WVOX
Encyclopedia
WVOX is a radio station
in New Rochelle, New York
. It is operated as a regional community station
heard mainly in suburban Westchester County, the Bronx, Queens
, the North Shore of Long Island
, southern Connecticut
and northern New Jersey
. The station president is William O'Shaughnessy, and its current owner is Whitney Broadcasting, Inc. Together with its former counterpart, WRTN 93.5 FM
(now WVIP
), it claimed more than five million live listeners as of 2005.
WVOX reaches many more listeners, worldwide, by streaming
live, online. As of July 12, 2010, WVOX can also be heard on the HD2
subchannel of its FM sister station, WVIP.
Programming is primarily locally produced information and talk
, including programs presented by local citizens and interest groups. O'Shaughnessy hosted a daily talk show on the station for more than 50 years, featuring interviews with many major U.S. politicians, authors, and entertainers. O'Shaughnessy, who has been called "the voice of Westchester", is fond of calling WVOX the "quintessential community radio station in America", a label first applied to the station by the Wall Street Journal. Referring to the station's citizen-produced content, a New York Daily News
critic described WVOX as a "glorious hodgepodge, much of which even O'Shaughnessy can't get excited about."
In 2005, O'Shaughnessy was one of the first 25 people to be inducted into the new New York State Broadcasters Hall of Fame by the New York State Broadcasters Association. He was honored for his long record as a champion of free speech under the First Amendment
. A history of the broadcasters' association published in 2005 described O'Shaughnessy as "happily turn[ing] over the airwaves to their rightful owners, the residents of the influential community he serves."
In addition, WVOX airs religious services from local churches on weekends, with the syndicated Music of Your Life
service rounding out the overnight and weekend schedule. The station also airs hourly news updates from Fox News Radio
, with additional 1-minute updates also running at the half-hour and/or :45 marks for many shows.
s of memorable moments in the station's history were featured throughout the day.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
in New Rochelle, New York
New Rochelle, New York
New Rochelle is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state.The town was settled by refugee Huguenots in 1688 who were fleeing persecution in France...
. It is operated as a regional community station
Community radio
Community radio is a type of radio service, that offers a third model of radio broadcasting beyond commercial broadcasting and public broadcasting. Community stations can serve geographic communities and communities of interest...
heard mainly in suburban Westchester County, the Bronx, Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
, the North Shore of Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, southern Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
and northern New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. The station president is William O'Shaughnessy, and its current owner is Whitney Broadcasting, Inc. Together with its former counterpart, WRTN 93.5 FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
(now WVIP
WVIP
WVIP is a radio station broadcasting a World Ethnic format. Licensed to New Rochelle, New York, USA, it serves the New York metropolitan area. Formerly known as WRTN-93.5 and renamed WVIP, the station is currently owned by Hudson-Westchester Radio, Inc. and features programing from Jones Radio...
), it claimed more than five million live listeners as of 2005.
WVOX reaches many more listeners, worldwide, by streaming
Streaming media
Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...
live, online. As of July 12, 2010, WVOX can also be heard on the HD2
HD2
HD2 may refer to:* A Euro1080 High-definition television station in Europe* An HD Radio FM sub-channel designation* Hidden & Dangerous 2, PC game* HD 2 , a star in the Henry Draper Catalogue. It is an F5 star located at...
subchannel of its FM sister station, WVIP.
Programming is primarily locally produced information and talk
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
, including programs presented by local citizens and interest groups. O'Shaughnessy hosted a daily talk show on the station for more than 50 years, featuring interviews with many major U.S. politicians, authors, and entertainers. O'Shaughnessy, who has been called "the voice of Westchester", is fond of calling WVOX the "quintessential community radio station in America", a label first applied to the station by the Wall Street Journal. Referring to the station's citizen-produced content, a New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
critic described WVOX as a "glorious hodgepodge, much of which even O'Shaughnessy can't get excited about."
In 2005, O'Shaughnessy was one of the first 25 people to be inducted into the new New York State Broadcasters Hall of Fame by the New York State Broadcasters Association. He was honored for his long record as a champion of free speech under the First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
. A history of the broadcasters' association published in 2005 described O'Shaughnessy as "happily turn[ing] over the airwaves to their rightful owners, the residents of the influential community he serves."
Programming
WVOX airs a diverse lineup of talk, music, sports, and religious programming. Among its various offerings are:(Semi-) Daily Shows
- Good Morning, Westchester! - Hosted by Bob Marrone, the series airs weekdays from 6-8:30 AM and offers news, interviews, listener call-ins, and entertainment reports.
- MoneyTalk - Airing weekdays from 8:30-9 AM, the team of Charlie Massimi, Brad Silverman and Michael Braithwaite preside over this long-running financial discussion show, which began on WVOX in the mid-80s, later moved over to sister station WRTN (now WVIP), and moved back to WVOX in March 2011. A companion program titled MoneyTalk Extra, hosted by Massimi and WVOX staff announcer John Harper, airs weekdays from 4-4:30 PM (previously, the slot had been occupied by an encore airing of its parent series).
- Music From the Forum - Nick Sarames plays MORMORMor or MOR may refer to:In publications:* Mathematics of Operations Research, a quarterly publication on the mathematics of operations research.In mechanics:...
music, primarily from the 60s and 70s (although other decades are featured) every afternoon at varying times between 3-6 PM.
Weekly Shows
- The Z Travel and Leisure Show - Airing Monday nights at 8 PM, the husband-and-wife team of Art and Susan Zuckerman discuss noteworthy places in the New York metropolitan area, as well as interviewing noteworthy people, both locally and elsewhere.
- The State of the City - Airing Tuesdays at 9 AM, New Rochelle MayorMayorIn many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
Noam Branson and City ManagerCity managerA city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a council-manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief executive officer or chief administrative officer in some municipalities...
Chuck Strome discuss various issues concerning the city. - The Advocates - Airing Wednesdays at noon, Richard J. Garfunkel presides over this issues-oriented discussion show.
- Science and Health News This Week - Airing Wednesday evening from 8:30 to 9:00 PM, Sara Caldwell discusses the week's latest developments in science, technology and medicine. Long format interviews and music round out this live show.
- Conversations with Ernie Davis - Airing Fridays at 9 AM, the Former Mayor of nearby Mount VernonMount VernonThe name Mount Vernon is a dedication to the English Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon. It was first applied to Mount Vernon, the Virginia estate of George Washington, the first President of the United States...
hosts this discussion show. - The Metro Golf Show - Airing Saturday mornings at 8 AM, co-hosts Bill Meth and Tom Mariam preside over this half-hour program, voted "Best Local Radio Show Covering Golf" by the NY Daily News; among its noteworthy guests have been Arnold PalmerArnold PalmerArnold Daniel Palmer is an American professional golfer, who is generally regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of men's professional golf. He has won numerous events on both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour, dating back to 1955...
, Phil MickelsonPhil MickelsonPhilip Alfred Mickelson is an American professional golfer. He has won four major championships and a total of 39 events on the PGA Tour. He has reached a career high world ranking of 2nd in multiple years. He is nicknamed "Lefty" for his left-handed swing, even though he is otherwise right-handed...
, Donald TrumpDonald TrumpDonald John Trump, Sr. is an American business magnate, television personality and author. He is the chairman and president of The Trump Organization and the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts. Trump's extravagant lifestyle, outspoken manner and role on the NBC reality show The Apprentice have...
, and former NY state Governor David PatersonDavid PatersonDavid Alexander Paterson is an American politician who served as the 55th Governor of New York, from 2008 to 2010. During his tenure he was the first governor of New York of African American heritage and also the second legally blind governor of any U.S. state after Bob C. Riley, who was Acting...
. - Radio Chuck - Airing Saturday nights at 10 PM, Chuck Donegan spins the tunes on this 3-hour music program, which features a variety of songs whose titles and/or artists all tie into a different theme each week (the 10 PM show is a "best of" rerun from the year before, the 11 PM show is a new one, and 12 AM brings the commercial-free Midnight Hour, devoted to "smooth music perfect for the weekend").
- Remember Then? - Airing Sundays at 11 AM, the team of Dennis Nardone and Tonny Guido preside over this 3-hour music show devoted to oldiesOldiesOldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
, "the greatest music ever recorded" (Nardone and Guido also host Harrison Live, a Thursday afternoon talk/call-in show). - The Nick Golden Show - Airing Sunday nights at 9 PM, this sports talk/call-in show features observations on current events in the world of sports by both Golden and his callers. With his unique insight and wild sense of humor, Nick (one of the industry's true up and coming talents) has made the sports program a "can't miss."
In addition, WVOX airs religious services from local churches on weekends, with the syndicated Music of Your Life
Music of Your Life
Music of Your Life is a satellite-delivered radio network featuring the Adult Standards music format. Created by record executive and jingle writer Al Ham, and now under the direction of Marc Angell, Music of Your Life has more than 50 AM, FM and HD-2 radio station affiliates, and has been in...
service rounding out the overnight and weekend schedule. The station also airs hourly news updates from Fox News Radio
Fox News Radio
Fox News Radio is an American radio network programmed by Fox News Channel.- History :In 2003, Fox News began syndicating one minute radio updates to radio stations via syndication service Westwood One. On June 1, 2005, Fox News Radio employed 60 people and provided five minute newscasts at the top...
, with additional 1-minute updates also running at the half-hour and/or :45 marks for many shows.
Annual St. Patrick's Day Live Broadcast
Every St. Patrick's Day since 1960, WVOX has pre-empted its regular programming in favor of an all-day live remote from the holiday celebration at Dudley's Parkview, a bar/restaurant in New Rochelle. This yearly event features appearances by many of the station's on-air personalities, interviews with local residents, and an assortment of traditional Irish music.50th Anniversary Celebration
On Sep. 14, 2009, WVOX celebrated its 50th anniversary with on-air festivities running all day from 9 AM to 6 PM. Station head William O'Shaughnessy presided as both current and former on-air personalities, local politicians, and other well-known figures offered their thoughts and congratulations, both in-studio and via telephone. In addition, vintage aircheckAircheck
In the radio industry, an aircheck is generally a demonstration recording, often intended to show off the talent of an announcer or programmer to a prospective employer, but mainly intended for legal archiving purposes...
s of memorable moments in the station's history were featured throughout the day.
Notable Past Programming
- Bill MazerBill MazerBill Mazer is an Jewish American television and radio personality.Winning numerous awards and citations, including three Sportscaster of the Year awards for New York from 1964–66....
- Following his departure from WEVDWEVDThe call letters WEVD are associated with the following:* WWRV AM 1330 in New York City, which held the WEVD call sign until 1981* WSKQ-FM 97.9 in New York City, which held the WEVD-FM call sign from 1952 to 1989...
in 2001, the sportscaster known as the "A-Maz-In" Bill Mazer launched an afternoon interview program on WVOX, which aired from 3–6 PM ET (and streamed from WVOX's website), with his son Arnie serving as producer. Mazer's last show was aired August 3, 2009, ending his tenure at the station and marking his retirementRetirementRetirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours.Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions don't allow the person to...
from broadcasting. - Emergency Preparedness & Safety Tips On Air and Online - Host/Producer Lisa Tolliver (a volunteer/media partner with WestchesterWestchester County, New YorkWestchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of and has a population of 949,113 according to the 2010 Census, residing in 45 municipalities...
Emergency Volunteer Reserves-Medical Reserve CorpsMedical Reserve CorpsThe Medical Reserve Corps is a network in the U.S. of community-based units initiated and established by local organizations to meet the public health needs of their communities. It is sponsored by the Office of the Surgeon General of the United States...
) and WEVR-MRC Manager Marianne Partridge earned kudos from United States Surgeon GeneralSurgeon General of the United StatesThe Surgeon General of the United States is the operational head of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and thus the leading spokesperson on matters of public health in the federal government...
Richard CarmonaRichard CarmonaRichard Henry Carmona is an American physician, public health administrator, and politician. He was a vice admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and served as the seventeenth Surgeon General of the United States. Appointed by President George W. Bush in 2002, Carmona left office...
for regularly publicizing emergency preparedness and safety tips on Tolliver's WVOX radio shows, and for extending their outreach by publishing articles online in an "Emergency Preparedness & Safety Tips" blog and in Tolliver's BlogcriticsBlogcriticsBlogcritics is a blog network and online magazine of news and opinion. The site—a self-proclaimed "sinister cabal of superior writers"—was founded in 2002 by Eric Olsen and Phillip Winn...
Magazine articles. Tolliver and Partridge often featured interviews with emergency managementEmergency managementEmergency management is the generic name of an interdisciplinary field dealing with the strategic organizational management processes used to protect critical assets of an organization from hazard risks that can cause events like disasters or catastrophes and to ensure the continuance of the...
professionals (such as a Fire Captain Bobby Benz) and celebrities (such as Flavor FlavFlavor FlavWilliam Jonathan Drayton, Jr. , better known by his stage name Flavor Flav, is an American rapper and television personality who rose to prominence as a member of the rap group Public Enemy...
). They typically targeted their messages to coincide with current events and holidays, such as fireworks safety on Independence DayIndependence DayAn Independence Day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's assumption of independent statehood, usually after ceasing to be a colony or part of another nation or state, and more rarely after the end of a military occupation...
and hurricane safety during the June–November hurricane season, or guest-specific issues, such as earthquakeEarthquakeAn earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
safety, when interviewing West CoastWest Coast of the United StatesWest Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
resident, Flavor Flav. Tolliver and Partridge's partnership ended in 2007, when Partridge changed careers. Tolliver discontinued the series lates in 2008, after collaborating for a short time with Partridge's replacement at WEVR-MRC. - SCORE: Counselors to America's Small BusinessSCORE AssociationSCORE or the SCORE Association was previously known as the Service Corps of Retired Executives, but is now recognized as SCORE, "Counselors to America's Small Business." It is a 501 nonprofit organization that provides free business mentoring services to entrepreneurs in the United States. The...
- SCORE Chapter 306 in White Plains/Westchester County, New YorkWestchester County, New YorkWestchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of and has a population of 949,113 according to the 2010 Census, residing in 45 municipalities...
broadcast a long-running show that addressed issues associated with starting, financing, and running a small business and that sometimes featured SCORE Success Stories and case studies involving local clients. The show was produced and hosted by a rotating team of volunteer business experts, such as former SCORE-Westchester chairman Robert D'Agostino and SCORE volunteers Chuck Auerbach and Lisa Tolliver. - What's Goin' On - After his character, Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero, was killed on The SopranosThe SopranosThe Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
(in "Funhouse (The Sopranos)"), actor Vincent PastoreVincent PastoreVincent Pastore is an Italian-American actor, often cast as a mobster and best known for the role of Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero on The Sopranos.-Early life:...
launched, and briefly hosted, a talk radio show featuring celebrities and celebrity news. Days before his show's 2004 launch, Pastore "guested"Guest appearanceIn show business , a guest appearance is a participation of an outsider performer , usually called guest artist , in an event , i.e., the participation of a performer which does not belong to the regular crew In performance...
on Dennis Nardone's golden oldies show, at which time he met fellow talk show host, Lisa Tolliver. Pastore and Tolliver shared a photo opPhoto opA photo op , short for photograph opportunity , is an opportunity to take a memorable and effective photograph of a politician, a celebrity, or a notable event...
and cheek kissCheek kissingCheek kissing is a ritual or social gesture to indicate friendship, perform a greeting, to confer congratulations, to comfort someone, to show respect, or to indicate sexual or romantic interest....
, and on the eve of her next broadcast, Tolliver received an email from the station brass indicating that Pastore's new show had preempted the time slots of her back-to-back shows ("SCORE Radio", "The Lisa Tolliver Show", and "T3: Trends, Tips & Tools for Everyday Living"), which would be rescheduled. Tolliver quipped about this development on air, and her comments - quoted in Celebsafari: Vinny ("Big P") Pastore+Lisa ("Little L") Tolliver—The Story Behind the Photo read - "Beware of kisses from "made" menMade manA made man, also known as a Mafioso , made guy, man of honor, or uomo d'onore , is someone who has been officially inducted into the Sicilian or American Mafia . They may also be referred to by some as a goodfella or wiseguy...
. [...My] shows got whacked to new time slots. No sleeping with the fishes [...], though. Vinny's short run as a radio host benefitted everyone at Whitney Radio."