July 17 In Radio History

In 1934…FCC adopts Order No. 1

In 1981…Bruce Bradley did his final show on WBZ 1030 AM, Boston.

Bradley joined WBZ in 1960, when the station is still playing middle of the road pop music. Gradually, as the music becomes more top-40, “Juicie Brucie” Bradley’s night-time show became extremely popular.

The station moved from Top40 to Full-Service AC in 1974.

In 2009…CBS newsman Walter Cronkite, anchorman of "The CBS Evening News" on television for 19 years (1962-1981) and called "the most trusted man in America," died of cerebrovascular disease at age 92.

In 2011…WRXP NYC drops Triple A format.

On June 21, 2011, it was announced that majority ownership of WRXP was acquired by Merlin Media LLC, a new entity headed by veteran radio executive Randy Michaels.   The sale, which the FCC approved in September 2011, included two other Emmis-owned stations in Chicago, WLUP-FM and WKQX. They then registered several domains for what the new format of the station would be, including a return of WYNY's country format, but many promoted an FM news format. WRXP's rock format ended with the song "Long Live Rock" by The Who.

After a brief period of dead air, WRXP (whose call sign was changed to WEMP on July 21) switched to a stunt of Adult Contemporary music branded as "101.9 FM New," a stunt that served as a transition to the station's new format.  "FM New" featured a live morning show that began at 6AM on July 18, hosted by veteran New York City radio personality Paul Cavalconte (who has been with 101.9 since 1998), with Jeff McKay (formerly of Shadow Traffic and WINS) providing traffic and weather updates(until the next day when Meteorologist Scott Derek began).   News reports and news blocks were gradually introduced beginning with a 3PM newscast on July 25, 2011, anchored by Dave Packer and Mike Barker.

Walt Sabo

On August 12, 2011, the station ended its Adult Contemporary stunt and went full-time all-news as "FM News 101.9," following in the footsteps of its Chicago sister station WWWN (the former and current WKQX), which flipped to all-news on July 29.  As conceived by Merlin's then-COO, Walter Sabo, "FM News" was what Sabo considered a "redefining" of the all-news format;  the on-air presentation was generally looser and conversational in tone, while an emphasis was placed on lifestyle, health, and entertainment features.  The initial news staff at WEMP included those with experience in New York radio, including WINS alums Catherine Smith, Alice Stockton-Rossini, and Brett Larson, as well as former WCBS anchor Therese Crowley and WRXP holdover Paul Cavalconte.

Over time, the "FM News" approach on WEMP would be adjusted: The reliance on lifestyle and entertainment features was decreased; the station turned towards a tighter, polished on-air presentation; and several new features were added, including "ten minutes of non-stop news," the "top 5 trending stories" leading off every hour, and hourly sports and business updates.  Coinciding with the on-air changes was a major promotional push, including television ads and promotions that tweaked WINS' longtime "22 minutes" slogan, with WEMP proclaiming "Give us 10 minutes, we'll give you the world."   (After WINS owner CBS Radio sent a cease-and-desist letter to Merlin Media, WEMP dropped its "world" slogan.) 

Merlin’s WEMP-FM  NYC drops news in 2012 in favor of new rock format