WERS Knowpia

WERS
Boston, Massachusetts; United States;
Broadcast area	Greater Boston
Frequency	88.9 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding	88.9 WERS
Programming
Format	Eclectic; adult album alternative
Subchannels	HD2: WERS Plus (hip hop/R&B)
Ownership
Owner	Emerson College
History
First air date	November 14, 1949
Former frequencies	88.1 MHz (1949–1950)
Call sign meaning	Emerson Radio Station
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	19482
Class	B1
ERP	4,000 watts
HAAT	186 meters (610 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	42°21′8.4″N 71°3′23.2″W / 42.352333°N 71.056444°W
Translator(s)	See § Translators
Links
Public license information	Public file; LMS;
Webcast	Listen live; HD2: Listen live
Website	wers.org; HD2: wersplus.org

WERS (88.9 FM) is one of Emerson College's two radio stations (the other being campus station WECB), located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Programming features over 20 different styles of music and news, including live performances and interviews. WERS stands as the oldest non-commercial radio station in New England, and has been in operation since November 1949. Among the founders of the station was WEEI program director Arthur F. Edes, who first taught broadcasting courses at Emerson in 1932 and helped to plan a campus radio station. The chief architect of WERS in its early years was Professor Charles William Dudley.

Translators edit

Broadcast translators for WERS
Call sign	Frequency	City of license	FID	ERP (W)	HAAT	Class	Transmitter coordinates	FCC info
W268AM	101.5 FM	Gloucester, Massachusetts	138772	38	71.1 m (233 ft)	D	42°37′28.3″N 70°39′13.2″W / 42.624528°N 70.653667°W / 42.624528; -70.653667 (W268AM)	LMS
W243BG	96.5 FM	New Bedford, Massachusetts	142088	55	53.1 m (174 ft)	D	41°38′25.4″N 70°55′1.1″W / 41.640389°N 70.916972°W / 41.640389; -70.916972 (W243BG)	LMS

In June 2007, WERS inaugurated a translator station on 96.5 MHz in New Bedford, Massachusetts, relaying WERS's programming to New Bedford and nearby communities. Another translator, on 101.5 MHz in Gloucester, Massachusetts, on Cape Ann, went on the air in July 2008.

Critical acclaim edit

According to The Princeton Review, WERS is the #1 college radio station in America, an award the station has won or come close to winning almost every year since The Princeton Review started ranking colleges.^[3]

WERS is the most highly rated student-run college radio station in the US.^{[citation needed]} In the Boston market (10th largest in the nation), WERS's daytime programming usually ranks at 20th to 25th.^{[citation needed]}

Sports edit

In the late 1990s and mid-2000s, WERS featured a successful sports-themed program, Sports Sunday, which aired Sundays from noon to 2 pm. The program won three consecutive Associated Press annual awards for student sports programming (2002, 2003, and 2004). Guests of the show included former basketball great Bill Walton, Boston Globe columnist Kevin Paul DuPont, Hockey East commissioner Joe Bertagna, former Northeastern University men’s hockey head coach Bruce Crowder, InsideHockey.com columnist James Murphy, and NHL.com columnist Bob Snow.

Former show hosts include Lon Nichols (current anchor for KLKN in Lincoln, Nebraska), Lowell Galindo (current ESPNU anchor), Tom Gauthier (current radio broadcaster and director of media relations for the Bowling Green Hot Rods), Justin Termine (current anchor and producer for NBA Radio on Sirius), Mike Gastonguay (interned as an associate producer for KXTA’s Loose Cannons), Matt Porter (Palm Beach Post Miami Hurricanes beat reporter), Steve Crowe (Boston Globe part-timer) and Ryan Heisler (noted triathlete).

References edit

^ Halper, Donna; Wollman, Garrett. "The Eastern Massachusetts Radio Timeline: the 1940s". The Archives @ BostonRadio.org. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
^ "Facility Technical Data for WERS". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
^ "Best 361 College Rankings". The Princeton Review.