WBLQ
Broadcast areaSouthern Rhode Island, Southeastern Connecticut
Frequency1230 kHz C-QUAM AM stereo
Branding"Stereo 1230 and 103.1 FM WBLQ"
Programming
FormatFull service
Ownership
Owner
  • Christopher DiPaola (2007-2022)
  • (DiPonti Communications)
WWRI, WSUB-LP
History
First air date
July 1, 1949
Former call signs
  • WERI[1] (1949-1999)
  • WXNI (1999-2009)
Technical information
Facility ID71722
ClassC
Power1,000 watts
Transmitter coordinates
41°21′57″N 71°50′11″W / 41.36583°N 71.83639°W / 41.36583; -71.83639
Translator(s)103.1 W276DF (Westerly)
Links
WebcastListen Live
WebsiteWBLQ Online

WBLQ (1230 AM) is a radio station licensed to serve Westerly, Rhode Island. The station is owned by Diponti Communications.

History

1940s

1949

The station, then called WERI, began broadcasting on 1230 kHz on July 1, 1949, using Day/Night power of 250 watts, non-directional. The station still uses its original 185-foot, Blaw-Knox, self-supporting tower, on Margin Street, beside the Pawcatuck River.[2]

1960s

The FCC increases the daytime power of all Class IV[3] AM stations to 1,000 watts. WERI still has to reduce power to 250 watts at night, as did all other stations on the same frequency.

1966

WERI adds FM service with WERI-FM (103.7, now WVEI-FM). The FM antenna is initially mounted to the side of the AM tower on Margin Street in downtown Westerly. The FM station broadcasts for only a few days from this location before it is shut down due to harmonic interference to TV channel 12.

1968

WERI-FM moves its transmitter to a new location on Route 3 in Ashaway, and begins regular broadcasting.

1970s

The FCC increases the nighttime power of all Class IV stations from 250 to 1,000 watts, including WERI.

1980s

WERI-FM moves its transmitter closer to Providence, changes callsign to "WWRX", and effectively becomes a Providence station.

1990s

WERI-FM (WWRX) is sold to an independent owner from the AM station (WERI).

1999

In a separate transaction, WERI was sold to Boston University, and the callsign was changed to WXNI on January 4.[1] As WXNI It aired a format of news and talk from National Public Radio.[4] It was a repeater of WRNI in Providence, and the two stations combined to provide a locally focused NPR member for Rhode Island–the forerunner of what evolved into Rhode Island Public Radio (now The Public's Radio).

2000s

2007

In December, BU reached an agreement to sell WXNI to Diponti Communications for a reported $350,000.[5] The move came after a local group took control of WRNI and acquired WAKX (later WRNI-FM, now WNPE) in Narragansett Pier to serve as its southern satellite.

2009

Diponti Communications moved the local news and variety programming of WBLQ-LP (96.7 FM, Ashaway, Rhode Island) to WXNI's more powerful AM signal.[5] WXNI begins broadcasting in C-QUAM A.M. Stereo. WXNI changes call letters to WBLQ November 29.

2010s

2019

Former logo before translator sign on

WBLQ begins broadcasting on FM translator W276DF (103.1 MHz) in November.

2020s

2021

December 1, WBLQ begins the "Time Machine", weekday evenings and overnights. The Time Machine is a 1960s, 1970s and 1980s music format based upon the "WNBC Time Machine" aired in New York City, c. 1987–1988. The format was built by WBLQ on-air personalities Steve West and Bob Gilmore, with advice from former WNBC PD Dale Parsons.

2022

On the night of October 13, WBLQ owner Chris DiPaola died unexpectedly from an apparent heart attack.[6] This came shortly after the station had settled with the city of Westerly on a five-year lease extension.

References

  1. 1 2 "Call Sign History". FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database.
  2. ↑ Pawcatuck River
  3. ↑ "AM Broadcast Station Classes; Clear, Regional, and Local Channels | FCC.gov". Archived from the original on 2012-04-30. Retrieved 2013-02-20.
  4. ↑ "Winter 2008 Station Information Profile". Arbitron.
  5. 1 2 Fybush, Scott (2007-12-24). "WAMC Backs Down in Noncomm Fight". NorthEast Radio Watch.
  6. ↑ Burns-Fusaro, Nancy (2022-10-14). "Chris DiPaola, 'the voice of Westerly,' remembered for his reliability, love of radio". The Westerly Sun.
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