South Coast (Massachusetts) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The South Coast of Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

is the region of southeastern Massachusetts consisting of southern Bristol

Bristol County, Massachusetts

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 534,678 people, 205,411 households, and 140,706 families residing in the county. The population density was 962 people per square mile . There were 216,918 housing units at an average density of 390 per square mile...

and Plymouth

Plymouth County, Massachusetts

Plymouth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of 2010, the population was 494,919. Its county seats are Plymouth and Brockton...

counties bordering Buzzards Bay

Buzzards Bay

Buzzards Bay is a bay along the southern edge of Massachusetts in the United States. The name may also refer to:*Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, a village in Bourne, Massachusetts*Buzzards Bay , the name of the horse that won the 2005 Santa Anita Derby...

, and includes the cities of Fall River

Fall River, Massachusetts

Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is located about south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and west of New Bedford and south of Taunton. The city's population was 88,857 during the 2010 census, making it the tenth largest city in...

, New Bedford

New Bedford, Massachusetts

New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, located south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and about east of Fall River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 95,072, making it the sixth-largest city in Massachusetts...

, the southeastern tip of East Taunton

East Taunton, Massachusetts

East Taunton is a suburban neighborhood of Taunton, Massachusetts, United States.-Economy:East Taunton is home to Massassoit State Park which offers camping, mountain bike trails, and kayaking and fishing on the park's four main lakes, the largest of which is Lake Rico. Other lakes in the park...

and nearby towns. The term is recent, dating to the 1990s, and sometimes confused with the South Shore (a region southeast of Boston that includes Norfolk

Norfolk County, Massachusetts

-National protected areas:* Adams National Historical Park* Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area * Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site* John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site-Demographics:...

, Northern Bristol and eastern Plymouth counties).

Economy

The "South Coast" label was born as a public relations

Public relations

Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....

effort to counteract the perceived stigma of former terms like "Greater New Bedford" or "New Bedford-Fall River," which conjured images, in many Massachusetts

Massachusetts

residents' minds, of depressed mill towns with run-down buildings and high unemployment. Local boosters, including The Standard-Times newspaper, began using the term in the mid-1990s in an effort to attract business to an area with "the Cape's

Cape Cod

Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...

climate," "better infrastructure" and "relatively low land prices," according to Standard-Times publisher William Kennedy.

Transportation

The major highways through the area are Interstate 195

Interstate 195 (Rhode Island-Massachusetts)

Interstate 195 is an Interstate Highway running a combined 40.1 miles in the U.S. states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It travels from a junction with Interstate 95 in Providence, Rhode Island east to a junction with Interstate 495 and Route 25 in Wareham, Massachusetts...

(from Providence to Wareham, Massachusetts

Wareham, Massachusetts

Wareham is a town located in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 20,335, with an estimated 2008 population of 21,221....

) and U.S. Route 6

U.S. Route 6

U.S. Route 6 , also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, a name that honors an American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system, running east-northeast from Bishop, California to Provincetown, Massachusetts. Until 1964, it continued south from Bishop to...

, which is the older route connecting Providence to Cape Cod

Cape Cod

Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...

. Highway access to Boston is provided by Route 24

Route 24 (Massachusetts)

Route 24 is a freeway south of I-93 in southeastern Massachusetts, linking Fall River with the Boston metropolitan area. It begins in the south in Fall River at the border with Tiverton, Rhode Island where it connects with Rhode Island Route 24, and runs north to an interchange with Interstate...

and Route 79

Route 79 (Massachusetts)

Route 79 is a highway in southeastern Massachusetts. The route begins as a highway in Fall River before becoming a rural route.-Route description:...

, both of which end in Fall River, and Route 140

Route 140 (Massachusetts)

Route 140 is a long state highway which passes through parts of southeastern and central Massachusetts. The highway follows a southeast-northwest trajectory, running from U.S...

which connects New Bedford to Route 24 in Taunton

Taunton, Massachusetts

Taunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the seat of Bristol County and the hub of the Greater Taunton Area. The city is located south of Boston, east of Providence, north of Fall River and west of Plymouth. The City of Taunton is situated on the Taunton River...

. Limited public transportation is provided by the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority

Southeastern Regional Transit Authority

Southeastern Regional Transit Authority is a public transport authority in Bristol County, Massachusetts. A variety of bus services are offered to serve the cities of New Bedford, Massachusetts and Fall River, Massachusetts.-New Bedford Services:...

, the MBTA

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, often referred to as the MBTA or simply The T, is the public operator of most bus, subway, commuter rail and ferry systems in the greater Boston, Massachusetts, area. Officially a "body politic and corporate, and a political subdivision" of the...

, and the Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority

Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority

The Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority oversees and coordinates public transportation in the areas of Attleboro and Taunton, Massachusetts and nearby areas. It operates daily on fixed routes and schedules within 26 communities in Bristol, Norfolk, and Plymouth counties...

. There is a proposal to connect Taunton and Fall River to Boston via commuter rail, but it has not yet been approved.

Media

The term "South Coast" reportedly began with weather forecasts by Todd Gross on WHDH-TV

WHDH-TV

WHDH, digital channel 42 , is an NBC-affiliated television station in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest NBC station not owned by the network. Owned by Sunbeam Television, WHDH is a sister station to CW affiliate WLVI...

in Boston. New Bedford's local daily newspaper, The Standard-Times, picked it up in the late 1990s, and other media have followed suit, albeit not without some protest by longtime area residents who protested the manufactured name.

Other newspapers serving the area include The Herald News
The Herald News
The smaller of the two main newspapers in Massachusetts' South Coast, The Herald News is a daily newspaper based in Fall River, Massachusetts, USA...

of Fall River; "The Standard Times" with an online entertainment subsidiary "southcoast247

Southcoast247

Southcoast247, a subsidiary of the SouthCoast Media Group, is an arts & entertainment magazine and online web site based in New Bedford, Massachusetts.-Online:...

" of New Bedford; the Taunton Daily Gazette
Taunton Daily Gazette
The Taunton Daily Gazette is a daily newspaper founded in 1848. Based in Taunton, Massachusetts, its coverage area also includes Berkley, Rehoboth, Dighton, Lakeville, Norton, and Raynham....

; The Providence Journal
The Providence Journal
The Providence Journal, nicknamed the ProJo, is a daily newspaper serving the metropolitan area of Providence, Rhode Island and is the largest newspaper in Rhode Island. The newspaper, first published in 1829 and the oldest continuously-published daily newspaper in the United States, was purchased...

; and, for regional coverage, The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...

and Boston Herald
Boston Herald
The Boston Herald is a daily newspaper that serves Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and its surrounding area. It was started in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States...

. Much of the broadcast media in the area is local to metropolitan Providence

Providence, Rhode Island

Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...

and Boston.

Radio stations include ethnic WHTB

WHTB

WHTB/1400 A.M. is a Portuguese language radio station in Fall River, Massachusetts, operating with 1kW unlimited hours.-History:Originally known as WALE, the callsign moved to Providence, Rhode Island to 990kc. on July 20, 1989. On that date, SNE Broadcasting LTD. took ownership of the radio...

/1400-Fall River, news/talk/sports WBSM

WBSM

WBSM is an AM radio station broadcasting in the New Bedford/Fall River market area with a News/Talk format. It broadcasts on 1420 kilocycles and is under ownership of Cumulus Media, with studios in Fairhaven shared with fellow Cumulus station WFHN/Fun 107...

/1420-New Bedford, news/talk/sports WSAR

WSAR

WSAR is an AM radio station in Somerset, Massachusetts broadcasting on 1480 kHz. WSAR is the second oldest radio station in Massachusetts and the fifth oldest station in the United States.-Format:...

/1480-Fall River, religious ethnic WFHL/88.1-New Bedford, Tabor Academy's WWTA

WWTA

WWTA is a high school radio station licensed to Marion, Massachusetts, USA, the station serves the New Bedford-Fall River area. The station is currently owned by Tabor Academy....

/88.5-Marion, Portuguese-language WJFD-FM

WJFD-FM

WJFD-FM is a radio station licensed to serve New Bedford, Massachusetts. The station is owned by WJFD-FM, Inc. It airs a Portuguese language World Ethnic format....

/97.3-New Bedford, country WCTK

WCTK

WCTK is a country music formatted radio station serving Southern New England, with studios in Providence, Rhode Island, and transmitter in New Bedford, Massachusetts.History=...

/98.1-New Bedford & top 40/dance WFHN

WFHN

WFHN, better known as Fun 107, is a Contemporary Hit Radio radio station that serves the New Bedford-Fall River, Massachusetts market, broadcasting on the FM band at 107.1 MHz. The station is licensed in Fairhaven, Massachusetts to Cumulus Media. The studio and transmitter are both located in...

/107.1-Fairhaven.

Television stations include ABC affiliate WLNE-TV

WLNE-TV

WLNE-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for Rhode Island and the South Coast of Massachusetts. It is licensed to New Bedford, Massachusetts, but is headquartered in and operates from studios at 10 Orms Street in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. It is one of two major Rhode Island...

/49 (PSIP 6)-New Bedford & CW affiliate WLWC

WLWC

WLWC is the CW-affiliated television station licensed to New Bedford but which operates out of Providence and acts largely as a Rhode Island station despite its licensing. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 22 from a transmitter in the Ashley Heights section of East...

/22 (PSIP 28)-New Bedford.

Economy

Transportation

Media

See also