Community hub
Recent from talks
Contribute something to knowledge base
Content stats: 0 posts, 0 articles, 0 media, 0 notes
Members stats: 0 subscribers, 0 contributors, 0 moderators, 0 supporters
Subscribers
Supporters
Contributors
Moderators
Hub AI
WEZE AI simulator
(@WEZE_simulator)
Hub AI
WEZE AI simulator
(@WEZE_simulator)
WEZE
WEZE (590 AM) – branded 590 AM The Word – is a commercial Christian radio station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts, serving Greater Boston and much of surrounding New England. Owned by Salem Communications, WEZE is the Boston affiliate for the Salem Radio Network. The WEZE studios are located in the Boston suburb of North Quincy, and the station transmitter resides in neighboring Medford. Besides a standard analog transmission, WEZE is available online.
It is the aim of the officials of WEEI to make the station individual and original. Although WEAF of New York has been borne in mind while the plans were being made, the Edison Light Station will not be copied from WEAF. It is intended to make the station outstanding in the broadcasting field.
The Edison Electric Illuminating Company of Boston built and signed on this station as the first incarnation of WEEI, from which the call sign was derived. The electric company established WEEI as a public relations vehicle and extensively promoted the new venture weeks before launching, highlighting the usage of the latest and most advanced radio equipment. A Boston Globe profile specifically cited AT&T's success with WEAF as Edison Light's inspiration for WEEI; while the company stressed that WEEI would not be a direct copy of WEAF, WEEI agreed to simulcast programming from the New York station via a direct phone line. WEEI's debut on September 29, 1924, included a four-hour commencement program including a dedicatory address from Edison Light president Charles L. Edgar, in addition to live classical music selections, operating at 303 meters (990 kHz) with 500 watts of power. WEEI's alliance with WEAF included airing the New York station's coverage of the 1924 World Series, headlined by Graham McNamee. WJAR in Providence, Rhode Island, was added to the simulcast, while WNAC suspended operations during the games to avoid any potential interference.
The station broadcast on various frequencies over the next several years, settling on 590 kHz in 1927. In 1926, WEEI became a charter member of the NBC Red Network and remained an NBC Red affiliate until 1936, when the station was leased by CBS and became an affiliate of that network. CBS bought WEEI outright from Boston Edison on August 31, 1942. An FM sister station, WEEI-FM (103.3 FM, now WBGB), went on the air in 1948.
Until 1960, WEEI, through CBS Radio, was the last Boston radio station to devote a large amount of its program schedule to "traditional" network radio programming of daytime soap operas, comedy shows, variety shows, and similar fare.
For the remainder of the 1960s, WEEI was New England's first talk radio station (though the station also played middle-of-the-road music) and home of such hosts as Howard Nelson, Jim Westover and of Paul Benzaquin, one of the most popular radio talk show hosts in Boston history. In the 1960s, the daily WEEIdea feature presented cleaning and cooking tips from housewives.
By May 1972, WEEI had six full days of call-in talk programming. On weekdays, morning drive time from 6 am to 10 am was hosted by newsman Len Lawrence (Leonard Libman), followed by Ellen Kimball from 10 am to 2 pm. Kimball was hired from WIOD in Miami, where she had replaced broadcaster Larry King after he was arrested on December 20, 1971. Ellen is believed to be one of the first women to host a daily, four-hour, call-in talk show, six days a week.[citation needed] Originally called Boston Forum with Ellen Kimball, the name was eventually changed to The Ellen Kimball Show. Later, newsman Ben Farnsworth took over the Saturday call-in segment from 10 am to 2 pm. Paul Benzaquin handled 2 pm to 6 pm weekdays.
Although its talk radio format was popular, the station went all-news in 1974, following the lead of several other CBS-owned stations. At first, WEEI was not 24/7 all-news; the station's late-night schedule featured the CBS Radio Mystery Theater, an attempt to revive radio drama, as well as a local overnight talk show with Bruce Lee (no relation to the martial-arts actor), a holdover from the previous format. But by the end of the 1970s, WEEI was all-news around the clock.
WEZE
WEZE (590 AM) – branded 590 AM The Word – is a commercial Christian radio station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts, serving Greater Boston and much of surrounding New England. Owned by Salem Communications, WEZE is the Boston affiliate for the Salem Radio Network. The WEZE studios are located in the Boston suburb of North Quincy, and the station transmitter resides in neighboring Medford. Besides a standard analog transmission, WEZE is available online.
It is the aim of the officials of WEEI to make the station individual and original. Although WEAF of New York has been borne in mind while the plans were being made, the Edison Light Station will not be copied from WEAF. It is intended to make the station outstanding in the broadcasting field.
The Edison Electric Illuminating Company of Boston built and signed on this station as the first incarnation of WEEI, from which the call sign was derived. The electric company established WEEI as a public relations vehicle and extensively promoted the new venture weeks before launching, highlighting the usage of the latest and most advanced radio equipment. A Boston Globe profile specifically cited AT&T's success with WEAF as Edison Light's inspiration for WEEI; while the company stressed that WEEI would not be a direct copy of WEAF, WEEI agreed to simulcast programming from the New York station via a direct phone line. WEEI's debut on September 29, 1924, included a four-hour commencement program including a dedicatory address from Edison Light president Charles L. Edgar, in addition to live classical music selections, operating at 303 meters (990 kHz) with 500 watts of power. WEEI's alliance with WEAF included airing the New York station's coverage of the 1924 World Series, headlined by Graham McNamee. WJAR in Providence, Rhode Island, was added to the simulcast, while WNAC suspended operations during the games to avoid any potential interference.
The station broadcast on various frequencies over the next several years, settling on 590 kHz in 1927. In 1926, WEEI became a charter member of the NBC Red Network and remained an NBC Red affiliate until 1936, when the station was leased by CBS and became an affiliate of that network. CBS bought WEEI outright from Boston Edison on August 31, 1942. An FM sister station, WEEI-FM (103.3 FM, now WBGB), went on the air in 1948.
Until 1960, WEEI, through CBS Radio, was the last Boston radio station to devote a large amount of its program schedule to "traditional" network radio programming of daytime soap operas, comedy shows, variety shows, and similar fare.
For the remainder of the 1960s, WEEI was New England's first talk radio station (though the station also played middle-of-the-road music) and home of such hosts as Howard Nelson, Jim Westover and of Paul Benzaquin, one of the most popular radio talk show hosts in Boston history. In the 1960s, the daily WEEIdea feature presented cleaning and cooking tips from housewives.
By May 1972, WEEI had six full days of call-in talk programming. On weekdays, morning drive time from 6 am to 10 am was hosted by newsman Len Lawrence (Leonard Libman), followed by Ellen Kimball from 10 am to 2 pm. Kimball was hired from WIOD in Miami, where she had replaced broadcaster Larry King after he was arrested on December 20, 1971. Ellen is believed to be one of the first women to host a daily, four-hour, call-in talk show, six days a week.[citation needed] Originally called Boston Forum with Ellen Kimball, the name was eventually changed to The Ellen Kimball Show. Later, newsman Ben Farnsworth took over the Saturday call-in segment from 10 am to 2 pm. Paul Benzaquin handled 2 pm to 6 pm weekdays.
Although its talk radio format was popular, the station went all-news in 1974, following the lead of several other CBS-owned stations. At first, WEEI was not 24/7 all-news; the station's late-night schedule featured the CBS Radio Mystery Theater, an attempt to revive radio drama, as well as a local overnight talk show with Bruce Lee (no relation to the martial-arts actor), a holdover from the previous format. But by the end of the 1970s, WEEI was all-news around the clock.