greater boston branding wbz newsradio 1030 slogan the newswatch never stops . frequency 1030 khz also on hd radio repeater s also on hd radio via wbz fm 98.5 hd3 first air date september 19 1921 1921 09 19 format news talk power 50 000 watts class a facility id 25444 transmitter coordinates 42 16 44 n 70 52 34 w 42.27889 n 70.87611 w 42.27889 ; 70.87611 main antenna 42 21 52 n 71 8 4 w 42.36444 n 71.13444 w 42.36444 ; 71.13444 auxiliary antenna callsign meaning randomly assigned by the department of commerce ; unofficially stood for westinghouse bozton former frequencies 833 khz 1921 1922 750 khz 1922 1923 710 khz 1923 790 khz 1923 890 khz 1923 1925 900 khz 1925 1928 990 khz 1928 1941 affiliations cbs radio network abc news radio ap radio owner cbs radio cbs radio east inc. sister stations wbmx wbz fm wbz tv wods wsbk tv wzlx webcast listen live website wbz website wbz 1030 khz am is a class a clear channel radio station owned and operated by cbs radio and licensed to boston massachusetts . wbz additionally transmits using the hd radio digital format and its programming is also carried on wbz fm s hd3 digital subchannel . 1 the station s studios are in allston boston and its transmitter site is at hull massachusetts . wbz is a designated primary entry point pep for the emergency alert system eas . wbz currently features an all news format during the day and talk radio at night . operating with a transmitter power output of 50 000 watts and employing a directional antenna that sends a majority of its signal westward the station can be heard during daylight hours throughout much of new england and as far west as the golden horseshoe in southern ontario canada . its nighttime signal covers most of eastern north america . wbz was first licensed on september 15 1921 and was originally located in springfield massachusetts before moving to boston in 1931 . it is the oldest broadcasting station in new england and one of the oldest stations in the united states . contents 1 programming 2 history 2.1 1921 1931 springfield 2.2 1931 1956 nbc affiliation 2.3 1956 1985 becoming a full service powerhouse 2.4 1985 2003 becoming a news talk station 2.5 2003 present transition 2.6 hall of fame 3 awards 4 notable on air staff 5 notes and references 6 external links programming edit wbz currently runs an all news format during the day and a talk radio format at night . the station was the home of talk host david brudnoy for 18 years until the day before his death in 2004 . other notable personalities included talk show host bob kennedy poet radio host dick summer disc jockeys bruce bradley jeff kaye ron landry 2 and later larry justice jazz dj turned talkmaster norm nathan late night talker and humorist larry glick and morning hosts carl desuze tom bergeron and dave maynard . it was also the radio home for decades of pioneering boston meteorologist don kent . wbz has long been one of the highest rated stations in the boston area . 3 it is an affiliate of the co owned cbs radio network as well as abc news radio and ap radio for national and international news as well as some features but the bulk of the station s schedule except some weekend programming is produced in house . wbz has also been heavily involved in charitable work with its annual christmastime fund drive for boston s children s hospital which it does along with sister tv station wbz tv being the most high profile . history edit in november 1920 the westinghouse electric & manufacturing company established its first broadcasting station kdka located in its plant at east pittsburgh pennsylvania in order to promote the sale of radio receivers . this initial station proved successful so in 1921 the company developed plans to set up additional stations in major population centers including in addition to wbz wjz in newark new jersey now wabc in new york city and kyw originally in chicago illinois and now in philadelphia pennsylvania . 1921 1931 springfield edit on september 15 1921 westinghouse was issued a limited commercial license serial 224 4 with the randomly assigned call letters of wbz 5 for a new radio station located at the company s east springfield facility on page boulevard . wbz s inaugural program on september 19 was a remote broadcast from the eastern states exposition in west springfield . 6 wbz was the second westinghouse broadcasting station to begin operating transmitting on a wavelength of 360 meters 833 khz with a power of 100 watts . 7 at the time wbz was started there were no specific government issued standards for what constituted a broadcasting station and a small number of stations were already providing regularly scheduled entertainment broadcasts . most of these stations operated under amateur or experimental licenses . a prime example was the american radio & research corporation s experimental station 1xe in medford hillside massachusetts near boston which was relicensed in early 1922 as wgi . effective december 1 1921 the u.s. government formally established regulations to define a broadcasting station by setting aside two wavelengths 360 meters 833 khz for entertainment and 485 meters 619 khz for official weather and other government reports and requiring the stations to hold a limited commercial license . 8 limited commecial licenses had been issued since the government had begun licensing stations in 1912 . broadcasting was added as one of the available service categories and not all limited commercial stations were authorized to make broadcasts intended for the general public . wbz was one of a handful of stations which already met the new standard and in fact its initial license had been the first limited commercial license that had specified broadcasting on the 360 meter wavelength that would be formally designated by the december 1st regulations . by some interpretations this made wbz the first broadcasting station and in 1923 the department of commerce referring to wbz stated that the first broadcasting license was issued in september 1921 . 9 however wbz s priority is not widely recognized 10 when compared to other stations with earlier heritages in particular kdka wwj in detroit michigan and kcbs in san francisco california . maude gray prima donna of the aborn musical comedy co. performing at wbz 1922 11 by early 1922 wbz s studios were set up at the luxurious hotel kimball in metro center springfield . 6 programs consisted of general entertainment and information including live music often classical and opera sports farm reports special events and public affairs programming . 6 despite being housed in springfield s top hotel the station s location in a mid sized market rendered it somewhat difficult to attract top flight artists 7 leading westinghouse to open a remote studio at the hotel brunswick in boston on february 24 1924 . 6 wbz expanded its news programming via a partnership with the boston herald and traveler newspapers 6 and carried a considerable number of sports broadcasts including boston bruins hockey boston braves baseball and harvard crimson football . 6 because of its wide reach the station often referred to itself as wbz new england as opposed to associating itself solely with springfield or boston . 6 even after increasing to 2 000 watts by april 1925 12 wbz had difficulty reaching boston listeners . 7 this led westinghouse to inaugurate on august 20 1925 a 250 watt relay station wbza located in boston and transmitting on 1240 khz . 6 13 efforts were soon made to operate wbza as a synchronous repeater transmitting on the same frequency as wbz 900 khz but the process proved difficult as the two transmitters often interfered with each other even in boston . for nearly a year while the technology was being perfected wbza shifted between the two frequencies before finally going to full time synchronous operation in june 1926 . 7 the power of the wbz transmitter in east springfield continued to be boosted ; on march 31 1926 it was granted permission to operate with 5 000 watts 13 and by 1927 it was operating with 15 000 watts . 14 meanwhile a combination of wbz s growth and continued difficulties with the wbza signal led the station to move its boston studio to the statler hotel now the boston park plaza hotel & towers on june 1 1927 13 and activate a new wbza transmitter on june 9 . 6 on november 11 1928 under the provisions of the federal radio commission s frc general order 40 wbz and wbza were assigned exclusive national use of a clear channel frequency 990 khz . 13 amidst the technical changes wbz also began engaging in network activities . by 1925 it often shared programs with wjz in new york city which was transferred from westinghouse to the radio corporation of america in may 1923 and a wbz program commemorating the 150th anniversary of paul revere s midnight ride that was also fed to wrc in washington d.c. and wgy in schenectady new york . 6 this paved the way for the station to become a charter affiliate of the national broadcasting company nbc on november 15 1926 carrying the wjz originated nbc blue network beginning on january 1 1927 . 13 15 1931 1956 nbc affiliation edit by 1931 westinghouse had concluded that wbz s primary market was boston so on february 21 the station began using a new transmitter site at millis 16 17 a location chosen to provide service not only to boston but also to worcester and providence rhode island . 18 at the same time wbza was transferred from boston to using the east springfield transmitter which now operated with 1 000 watts and provided relay coverage of wbz in an area that was inadequately served by the millis transmitter . 19 20 the boston studios which now served as wbz s main studios moved as well relocating on july 1 1931 to the hotel bradford ; 16 some programs continued to originate from the wbza springfield studios at the hotel kimball . 20 wbz offered its first boston marathon coverage on april 19 1931 . 21 the following year westinghouse leased wbz and wbza to nbc while maintaining ownership of the broadcast licenses . 22 during the late 1930s wbz began to offer more local news coverage ; previously only major events were regularly covered . 6 nbc s management of wbz and wbza ended on july 1 1940 and westinghouse resumed full control over the stations . 23 shortly afterward on july 27 24 wbz relocated its transmitter site once more to its current location in hull 18 constructing a directional array consisting of two 160 meter 520 foot tall towers . 25 the move was twofold the millis site 25 miles 40 kilometers southwest of boston had not provided as strong a signal to the market as was intended 18 even after power increases to 25 000 watts in 1931 and 50 000 watts in 1933 . 6 a key disadvantage of the millis site was that the signal had to travel over land to boston ; in contrast the hull site featured a highly conductive salt water path to the city . 18 the hull site also provided ample space for wbz s shortwave station 18 which had been founded at springfield as w1xaz in november 1929 13 and later operated from millis as w1xk ultimately becoming wbos . 18 wpit the shortwave station operated by kdka in pittsburgh also moved its transmitters to hull at this time and in 1941 its operations were folded into wbos 18 which soon afterward began carrying government provided programming a service that ultimately evolved into the voice of america that would