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WEZE (590 AM) – branded 590 AM The Word – is a commercial
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...
licensed to
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
, serving
Greater Boston Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston, the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England, and its surrounding areas, home to 4,941,632. The most s ...
and much of surrounding
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
. Owned by
Salem Communications Salem Media Group, Inc. (formerly Salem Communications Corporation) is an American radio broadcaster, internet content provider, and magazine and book publisher based in Irving, Texas, targeting audiences interested in Christian values and wha ...
, WEZE is the Boston affiliate for the
Salem Radio Network Salem Radio Network is a United States–based radio network that specializes in syndicated Christian political talk, music, and conservative secular news/talk programming. It is a division of the Salem Media Group. Network information Salem ...
. The WEZE studios are located in the Boston
suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
of North Quincy, and the station transmitter resides in neighboring Medford. Besides a standard
analog transmission Analog transmission is a transmission method of conveying information using a continuous signal which varies in amplitude, phase, or some other property in proportion to that information. It could be the transfer of an analog signal, using an an ...
, WEZE is available online.


History


WEEI (1924–1994)


Early years

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 AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...
'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 Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...
selections, operating at 303 meters (990
kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base uni ...
) with 500 watts of power. WEEI's alliance with WEAF included airing the New York station's coverage of the
1924 World Series The 1924 World Series was the World Series, championship series of the 1924 Major League Baseball season. A best-of-seven playoff, the series was played between the American League (AL) pennant winner 1924 Washington Senators season, Washington ...
, headlined by Graham McNamee.
WJAR WJAR (channel 10) is a television station in Providence, Rhode Island, United States, affiliated with NBC. Owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, the station has studios on Kenney Drive in Cranston, Rhode Island (shared with Telemundo owned-and-op ...
in
Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...
, 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 The National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (also known as the NBC Red Network from 1927 to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in continuous operation from 1926 through 1999. Along with the NBC Blue Network, it wa ...
and remained an NBC Red affiliate until 1936, when the station was leased by
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
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 Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...
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.


Talk and all-news years

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 WIOD (610 AM) is a commercial radio station in Miami, serving South Florida. It airs a talk radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, The studios are on SW 145th Avenue in Pembroke Pines. WIOD's transmitter site is on Krome Avenue in Wes ...
in
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
, where she had replaced broadcaster
Larry King Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American TV and radio host presenter, author, and former spokesman. He was a WMBM radio interviewer in the Miami area in the 1950s and 1960s and beginning in ...
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. 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 All-news radio is a radio format devoted entirely to the discussion and broadcast of news. All-news radio is available in both local and radio syndication, syndicated forms, and is carried on both major US satellite radio networks. All-news sta ...
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 ''CBS Radio Mystery Theater'' (a.k.a. ''Radio Mystery Theater'' and ''Mystery Theater'', sometimes abbreviated as ''CBSRMT'') is a radio drama series created by Himan Brown that was broadcast on CBS Radio Network affiliates from 1974 to 1982, ...
'', 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. On December 27, 1977, while engaged in traffic reporting, a Hughes 269B helicopter operated by WEEI lost power and crashed into an apartment building in Quincy while attempting an emergency landing, killing pilot Richard Banks and reporter Chip Whitmore. A fire developed in the building following the crash. WEEI was put up for sale in April 1983, after CBS reached a deal to acquire KRLD in Dallas–Fort Worth from
Metromedia Metromedia, Inc. (also often MetroMedia) was an American media company that owned radio station, radio and television stations in the United States from 1956 to 1986 and controlled Orion Pictures from 1988 to 1997. Metromedia was established in ...
; that September, a deal was reached to sell the station to Helen Broadcasting; the company was owned by the Valerio family, who also owned
Papa Gino's Papa Gino's, Inc., is a restaurant chain based in Dedham, Massachusetts, specializing in traditional thin crust pizza along with pasta, subs, salads, and a variety of appetizers. As of 2023, there are 79 Papa Gino's locations in Connecticut, Mas ...
. Although Metromedia canceled the sale of KRLD after it was granted permission to own both the radio station and KNBN-TV in Dallas–Fort Worth, the sale of WEEI still went forward. Helen Broadcasting continued the all-news format. CBS retained WEEI's FM sister station until the 2017 sale of its radio division to
Entercom Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corp., it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning over 220 radio stations across 47 media ...
.


Switch to sports

The station was acquired by Boston Celtics Communications (a group that shared ownership with the
Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...
basketball team) on May 10, 1990; the Celtics also simultaneously purchased
WFXT WFXT (channel 25) is a television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, affiliated with the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network and owned by Cox Media Group. Its studios are located on Fox Drive (near the Boston-Providence Turnpi ...
(channel 25) from
Fox Television Stations Fox Television Stations, LLC (stylized as FOX TV STATIONS; also known as FTS) is a group of television stations in the United States owned-and-operated by Fox Corporation. It owns LiveNOW from Fox, Fox Local, and Fox Soul. It also oversees ...
. (pay content preview) The Celtics initially pledged to continue the all-news format, hiring a new morning anchor (pay content preview) and shifting the station to a 30-minute clock (it previously followed a one-hour clock); (pay content preview) however, the CBS Radio Network's decision to shift its Boston affiliation to
WRKO 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 portio ...
effective September 3, 1990 (ending a 54-year link with WEEI) for reasons that included WRKO having a stronger news commitment, (pay content preview) which compelled WEEI to join the ABC Direction Network, (pay content preview) led to speculation that the station was shifting to an all-sports format. Though this was played down by station officials, WEEI, which had already carried Celtics broadcasts since 1987, (pay content preview) expanded its sports programming after the sale; WEEI became the flagship station of the
Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...
(replacing
WPLM-FM WPLM-FM (99.1 FM broadcasting, FM, "Easy 99.1") is a soft adult contemporary music station licensed to Plymouth, Massachusetts. It is owned by Plymouth Rock Broadcasting Co.. Its transmitter is located in Plymouth. With a 50,000 watt signal, WPLM ...
) in 1990 (pay content preview) (however, Celtics broadcasts were given priority, resulting in some Bruins broadcasts moving to WVBF or WMEX (pay content preview)), and a nightly sports talk show with Craig Mustard was launched on August 20, 1990. (pay content preview) WEEI also carried ''
Sports Byline USA Sports Byline USA is an international sports radio network based in the United States. ''Sports Byline USA'' is also the name of the flagship program on the network. It was the first national sports talk show and was launched on October 24, 1988. ...
'' and
CBS Radio Sports Infinity Sports Network is an American sports radio network. It debuted as CBS Sports Radio with hourly sports news updates on September 4, 2012, and with 24/7 programming on January 2, 2013. Infinity Sports Network is programmed by Audacy, Inc ...
broadcasts not cleared by WRKO. The all-news format continued in other dayparts until September 3, 1991, when WEEI became an all-sports station. (pay content preview) (pay content preview) Following the format change, the station began simulcasting its programming on WVEI in
Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...
to reach
central Massachusetts Central Massachusetts is the geographically central region of Massachusetts. Though definitions vary, most include all of Worcester County and the northwest corner of Middlesex County. Worcester, the largest city in the area, and the seat of Wor ...
. Upon the change to all-sports, WEEI featured the Andy Moes show and ''Glenn (Ordway) and Janet (Prensky)'', a short-lived experiment in bringing a " Bickersons"-type format to sports radio. Also part of the roster was Boston sports talk pioneer
Eddie Andelman Eddie Andelman (born 1937 Stoda, Greg"Boston’s Eddie Andelman, godfather of sports talk, still feisty at 77" ''The Palm Beach Post'', July 7, 2014 ) is an American sports radio talk-show host. He has worked over 40 years in sports talk radio in ...
. (pay content preview) WEEI also began to carry
Boston College Eagles football The Boston College Eagles football team represents Boston College in the sport of American football. The Eagles compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a member of t ...
in 1992, replacing WBZ. (pay content preview) However, the change was followed by a dramatic drop in its ratings; (pay content preview) additionally, the station struggled financially, at one point losing $80,000 a week, leading to rumors of a sale of WEEI. Still, WEEI improved its morning ratings after it became one of the earliest affiliates of ''
Imus in the Morning ''Imus in the Morning'' was a long-running radio show hosted by Don Imus. The show originated on June 2, 1968, on various stations in the Western United States and Cleveland, Ohio, before settling on WNBC radio in New York City in 1971. In Octo ...
'' from
WFAN WFAN may refer to: * WFAN (AM) WFAN (660 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to New York, New York, with a sports radio format, branded "Sports Radio 66 AM and 101.9 FM" or "The Fan". Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station serves the New Y ...
in New York City on July 12, 1993. (pay content preview) (pay content preview) On March 16, 1994, the Boston Celtics reached a deal to sell WEEI to Back Bay Broadcasting;''Boston Globe'', article, "Celtics Sell WEEI for $3.8m", by Jack Craig, March 17, 1994, Sec. 1. pg. 41 shortly afterward, the rights to Celtics broadcasts passed to
American Radio Systems American Radio Systems Corporation was a radio company that existed from 1993 until 1998. Its predecessor, Atlantic Ventures, was founded by Steven B. Dodge, Eric Schultz, Joseph Winn, and Michael Milsom. American Radio Systems was formed from ...
(ARS, which would shortly become part of CBS Radio), owner of WRKO and WHDH, effective with the 1994–95 season, while the Bruins signed a deal with WBZ to carry its broadcasts starting in 1995. (pay content preview) Sister station WFXT was sold back to Fox Television Stations soon afterward.


WBNW (1994–1996)

ARS then announced on August 15, 1994, that it would purchase the programming and call letters of WEEI from Back Bay Broadcasting, effective August 29. As part of this transfer, WHDH's call letters were changed to WEEI and its format was changed from talk radio to sports radio, with on- and off-air personnel also being reassigned; 590 AM's call letters were concurrently changed to WBNW. WBNW simulcast the "new" WEEI for a week before Back Bay Broadcasting launched a business news format. The ownership transfer also saw WVEI break from its simulcast of WEEI to become a separate sports radio station for Worcester, WWTM; WWTM was acquired by ARS in 1996 and gradually returned to a simulcast of WEEI, returning to the WVEI call sign in 2000. As a business news station, WBNW's programming was mostly supplied by
Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician a ...
; the station was the first affiliate of
Bloomberg Radio Bloomberg Radio is a radio service of Bloomberg L.P. that provides global business news programming 24 hours a day. The format is general and financial news, offering local, national and international news reports along with financial market ...
, which had previously only aired on its New York City flagship station,
WBBR WBBR (1130 kHz) is a Class A clear-channel AM radio station licensed to New York, New York. It serves as the flagship station of Bloomberg Radio, Bloomberg L.P.'s radio service. The station offers general and financial news reports 24-hours ...
. Local news segments were outsourced to
Metro Networks Metro Networks was a broadcasting outsourcing company based in Houston, Texas. It was a subsidiary of Westwood One until its sale to Clear Channel Communications in 2011. The company operated local and regional news and traffic operations that pr ...
. WBNW's lineup also included a local talk show, ''The Money Experts'', and Bruce Williams' syndicated talk show; both programs previously aired on WHDH. WBNW also carried Boston Bruins games during the 1994–95 season; the games did not move with WEEI to 850 AM due to conflicts with Boston College basketball. In 1995, Peter Ottmar, who ran Back Bay Broadcasting, consolidated his broadcast holdings, which also included WARA in
Attleboro Attleboro is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It was once known as "The Jewelry Capital of the World" for its many jewelry manufacturers. According to the 2020 census, Attleboro had a population of 46,461. Attleboro is ...
,
WWKX WWKX (106.3 FM) is a classic rock radio station in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, serving the Blackstone Valley and much of the Providence metropolitan area. The Cumulus Media outlet operates with an ERP of 1.15 kW and is licensed to Woonsocke ...
in
Woonsocket, Rhode Island Woonsocket ( ), is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 43,240 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the sixth largest city in the state. Being Rhode Island's northernmost city, Woonsoc ...
, and WICE in
Pawtucket, Rhode Island Pawtucket ( ) is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence, Rhode Island, Prov ...
, under the Back Bay name; that July, WICE was relaunched as WPNW, which largely simulcast WBNW but featured its own Metro Networks-produced local inserts for the
Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in some religions * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
market.


WEZE (1996–present)

American Radio Systems, which had held an option to buy WBNW since its launch, traded this option to
Salem Communications Salem Media Group, Inc. (formerly Salem Communications Corporation) is an American radio broadcaster, internet content provider, and magazine and book publisher based in Irving, Texas, targeting audiences interested in Christian values and wha ...
in 1996 in exchange for KDBX in
Banks, Oregon Banks is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, which is located in the Tualatin Valley. It is the southern anchor to the Banks–Vernonia State Trail, which is a linear trail popular with bicyclists, hikers, and equestrians. The ...
. While WBNW initially announced that "there will be no change of owner" and that "as far as Peter Ottmar is concerned, no one has an option on the station", Salem exercised this option to purchase the station in December 1996. As part of this transaction, that December 15, Salem changed WBNW's call letters to WEZE and changed the station's format to
Christian radio Christian radio refers to Christian media radio formats that focus on Christian religious broadcasting or various forms of Christian music. Many such formats and programs include contemporary Christian music, gospel music, sermons, radio dramas, ...
; in effect, this new WEZE licensed to Boston became the successor to the previous WEZE (1260 AM) licensed to Boston. Concurrently, the previous WEZE changed its call letters to WPZE, and, after both simulcasting WEZE and airing a separate Christian format, was later divested (and became WMKI). WADN (1120 AM) in
Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other words Arts and media * ''Concord'' (video game), a defunct 2024 first-person sh ...
started adding financial programming in 1997, eventually changing its format to business news/talk entirely; WADN's call letters were changed to WBNW in December 1998 – a move to reinforce that station format's link to the former WBNW. Incidentally, a format similar to WBNW's was installed onto 1260 AM, renamed
WBIX WBIX (1260 kHz) branded ''Nossa Rádio USA'' is a commercial Brazilian Portuguese AM radio station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts, and serving Greater Boston. Owned by the International Church of the Grace of God, the WBIX studios are locat ...
, in September 2015 after Salem reacquired the frequency.


WEZE-FM

For a short period, Salem Communications operated WEZE-FM in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, billed as "Easy 104.7". Though unusual, FCC rules allow co-owned stations in different cities to share call letters between themselves. Salem purchased the Pittsburgh station as part of a strategic move to compete against a Christian-formatted AM/FM competitor, but would have to run another format until the contracts with the client ministries could be obtained. Salem chose to run an easy-listening format until the contracts were obtained in October 1991, when WEZE-FM evolved into
WORD-FM WORD-FM (101.5 MHz) is a Christian talk radio station based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Owned by the Salem Media Group, the station broadcasts with an ERP of 43 kW. Its transmitter is located in Reserve Township, Pennsylvania. History ...
.


References


External links

*
FCC History Cards for WEZE (1924–1981)
{{Salem Communications EZE Radio stations established in 1924 1924 establishments in Massachusetts EZE Salem Media Group radio stations