- WROL
Infobox Radio Station
name = WROL
area =
city =Boston, Massachusetts
branding =
slogan =
airdate =1948
frequency = 950 (kHz)
format =Religious , Spanish, etc.
power = 5,000watt s (day)
90watt s (night)
class = D
owner =Salem Communications
website = [http://www.wrolradio.com www.wrolradio.com]
callsign_meaning = Similar to formerWORL calls (which were taken by an Orlando station)WROL is a radio station in the
Boston, Massachusetts radio market. The station is currently owned bySalem Communications , and is located on 950 kHz on the AM dial. The station airs a variety of formats, primarilyreligious programming and Spanish music. In addition, the station is the Spanish flagship for theBoston Red Sox and features an enormously popular Irish music block including the Irish Hit Parade and A Feast Of Irish Music.History
WROL's history dates back to
1927 ref|wbsostart and WBSO, owned byBabson College . The station moved to Boston in1935 after a sale and became WORL. In 1945, the then-owners (Harold Lafount andArde Bulova ) were declared unfit to be licensees, and were forced to divest the station, sending it off the air in1949 . During the 1940's, WORL was the first station in Boston to adopt a popular-music format ("The 920 Club", named after the station's former frequency) with disc jockies spinning the tunes. Although only a daytimer then, WORL built up a following as an entertaining alternative to the daytime programming elsewhere on the Boston radio dial.Pilgrim Broadcasting purchased the license and returned the station to the air in
1950 . Later sales led to the station becoming WRYT. withWORL being taken by a station nearOrlando, Florida .Carter Broadcasting took over in1977 , and after failing to be able to return the WORL call letters to Boston, settled on WROL. Carter immediately established areligious network with WROL as its flagship, with relays throughoutNew England . While mostly religious, WROL featured two popular programs during the 1970s and 1980s, a weekday cooking show with longtime Boston radio/TV personality Gus Saunders, and a Saturday-afternoon block of Irish music featuring John Latchford and then later Paul Sullivan and Matt O'Donnell which became quite popular among the region's large Irish-American population.In
2001 , as part of Carter dismantling this network and focusing its attention toWCRN in Worcester, the station was sold toSalem Communications .References
* cite web
url = http://www.bostonradio.org/timeline-20s.html
title = The Boston Radio Timeline: The First Ten Years
work = The Archives at BostonRadio.org
author = Halper, Donna L.
year = 2005-01-02
accessdate = January 22
accessyear = 2006
*cite web
url = http://www.bostonradio.org/stations/9139.html
title = The Boston Radio Dial: WROL(AM)
work = The Archives at BostonRadio.org
year = 2005-03-27
accessdate = January 22
accessyear = 2006External links
* [http://www.wrolradio.com Official website]
*amq|WROL
*aml|WROL
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