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WVOS/WSUL goes Gold

Dan Hust - Staff Writer
Posted 9/23/16

MONTICELLO — Sullivan County's oldest radio stations may soon join its youngest under the banner of Bold Gold Media Group.

The marriage is yet to be approved by the Federal Communications …

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WVOS/WSUL goes Gold

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MONTICELLO — Sullivan County's oldest radio stations may soon join its youngest under the banner of Bold Gold Media Group.

The marriage is yet to be approved by the Federal Communications Commission (expected later this year), but leaders of both WVOS/WSUL and Thunder 102 announced the coming acquisition this week.

“We're looking forward to working together,” said Helena Manzione, general manager of Monticello-based WSUL/WVOS, which are currently owned by Watermark Communications.

“We're big believers in Sullivan County and in small, community-oriented, locally focused broadcasting,” remarked Vince Benedetto, president and CEO of Bold Gold, the Scranton, Pa.-based company which owns Thunder 102 in Liberty and a diverse array of stations in northeastern Pennsylvania.

While Thunder 102 has served Sullivan County and surrounding areas since 2005, WSUL has been in operation since the 1970s and WVOS even longer - first taking to the air in 1947, according to Manzione.

Thus Benedetto is proud to add the two stations (including WVOS' AM side) to his growing company.

“They're well-known and have done a lot of good over the years,” he affirmed.

That includes the popular Heart-a-Thon, which raises money for local heart-healthy initiatives.

That event, plus WVOS' and WSUL's programming, won't be changing, Benedetto promised.

Manzione added that the stations' eight employees will be part of the switchover.

“Certainly we want to make this a smooth transition,” she said.

Neither would delve into the details of how this purchase-to-be got started, but Benedetto said it represents his faith in the region's outlook, that “the hardest days of Sullivan County are behind them.”

“I believe, as a business owner, in the future growth of the county,” he explained. “... We get to be part of that growth.”

Radio, too, remains strong in the face of rapid technological changes and competition from satellite providers.

“Radio,” Benedetto remarked, “is what happens in between the music. And good local radio is like a personal concierge service

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