Woonsocket Radio WOON 1240

FAQ

1. WHEN DID O-N RADIO BEGIN?

O-N radio went on the air November 11, 1946 as Woonsocket's first local radio service under the call letters WWON. It was built by a man named Garo Ray. He and his associates formed Associated Enterprises Inc. which was the original licensee. After world war two, the Federal Communications Commission authorized hundreds of relatively low-powered (250 watts) radio stations to allow smaller communities to have their own local stations. Mr. Ray saw this as an opportunity. He constructed several stations, ran them for a short time, and then sold them at a profit. O-N radio was sold to the local daily newspaper, The Woonsocket Call. In 1959, all the "local channel" stations were granted a power increase to 1,000 watts daytime, and in 1985 were allowed to remain at 1,000 watts 24 hours a day.

2. WHERE ARE THE STUDIOS AND TRANSMITTERS?

The present studios opened in September of 2008 at 984 Park Ave in Woonsocket. They replaced smaller facilities built in 1970 at the original transmitter site in a residential district at 98 Getchell Avenue. Before that, the original studios were on the top floor of a commercial block on Woonsocket's Main Street. Present facilities include the Master Control room where most live programming originates. Production / TV control where TV and radio programs are recorded. The two studios are used for live and recorded musical performances and group discussions.

In 1992 the transmitter and tower were moved from Getchell Avenue to the corner of Welles and Washington Streets on a hill overlooking Woonsocket's downtown. And finally, in 2001, the transmitter and tower were evicted by the City of Woonsocket which was under court order to build new water supply holding tanks on the tower site. The tower was taken down and the transmitter moved to Diamond Hill Road in Woonsocket where it operates today, diplexed on the WNRI tower. The transmitter operates at 1240 kHz with a power of 1,000 watts.

3. IN WHAT PLACES CAN O-N 1240 RADIO BE HEARD?

The station's signal can be received in most areas of Rhode Island, Northeastern Connecticut (about 15 miles deep) and Southern and Central Massachusetts with the exception of Worcester and some areas of Cape Cod where interference from a local station in those communities makes it impossible to hear us. However with the addition of O-N WorldWide Internet TV and O-N 2 Internet radio, many of our programs can be heard worldwide via the Internet. Our editorial area, that is the area we cover for local news, events, etc., is made up of all of Greater Woonsocket including the Northern Rhode Island communities of Woonsocket, North Smithfield, Cumberland, Lincoln, Burrillville, and the closest portions of Gloucester and Smithfield, plus the Massachusetts communities of Bellingham, Blackstone, Millville, Uxbridge, Franklin, and the closest portions of Wrentham.

O-N 1240 AM Radio also has listeners outside its primary coverage area in places such as Providence and Cranston, Rhode Island, and the Attleboros and Norton, Massachusetts and we've received verified reception reports from as far away as Toronto, Canada, Maryland, USA, and Eastern Germany in Europe under abnormal reception conditions.

4. WHAT ARE THE BROADCAST HOURS?

O-N 1240 Radio broadcasts at full power 24 hours each day. We will occasionally go off the air briefly for unscheduled repairs or scheduled maintenance, but this is usually during night time hours.

5. WHAT KIND OF PROGRAMS DOES O-N RADIO TRANSMIT?

Unlike some stations which program the same type, or "format" of programs, O-N 1240 Radio is very proud of the range of diversity of our program line up. From the venerable COFFEE AN' program with it's coffee shop-style gossip to the MORNING FUN SHOW with the SCHOOL NEWS AND LUNCH MENU broadcasts. The aim of our programing staff to truly have something for everyone in the Blackstone Valley is realized as it is nowhere else on the radio dial.

6. WHICH ARE YOUR MOST POPULAR PROGRAMS?

More people listen to radio in the mornings than in the afternoons or evenings when they have more time to watch television. Because of this, the MORNING FUN SHOW, COFFEE AN' and O-N MORNING NEWS all enjoy large audiences. Our local newscasts are perhaps our most listened to feature programs. A morning audience is constantly changing. It seems that most people listen for 20 to 30 minutes and then switch off. They are then replaced by more people who are waking up and tuning in. The absolute peak listening time of each weekday is about 7:20 A.M. That's the time when several group's habitual listening times overlap.

7. HOW ARE THE RADIO PROGRAMS PAID FOR?

For most of O-N 1240's programs, the station overhead costs and labor expenses are paid for from the sale of advertising to local merchants and professionals. A few programs are produced by the announcers themselves and broadcast time is purchased by them from the station at the wholesale rate. These announcers then resell the time at retail rates to their advertisers. That's called "Contract" or "Brokered" time. Local stations like O-N 1240 get only a small slice of the radio advertising pie because of their local influence. Large national concerns are more likely to advertise on regional signals that cover several millions of persons at once.

8. DOES O-N 1240 RADIO ADVERTISE ITSELF?

Yes, in addition to the "cross promotion" each of our programs does for the other programs on the schedule, we take out display ads regularly in The Call, Woonsocket's daily newspaper, and weekly ads are placed in the Valley Breeze weekly newspaper of nearby Cumberland and Lincoln. We also "sponsor" the weekly broadcast of "The Lawrence Welk Show" on our local public TV station WSBE-36. From time to time, as budget permits, we will place ads in program booklets for non-profit events in the area. And, of course, our Internet site on the World Wide Web is a great advertising tool as well!

9. WHY DO YOU BROADCAST DIFFERENT KINDS OF PROGRAMS AT DIFFERENT TIMES OF DAY?

As already mentioned, people do not have a lot of time to sit down and listen at breakfast time, which is why we have a fast-moving program full of information. By 8 a.m. most people who are going out to work or school have set out so we 'change gear' and go into a mix of casual chat, music, and "soft news". In the evenings most of the people who listen to radio tune in quite deliberately for a particular program, so this is when we put on many of our more specialized offerings like Old Time Radio, and sports games. The pattern of listening on the weekends changes significantly and we schedule more sports, and feature music presentations.

10. HOW DO YOU MEASURE AUDIENCES?

We are asked this question often. Most folks think we get ratings figures from the major audience measuring surveys. This is not the case. The audience measuring services only serve the combined metropolitan areas. Local stations like O-N 1240 Radio cannot get an accurate measurement from these firms because their sample area greatly exceeds our service area. Therefore the ratio of listeners in our local area who choose us as opposed to the larger regional outlets cannot be known in standard ratings. In lieu of this, O-N 1240 Radio conducts continuous market and audience analysis (not just during sweeps weeks) to learn when and who listens to us. Results of our own telephone tracking, listener and advertiser responses, and contest participation are culled and developed into a useful information base.

11. HOW MANY STAFF DOES O-N RADIO HAVE?

Presently staffing rests at 27, however more staff are added seasonally and reaches a peak of 35 during those times.

12. HOW EASY IS IT TO GET A JOB WITH O-N RADIO?

Not very! Most people are of the impression that working in a radio station is as they see it on television. That is very far from reality! The skills required today to qualify for a staff position include an aptitude for news gathering, skill in serving the public over the telephone, and an ability to work with our many computers. That is more important now than ever before. The competition for each position is stiff, because our staff is quite stable and openings are few. Applications for employment are accepted during regular business hours, Monday-Friday (no holidays) 8am to 4pm at our offices, 985 Park Ave, Woonsocket, Rhode Island 02895 and are kept on file for a minimum of six months. Our station encourages applications from everyone, especially from all minority population members, and is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Selections are made solely on assessment of ability and aptitude to do the work.

© 2009 Woonsocket Wireless Company
Contact us: 401.762.1240