The Past Meets The Present When The Formidable WNEW Returns Featuring
Unparalleled 30-Year Archive Of Historic Interviews And Live Performances
By Rock Immortals Presented In A Contemporary Musical Context
Listeners To 'Staff' The Station And Its Website As Hosts And Contributors
Social Networking Component Available Through CBS Corporation's Last.fm;
Site To Host Station's Custom Group And Provide Audience Access To Its Free
On-Demand Music Service
NEW YORK, April 14 -- Today marks a milestone in rock 'n
roll history as celebrated rock station WNEW marks its triumphant return
on-air (102.7 HD 2 in New York) and online (http://www.wnew.com). The legendary
station has been reborn for the passionate rock music fan in the spirit of
WNEW-FM's commitment to exposing the best new artists.
Completely updated to reflect its historical influence on today's
contemporary rock scene, the revolutionary new WNEW.com features recordings
from the dawn of the album era in the late 60s and early 70s through today,
as well as music from the most promising emerging artists yet to be
discovered by the masses. Radiohead, Arcade Fire, Spoon, and Vampire
Weekend will be among those featured along with the likes of REM, Foo
Fighters, The White Stripes, Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd.
In addition, thousands of hours of archival interviews by former WNEW
hosts Scott Muni, Dave Herman, and Richard Neer, among others, with such
artists as John Lennon, The Who, Stevie Wonder and David Bowie will be
integrated hourly throughout the station's on-air and online programming.
Also finding a home on WNEW.com's lineup will be exclusive live
performances from artists who contributed to the station's storied history.
The modernized WNEW.com will also offer the listening audience a
complete interactive and social networking experience through the station's
website (http://www.wnew.com) and CBS Corporation's Last.fm (http://www.last.fm). Using
these two online portals, fans can listen on demand, share feedback about
the former and current station, join dedicated groups, meet fellow WNEW
listeners and become a part of the station's "staff." Staff members will
have the opportunity to program and participate in the presentation of the
station and its website through a series of on-air and online initiatives
including blogs, concert reviews, music forums, and artist profiles.
At the helm of this ambitious project is Norm Winer, CBS RADIO Vice
President of Adult Rock Programming, and, for more than 25 years, the
award-winning Program Director of the landmark WXRT in Chicago. He said,
"As a music fan and radio geek who grew up in Brooklyn listening to the
original WNEW, I'm excited to help recapture the spirit and philosophy of
progressive radio, using tools we never dreamed of back in the early days.
With the foundation of a timeless and totally one-of-a-kind archive, we
will provide rock devotees of all generations the chance to hear incredible
moments from our collective past and enable them to connect the dots to
rock's most compelling artists of the present and future."
Special programming on the influential station will include:
-- Interview With an Icon: showcases classic extended on-air interviews
with rock legends from WNEW-FM;
-- Live From the Archives: vintage performances from rock's most prominent
artists. In addition to the vaults of WNEW-FM, the station will have
access to the recorded treasures of many of CBS RADIO's prominent radio
stations such as WBCN in Boston, and WXRT in Chicago;
-- Emerging and Amazing: the station will regularly debut music from
rising artists and those whose names are not yet known to the listening
audience;
Launched as a free-form progressive rock station on Oct. 31, 1967,
WNEW-FM is considered the first station of its kind in the nation. It
quickly went on to become both an institution and a piece of radio history
for which it is remembered today. The station rocked New York City for
three decades breaking some of the biggest artists of all time, including
David Bowie, Elton John, and The Talking Heads. To many who grew up in the
60s and 70s, WNEW-FM remains to this day the embodiment of the times,
turmoil and tunes of those eras in New York City.
