Staff Writer
WEGP radio has increased its wattage and, in doing so, has expanded its listener base to include the better part of Aroostook County. Begun around 1960 broadcasting at around 5,000 watts, officials with the AM station decided to upgrade service the fall of 2006.
“In September 2006 the decision was made to go to 25,000 watts to cover the entire county. We now reach 90 percent of the county, from Medway to Madawaska,” said Patrick Patterson, operations and production manager.
An additional upgrade of 1,000 watts will allow transmission to the area from Frenchville to Madawaska.
“With that, we’ll have 100 percent coverage of Aroostook County and part of western New Brunswick,” said Patterson, who has over 15 years in on-air production.
In July 2000, Paul Decelles, of Newport, Vt., purchased the station.
“The station was off the air or ‘dark,’ at the time. McDonnell Smith, of Presque Isle, served as general manager from 2000 to 2006 and was instrumental in getting WEGP back on the air. He also relocated the offices and studios from Main St. to our current location at 28 Houlton Rd., across from McCluskey’s RV Center,” said Decelles, the station’s president.
Since taking a more active role in station operations in early 2007, Decelles has taken interest in programming.
“The talk radio format is a good one for us,” stated Decelles in a recent interview.
Decelles noted figures from the American Radio Listening Trends from the Arbitron Web site indicating the most popular radio format in the last reporting period – fall 2007 – showed listeners tuning in to talk radio at an average of nearly 18 percent.
“News/talk led all categories with 17.9 percent, followed by adult/contemporary music and urban music with 15.2 percent and 10.9 percent respectively,” said Decelles. “It would probably surprise most people to learn that news/talk radio is the most popular format on the radio.”
Recent Web site surveys by WEGP and phone calls fro their listeners indicate audience loyalty, according to Decelles.
“As we put our new broadcast schedule in place, we got a lot of feedback from our listeners in the form of calls and e-mails. They let us know that they are listening and paying attention to what we are offering,” he said.
Located at 1390 on the AM dial, WEGP has a lot to offer listeners. The station is running a promotion, giving listeners an opportunity to answer questions for a chance to win a variety of prizes.
“We have what we call ‘Fabulous Friday,’ with a listener survey available. It’s about 24 questions long and takes about 10 minutes. We still have several weeks remaining, and each week we have a different prize, provided by various sponsors, to give away,” said Bonnie Pack, sales manager for the central Aroostook area.
In addition to the chance to win prizes, the station has a number of programs suitable for just about any interest.
“During the week, we have Dave Ramsey, Dr. Laura, Rush Limbaugh, Howie Carr, Bill O’Reilly and more,” said Pack.
Weekends are less political, according to Patterson.
“We have a garden show, home improvement, car and antique shows. And if you didn’t get enough of Rush during the week, we have the best of his shows on the weekend. And we can’t forget ‘The Money Pit’ for those interested in financial matters,” said Patterson.
“We also have a computer show, a pet show – a little bit of everything,” added Pack.
For the sports-minded listener, baseball and football programs are also broadcast.
“We carry Red Sox baseball and Patriots football games,” said Patterson.