WSNO (AM)

WSNO (1450 kHz; "The Penguin") is an AM radio station licensed to serve Barre, Vermont. Established in 1959, the station is owned by Jeffrey Shapiro's Great Eastern Radio. The station has been silent since September 2023; it most recently broadcast an adult hits format, simulcast from Burlington-market WSNO-FM (97.9 FM) in Au Sable, New York,[2] and also heard on translator W289CH (105.7 FM).

WSNO
Currently silent
Broadcast areaWashington County, Vermont
Frequency1450 kHz
BrandingThe Penguin 97.9 105.7
Programming
FormatAdult hits
Ownership
OwnerGreat Eastern Radio, LLC
WRFK, WWFY, WWFK, WSNO-FM
History
First air date
October 13, 1959 (1959-10-13)[1]
Call sign meaning
"Snow"
Technical information
Facility ID34813
ClassC
Power1,000 watts unlimited
Transmitter coordinates
44°11′40″N 72°30′52″W
Links
WebcastListen live
Websitethepenguinvermont.com

The station has been assigned the WSNO call letters by the Federal Communications Commission.[3]

History
WSNO's logo as a talk station, used until August 29, 2016

WSNO signed on October 13, 1959.[1] The original owners, JKL Broadcasting Company, sold the station to Robert Kimel and Bessie Grad, owners of WWSR in St. Albans, in 1960. By 1961, the station had affiliated with the CBS Radio Network.[4] By 1970, WSNO had a middle of the road format, with twelve hours weekly of country music.[5] In 1980, the station shifted to a full-time country music format.[6][7] The station had added an affiliation with Mutual by 1993, while remaining a CBS affiliate.[8] In 1996, the station switched to a news/talk format.[9][10]

Kimel sold WSNO and sister station WORK (107.1 FM, now WRFK) to Bull Moose Broadcasting in 1997;[11] two years later, the stations were purchased by Vox Radio Group.[12] Nassau Broadcasting Partners acquired most of Vox's northern New England radio stations in 2004.[13]

WSNO, along with 29 other Nassau stations in northern New England, was purchased at bankruptcy auction by Carlisle Capital Corporation, a company controlled by Bill Binnie (owner of WBIN-TV in Derry), on May 22, 2012. The station, and 12 of the other stations, were then acquired by Vertical Capital Partners, controlled by Jeff Shapiro.[14][15] The deal was completed on November 30, 2012.[16] The Vertical Capital Partners stations were transferred to Shapiro's existing Great Eastern Radio group on January 1, 2013.[17][18]

WSNO's logo as "105.7 The Beat", used from September 2, 2016, to January 1, 2022

In the later years of its talk format, WSNO's programming included Imus in the Morning, The Glenn Beck Radio Program, The Rush Limbaugh Show, and The Howie Carr Show.[19] WSNO also featured local news and weather, high school sports, NFL Football, Boston Bruins and NCAA Basketball. WSNO ended its talk format after 20 years on August 29, 2016, and began stunting. The station introduced a top 40 format at midnight on September 2, 2016, and concurrently began simulcasting on translator W289CH (105.7 FM); the station was branded as "105.7 The Beat". The first song on The Beat was "Can't Stop the Feeling!" by Justin Timberlake. Despite the format change, WSNO continued its high school sports coverage.[19][20][21][22]

On January 1, 2022, WSNO began simulcasting newly-acquired sister station WXMS (which concurrently became WSNO-FM) from Au Sable, New York (near Burlington and Plattsburgh), with an adult hits format branded as "The Penguin". All three of the initial members of the new format's airstaff previously worked at Burlington top 40 station WXXX.[23]

WSNO went silent in September 2023 after losing its transmitter site; the "Penguin" programming was moved to the second HD Radio channel of WWFY (100.9 FM) to continue to feed the 105.7 translator.[24]

References
  1. Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1999 (PDF). 1999. p. D-455. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  2. "Summer 2016 Station Information Profile". Arbitron.
  3. "Call Sign History". FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database.
  4. 1961–62 Broadcasting Yearbook (PDF). 1961. p. B-174. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  5. 1971 Broadcasting Yearbook (PDF). 1971. p. B-212. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  6. Broadcasting Yearbook 1980 (PDF). 1980. p. C-234. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  7. Broadcasting/Cable Yearbook 1981 (PDF). 1981. p. C-240. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  8. Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1994 (PDF). 1994. p. B-380. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  9. Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1996 (PDF). 1996. p. B-431. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  10. Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1997 (PDF). 1997. p. B-460. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  11. Fybush, Scott (January 26, 1997). "Back From the Dead..." North East RadioWatch. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  12. Fybush, Scott (April 2, 1999). "The Eagle Has Crash-Landed". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  13. "Nassau Will Buy 10 Vox Stations in New England". Radio World. March 16, 2004. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  14. "Carlisle Capital Corp. Wins Bidding For Rest Of Nassau Stations". All Access. May 22, 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
  15. Venta, Lance (May 22, 2012). "Nassau Broadcasting Auction Results". RadioInsight. Retrieved May 24, 2012. (updated May 23, 2012)
  16. Kitch, Michael (December 1, 2012). "Binnie closes on purchase of WLNH". Laconia Daily Sun. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  17. "APPLICATION FOR CONSENT TO ASSIGN BROADCAST STATION CONSTRUCTION PERMIT OR LICENSE OR TO TRANSFER CONTROL OF ENTITY HOLDING BROADCAST STATION CONSTRUCTION PERMIT OR LICENSE". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. December 11, 2012. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
  18. "Consummation Notice". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. January 4, 2013. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
  19. Venta, Lance (August 31, 2016). "Beat Dropping Into Central Vermont". RadioInsight. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  20. Delcore, David (August 31, 2016). "All change at 'Central Vtermont's Talk Station'". Barre Montpelier Times Argus. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  21. Beat Dropping Into Central Vermont
  22. WSNO Becomes 105.7 The Beat
  23. Venta, Lance (January 1, 2022). "Penguins Founds In Vermont". RadioInsight. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  24. FCC Report 9/24: Audacy Proposes to Revive Silent Las Vegas AMs Radioinsight - September 24, 2023
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