Buffalo Radio: Buddy Shula To Acquire WECK AM/FM

Buddy Shula

A Buffalo radio veteran who goes by the on-air name Buddy Shula will live out a dream he has had since since he was a teenager: owning a local radio station.

William Ostrander bought WECK 1230 AM  and translator W275BB 102.9 FM from Richard Greene for $655,000. He expects to take ownership at the end of April, pending approval by the Federal Communications Commission. Greene has owned WECK since 2007, according to The Buffalo News.

Ostrander has worked at Entercom Radio for the past 19 years in on-air and marketing capacities.

Now he gets to fulfill his dream at WECK. “I want it to totally serve Buffalo, and the local businesses and the local charities, and the local advertisers, and the local everything,” he said.

WECK 1230 AM (1 Kw)

WECK will stick with the station’s “Music of Your Life” format, playing artists like Frank Sinatra, Barry Manilow and The Carpenters.

“I didn’t buy the radio station to just run it out of a closet,” he said. “I really have a passion for making great radio, and I want it to make a difference in the community. I want to help people with it.”

W275BB 102.9 FM (220 watts)

Ostrander, 50, has also worked at WYRK and WNUC 107.7 and created a one-hour show, “Buffalo Means Business,” that he also hosts, on WBEN 930.

Through consolidation, a few large companies have come to control a large number of radio stations across the country. But Ostrander said he doesn’t see WECK going head-to-head with the giants.

“I’ve had calls and emails from a ton of seasoned broadcasters and seasoned media sales reps who would like to work for me, because I think they know my commitment to radio, and they like the local thing,” he said.

Ostrander praised Entercom and said he would have stayed with the company until retirement if the opportunity to buy a station hadn’t surfaced. “They have been nothing but supportive.”