October 30, 2006
Great New Call Letters!

WRTN becomes WVIP!

(Westchester, NY) ---

Whitney Radio is pleased to welcome home the magnificent call letters WVIP.

All of us at Whitney Radio are so pleased and grateful that these legendary call letters have come home.

This vivid and distinctive call sign first saw the light of day almost 50 years ago in 1957 when Martin Stone (the pioneering television producer of Howdy Doody and Author Meets Critic) and Ambassador John Hay “Jock” Whitney, first bestowed them on a pristine jewel of a suburban station in the rolling hills of northern Westchester.

These majestic and unforgettable call letters were once described by the late John Van Buren Sullivan (who ran the mythic WNEW of sainted memory) as “the best damn, certainly the most meaningful, letters ever attached to a radio station!” Jack Sullivan’s extravagant enthusiasm notwithstanding, they are certainly memorable.

The WVIP call letters were once associated with our own beloved WVOX back in the 1960’s when they were both part of the dearly departed Herald Tribune Radio Network.

With WVOX and WVIP, we believe Whitney Radio now has the two most distinctive call letters in Radio.

Originally the VIP call letters were designed to complement and reflect the affluent, upscale audience in the tony, leafy suburbs. And today, I believe, they apply very appropriately and accurately to the emerging and vibrant “New Americans” all over the metropolitan area who are now served by WRTN (soon to be WVIP at 12:01AM this coming Wednesday, November 1st.)

These emerging “New Americans,” in all their magnificent and rich cultural diversity, represent a lucrative, attractive and growing opportunity for local, regional and national marketers.

They are the new VIPs! WVIP will be a platform, a forum, a voice for them.

While most other area regional stations resemble “jukeboxes,” we’re proud of our unique Theme: “Where Many Different Voices Are Heard In The Land!” And “There’s Always Something Happening on a Whitney Radio Station!”

Although the stations have different programming, WVIP mimics the successful format of WVOX, which the Wall Street Journal called “The Quintessential Community Radio Station in America.”

As longtime listeners of WRTN are aware, the new WVIP features a rich admixture of contemporary programming including Whitney Radio’s nationally-known editorials and commentaries … with special programs for target audiences in many disparate and growing communities: Italian … Irish … Mexican … Jamaican … West Indian … Caribbean … African American … Sports … Talk (Bill Mazer) … Educational … Medical … Religious … and Suburban Teens. We even have a weekly Gay and Lesbian hour and three Muslim discussion programs. The station is also the only one in the New York metropolitan area which suspends all regular programming to carry Jewish Services during all the High Holy Days. Both stations are deeply involved in New York State politics and carry several Albany-based programs. Former New York Governor Mario Cuomo is a frequent contributor to WVOX and WVIP.

Please know also that it is a source of great satisfaction to me personally to be associated once more with these distinguished call letters … and my mind drifts back to those halcyon days when I started my career in Radio in 1957 by touting the charms and singing the praises of WVIP when it first cast its unique voice out into the hills of the northern suburbs.

And now we’re pleased that these majestic call letters are attached to an even more powerful station with more extensive coverage and a more potent, far-reaching FM signal at 93.5.

I want to acknowledge the assistance of my son David O’Shaughnessy, John Harper, Dennis Jackson, Nancy Curry O’Shaughnessy, Don Stevens, Cindy Hall Gallagher, The Great Erwin Krasnow and Jerry Jacobs in Washington and Bob Rodriguez and Reverend Milton Donato for their counsel and encouragement in arranging for this sweet and meaningful homecoming which means so much to me and mine.

A Statement by:

William O’Shaughnessy
President & Editorial Director
Whitney Radio
WVOX and WVIP

Contact:
Cindy Gallagher
914-235-3279
cindy@wvox.com