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WPRO (AM)
Encyclopedia
WPRO is a radio station
located in Providence, Rhode Island
. The station is owned by Cumulus Media
, and airs a talk
format. WPRO's studio and transmitter (along with the studios for Cumulus' other Providence stations) are located in East Providence
, at the Salty Brine
Broadcast Center, named after WPRO's longtime morning host. WPRO programming is also heard on WEAN-FM (99.7 FM
).
WPRO's current program director is Paul Giammarco, who previously held the position at WSAR
in Fall River, Massachusetts
.
on June 15, 1924, owned by Dutee W. Flint and operating at 1050 kHz; in January 1925, the call letters were changed to WDWF, reflecting the owner's initials, and the station moved to 680 kHz. That December, Lincoln Studios began to share ownership of the station with Flint; Lincoln broadcast its programming under the call sign WLSI. WDWF and WLSI moved to 800 kHz by June 30, 1927, to 1090 kHz in October, to 1150 kHz in November, and to 1210 kHz in February 1928. By 1930, the studios for WDWF and WLSI were located in Providence.
Cherry & Webb Broadcasting acquired the station in September 1931, and dropped the WDWF and WLSI call signs in favor of WPRO; the station was formally relaunched on October 16. The purchase made Cherry & Webb the third department store in Providence to get into radio broadcasting, after the 1922 launches of Shepard Stores' WEAN (now WPRV, a sister station to WPRO) and The Outlet Company
's WJAR (now WHJJ
). The following February, Cherry & Webb purchased another station at 1210 kHz, WPAW in nearby Pawtucket
, which had been granted a license in August 1926 as WFCI, owned by Frank Cook Inc. and operating at 1160 kHz, moved to 1330 by June 30, 1927, to 1240 that August, and to 1210 in November 1928, concurrent with the change to WPAW. Following the acquisition, the station used WPAW in tandem with WPRO until 1933. The station moved to its current frequency, 630 kHz, in 1934. WPRO was an affiliate of the short-lived American Broadcasting System in 1935; in 1937, the station joined the CBS Radio Network
, replacing charter affiliate WEAN.
Although WPRO's city of license
was changed from Cranston to Providence soon after Cherry & Webb took over, the station's transmitter remained in Cranston until its destruction in the 1938 New England hurricane; it then constructed a new transmission facility in East Providence. FM service was added in April 1949 with the debut of WPRO-FM
(92.3 MHz), and a television sister station, WPRO-TV (channel 12), went on the air March 27, 1955.
Cherry & Webb exited broadcasting in April 1959, selling the WPRO stations to Capital Cities Television Corporation, which eventually became Capital Cities Communications
. Soon afterward, WPRO ended its CBS Radio affiliation and became Providence's top-rated top 40 station, competing against WICE (now WRNI
) and, later, WGNG (now WBZS). The station's studios were moved to the transmitter location in East Providence in 1974; WPRO's previous studio location, which until then had also continued to house what had become WPRI-TV
even after that station was sold by Capital Cities in 1967, was then donated to public television station WSBE-TV
. That same year, WPRO-FM adopted its own top 40 format, and the AM side began a gradual evolution to adult contemporary that would continue through the remainder of the decade. During the 1980s, the station again began to shift its format by gradually adding talk shows
to its schedule; it also became an affiliate of ABC Radio by 1984, two years before ABC
was purchased by Capital Cities. WPRO discontinued its remaining music programming on March 20, 1989, moving to an all-talk format.
Capital Cities/ABC sold WPRO to Tele-Media in 1993; this put the station under common ownership with WLKW (the former WEAN) and WWLI
. Tele-Media, in turn, sold its stations to Citadel Broadcasting
in 1997. WPRO added its simulcast on WEAN-FM on March 11, 2008. Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011.
, Dan Yorke, former Providence mayor Buddy Cianci (joined by longtime WPRO broadcaster Ron St. Pierre), and Matt Allen. The addition of Cianci's program on September 20, 2007 came after a bidding war with WHJJ. Syndicated programming includes The Savage Nation
, Jerry Doyle, and Coast to Coast AM
.
Weekend programming includes locally produced shows (including a Saturday morning show hosted by WJAR
anchor Gene Valicenti) as well as syndicated shows such as The Mutual Fund Show with Adam Bold
, Leo Laporte
: The Tech Guy
, Dr. Dean Edell, Meet the Press
, and Bill Cunningham
, .
WPRO is an affiliate of the New England Patriots Radio Network. It also carried Boston Red Sox
baseball from 1986 to 2005; in 2006, the affiliation moved to WEEI-FM (now WVEI-FM).
investigative reporter Jim Hummell, State Representative Joe Trillo, and longtime fill-in Freddie Mertz.
, who served as the station's morning host from 1943 until April 28, 1993. Other former WPRO voices include Jimmy Gray, Holland Cooke, Gary Berkowitz, Larry Kruger, Ed Cherubino, Joe Thomas, Gary DeGraide, Davy Jones, Andy "Big Ange" Jackson, Charlie Jefferds, Jack Casey and Brother Bill Goodman. New York media personalities who previously worked at WPRO include WABC
host Mark Simone
, WCBS-TV
correspondent Magee Hickey
and WPLJ
personality Dave Stewart (as David Spencer on WPRO).
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
located 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 station is owned by Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media, Inc. is the second largest Owner and Operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States, behind Clear Channel Communications, operating 570 stations in 150 markets as of September 16, 2011. The company also owns Cumulus Media Networks...
, and airs a talk
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
format. WPRO's studio and transmitter (along with the studios for Cumulus' other Providence stations) are located in East Providence
East Providence, Rhode Island
East Providence is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 47,037 at the 2010 census, making it the fifth largest city in the state.-Geography:East Providence is located at ....
, at the Salty Brine
Salty Brine
Walter L. Brine Jr. , invariably known as "Salty", was a well-known broadcaster in Rhode Island.At age 10, he lost one of his legs, attempting to jump onto a freight train near his home in Arlington, Massachusetts...
Broadcast Center, named after WPRO's longtime morning host. WPRO programming is also heard on WEAN-FM (99.7 FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
).
WPRO's current program director is Paul Giammarco, who previously held the position at WSAR
WSAR
WSAR is an AM radio station in Somerset, Massachusetts broadcasting on 1480 kHz. WSAR is the second oldest radio station in Massachusetts and the fifth oldest station in the United States.-Format:...
in Fall River, Massachusetts
Fall River, Massachusetts
Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is located about south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and west of New Bedford and south of Taunton. The city's population was 88,857 during the 2010 census, making it the tenth largest city in...
.
History
The earliest ancestor to WPRO, WKBF, began broadcasting from Cranston, Rhode IslandCranston, Rhode Island
Cranston, once known as Pawtuxet, is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. With a population of 80,387 at the 2010 census, it is the third largest city in the state. The center of population of Rhode Island is located in Cranston...
on June 15, 1924, owned by Dutee W. Flint and operating at 1050 kHz; in January 1925, the call letters were changed to WDWF, reflecting the owner's initials, and the station moved to 680 kHz. That December, Lincoln Studios began to share ownership of the station with Flint; Lincoln broadcast its programming under the call sign WLSI. WDWF and WLSI moved to 800 kHz by June 30, 1927, to 1090 kHz in October, to 1150 kHz in November, and to 1210 kHz in February 1928. By 1930, the studios for WDWF and WLSI were located in Providence.
Cherry & Webb Broadcasting acquired the station in September 1931, and dropped the WDWF and WLSI call signs in favor of WPRO; the station was formally relaunched on October 16. The purchase made Cherry & Webb the third department store in Providence to get into radio broadcasting, after the 1922 launches of Shepard Stores' WEAN (now WPRV, a sister station to WPRO) and The Outlet Company
The Outlet Company
The Outlet Company was a corporation based in Providence, Rhode Island, which owned holdings in both retail and broadcasting. The centerpieces of the group was its flagship Providence store and WJAR radio and television, also in Providence....
's WJAR (now WHJJ
WHJJ
WHJJ is a radio station in Providence, Rhode Island. The station was previously assigned the call letters WJAR, adopting its current call letters in 1980 when previous owner Outlet Communications sold the station.-History:...
). The following February, Cherry & Webb purchased another station at 1210 kHz, WPAW in nearby Pawtucket
Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 71,148 at the 2010 census. It is the fourth largest city in the state.-History:...
, which had been granted a license in August 1926 as WFCI, owned by Frank Cook Inc. and operating at 1160 kHz, moved to 1330 by June 30, 1927, to 1240 that August, and to 1210 in November 1928, concurrent with the change to WPAW. Following the acquisition, the station used WPAW in tandem with WPRO until 1933. The station moved to its current frequency, 630 kHz, in 1934. WPRO was an affiliate of the short-lived American Broadcasting System in 1935; in 1937, the station joined the CBS Radio Network
CBS Radio Network
The CBS Radio Network provides news, sports and other programming to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by CBS Corporation, and operated by CBS Radio ....
, replacing charter affiliate WEAN.
Although WPRO's city of license
City of license
A city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting, is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator....
was changed from Cranston to Providence soon after Cherry & Webb took over, the station's transmitter remained in Cranston until its destruction in the 1938 New England hurricane; it then constructed a new transmission facility in East Providence. FM service was added in April 1949 with the debut of WPRO-FM
WPRO-FM
WPRO-FM is a radio station in Providence, Rhode Island. The station broadcasts an adult top 40 format. It is the sister station to WPRO...
(92.3 MHz), and a television sister station, WPRO-TV (channel 12), went on the air March 27, 1955.
Cherry & Webb exited broadcasting in April 1959, selling the WPRO stations to Capital Cities Television Corporation, which eventually became Capital Cities Communications
Capital Cities Communications
Capital Cities redirects here. For the article about the seat of a government, see Capital .Capital Cities Communications was an American media company best known for its surprise purchase of the much larger American Broadcasting Company in 1985...
. Soon afterward, WPRO ended its CBS Radio affiliation and became Providence's top-rated top 40 station, competing against WICE (now 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...
) and, later, WGNG (now WBZS). The station's studios were moved to the transmitter location in East Providence in 1974; WPRO's previous studio location, which until then had also continued to house what had become WPRI-TV
WPRI-TV
WPRI-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for the state of Rhode Island and Bristol County, Massachusetts that is licensed to Providence. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 13 from a transmitter on Homestead Avenue in Rehoboth, Massachusetts...
even after that station was sold by Capital Cities in 1967, was then donated to public television station WSBE-TV
WSBE-TV
WSBE-TV is Rhode Island's only public television station. The license is owned by the Rhode Island Public Telecommunications Authority, a quasi-state agency. The station began broadcasting on June 8, 1967 from the campus of Rhode Island College. In 1974, WSBE moved to the former WPRO-TV facilities...
. That same year, WPRO-FM adopted its own top 40 format, and the AM side began a gradual evolution to adult contemporary that would continue through the remainder of the decade. During the 1980s, the station again began to shift its format by gradually adding talk shows
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
to its schedule; it also became an affiliate of ABC Radio by 1984, two years before ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
was purchased by Capital Cities. WPRO discontinued its remaining music programming on March 20, 1989, moving to an all-talk format.
Capital Cities/ABC sold WPRO to Tele-Media in 1993; this put the station under common ownership with WLKW (the former WEAN) and WWLI
WWLI
WWLI is a radio station in Providence, Rhode Island that under ownership of Cumulus Media. This station is better known as "Lite Rock 105" and plays the adult contemporary format. Its transmitter is located in Johnston, Rhode Island.-History:...
. Tele-Media, in turn, sold its stations to Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the country...
in 1997. WPRO added its simulcast on WEAN-FM on March 11, 2008. Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011.
Programming
Much of WPRO's weekday lineup is locally-produced, with programs hosted by John DePetroJohn DePetro
John DePetro is an American talk radio host on WPRO , television host and analyst, stand-up comedian,on-line columnist.-Background:DePetro was raised in Edgewood, Rhode Island, the youngest of seven children to Thomas and Virginia DePetro. With seven children in the house, the DePetro household was...
, Dan Yorke, former Providence mayor Buddy Cianci (joined by longtime WPRO broadcaster Ron St. Pierre), and Matt Allen. The addition of Cianci's program on September 20, 2007 came after a bidding war with WHJJ. Syndicated programming includes The Savage Nation
The Savage Nation
The Savage Nation is an American radio show hosted by conservative commentator Michael Savage on Talk Radio Network. His show is heard by 8-10 million listeners a week and syndicated across the U.S. in over 300 markets, making it the 3rd most listened to radio show in the country...
, Jerry Doyle, and Coast to Coast AM
Coast to Coast AM
Coast to Coast AM is a North American late-night syndicated radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics, but most frequently ones that relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was created by Art Bell and is distributed by Premiere Radio Networks. The program currently...
.
Weekend programming includes locally produced shows (including a Saturday morning show hosted by WJAR
WJAR
WJAR is the NBC-affiliated television station for the state of Rhode Island and Bristol County, Massachusetts licensed to Providence. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 51 from a transmitter in Rehoboth, Massachusetts...
anchor Gene Valicenti) as well as syndicated shows such as The Mutual Fund Show with Adam Bold
Adam Bold
Adam Bold is an American author and businessman. He is the founder and minority shareholder of The Mutual Fund Store, and host of The Mutual Fund Show, a national weekly talk radio show focused on actively managed mutual fund investments...
, Leo Laporte
Leo Laporte
Léo Gordon Laporte is an Emmy Award winning, American technology broadcaster, author, and entrepreneur. A former resident of Providence, Rhode Island, he now lives in Petaluma, California with his wife Jennifer and two children, Abby and Henry....
: The Tech Guy
The Tech Guy
The Tech Guy is a US-wide syndicated radio show, hosted by Leo Laporte formerly of TechTV and now TWiT.tv fame. The show, which was first exclusively broadcast on KFI AM 640 in Los Angeles, California, was picked up for syndication by Premiere Radio Networks in February 2007...
, Dr. Dean Edell, Meet the Press
Meet the Press
Meet the Press is a weekly American television news/interview program produced by NBC. It is the longest-running television series in American broadcasting history, despite bearing little resemblance to the original format of the program seen in its television debut on November 6, 1947. It has been...
, and Bill Cunningham
Bill Cunningham
Bill Cunningham is an American talk radio host. His full-time job is hosting The Big Show with Bill Cunningham, a local show on 700 WLW in Cincinnati, Ohio. Cunningham now hosts Live on Sunday Night, it's Bill Cunningham, which is syndicated to over 300 stations by Premiere Radio Networks. He is...
, .
WPRO is an affiliate of the New England Patriots Radio Network. It also carried Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
baseball from 1986 to 2005; in 2006, the affiliation moved to WEEI-FM (now WVEI-FM).
Substitutes
Frequent fill-ins on WPRO include former WLNE-TVWLNE-TV
WLNE-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for Rhode Island and the South Coast of Massachusetts. It is licensed to New Bedford, Massachusetts, but is headquartered in and operates from studios at 10 Orms Street in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. It is one of two major Rhode Island...
investigative reporter Jim Hummell, State Representative Joe Trillo, and longtime fill-in Freddie Mertz.
Former on-air staff
WPRO's longest-serving on-air staff member was Salty BrineSalty Brine
Walter L. Brine Jr. , invariably known as "Salty", was a well-known broadcaster in Rhode Island.At age 10, he lost one of his legs, attempting to jump onto a freight train near his home in Arlington, Massachusetts...
, who served as the station's morning host from 1943 until April 28, 1993. Other former WPRO voices include Jimmy Gray, Holland Cooke, Gary Berkowitz, Larry Kruger, Ed Cherubino, Joe Thomas, Gary DeGraide, Davy Jones, Andy "Big Ange" Jackson, Charlie Jefferds, Jack Casey and Brother Bill Goodman. New York media personalities who previously worked at WPRO include WABC
WABC (AM)
WABC , known as "NewsTalkRadio 77 WABC" is a radio station in New York City. Owned by the broadcasting division of Cumulus Media, the station broadcasts on a clear channel and is the flagship station of Cumulus Media Networks...
host Mark Simone
Mark Simone
Mark Simone is an American radio personality. Currently heard on WABC in New York, he also fills-in for ABC Radio hosts such as Don Imus, Mark Levin, and Sean Hannity.Simone occasionally appears on CNN, MSNBC and PBS....
, WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV, channel 2, is the flagship station of the CBS television network, located in New York City. The station's studios are located within the CBS Broadcast Center and its transmitter is atop the Empire State Building, both in Midtown Manhattan....
correspondent Magee Hickey
Magee Hickey
Magee Hickey is a reporter for WPIX in New York City.Hickey attended the Convent of the Sacred Heart, an elite, all-girls school in Manhattan, before graduating from Brown University in 1977....
and WPLJ
WPLJ
WPLJ is a radio station in New York City owned by the broadcasting division of Cumulus Media. WPLJ shares studio facilities with sister station WABC inside 2 Penn Plaza in midtown Manhattan, and its transmitter is atop the Empire State Building. The station currently plays a Hot Adult...
personality Dave Stewart (as David Spencer on WPRO).