW Studios Broadcasting Magazine June 11 1951 p 39 WLAW Lawrence PDF Broadcasting Telecasting October 4 1948 p 14 Boston Retrieved January 12 2022 WLAW FM Takes the Air On 93 7 mc at Lawrence PDF Broadcasting Broadcasting November 17 1947 p 54 Retrieved December 7 2019 Modification of License Broadcasting Magazine July 2 1951 p 81 a b c Seek FCC Approval for WLAW Sale PDF Broadcasting May 11 1953 p 60 Retrieved December 7 2019 Ownership Changes PDF Broadcasting May 18 1953 p 97 Retrieved December 7 2019 WNAC Seeks 50 kw On 1200 kc Would Duplicate WOAI With Fulltime Directional PDF Broadcasting January 6 1947 p 18 Retrieved December 7 2019 WNAC Asks Modification Of Clear Channel Rules PDF Broadcasting January 13 1947 p 46 Retrieved December 7 2019 Halper Donna Wollman Garrett The Eastern Massachusetts Radio Timeline the 1950s The Archives BostonRadio org Retrieved December 7 2019 Halper Donna Wollman Garrett The Boston Radio Dial WMKK FM The Archives BostonRadio org Retrieved December 7 2019 Sale of Mutual Expected Today Radio Network Is Going to Group From West Coast New York Times July 17 1957 Thumbnail History of RKO Radio Pictures home earthlink net Archived from the original on September 12 2005 Retrieved December 7 2019 WROR WBZ FM history cards PDF CDBS Public Access Federal Communications Commission Retrieved January 26 2022 NBC swap with RKO taking shape Broadcasting January 25 1960 pg 52 NBC RKO General trades Broadcasting March 21 1960 pg 52 Philadelphia circle is complete and Nine year history of that trade in Philadelphia Broadcasting August 3 1964 pp 23 25 1 2 3 Program Notes FM in Boston PDF Broadcasting October 24 1966 p 58 Retrieved December 7 2019 WRKO FM Switch Billboard October 8 1966 p 22 Retrieved December 12 2019 Anthony LaCamera Big Shake Up Due on WNAC Boston Record American February 6 1967 p 26 For the Record Call Letter Applications PDF Broadcasting February 20 1967 p 80 Retrieved December 7 2019 For the Record Call Letter Actions PDF Broadcasting March 3 1967 p 83 Retrieved December 7 2019 FM formats the quest for success PDF Broadcasting July 31 1967 pp 66 82 Retrieved December 7 2019 WNAC Heaves Talk And Old Call Letters Billboard February 25 1967 pp 30 8 Retrieved December 12 2019 Joseph T Sullivan Yankee Network Soon to be Dissolved Boston Herald January 31 1967 p 35 WRKO Changes To News Talk Billboard October 3 1981 p 17 Retrieved December 12 2019 It s all over for RKO s WNAC TV PDF Broadcasting April 26 1982 pp 27 28 Retrieved March 6 2020 The heirs presumptive for Boston ch 7 PDF Broadcasting April 26 1982 pp 28 29 Retrieved March 6 2020 In brief PDF Broadcasting May 10 1982 p 128 Retrieved April 15 2019 Thomas Jack May 21 1982 At Channel 7 an era ends an era begins The Boston Globe p 25 Retrieved April 15 2019 Overnight in Boston WNAC TV turns into WNEV PDF Broadcasting Washington D C May 24 1982 p 41 Retrieved July 19 2011 Turning Off RKO s Licenses A harsh ruling from the FCC Time Magazine August 24 1987 Retrieved December 9 2019 Mesce Deborah August 12 1987 RKO Faces Loss of 14 Radio and TV Station Licenses The Associated Press Retrieved December 9 2019 Boyer Peter August 12 1987 Renewal Rejected for RKO Stations The New York Times p D1 Retrieved December 9 2019 F C C Approves Sale Of WOR TV to MCA The New York Times November 27 1986 p C 18 Retrieved December 9 2019 Molotsky Irvin October 20 1987 RKO General Appeals Permit Renewal Ruling The New York Times p C 22 Retrieved December 9 2019 Grace Roger December 5 2002 REMINISCING Column KHJ Enveloped in Scandal Metropolitan News Enterprise p 18 Retrieved December 9 2019 a b Jacobson Adam January 18 2019 Remembering Steve Dodge CATV Radio and Tower Pioneer Radio amp Television Business Report Retrieved December 9 2019 The Federal Communications Commission approved RKO General s Los Angeles Times November 3 1988 Retrieved December 9 2019 Kadzis Diane May 4 1992 Mugar rumored to be selling WHDH AM to pay off debt Boston Business Journal Retrieved October 14 2012 Bickelhaupt Susan December 2 1992 It s official 2 talk stations 1 owner The Boston Globe Archived from the original on May 2 2013 Retrieved October 14 2012 pay content preview Three radio chains plan a merger The New York Times June 25 1993 Retrieved January 15 2012 a b Marcus Jon August 16 1994 Radio swap to create business news station The Telegraph Associated Press Retrieved October 10 2012 Baltimore Sun Baltimore breaking news sports business entertainment weather and traffic Baltimore Sun Bloomberg News September 20 1997 Retrieved October 7 2021 Yorke Jeffrey April 3 1998 2 6 Bil CBS ARS Deal Clears DOJ Hurdle PDF Radio amp Records pp 1 10 Retrieved October 26 2021 CBS to Sell 5 Boston Area Radio Stations The New York Times August 14 1998 Retrieved October 13 2012 Fybush Scott January 8 1997 WRKO Shakeup New England RadioWatch Retrieved January 13 2022 Fybush Scott January 10 1997 WRKO Shakeup New England RadioWatch Retrieved January 13 2022 Fybush Scott October 9 1998 Clear Channel Gets Jacor North East RadioWatch Retrieved January 13 2022 Gayle Fee March 9 2015 Howie Carr amp WRKO Reunited and it feels so profitable Boston Herald Retrieved March 9 2015 Howie Carr Makes Move To WMEX Official RadioInsight com November 15 2014 Retrieved December 2 2014 WRKO announces Howie Carr s return WRKO com March 9 2015 Archived from the original on March 11 2015 Retrieved March 9 2015 The Greater Boston Blog Blog Archive Radio host canned for calling candidate a fat lesbian CNN Associated Press November 3 2006 Archived from the original on November 5 2006 WRKO Boston s DePetro Gets Pulled Off Air Two Days For Slur All Access Retrieved December 8 2019 Report Tuning in to Tommy Finneran s RKO deal set Boston Herald January 11 2007 Retrieved January 11 2007 Tom Finneran to Leave WRKO Boston Herald WRKO and Tom Finneran agree to part ways WRKO May 29 2012 Radio News Michele McPhee returns to WRKO June 6 2012 Ira Kantor October 31 2012 WRKO taps Kuhner for morning drive nixes Feinburg amp McPhee Boston Herald Boston Radio Watch May 2006 see May 16 Venta Lance March 1 2010 Rush Radio 1200 Boston Launch Moved To Monday 3 8 RadioInsight Retrieved December 8 2019 Heslam Jessica August 7 2012 WRKO tunes into Rush Limbaugh Boston Herald Retrieved August 11 2012 Talk 1200 Boston Launches Gaffe 1200 Stunt All Access August 10 2012 Retrieved August 11 2012 Fybush Scott June 15 2015 Boston s talk mess shakes out NorthEast Radio Watch Retrieved June 15 2015 Venta Lance June 25 2015 WRKO Sets New Lineup Following Rush Departure RadioInsight Retrieved December 8 2019 Venta Lance February 2 2017 CBS Radio To Merge With Entercom RadioInsight Retrieved December 8 2019 Venta Lance October 10 2017 Entercom Narrows Down 16 Stations To Be Divested To Complete CBS Radio Merger RadioInsight Retrieved October 11 2017 Venta Lance November 1 2017 Entercom Trades Boston Seattle Spin Offs to iHeartMedia for Richmond Chattanooga RadioInsight Retrieved December 8 2019 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 Venta Lance December 10 2017 Alt 102 9 amp KUBE 104 9 Tacoma To Flip Monday RadioInsight Retrieved December 11 2017 Venta Lance December 19 2017 iHeart Begins Operating Remainder Of Boston amp Seattle Acquisitions RadioInsight Retrieved December 20 2017 Consummation Notice CDBS Public Access Federal Communications Commission December 19 2017 Retrieved December 20 2017 Fybush Scott September 26 2018 RadioInsight Tech WBZ s Big Move Part 2 A Shiny New Home RadioInsight com Retrieved January 1 2020 https www fybush com nerw 20181119 NorthEast Radio Watch 11 19 18 WRKO Shuffles Hosts Is The iHeartMedia RIF Slowing Not So Sure As More Names Come In Taking The List North Of 120 People All Access November 18 2020 Retrieved March 1 2022 Venta Lance November 19 2020 WRKO To Launch Grace Curley Show RadioInsight Retrieved March 1 2022 External links EditOfficial website FCC History Cards for WRKO WRKO in the FCC AM station database WRKO on Radio Locator WRKO in Nielsen Audio s AM station database Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title WRKO amp oldid 1142582413, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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