WSEN
Encyclopedia
WSEN is the call sign of a pair of radio station
s serving the Syracuse, New York
metropolitan area
. The two stations simulcast each other for much of the 2000s, but as of 2011, the FM station carries an adult hits
format focusing on the 1980s and 1990s, while the AM station carries classic hits
and oldies
stretching from the 1950s through the 1970s. The WSEN-AM/FM combo is licensed to the Syracuse suburb of Baldwinsville
, where the stations' transmitters are also located.
The two stations broadcast on the FM
dial at 92.1 Megahertz, and on the AM
dial at 1050 kilohertz. The duo is owned by Jim Johnson's Leatherstocking Media Group.
WSEN was owned by Buckley Broadcasting
during much of the 2000s, until being sold in 2008 to its current ownership.
In April 2008, WSEN split its format: the 1970s music will continue to air on WSEN as part of a new classic hits
format, while the 1960s music will be moved to WFBL
, to become a new "real oldies
" station with 1950s music added into the playlist. WFBL's oldies format moved to WSEN-AM in October 2009.
WSEN-FM further shifted to adult hits
in fall 2011, with its core playlist moving to 1980s and 1990s music. WSEN-AM, in turn, will shift to the classic hits era of the 1960s and 1970s, and the 1950s oldies music will, as a result, be removed from the Syracuse airwaves.http://www.cnyradio.com/2011/08/22/wsen-trades-caseys-70s-countdowns-for-the-80s/
and afternoon man John Carucci were live and local, though a local midday host has since been added to the schedule.
is the host of Gary Dunes and the Morning Crew, which airs during morning drive
Monday through Friday.
show airs from 7-midnight. Overnights are automated.
with Mike Harvey, Tom Kent's Ultimate Party, American Gold
with Dick Bartley
, American Top 40
with Casey Kasem
, The 70s with Steve Goddard, Goddard's Gold, Dick Clark Presents Rewind with Gary Bryan
, Back to the 70's and American Hit List with M.G. Kelly
, Beatle Brunch with Joe Johnson, The Beatle Years with Bob Malik and Hot Rod Radio with Wings Kalahan. (see the station's web site for more detailed information).
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...
s serving the Syracuse, New York
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
metropolitan area
Metropolitan area
The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...
. The two stations simulcast each other for much of the 2000s, but as of 2011, the FM station carries an adult hits
Adult hits
Adult hits is a radio format, popular in the early 2000s, that does not adhere to a specific music genre, but instead draws from a wider playlist...
format focusing on the 1980s and 1990s, while the AM station carries classic hits
Classic hits
Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes rock and pop music from 1964 to 1989. The term is sometimes erroneously used as a synonym for the adult hits format, but is more accurately characterized as a contemporary style of the oldies format...
and oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
stretching from the 1950s through the 1970s. The WSEN-AM/FM combo is licensed to the Syracuse suburb of Baldwinsville
Baldwinsville, New York
Baldwinsville is a village in Onondaga County, New York, United States. The population was 7,053 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Syracuse Metropolitan Statistical Area....
, where the stations' transmitters are also located.
The two stations broadcast on the FM
Frequency modulation
In telecommunications and signal processing, frequency modulation conveys information over a carrier wave by varying its instantaneous frequency. This contrasts with amplitude modulation, in which the amplitude of the carrier is varied while its frequency remains constant...
dial at 92.1 Megahertz, and on the AM
Amplitude modulation
Amplitude modulation is a technique used in electronic communication, most commonly for transmitting information via a radio carrier wave. AM works by varying the strength of the transmitted signal in relation to the information being sent...
dial at 1050 kilohertz. The duo is owned by Jim Johnson's Leatherstocking Media Group.
History
WSEN-AM (250 w. 1050 KC) began operations on February 25, 1959 and was licensed by Century Radio Corp. Originally a current hits station it changed to Country in 1962 and was the first country station "north of the Mason-Dixon line." In 1967 sister station WSEN-FM began operations as a full-time country outlet, thus complimenting the AM. Century Radio sold the stations in 1974 and flipped to its current format in 1986.WSEN was owned by Buckley Broadcasting
Buckley Broadcasting
Buckley Radio owns and operates twenty radio stations in seven markets. In addition, the WOR Radio Network is operated as an independent syndicated programming provider with affiliates in over 400 markets.-New York:*WOR - New York, NY...
during much of the 2000s, until being sold in 2008 to its current ownership.
In April 2008, WSEN split its format: the 1970s music will continue to air on WSEN as part of a new classic hits
Classic hits
Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes rock and pop music from 1964 to 1989. The term is sometimes erroneously used as a synonym for the adult hits format, but is more accurately characterized as a contemporary style of the oldies format...
format, while the 1960s music will be moved to WFBL
WFBL
WFBL, located at 1390 kHz on the AM dial, is a talk and news radio station owned by Buckley Broadcasting and serving the city of Syracuse, New York....
, to become a new "real oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
" station with 1950s music added into the playlist. WFBL's oldies format moved to WSEN-AM in October 2009.
WSEN-FM further shifted to adult hits
Adult hits
Adult hits is a radio format, popular in the early 2000s, that does not adhere to a specific music genre, but instead draws from a wider playlist...
in fall 2011, with its core playlist moving to 1980s and 1990s music. WSEN-AM, in turn, will shift to the classic hits era of the 1960s and 1970s, and the 1950s oldies music will, as a result, be removed from the Syracuse airwaves.http://www.cnyradio.com/2011/08/22/wsen-trades-caseys-70s-countdowns-for-the-80s/
Programming and personalities
WSEN has been transitioning from a station that had local jocks 24 hours a day as recently as 2008, to one that relies heavily on automation, syndication, and voice tracking, a trend mirrored by many stations in the United States. As of 2009, only morning host Gary DunesGary Dunes
Gary Francis Modugno , better known by the nickname/stage name Gary Dunes, is a morning drive time radio personality on WSEN FM in Syracuse, NY and the lead singer of the Gary Dunes Band and Dunes & The Del-Tunes.Dunes was raised in Westvale which is a suburb of Syracuse, NY...
and afternoon man John Carucci were live and local, though a local midday host has since been added to the schedule.
Gary Dunes
Gary DunesGary Dunes
Gary Francis Modugno , better known by the nickname/stage name Gary Dunes, is a morning drive time radio personality on WSEN FM in Syracuse, NY and the lead singer of the Gary Dunes Band and Dunes & The Del-Tunes.Dunes was raised in Westvale which is a suburb of Syracuse, NY...
is the host of Gary Dunes and the Morning Crew, which airs during morning drive
Drive time
Drive time is the daypart analog to prime time for radio broadcasting. It consists of the morning hours when listeners wake up, get ready, and/or head to work or school, and the afternoon hours when they are heading home and before their evening meal. These are the periods where the number of...
Monday through Friday.
Other on-air staff
Actor and veteran disc jockey Bob Brown currently hosts middays. Brown was added upon Johnson's takeover of the station in 2010; Buckley had voicetracked the shift from Hartford from 2009 up until that point. John Carucci is the afternoon drive personality, and the syndicated Tom KentTom Kent
Tom Kent ,is an American radio personality. As the head of the Tom Kent Radio Network, he hosts 105 hours of classic hits programming each week, which, as of February 2, 2009, is distributed through Cumulus Media Networks.-Biography:Prior to becoming syndicated, Kent worked on the air and in...
show airs from 7-midnight. Overnights are automated.
Syndicated programs
Syndicated programs heard on WSEN include SuperGoldSupergold
Supergold was a oldies radio sustaining service operated by Chiltern Radio Group in the United Kingdom.-History:The Supergold service was launched at 10am on Sunday 24 June 1990, following requests from the Radio Authority for radio stations to split frequencies into separate AM and FM services or...
with Mike Harvey, Tom Kent's Ultimate Party, American Gold
American Gold
The Classic Countdown is a syndicated weekly, four-hour, hit-packed, oldies countdown program which was written, produced and hosted by Radio Hall-of-Fame broadcaster Dick Bartley...
with Dick Bartley
Dick Bartley
Dick Bartley, a popular American radio disc jockey since 21 June 1969, hosts several popular syndicated radio shows of the oldies/classic hits genre, including the current Classic Countdown since 1991 and the Saturday night call-in request show Rock & Roll's Greatest Hits since 1982...
, American Top 40
American Top 40
American Top 40 is an internationally syndicated, independent radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds and Ron Jacobs. Originally a production of Watermark Inc...
with Casey Kasem
Casey Kasem
Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem is an American radio personality and voice actor who is best known for being the host of the nationally syndicated Top 40 countdown show American Top 40, and for voicing Shaggy in the popular Saturday morning cartoon franchise Scooby-Doo.Kasem, along with Don Bustany and...
, The 70s with Steve Goddard, Goddard's Gold, Dick Clark Presents Rewind with Gary Bryan
Gary Bryan
Gary Bryan is a radio disc jockey, currently on the air in Los Angeles, California at KRTH 101.1 FM. With more than 30 years in broadcasting, Bryan's career includes major-market morning show duties, serving as host and producer of several syndicated programs, and ventures online and in...
, Back to the 70's and American Hit List with M.G. Kelly
M.G. Kelly
Michael Gary Kelly , known professionally as M. G. Kelly and Machine Gun Kelly, is an actor, disc jockey and radio personality...
, Beatle Brunch with Joe Johnson, The Beatle Years with Bob Malik and Hot Rod Radio with Wings Kalahan. (see the station's web site for more detailed information).