WBSM
Encyclopedia
WBSM is an AM radio station
broadcasting in the New Bedford
/Fall River
market area with a News
/Talk
format. It broadcasts on 1420 kilocycles and is under ownership of Cumulus Media
, with studios in Fairhaven
shared with fellow Cumulus station WFHN/Fun 107
. This station is the home of Boston Red Sox
, New England Patriots
, Boston Bruins
, and Boston College football
games.
Weekdays begin with First Light with Dirk Van
, followed by longtime local favorites Pete Braley and Phil Paleologos. Afternoons showcase talk radio host Ken Pittman, who has been spot-lighted on national news shows such as Fox News Channel's
O'Reilly Factor and Weekend Live
, also appearing on CNN
and New England Cable News (NECN)
several times with Jim Braude
. Evenings feature conservative Mark Levin
and Jim Bohannon
. Local weekend programming includes WBSM news reporter Taylor Cormier on Saturday mornings, Westport
Board of Selectmen
chairman and former New Bedford Police lieutenant Richard "Dick" Spirlet on Sunday mornings, and Spooky Southcoast, hosted by New Bedford Standard-Times sports reporter Tim Weisberg and Matt Costa on Saturday nights.
WBSM broadcasts high school football and basketball games for Dartmouth
, Bishop Stang
, New Bedford
, Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech
, Fairhaven
, Apponequet Regional
, Old Rochester Regional
, and Wareham
high schools. Local radio veterans Jack Peterson and Mike Green announce these games. The station also broadcast the home opener of the New England Collegiate Baseball League
franchise New Bedford Bay Sox'
inaugural season in New Bedford in 2009, plus 3 Sunday night home games in their 2011 season. Jack Peterson and Pete Braley announced these games.
WBSM has a five person news team headlined by longtime local broadcasters Jim Phillips and Jack Peterson. Jim Marshall and Bryan Booker anchor the news on weekends, and Taylor Cormier steps in whenever needed.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
broadcasting in the New Bedford
New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, located south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and about east of Fall River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 95,072, making it the sixth-largest city in Massachusetts...
/Fall River
Fall River, Massachusetts
Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is located about south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and west of New Bedford and south of Taunton. The city's population was 88,857 during the 2010 census, making it the tenth largest city in...
market area with a News
All-news radio
All-news radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcast of news.All-news radio is available in both local and syndicated forms, and is carried in some form on both major US satellite radio networks...
/Talk
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
format. It broadcasts on 1420 kilocycles and is under ownership of Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media, Inc. is the second largest Owner and Operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States, behind Clear Channel Communications, operating 570 stations in 150 markets as of September 16, 2011. The company also owns Cumulus Media Networks...
, with studios in Fairhaven
Fairhaven, Massachusetts
Fairhaven is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is located on the south coast of Massachusetts where the Acushnet River flows into Buzzards Bay, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean...
shared with fellow Cumulus station WFHN/Fun 107
WFHN
WFHN, better known as Fun 107, is a Contemporary Hit Radio radio station that serves the New Bedford-Fall River, Massachusetts market, broadcasting on the FM band at 107.1 MHz. The station is licensed in Fairhaven, Massachusetts to Cumulus Media. The studio and transmitter are both located in...
. This station is the home of Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
, New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
, Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
, and Boston College football
Boston College Eagles football
The Boston College Eagles football team is the collegiate football program of Boston College. The team is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, a Division I Bowl Subdivision league governed by the NCAA. Within the ACC, the Eagles are one of six teams in the Atlantic Division...
games.
Weekdays begin with First Light with Dirk Van
First Light (radio)
First Light is a syndicated talk radio program hosted by Dirk Van. The one-hour live program airs weekdays at 5:00 a.m. Eastern Time and is one of a small number of programs airing live in that time slot...
, followed by longtime local favorites Pete Braley and Phil Paleologos. Afternoons showcase talk radio host Ken Pittman, who has been spot-lighted on national news shows such as Fox News Channel's
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
O'Reilly Factor and Weekend Live
Weekend Live
Weekend Live was an American news/talk television program on Fox News Channel.The program featured live news story updates from correspondents, analysis from a number of different regular contributors, interviews with newsmakers of the week, and regular subject specific segments...
, also appearing on CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
and New England Cable News (NECN)
New England Cable News
New England Cable News is a regional 24-hour cable news television network owned and operated by NBCUniversal serving the New England region of the United States. It is very similar to CNN in structure and style, but focuses more on regional news. The channel is also similar to Northwest Cable...
several times with Jim Braude
Jim Braude
Jim Spencer Braude is a Boston radio and television personality and the co-host of a talk show on 96.9 FM Talk with Margery Eagan. He also hosts Broadside with Jim Braude on New England Cable News....
. Evenings feature conservative Mark Levin
Mark Levin
Mark Reed Levin is a lawyer, author and the host of American syndicated radio show The Mark Levin Show. Levin served in the cabinet of President Ronald Reagan and was a chief of staff for Attorney General Edwin Meese...
and Jim Bohannon
Jim Bohannon
James E. "Jim" Bohannon is an American broadcaster who has worked in both television and radio.During the 1980s he was a fill-in for Larry King when King had his popular nighttime national radio program. He also does much work with the Smithsonian Associates...
. Local weekend programming includes WBSM news reporter Taylor Cormier on Saturday mornings, Westport
Westport, Massachusetts
Westport is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 15,532 at the 2010 census.The village of North Westport lies in the town.- History :...
Board of Selectmen
Board of selectmen
The board of selectmen is commonly the executive arm of the government of New England towns in the United States. The board typically consists of three or five members, with or without staggered terms.-History:...
chairman and former New Bedford Police lieutenant Richard "Dick" Spirlet on Sunday mornings, and Spooky Southcoast, hosted by New Bedford Standard-Times sports reporter Tim Weisberg and Matt Costa on Saturday nights.
WBSM broadcasts high school football and basketball games for Dartmouth
Dartmouth High School (Massachusetts)
Dartmouth High School is a four-year public high school located in Dartmouth, Massachusetts.As of the 2007/08 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,264 students and 78.5 classroom teachers , for a student-teacher ratio of 16.1....
, Bishop Stang
Bishop Stang High School
Mission Statement: Bishop Stang High School is a private Catholic secondary school located in North Dartmouth, Massachusetts, in the New England region of the United States. It was the first diocesan secondary school in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River, which includes most of Southeastern...
, New Bedford
New Bedford High School
New Bedford High School is a public high school located at 230 Hathaway Boulevard in the West End of New Bedford, Massachusetts. The school has approximately 3,200 students, and is one of the largest schools in the state...
, Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech
Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational-Technical High School
Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational-Technical High School is a vocational high school located in New Bedford, Massachusetts for students in grades 9-12. The school draws its student body from the towns and cities of New Bedford, Dartmouth, and Fairhaven...
, Fairhaven
Fairhaven High School
Fairhaven High School is located in the town of Fairhaven in south eastern Massachusetts. The school building was donated in 1906 by Henry Huttleston Rogers, who was one of the key men in John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Trust...
, Apponequet Regional
Apponequet Regional High School
Apponequet Regional High School opened September 21, 1959, and serves secondary academic education students from the towns of Freetown, Assonet, and Lakeville, Massachusetts.- History :...
, Old Rochester Regional
Old Rochester Regional High School
Old Rochester Regional High School serves the towns of Marion, Mattapoisett, and Rochester in Plymouth County of Massachusetts. The school was originally built in 1961 and underwent a major renovation beginning in 2001. This project added additional classrooms and combined the high school with...
, and Wareham
Wareham High School
Wareham High School is a public high school located in Wareham, Massachusetts. The school is a part of the Wareham Public School system, and serves roughly 900 students in grades 9-12....
high schools. Local radio veterans Jack Peterson and Mike Green announce these games. The station also broadcast the home opener of the New England Collegiate Baseball League
New England Collegiate Baseball League
The New England Collegiate Baseball League is a 12-team collegiate summer baseball league founded in 1993 and sanctioned by the NCAA and Major League Baseball. Each NECBL team plays an eight-week, 42-game schedule during June and July, with a playoff in early August...
franchise New Bedford Bay Sox'
New Bedford Bay Sox
The New Bedford Bay Sox are a baseball team that plays in the New England Collegiate Baseball League, a collegiate summer baseball league located in the northeastern United States region of New England. The team is located in New Bedford, Massachusetts. New Bedford's Paul Walsh Field serves as...
inaugural season in New Bedford in 2009, plus 3 Sunday night home games in their 2011 season. Jack Peterson and Pete Braley announced these games.
WBSM has a five person news team headlined by longtime local broadcasters Jim Phillips and Jack Peterson. Jim Marshall and Bryan Booker anchor the news on weekends, and Taylor Cormier steps in whenever needed.
Notable alumni
- Hal Peterson: Host of "Open Line" from the mid 50s and thru various periods in the '60s and '70s. (Hal was the creator of the long-running charity "Quarters for Christmas". It was Hal Peterson that was responsible for giving Gil Santos his first job in radio as Hal's "Color Man" during New Bedford High School basketball broadcasts.)
- Stan Lipp: Host of "Open Line" from the 1960s until his retirement more than 30 years later.
- André Bernier: Weekend weather anchor (1975–1977). André was the first weather anchor seen on The Weather ChannelThe Weather ChannelThe Weather Channel is a US cable and satellite television network since May 2, 1982, that broadcasts weather forecasts and weather-related news, along with entertainment programming related to weather 24 hours a day...
and currently with WJW in Cleveland, OhioCleveland, OhioCleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. - Don Gillis: Sports director (1949–1951), commentator for Red Sox, Boston CelticsBoston CelticsThe Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...
, and Bruins broadcasts on WHDH AM 850 (now WEEI)WEEIWEEI is a sports radio station in Boston, Massachusetts, that broadcasts on 850 kHz from a transmitter in Needham, Massachusetts, and is owned by Entercom Communications. The station is one of the top-rated sports talk radio stations in the nation. Studios are located in Brighton, Massachusetts...
(1950s-60s), sports director for Channel 5 Boston (1962–1983), host of Candlepin Bowling (1967–1996) (deceased) - Gil SantosGil SantosGil Santos is the longtime radio play-by-play announcer for the New England Patriots of the National Football League, and morning sports reporter for WBZ radio in Boston. He retired from WBZ on January 30, 2009. Santos was inducted into the WBZ Radio Hall of Fame on July 9, 2009...
: Sports reporter (1950s), play-by-play announcer for Patriots radio broadcasts (1966–present) - Henry Carreiro: Daytime talk show host during the 1970s, 80s and 90s, he also had a notable speaking role in JawsJawsJaws may refer to:* Jaw, an opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth* JAWS , Japan Anthropology Workshop* Jaws , a novel by Peter Benchley** Jaws , a series of films arising from the novel...
as a loudmouth fisherman who among other one-liners tells Matt Hooper to "walk straight ahead" in response to the question about a good hotel or restaurant on the island.