by
Edward F. Perry, Jr. (click here to meet Ed)
WATD is one of those seemingly impossible ideas which
actually worked and has now endured for over two full
decades.
The idea for the station in Marshfield emerged as the
result of a prospecting trip Carol Ebert (now Carol
Perry) and I made in December of 1972. We discovered
an FM Channel then in use on Martha's Vineyard could be
used in a wide area of Cape Cod and the South Shore if
the FCC would agree to assign a different frequency to
the Vineyard station. Our mission on the trip was to try
and guess which areas would offer the best chance for
economic success five years later. (Five years is the
average time it takes to bring a radio station from the
"idea" to "broadcasting" stage). After touring a dozen
towns we decided the Marshfield area held the greatest
promise. In February, 1973 we filed the first round of
paperwork with the FCC.
The first obstacle was finding money. We weren't even
married yet and had nothing in the bank. Fortunately,
Bill Blackmore, a neighbor of ours in Duxbury, read about
the FM proposal and offered to become a partner. With
his support Rockland Trust agreed to lend us enough to
build the station if the FCC approved it. The next problem
was the Vineyard FM station which fought our attempts
to change their frequency. Then a station in Worcester
on 96.1 MHz opposed us on the grounds that we'd interfere
with their signals and complained that a station in Marshfield
would never find economic support and would be gone in
a year anyway. Finally, in 1977, the FCC denied all objections
and granted us a permit to build the station. We thought
our troubles were over. They weren't.
We'd originally proposed a transmitter site on Pudding
Hill in Marshfield behind the town water tank. But access
problems developed and the town wanted to buy the land
for conservation. So we took an option of some land on
Carolina Hill. But unfortunately the Conservation Commission
bought that land as part of their open space program.
Finally we went out and bought six acres next to the town
landfill. With only the dump for a close neighbor we thought
our hearing for a permit to build a tower would be a piece
of cake. But nearly 200 people showed up to question everything
from the need for a radio station in town to the prospect
of squirrels climbing the guy wires and slipping to their
deaths. One person worried about geese flying into the
tower on their way South. We thought we were dead but
the Zoning Board actually approved the tower (along with
a requirement to fence the guy points to keep kids and
wildlife off the guy wires). But we realized then that
our choice of a site beside the landfill was probably
the only thing which favored our permit. And after a victory
party where more than a few libations were lifted, we
asked the FCC for the call letters WATD..."We're at the
Dump!"
The Station broadcast its first full day of programming
on December 6, 1977 from rented studios across from Lou's
Restaurant on Route 139. Our first test was the Blizzard
of 1978. Using gasoline generators which the announcers
would refill every
two hours, we kept the station on the air for nearly a
week supplying emergency information. Those broadcasts
got the station noticed and probably doubled our audience.
Later in 1978 we began operating the first studio radio
reading service for the blind in New England. Using a
subcarrier on the WATD signal (the kind usually used to
send background music to supermarkets) volunteers came
to a special studio at the station and read newspapers
and magazines to a dozen receiver-equipped blind residents
of the area. That small service has grown to become the
Talking Information Center, a nonprofit statewide network
providing service to more than 15,000 visually handicapped
persons in Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire.
In 1986 we moved into our own new studio building on
Enterprise Drive. We invested in additional remote pickup
facilities and began operating 24 hours a day. We also
invested in two large generators to run the station during
power failures. Since then we've been through hurricanes,
blizzards, and coastal storms losing only a few minutes
of air time.
Today,
WATD is one of the most respected and honored stations
in the state. For the past ten years, the Associated Press
has given WATD the "Bay State Award" signifying the best
local news operation in the state. We are one of the few
radio stations ever to win five Edward R. Murrow Awards
for national news excellence.
WATD is a full service regional radio station, the way
some of the old line Boston stations used to be. We offer
excellent local and regional news, unmatched live coverage
of local breaking stories, live high school sports coverage
and we even have our own weatherman based in Hull and
an award winning locally produced children's show. All
of our announcers are "Boston Quality" and our music is
oriented toward an adult audience. However, WATD is also
well known for our specialty shows including acoustic
music in the evening, blues at night and a series of weekend
shows featuring everything from financial news and restaurant
revues to oldies to Irish music.
My wife, Carol, and I work at the station full-time.
It's a family operation. It's not for sale. And it's staffed
by some of the best people in the business. And, even
after 25 years, we're still having fun.
|
Click
HERE!
