| Defunct | |
|---|---|
 | |
| |
| Broadcast area | Greater Boston |
| Frequency | 1410kHz |
| Branding | AM 1410 WZBR |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WSRO | |
| History | |
First air date | July 17,1961 |
Last air date | April 1, 2024 (2024-04-01) (62 years, 8 months and 15 days) |
Former call signs |
|
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 41348 |
| Class | D |
| Power |
|
Transmitter coordinates | 42°14′5.36″N71°8′11.19″W / 42.2348222°N 71.1364417°W /42.2348222; -71.1364417 |
| Translator | 98.1 W251CR (Medford) |
WZBR (1410AM) was a radio station licensed toDedham, Massachusetts, United States. The station served theGreater Boston area. WZBR was owned by Langer Broadcasting Group, LLC, along withWSRO.[1][2] WZBR also operatedtranslator station W251CR (98.1FM) inMedford.
The station went on the air in 1961 as WOKW inBrockton; the principals of founding owner Associated Broadcasters were associated withWSPR inSpringfield. Following a series of ownership changes, themiddle of the road station became WAMK in 1981, WATD—a sister station toWATD-FM inMarshfield—in 1985, andtalk radio station WMSX in 1990. After operating as a Spanish-languagetropical music station from 2001 to 2008 and acontemporary Christian music station from 2009 to 2012, WMSX was sold to Alex Langer in 2012. Langer moved the station to Dedham as WZBR in 2013, initially as part of his network ofPortuguese language radio stations based at WSRO, and later leased out to the programmer of anurban contemporary format from 2016 to 2020. WZBR suspended operations for financial reasons in July 2020; it then operated as ajazz music station from November 2020 until Langer's death in March 2023. WZBR ceased operations entirely in 2024.
Alan C. Tindal, Kristian Solberg, Paul Monson, and John J. Sullivan,doing business as Associated Broadcasters, applied to build adaytime-only radio station on 1410 kHz inBrockton, on October 9, 1957;[3] Tindal and Solberg were part owners ofWSPR inSpringfield, and Monson and Sullivan were also associated with that station.[4] Later that month, a second application for the frequency was filed bySimon Geller, proposing a station inGloucester.[5] TheFederal Communications Commission (FCC) initiatedcomparative hearing proceedings in 1960;[6] that August, Geller amended his application to instead operate on 1540 kHz,[7] and Associated was granted aconstruction permit on November 22.[3] The station, assigned thecall sign WOKW,[8] went on the air July 17, 1961,[9] and was licensed on November 28.[3] WOKW was affiliated with theMutual Broadcasting System by 1968,[10] and had amiddle of the road format.[11]
Sullivan, Tindal, and Solberg sold WOKW to Sidney and Arlene Sanft and Henrietta Masters for $350,000 in 1976;[12] the new owners took over on February 7, 1977.[3] Sanft, in turn, sold the station to Bay Colony Broadcasting—owned by New Yorkliterary agents Francis Greenburger, Edward F. Acton, and Dennis Holler—for $435,000 in 1981.[13] Bay Colony changed the call sign to WAMK on September 28, 1981;[14] following format changes, by December 1983 the station was promoting itself as "America's music from 1930 to today".[15] That year, Bay Colony Broadcasting sold WAMK to Espirit Inc. for $210,000; principal Scott B. Davis was the president of Mobile Television Services, a television production company in Boston.[16]
Davis's MTS Broadcasting Limited Partnership sold WAMK to Edward F. Perry and William C. Blackmore's Marshfield Broadcasting Company, owner ofWATD-FM inMarshfield andWRTT inVernon, Connecticut, in 1985.[17] The call sign was changed to WATD, matching the Marshfield station, on December 15, 1985;[14] it first changed to abig band format,[18] and later simulcast theadult contemporary programming of WATD-FM.[19]
Marshfield Broadcasting sold WATD (AM) to Metro South Broadcasting for $175,000 in 1989; principal Donald Sandler was the station's sales manager.[20] Metro South changed the call sign to WMSX on April 1, 1990,[14] and replaced the WATD-FM simulcast with atalk format.[19] Sandler owned 51 percent of the station;[21] minority stakes in WMSX were held by Edward Bowen, George Denham, and Malda Thompson, who would go own to also own stakes in WATD-FM'sCape Cod sister station,WATB.[22] WMSX gained its own sister station in 1992, when Sandler's Metro South Broadcasting Network boughtWCEG inMiddleborough from Steven J. Callahan;[21] it operated WCEG as a WMSX simulcast, and later as aPortuguese language station.[23] WCEG went off the air in September 1993,[24] and was sold back to Callahan in 1996.[25]
Metro South Broadcasting attempted to sell WMSX to Griot Communications, owned by formerWILD general manager Monte Bowens, for $410,000 in 1998.[26][27] The sale fell through; the following year, the station was instead sold to Keating Willcox's Willow Farm Inc., for $647,000.[28][29] Willow Farm sold most of its stations—WMSX;WGAW inGardner;WPEP inTaunton;WMVU inNashua, New Hampshire; andWNRI inWoonsocket, Rhode Island—to Anastos Media Group, controlled by New York City television news anchorErnie Anastos, for $2.1 million in 2001.[30][31] Willcox, who retainedWNSH inBeverly, sold the stations due to health problems.[32]
In November 2001, WMSX dropped its talk programming for Spanish-language programming as "La Super X",[33] with atropical music format.[34] Hispanic Broadcasters, controlled by Antonio Molina, bought the station[35] for $1.43 million in 2004;[36] after defaulting on a loan, the company's lenders took over WMSX in 2008.[35] The Hispanic Broadcasting Asset Trust took the stationsilent on December 1, 2008,[37] ahead of a sale to Kingdom Church for $540,000.[38] After the church took control on February 5, 2009,[39] WMSX returned to the air April 13;[40] it playedcontemporary Christian music[39] as "Power 1410".[41]
Alex Langer, owner ofFramingham-area Portuguese language stationWSRO, bought WMSX from Kingdom Church for $100,000 in 2012;[42] by that September, the station had gone silent following the end of its transmitter site lease.[43] On June 10, 2013, WMSX filed an application to move from Brockton toDedham, with a transmitter in theHyde Park neighborhood ofBoston.[44] Langer soon announced his intention to use the station as a Boston extension of WSRO, with its own studios in Hyde Park.[45] Langer signed the station on from its new site on the Hyde Park-Dedham border on October 23, 2013, testing withjazz music.[46] The station transmitted from a small Valcom fiberglass antenna next to the river;[47] 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 asWAZN), and had to be cleaned up after a decade of disuse.[46] On November 12, 2013, the station changed its call sign to WZBR.[14]
In early 2014, WZBR began simulcasting WSRO; the jazz programming was moved to Langer's newly acquired Cape Cod station,WBAS,[48] ahead of that station joining the WSRO simulcast as well.[49] WZBR's new facility was licensed on February 11, 2014. In December 2014, WZBR and WBAS began carrying some separate programming from WSRO;[50] by 2015, the three stations were jointly branded as "Rede ABR".[51]
On February 3, 2016, WZBR dropped the Portuguese programming and launched anurban contemporary format, known as "The Bass of Boston". The new format, whose studios were located nearDudley 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.[52] In September 2016,New Edition lead singerRalph 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.[53]
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.[54] WZBR resumed broadcasting on November 4, 2020.[55] As of December 2021[update], WZBR served as an analog simulcast of WSRO, which had converted todigital-only operation on December 1, and was programming jazz music;[56] after WSRO switched toclassical music in 2022, the jazz programming remained on WZBR.
WZBR again went silent on March 5, 2023;[57] the shutdown of WSRO and WZBR followed the death of Alex Langer.[58] Both stations had been put up for sale prior to his death; WBAS had already been sold off in 2021.[58] WZBR returned to the air in March 2024[59] from a 10-watt facility onGreat Blue Hill underspecial temporary authority;[60] it went silent on April 1 following technical problems.[61] The FCC cancelled the station's license on May 2, 2024,[62] following a request by Langer Broadcasting;[63] the license for translator W251CR was concurrently surrendered.[64]
| 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″N71°5′17.2″W / 42.431194°N 71.088111°W /42.431194; -71.088111 (W251CR) | LMS |
