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21 Aug, 2019
By, Wikipedia

WPEP

WPEP (1570 kHz AM) was an AM radio station licensed to Taunton, Massachusetts. WPEP's format had been full-service, offering local news and talk programming, as well as music and nationally syndicated talk. The station was last owned by the Anastos Media Group.

History

1940s

In late 1948, Silver City Broadcasting Corp., owned by businessman John McGregor, applied for and was granted a construction permit for an AM broadcast station in Taunton. The station's callsign was originally to be WTRN, however the callsign was changed to WPEP before the station officially signed on the air December 22, 1949. When WPEP signed on, its studio was located atop the Roseland Ballroom, north of downtown Taunton. The original format is believed to have been all local programming. WPEP was a 1 kilowatt daytime-only station from 1949 to 1970. This meant that WPEP was required to cease transmitting from sunset to sunrise. WPEP's transmitter site was 760 County Street in Taunton, Massachusetts.

1970s

On November 27, 1970, WPEP received pre-sunrise authority, allowing it to sign on at 6:00 am with a power of 350 watts, which could be upped to the full kilowatt at sunrise (during months when sunrise occurs later than 6:00 am). News Director at the time was John P. Shaw.

1980s

Daytime-only status lasted until September 1, 1986, when WPEP was granted nighttime authorization, which allowed WPEP to transmit 227.4 watts of power.

1990s

WPEP was sold in 1997 by Silver City Broadcasting to J. Keating Willcox's Willow Farm Broadcasting.

2000s

This would be the final calendar decade of WPEP's existence. WPEP was sold to Anastos Media Group in 2001. Paul Giammarco was named general manager in 2002 until he left for WSAR in 2003. After Giammarco left, staffer A.J. Nicholson was promoted to general manager.

In 2004, WPEP added the Boston Red Sox Radio Network and carried the team's first World Series victory heard on radio. It was an affiliate in 2005 as well but station management had changed that March and did not air games. A May 5, 2005, article in the Taunton Daily Gazette said that the station was in jeopardy because WNSH in Beverly, Massachusetts, got approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to increase their daytime power. WNSH was owned by former WPEP owner J. Keating Wilcox. When Wilcox sold WPEP to Anastos Media, there was an informal agreement that Anastos Media would turn in the station's license to allow WNSH (on the same frequency) to up their power, contingent on the power increase being granted by the FCC. The city's mayor and U.S. Representative filed objections; however, the station's general manager at the time publicly dismissed the possibility the station may go dark. On December 5, 2005, Anastos Media filed a renewal of the WPEP license. The renewal was granted by the FCC on March 28, 2006. WPEP's license was turned in to the FCC on October 18, 2007.

Auxiliary licenses

KRN297: a Remote pickup unit (RPU) on 161.64 MHz/161.67 MHz.
WLI832: a Studio-transmitter link (STL) on 948 MHz.

Status

Station license deleted.

References

^ "Facility Technical Data for WPEP". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
^ Winokoor, Charles (5 May 2005). "WPEP faces threat of 'going dark'". Business. Taunton Daily Gazette. OCLC 9545291. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 8 March 2021. According to an April 27 letter issued by the FCC, Anastos Media Group (Anastos), Inc. of Malta, N.Y. "proposes to surrender the WPEP license for cancellation, contingent upon grant of the WNSH minor modification application."
^ "WPEP and the sound of silence". Taunton Daily Gazette. 1 August 2007. OCLC 9545291. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021. Radio Station WPEP has been a strong voice in the Taunton area for close to for 60 years, but it may be bowing out. The transfer of some of its shows, including Home Town Talk, from 1570 AM on the dial to WBUF, at 1530 AM, was disclosed with the expectation that PEP will be gone for good in September.