WOBM-FM

WOBM-FM (92.7 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station known as "Ocean County's Hometown Station," licensed to Toms River and serving Ocean County, New Jersey. It airs an adult contemporary radio format. From late November until December 25 each year, WOBM-FM switches to a Christmas music format.

WOBM-FM
CityToms River, New Jersey
Broadcast areaOcean County, New Jersey
Frequency92.7 MHz
Branding"92.7 WOBM"
Slogan"Ocean County's Best Variety"
Programming
FormatAdult Contemporary
Ownership
OwnerTownsquare Media
(Townsquare Media Monmouth-Ocean License, LLC)
WOBM, WADB, WCHR-FM, WJLK
History
First air date
March 1, 1968
Call sign meaning
Ocean Burlington Monmouth
Technical information
Facility ID59508
ClassA
ERP1,400 watts
HAAT148 meters (472 ft)
Links
WebcastListen Live
Websitewobm.com

The station is owned by Townsquare Media, as part of its Shore Group, along with AM 1160 WOBM, FM 94.3 WJLK, 105.7 WCHR-FM and AM 1310 WADB. Shore Group studios are at 8 Robbins Street in Toms River. WOBM-FM's transmitter is in Bayville, New Jersey.

On-Air Staff

Current weekday on-air hosts include Shawn Michaels, Sue Moll, Diana Tyler, and JB Wilde.

The WOBM News/Townsquare Media News team includes Vin Ebenau.

History

WOBM-FM signed on the air on March 1, 1968. It celebrated it 50th anniversary on March 1, 2018. For nearly all its decades on the air, it has carried some form of middle of the road or adult contemporary music format, with a commitment to Ocean County news.

On the station's 50th anniversary, patriarch Bob Levy died at 86 years old.

The slogan "Ocean County's Soft Rock" officially changed to "Ocean County's Best Variety" in January 2015.

The outbreak of COVID-19 had an impact on the number of personalities on the station. Full-time personalities, including Sue Moll from the Ocean County Breakfast Show, host various weekend shows.

The longtime "Jersey Shore Flashback Weekend" was renamed to "Feel Good '80s Weekend" in May 2020. The new weekend format launched on Memorial Day weekend and consists of fast, upbeat, and feel-good music of the 1980s.

In November 2020, Diana Tyler was repositioned to the evening time slot formally hosted by Mark Anthony before his departure from the station in October. On the same day, "JB" Wilde, was repositioned to the afternoon time slot formally hosted by Justin Louis for almost 15 years.

In November 2020, 92.7 WOBM's parent company, Townsquare Media, received significant backlash after firing multiple prominent personalities including Justin Louis. Andy Chase, Chris Varacchi, and Liz Jeressi of sister stations 105.7 The Hawk and 94.3 The Point were also fired.[1]

With the exception of one ratings period, the station was a ratings powerhouse for almost ten years. In January 2021, 92.7 WOBM was rated one of the least listened to radio stations in Monmouth and Ocean Counties with a market share of just 2.1. [2]

Topic A with Bob Levy

Topic A was a freeform talk program that aired every Sunday on 92.7 WOBM from 7:00am until 10:00am and eventually until 11:00am for almost 40 years by local radio icon Bob Levy. The overall premise of the show was for callers to tell Levy what was on their mind. Often, the callers had a political agenda. Levy was never really political himself, although he identified as a Republican on-air, he was very much a socially moderate.

In 2017, local philanthropist Jeremy Grunin joined the program as Levy's cohost.

Grunin took over the program in 2018 when Levy died and somewhat revamped the show to occasionally include guests.[3]

The show was cancelled in May 2019 after Grunin announced he was stepping down. On his final show, he described a disagreement with station management as his primary reason for leaving the show.[4]

Producers

Levy and Grunin would often include their producers in the conversations when there was a lack of callers. Paul Seredy, known as "Paul", was the longest serving producer on the show which callers came to know.

Paul left the show shortly before Levy passed away. Zach Collins served as the producer for less than a year before his departure from the station.

Paul returned for a month after Collins's departure. Mark Anthony became the producer in late 2018. Anthony took a larger role in the show and often acted as the co-host of the program and hosted hourly newscasts.

Former on-air staff

Disk jockeys
  • Bill Schaefer
  • Dick Gunton
  • Steve Paul
  • Jeff Rafter
  • Matt DeVoti
  • Wayne Mayon
  • Dave Elmore
  • Lou Rieder
  • Jay Sorensen
  • Joanne Cruise
  • Dick Allen
  • Rick McDonough
  • Tom Macieack
  • Rick St. James
  • Joe Stephens
  • Jack Tracksler
  • Dan Turi
  • Charlie Roberts
  • Justin Louis
  • Brian Moore
  • Lisa Leonard
  • Mark Anthony

News staff
  • Doug Doyle
  • Mike Kinslow
  • Tom Wahl
  • Ken Cooper
  • Phil Gregory
  • Diana Rosenberg
  • Wayne Aikens
  • Roger Tees
  • Carolynn Jones
  • Brian Paulison
  • Joe Bishop
  • Bill Mecca
  • Hank Weisbecker
  • Wendy McClure
  • Tripp Rogers
  • Jason Allentoff
  • Joel Mahan
  • Janet Fried
  • Ilya Hemlin
  • Rosetta Key
  • Dianne DeOliveira
  • Drew Jacobs
  • Thomas Mongelli
  • Diane Scherb
  • Bob Recchia
  • Bob Levy (Died on March 1, 2018 at the age of 86 - coincidentally the same day WOBM FM celebrated its 50th anniversary) He was the creator of Topic A on Sunday Mornings.

References
  1. "4 local N.J. radio personalities fired from their stations". NJ.com.
  2. "Radio Ratings - Neilson".
  3. "Beloved Radio Personality Passes Away". Patch.com.
  4. "WOBM's Topic A Radio Show Ends After Almost 40 Years". Patch.com.


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