Arnie Ginsburg

Arnie Ginsburg was a well-known American disc jockey in the Boston radio market from the mid-1950s to the 1970s. Following this period, he became involved in the business side of radio as a business manager, president and owner of WVJV-TV and later Pyramid Broadcasting.

Background and history

Ginsburg started out as a radio engineer at WORL/950, where once in a while he sat in with the host of a prime time show. He then moved to WBOS 1600 AM, where he developed his own on-air Top 40 show, which prepared him for his move to Boston's Top 40 radio station (before WRKO), WMEX/1510. Ginsburg refused a salary from station owner Max Richmond, instead making a deal for a 25% cut of all the commercial revenue Ginsburg would generate for his show. This, he claimed, made him "the highest-paid jock on the station."

Some listeners thought Ginsburg was on the air every night. In fact, he recorded one of his weekly night shows for playback on Saturday night, and also recorded a new show for Sunday playback during the week. This practice was highly unusual at the time and only became more prevalent in the radio business in the 1980s, when radio networks began to do the same.

As a member of the Radio Hall of Fame, Ginsburg is perhaps best known from his days at WMEX in Boston, though he also spent some time at WRKO. When the business development plan was still coming together for WRKO, management wanted to build the station around a local radio figure, and Ginsburg was their first choice.

"Woo-Woo" Ginsburg was on the air for less than a month when his former boss, WMEX owner Max Richmond, served the station with a court injunction, enforcing a no-compete charge. Although Ginsburg left the "live" airwaves for good, he was able to stay in the business with WRKO as they put him into sales. Ginsburg personally sold all the time slots for WRKO-FM. Later, in 1970, he went on to become the general manager of WBCN and in 1972, the General Manager of WWEL. In 1979 he advanced to become partner of WXKS-FM "Kiss 108" and co-owner of Boston's video music channel, WVJV-TV, in 1985. [cite web|title=Radio Broadcasting History, Radio People |url=http://www.440.com/namesg.html#_aginsb |publisher=440 International]

Trademark persona

Ginsburg became known as "Woo-Woo" because of the train whistle he imitated from time to time while on the air. His theme and style was later reproduced on classic albums such as "Cruisin 1961 History of Rock & Roll". [cite web|publisher=Amazon.ca |title=Cruisin 1961 History Of Rock |url=http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=49&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.ca%2FCruisin-1961-History-Various-Artists%2Fdp%2FB000000EA8&ei=hVGoRan_OpTSgwTnyYGmAg&usg=__2DAokATedlYM5munyYICrsmadq8=&sig2=j9PYjOkriGCUn5vBXhLXBg] [cite web|title=Arnie Ginsburg |url=http://www.wrko.org/prphotos/prginsburg.htm |publisher=WRKO] [cite web|url=http://www.wrko.org/talentpgs/ginsburg.htm |title=Arnie Ginsburg |publisher=WRKO] [cite news|publisher=The Phoenix |title=Motley Crews: A short history of Boston rock |date=2006-11-15 |url=http://www.thephoenix.com/article_ektid27234.aspx]

Retirement

As Ginsburg reached retirement age, he migrated north to Ogunquit, Maine (about 75 miles north of Boston). He had spent summers there in his younger years, and had developed a hometown affinity for this artists' colony and resort on the coast of southern Maine. Ogunquit residents came to recognize Ginsburg when he rode his moped into town during the warmer months, and in time he became a fixture in the community. He now lives in a small house near Perkins Cove, a small and picturesque area visited by many tourists throughout the year.

References