WERS
Adult album alternative radio station at Emerson College
title: "WERS" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["emerson-college", "college-radio-stations-in-massachusetts", "radio-stations-established-in-1949", "radio-stations-in-boston", "1949-establishments-in-massachusetts", "adult-album-alternative-radio-stations-in-the-united-states"] description: "Adult album alternative radio station at Emerson College" topic_path: "society/education" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WERS" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Adult album alternative radio station at Emerson College ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox radio station"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | WERS |
| logo | WERS889.png |
| city | Boston, Massachusetts |
| country | US |
| area | Greater Boston |
| branding | 88.9 WERS |
| frequency | |
| translators | See |
| airdate | November 14, 1949 |
| format | Eclectic; adult album alternative |
| subchannels | HD2: WERS Plus (hip hop/R&B) |
| erp | 4,000 watts |
| haat | 186 m |
| class | B1 |
| facility_id | 19482 |
| licensing_authority | FCC |
| coordinates | |
| callsign_meaning | Emerson Radio Station |
| former_frequencies | 88.1 MHz (1949–1950) |
| owner | Emerson College |
| webcast | |
| HD2: | |
| website | |
| HD2: | |
| :: |
| name = WERS
| logo = WERS889.png
| city = Boston, Massachusetts
| country = US
| area = Greater Boston
| branding = 88.9 WERS
| frequency =
| translators = See
| repeaters =
| airdate = November 14, 1949
| format = Eclectic; adult album alternative
| subchannels = HD2: WERS Plus (hip hop/R&B)
| language =
| power =
| erp = 4,000 watts
| haat = 186 m
| class = B1
| facility_id = 19482
| licensing_authority = FCC
| coordinates =
| callsign_meaning = Emerson Radio Station
| former_callsigns =
| former_frequencies = 88.1 MHz (1949–1950)
| affiliations =
| owner = Emerson College
| licensee =
| sister_stations =
| webcast =
HD2:
| website =
HD2:
WERS (88.9 FM) is one of Emerson College's two radio stations (the other being campus station WECB), located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Programming features over 20 different styles of music and news, including live performances and interviews. WERS stands as the oldest non-commercial radio station in New England, and has been in operation since November 1949. Among the founders of the station was WEEI program director Arthur F. Edes, who first taught broadcasting courses at Emerson in 1932 and helped to plan a campus radio station. The chief architect of WERS in its early years was Professor Charles William Dudley.
Translators
| callsign = WERS
| call1 = W268AM | freq1 = 101.5 | city1 = Gloucester, Massachusetts | fid1 = 138772 | class1 = D | watts1 = 38 | haat1 = 71.1 | coord1 =
| call2 = W243BG | freq2 = 96.5 | city2 = New Bedford, Massachusetts | fid2 = 142088 | class2 = D | watts2 = 55 | haat2 = 53.1 | coord2 =
In June 2007, WERS inaugurated a translator station on 96.5 MHz in New Bedford, Massachusetts, relaying WERS's programming to New Bedford and nearby communities. Another translator, on 101.5 MHz in Gloucester, Massachusetts, on Cape Ann, went on the air in July 2008.
Sports
In the late 1990s and mid-2000s, WERS featured a successful sports-themed program, Sports Sunday, which aired Sundays from noon to 2 pm. The program won three consecutive Associated Press annual awards for student sports programming (2002, 2003, and 2004). Guests of the show included former basketball great Bill Walton, Boston Globe columnist Kevin Paul DuPont, Hockey East commissioner Joe Bertagna, former Northeastern University men’s hockey head coach Bruce Crowder, InsideHockey.com columnist James Murphy, and NHL.com columnist Bob Snow.
Former show hosts include Lon Nichols (current anchor for KLKN in Lincoln, Nebraska), Lowell Galindo (current ESPNU anchor), Tom Gauthier (current radio broadcaster and director of media relations for the Bowling Green Hot Rods), Justin Termine (current anchor and producer for NBA Radio on Sirius), Mike Gastonguay (interned as an associate producer for KXTA’s Loose Cannons), Matt Porter (Palm Beach Post Miami Hurricanes beat reporter), Steve Crowe (Boston Globe part-timer) and Ryan Heisler (noted triathlete).
References
References
- "The Eastern Massachusetts Radio Timeline: the 1940s". The Archives @ BostonRadio.org.
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