WDEV

WDEV (550 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Waterbury, Vermont. Programming is simulcast on WDEV-FM (96.1 MHz) licensed to Warren, Vermont. The stations' studios and offices are located near U.S. Route 2 in Waterbury. WDEV also operates two translator stations, W243AT (96.5 FM), licensed to Barre, Vermont, and W252CU (98.3 FM), licensed to Montpelier, Vermont. WDEV can also be heard on a privately owned translator, W270BR (101.9 FM), licensed to Island Pond, Vermont. The stations are owned by Radio Vermont, Inc., and air a full service radio format, including news, talk, sports and different genres of music.

WDEV / WDEV-FM
CityWDEV: Waterbury, Vermont
WDEV-FM: Warren, Vermont
Broadcast areaCentral Vermont
FrequencyWDEV: 550 kHz
WDEV-FM: 96.1 MHz
BrandingRadio Vermont
SloganThe Friendly Pioneer
Programming
FormatVariety
AffiliationsCBS News Radio
Boston Red Sox Radio Network
Motor Racing Network
ESPN Radio
Ownership
OwnerRadio Vermont, Inc.
Sister stationsWCVT, WEXP, WLVB
History
First air dateWDEV: July 16, 1931
WDEV-FM: August 11, 1989
Technical information
Facility IDWDEV: 54866
WDEV-FM: 54867
ClassWDEV: B
WDEV-FM: C3
PowerWDEV: 5,000 watts (day)
1,000 watts (night)
ERPWDEV-FM: 400 watts
HAATWDEV-FM: 694 meters (2,277 ft)
Transmitter coordinatesWDEV: 44°21′17″N 72°45′7″W
WDEV-FM: 44°7′37″N 72°55′43″W
Links
WebcastListen live
Websitewdevradio.com

History

WDEV first signed on the air on July 15, 1931.[1] It is one of Vermont's earliest stations, going on the air after WVMT Burlington and WSYB Rutland. WDEV had been owned by the Squier family and their company, Radio Vermont Group, since 1935.[2] Lloyd Squier owned the station from 1935 until his death in 1979, and passed it to his son, NASCAR broadcaster Ken Squier.

In 1966, one year after The Sound of Music was released, the von Trapp family broadcast a public concert on WDEV from the family's lodge in Stowe, Vermont.[3]

In 1991, Squier bought WDOT in Warren and changed its call sign to WDEV-FM. The FM station serves mainly to improve WDEV's coverage, particularly at night when the AM side must power down to 1,000 watts in order to protect Class A station CBT in Grand Falls, Newfoundland and Labrador.

A 2003 article, in Harper's magazine, cited WDEV as one of the best examples of independent radio broadcasting in the United States.[4]

In April 2017, Squier announced he had put the Radio Vermont stations up for sale, citing his age. On October 1, 2017, Squier turned the station over to Steve Cormier, who served as Radio Vermont's sales manager. The terms of the sale allow Squier to continue to have any role at the station he pleases.[5]

Translators

In addition to the main station, WDEV is relayed by several translators.

Call signFrequency
(MHz)		City of licenseFacility
ID		ERP
(W)		Height
(m (ft))		ClassTransmitter coordinatesFCC info
W243AT96.5Barre, Vermont13987599−68 m (−223 ft)D44°10′42″N 72°29′20″WFCC
W252CU98.3Montpelier, Vermont140228250−1.3 m (−4.3 ft)D44°14′40″N 72°34′37″WFCC
W270BR101.9Island Pond, Vermont15523510194.8 m (639 ft)D42°47′2″N 71°53′14″WFCC

Programming

News and Talk

WDEV's news programming consists of several talk shows along with three major newscasts per day. Some shows, such as the left-leaning Democracy Now!, are syndicated, but most are produced in-house by WDEV. The station's morning drive time program is called The Morning News Service, and the afternoon drive-time show is called The Afternoon News Service, with an additional newscast that airs at noon called The Midday News Service. The morning and afternoon news consist of local, state, and national news, in addition to interviews with reporters from WCAX-TV, Vermont's CBS affiliate, and VTDigger.org, an investigative news site. All newscasts feature a weather update from Roger Hill, the station's meteorologist. Week day programming features several local talk shows that span the political spectrum. The Dave Gram Show, heard in late mornings, is hosted by long time Associated Press reporter Dave Gram. That's followed by Bill Sayer’s “Common Sense Radio”, a conservative talk show. Early afternoons include “Equal Time Radio” with Traven and “The Vermont Conversation” with David Goodman.[6] WDEV also carries the audio of the Channel 3 WCAX-TV 11pm newscast.

On weekends, a three-hour newscast starts Saturday mornings, along with a half hour newscast at noon. On Sundays evenings, Face The Nation, 60 Minutes, Jill on Money and the CBS News Weekend Roundup are heard.

Music

WDEV's music programming consists of several different genres that air throughout the week. On weekday afternoons, “The Getaway” is heard, a country/rock music program hosted by Greg Hooker. WDEV also airs a nightly jazz program, hosted by James Atherlay, unless the station is airing a sports game during that time. WDEV's weekend programming is made up almost entirely of music. Vermont broadcasting veteran Joel Najman hosts “The Great American Music Hall” on weekend middays.

Sports

WDEV features sports updates during all three of its newscasts. During the Morning News Service, Mal "The Sammie" Boright has sports updates, and during the Midday and Afternoon News Services James Atherlay delivers the sports report. Atherlay then goes on to host Score, Sports Talk and Rock. On Tuesday afternoons, Ken Squier is joined by Jasper Goodman, who goes on to talk about local, regional, and national sports, including the Red Sox during the MLB season.

WDEV is an affiliate of the Boston Red Sox Radio Network. WDEV carries all regular-season and postseason Red Sox games. The station also broadcasts Norwich University men's ice hockey and select Vermont high school basketball and football games. WDEV also airs auto racing from Thunder Road International SpeedBowl in Barre, Vermont, when there is no other programming conflict. WDEV's other Motorsports programming, when there is no conflict, includes Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series events. Part of Sunday and each overnight, WDEV carries ESPN Radio.

The Trading Post

The Trading Post is hosted Monday through Saturday by Jon Noyes after the Morning News Service. People call in with three items or less (and only one car, unless the others are free or a parts car) to advertise them to the listening public. There is a "Party Line Edition," where listeners call in, that airs on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and also a "Mailbag Edition" in which Noyes reads written submissions on Thursday and Friday.

Music to Go to the Dump By

It is hosted by Buster the Wonder Dog and his Faithful Companion, Ken. Ken is portrayed by Ken Squier.

The show starts off with Ken talking to himself and Buster, apparently not noticing he is on the air. He talks to Buster as though he were a person; Buster makes no noise other than lapping at his water bowl and eating. After a few minutes, Ken "realizes" that he's on the air, states the episode number (which he apparently makes up on the spot) and cuts to the theme song.

Following that, the show settles into roughly an hour of odd songs, jokes the readers send in, and sporadic visits from Farmer Dave, who has run since 2002 on the "Undecided Cow Party" ticket for governor of the state.

The songs tend to be weird, and are an eclectic mix of rare recordings, home recordings sent in, and the occasional Tom Lehrer song. Florence Foster Jenkins enjoyed an extremely brief resurgence of popularity on the show, and occasionally a more 'mainstream' oddball tune, such as "I Like Chinese" or "The Monster Mash" will be played.

In March 2008, Buster died, putting this show on hiatus until later in the year.[7]

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References
  1. Broadcasting Yearbook 1949 page 269
  2. "Business People-Vermont: WDEV". Vermontguides.com. Retrieved 2014-02-06.
  3. "The Sound of Music: Last surviving member of original Trapp Family Singers dies at 99 - CBC News". cbc.ca. 2014-02-22.
  4. McKibben, Bill (December 2003). "Small world". Harper's Magazine.
  5. Fybush, Scott (September 25, 2017). Corm and the WDEV Purchase. NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved September 26, 2017).
  6. "Programs". WDEV Radio. 2015-10-30. Retrieved 2016-12-14.
  7. Corocran, Michael (2008-03-12). "Buster the Wonder Dog remembered". Stowe Reporter.
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