WPEP () was an AM radio station licensed to Taunton, Massachusetts. WPEP's format had been full-service, offering local news and talk programming, as well as music and nationally syndicated talk. The station was last owned by Ernie Anastos' Anastos Media Group, and operated from 1949 to 2007.

History

In late , Silver City Broadcasting Corp., owned by businessman John McGregor, applied for and was granted a construction permit for an AM broadcast station in Taunton. The station's callsign was originally to be WTRN, however the call sign was changed to WPEP before the station officially signed on the air December 22, 1949. When WPEP signed on, its studio was located atop the Roseland Ballroom, north of downtown Taunton. The original format is believed to have been all local programming. WPEP was a daytime-only station from to . This meant that WPEP was required to cease transmitting from sunset to sunrise. WPEP's transmitter site was 760 County Street in Taunton, Massachusetts.

On November 27, 1970, WPEP received pre-sunrise authority, allowing it to sign on at with a power of , which could be upped to the full kilowatt at sunrise (during months when sunrise occurs later than ). News director at the time was John P. Shaw. Daytime-only status lasted until September 1, 1986, when WPEP was granted nighttime authorization, which allowed WPEP to transmit of power.

WPEP was sold in by Silver City Broadcasting to J. Keating Willcox's Willow Farm Broadcasting. Willow Farm sold most of its stations—WPEP; WMSX in Brockton; WGAW in Gardner; WMVU in Nashua, New Hampshire; and WNRI in Woonsocket, Rhode Island—to Anastos Media Group, controlled by New York City television news anchor Ernie Anastos, for $2.1 million in 2001. Willcox, who retained WNSH in Beverly, sold the stations due to health problems. Paul Giammarco was named general manager in until he left for WSAR in . After Giammarco left, staffer A.J. Nicholson was promoted to general manager.

In , WPEP added the Boston Red Sox Radio Network and carried the team's 2004 World Series victory. It was an affiliate in as well but station management had changed that March and did not air games. A May 5, 2005, article in the Taunton Daily Gazette said that the station was in jeopardy because WNSH (on the same frequency) got approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to increase its daytime power.

  • Facility details for Facility ID 61601 (WPEP) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
  • FCC History Cards for WPEP (covering 1948-1980 as WTRN / WPEP)
  • (via Internet Archive)