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WZBR

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Coordinates: 42°14′5.36″N 71°8′11.19″W / 42.2348222°N 71.1364417°W / 42.2348222; -71.1364417
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(Redirected from W251CR)
For the station in Troy, New York, formerly called WZBR, see WHAZ (AM).
WZBR
Broadcast areaGreater Boston
Frequency1410 kHz
BrandingAM 1410 WZBR
Programming
FormatDefunct
Ownership
Owner
  • Alexander Langer
  • (Langer Broadcasting Group, LLC)
WSRO
History
First air date
July 17, 1961
Last air date
April 1, 2024; 7 months ago (2024-04-01)
Former call signs
  • WOKW (1961–1981)
  • WAMK (1981–1985)
  • WATD (1985–1990)
  • WMSX (1990–2013)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID41348
ClassD
Power
  • 2,300 watts day
  • 25 watts night
Transmitter coordinates
42°14′5.36″N 71°8′11.19″W / 42.2348222°N 71.1364417°W / 42.2348222; -71.1364417
Translator(s)98.1 W251CR (Medford)
Links
Public license information

WZBR (1410 AM) was a radio station licensed to Dedham, Massachusetts, United States. The station served the Greater Boston area. The station was owned by Langer Broadcasting Group, LLC, which also owns WSRO in the area.[2][3] WZBR also operated translator station W251CR (98.1 FM) in Medford.

History

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Alan C. Tindal, Kristian Solberg, Paul Monson, and John J. Sullivan, doing business as Associated Broadcasters, applied to build a daytime-only radio station on 1410 kHz in Brockton, on October 9, 1957;[4] Tindal and Solberg were part owners of WSPR in Springfield, and Monson and Sullivan were also associated with that station.[5] Later that month, a second application for the frequency was filed by Simon Geller, proposing a station in Gloucester.[6] The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) initiated comparative hearing proceedings in 1960;[7] that August, Geller amended his application to instead operate on 1540 kHz,[8] and Associated was granted a construction permit on November 22.[4] The station, assigned the call sign WOKW,[9] went on the air July 17, 1961,[10] and was licensed on November 28.[4] WOKW was affiliated with the Mutual Broadcasting System by 1968,[11] and had a middle of the road format.[12]

The callsign changed to WAMK on September 28, 1981; to WATD on December 15, 1985; and to WMSX on April 1, 1990.[13]

Alex Langer, owner of Framingham-area Portuguese language station WSRO, bought WMSX from Kingdom Church for $100,000 in 2012;[14] by that September, the station had gone silent following the end of its transmitter site lease.[15] On June 10, 2013, WMSX filed an application to move from Brockton to Dedham, with a transmitter in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Boston.[16] Langer soon announced his intention to use the station as a Boston extension of WSRO, with its own studios in Hyde Park.[17] Langer signed the station on from its new site on the Hyde Park-Dedham border on October 23, 2013, testing with jazz music.[18] The station transmitted from a small Valcom fiberglass antenna next to the river;[19] the antenna was previously used a decade earlier (in a different location) by Langer's original WSRO (prior to its own move into the Boston area as WAZN), and had to be cleaned up after a decade of disuse.[18] On November 12, 2013, the station changed its call sign to WZBR.[13]

Logo as Rebe ABR

In early 2014, WZBR began simulcasting WSRO; the jazz programming was moved to Langer's newly acquired Cape Cod station, WBAS,[20] ahead of that station joining the WSRO simulcast as well.[21] WZBR's new facility was licensed on February 11, 2014. In December 2014, WZBR and WBAS began carrying some separate programming from WSRO;[22] by 2015, the three stations were jointly branded as "Rede ABR".[23]

On February 3, 2016, WZBR dropped the Portuguese programming and launched an urban contemporary format, known as "The Bass of Boston". The new format, whose studios were located near Dudley Square, was operated by Frank Holder and programmed by Steve Gousby, both of whom had previously been associated with Boston's longtime Black-oriented station, WILD.[24] In September 2016, New Edition lead singer Ralph Tresvant launched his Friday afternoon, radio show "Inside The Ride" on WZBR. In 2018, the station rebranded as "98.1 The Urban Heat" to reflect the sign-on of its FM translator.[25]

Langer Broadcasting took WZBR and its translator silent in mid-July 2020, due to financial difficulties; the shutdown was concurrent with the suspension of operations of WSRO and WBAS, which had continued with the "Rede ABR" Portuguese programming. The "Urban Heat" programming continues to be available online.[26] WZBR resumed broadcasting on November 4, 2020.[27] As of December 2021, WZBR served as an analog simulcast of WSRO, which had converted to digital-only operation on December 1, and was programming jazz music;[28] after WSRO switched to classical music in 2022, the jazz programming remained on WZBR.

WZBR again went silent on March 5, 2023;[29] the shutdown of WSRO and WZBR followed the death of Alex Langer.[30] Both stations had been put up for sale prior to his death; WBAS had already been sold off in 2021.[30] WZBR returned to the air in March 2024[31] from a 10-watt facility on Great Blue Hill under special temporary authority;[32] it went silent on April 1 following technical problems.[33] The Federal Communications Commission cancelled the station's license on May 2, 2024,[34] following a request by Langer Broadcasting;[35] the license for translator W251CR was concurrently surrendered.[36]

FM translator

[edit]
Broadcast translator for WZBR
Call sign Frequency City of license FID ERP (W) Class Transmitter coordinates FCC info
W251CR 98.1 FM Medford, Massachusetts 201029 130 D 42°25′52.3″N 71°5′17.2″W / 42.431194°N 71.088111°W / 42.431194; -71.088111 (W251CR) LMS

References

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  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WZBR". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ "WZBR Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  3. ^ APPLICATION FOR CONSENT TO ASSIGNMENT OF BROADCAST STATION CONSTRUCTION PERMIT OR LICENSE fcc.gov
  4. ^ a b c "WOKW (WZBR) history cards" (PDF). CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  5. ^ "New Am Stations" (PDF). Broadcasting. October 21, 1957. p. 125. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  6. ^ "New Am Stations" (PDF). Broadcasting. November 4, 1957. p. 102. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  7. ^ "Routine Roundup" (PDF). Broadcasting. June 13, 1960. p. 112. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  8. ^ "Routine Roundup" (PDF). Broadcasting. September 12, 1960. p. 110. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  9. ^ "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. January 9, 1961. p. 88. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  10. ^ "Setting up shop" (PDF). Broadcasting. August 28, 1961. p. 69. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  11. ^ 1969 Broadcasting Yearbook (PDF). 1969. p. B-81. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  12. ^ 1973 Broadcasting Yearbook (PDF). 1973. p. B-94. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  13. ^ a b "WZBR Call Sign History". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  14. ^ Fybush, Scott (June 18, 2012). "NERW 6/18/2012: WKAJ St. Johnsville is Still Dead". Fybush.com. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
  15. ^ Fybush, Scott (September 17, 2012). "NERW 9/17/2012: Shark Sighting on Long Island". Fybush.com. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
  16. ^ "APPLICATION FOR CONSTRUCTION PERMIT FOR COMMERCIAL BROADCAST STATION". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. June 10, 2013. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
  17. ^ Swinconeck, John (June 30, 2013). "Framingham's Brazilian radio station branching out to Boston". The Boston Globe. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
  18. ^ a b Fybush, Scott (October 28, 2013). "NERW 10/28/2013: NYC Cringes at Herman, Mourns Mazer". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  19. ^ "1410 WZBR Dedham, Massachusetts".
  20. ^ Fybush, Scott (February 3, 2014). "NERW 2/3/2014: Big Consolidation in Small Upstate Markets". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  21. ^ Fybush, Scott (February 17, 2014). "NERW 2/17/2014: Sales, Sales and More Sales". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  22. ^ "Rede ABR".
  23. ^ "Sudbury Valley Trustees, Rede ABR to host pumpkin patch children's day event". MetroWest Daily News. October 5, 2015. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  24. ^ "Boston News Today - REBORN TO BE WILD: A STARTUP INDEPENDENT AM STATION GROWS TO SERVE THROWBACKS AND COMMUNITY". 18 May 2016.
  25. ^ Venta, Lance (July 31, 2018). "Translator Bringing Urban Heat To Boston". RadioInsight. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  26. ^ Venta, Lance (July 14, 2020). "Pair Of Boston AMs Shut Down". RadioInsight. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  27. ^ Langer, Alexander G. (November 4, 2020). "Resumption of Operations". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  28. ^ Stine, Randy J. (December 13, 2021). "New England Gets Its First All-Digital AM". Radio World. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  29. ^ Allan G, Moskowitz (March 15, 2023). "Request for Silent Authority of an AM Station Application". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  30. ^ a b Fybush, Scott (March 13, 2023). "NorthEast Radio Watch 3/13/2023: Remembering Alex Langer". Fybush.com. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  31. ^ Moskowitz, Esq., Allan G (March 5, 2024). "Resumption of Operations of an AM Station Application". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  32. ^ Moskowitz, Esq., Allan G (March 11, 2024). "AM Engineering STA Application". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  33. ^ Moskowitz, Esq., Allan G (April 2, 2024). "Request for Silent Authority of an AM Station Application". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  34. ^ "License Cancelled". Federal Communications Commission Licensing and Management System. May 2, 2024. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  35. ^ Moskowitz, Esq., Allan G (May 2, 2024). "Cancellation Application". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  36. ^ Moskowitz, Esq., Allan G (May 2, 2024). "Cancellation Application". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
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