Richard Neer (born c. 1949 in Syracuse, New York) is an American disc jockey and sports radio personality who has been involved in, and has chronicled, key changes in both music and sports radio.
One of four children born to Frank O. Neer and Frances Lapenta, [1] Neer began his radio career as a student at Adelphi University, from which he graduated in 1970. [2] He worked at Long Island, New York's WLIR, where he was one of the early adopters of the freeform or progressive rock radio format. [3]
In 1971, he joined the airstaff of progressive rock radio powerhouse WNEW-FM in New York City, where he worked as a disc jockey, doing mornings for eight years over three different eras. He was also program director for five years. For a while, Neer had a friendly relationship with Bruce Springsteen, who would call in to his late-night show, [4] and played a part in bringing Springsteen's music to a wider audience. [5] He witnessed the growth of the format and then its gradual shift into a more rigid, programmed, classic rock-driven product, a transformation he described in his 2001 book FM: The Rise and Fall of Rock Radio. [6]
Concurrently, Neer began working as a sports radio talk show host at New York station WNEW-AM in 1987 and then at WFAN in 1988. WFAN was the first and most visible of the successful all-sports format radio stations. Neer broadcast on the last day of music at WNEW-FM in 1999, then returned to that station for a bit after its switch to a "hot talk" format replacing the "Sports Guys" sports talk show hosting "Sports in the Morning—powered by the FAN" up until the time the station started stunting CHR before its flip to Blink.
Neer remains at WFAN doing sports talk, working Saturday mornings and some nights. His call-in show was where Mets fans registered disapproval of the team's decision to run ads targeted at Latinos. [7] He hosted New York Giants NFL broadcasts for several years.
Neer's unemotional style of speaking has prompted Bob Raissman, sports media reporter for the New York Daily News , to refer to Neer as "Sir Sominex," suggesting that his delivery is soporific. [8] [9]
Neer's brother Dan Neer is also a disc jockey.
In 2014, Neer published his first mystery novel, entitled Something of the Night. He published his second novel, The Master Builders, on May 17, 2016. He released The Last Resort in May 2017.
WNEW-FM is a hot adult contemporary-formatted radio station, licensed to New York, New York and owned by Audacy, Inc. The station's studios are located at the Audacy facility in the Hudson Square neighborhood of Manhattan, and its transmitter is located at the Empire State Building.
Christopher Michael Russo, also known as "Mad Dog", is an American sports radio personality best known as the former co-host of the Mike and the Mad Dog sports radio program with Mike Francesa, which was broadcast on WFAN in New York City and simulcasted on the YES Network. Russo joined Sirius XM Radio in August 2008 and operates his own channel, Mad Dog Sports Radio. He also hosts an afternoon radio show, Mad Dog Unleashed, SiriusXM Ch. 82 Mad Dog Sports Radio. Russo also joined MLB Network on March 31, 2014 and hosts his own show, High Heat, and as of 2021, co-hosts with Alanna Rizzo. He also frequently appears on ESPN’s First Take. Russo was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame on November 1, 2022.
WABC is a commercial radio station licensed to New York City, carrying a conservative talk radio format known as "Talkradio 77". Owned by John Catsimatidis' Red Apple Media, the station's studios are located in Red Apple Media headquarters on Third Avenue in Midtown Manhattan and its transmitter is in Lodi, New Jersey. Its 50,000-watt non-directional clear channel signal can be heard at night throughout much of the Eastern United States and Eastern Canada. It is the primary entry point for the Emergency Alert System in the New York metropolitan area and New Jersey. WABC simulcasts on WLIR-FM in Hampton Bays, New York, on eastern Long Island.
WFAN is a commercial radio station licensed to New York, New York, with a sports radio format, branded "Sports Radio 66 AM and 101.9 FM" or "The Fan". Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station serves the New York metropolitan area, while its 50,000-watt clear channel signal can be heard at night throughout much of the eastern United States and Canada. WFAN's studios are located in the Hudson Square neighborhood of lower Manhattan and its transmitter is located on High Island in the Bronx.
WMMR is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by the Beasley Broadcast Group through licensee Beasley Media Group, LLC and broadcasts an active rock radio format. The station's studios and offices are located in Bala Cynwyd and the transmitter is atop One Liberty Place at in Center City Philadelphia.
WEPN is a sports radio station licensed to New York, New York. The station is owned-and-operated by Good Karma Brands and its transmitter site is located in North Bergen, New Jersey.
KMET was a Los Angeles FM radio station owned by Metromedia that broadcast at 94.7 MHz beginning on May 2, 1966. It signed off permanently on February 14, 1987 after a 21-year run on air. The station, nicknamed "The Mighty Met", was a pioneering station of the "underground" progressive rock format.
WPLJ is a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station licensed to New York, New York. It carries a Christian adult contemporary radio format and is owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF), based in Franklin, Tennessee. It broadcasts EMF's flagship programming service, "K-Love." The station seeks donations on the air and on its website.
WINS-FM is a radio station licensed to New York, New York, and owned by Audacy, Inc. WINS-FM simulcasts all-news radio station WINS (AM), with the station referred to on air as "1010 WINS at 92.3 FM". The station's studios are located in the Hudson Square neighborhood in Manhattan.
WFAN-FM, is a commercial radio station licensed to New York, New York. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station simulcasts a sports radio format known as "Sports Radio 66 AM and 101.9 FM", or "The FAN", along with co-owned WFAN. Its studios are in the Audacy facility in the Hudson Square neighborhood of Lower Manhattan.
Scott Ferrall is an American sports talk radio personality who hosts two shows on the SportsGrid video streaming service, Scott Ferrall: Coast to Coast and In-Game Live.
Progressive rock is a radio station programming format that emerged in the late 1960s, in which disc jockeys are given wide latitude in what they may play, similar to the freeform format but with the proviso that some kind of rock music is almost always played. It enjoyed the height of its popularity in the late 1960s and 1970s. The name for the format began being used circa 1968, when serious disc jockeys were playing "progressive 'music for the head'" and discussing social issues in between records. During the late 1960s, as long-playing records began to supplant the single in popularity with rock audiences, progressive rock stations placed more emphasis on album tracks than did their AM counterparts. Throughout the 1970s, as FM stations moved to more structured formats, progressive rock evolved into album-oriented rock (AOR).
Alison Steele was an American radio personality who was also known by her air name, The Nightbird. She amassed a large and loyal following on her night shifts on WNEW-FM in New York City during the late 1960s and 1970s. Her show featured progressive rock and artists associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, combined with listeners' calls and Steele's own unique brand of mellow DJ patter, peppered with poetry and mysticism. Her original Nightbird show ran from 1968 to 1979.
WLIR was a radio station that played a new music/modern rock format on the frequencies 92.7 FM, 98.5 FM, and 107.1 FM from the 1980s into the 2000s. Bob Wilson, longtime WLIR employee and historian, created the website WDAREFM.COM, which maintains the spirit of the original WLIR. He also programs the music playlist. The website broadcasts a mix of alternative rock from the past and present day, along with former WLIR/WDRE personalities, such as Larry The Duck, Drew Kenyon, Andre, and Rob Rush.
William B. Williams was an American disc jockey on New York City radio station WNEW for over four decades. He hosted the popular program Make Believe Ballroom. Williams is particularly noted for coining the title "Chairman of the Board" for Frank Sinatra.
KWBL is a commercial radio station licensed to Denver, Colorado. It is owned by iHeartMedia and it broadcasts a country format branded as 106.7 The Bull. KWBL carries two nationally syndicated country music shows from co-owned Premiere Networks: The Bobby Bones Show on weekday mornings and CMT Nites with Cody Alan heard overnight. The radio studios are located in the Denver Tech Center.
The New York Sports radio WFAN, first broadcast on July 1, 1987 at 1050AM replacing WHN. WFAN was the first all sports station in the United States. The station's current frequency, 660AM. was formerly known as WNBC and first transmitted on March 2, 1922. WFAN moved to 660AM at 5:30PM Eastern Time on October 7, 1988 when WNBC signed off for the last time.
Jody McDonald, a.k.a. Jody Mac, is an American sports talk show host on 610 WTEL/94.1WIP-FM weekdays 11pm to 2am and weekend host on WFAN 660 AM NY. He is the son of former Major League Baseball executive Joe McDonald.
Carol Miller is an American radio personality and disc jockey. She has been a steady presence on rock radio stations in the New York metropolitan area since 1973. She began her broadcasting career at WMMR in Philadelphia as an undergraduate student at the University of Pennsylvania. She later hosted radio shows at WPLJ and WNEW-FM. She has been heard most recently on WAXQ ("Q-104.3") and Sirius XM.