WBUR
Encyclopedia
WBUR refers to two radio stations in Massachusetts, WBUR AM and FM, both owned by Boston University
. WBUR is the largest of three NPR member stations in Boston, Massachusetts, along with WGBH (FM)
and WUMB-FM
, and the only one to focus exclusively on news and talk. WBUR produces several nationally distributed programs, including Car Talk
, On Point
, Only A Game
and Here and Now
and previously produced The Connection (which was canceled on August 5, 2005). RadioBoston, launched in 2007, is WBUR's only purely local show.
The station is owned by Boston University and its positioning statement is "Boston's NPR News Station."
In addition to WBUR's AM 1240 signal, WBUR also carries its programming on two other stations on Cape Cod -- WCCT-FM, 90.3 MHz in Harwich
and WSDH
, 91.5 MHz in Sandwich
-- via local marketing agreements. In 1998, the station helped launch WRNI
in Providence, Rhode Island
--the first NPR station within Rhode Island's borders. It has since sold the station to a local group.
. In total, WBUR produces more than 25 hours of news and programming each week.
On Point is two-hour discussion show hosted by Tom Ashbrook
, broadcast from 10 a.m. to noon on weekdays, with two hourly segments devoted to separate topics. Often one hour-long block will focus on a political issue and the other will focus on arts and culture. On Point began as 'special programming' in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, originally airing from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. It took over the time slot of the similar The Connection when that show was canceled in 2005. "On Point" is rebroadcast each day from 7 p.m to 9 p.m.
Here and Now is a news and culture digest show hosted by Robin Young
, normally consisting of several interview segments with reporters, authors, artists and statesmen. It began as a regional and local show, but soon expanded to cover national and international issues. The show is broadcast on WBUR on weekdays from noon to 1 p.m. and is distributed elsewhere by Public Radio International
.
In 2007, WBUR launched Radio Boston, a weekly radio show featuring longtime Boston journalist David Boeri. The show was later hosted by Jane Clayson Johnson as a one-hour discussion and interview, though Boeri still introduced each show with a report from the field. In 2010, Radio Boston expanded to broadcast Monday through Friday and the program now airs from 3:00 to 4:00pm. In the fall of 2010, new host Meghna Chakrabarti went on maternity leave and was temporarily replaced by WBUR reporter Sacha Pfeiffer. Chakrabarti has returned.
Only A Game is a weekly sports program broadcast Saturdays at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. The show is hosted by Bill Littlefield
and is syndicated to about 210 affiliate stations by National Public Radio. The wide-ranging program describes itself as "irreverent" and often covers sports from a human interest angle, rather than appealing directly to a particular fan base.
On Sunday evenings at 9 p.m., WBUR also broadcasts a show entitled Boston University's World of Ideas. The show features academics and left wing progressive intellectuals presenting lectures and answering questions on issues of national or global importance.
The 3-minute comedy sketch program 11 Central Ave, broadcast on WBEZ Chicago Public Radio, was once recorded at WBUR.
and became a "public radio station" with a professional staff.
During the 1970s and 1980s, the station had several jazz music and classical music programs. The disc jockeys demonstrated a broad knowledge of composers, performers, and the execution of jazz, demonstrating familiarity with such matters as improvisation
and shared this with listeners. http://www.bostonradio.org/stations/68241.html http://www.bostonradio.org/nerw/nerw-970118.html
Noteworthy jazz and classical disc jockeys include:
At the end of the 1980s, WBUR began replacing many of its music programs with news and information programming from NPR, Public Radio International and the BBC
. This brought WBUR into competition with another major Boston area NPR station, WGBH
. WGBH eventually decided to remain a mostly music (classical music daytime/jazz nights) and cultural programming format (WBUR's former territory), although WGBH does broadcast NPR's Morning Edition
and All Things Considered
.
By the early 1990s, with the exception of Con Salsa on Saturday nights, WBUR had adopted an around-the-clock news and information format. Numerous NPR member stations have since followed WBUR's lead and eliminated music programming in favor of news and information programming; indeed by 2009, the majority of NPR member stations were programming 24/7 news and information formats.
In the early 1990s, auto dealer Ernie Boch, Sr. purchased WOCB-AM and FM
in West Yarmouth and donated WOCB-AM to Boston University, which changed the call letters to WBUR-AM and used it to rebroadcast WBUR-FM's programming to Cape Cod.
In the late 1990s, WBUR helped to found Rhode Island
's NPR station WRNI
. At the time Rhode Island was one of two states lacking an NPR station. WBUR decided to partner with the newly formed Foundation for Ocean State Public Radio to build a state-of-the-art facility at historic Union Station in downtown Providence. Initially, WBUR invested heavily in WRNI's local programming, but several of these programs were soon canceled.
In 2004, WBUR announced suddenly that it planned to drop the station by selling it, raising a number of questions. Rhode Islanders were angry at the thought that they would be forced to buy a station they had invested greatly in creating. It was later revealed that the WBUR management believed WRNI was a financial drain and wished to get rid of it. The resulting management scandal resulting in the departure of longtime WBUR station manager Jane Christo. WRNI has since moved towards independence and is now mostly autonomous, although it still carries a great deal of WBUR programming.
Since 2001, WBUR has lost more than $1 million in contributions due to a boycott launched by donors and underwriters maintaining NPR coverage of the Middle East
is biased against Israel
. Boston is a major center for the American Jewish community and this made Israel a particularly sensitive subject. The boycott started in October, 2001, when two Boston-area businesses ended contracts: WordsWorth Books (now defunct) in Cambridge, Massachusetts
, and Cognex Corp.
in nearby Natick, Massachusetts
. The two businesses are reportedly tied with the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America
(CAMERA), a persistent critic of NPR's coverage for almost a decade. CAMERA has demonstrated outside National Public Radio (NPR) stations in 33 cities in the United States.
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
. WBUR is the largest of three NPR member stations in Boston, Massachusetts, along with WGBH (FM)
WGBH (FM)
WGBH is a public radio station located in Boston, Massachusetts. WGBH is a member station of NPR and PRI. The license-holder is the WGBH Educational Foundation, which also owns WGBH-TV and WGBX-TV....
and WUMB-FM
WUMB-FM
WUMB-FM in Boston, Massachusetts) is the radio station of University of Massachusetts Boston. It broadcasts a folk and acoustic mix weekdays and on weekends the station concentrates on traditional folk, Celtic, blues, afropop and world music....
, and the only one to focus exclusively on news and talk. WBUR produces several nationally distributed programs, including Car Talk
Car Talk
Car Talk is a radio talk show broadcast weekly on National Public Radio stations throughout the United States and elsewhere. Its subjects are automobiles and repair, and it often takes humorous turns...
, On Point
On Point
On Point is a two-hour call-in radio show hosted by Tom Ashbrook, a former The Boston Globe foreign editor and reporter, author and Internet entrepreneur. It is produced by WBUR in Boston and syndicated by National Public Radio...
, Only A Game
Only A Game
Only A Game is a weekly sports program distributed by National Public Radio and hosted by Bill Littlefield. The show is produced at WBUR in Boston and airs on 210 affiliate stations around the country every Saturday...
and Here and Now
Here and Now (Boston)
Here and Now is a public radio magazine program produced by WBUR in Boston, Massachusetts, and distributed across the United States by Public Radio International. The one-hour program airs Monday to Friday at noon locally and generally at 11am, noon or 1pm on affiliate stations...
and previously produced The Connection (which was canceled on August 5, 2005). RadioBoston, launched in 2007, is WBUR's only purely local show.
The station is owned by Boston University and its positioning statement is "Boston's NPR News Station."
In addition to WBUR's AM 1240 signal, WBUR also carries its programming on two other stations on Cape Cod -- WCCT-FM, 90.3 MHz in Harwich
Harwich, Massachusetts
Harwich is a New England town on Cape Cod, in Barnstable County in the state of Massachusetts in the United States. Barnstable County is coextensive with Cape Cod. The town is a popular vacation spot, located near the Cape Cod National Seashore. Harwich's beaches are on "the Sound side" of Cape...
and WSDH
WSDH
WSDH is a high school radio station licensed to Sandwich, Massachusetts, USA, the station serves the Cape Cod area. The station is currently owned by Sandwich, Massachusetts Public Schools. It is operated by Sandwich High students for a portion of the day but primarily rebroadcasts WBUR....
, 91.5 MHz in Sandwich
Sandwich, Massachusetts
Sandwich is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 20,675 at the 2010 census. The Town Hall is located right next to the Dexter Grist Mill, in the historic district of town....
-- via local marketing agreements. In 1998, the station helped launch WRNI
WRNI
Rhode Island's NPR is the NPR member radio network for the state of Rhode Island, operated by Rhode Island Public Radio. Its studios are located in the historic Union Station in downtown Providence...
in Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
--the first NPR station within Rhode Island's borders. It has since sold the station to a local group.
Programming
WBUR programs On Point, Only A Game and Here and Now are carried nationwide in the US on hundreds of public radio stations and on XM Radio's public radio station, XM Public RadioXM Public Radio
XM Public Radio is a 24/7 Sirius XM Satellite Radio channel dedicated to public radio programming. Broadcasting in stereo, XM Public Radio is one of two talk channels on the XM platform which broadcasts 2-channel audio—the other being the ViRUS...
. In total, WBUR produces more than 25 hours of news and programming each week.
On Point is two-hour discussion show hosted by Tom Ashbrook
Tom Ashbrook
Tom Ashbrook is an American journalist and radio broadcaster. He hosts the public radio call-in program, On Point.-Early life and education:...
, broadcast from 10 a.m. to noon on weekdays, with two hourly segments devoted to separate topics. Often one hour-long block will focus on a political issue and the other will focus on arts and culture. On Point began as 'special programming' in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, originally airing from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. It took over the time slot of the similar The Connection when that show was canceled in 2005. "On Point" is rebroadcast each day from 7 p.m to 9 p.m.
Here and Now is a news and culture digest show hosted by Robin Young
Robin Young
Robin Young is an American television and radio personality. She has been a Boston, Massachusetts-based radio and television host since the mid-1970s when she hosted Evening Magazine for WBZ-TV....
, normally consisting of several interview segments with reporters, authors, artists and statesmen. It began as a regional and local show, but soon expanded to cover national and international issues. The show is broadcast on WBUR on weekdays from noon to 1 p.m. and is distributed elsewhere by Public Radio International
Public Radio International
Public Radio International is a Minneapolis-based American public radio organization, with locations in Boston, New York, London and Beijing. PRI's tagline is "Hear a different voice." PRI is a major public media content creator and also distributes programs from many sources...
.
In 2007, WBUR launched Radio Boston, a weekly radio show featuring longtime Boston journalist David Boeri. The show was later hosted by Jane Clayson Johnson as a one-hour discussion and interview, though Boeri still introduced each show with a report from the field. In 2010, Radio Boston expanded to broadcast Monday through Friday and the program now airs from 3:00 to 4:00pm. In the fall of 2010, new host Meghna Chakrabarti went on maternity leave and was temporarily replaced by WBUR reporter Sacha Pfeiffer. Chakrabarti has returned.
Only A Game is a weekly sports program broadcast Saturdays at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. The show is hosted by Bill Littlefield
Bill Littlefield
William "Bill" Littlefield is the host of National Public Radio's Only A Game program, covering mainstream and offbeat United States and international sports...
and is syndicated to about 210 affiliate stations by National Public Radio. The wide-ranging program describes itself as "irreverent" and often covers sports from a human interest angle, rather than appealing directly to a particular fan base.
On Sunday evenings at 9 p.m., WBUR also broadcasts a show entitled Boston University's World of Ideas. The show features academics and left wing progressive intellectuals presenting lectures and answering questions on issues of national or global importance.
The 3-minute comedy sketch program 11 Central Ave, broadcast on WBEZ Chicago Public Radio, was once recorded at WBUR.
History
Initially, most of WBUR-FM's staff were Boston University students and the station broadcast a number of BU sporting events. By the 1970s, WBUR-FM began receiving funding from the Corporation For Public BroadcastingCorporation for Public Broadcasting
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a non-profit corporation created by an act of the United States Congress, funded by the United States’ federal government to promote public broadcasting...
and became a "public radio station" with a professional staff.
During the 1970s and 1980s, the station had several jazz music and classical music programs. The disc jockeys demonstrated a broad knowledge of composers, performers, and the execution of jazz, demonstrating familiarity with such matters as improvisation
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
and shared this with listeners. http://www.bostonradio.org/stations/68241.html http://www.bostonradio.org/nerw/nerw-970118.html
Noteworthy jazz and classical disc jockeys include:
- Dennis Boyer, classical: FM in the PM
- Steve Elman, jazz: Spaces
- Tony CennamoTony CennamoTony Cennamo was for 25 years a jazz disc jockey on Boston University's WBUR.When he had a morning show in the 1970s and 1980s he began his show with Oliver Nelson's Stolen Moments....
, jazz: New Morning and subsequently, a night-time show - James IsaacsJames IsaacsJames Isaacs is a music journalist and former disk jockey.In the late 1970s and the 1980s, when WBUR, Boston University's radio station broadcast many jazz and classical music programs, James Isaacs had a jazz radio show...
, jazz - Jose Masso, Latin: Con Salsa
At the end of the 1980s, WBUR began replacing many of its music programs with news and information programming from NPR, Public Radio International and the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. This brought WBUR into competition with another major Boston area NPR station, WGBH
WGBH (FM)
WGBH is a public radio station located in Boston, Massachusetts. WGBH is a member station of NPR and PRI. The license-holder is the WGBH Educational Foundation, which also owns WGBH-TV and WGBX-TV....
. WGBH eventually decided to remain a mostly music (classical music daytime/jazz nights) and cultural programming format (WBUR's former territory), although WGBH does broadcast NPR's Morning Edition
Morning Edition
Morning Edition is an American radio news program produced and distributed by National Public Radio . It airs weekday mornings and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 05:00 to 09:00 ET, with feeds and updates as required until noon...
and All Things Considered
All Things Considered
All Things Considered is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio. It was the first news program on NPR, and is broadcast live worldwide through several outlets...
.
By the early 1990s, with the exception of Con Salsa on Saturday nights, WBUR had adopted an around-the-clock news and information format. Numerous NPR member stations have since followed WBUR's lead and eliminated music programming in favor of news and information programming; indeed by 2009, the majority of NPR member stations were programming 24/7 news and information formats.
In the early 1990s, auto dealer Ernie Boch, Sr. purchased WOCB-AM and FM
WXTK
WXTK , known as "95 WXTK Newsradio", is a news/talk radio station licensed to West Yarmouth, Massachusetts, and headquartered in Hyannis, Massachusetts...
in West Yarmouth and donated WOCB-AM to Boston University, which changed the call letters to WBUR-AM and used it to rebroadcast WBUR-FM's programming to Cape Cod.
In the late 1990s, WBUR helped to found Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
's NPR station WRNI
WRNI
Rhode Island's NPR is the NPR member radio network for the state of Rhode Island, operated by Rhode Island Public Radio. Its studios are located in the historic Union Station in downtown Providence...
. At the time Rhode Island was one of two states lacking an NPR station. WBUR decided to partner with the newly formed Foundation for Ocean State Public Radio to build a state-of-the-art facility at historic Union Station in downtown Providence. Initially, WBUR invested heavily in WRNI's local programming, but several of these programs were soon canceled.
In 2004, WBUR announced suddenly that it planned to drop the station by selling it, raising a number of questions. Rhode Islanders were angry at the thought that they would be forced to buy a station they had invested greatly in creating. It was later revealed that the WBUR management believed WRNI was a financial drain and wished to get rid of it. The resulting management scandal resulting in the departure of longtime WBUR station manager Jane Christo. WRNI has since moved towards independence and is now mostly autonomous, although it still carries a great deal of WBUR programming.
Since 2001, WBUR has lost more than $1 million in contributions due to a boycott launched by donors and underwriters maintaining NPR coverage of the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
is biased against Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. Boston is a major center for the American Jewish community and this made Israel a particularly sensitive subject. The boycott started in October, 2001, when two Boston-area businesses ended contracts: WordsWorth Books (now defunct) in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, and Cognex Corp.
Cognex Corporation
Cognex Corporation is a manufacturer of machine vision systems, software and sensors used in automated manufacturing to inspect and identify parts, detect defects, verify product assembly, and guide assembly robots. Cognex is headquartered in Natick, Massachusetts, USA...
in nearby Natick, Massachusetts
Natick, Massachusetts
Natick is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Natick is located near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 33,006 at the 2010 census. Only west from Boston, Natick is considered part of the Greater Boston area...
. The two businesses are reportedly tied with the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America
Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America
The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America is an American non-profit pro-Israel media watchdog group. The group says it was founded in 1982 "to respond to the Washington Post's coverage of Israel's Lebanon incursion", and to respond to what it considers the media's "general...
(CAMERA), a persistent critic of NPR's coverage for almost a decade. CAMERA has demonstrated outside National Public Radio (NPR) stations in 33 cities in the United States.