WTIC-AM, the 50,000 watt Pulse of New England, is 100 years old today(Monday).
The station began broadcasting at 1080 on the AM dial February 10, 1925 at 7:45p.m. and hasn’t stopped since. It was originally owned by the Travelers Insurance Company.
Once a major source of news and information for all of southern New England, its influence has diminished since the 1990s – along with other legacy media outlets in radio, print, and television – even as its potential reach has expanded with streaming.
For those news consumers born in the internet age it is difficult to describe a media landscape that was dominated by local newspapers and radio stations that were in fierce competition with each other to break local news. WTIC-AM was considered the gold standard.
At its height, station management followed a practice known as “top line management” which translated to; “if you commit to being the best, the bottom line takes care of itself.” This is a concept that has been missing for decades in the world of local media for market reasons beyond the control of most media owners.
Happy birthday to a Connecticut institution.
