A t-shirt from 89.3 WCNJ in Hazlet, New Jersey. Couldn't find a whole lot of info about the station although it appears they carried an Oldies format at one time. Comedian
Jim Florentine's
Wikipedia entry says that he was a DJ there and that it was a college station but I couldn't find what school it was affiliated with. Anybody have more info about WCNJ?
6 comments:
I used to intern/sell radio ads and hang around the station as a teenager. It was a community radio station, no college affiliation. There is a decent history to the station starting from its inception in the late 70's as WVRM..it became WCNJ in the late 80's and served a few towns along the Raritan Bayshore in NJ. The station was oldies and eventually was broadcasting on satellite on c band through their Skylark Radio Network. Skylark was chosen after the model of Steve Liadus' car at the time. He was co-owner. A lot of interesting history with the station. Check out the NJ radio history page for more info.
http://njrm.tripod.com/88FM.htm
Hey I know it’s a few years too late but I’ve got a good amount of info about the old 89.3 cnj...
It's never too late. Please leave some WCNJ history in the comments. Thanks!
WVRM 89.3 FM Hazlet, NJ “The Bayshore’s Best Rock!”
Al Brady was the first program & operations director for the newly born WVRM FM radio station in Hazlet New Jersey in 1979. The fledgling station had recently gone on the air with a mixed country, adult contemporary format. Brady brought about an oldies/ rock'n'roll format that was an overnight success. Enlisting the aid of three locally talented broadcast enthusiasts, Gerald “Rod” Coppola, Mike "Singer" Senkeleski, and Steve "Cie" Cosgriff, the foursome produced four daily weekday anchor radio shows which occupied the air time from 6 AM till 8 PM. Brokered programming filled in the remaining broadcast schedule. Brady's programming brought in both a teen audience as well as an adult oldies/contemporary audience that certainly made the young station flourish. Brady produced some memorable radio style advertisements, that were the for- runner of NPR-type sponsorship commercials but is probably most remembered for the jingles he produced for a local butcher shop that was a big sponsor for the station, The Meat Doctor. His catchy recording of Dave Seville's My Friend The Witch Doctor with the replacement words "My Friend The Meat Doctor" highlighted Brady's musical creativity. Brady's innovative programming and catchy station tag line "The Bayshore's Best Rock" is fondly remembered by the Hazlet - Union Beach - Keyport area some 35 years after the foursome left the station in the early and mid 1980's. Most residents, who remember the start of WVRM, recall the way the community backed the station, while right under the ears of the big New York City giants. This small station became one of the most listened to stations on the Jersey Shore, and is remembered fondly to this very day.
Al Brady was then recruited to work at WJRZ - 100 FM, at the same time, some sixty miles away that covered the very popular Jersey fun spot, Seaside Heights & boardwalk down to Atlantic City, which became the #1 station of the south Jersey Shore. He would do the afternoon show on WVRM, then travel down to Manahawkin where the studio was located and do the nightly over-nights when the boardwalk area was the busiest.
Brady, Steve Cie and Mike Singer all retired and reside in Florida, while Gerard "Rod" Coppola perished in the 9-11-2001 N.Y.C. World Trade Center terrorist attack.
The above brief bio for WVRM was between 1979 and 1981. It was written by Steve Cie.
Mike Singer hosted his Saturday night oldies show for another 9 years and took care of engineering. Mike passed away a few years ago. Rod went to work at the New York TV station as an engineer, and was working the upper floors on the building with the large antenna on it at the World Trade Center, and is now memorialized and listed at "Ground Zero".
Two outstanding men dedicated to their craft. I will remember them, always.
Thanks Steve Cie for your dedication and contribution in making WVRM, not just a small station, but a "huge" community asset. So many young talent passed thru the doors there. It was for me, the gateway to a career.
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