WRSI

Infobox Radio station
name = WRSI


city = Turners Falls, Massachusetts
area = Northampton, Massachusetts
branding = "93.9 The River"
slogan = "Different Is Good"
airdate =
frequency = 93.9 MHz
format = Album Adult Alternative
erp = 2,500 watts
haat = 109 meters (358 feet)
class = A
facility_id = 8775
coordinates = coord|42|32|01|N|72|35|34|W
callsign_meaning =
former_callsigns = WPVQ
owner = Saga Communications
licensee = Saga Communications of New England, LLC
sister_stations = WHMP
webcast =
website = http://www.wrsi.com/
affiliations =

WRSI (93.9 FM, "93.9 The River") is a radio station licensed to serve Turners Falls, Massachusetts. The station is owned by Saga Communications and licensed to Saga Communications of New England, LLC. It airs an Album Adult Alternative music format.cite web |title=Station Information Profile |work=Arbitron |url=http://www.arbitron.com/]

History

On July 11, 1977, Ed Skutnik filed an application on behalf of his Company, Green Valley Broadcasting Co., Ltd. for a Construction Permit to build a new FM station in Greenfield, MA. It was designated for hearing by the FCC when a competing application was filed by Poet's Seat Broadcasting, Inc. for the same vacant FM Channel (95.3 MHz in Greenfield, MA). After comparative hearings at the FCC, the FCC Administrative Law Judge decided in August of 1979 that Green Valley Broadcasting Co., LTD. clearly should be awarded the Construction Permit. Poet's Seat appealed the decision to a three member FCC judicial panel. They upheld the original decision to award the Construction Permit to Green Valley Broadcasting Co., LTD. Poet's Seat appealed once more to the seven FCC commissioners and they voted 7-0 in Green Valley's favor. This gave Green Valley Broadcasting Co., LTD. the authority to begin construction starting in January of 1981.

WRSI officially went on the air July 26, 1981 at Noon with a very diverse programming line up which included music from the genres of rock, classical, jazz, new age, folk, world, country and anything new and different it could find. A concerted effort was made from the start to showcase local musicians from an area in Western Massachusetts that supported its local artists through concert attendance and strong listener loyalty.

WRSI was the first stereo FM station in Franklin County, Massachusetts and was unique among its peers in that it used next to no compression of its audio signals. This translated into less "listener fatigue" and longer audience participation. WRSI was also the first station in Western Massachusetts beginning, in the end of 1982, to use compact discs as part of its regular programming source in order to broadcast the highest quality audio.

WRSI added a sister station in March of 1987. WPOE (AM) Greenfield, MA was purchased from Poet's Seat Broadcasting Inc. The call letters were changed to WGAM (AM).

Green Valley Broadcasting Co., Ltd. (Ed Skutnik, owner) sold WRSI and WGAM to Howard Communications Corp. in October of 1988.

Howard Communications went into Receivership in January of 1992. At that time, Ed Skutnik, former owner of WRSI and WGAM was asked to manage the stations until a new owner was found.

In November of 1992, under the ownership of Ed Skutnik, Radio Skutnik Inc. bought back WRSI and WGAM from the Receivership of Howard Communication Corp. Radio Skutnik Inc. (RSI) continued the same original programming diversity which it was known for and which it started when it first signed on.

In October of 1996, Radio Skutnik Inc. sold WRSI and WGAM to Watertown Radio Associates.

In October 1996, Dynacom (Jeff Shapiro, owner), acting as Watertown Radio Associates of Claremont NH, reached an agreement to purchase WRSI (95.3 FM) and WGAM (now WIZZ) from Radio Skutnik, Inc. (Ed Skutnik, owner) for a reported sale price of $650,000. [cite news |title=Entercom's Big Week |date=2006-08-28 |url=http://www.fybush.com/NERW/2006/060828/nerw.html |quote= |work=NorthEast Radio Watch |first=Scott |last=Fybush] In August 1999, Vox Media Corp. purchased Dynacom and all of its radio assets, including WRSI, for a reported $5.5 million. [cite news |title=Sales Galore |date=1999-08-06 |url=http://www.bostonradio.org/nerw/nerw-990806.html |work=NorthEast Radio Watch |first=Scott |last=Fybush]

In July 2000, Vox Media Corp. (Bruce G. Danziger, president) purchased WPVQ (93.9 FM) from Cardwell Broadcasting Inc., Whately (Glen W. Cardinal, president) for a reported sale price of $2.925 million. [cite news |date=2000-07-31 |url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA17837.html?q=WPVQ |work=Broadcasting & Cable |title=Changing Hands]

In February 2001, WRSI swapped frequencies with WPVQ so that WPVQ now broadcasts on 95.3 MHz from Greenfield, Massachusetts, and WRSI broadcasts on its current 93.9 MHz. [cite news |title=2001: The Year in Review |date=2001-12-31 |url=http://www.fybush.com/nerw-yir2001.html |quote= |work=NorthEast Radio Watch |first=Scott |last=Fybush] The 93.9 FM station was assigned the WRSI call letters by the Federal Communications Commission on February 1, 2001.cite web |title=Call Sign History |url=http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/call_hist.pl?Facility_id=8775&Callsign=WRSI |work=FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database]

In December 2003, Saga Communications Inc. (Edward K. Christian, president/CEO) announced that it had reached an agreement to purchase WRSI (93.9 FM) and WPVQ (95.3 FM) plus WRSY (101.5 FM) from Vox Media Corp. (Jeff Shapiro, COO). [cite news |title=Saga Adds in Pioneer Valley |date=2003-12-29 |url=http://www.fybush.com/nerw-031229.html |first=Scott |last=Fybush |work=NorthEast Radio Watch] The deal was brokered by Richard A. Foreman of Richard A. Foreman Associates Inc. [cite news |date=2004-01-19 |work=Broadcasting & Cable |title=Changing Hands |url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA375275.html?q=WRSI] The $7 million deal closed in April 2004. [cite news |url=http://www.fybush.com/NERW/2004/040412/nerw.html |title=Nassau Shakeup in Maine |date=2004-04-12 |work=NorthEast Radio Watch |first=Scott |last=Fybush]

Alumni

Rachel Maddow, host of "The Rachel Maddow Show" on Air America Radio and a political analyst for MSNBC, worked for WRSI as host of "The Big Breakfast" after getting her start in radio at nearby WRNX. [cite news |date=2004-08-31 |work=The Advocate |title=Left and centered: Air America radio's Rachel Maddow is out, brilliant, and ready to defend the other L word: liberal |url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-13176024_ITM |first=Etelka |last=Lehoczky]

Translators

RadioTranslators
callsign =
call1 = W282BC
freq1 = 104.3 FM
watts1 = 80
class1 = D
city1 = South Hadley, Massachusetts|

References

External links

* [http://www.wrsi.com/ WRSI official website]
*FMQ|WRSI
*FML|WRSI
*FMARB|WRSI