Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Boston Radio: Back To the Future For WUFC

WMEX's Arnie 'Woo Woo' Ginsburg
Boston’s 50,000-watt WUFC 1510 AM is going back to the future as it vies to regain its fabled WMEX call letters and taps into the legacy of the storied station, where the likes of the legendary Jerry Williams and Larry Glick yukked it up.

“I like good quality programming, but I also like a little bit of nostalgia,” said Kevin Wallis, CEO of Wallis Communications, the station’s new owner. When Wallis talks to Hub radio listeners about what WMEX meant to them, they get a “twinkle in their eye. People like it.”

Wallis took over WUFC this summer and flipped the format from sports to talk, turning over management and restructuring the sales and marketing department because “no one knew the station existed.”

“We’re going to absolutely shift the dynamic in Boston radio,” said Wallis, who describes the new and improved WUFC as a “libertarian leaning” station.

The station’s star-studded syndicated lineup already includes Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and Dennis Miller. There’s also some sports talk, with shows hosted by comedian Jay Mohr and J.T. The Brick.

And Boston Herald Radio’s “Morning Meeting” can be heard from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. right after “The Dr. K Show,” which is hosted by Wallis himself and also airs on his Washington, D.C., radio station.

Wallis said they’re trying to buy back the station’s original WMEX call letters from a low-power FM station in Rochester, NH. “People have an immediate recognition of that station,” Wallis said.

In the near future, Wallis said the station plans on “dialing back a little bit” on syndicated programming and bringing “the local folks to the forefront.” They also want to add more Boston Herald Radio content to its lineup. Every hour, the station carries live news updates from the Herald’s newsroom.

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