WEZS switches from jazz to oldies, filling a market 'void'

Baby Boomers, the generation of Americans who have or will soon celebrate their 60th birthday, are bound to like the hits from the 1950s, '60s and into the early '70s. At least that's what Gary Hammond, owner of radio station WEZS is hoping. His station switched programming formats last week from smooth jazz to oldies.

WEZS, found at 1350 on the AM dial, had been playing jazz for about six years. That was just fine by Hammond, who counted himself as a fan of the music he played, especially after he had come to know many of the musicians on the play list. However, he said jazz has a "declining audience," a fact his advertising customers were noticing. That's why on March 31, "Smooth 1350" became "Good Time Oldies 1350."

"Our need is to deliver as large an audience as we can for our clients," Hammond said about the move. "Jazz delivers a passionate audience, but not necessarily a large one."

Hammond has owned and operated the radio station since 1994, and for the first several years under his watch the station played what he called "very traditional easy listening," characterized by large orchestras and soft vocals. Besides Hammond, there are two other full-time people at the station: Allan Harrison, who does his long-running morning news show (Lakes Region Newsday) , and an advertising salesperson.

The many talk and opinion shows the station airs will continue in their usual time slots.

WEZS had been considering a format change for some time, Hammond said, and the switch to oldies was made a no-brainer by the recent format change by WLKZ, now known as Frank FM, found at 99 and 104.9 on the FM dial. That station is owned by Nassau Broadcasting, a New Jersey-based company which owns more than 50 stations, both AM and FM, in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Maine, Vermont and New Jersey and has a regional office in Gilford.

The Gilford-based station, which kept the oldies flame going, recently changed to its "Frank" format, which is a national programming trend that features classic hits which are of a more recent vintage than "oldies".

"That left a void in the market," said Hammond. "The sudden lack of an oldies station helped guide us in that direction... We invite fans of oldies music to give us a try."