Buckley Broadcasting (or Buckley Radio) was an American broadcasting company that previously held radio stations in the states of New York, Rhode Island, California and Connecticut.

History

Buckley Broadcasting Radio was founded in 1954 as Buckley-Jaeger Broadcasting. Richard D. Buckley Sr and John Jaeger were the original founding partners. It began as an independently owned radio broadcasting company. WNEW in New York City was the station's first acquisition, but the company resold that station to

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in 1955. In 1957, the station bought its first long-term asset,

WHIM Whim may refer to: * Whim, U.S. Virgin Islands, a settlement * Whim (mining), a capstan or drum with a vertical axle used in mining * Whim (carriage), a type of carriage * ''Whim'', a reissue of ''Adventures of Wim'', a book by George Cockroft as ...

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

. In 1959, it bought WDRC in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

, and soon after launched its flagship station

WDRC-FM WDRC-FM (102.9 FM) is a radio station with a classic rock format licensed to Hartford, Connecticut. The station began broadcasting in 1959 and was the first commercial FM station in the Hartford radio market. The station is owned by John Fuller ...

. Following the death of his father in 1972, Richard D. Buckley Jr. became the president and chairman of the company, a position he held until his death in 2011. Buckley acquired WOR in

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in 1989. Buckley began divesting its stations shortly before Buckley Jr.'s death. WSEN & WSEN-FM and

WFBL WFBL (1390 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Syracuse, New York and owned by Wolf Radio, Inc. It serves Syracuse and its suburbs, with studios and offices located on Smokey Hollow Road in Baldwinsville. Since September 2017 the stati ...

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

were divested to local owners in 2008, eventually landing in the hands of Craig L. Fox. WOR was sold to

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in 2012. WDRC &

were sold in early 2014 to

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of Bloomfield. Stations

KSEQ KSEQ is a commercial radio station located in Fresno, California, broadcasting to the Fresno, California and Visalia, California, areas on 97.1 FM. KSEQ airs a rhythmic Top 40 music format branded as Q97-1 (pronounced "Q-Ninety Seven One"). It ...

in Fresno and

KWAV KWAV (96.9 MHz "K-Wave 96.9") is a commercial FM radio station in Monterey, California, broadcasting to the Salinas - Monterey - Santa Cruz region of Central California. It is owned by Stephens Media Group and it broadcasts an adult contemp ...

in Monterey were then sold soon after that year, and its stations in

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

(

KLLY KLLY (95.3 FM, "Energy 95.3") is a commercial radio station licensed to the community of Oildale, California, and serving the Bakersfield, California, area. The station is owned by Alpha Media, LLC, through licensee Alpha Media Licensee LLC. It a ...

KKBB KKBB (99.3 FM, "Groove 99.3") is a commercial radio station located in Bakersfield, California. The station is owned by Alpha Media, LLC, through licensee Alpha Media Licensee LLC. KKBB airs a rhythmic oldies music format. The station was ass ...

and KNZR) and

Merced, California Merced (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Mercy") is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California, Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 86,333, up ...

(

KUBB Kubb (pronounced in Swedish and Gutnish) is a lawn game where the objective is to knock over wooden blocks () by throwing wooden batons () at them. Kubb can be described as a combination of bowling and horseshoes. Play takes place on a smal ...

KHTN KHTN (104.7 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a Rhythmic Top 40 format. Licensed to Planada, California, United States, the station serves the Merced area. The station is owned by Stephens Media Group, through licensee SMG-Merced, LLC. Its st ...

) were sold to

Alpha Media Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἄλφα, ''álpha'', or ell, άλφα, álfa) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter aleph , which ...

in October 2014.

People

Richard D. Buckley: President, 1972-2011 Richard D. Buckley was born in Bronxville, New York. After the death of his father in 1972, Richard D. Buckley became the president of the company. He began his broadcasting career as a page in 1960 at the National Broadcasting Company. He has served in the broadcasting company for over 50 years, until his death in August 2011. During his time as chairman of the company, he refused to sell his independent and family owned business. In early 2011 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the New York State Broadcasters’ Association. Buckley was the past chairman of the Board of Radio Advertising Bureau and of the Board of the Southern California Broadcasters’ Association. Richard D. Buckley died on July 31, 2011. Joe Bilotta: President & Chief Operating Officer, 2011-2014 Joe Bilotta has served Buckley Radio for over 40 years prior to his appointment of President following the death of Richard D. Buckley.

Lynne Berke, et al. v. Buckley Broadcasting Corporation WOR Radio

On April 30, 2003, the Superior Court of New Jersey decided the case Lynne Berke, et al. v. Buckley Broadcasting Corporation WOR Radio. The plaintiffs, Lynne Berke et al. were around 300 investors in a cable television security that was advertised on WOR Radio, owned by Buckley Broadcasting. Talk show host, Harry I. “Sonny” Bloch advertised this cable television security on WOR Radio. The plaintiffs commenced action in Federal Court against Bloch, who died during the pendency of the action. However, since the advertising ceased in 1994 and the appeal was made 2001, the court dismissed the appeal as untimely under the statute of limitations.

References

{{Reflist Defunct radio broadcasting companies of the United States American companies established in 1954 Defunct companies based in Connecticut Companies based in Greenwich, Connecticut 2014 mergers and acquisitions 1954 establishments in New York City 2014 disestablishments in Connecticut