WEEI (AM)

WEEI
	File:WEEI.png
Broadcast area	Boston, Massachusetts
Frequency	850 (kHz)
Branding	"SportsRadio 850 WEEI"
Programming
Format	Sports Radio
Ownership
Owner	Entercom
History
First air date	1930 (frequency, as WHDH)
Call sign meaning	Edison Electric Illuminating (original owner of 590 AM when it was WEEI)
Technical information
Class	B
ERP	50,000 watts
Links
Website	www.weei.com

WEEI is the highest rated sports-talk radio station in America. Broadcasting from Boston, Massachusetts. WEEI broadcasts on 850 kHz from Needham, Massachusetts. Satellite stations are WEEI-FM (103.7 Westerly, Rhode Island) and WVEI (1440 Worcester, Massachusetts); both have scheduled periods of independent programming. All three stations are owned by Entercom. Studios are located in Brighton, Massachusetts.

The station rose to prominence on 590 kHz as a CBS owned and operated station and the 1960s home of such hosts as Howard Nelson, Jim Westover and the daily WEEIdea feature that presented cleaning and cooking tips from housewives. The station went all-news in 1974 and became a sports station in 1991, featuring programs, such as the Andy Moes show and Glen and Janet, a short-lived experiment in bringing The Bickersons to sports radio. In 1994, its programming was moved to 850 khz, replacing WHDH. For a while, the station was owned by the Boston Celtics, a fact that today's listeners find ironic in light of the station's talk hosts repeated remarks about conflict of interest in the ownership of 17 percent of the Boston Red Sox by the parent company of the Boston Globe.

The station is popular with fans of the Boston professional sports teams, especially the Boston Red Sox. WEEI boasts of being "the #1 rated sports radio talk station in the country". WEEI's local competition includes WAMG - ESPN 890 Boston and WWZN - 1510 The Zone. WEEI has been criticized by some fans, especially of the New England Patriots, that they promote Red Sox and baseball talk to the exclusion of other sports and teams.

WEEI is the flagship station of the WEEI Red Sox Radio Network, where all Red Sox radio broadcasts are from. In addition to their biggest draw, the Red Sox, WEEI broadcasts games of the New England Revolution, and Boston College football and basketball teams in season. Sports talk shows such as Dennis and Callahan (6-10 AM Monday through Friday), Dale and Holley (10 AM - 2 PM), The Big Show (2-6 PM), and Planet Mikey (7 PM - 12 AM) cover the airwaves on a daily basis. On weekends the signature show is The Mustard and Johnson Show with Craig Mustard and Larry Johnson (9 AM - 2 PM in most cases). When local programming isn't on WEEI usually Fox Sports Radio will air. As of April 2005, WEEI can now be streamed live online at its official site except for Red Sox games.

The Red Sox on WEEI

Red Sox broadcasts are a daily feature of the WEEI Red Sox Radio Network slate from March through October. Each broadcast consists of:

A pre-game show;
The Inside Pitch, a segment with a member of the local sports journalism establishment;
(optional) A pre-game interview with the general manager ;
A pre-game interview with the manager (currently Terry Francona);
The game intro itself, a compilation of great moments in Red Sox broadcast history;
The game itself, with Joe Castiglione and Jerry Trupiano on alternating play-by-play. These familiar voices of Red Sox Nation are often affectionally dubbed "Castig" and "Troop" by their fans.
A post-game interview;
Post-game statistics (called "totals");
A highlights clip for those who missed the early part of the game;
and a signoff tag.

During game broadcasts, WEEI is also made available through the Major League Baseball webpage (for a fee), and (for home games) on XM Satellite Radio (as part of the standard service) for those outside the Boston listening area.

A number of local businesses have literally made their names through huge ad buys on WEEI, to the point of their jingles becoming part of the local pop culture. Most longtime Boston residents can sing "1-800-54-GIANT" -- call Giant Glass, or the "Wonder of it all" jingle for Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut, two perennial advertisers. Others, such as members of Sons of Sam Horn, deride the repetitiousness of the ads, which can become tedious over the course of a 162-game season.

The future of the Red Sox broadcasts on WEEI is very much in doubt after this season. The contract for radio broadcast rights is due to expire and there has been speculation that the club will retain the rights and sell its own advertising while putting together a network of stations to air the games, rather than simply assign the rights to a broadcasting company for a fee. The uncertain future of the broadcast rights has many observers wondering if the game broadcasts and surrounding programs will become more marketing tools for the club than honest discussion and description of the games this season.

Daily shows

"Dennis and Callahan" - Featuring hosts John Dennis, Gerry Callahan, and flashboy Jon Meterperal. Plays 6:00am-10:00am on weekdays. It has featured a variety of special guests during different parts of the year including Curt Schilling every Tuesday and Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino every Thursday during the baseball season as well as Tom Brady and Boomer Esiason every Monday during football season. The program also features a daily political humor feature, in which Callahan parodies extreme conservative commentators.
"Dale and Holley Show" - Featuring hosts Dale Arnold, Michael Holley, and flashboy Jon Wallach. Plays 10:00am-2:00pm on weekdays.
The Big Show - Featuring host "the Big O" Glenn Ordway with two co-hosts and flashboy Pete Sheppard. The show is perhaps best known for the Whiner Line. The Big Show plays from 2:00pm-6:00pm.
Planet Mikey - Featuring host Mike Adams and flashboy Jon Rish. Plays from 7:00pm-12:00am

Weekend Shows

Mustard & Johnson - Hosted by Craig Mustard and "Larry Johnson". Mustard & Johnson can be heard from 9:00am - 2:00pm on Saturday & Sunday.
Bill Burt - Bill Burt, a writer for the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune can be heard from 2:00pm - 6:00pm on Saturday & Sunday. The co-hosts vary week to week.

Dennis and Callahan controversy

The station was home to a major local controversy in October 2003, when morning hosts John Dennis and Gerry Callahan had the following exchange about a photo of a gorilla that had escaped from the Franklin Park Zoo:

Callahan: "They caught him at a bus stop, right -- he was like waiting to catch a bus out of town."

Dennis: "Yeah, yeah -- he's a METCO gorilla."

Callahan: "Heading out to Lexington."

Dennis: "Exactly."

Initially, it was believed that Dennis had said the gorilla was "probably a Metco gorilla waiting for a bus to take him to Lexington" and Dennis was suspended for two days. The radio station attempted to immediately move on from the incident, claiming that recordings of the comments had been lost. However, after mounting public outrage, the two hosts were given longer suspensions, sent to multiple rounds of sensitivity training, and forced to apologize. WEEI also agreed to provide free advertising for the METCO program on the radio station.

Both the station and the hosts have tried their best to put the controversy behind them, going so far as to mute on-air callers who attempt to mention the incident. Regardless of the effect they have had on the hosts' and station's reputation, the comments by Dennis and Callahan don't appear to have had any long-term negative effect on the ratings of the morning show.

Quotes

"Loop towards shortstop. Petrocelli's back, he's got it, and the Red Sox win! And there is pandemonium on the field..." -- the final call of the 1967 Impossible Dream regular season (station was WHDH AM 850)
"The Red Sox win the pennant! They have beaten the Oakland A's three in a row!" -- the final call of the 1975 American League Championship Series (station was WHDH AM 850)
"The Red Sox have come from two games down to beat the Cleveland Indians!" -- Joe Castiglione's final call of the 1999 American League Division Series
"Swing and a ground ball, stabbed by Foulke. He has it. He underhands to first. And the Boston Red Sox are the World Champions! For the first time in eighty-six years, the Red Sox have won baseball's World Championship. Can you believe it? " -- Joe Castiglione's final call of the 2004 World Series
It seems to me, a guy like Randy Moss, it seems...the way...your team is so professional in how they execute, I, I think can be taken out of his game very easily, because you don’t know at times if he’s going to take plays off if the ball isn’t going his way, and I think your guys – the veterans on defense are going to know this, and they’re just going to bump him all over the field much like they did to Faulk in the Super Bowl, I think he can be taken out his game early and I think you can frustrate the hell out of him. I really can. I really, I really believe that. And I...I do not expect him to have a big game against your defense because I think they can take him off and frustrate that guy early. Because I don’t think he’s very mature...football player. -- Pete Sheppard 'interviewing' Bill Belichick
...had it been a tiger, I certainly would have said a METCO tiger was waiting at that bus stop... -- John Dennis
"How 'bout I kick your balls up around your head? How's that for a scandal?" -- John Dennis' voicemail left for Ryen Russillo after The Concerned Father discovered that Russillo had hit on his daughter.

External links