The question isn't why WBOS-FM (92.9) changed its format, but why now? The adult album alternative (a.k.a. "soft rock") station made its move this past Friday at 5 p.m., dropping its on-air announcers to go DJ-free in the style of "Mike" WMKK-FM (93.7). The station, which now calls itself Radio 92.9, expects to retain or rehire several staffers in part-time, fill-in, or off-air positions, with only full-time DJ John Laurenti entirely gone from the station at this point.
WBOS has also changed its play list to focus on alternative rock from the past two decades with automated announcements between most of the songs, by the likes of Peter Gabriel, Pearl Jam, Jane's Addiction, and Offspring. The station also dropped Holly Harris's long-running Sunday blues show.
The answer isn't in the most recent ratings. Although the Greater Media Inc. station achieved only a 1.6 share of the adult (12 and older) listening audience in the latest Arbitron ratings, that figure isn't a huge drop-off from previous periods. The last four ratings books have shown the station ranging from a 1.7 to a 1.4 share of the adult audience, and the latest numbers, from fall 2007, tied WBOS with Haverhill-based adult alternative "River" WXRV-FM (92.5) for 17th place in the Boston market. A share is a percentage of the total audience listening to the radio during any 15-minute period from 6 a.m. till midnight.
However, analysts said, the station, which had played soft rock since 1989, may be anticipating the next stage in ratings technology. Arbitron's Portable People Meters, which are being used in New York, Philadelphia, and other markets, are scheduled to be unveiled in Boston in 2009. These passive, hand-held devices are considered more accurate than the traditional diaries, which rely on people reporting listening habits. In cities where the meters have been launched, they have resulted in a boost for rock radio, according to Chicago-based media analyst David Lange of McVay Media.
But the meter data also show listeners changing stations when songs stop: "The whole role of the disc jockey is changing," Lange said. "The audience is very trigger-happy."
Buzz Knight, vice president of program development for Braintree-based Greater Media, acknowledges the role of the Portable People Meters as part of an overall refocusing of the station. "We just need to do better," said Knight, adding that the new format cuts some older classic rock (Steve Miller Band) and some current contemporary pop crossovers (Colbie Caillat) to focus on alternative rock from the '80s and '90s.
"Sometimes just the elimination of a few styles along the way allows the superserving of other styles to be noticed in a more positive way," Knight said.
As for persistent rumors that Greater Media had plans to turn the 92.9 frequency into Boston's first FM sports station? "Absolutely not," Knight said, while acknowledging that such talk has come about "as a result of not having strong ratings."
While all DJ shifts but one were eliminated, several of the air staff will remain in some capacity, Knight said. Former weekday morning DJ George Knight will continue to host the station's sole remaining announced program, "Sunday Morning Over Easy," from 8 a.m. to noon, and will handle public-affairs programming. Midday host Dana Marshall has been named program director.
Only afternoon DJ Laurenti and "Blues on Sunday" host Harris are not expected to return in some capacity, according to station management. "I love John, and if we can find a way for him to continue with us, he will," said Buzz Knight.
As of yesterday, Laurenti had not received any offers.
"This is a format that I'm very familiar with," Laurenti said. "Greater Media has been a wonderful company, and Buzz and I have a relationship that goes back to our 'ZLX days [15 years ago]. If they called me, I would come back."
"I was very upset to hear the full-time, on-air staff were let go so suddenly," said Steve Morse, the former Boston Globe critic who for the past two years had contributed "Morse on Music" features every Thursday to Laurenti's program.
"WBOS was a station with a lot of personality, and it's a great risk to eliminate that personality and become a more generic-sounding station."
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