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WBZ (AM)
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WBZ is the callsign for an AM radio station in Boston, Massachusetts which is owned by CBS Radio (formerly Infinity Broadcasting), which itself is owned by the CBS Corporation. Originally based in Springfield, Massachusetts, WBZ swapped callsigns with sister station WBZA (then located in Boston) in 1931, a move that placed the station at its current location.
WBZ radio, which broadcasts at 1030 kHz, is the oldest surviving commercial radio station in New England, as it began broadcasting in 1921 (pioneering station WGI in nearby Medford Hillsides was transmitting regular programming as early as 1919 as experimental station 1XE, but went out of business in 1925).
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Encyclopedia
WBZ is the callsign for an AM radio station in Boston, Massachusetts which is owned by CBS Radio (formerly Infinity Broadcasting), which itself is owned by the CBS Corporation. Originally based in Springfield, Massachusetts, WBZ swapped callsigns with sister station WBZA (then located in Boston) in 1931, a move that placed the station at its current location.
WBZ radio, which broadcasts at 1030 kHz, is the oldest surviving commercial radio station in New England, as it began broadcasting in 1921 (pioneering station WGI in nearby Medford Hillsides was transmitting regular programming as early as 1919 as experimental station 1XE, but went out of business in 1925). WBZ currently runs an all-news format during the day and a talk radio format at night, with hosts like Dan Rea, Steve LeVeille, and Jordan Rich. The station is the most listened-to radio station in the Boston area, and covers much of the eastern United States and Canada at night with its 50,000-watt signal from their transmitter location in Hull, Massachusetts, which has been used by the station since 1940. The transmitter is a two tower directional array where each tower is 160 m tall. Telephone pickup of the strong AM signal is a longstanding issue in the Town of Hull.
During the daytime hours, WBZ is also well-known for "Traffic on the 3s", which provides a summary of traffic conditions in the area. In addition, national and international news, as well as some segments, are provided by the ABC Information network and the CBS Radio Network (until December 2005, this included noted radio raconteur Paul Harvey, which was provided by ABC), but almost all programming, except for nighttime talk shows, is produced in-house. WBZ has also been heavily involved in charitable work, with its annual Christmastime fund drive for Boston's Children's Hospital (which it does along with sister TV station WBZ-TV) being the most high-profile.
It was the home of talkmaster David Brudnoy for 15 years, until the day before his death in 2004. Other notable personalities included talk show host Bob Kennedy, poet/personality Dick Summer, disc jockeys Bruce Bradley, Jeff Kaye, Ron Landry and later, Larry Justice, jazz DJ turned talkmaster Norm Nathan, late-night talker and humorist Larry Glick, overnight broadcast host Steve LeVeille, and morning personalities Tom Bergeron and Dave Maynard.
During the 1940s, WBZ operated a shortwave station using the callsign WBOS; this station has been dark since 1953 and the callsign has since been reassigned to what is now an AAA station. Group W made half-hearted attempts to launch FM service, at various points operating FM service on 100.7 (now WZLX, ironically a current sister to WBZ-AM) and 106.7 (now WMJX owned by Greater Media), before selling each to other chains. Additionally, 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 half a megawatt out of 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 miles radius, as well as the cancellation of the entire clear channel service.
History
WBZ is the oldest surviving broadcaster in New England, and was the first licensed "commercial" radio station in the United States. It was first licensed for operation in Springfield by Westinghouse in September 1921. A second station, WBZA, was built in Boston, Massachusetts in 1924. In 1931, the stations swapped call letters and the main studio and operations were relocated to Boston as WBZ, with the WBZA call letters used for Springfield, both stations simulcasting on the same frequency. WBZA, Springfield was deleted in 1962. The original format was general entertainment and information which included dramas, sports, news, talk shows, special events, some music, and public affairs programming.
In 1926, WBZ became one of the first affiliates of NBC, joining the NBC Blue Network. A 1931 call-letter swap sent WBZ to Boston and WBZA to Springfield. In 1931, WBZ built a transmitter complex in Millis, Massachusetts which allowed the station to boost power to 50,000 watts. However, WBZ didn't stay in Millis for long; the station moved its transmitter site to Hull, Massachusetts in 1940 a move which allowed Westinghouse to launch a shortwave station and have the transmitters and antennas for both at the same site. WBZ moved to its present dial location, 1030 kilocycles (kilohertz) on March 29, 1941. When the Justice Department ordered NBC to divest of one its two radio networks, WBZ switched to the NBC Red Network to retain NBC (as NBC opted to sell the Blue Network). Like other major-market network-affiliated radio stations of the time, WBZ also broadcast a few hours of local programming, including Vaudeville-like musical performances from Max Zides, Tom Currier, and others, during those hours when NBC wasn't feeding programs to affiliates. On June 9, 1948, WBZ-TV channel 4 signed on, and took the NBC television affiliation. Later that month, WBZ radio moved its studios from the Hotel Bradford in downtown Boston to join WBZ-TV in a newly-completed building at 1170 Soldiers Field Road in the Allston section of Boston. In 1951 Don Kent started as a meteorologist at the station, for a tenure that would endure for over three decades.
In 1952, WBZ expanded its broadcasting schedule to 24-hour-a-day programming. By then, entertainment shows were moving to television, with the amount of music programming increased as a result. WBZ ultimately dropped its NBC affiliation in 1956 after three decades, deciding to program popular music around-the-clock. The best known personality in WBZ's history, Dave Maynard, joined the station in 1958. Another beloved WBZ host was Carl De Suze, whose career at WBZ began in the 1940s and continued into the early 1980s. De Suze 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 1964. LaPierre, who anchored WBZ's morning newscasts for over 35 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.
By 1960, WBZ offered a full service music format, leaning toward MOR music, but also featuring an increasing amount of rock and roll. Within a few years, WBZ was a top 40 rock and roll station, and with its combination of hit music, popular personalities, powerful signal, and top-notch news coverage, WBZ was the dominant radio station in the market. However, due to increased competition in the Top-40 format - first from rival WMEX (who had a head start, switching to a Top 40/rock and roll format in 1957) then from WRKO - WBZ adopted a more full-service adult approach.
WBZ wasn't Group W/Westinghouse's only Top-40 music station; for a while, WINS New York and KFWB Los Angeles were as well, although they were both top-40 stations when Westinghouse purchased them. In 1965, WINS dropped rock-and-roll to become the nation's third all-news radio station (after XETRA serving Los Angeles and San Diego from Tijuana, Mexico, and WAVA in Arlington, Virginia). Westinghouse eventually took KFWB down that path as well.
By the beginning of the 1970s, WBZ evolved into an Adult Contemporary Full Service format, playing several songs an hour between 6 and 9 a.m., 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 personalities as Guy Mainella, a pioneer in sports talk; Jerry Williams, in the evenings; and Larry Glick's overnight show (the latter two held the same popular shifts at WMEX years earlier). They also programmed music during the day on weekends. Westinghouse offered a similar format on KDKA in Pittsburgh.
Beginning in the late 1960s, WBZ made a major push into live play-by-play sports. From 1966 through the seventies, and again for a time in the early nineties, WBZ was home to radio broadcasts of New England Patriots football. In the Fall of 1969, WBZ became the radio flagship of both the Boston Bruins (NHL) and the Boston Celtics (NBA). 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 then-sister station WBZ-FM (now WMJX).
In the 1980s, WBZ began to cut back on its music programming. WBZ continued the full service AC format until January 1991, when they began wall to wall Gulf War coverage along with other news during the day. After that WBZ became strictly talk and news. At that point WBZ began a morning news block until 10 a.m., and also ran all news from 4 to 7 p.m.. In 1992, WBZ dropped the midday talk shows and became an all news station during the day and talk at night. During the 1990s, David Brudnoy had a popular nighttime show on WBZ radio, but his career was cut short by cancer. In the summer of 2007, evening talk host Paul Sullivan stepped down as Brudnoy's successor, due to health issues stemming from a battle with cancer (Sullivan eventually lost that battle on September 9, 2007.)
In recent years, the all-news format on weekdays has been extended until 8 p.m. The Boston Bruins returned to WBZ in October 1995, and have remained there ever since. The 2008/2009 NHL season will mark WBZ's thirteenth season as the Bruins' flagship station (the 2004/2005 season was cancelled due to a labor dispute).
On December 31, 2008, WBZ let go overnight talk show host Steve LeVeille, sports anchor Tom Cuddy and talk hosts Lovell Dyett and Pat Desmarais. 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 will host a half-hour early morning public affairs program on Sundays. On January 30, 2009 Long time WBZ Radio sports director Gil Santos retired after 38 years with the station. Gil Santos will continue to serve as the New England Patriots radio announcer on sister station WBCN radio 104.1
Hall of Fame
In February 2007, the station created the WBZ Radio Hall of Fame. Gary LaPierre is the first honoree.
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