WEDG
Encyclopedia
- This article is about the radio station, for the defunct UPNUPNUnited Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
affiliate on AlbanyAlbany, New YorkAlbany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
-area cable systems see WEDG-TVWEDG-TVWEDG-TV was a cable-only UPN affiliate in New York's Capital District which was a joint venture between Time Warner Cable and Fox affiliate WXXA-TV.Edge TV, named for and promoted with a sister radio station, signed on at the start of 2000, displacing Boston's WSBK from...
. WEDG is also a UK based voluntary organisation, World Education Development Group.
WEDG is a radio station in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, USA. The station's on air branding is "103.3 The Edge" and broadcasts on 103.3 MHz FM. WEDG has an active rock
Active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:...
format and is best known for its afternoon-drive hosts, "Shredd and Ragan
Shredd and Ragan
Ted Shredd and Tom Ragan are hosts of The Shredd and Ragan Show a talk radio show on WEDG. The show also features James, Josh Potter, and producer Jim Jacka...
," and being the co-flagship of the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
Radio Network with sister WGRF
WGRF
WGRF is a radio station in Buffalo, New York, USA. The station's on air branding is "97 Rock". The station mostly plays Classic rock from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s...
. The station is owned by 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...
.
History
WEDG signed on in 1947 as WYSL-FM. The station switched calls to WPHD in 1970, when a progressive rock formatProgressive rock (radio format)
Progressive rock is a radio station programming format that prospered in the late 1960s and 1970s, in which the disc jockeys are given wide latitude in what they may play, similar to the freeform format but with the proviso that some kind of rock music is almost always what is played...
was added to the overnight programming. This format made WPHD famous, as well as its morning duo, Robert W. Taylor and Harv Moore, which ran from 1978 to 1989.
In 1989, the station changed call signs from WPHD to WUFX, "103.3 The Fox." Taylor and Moore were fired in favor of Shredd and Ragan, with Shredd coming from AM 1400 WXBX. The format lasted about six years. (Both Taylor and Moore would eventually end up on WHTT
WHTT
WHTT-FM 104.1 FM, is a commercial radio station based in Buffalo, New York United States. The station has a classic hits format and is known by the name "104.1 WHTT".WHTT is owned by Cumulus Media. Its transmitter is located in Buffalo....
, which is now WEDG's sister station, on different shifts. Taylor is now retired and Moore, after a brief stint on WECK
WECK
WECK is a radio station located in the Buffalo, New York, area. Founded in 1956 as WNIA, the station currently is owned by Culver Communications...
, is now at WHLD
WHLD
WHLD is an AM radio station licensed to Niagara Falls, New York with an adult standards format. The station resides at 1270 kHz on the dial and is owned by Citadel Communications.-History and programming:...
).
In 1995, the station adopted an alternative rock format and its current call sign and branding. At the time, Toronto radio station CFNY, known as "The Edge", was making inroads in Western New York. Originally an alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
station, it shifted to a more active rock
Active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:...
direction in 2005
2005 in radio
The year 2005 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*April 29 - KFRC 610 AM in San Francisco, switches formats as a result of ownership change. KFRC becomes KEAR, the "Sound of the New Life", a listener-supported, gospel/religious only station. It had been previously KFRC from...
since WBUF
WBUF
WBUF is an FM radio station in Buffalo, New York. Its transmitter is located in Buffalo. It is owned by Townsquare Media and broadcasts on 92.9 FM. The station signed on in 1947.-Programming:...
flipped from active rock
Active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:...
to FM 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...
, although Radio & Records
Radio & Records
Radio & Records was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It originally started out as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006, up until its final issue in 2009.-History:The company was founded in 1973 and...
still referred them as an alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
station but Mediabase
Mediabase
Mediabase is a music industry service that monitors radio station airplay in 180 US and Canadian markets. Mediabase publishes music charts and data based on the most played songs on terrestrial and satellite radio, and provides in-depth analytical tools for radio and record industry professionals...
shifted them to the active rock
Active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:...
panel; prior to the R&R panel shift to active rock
Active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:...
, they began adding classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
artists. However, R&R
R&R (magazine)
R&R was a weekly music trade publication that followed the radio industry and tracked the monitoring of current songs by format, station and audience cumes...
began reporting them as an active rock station in the fall of 2005, making the active rock shift official. From August 2006 to March 2007, R&R reported them again to the alternative panel, but it has since reverted to the active rock panel. In addition, crosstown rival CHTZ-FM
CHTZ-FM
CHTZ-FM is a radio station in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. The station airs at 97.7 on the FM dial, and broadcasts an active rock format with the brand name HTZ FM...
of St. Catharines, Ontario
St. Catharines, Ontario
St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in Ontario, Canada, with 97.11 square kilometres of land...
has also shifted to active rock
Active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:...
from mainstream rock
Mainstream rock
Mainstream rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada.-Format background:...
to have similar sounds to WEDG, mainly due to the station switching hands from Standard Radio to the current Astral Media
Astral Media
Astral Media Inc. is a Canadian media corporation. It is Canada's largest radio broadcaster with 83 radio stations in eight provinces, and is a major player in premium and specialty television in Canada, including The Movie Network, Super Écran, Family, Teletoon, Canal D, Canal Vie, VRAK.TV,...
. Recently in 2008, the station began playing more classic rock like The Cult
The Cult
The Cult are a British rock band that was formed in 1983. They gained a dedicated following in Britain in the mid 1980s as a post-punk band with singles such as "She Sells Sanctuary", before breaking mainstream in the United States in the late 1980s as a hard rock band with singles such as "Love...
, Van Halen
Van Halen
Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
, The Scorpions
Scorpions (band)
Scorpions are a heavy metal/hard rock band from Hannover, Germany, formed in 1965 by guitarist Rudolf Schenker, who is the band's only constant member. They are known for their 1980s rock anthem "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and many singles, such as "No One Like You", "Send Me an Angel", "Still...
and U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
along with its current playlist as well as several 90s alternative bands like Weezer
Weezer
Weezer is an American alternative rock band. The band currently consists of Rivers Cuomo , Patrick Wilson , Brian Bell , and Scott Shriner . The band has changed lineups three times since its formation in 1992...
, Meat Puppets
Meat Puppets
The Meat Puppets are an American rock band formed in January 1980, in Phoenix, Arizona. The group's original lineup was Curt Kirkwood , his brother Cris Kirkwood , and Derrick Bostrom . The Kirkwood brothers met Bostrom while attending Brophy Prep High School in Phoenix...
, and The Black Crowes
The Black Crowes
The Black Crowes are an American rock band formed in 1989. Their discography includes nine studio albums, four live albums and several charting singles. The band was signed to Def American Recordings in 1989 by producer George Drakoulias and released their debut album, Shake Your Money Maker, the...
.
Programming
- Morning Bull with Rich "Bull" Gaenzler, 6am-10am
- Rock at Work with "James", 10am-3pm
- Shredd and RaganShredd and RaganTed Shredd and Tom Ragan are hosts of The Shredd and Ragan Show a talk radio show on WEDG. The show also features James, Josh Potter, and producer Jim Jacka...
, 3-7pm - Josh Potter, 7-mid
- Eddie Woo, mid-6am
- Nextwave with Josh Potter, Sunday 7pm-10pm
- Edge Underground with Steve K, Monday 12a-2a
Shredd and Ragan are the most recognizable and longest-serving on-air personalities at the station and have hosted the 3-7 drivetime shift since 2006, when they were moved from mornings after 12 years to make way for Opie and Anthony
Opie and Anthony
Opie and Anthony are the hosts of The Opie & Anthony Show, a talk radio program airing in the United States and Canada on XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio. Since the merger of the two satellite companies, this is now called Sirius/XM...
--a homecoming of sorts for Gregg "Opie" Hughes, a former WUFX staffer. After O&A was dropped from the schedule in July 2008, program director "Evil" Jim Kurdziel hosted the morning shift on an interim basis until August 25, 2008, when midday host Rich "Bull" Gaenzler was named the permanent host. The midday shift is now occupied by Kurdziel, who voicetracks the 10-3 block as "James". Kurdziel was also named Program Director of the Year by the radio trade magazine FMQB
FMQB
Friday Morning Quarterback is a trade magazine which covers the Radio and Music industries in the United States. Its coverage includes programming, management, promotion, marketing, and airplay for music formatted radio. The magazine was founded in 1968 by Kal Rudman and is read by over 10,000...
in 2008.
WEDG began streaming on the Internet in 2006. However, Bills games are likely to be blocked from the stream, as well as on the stream of WEDG's sister station, WGRF
WGRF
WGRF is a radio station in Buffalo, New York, USA. The station's on air branding is "97 Rock". The station mostly plays Classic rock from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s...
, who shares the Bills broadcasting rights with WEDG.
The weekend lineup consists of two regular shows featured on Sunday night:
- Nextwave: Josh Potter (also a member of the "Shredd and Ragan" show) features three hours of the newest local, regional and national music.
- Edge Underground: Edge Underground (Hosted by Rockin' Steve K) is a two hour show focussing on the more extreme side of music. Hard-rock, heavy metal and hardcore will all be covered in one way or another.