WNTN

Name	WNTN
City	Newton, Massachusetts
Branding	1550 WNTN
Airdate	1968
Frequency	1550 (kHz)
Format	Community, Ethnic
Erp	10,000 watts (day)3 watts (night)
Class	D
Owner	Colt Communications
Website	http://www.wntn.com/
Callsign meaning	NewToN

WNTN is a daytime-only, 10,000 watt, omni-directional radio station licensed to the city of Newton, Massachusetts, serving the greater Boston area. It broadcasts on 1550 kHz on the AM radio dial.

WNTN broadcasts a community based format that includes music, sports, talk and news shows. Much of the programming is aimed at the areas many ethnic cultures, including shows broadcast in Haitian Creole, Greek, Indian and Arabic languages. Programming is also produced for Christian audiences and the areas large Irish population. Programming in the English language includes local daily talk show "1550 Today with Sybil Tonkonogy and Paul Roberts".

In May 2007, a new Light Entertainment Irish Program began to air. The Irish Rambler Radio Show is now one of Bostons most popular Irish community programs. It is hosted every Saturday evening between 6 and 7 by Dan Hallissey who is also a well known Boston Irish Entertainer.

History

WNTN signed on April 1, 1968 broadcasting a "middle of the road" format. After a year of poor ratings, management was convinced, in 1969, to initiate an original format of free-form "Adult Rock" after 2 PM, somewhat similar in style to the radio industries current adult album alternative format. WNTN's post 2 PM programming featured an eclectic, freeform rock-based format mixed with folk music, progressive rock, soul music, jazz fusion and various other musical genres. With FM radios still a rarity in cars at the time, the station received a boost in listenership and notoriety, primarily due to the Boston area's high concentration of college students and musicians. The "free-form rock" hours were later increased to include the entire broadcast day, by 1970. Two of the earliest members of the staff were Music Director John Gorman, and afternoon host Denny Sanders, both of whom later relocated to Cleveland, and were instrumental in the rise of that city's influential WMMS in the early 1970s. The free form progressive rock format lasted until January, 1976, when the format reverted back to MOR after the station had been recently sold.

In 1977, the station became the first in the Boston radio market to adopt a disco music format. With its unique sound and popular disc jockeys, including Wendy Hunt and Vinnie 'Disco Vinnie' Peruzzi, WNTN experienced a ratings rise and attention from the areas newspapers and television stations. The formats success, however, was short lived. By the spring of 1978 crosstown FM station WBOS began playing disco music in the evenings and adopted the format fulltime that autumn as "Disco 93". In addition, Wendy Hunt left WNTN to work at WBOS in 1978, followed by Vinnie Peruzzi who vacated in early 1979 to join another new FM disco station WXKS-FM "Kiss 108".

Unable to compete with the two FM disco music stations, WNTN switched its format to adult contemporary music mixed with local news and information in 1979.

In 1987, the station dropped music and changed to a talk radio format consisting of syndicated national talk shows with local and national news updates.

By the 1990s many local AM stations, including WNTN, experienced a downturn in advertising revenue. WNTN responded by adding leased-time programming, allowing groups and individuals to pay for an allotted amont of time on the station and program it to their taste. The station now airs a variety of talk and music shows aimed at numerous ethnicities and age groups.

Current Programs

1550 Today

Grecian Echoes

Vwa Lakay

Roger Sturgis

Sports Thursday

Radio Compas

Jhankar

Sound of Erin

The Benchwarmers

Frugal Yankee

Arabic Baptist Church

Gallerie Haitienne

Brase Lide

Saturday Afternoon Live

Howard Stern

From August to December 1975, while studying at Boston University, future famous "shock jock" Howard Stern was an on air personality at WNTN, his first professional job in the radio industry. Stern claimed that the manager of WNTN at the time never paid him for his first week of work.

References and notes

External links

WNTN official website

NTN Category:Community radio stations in the United States Category:Radio stations established in 1968