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143-474: WBZU may refer to: WKVB (FM) , a radio station (107.3 FM) licensed to serve Westborough, Massachusetts, United States, which held the call sign WBZU from February to March 2020 WAAF (AM) , a radio station (910 AM) licensed to serve Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States, which held the call sign WBZU from 2005 to 2020 WMHX , a radio station (105.1 FM) licensed to serve Waunakee, Wisconsin, United States, which held

286-500: A "WOW" sticker on their car. The show was suspended for two weeks after a confidential memo from management was read aloud by the duo, while Bruce Mittman canceled the promotion after nine weeks when police contacted station management; Mittman denied the suspension was related. A compilation album of their material from WAAF, Demented World , was released in October 1997. You can't really feel guilty about it. I don't know, you live by

429-986: A "fine-tuning" of the playlist instead of a format shift, while the move was also made to improve WAAF's ratings in Boston as opposed to Worcester. With the relaunch, the station was re-branded as "Untamed Radio", a slogan also used on WRQK-FM in Canton, Ohio , another station Gorman oversaw. Greg Hill , who had joined the station's promotions department in 1986, was promoted to overnights in June, then named as Ruby Cheeks's co-host that November. While John Gorman's consultancy over WAAF eventually ended after he took over as program director for WMJI in Cleveland and subsequently returned to WMMS and WHK (1420 AM) in 1994, Gorman held high praise for Valeri's work as programmer for WAAF, telling Hitmakers magazine, "could you imagine what (Ron) would do with

572-401: A "tug of war" period of discussions with Infinity and competing radio network Greater Media , the hosts renewed their contracts with Infinity to continue on WNEW. The media reported the pair were paid a total of $ 30 million for three years. As part of their deal, Infinity agreed to have the show nationally syndicated via Westwood One to as many as 22 of its stations. By the end of July 2001,

715-541: A May 9 broadcast featuring a homeless man, dubbed "Homeless Charlie", who talked about raping Condoleezza Rice , Laura Bush and Queen Elizabeth II . The one-minute segment went unnoticed until Drudge Report posted the audio online. Hughes and Cumia issued an apology at the start of the following broadcast. During the May 14 show, the hosts discussed the incident further which led to XM ordering their suspension. The show continued to air on terrestrial radio. Early reports that

858-456: A car accident in Florida in the company of a Haitian female prostitute. The prank included reports from a fake police officer and news reporter, the latter a friend of Hughes. The stunt and firing received national attention from the press, and many listeners believed the story as Menino was on a flight during the prank, so he was out of contact while the event unfolded. Menino was made aware of

1001-497: A college internship seven years earlier. Carrie eventually hosted both afternoon drive and middays. While it had been teased as early as 1999 when their studio was moved to downtown Boston, WAAF was finally able to commence testing at a new transmission site at the WUNI (channel 27) tower on Stiles Hill in Boylston between October 31 and November 22, 2005, on program test authority from

1144-602: A compilation album of their radio bits which was released in October 1997 and sold 40,000 copies. A late 1997 broadcast where Hughes threatened to punch WBCN personality Nik Carter and encouraged listeners to harass Carter was subject to a complaint and reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), but no action was taken. In April 1998, Hughes and Cumia were fired from WAAF following their April Fool's Day prank whereby Hughes and Cumia announced that Boston Mayor Thomas Menino had been killed in

1287-450: A compilation of segments from the show that aired on WAAF on a CD entitled Demented World in November 1997. The Traveling Virus was a comedy tour headlined by Hughes and Cumia, as well as friends of the show, that began in 2006. In its first year, it spanned several locations in the eastern United States during the summer. In 2007, it visited eight cities through the spring and summer. It

1430-508: A contest to promote their The Great White North comedy album, where the winner received an afternoon trip for two to Tewksbury , while the runner-up won a weekend trip for two to the Lowell suburb. WAAF staffers came up with the contest idea after noticing a sign in Tewksbury that reminded them of toque knit hats referred to in the album. The station had also asked the town's fire chief to give

1573-484: A cucumber in between two melons. The show was cancelled after four weeks; McMahon stated that he had no creative control, adding: "I heard it was horrible. Had I seen it, I would have shut it down." By mid-2001, Opie and Anthony ranked first place in New York City in the 18-plus demographic in afternoons and number two overall. Among their success came the announcement in June 2001, following what Hughes described as

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1716-734: A faulty T1 line between their Brighton studios and the transmitter site. These issues were resolved by the spring and summer of 2006, when WAAF resumed operations at the Boylston site. The original program test authority lasted until May 26, 2011, when the FCC officially issued a license for the site. Radio One announced the sale of Brockton -licensed WILD-FM (97.7) to Entercom for $ 30 million on August 21, 2006, in what Radio One President Alfred C. Liggins called "a very good start to our asset disposition process". Entercom's purchase came after their purchase of 15 small-market stations from CBS Radio earlier in

1859-508: A full Boston Metro signal?" Starting on January 9, 1991, WAAF's programming was simulcast over WFTQ due to what John Sutherland called "substantial losses" for the AM station's prior format; among the people dismissed was Steve LeVeille. This simulcast ended on September 8 when Zapis Communications entered into an agreement with the Boston Celtics , then the owners of WEEI (590 AM) , to simulcast

2002-577: A funeral dirge for Stern's career, carrying a makeshift coffin made of cardboard through the crowd. In 2006, the Pests were involved in the show's feuds with Scott Ferrall and Whoopi Goldberg , calling into the respective shows. Goldberg made a surprise visit to the show which led to a truce in the Pest onslaught. In 2007, two Pests held signs attacking Tyra Banks . In 2008, the show began an annual segment named Jocktober, where clips from other radio shows across

2145-543: A geographical location. WAAF also championed local band Extreme upon the release of their album Pornograffitti and single " More Than Words ", hosting a softball duel between the band and station staffers at Lampson Field in Billerica . Every November, starting in 1993, WAAF held a popular annual charity event "Walk and Rock for Change", raising money for food banks in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. During this event,

2288-411: A good rapport with the hosts and the audience, and he soon began to sit in for three or four days a week before he was hired as third-mic full time. He helped bring in future regulars on the show, including comedians Rich Vos , Patrice O'Neal , Robert Kelly , and Keith Robinson . Norton credits the radio show with boosting his career: "They already have a great show without me. I know that. I'm not like

2431-449: A group of listeners who took a proactive approach to the show's content and promotion. They are jokingly known by the hosts as a collection of "computer nerds" and "failures", with the implicit recognition that these devotees relate well to the hosts themselves. In 2006, Forbes recognized the Pests as a source of viral marketing for the show, facetiously suggesting that Cumia be nominated as CMO of XM for his role in encouraging and leading

2574-538: A high-profile airstaff where every daypart could easily be a well-performing morning show on another station. The duo had several publicity stunts throughout their tenure at WAAF, the most infamous one being "100 Grand" where after weeks of on-air promotions implying otherwise, the winning caller to a contest giveaway won a 100 Grand Bar instead of $ 100,000. In May 1997, Hughes and Cumia started one of their most notorious promotions: "Whip 'em Out Wednesday", where women engaged in "flashing" to any oncoming drivers that had

2717-522: A hit with the audience, who asked for the song to be played each night. As a result, Hughes invited the Cumias to perform the song live in the studio in September 1994. Recalled Hughes, "Ant and I instantly had each other the rest of the show. I was like, 'Holy shit, dude. That went pretty well. Why don't you come in next week?' Slowly but surely, he started coming in every week". Using the little funds available at

2860-438: A license fee to carry the program and allowed XM's advertisements to air on its stations. From 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., the show aired on WFNY , formerly WXRK, that was compliant with FCC regulations but uncensored for XM listeners. From 9:00 a.m. Hughes and Cumia continued the show from XM. As XM and CBS could not agree to have the show broadcast from a single studio, the hosts had to walk two blocks during breaks in

3003-419: A meeting, but he understood they could attract subscribers. Before their start on XM, Hughes, Cumia and Norton completed a media tour, visiting several radio markets to promote their return to the air. Initially, the show was offered to XM subscribers on High Voltage , a premium channel at an additional $ 1.99 a month. From April 2, 2005, the channel became a part of the standard XM subscription. In August 2005,

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3146-471: A personal insult. In October 2016, during Hughes's first day on his new afternoon show, he and Cumia spoke for the first time in over two years in a phone call that aired live during their respective shows. Several on-air calls followed. In January 2018, Cumia offered $ 5,000 to anyone who could shut down a Reddit message board dedicated to the show. He claimed that members of the forum had constantly harassed him, his friends and family, and former guests on

3289-417: A phone number to someone named "Mike" was inserted as an inside joke; the phone number given was the inside studio line to WBCN, forcing WBCN to change their hotline. Mistress Carrie, who has never publicly disclosed her surname , applied to be a producer for Opie and Anthony right before their dismissal in 1998, but was still hired full-time to the evening shift; her involvement at the station dated back to

3432-460: A photograph of what he claimed to be Anthony Weiner 's nude genitalia. One of the Paltalk cameras in the room caught his cell phone's display, and the hosts subsequently leaked the photo by publishing it on Twitter. Breitbart stated that the photo was published without his permission, and later told KFI radio, "These people have admitted that they did this surreptitiously and illicitly and they lied in

3575-538: A previous simulcast of WKLB (96.9 FM) as a placeholder until ARS could determine a new format for WNFT. WAAF took credit for being the first radio station to play Godsmack in 1999, giving the band extensive airplay before landing a music deal. In fact, WAAF had booked the band as a warm-up act for a Days of the New concert in December 1997, where they reportedly "stole the show" in a Globe concert review. On June 13, 1999,

3718-402: A role, as management were trying to get government officials on their side and needed to show some responsibility. Later in 2007, XM used revenue generated from the show to renovate the studio, which Hughes and Cumia helped to design. The new facility was split into two areas, one being a large roundtable with a typical console and the other had sofas and chairs for a lounge atmosphere. The desk

3861-456: A second radio album and enter a national syndication deal. The pair also had an offer to work at a station in Atlanta , Georgia which included a visit to the station, but they declined the offer. After their firing from WAAF, Hughes recalled that he and Cumia became "a wanted commodity" as they received offers from one station in Atlanta, Georgia , and WXRK and WNEW in New York City. As WXRK

4004-555: A sexual discussion with a seventeen-year-old female, and a song parody played on January 8, 2001, titled "I'm Horny for Little Girls". Although a transcript or recording of the segments cited were not submitted to the FCC for review, the agency still issued the fine. On July 13, 2002, Hughes, Cumia and Norton hosted the T&;A with O&A beach party in Angola, New York attended by an estimated 5,000 people. The event featured stripping contests,

4147-569: A stipulation that would have fined Cumia and himself $ 100,000 if they talked about other Infinity radio personalities. When the pair renewed their contracts with Infinity in 2001, they added clause that allowed them to talk about Stern. In 2006, Stern admitted to the gag order: "When I'm in business with a company and they hire Howard Stern imitators to go on in the afternoon... I don't want anyone knocking me ... I turned to Mel Karmazin ... 'Your two boys that you hired, who sound identical to me ... they're gonna go insane. Watch.'" Hughes and Cumia claim

4290-541: A subscription-based satellite radio service exempt from the broadcasting regulations imposed by the FCC. The show began on October 4 from 6:00 a.m. on weekdays from a studio in the Steinway Building in New York City. The pair had wished to return to mornings at WNEW, but they were prevented from doing so as management did not want them competing with Stern. They later claimed that XM CEO Hugh Panero had signed them despite openly admitting his dislike for them in

4433-472: A third partner or anything, I just fire some lines in here and there". On November 30, 2000, fifteen people, including Norton, Del Gado, and comedian Lewis Black , were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct during an on-air segment on board the Voyeur Bus, a glass-enclosed bus that transported topless women around New York City. In July 2000, Howard Stern , the morning host at Infinity's WXRK , got

WBZU - Misplaced Pages Continue

4576-532: A three-year contract with Infinity Broadcasting, and Opie and Anthony began in afternoons from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. later that month with Rick Del Gado assigned as their new producer. The show grew in popularity over the next two years to become a top-10 rated show. In June 1999, the hosts received a Radio and Records Achievement Award for Rock Air Personality of the Year. When WNEW switched radio formats from classic rock to talk in September 1999,

4719-543: A top rated show in the 18–34 male demographic. In January 2000, WNEW began to air a four-hour best of program, The Worst of Opie and Anthony , on Saturday mornings. Also that month, the show won an award for Best Evening Show at the annual Achievement in Radio Awards held in the New York City area. In November 2000, the show won a Radio Music Award for Air Personality of the Year Award in the alternative rock category. It

4862-560: A vacation, SiriusXM fired Cumia for posting "racially-charged and hate-filled remarks" on Twitter. It followed an incident with a black woman on the street, whereby Cumia was allegedly punched by her after he attempted to take a picture in Times Square . He referred to her as, among other things, a "savage, violent animal". Cumia refused to apologize for his tweets, and gave his blessing for Hughes and Norton to continue broadcasting as their contracts with Sirius remained intact. Cumia deleted

5005-432: A volleyball tournament among nightclub dancers, which developed into "a rowdy event combining full nudity and lewd acts with foreign objects". The event was investigated by the police, who arrested drunk drivers and attendees for disorderly conduct. On August 22, 2002, the show was suspended following its third annual Sex for Sam contest held on August 15 that encouraged listeners to have sex in risky places for prizes while

5148-635: A witness reported from the location. Its name derived from the Boston Beer Company , producer of Samuel Adams beer that sponsored the contest and prize. In the segment, comedian Paul Mecurio , on a cellphone, described Brian Florence and Loretta Harper, a Virginia couple visiting Manhattan, having simulated sex in a vestibule at St. Patrick's Cathedral , several feet away from a Mass service. The couple were arrested for public lewdness, and Mecurio for acting in concert. The incident received widespread media attention, causing WNEW to issue an apology

5291-602: Is a non-commercial radio station licensed to serve Westborough, Massachusetts , United States, carrying a contemporary Christian format known as "K-Love". Owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF), WKVB does not broadcast any local programming but functions as the network affiliate for K-Love in Greater Boston and Worcester . With its transmitter located in Hudson , 20 miles west of Boston, its signal

5434-433: Is perhaps best known as WAAF , which carried a commercial rock music format for nearly 50 years in various forms of the genre, with an active rock orientation between 1989 and 2020. The station also featured personalities including Bob Rivers , Liz Wilde and Greg Hill , and was the first high-profile radio home for Opie and Anthony in the mid-1990s. The station was sold by Entercom (now known as Audacy, Inc. ) to

5577-564: Is supplemented by WNKC (104.9 FM) in Gloucester , which serves the North Shore and Merrimack Valley , and WLVO (95.5 FM) from Providence, Rhode Island , which covers Southeastern Massachusetts . The station also has boosters in Boston, Lexington , and Waltham . In addition to a standard analog transmission , WKVB broadcasts in HD Radio and is available online. Historically, this station

5720-836: The Bell System divestiture , and charted at #70 on the Billboard Hot 100 . Rivers also performed "Just a Big Ego" (" Just a Gigolo " by David Lee Roth ) which debuted as Roth announced his departure from Van Halen , and was included in The Rhino Brothers Present the World's Worst Records . Rivers and Zipfel attracted attention on the day of the 1984 United States presidential election by instructing their listeners who planned to vote for Ronald Reagan to simultaneously flush their toilets at 7:00 a.m., and listeners voting for Walter Mondale to flush their toilets at 7:30 a.m.;

5863-482: The Boston market, Entercom purchased WAAF and WWTM, along with WEEI (850 AM) , WRKO , and WEGQ , from the combined entity for $ 140 million on August 14, 1998. After the sale, WAAF moved its studios from Worcester to Boston at a combined facility with the other Entercom acquisitions; the city of license remained Worcester. Prior to the merger and divestiture, WAAF was briefly simulcast on the AM dial again, this time over WNFT (1150 AM) starting in June 1997, replacing

WBZU - Misplaced Pages Continue

6006-409: The Boston market—for a festival as insulting, along with a concert performed by Tonic not sponsored by any station but co-opted by WBCN. The rivalry was justified. WBCN reported to industry trades as both an active rock and alternative hybrid at this period; WAAF shared as much as 59% of its audience with WBCN in the local ratings, while WBCN shared 32% of its audience with WAAF. The overlap between

6149-573: The CD, WBCN announcer Mark Parenteau ripped WAAF as "juvenile" and "trailer park trash bottom feeders". WZLX , co-owned with WBCN, wound up playing the album first over the air and received a cease and desist order. That May, WAAF and WFNX management both accused WBCN and program director Oedipus of directing local bands away from functions hosted by either station. In a Radio & Records op-ed, WAAF program director Dave Douglas saw WBCN's booking of Primus —a band WAAF had played more than any other station in

6292-532: The DJs from the station walked across Massachusetts, asking for change from the people as they stopped in each town and airing interviews along the way. Starting in 2003, during this event, WAAF DJs played requested songs not normally heard on the station for a donation. For the first two weeks of December 1993, Greg Hill engaged in an elaborate stunt dressed up as a "Mystery Santa ", handing out $ 50 bills to random people and even to Boston Mayor Thomas Menino , who declined

6435-704: The Educational Media Foundation on February 18, 2020. WAAF's former programming continues on a digital subchannel of WWBX , as well as on the Audacy platform. On October 5, 1960, the Federal Communications Commission awarded the Waterman Broadcasting Corporation, owner of WAAB (1440 AM) , a construction permit to build a new FM radio station licensed to Worcester on 107.3 MHz, to transmit from Asnebumskit Hill in Paxton. WAAB-FM went on

6578-451: The FCC issued a $ 21,000 fine to Infinity broadcasting for the broadcast of content from Opie and Anthony it deemed in breach of its indecency regulations, following listener complaints. The cited segments included the November 15, 2000 airing of "Teen Week", a song that detailed incestual sex between a father and daughter, a November 16, 2000 segment of "Guess What's in My Pants" which involved

6721-417: The FCC; along with this relocation, WAAF's city of license designation was reassigned from Worcester to Westborough, Massachusetts . While the station's signal strength decreased in most parts of Connecticut and western Massachusetts, the move was an attempt to concentrate the signal into Greater Boston. WAAF resumed broadcasting at the Paxton site to address alleged multipath issues, which were blamed on

6864-471: The High Voltage channel, citing its decision to steer its XM channels towards more commercial free music. However, the channel returned to the service on April 26 due to popular demand from listeners. In November 2006, the High Voltage channel was renamed The ViRus as per Hughes and Cumia's long time request to have it changed. On May 15, 2007, XM suspended Opie and Anthony for thirty days in response to

7007-449: The Media, a contest encouraging listeners to pester a live broadcast in some way to promote the radio show. Typically this involved large signs with the show's logo with Pests shouting show phrases "Opie and Anthony!" or "O&A Party Rock!". A notable incident involved WCBS-TV reporter Arthur Chi'en, when show intern Nathaniel Bryan approached him during a live report holding up a poster for

7150-521: The Pests organized the Million Pest March to protest Stern's rally celebrating his final terrestrial radio broadcast, arriving with large signs but were denied entry to the cordoned-off area by the police. A handful of Pests did make it through, but were promptly removed from the crowd upon revealing their signs and banners. When Stern moved the broadcast to the Hard Rock Cafe, some Pests performed

7293-418: The Pests. The group came into early prominence when the show aired from WNEW, where fans posted on rival chat rooms and message boards or disruptively calling into rival radio stations. At XM, however, the Pests took their efforts to another level, with some assigning themselves titles (i.e. "General") to coordinate their efforts, and adopting tactics reminiscent of flash mobs . In 2005 the show ran Assault on

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7436-742: The Robert L. Williams Broadcasting Company of Massachusetts in 1976 for $ 1.465 million; he had previously sold his other radio stations in New Bedford and Binghamton, New York , the year before. Robert L. Williams also owned WEZN radio in Bridgeport, Connecticut . (Lee) Abrams is sitting down in Atlanta coming up with research that shows new wave isn't the coming thing, it's lost its chance. Not enough airplay, not enough record company support. Steve Stockman, then-WAAF program director, November 1980 By

7579-541: The SiriusXM studios at the McGraw-Hill Building . In the first week of October 2010, Hughes and Cumia renewed their contract with SiriusXM to continue their radio show for an additional two years. They expressed disappointment with their new deal; Hughes described it as "mediocre", noting the company "got all their points, we got nothing". During an appearance on June 8, 2011, Andrew Breitbart showed Hughes and Cumia

7722-427: The air for two years, remaining largely out of the public eye apart from odd appearances. Both found the hiatus frustrating as they wished to broadcast and comment on the news and current events but had no outlet or an audience. In November 2002, the pair published an open letter to their fans on their website, vowing their return to the air. In January 2003, the show's remaining support staff were fired from WNEW, and

7865-529: The air on June 15, 1961. In its early years, WAAB-FM simulcast the full service programming of its AM sister station; in 1967, it broke away from the simulcast and launched a stereo beautiful music format. WAAB-AM-FM was sold to WAAB, Inc., in 1968 for $ 675,000. WAAB, Inc., was owned by Ahmet Ertegun and his brother Nesuhi Ertegun , as well as record executive Jerry Wexler ; all had just recently sold Atlantic Records to Warner Bros.-Seven Arts . The FM station took on new WAAF call letters on May 28, 1968;

8008-457: The album's release. Owing in part to Gorman's consultancy, WAAF hired Ruby Cheeks for morning drive that October. Cheeks was formerly a part of WMMS's morning show and had also hosted evenings and afternoons, and had left the station in a contract dispute. WAAF's musical direction was shifted to what was called " Rock 40 ", featuring harder songs by core artists while increasing the amount of new and current music played. Gorman publicly called it

8151-433: The broadcaster. Following their firing, Infinity competitor Clear Channel Communications wished to hire Hughes and Cumia to host mornings on one of their stations. However, rather than release the pair from their contract, Infinity continued to pay them until their deals expired in June 2004 to prevent them broadcasting on another network. Despite their efforts to get out of their contracts, Hughes and Cumia remained off

8294-460: The building. Boston Mayor Thomas Menino declared the segment degraded and humiliated the contestants, and that it was immoral to hold such an event on the same day the city was to do a census count of the homeless townspeople. The 2008 edition of the spree was planned, but was shelved by lawyers who argued it could only take place if a mall gave permission. Opie and Anthony continued to grow in 2000, receiving increased industry exposure and became

8437-436: The call sign WBZU from 2000 to 2005 WBTJ , a radio station (106.5 FM) licensed to serve Richmond, Virginia, United States, which held the call sign WBZU from 1996 to 1998 WPZZ , a radio station (104.7 FM) licensed to serve Crewe, Virginia, which held the call sign WBZU from 1995 to 1996 [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles about radio and/or television stations with

8580-514: The call sign had been dropped the previous year by a station in Chicago . In later years, WAAF ownership would erroneously claim a longer history than that of its own license, stretching back to experimental FM station W1XOJ in the late 1930s. W1XOJ—later given the normal call letters WGTR—was part of the first FM network, put together by the Yankee Network and its principal, John Shepard, who at

8723-459: The city" after Hughes and Cumia jokingly offered on-air to allow themselves to be stockaded at Boston City Hall Plaza and pied by Menino. While the FCC took no action, the negative reaction caused American Radio Systems (which had purchased the station, along with its AM counterpart, for $ 24.8 million on August 1, 1996) to fire the duo and suspend Mittman for one month and Douglas for a week. Mittman later claimed he had no advance knowledge of

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8866-462: The coming thing". Music heard on the station tended to lean toward a harder rock focus from artists like Led Zeppelin , Ted Nugent , Van Halen , and Pat Benatar . As far as we're concerned, it's the biggest promotion ever to hit AOR radio, certainly at least here in New England... we left the competition, WBCN and WCOZ , hemming and hawing. Steve Marx, then-WAAF general manager, over

9009-505: The company to issue a gag order on their other personalities, preventing them, including Hughes and Cumia, from talking about Stern or other Infinity hosts. Three months earlier, Stern threatened management with his resignation if they did not go through with his request, after Hughes and Cumia blew the news of a surprise rock concert that Stern was to announce the following morning. Stern called Hughes and Cumia "imitators" who were "dying to get some attention from me". In 2004, Hughes revealed

9152-495: The contest. Between 2004 and 2006, the Pests appeared at several gatherings organized by Howard Stern . In November 2004, a group held large "O&A" signs during his rally to promote XM's rival service Sirius Satellite Radio . In 2005 and 2006, the Pests coordinated an attack on Stern's appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman , holding up large signs and banners while shouting chants upon Stern's arrival. Later in 2005,

9295-516: The country were mocked and criticised during the month of October, particularly those of the morning zoo format in small radio markets. Early editions saw Opie and Anthony listeners and Pests used social media for mischief, for example posting shocking or pornographic messages on the radio station's Facebook page or by e-mail, and calling into the station in droves. On some editions, Hughes and Cumia mocked past segments from their own show. The final Jocktober segments aired in 2014. The duo released

9438-402: The day and harder rock at night. It ran as a freeform station known as "WAAF, The Rock of New England", where the air talent was given total control over what music to play. The station was sold in 1971 to Southern Massachusetts Broadcasters, owned by George Gray, in an $ 800,000 acquisition. On November 7, 1971, WAAF was in the middle of an all- Beatles weekend when its transmitting building

9581-547: The day; those stations and WILD-FM totaled $ 250 million. Entercom entered into a time brokerage agreement several hours after the announcement, and switched WILD-FM to a simulcast of WAAF, enabling full-market coverage of WAAF's programming in Downtown Boston and other parts of the metro area. After stunting with a computerized countdown sequence, the simulcast began at 5:30 p.m. the next day with AC/DC 's " For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) ". WILD-FM's call sign

9724-485: The decade would come in 1978: the station, its AM counterpart WFTQ, and WEZN were sold to a group of employees, known as Park City Communications, for $ 3.2 million. Park City sold all of its stations to Katz Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Katz Media Group, for $ 16 million in November 1981. WAAF encountered ratings success in the Worcester market to start the 1980s; despite newfound competition from WCOZ (94.5 FM) in Boston,

9867-685: The feud was started by Stern, adding that he "saw there was potential for 'The Opie & Anthony Show' to get an audience and perceived it as some kind of threat." In February 2001, Hughes and Cumia began to host XFL Gameday , the pre-game show for Vince McMahon 's startup American football league, the XFL , produced by NBC and aired in New York City. The show, taped weekly at the WWF restaurant in Times Square , featured analysis by sportscaster Bruce Beck and football coach Rusty Tillman and risque content; one such segment featured Hughes and Cumia as chefs inserting

10010-472: The first of several technical improvements to reach listeners in Boston in 1972 when it increased its effective radiated power to 16,500 watts; it had operated with less than 2,000 ever since signing on. However, it was not until 1978 when the Boston Globe heralded WAAF's entry into the Boston market and its "rock radio battle". In 1977, the station managed to outrate talk outlet WMEX . WAAF's third sale of

10153-463: The first time a fine was totalled by issuing $ 27,500 for each station that aired the offending content and not the station cited in a complaint. As a result, the Catholic League dropped its bid to rescind WNEW's license. Infinity appealed both fines issued in 2002 until Viacom , its parent company, agreed to a $ 3.5 million settlement in 2004 which cancelled all pending indecency violations against

10296-456: The following day, but it was rejected by the Catholic League that wrote to the FCC demanding Hughes and Cumia be fined and the removal of WNEW's license. The Boston Beer Company also apologized. The show aired live on the following day, but the hosts could not address the incident for legal reasons. WNEW aired a week of reruns while Infinity kept Hughes and Cumia off the air while the matter

10439-447: The fuck is your problem, man?" on the air. Chi'en made a live apology, but was fired a few hours later. The incident brought the show nationwide press. Hughes and Cumia announced the campaign's end in December 2005, after a fan disrupted a live report by then- WABC-TV reporter Anthony Johnson with an air horn and a show sign. The two claimed the campaign had gone too far, and had run its course. On April 17, 2006, DirecTV ceased airing

10582-408: The highest rated afternoon show in New York City, and was nationally syndicated from 2001 to a peak of 17 stations. In August 2002, the show was cancelled for a controversial incident during their annual Sex for Sam contest. Infinity Broadcasting kept the hosts off the air for two years, preventing them from being hired elsewhere. In October 2004, Opie and Anthony returned to the air in mornings on

10725-480: The hosts had not been on friendly terms since 1999, and spats over their former relationships and contract negotiations. Cumia said he had growing resentment towards Hughes for not doing more to save his job, after he learned that Hughes did not threaten to quit while negotiating a new contract with SiriusXM to keep him onboard. Hughes felt the pair were no longer on the same page, and told Cumia that management were in favour of his new show with Norton, which Cumia took as

10868-513: The hosts in allowing comics to be themselves, and Burr noted "a lot of sharp really smart observational humor" on the show. Rogan has cited the open discussion style of Opie and Anthony , and the live Ustream show that Cumia did from his basement, Live from the Compound , as a particular influence for his own podcast The Joe Rogan Experience . The Pests (originally known as the O&;A Army) were

11011-406: The hosts may have been fired caused some listeners to cancel their XM subscriptions, and XM responded by offering a free month of service to those who complained about the suspension. Some of the show's sponsors pulled their advertising in protest. The show returned to XM on June 15, 2007. The hosts later believed that the developing merger between XM and Sirius Satellite Radio at the time played

11154-519: The local rights to The Howard Stern Show , and the flagship station designation for the New England Patriots Radio Network . Another unseen factor took place on September 20, 1997, when WAAF owner American Radio Systems was purchased by WBCN owner Infinity Broadcasting Corporation 's parent company, Westinghouse Electric Corporation , for $ 1.6 billion. Due to both American Radio and Infinity having multiple station holdings in

11297-400: The man, who faced a possible assault charge if WABC-TV reporter Anthony Johnson suffered hearing damage. Johnson filed a lawsuit in 2007, alleging that his hearing had been permanently damaged in the incident, listing the fan, the two hosts, and XM in his claim. Acting Governor Richard J. Codey addressed the seriousness of the situation in a statement, which prompted Hughes and Cumia to end

11440-425: The mid-1970s, WAAF had settled in as an album-oriented rock outlet. The station was one of the first clients of the "Superstars" format, developed by consultants Lee Abrams and Kent Burkhart; WAAF would continue to use their services until January 1984. Promotional slogans of the period played off the call letters, including "The WAAF Air Force" and a giraffe mascot known as the "WAAF GirAAF". WAAF had completed

11583-500: The money offer. Hill's reveal took place in a news conference after several days of $ 10,000 giveaways, including several hundred dollars to a homeless shelter, saying he was aiming to capture "the curiosity of the people". Liz Wilde would leave WAAF for the evening slot on WLUP-FM (97.9) in Chicago in March 1995. It was her replacements in the afternoon time slot, however, that would garner

11726-441: The name of the location, WBCN obtained the information from a Worcester police officer, causing a large crowd of 4,000 to form outside of the 300-seat venue; 10 people were arrested. WAAF promotion director Steve Stockman blamed WBCN for announcing the venue on-air, declaring his competitor's actions "reckless and irresponsible". A few months later, Bob and Doug McKenzie ( Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas ) teamed up with WAAF for

11869-753: The newly converted sports radio outlet under the WVEI call sign. I'm into reality and sarcasm, and I call myself a humorist. Some people are shocked, but to me it's rote, I'm just being myself. Liz Wilde , WAAF afternoon host As the station continued to evolve under the "Untamed Radio" brand, Liz Wilde was hired initially for evenings in 1990, then promoted to afternoon drive in early 1992. Following Ruby Cheeks' departure from WAAF to return to Cleveland at WNCX , Greg Hill assumed sole hosting duties for what would be called The Hill-Man Morning Show . Both Wilde and Hill's on-air presentations, in addition to billboards and television commercials suggestively promoting

12012-581: The number of stations rose to 24. In October 2007, their share of the 18–34 demographic in New York City slipped, ranking second in the mornings overall with a 2.1% share. In the same month, following insufficient ratings, WYSP in Philadelphia dropped the show in favor of a rock music format. Following the introduction of the portable people meter ratings system in 2008, Opie and Anthony failed to reach top 10 in morning drive in New York City, with WXRK ranked 20th out of 24 stations overall and fell outside

12155-450: The pair split to pursue their own shows. In 2017, Hughes was fired from SiriusXM for filming an employee as he defecated. In mid-1994, Gregg "Opie" Hughes was the host of The Nighttime Attitude , a late night music radio show on WBAB on Long Island, New York . In an effort to capitalize on the extensive media coverage of the murder trial of O. J. Simpson , Hughes held a song parody contest for listeners to submit entries based on

12298-405: The prank upon his arrival and responded with a letter of complaint to the FCC, pointing out the commission's broadcast regulations prohibit the broadcast of knowingly false information if it causes public harm. The FCC took no action against WAAF or Hughes and Cumia over the prank. The station's management suggested the duo have pies thrown at them in a stunt held at the city's square, but the idea

12441-649: The prank, having taken the day off to celebrate his 20th wedding anniversary. Both Hughes and Cumia signed a deal to host afternoons at WNEW-FM in New York City several weeks after the firing. As part of the deal, Hughes and Cumia frequently appeared on Nik Carter's afternoon program through phone-in appearances on co-owned WBCN, which later simulcast their WNEW-FM program beginning in August 2001. Competitors who get locked into one-on-one format battles often wind up resembling each other consciously and subconsciously... it

12584-425: The process saying that they didn't even have a camera in the place." Weiner's spokesperson issued the following statement: "As Representative Weiner said on Monday when he took responsibility for his actions, he has sent explicit photos." On October 13, 2011, The ViRUS was relaunched as The Opie and Anthony Channel. The pair renewed their contracts in October 2012. In April 2014, Hughes, Cumia, and Norton celebrated

12727-413: The program to continue broadcasting. For a period they also had microphones to broadcast live during the walk which became known as "The Walkover". As part of their deal, CBS allowed the duo to own their old WNEW broadcasts. The show's initial ratings were promising; in May 2006, Opie and Anthony gained a 4.2% market share in the 18–34 demographic in New York City, about one-third of what Stern drew in

12870-588: The radio show. In March 2021, the show gained attention when video of a Paris Hilton appearance from 2011 went viral. The footage showed an uncomfortable Hilton unwilling to answer questions and leaving the studio, feeling she was wasting time being "berated" by the hosts. After the appearance Norton said Hilton was "a spoiled human being" and had "bit [his] tongue for the better half of the interview." Opie and Anthony combined humor with commentary on American sociopolitical and popular culture. Some categorized them as shock jocks , despite their disagreement with

13013-457: The radio station, Hughes secured a small budget for Cumia to be paid for his appearances, though to Cumia, the money was not an issue as he "just wanted to get a foot in the door" in radio. I knew Ant had talent the first day I met him. I couldn't fathom that he wasn't in radio or doing anything in the entertainment field. It just amazed me. —Hughes on his initial meeting with Cumia After Cumia made several more appearances on Hughes' show,

13156-469: The road laughing" from listening to an aircheck assembled by Hughes, and after a competing offer from a Dallas station, Hughes and Cumia were hired by WAAF in afternoon drive in March 1995, officially replacing Liz Wilde. Shortly after the debut of Opie and Anthony , Valeri left the station and was replaced by Dave Douglas; Cumia ignored directives from Douglas and dropped most of the music from their program. Despite this, Douglas cited their show as part of

13299-411: The same market and demographic prior to his departure. In Philadelphia and Boston, the show attracted shares of 7.7% and 6.7% in the same demographic, respectively, although their share of total listening audience was lower. In July 2006, Citadel Broadcasting announced it would simulcast the show on nine terrestrial radio stations nationwide, increasing the number of affiliates to 20. In September 2006,

13442-503: The same/similar call signs or branding. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=WBZU&oldid=944770721 " Category : Broadcast call sign disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages WKVB (FM) WKVB (107.3  FM )

13585-441: The show "as a cultural nightmare of sexism, racism, and homophobia", which Cumia defended as dark humor . "Sometimes we find things that are wrong funny. Sometimes we find tragedy funny, and that's the way we've always been." Talkers Magazine editor Michael Harrison said Hughes and Cumia "do lowbrow radio in a very professional manner". The show became known for the frequent appearances by stand-up comedians who would sit in on

13728-508: The show became available on-line through a subscription to Audible.com . Shortly into their tenure at XM, they held Assault on the Media promotions led by the Pests , a group of fans of the show that helped to give the show additional exposure. One such incident took place on May 19, 2005, when show intern Nathaniel disrupted a news report by then- WCBS-TV reporter Arthur Chi'en on live television, making risque gestures while holding an Opie and Anthony sign, which caused Chi'en to shout "What

13871-424: The show held an on-air mock funeral to bury the records the station no longer played. The show then changed its starting times from 3:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. December 1999 saw the show's first annual Homeless Shopping Spree, a segment that involved homeless people going on a shopping spree in a mall with money donated by listeners. The event was stopped by security, who had the twelve contestants removed from

14014-467: The show was broadcast to nine cities, and returned to Boston in August on WBCN , a long time rival of their former station WAAF. By mid-August 2002, the number of affiliates had risen to 17. Infinity took the show and the afternoon drive team of Don & Mike from WJFK-FM in Washington, D.C. , off the air for two days in May 2002 following comments from both shows about their feud. In June 2002,

14157-462: The show was suspended for two weeks after Hughes and Cumia read out a confidential memo written by the station's management about the campaign on the air. Mittman put an end to the promotion after police contacted him over public safety surrounding it, but claimed the suspension was unrelated and over an "internal matter". In addition to their radio show, Hughes and Cumia hosted the television show Real Rock TV on WABU and released Demented World ,

14300-446: The show's twentieth anniversary with a special live edition of Ron Bennington 's radio show Unmasked , at Carolines on Broadway comedy club. In August 2013, footage of a 2006 segment that involved Hughes stomping on a cake belonging to a homeless man went viral. The segment occurred during The Walkover whereby the man, known as Homeless Andrew, had fished out a stale cake from a dumpster which Hughes proceeded to stamp on. The video

14443-483: The show. Bryan and another man, later identified as Crazy Cabbie , made gestures at the camera and repeated the show's name. When Chi'en finished his introduction, he loudly asked Bryan, "What the fuck is your problem, man?", which went out live over the air. Chi'en apologized, but was fired later that day. In December 2005, a fan sounded an air horn during a remote report in New Jersey . Ocean Township police questioned

14586-692: The show. Initially Hughes and Cumia disliked having them on as it presented a "fake environment", but Hughes credited Norton's arrival in 2000 as a turning point in the show's evolution. While at WNEW the show's regular comedians included Rich Vos , Colin Quinn , Patrice O'Neal , Brian Regan , Otto & George , and Paul Mecurio . At XM this expanded to Robert Kelly , Joe Rogan , Bill Burr , Jay Mohr , Louis C.K. , Dave Attell , Joe DeRosa , Doug Stanhope , Nick Di Paolo , Marc Maron , Bob Saget , Kevin Smith , Jim Jefferies , and Bonnie McFarlane . Kelly praised

14729-430: The station after management offered them a disappointing raise in their salaries. In addition, the pair had hired Robert Eatman as their new agent and entered secret negotiations to move to New York City , the country's largest radio market, before going ahead with the prank. Hughes maintained he never intended to leave Boston, citing the city's growth as a radio market, the show's rise in the ratings, and plans to release

14872-437: The station also hosted an impromptu concert headlined by Limp Bizkit on a parking garage rooftop across the street from Fenway Park ; the start time was moved up by an hour after WBCN announced the location on-air 15 minutes before WAAF did, and the performance only lasted for 25 minutes before police ordered it to end. During the production of a WAAF compilation CD, an audio track by evening host Mistress Carrie that gave out

15015-501: The station ample amounts of attention and infamy. In early 1995, Gregg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia were a newly established duo hosting a late-night program over WBAB in Babylon, New York . WAAF program director Ron Valeri tuned into WBAB while visiting family in Long Island and called Hughes to offer them a job. General manager Bruce Mittman later recounted he "almost drove off

15158-540: The station attributed its success to extensive marketing, promotion, and contests. WAAF appeared in ratings surveys not only in Worcester and Boston but in Providence and Springfield ; WAAF listening was even measured as far away as Peterborough, New Hampshire . Remaining a "Superstars" client, WAAF relied on Abrams' playlist input and received criticism for not taking chances to play other music genres; Abrams notably told WAAF's program director in 1980 that new wave "isn't

15301-570: The station offered Cumia to take over Hughes' night shift, which the two later saw as "a scumbag move" as their bits (excerpts) were being played on the morning show without their permission. Hughes was cautious about moving as he felt unsure if the show's success would translate to a new radio market . Cumia ended his manual labor job, and threw his tools out of his car window while driving in hope of never returning to it. Hughes and Cumia launched their new weekday afternoon show, Opie and Anthony , at WAAF in March 1995. To their surprise, Valeri left

15444-416: The station soon after their arrival, and the duo came to disagreements over their show with the new program director, Dave Douglas. Cumia recalled the desire to ignore the rules and advice from management and began to play less music and talk more, which changed the dynamic of the show "within months". One of their most notable stunts during their time at WAAF was 100 Grand, a staged giveaway of $ 100,000 which

15587-462: The station switched formats from talk to music. In June, Hughes and Cumia were spotted visiting the offices of Sirius Satellite Radio for a meeting with their agent. Hughes later claimed the WNEW years as the show's "golden age". On May 31, 2004, Hughes and Cumia's contracts with Infinity Broadcasting expired, making them free agents. On August 5, the pair announced their deal with XM Satellite Radio ,

15730-522: The station then contacted the various regional water authorities and based their exit poll off of the drops in water pressure. Rivers left WAAF to take over as morning-drive host at WIYY in Baltimore ; Drew Lane replaced him and was later teamed up with Zipfel. WAAF attempted another unusual promotion where the station was to have dropped 100,000 one-dollar bills from a helicopter onto downtown Lowell on November 26, 1988, at 1:07 p.m. This event

15873-794: The station's 1981 Rolling Stones ticket giveaway It was during this time, in September 1981, that the Rolling Stones played a warmup show for a group of WAAF listeners at Sir Morgans Cove, a Worcester nightclub. WAAF connected with the band while they rehearsed at Long View Farm in North Brookfield and gave away all 300 tickets for the free show as a reward for locals respecting their privacy; demand exceeded 4,000 in what Radio & Records termed "an unprecedented radio concert promotion coup". All day, station staffers drove around Worcester in unmarked cars handing out tickets to locals who had station stickers or T-shirts. While WAAF refused to announce

16016-659: The station's change to an aggressive presentation came with WAAF's further orientation to the Boston market, having opened a sales office in Newton in 1991. In the Arbitron ratings in that period, WAAF ranked number one in Worcester, number four in Springfield, in the top five stations in Manchester and in the top ten in Boston and Providence , all in the 18-34 male demo; management viewed WAAF as speaking to an audience rather than speaking to

16159-574: The station's website. Hughes responded by telling the Boston Globe , "Eventually it's gonna come down to talent and, not to sound cocky, (Carter's) not in our league... (WBCN is) trying to create talk for their guy, a Howard Stern wannabe with no talent to back what he does." WAAF would become the subject of unwanted national and international attention in April 1998 after an April Fools' Day prank by Hughes and Cumia claimed that Boston mayor Thomas Menino

16302-547: The station, netted attention in the local press for what was deemed as "raunchy" content. General manager Bruce Mittman and program director Ron Valeri defended their content to the Boston Globe as appealing to the 18-34 male demographic, Mittman, in particular, praised Wilde for her creativity. Hill also defended his show by saying, "If something annoys you, turn the knob. Shut it off." Following Wilde's promotion to afternoons, Rebecca Pratt took over as evening host. Much of

16445-509: The sword, you die by the sword. I was picked on... because I was 5 foot 2, 91 pounds, in 10th grade, and I never minded it. I always liked the attention, good or bad. I don't care what people think about me. So negative, positive attention, who cares? Gregg Hughes , on any possible regrets with his Opie and Anthony routines Hughes and Cumia further accelerated the rivalry between WAAF and WBCN, especially after Nik Carter replaced Mark Parenteau against their show on WBCN. Carter, who

16588-685: The term. Cumia was known for his impressions of various celebrities while Hughes was the one who steered the program and operated the control board, feeding ideas. The show was often described as a "hang" or a place for "regular guys to hang out". It was at WNEW and on XM where the show was known for its cringe style of humor , which the Times Herald-Record described as material that "aimed to make you laugh while simultaneously feeling really uncomfortable", as exemplified by guests being verbally lambasted, awkward situations, self ridicule, and roast style comedy. In 2001, New York Magazine described

16731-411: The time also owned WAAB. While WAAB-FM/WAAF initially utilized the same transmission tower as this previous station, there is no connection, as the license for WGTR was deleted at the request of General Teleradio on July 24, 1953. WAAF ended its automated middle-of-the-road programming on March 16, 1970, and introduced a live progressive rock format, which emphasized folk and folk-rock during

16874-506: The top 10 in the coveted 25–54 demographic. On December 1, 2008, the show was dropped on WBCN in Boston and WKRK-FM in Cleveland. Following the broadcast on March 9, 2009, the show was dropped from WXRK and the station switched to a Top 40 format. The producer for the FM portion, Mike "Stuntbrain" Opelka , was fired the following day. In April 2009, the show relocated from the Steinway building to

17017-505: The trial. Among the thirty or so submissions that he received, one of them was "Gonna Electric Shock O. J." to the tune of " (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay " by Otis Redding , performed by Rotgut, a local band featuring Anthony Cumia , a construction worker, on vocals and his brother Joe. The latter travelled to the station while Hughes was doing his show to submit a cassette tape of the parody, and only allowed Hughes to take it. The parody became

17160-640: The tweets after being fired. On July 14, 2014, Hughes and Norton returned to the air under a new title, Opie with Jim Norton , and the channel was renamed SiriusXM Talk, before it changed once more to Opie Radio . In the following month, Cumia launched his own show, The Anthony Cumia Show , on his own subscription-based service Compound Media . In October 2016, growing differences between Hughes and Norton led to Hughes moving to afternoons with The Opie Radio Show and Norton staying in mornings to host Jim Norton & Sam Roberts with former Opie and Anthony producer Sam Roberts . On July 6, 2017, Hughes

17303-539: The two entered discussions to become a full-time radio team. Hughes had wished to evolve his show to "more than just me on the radio", and knew it could be achieved with Cumia's on-air personality. Cumia accepted, and Hughes pitched the idea to WBAB management with the intent of moving to the morning or afternoon slot, but it was declined. During this time Ron Valeri, the program director at rock station WAAF in Boston, Massachusetts , went to Long Island to visit family and heard

17446-546: The two on the air. He called Hughes and offered them a spot on WAAF. Hughes then assembled an aircheck from tapes of their first shows together, and sent them to WAAF and another station in Dallas , Texas . Both stations wished to hire the duo, which led to their departure at WBAB. WAAF general manager Bruce Mittman recalled that he "almost drove off the road laughing" from listening to them, and subsequently hired them to take over afternoons from Liz Wilde . Before they left WBAB,

17589-418: The two stations became so pronounced that a Boston Globe story in 2000 pointed out directly how much WAAF and WBCN "sounded alike", with nearly identical music playlists and equally provocative air personalities, in what industry analyst Tom Taylor called "the rock wars in Boston". The competitiveness was especially notable as WBCN had several distinct advantages over WAAF: a signal centered in Greater Boston ,

17732-534: The uncensored subscription-based XM Satellite Radio from New York City. From April 2006 to March 2009, the first half of the show was simulcast on as many as 24 terrestrial radio stations owned by CBS Radio and Citadel Broadcasting . On July 3, 2014, the show abruptly ended after SiriusXM fired Cumia for posting "racially-charged and hate-filled remarks" on social media. Cumia started his own show, The Anthony Cumia Show , and Hughes and Norton remained at SiriusXM and hosted Opie with Jim Norton until 2016, when

17875-407: The winner keys to the city ; he declined, believing the initial offer to be a prank phone call. Bob Rivers co-hosted morning drive on WAAF between 1982 and 1987 with Peter "Zip" Zipfel. Titled Bob and Zip , the program became known for parody and novelty songs produced by Rivers; the most memorable one being "Breakin' Up Is Hard on You" (" Breaking Up Is Hard to Do " by Neil Sedaka ) regarding

18018-744: The year in a top 25 market award; other nominees included WIYY in Baltimore, KBPI in Denver, WRIF in Detroit, WMMR in Philadelphia, and KISW in Seattle. WAAF became the longest-running rock radio station in the Boston market on August 12, 2009, after a complicated series of simultaneous format changes by CBS Radio, where WBCN's call sign changed to WBMX and format from rock to hot adult contemporary ; WBMX's call sign changed to WBZ-FM and format from hot AC to sports radio as "The Sports Hub"; and WBCN's rock format

18161-485: Was African-American, was targeted not only by Hughes and Cumia, but by nighttime host "Rocko" for his ethnicity; a rant on Opie and Anthony on November 17, 1997, also contained what were construed as threats of physical violence towards Carter, labeled with the pejorative "Disco Boy" by the duo. Carter responded in kind by calling WAAF "the hate station in Worcester" and "We Are All Fonies", in addition to in-kind pejoratives against Hughes, Cumia and Rocko, both on-air and on

18304-562: Was a tax-free asset swap; each half of the transaction was valued at $ 15 million. Zapis Communications was headed by Xenophon Zapis and his son Lee Zapis, who also owned WZAK in Cleveland . NewCity already owned WYAY (106.7 FM) , and agreed to keep it in the Gainesville, Georgia , market as a condition of the asset swap. When Zapis took over operations in the summer, John Sutherland took over as general manager, promotions director Ron Valeri

18447-653: Was abruptly canceled at the last minute by Lowell city officials concerned about the safety of people who would have participated, while station management had intended for it to promote Lowell's revitalization. It's important to remember that WAAF has a 20-year heritage as a New England rock station, I don't want any mixed signals from this thing... it's not that dramatic a change. John Gorman , on consulting WAAF's 1989 switch to "Rock 40", an antecedent of their future active rock format On March 10, 1989, NewCity Broadcasting traded WAAF and WFTQ to Zapis Communications in exchange for WEKS-FM (104.1) in Atlanta in what

18590-469: Was already the flagship station of the popular syndicated morning program The Howard Stern Show , they chose WNEW to make it easier for them to build an audience. They entered a deal with the station's newly hired program director Garry Wall, who wanted them for their talent and ability to attract ratings, which required a meeting with management Infinity Broadcasting , the owner of WNEW, in Washington, D.C. On June 17, 1998, Hughes and Cumia had signed

18733-420: Was at WNEW when Hughes and Cumia started to have stand-up comedians sit in on a regular basis, something that later became a defining feature of the show. They had tried it several times before, but found some comics tried to force their act on the air and not "hang out and talk". In 2000, comedian Jim Norton appeared on the show with Andrew Dice Clay , who had Norton open for him on his comedy tours. Norton had

18876-457: Was changed to WKAF on August 30, 2006. The addition of WKAF was seen by industry analyst Scott Fybush as a way for WAAF to finally achieve signal parity with WBCN; Fybush considered the combination of WAAF's new Boylston signal and WKAF's signal as "the biggest FM coverage of any single Boston facility". In 2007, the station was nominated for the Radio & Records magazine active rock station of

19019-420: Was damaged by a homemade pipe bomb, knocking it off the air temporarily and causing $ 4,000 in damage. A group demanding the end of capital punishment and "parole law" in Massachusetts claimed it had orchestrated the bombing. The station was forced to temporarily operate on a limited schedule from the transmitter site, as the blast put its studio-transmitter link out of service. Gray sold his Worcester stations to

19162-448: Was dismissed by the Mayor's office. After WAAF faced the possibility of its broadcasting license challenged for removal, the station fired Hughes and Cumia within a week after the prank, and suspended Mittman for one month and Douglas for one week. Shortly after their firing, Hughes called the prank "a stupid bit", but both later admitted that the prank was done on purpose so they could leave

19305-555: Was equipped with 12 flat screen televisions and six webcams for listeners to watch the show live on Paltalk . On April 24, 2006, Hughes and Cumia announced their deal with CBS Radio , formerly Infinity Broadcasting, to have part of their show simulcast on seven CBS terrestrial radio stations nationwide from April 26. The decision came after The David Lee Roth Show was cancelled four months after its launch as it failed to attract an audience for CBS following Stern's departure from WXRK for Sirius Satellite Radio . CBS agreed to pay XM

19448-410: Was fired from SiriusXM over an alleged incident where he filmed a colleague using the bathroom. In April 2015, Hughes and Cumia were involved in a public feud on Twitter regarding their growing strained relationship over the years, and both addressed their differences on their respective shows. Later that month Hughes, Cumia, and Norton agreed to separate interviews for Newsweek , which revealed that

19591-402: Was hyped on the air for several weeks. When it was time for the duo to give away the prize, the "winning" caller instead received a 100 Grand chocolate bar instead of the money. It was at WAAF where the show started its long running Whip 'em Out Wednesday segment that involves women flashing their breasts to drivers with a "WOW" sticker on their car. In June 1997, nine weeks into the promotion,

19734-509: Was killed in a car accident in Florida, accompanied by a Haitian prostitute. This included staged phone-in reports from two people claiming to be a policeman and news reporter, respectively. In reality, Menino was on a flight as the prank unfolded; when notified, he joked about "being back from the dead" but filed a complaint with the FCC over the hoax, saying WAAF "blatantly disregarded the personal and public turmoil they were causing my family and

19877-470: Was moved to the "new" WBZ-FM's second digital subchannel . Opie and Anthony The show began with a three-year stint in afternoons at WAAF in Boston . In 1998, after an April Fools' Day prank led to their firing, Hughes and Cumia relocated to afternoons at WNEW in New York City . They gradually reduced the amount of music and adopted a talk format , incorporating " shock jock " humor and regular appearances by stand-up comedians. The show became

20020-401: Was posted on Reddit which attracted widespread criticism, after which Hughes uploaded the video to YouTube with an explanation of the incident. He pointed out that he did it to see Cumia and Norton "cringe and get uncomfortable", and that he gave $ 100 to Homeless Andrew, "and everyone else gave him at least another $ 100. Now you know the story." On July 3, 2014, two days after the show started

20163-412: Was promoted to operations manager, Nance Grimes was promoted to acting program director (Grimes left that October, with Valeri assuming the programming role outright) and John Gorman —a Boston native best known for programming WMMS in Cleveland from 1973 to 1986—was hired as a consultant. As a sign of things to come, Aerosmith was in-studio to play their upcoming album Pump two weeks in advance of

20306-403: Was reviewed. They were fired on August 22, in addition to WNEW's general manager and program director the day before. Florence died from a heart attack in September 2003 and Harper and Mecurio pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in 2003. The incident attracted 523 e-mail complaints sent to the FCC which launched an investigation. In October 2003, Infinity received a $ 357,500 fine which marked

20449-522: Was true in the Cold War, and it's true in the rock wars in Boston. Tom Taylor, industry analyst WAAF's rivalry with WBCN continued to escalate throughout the late 1990s. In February 1997, both stations engaged in a war of words over who had an advance copy of the Aerosmith album Nine Lives first; WAAF offered to play it over the phone to anyone who would call in, while during a listening party for

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