BOSTON RADIO: 1920-2010 by Donna Halper is a must read

 Boston Radio:: 1920-2010 (Images of America Series)

BOSTON RADIO: 1920-2010
Author: Donna L. Halper

ISBN: 9780738574103

# of Pages: 128
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
On Sale Date: 02/21/2011

I saw this book at the Harvard Coop last night and it is a trip back into time when radio was a much bigger part of our daily life than it is today.

When I was a teenager I would listen to stations like WMEX and WBZ as often as I could and for sports WHDH was the home of the Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins. DJ's such as Arnie Ginsberg, Bruce Bradley, Dick Summer and others became 'close' friends. In sports I would live and die listening to Curt Gowdy, Ned Martin (Red Sox) Fred Cusick and Bob Wilson (Bruins) and Johnny Most (Celtics).

I learned so much listening to talk shows from hosts such as Jerry Williams, Bob Kennedy, Steve Fredricks and Jim Westover. Talk radio then was not filled with the hate that we have today. A host may not agree with a caller but they would debate them rationally.

Book Description:
Boston's radio history begins with pioneering station 1XE/WGI, one of America's first radio stations, and includes the first station to receive a commercial license, WBZ; the first FM radio network, W1XOJ and W1XER; and one of the first news networks, the Yankee News Service. Nationally known bandleaders like Joe Rines and Jacques Renard were first heard on Boston radio, as was one of the first weathercasters, E. B. Rideout. The city has been home to a number of legendary announcers, such as Bob and Ray, Arnie Ginsburg, Dick Summer, Dale Dorman, and Charles Laquidara; talk show giants like Jerry Williams and David Brudnoy; and sports talkers like Eddie Andelman and Glenn Ordway. Many Boston radio personalities, such as Curt Gowdy, "Big Brother" Bob Emery, Don Kent, and Louise Morgan, found fame on television but first established themselves on Boston's airwaves. Since 1920, Boston radio has remained vibrant, proving that live and local stations are as important as ever.

The pictures I have added are from various internet sources but if they bring back memories then you MUST buy this book. A big thanks to Donna Halper who obviously loves radio and the history behind it.


Jerry Williams WMEX - WBZ - WRKO

Larry Glick WMEX - WBZ - WHDH

WBZ lineup 1967

Bob and Ray WHDH 1950

Jess Cain WHDH

Norm Nathan WHDH - WBZ

The Sports Huddle - WUNR -WBZ - WEEI - WHDH
Jim McCarthy, Eddie Andleman, Mark Witkin

Johnny Most - The VOICE of the Celtics

Glenn Ordway WITS, WRKO, WEEI

WBZ Music Survey 1965

WMEX Music Survey 1966

WRKO Music Survey January 1968

Ken Mayer WBOS-WUNR WO9-8989


WBCN 1968-2009

Do you still listen to radio?

Much has been written in the past couple of weeks about cutbacks in the radio industry both locally and nationwide. There have been major cuts announced in Boston at WBCN, WODS and WRKO for example.


The latest Boston area ratings were released by Arbitron on March 4th but they mean little in the real world. Arbitron doesn't allow any media -- general or trade -- to publish other than the overall numbers, for all listeners age 12 and older, from 6 a.m. to midnight every day. They're not taken seriously by time buyers, who go after listeners by age and sex, and by specific times.

What they give us translates as the percentage of those listening to radio in the area who are listening to a particular radio station for at least five minutes during a 15-minute period.


Still, the ratings give the top stations bragging rights. In Boston the Top 5 stations are WJMN-FM, WBZ-AM, WEEI-AM, WXKS-FM (KISS-108) and WODS-FM.

click here for the latest Boston numbers
please note that the college and public radio stations are not included with the exception of Harvard's WHRB which is a commercial station.

The Boston market still uses the old method of collecting data from selected listeners called the Arbitron Radio Listening Diary where selected consumers jot down their listening habits.

This will change in January 2009 when Arbitron will start using the Portable People Meter which Time Magazine called one of the inventions of the year for 2007.


Arbitron explains the new system on their website.


In New York the first released numbers using the new system sent shockwaves through the industry.


I have never met anyone who has even admitted to being part of the Arbitron diary system. I have never trusted ratings to be accurate and that goes back to when I was a child. In the early 60's my mother had a part time job where she would call people or phone numbers selected by the company that she worked for. One Saturday afternoon as my my dad and I were watching a Red Sox game on the old channel 5 she was making her calls. Not a single person she called was watching the Red Sox and most were watching wrestling on channel 4. My mom felt sorry for the Red Sox and she switched the data.

A month later wrestling was cancelled by channel 4.

In my own case I guess I am considered a mainstream listener as 3 of the stations I listen to are in the Top 5 (WEEI, WBZ and WODS) Of course given that I am over 55 advertisers could not care less about me as I am in the wrong demographic. I don't get it as I certainly haven't stopped buying things as I have gotten older.

However I must admit I listen to XM satellite radio about half the time. The music selection is better and there are no commercials to speak of. They do offer basic traffic and weather for Boston.

So what about your listening habits? Do they reflect what the ratings indicate?

Please let me know.