Jump to content

WNEW-FM

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 69.224.56.159 (talk) at 19:34, 7 July 2009. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

WWFS
File:Fresh1027.jpg
Broadcast areaNew York City area
Frequency102.7 FM (MHz) (HD Radio)
102.7-2 FM 102.7 WNEW "Where Rock Lives"(HD Radio)
102.7-3 FM WINS simulcast (HD Radio)
BrandingFresh 102.7
Programming
FormatCommercial; Adult Contemporary
Ownership
OwnerCBS Radio
WCBS, WCBS-FM, WFAN, WINS, WXRK
History
First air date
1949
Former call signs
WNEW-FM (1958-2007)
WNJR (1949-1958)
Call sign meaning
W We're FreSh
Technical information
Facility ID25442
ClassB
ERP6,000 Watts
HAAT415 meters
Links
WebcastListen Live to Fresh! Listen Live to WNEW.com
Websitehttp://www.fresh1027.com/ HD2 http://www.wnew.com

WWFS (102.7 FM) is a New York City radio station owned and operated by CBS Radio. Today they offer a hot adult contemporary format. The station is under the guidance of consultant Gary Berkowitz and programmed by Brian Thomas, who also programs sister station WCBS-FM.

It was previously WNEW-FM for many years, after sister AM station WNEW (1130 kHz.) and television station WNEW-TV, with all being owned by Metromedia. After WNEW-TV was sold to the News Corporation in 1986 (and became WNYW), and the AM station was sold to Bloomberg L.P. in 1992 (and became WBBR), 102.7 FM retained the WNEW callsign until it was changed in 2007.

On April 12, 2008 after an almost 9 year hiatus the WNEW Rock format returned on WWFS's 102.7 HD2 subchannel and wnew.com.

History

Early years

This frequency was first occupied by WNJR in 1949, broadcasting from Newark, New Jersey. WNEW-FM came on the air in 1958, with a pop music format that at one time included a short-lived automated MOR format followed quickly by a period from July 4, 1966 to September 1967 in which as a gimmick they had an all-female broadcasting staff playing a popular music format. Nothing like this had ever been done on the radio in New York City before and, to say the least, it was definitely new and unique. The original female staff of disc jockeys included Margaret Draper, Alison Steele (who stayed on to become the "Night Bird" on the AOR format), Rita Sands, Ann Clements, Arlene Kieta, Pam McKissick and Nell Bassett. The music format was a pale copy of the AM's adult standards format and only Steele, Sands and Bassett had broadcast radio experience.

WNEW-FM

"Where Rock Lives"

On Halloween, 1967, WNEW-FM adopted a progressive rock radio format, one that it became famous for and that influenced the rock listenership as well as the rock industry. The original disc jockeys were Rosko, who started on October 31, 1967, Jonathan Schwartz who made his debut on November 16, 1967 and "the Professor" Scott Muni, who first appears on November 18, 1967. Alison Steele would stay on from the female staff and eventually take over the overnight shift on January 1, 1968. Disc jockeys would broadcast in ways that bore out their personalities:

Other well-known disc jockeys who worked at the station included Rosko, Dennis Elsas, Pete Larkin, Richard Neer, Dan Neer, Jim Monaghan, Pam Merly, Meg Griffin, and John Zacherle.

File:WNEW1027.png
The classic logo of WNEW with the Statue of Liberty pictured.

WNEW-FM was among the first stations to give Bruce Springsteen significant airplay, and conducted live broadcasts of key Springsteen concerts in 1975 and 1978; Springsteen would sometimes call up the DJs during records. Later, Dave Herman featured a "Bruce Juice" segment each morning. John Lennon once stopped by to guest-DJ along with Dennis Elsas and appeared on-air several other times during his friend Scott Muni's afternoon slot. Members of The Grateful Dead and other groups would hang out in the studio; Emerson, Lake and Palmer's visit to Scott Muni's show is often credited for popularizing the group in America. In addition to music, youth-oriented comedy recordings such as from Monty Python would also be aired.

The station sponsored a benefit concert at Madison Square Garden each holiday season that drew reasonably big-name acts. It could fairly be said that WNEW-FM earned its slogan "Where Rock Lives". The station's television commercials during its rock years featured the song "Layla" by Derek and the Dominos and was considered the station's anthem.

The station thrived during the late 1970s when it helped boost the transition of the Punk/New Wave movement into the mainstream. During this era, the station hosted many live broadcasts from the legendary Greenwich Village night club, The Bottom Line. Among the bands featured live from the club were The Police, Joe Jackson, Squeeze, The Records, Rachel Sweet, David Johansen, Rockpile, Mink deVille and the Tom Robinson Band. Many of these bands were being spotlighted during their debut New York City performance.

Beginning in the mid '70s and extending into the 1980s, WNEW fielded a successful softball team, the WNEW All-Stars, playing in and around the New York metropolitan area and competing in the New York Sports and Entertainment League. Among the All-Stars were DJs Thom Morrera, Jim Monaghan, Richard Neer, Dan Neer and Pat Dawson, along with Crawdaddy editor Peter Knobler at shortstop, music business regulars Jack Hopke, Matt Birkbeck, Ralph Cuccurullo and John "Boots" Boulos in the outfield, and Michael "Chopper" Boulos at second base. The team consistently won deep into the playoffs, playing against teams led by Meatloaf, among others.

In the 1980s, the station gradually adopted a more conventional album oriented rock format, and sometimes seemed stodgy compared to college radio stations playing alternative rock. When long-time competitor WPLJ switched away from rock in 1983, WNEW-FM picked up some of its most popular DJs, such as Carol Miller and years later Pat St. John who would take over the morning show and programming duties.

From 1988 to 1992, a series of transactions involving WNEW-FM and its sister radio and television stations, resulted in ownership of WNEW-FM passing from Metromedia to Westinghouse and adopting the shorter WNEW call sign (former sister stations WNEW-TV became WNYW-TV under Fox, and WNEW-AM became WBBR under Bloomberg).

By the 1990s, the station was further losing relevance in the face of the popularity of grunge rock and so became more of a classic rock station. It spent its remaining music days flip flopping between a variety of classic, adult album and alternative rock.

Decline and fall

The real problems began for WNEW in 1995, when it adopted an adult album alternative format. The timing proved to be unfortunate: after the death of The Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia in 1995, bereft Dead fans turned to the station for solace, only to be greeted with current hits from The Smashing Pumpkins and Hootie and the Blowfish and very little about their fallen idol. The station, which now had the slogan of "New York's Rock Alternative", evolved to an eclectic mix of adult rock by the end of 1995.

In January 1996, the station declined to switch to classic rock when WXRK, which had a classic rock format for several years, decided to adapt an alternative rock format. In July 1996, WAXQ adopted a classic rock format. By the beginning of 1997, the station reverted to a classic rock station, becoming the second choice for the format when earlier they could have been first. At this point, many long-time fans felt WNEW-FM had completely lost its focus.

Throughout the 1990s, many of WNEW-FM's jocks defected to classic rock competitors WXRK and later WAXQ or to smaller but more freeform WFUV. Ratings remained dismal. In 1996, Westinghouse merged with CBS. Infinity Broadcasting would then merge with CBS in 1997, and CBS retained the Infinity name for its radio division.

In 1998, WNEW moved to a harder-edged rock format and continued to slump in the ratings. The remaining classic jocks left on the station departed one by one during 1998. Later that year, ex-Boston shock jocks Opie and Anthony arrived from WAAF to do afternoons on WNEW. They played several songs an hour, but for the most part, the show was a typical shock-jock talk show. Opie and Anthony immediately got attention from the station by interrupting their annual "Evolution of Rock and Roll" event by refusing to play the music, or destroying the CDs. They were confronted by WNEW peer Carol Miller a few times on the air, until they were forbidden by management to make eye contact.

With Opie and Anthony's ratings soaring, the station dropped its 32-year rock format for a "hot talk" format. The final moments of the old WNEW-FM came on September 12, 1999; sole remaining long-time jock Richard Neer signed off his Sunday morning show by playing Bruce Springsteen's beautiful dirge "Racing in the Street", and identifying the station one last time, changing the slogan to "Where Rock Lived".

"Hot Talk" era

WNEW logo during its "hot talk" era

On September 13, 1999, the station abandoned music during the week and tried an extreme "hot talk" format. For the first few months of this new format, the station was known on-air as "FM Talk @ 102.7". This new format consisted of shock jocks, such as Opie and Anthony, Don and Mike, The Radio Chick, and Ron and Fez, as well as a morning "guy talk" show that revolved around sports, called The Sports Guys. On weekends, the station retained a hard rock format, as Opie and Anthony gradually stopped playing music by 2000. Also in 2000, Viacom acquired CBS/Infinity Broadcasting, but kept the radio division under the "Infinity" banner.

By 2001, WNEW added infomercials on weekends and stopped playing music altogether, with the exception of Eddie Trunk's Friday and Saturday night hard rock-oriented shows. As was the case during this period, ratings were horrible at the station outside of Opie and Anthony. Then, bad news came for WNEW: the Opie and Anthony show was cancelled in August 2002 for encouraging a stunt involving two people allegedly engaging in sexual intercourse in a vestibule within St. Patrick's Cathedral. The FCC eventually fined Infinity $357,000--the maximum fine allowed by law, and the largest indecency fine in American radio history. FCC Commissioner Michael Copps dissented, claiming the FCC should have taken steps to revoke WNEW's license. A few months earlier, the FCC had fined Infinity $21,000 for three "patently offensive" Opie and Anthony broadcasts, including one referring to incest.

The station's ratings plummeted even further--at one point, it only netted a 0.7 rating, an unprecedented level for a major-market FM station. With the cancellation of the only show that generated any ratings for the station, management decided that the station needed to take a new direction.

"Blink 102.7"

In January 2003 the station dropped this blend of talk and infomercials and stunted for the next couple of months with CHR music, using a limited playlist of approximately 50 songs from artists like Pink, Eminem, Bowling for Soup, and Avril Lavigne, as well as nightly simulcasts of CBS's Late Show with David Letterman and post-season New York Giants and various college football games.

Sounders during that period teased listeners about how "a new station" would soon be coming to the 102.7 frequency, and it arrived in April, when WNEW became "102.7 Blink" (keeping the WNEW call letters) and adopted an unusual "Entertainment AC" format. The station mixed old and contemporary pop hits with talk shows and entertainment news from sources such as E!; on-air personalities during this period included the morning team of Chris Booker and Lynda Lopez (who were also dating during this time) and game show host Todd Newton doing afternoon drive live from Los Angeles. Other personalities included now-MSNBC Anchor Alison Stewart, Tim Virgin, Rick Stacy, Maze, and reporters Matt Wolfe and Lisa Chase, who provided hourly entertainment updates. The station also used AOL Instant Messenger to take requests, and 24 star Kiefer Sutherland did the station IDs ("It is physically impossible not to Blink", etc.).

However, the station's ratings sank further. The station's pink logo led to the derisive nickname "Barbie Radio", and Booker & Lopez did little more on the air than talk about Jennifer Lopez, Lynda's older sister. After less than six months, the station fired most of the staff and changed its branding to "102.7 Blink FM: Music Women Love" with an (again, unusual) explicit appeal to a female audience. This format also failed to draw audiences. By October, it adopted a more mainstream adult contemporary format and ratings began to go up slightly. That November, the station (like many AC stations) adopted the increasingly popular "all Christmas music, all the time" format.

"Mix 102.7"

File:Mix1027logo.png
WNEW logo during its "Rhythmic Adult Contemporary" era

The day after Christmas in 2003, the station became "Mix 102.7", making the switch to a more Rhythmic-leaning Adult Contemporary at 10:27AM. The station played a range of hits from the 1970s to the 2000s. The slogan was "Mix 102.7 FM The Station that Picks You Up and Makes You Feel Good". WNEW initially was mainstream AC but began to focus on dance hits, mainly from the 1970s and 1980s by the end of January. In the succeeding months, the "mix" tended to skew towards dance hits (during this time, program director Frankie Blue was fired for drunken on-air behavior, not only saying "fuck" on-air, but also misidentifying the station as rival "103.5 KTU"), with this all culminating in a change to an official "classic dance" or Rhythmic AC format in early 2005 under the slogan "Move to the Mix" and in the later months adopted "New York's Classic Dance Mix". However, the "Mix 102.7" moniker and the WNEW call letters remained. Ratings continued to be among the lowest of any major station in New York City.[1]

On December 31, 2005, the station underwent another ownership change after Viacom and CBS Corporation organized a split that saw the Infinity Broadcasting division go under CBS ownership, which resulted in a corporate name change to CBS Radio.

In December 2006 the station began increasing the amount of Christmas music but at the same time saw Michelle Visage being let go and Joe Causi being reduced to weekend duties, relegating him to his Sunday night Studio 54 classic Disco program. As of December 22, 2006, Paco Lopez, Efren Sifuentes, Carol Ford and Yvonne Velázquez had also been released in anticipation of an expected format change.

In 2006, WNEW launched WNEW2, an HD Radio subchannel, broadcasting 1010 WINS.

WWFS

Fresh 102.7, and the end of the WNEW calls

File:Fresh1027.jpg
WWFS's current "Fresh 102.7" Logo

At 5AM on January 2, 2007 WNEW "flipped" from Classic Dance hits to an Adult Contemporary format known as "Fresh 102.7," with "How to Save a Life" by The Fray being the first song played. The new format is targeted to a younger (age 25-44) female audience, with claims of a playlist "without the kid stuff or tired, old and boring music like the lite station" (though the former is no longer mentioned), an obvious shot at competitor WLTW (in response, the station briefly dropped its Lite FM moniker and was referred to on-air as simply "106.7" during that time). The logo resembles that of the Food Network. The station features music from the 1990s, Current hits, and recent hits. There are also a few 80's hits.

The WWFS calls were approved on January 9, 2007 by the Federal Communications Commission, resulting in the retirement of the WNEW call letters in the New York Radio/Television spectrum for the first time since 1934. The legendary WNEW call letters were transferred to a CBS-owned station in South Florida in the second week of January 2007, reportedly to keep another New York station from claiming the historic calls. This station is known on the air as B106.3 and it has an Urban AC format.[2] [3]

Until the birth of Fresh 102.7, Clear Channel's WLTW had gone unchallenged as the only adult contemporary station in New York City, and was the most listened to station in the city for years. WWFS's ratings improved after switching to the adult contemporary format, seeing increases in both the Winter 2007 and Spring 2007 ratings periods. After a peak 3.1 rating in the Spring 2007 period, WWFS settled back down to a 2.5 rating in the Summer 2007 period. Some speculate that WWFS has drawn listeners from WLTW, causing that station's ratings to decline.

HD Radio Operations

WWFS-HD2 (originally WNEW-HD2) was launched in 2006 as a simulcast of all news sister station 1010 WINS. On April 12, 2008 WWFS-HD2 flipped to Rock. Branded as "102.7 WNEW" Where Rock Lives and wnew.com (The website and audio stream being launched on April 14, 2008) with WXRT's Norm Winer as Program Director. In early October 2008 the WINS Simulcast returned to 102.7 on WWFS-HD3.

Personalities

Weekend Jocks

  • Danni
  • Ray
  • Kristin
  • Sarah
  • Jason

Former radio personalities

Former show regulars and support staff

References

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=WNEW-FM&oldid=300851220"