BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – 100 years ago, WVMT- then known as WCAX – ran Vermont’s very first radio broadcast on the University of Vermont’s campus.
Today, they’re still making waves live from a studio in Colchester with the staple soundtrack to your morning commute.
Every rushed morning of Kurt Wright’s childhood was underscored by the sound of the radio station WVMT.
“I can see the radio sitting on our kitchen counter and hearing Ernie Farrar’s booming voice coming out of the radio on WVMT,” Wright said.
Decades later, he helps other Vermonters start their day as host of WVMT’s ‘The Morning Drive’.
Cohost and self-proclaimed radio geek Anthony Neri was once a young listener, too.
“To think that I wound up doing the morning show on WVMT…it’s a dream gig. It really is,” said Neri.
It’s a big year for the WVMT crew. 2024 marks 100 years on air.
It all started in 1924 when then-radio station WCAX ran the state’s first radio broadcast right out of uvm.
Eventually, the station split into radio and TV.
The latter took the WCAX name and the radio side became WVMT.
Then-owner Simon Goldman and business partner George Cameron ushered in this new era. Goldman’s son Paul took over decades later.
He saw the station through pivotal moments like the 1998 ice storm when WVMT was the only radio station on air.
“The power companies were relying on us to disseminate information…Those sorts of things can change lives and help lives in a crisis,” said Goldman.
Today, WVMT is still focused on keeping Vermonters in the know.
But its listeners are changing with more young people turning up the volume.
“They just want to find a spot where they can find out what’s going on in the community,” said Neri.
On The Morning Drive, Neri says the discussion bounces from politics to music trivia.
It’s all part of adapting to a new age of radio – one Goldman is proud to have seen WVMT through.
“Having the oldest radio station just means survival. And a lot of my career was survival. So it’s wonderful that it’s still on and still vibrant,” said Goldman.
You can tune in to WVMT’s show Wednesday morning for more of their anniversary celebration.