WFAW (AM)

Last updated
WFAW
Broadcast area Jefferson County; Janesville; Beloit
Frequency 940 kHz
BrandingRock 96.1/101.1
Programming
Format Classic rock
Affiliations Westwood One
Ownership
Owner
  • Magnum Media
  • (Magnum Communications, Inc.)
WSJY, WKCH
History
First air date
January 24, 1963;61 years ago (1963-01-24)
Call sign meaning
Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin [1]
Technical information [2]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 24446
Class B
Power
  • 500 watts days
  • 550 watts nights
Transmitter coordinates
 42°54′24.00″N88°45′6.00″W / 42.9066667°N 88.7516667°W / 42.9066667; -88.7516667
Translator(s)
  • 96.1 W241BQ (Watertown) (relays WSJY-HD2)
  • 101.1 W266DX (Janesville)
Repeater(s) 107.3-2  WSJY-HD2 (Fort Atkinson)
Links
Public license information
Webcast Listen Live
Website rockwfaw.com

WFAW (940 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, serving the Jefferson County and Janesville and Beloit area. The station is owned by Magnum Media, through licensee Magnum Communications, Inc., and features programming from Westwood One. [3] WFAW has a classic rock radio format.

Contents

By day, WFAW is powered at 500 watts. It slightly increases its power at night to 550 watts. Because 940 AM is a Mexican and Canadian clear channel frequency, to avoid interference WFAW uses a directional antenna with a four-tower array. The transmitter is on Finlay Road at Jacobson Lane in Hebron. [4] Programming is also heard on two FM translators at 96.1 MHz in Watertown and at 101.1 in Janesville.

History

WFAW signed on the air on November 24, 1963. For several decades, it was a daytimer, required to go off the air at night. [5] In its early years, WFAW was a middle of the road (MOR) station, playing popular adult music with news and sports. In the 1970s, it aired a Top 40 format and was an affiliate of the ABC Contemporary Network.

In the 1980s and 1990s, WFAW played country music. As music listening moved from AM stations to the FM dial, the station added more talk shows and by the early 2000s had shifted to a talk radio format.

On October 5, 2020, WFAW changed from talk to oldies. It played hits of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, branded as "Oldies 940". [6] In December 2021, WFAW added an FM translator licensed to Janesville on 101.1 FM broadcasting from a tower near Edgerton which also provides rimshot coverage to the Madison area.

On August 22, 2022, WFAW changed its format to classic rock, dropping the remainder of local sports and the majority of local news programing. The new format was branded as "Rock 96.1/101.1". The Janesville translator at 101.1 FM was supplemented by a second translator, W241BQ 96.1 FM in Watertown, giving WFAW FM coverage in most of the southern and eastern portions of the Madison market as well as the Janesville-Beloit area. [7]

WFAW now competes with fellow rock outlet WWHG in the Janesville/Beloit area as well as Madison and Milwaukee based rock outlets. WFAW also compliments identically branded Portage based rock station WAUN which similarly is paired with two FM translators. WAUN with its AM and two FM frequencies cover the northern side of the Madison market as well as the Wisconsin Dells sub-market effectively giving Magnum's rock format coverage of the entire Madison area.

Related Research Articles

WGH is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Newport News, Virginia, and serving Hampton Roads. WGH is owned and operated by Max Media, and airs a sports radio format. It mostly carries shows from Fox Sports Radio and calls itself "Fox Sports 1310 and 100.9." Studios and offices are on Greenwich Road in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WHAD</span> Radio station in Delafield, Wisconsin

WHAD is a non-commercial, listener-supported public radio station. It is licensed to Delafield, Wisconsin, and serves sections of Greater Milwaukee and the Madison metropolitan area. Part of Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR), it airs WPR's "Ideas Network", consisting of news and talk programming. The studios are on the seventh floor of 310 West Wisconsin Avenue in Milwaukee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WEAQ</span> Radio station in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin

WEAQ is a radio station in the Eau Claire area of Wisconsin, with its studio and offices located in Altoona, Wisconsin. Its transmitter is located in Lake Hallie, Wisconsin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WFBC-FM</span> Contemporary hit radio station in Greenville, South Carolina

WFBC-FM is a Top 40 (CHR) station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina and serving the Upstate and Western North Carolina regions, including Greenville, Spartanburg, and Asheville, North Carolina. The Audacy, Inc. outlet is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to broadcast with an ERP of 100 kW. The station goes by the name B93.7 and its current slogan is "The #1 for Hit Music."

WRJN is a progressive talk radio station located in Racine, Wisconsin, and serving the areas of Racine, Kenosha and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The station is owned by Civic Media, through licensee Civic Media, Inc., along with sister station WAUK. Its studios and transmitter are co-located in Racine.

WRYU is a commercial AM radio station licensed to West Bend, Wisconsin, and covering Milwaukee's northern suburbs. The station is owned by David Magnum, through licensee Magnum Communications, Inc., and features a classic rock format. The radio studios and offices are on South Main Street in West Bend. WRYU carries the syndicated program John Tesh - Intelligence for Your Life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WBEL (AM)</span> Radio station in South Beloit, Illinois

WBEL is a 90s hits radio station in South Beloit, Illinois with studios in Janesville, Wisconsin. Established in 1948, the station is owned by Big Radio. Its programming is simulcast on translator stations W222AU in Beloit, Wisconsin and W255CZ in Janesville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WIBA-FM</span> Radio station in Sauk City, Wisconsin

WIBA-FM (101.5 MHz) is a radio station licensed to Sauk City, Wisconsin and serving Madison and south central Wisconsin. The station is owned and operated by iHeartMedia and broadcasts a classic rock music format on its primary HD radio, while its HD2 channel carries an oldies format that is simulcast to analog translator station W265CV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WGTO</span> Radio station in Cassopolis, Michigan

WGTO is a radio station broadcasting a soft oldies format. It is licensed to Cassopolis, Michigan, broadcasting on AM 910 kHz and is under ownership of Langford Broadcasting. Much of the programming comes from MeTV FM.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WEZY (FM)</span> Radio station in Kewaunee, Wisconsin

WEZY is a Regional Mexican formatted radio station licensed to Kewaunee, Wisconsin, that serves the Green Bay area. The station is owned by Magnum Broadcasting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WCGR</span> Radio station in Canandaigua, New York

WCGR is a radio station broadcasting a soft classic rock format. Licensed to Canandaigua, New York, United States, the station is currently owned by Canandaigua Broadcasting, Inc. and features programming from ABC Radio and Dial Global.

WLZX-FM is a radio station in Northampton, Massachusetts. The station has an active rock format, and is owned by Saga Communications. The station is also simulcast on WLZX and translator station W253CD, both in East Longmeadow, as well as the HD2 channel of WAQY in Springfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WSJY</span> Radio station in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin

WSJY is a commercial radio station licensed to Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, and serving a section of southern Wisconsin, including Janesville, Beloit and Madison, along with part of Northern Illinois. WSJY airs an adult contemporary radio format, switching to Christmas music for much of November and December. It is owned by the Magnum Media Group, through licensee Magnum Communications, Inc.

WAUN is a radio station broadcasting a mainstream rock format. Known as WPDR for nearly 70 years, the station previously held a news/talk format. Before that, WPDR played oldies and also played country music for many years. Licensed to Portage, Wisconsin, United States, the station is currently owned by Magnum Broadcasting. Co-owned WDDC, formerly WPDR-FM, is located at 100.1 MHz. WAUN is simulcast on FM via two translator stations, 102.1 in Baraboo which covers the majority of the Dells/Baraboo and Portage areas from a transmitter on the Baraboo Range as well as 96.9 in DeForest which covers the northern Madison area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WFDL (AM)</span> Radio station in Waupun, Wisconsin

WFDL is a radio station broadcasting an oldies format. Licensed to Waupun, Wisconsin, United States, the station is owned by Radio Plus, Inc. and features programming from CBS News Radio and The True Oldies Channel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WGEZ</span> Radio station in Beloit, Wisconsin

WGEZ Is a radio station broadcasting a classic country music format. Licensed to Beloit, Wisconsin, United States, the station serves the Janesville area. The station is owned by Scott Thompson, through licensee Big Radio. WGEZ,features programming from Westwood One, Its programming is simulcast on translator station W270CW.

WMDX is a commercial radio station licensed to Columbus, Wisconsin, and serving the Madison metropolitan area radio market. The station is owned by Sage Weil and Michael Crute, through licensee Civic Media, Inc. Crute is the host of "The Devil's Advocates", a syndicated show for which WMDX serves as the flagship station. Branded as "Mad Radio 92.7", WMDX airs a progressive talk radio format. WMDX carries live locally programmed news and talk programming for most of the day, originating from studios located on State Street in downtown Madison as well the Waukesha studios of sister station WAUK. The station also carries live syndicated programming from Stephanie Miller and Thom Hartmann. WMDX also serves as the flagship station of the Civic Media Network, a statewide news network with affiliates across Wisconsin.

WKCH is a radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Whitewater, Wisconsin, United States, the station serves Whitewater, Fort Atkinson and surrounding communities. In addition to country, WKCH also broadcasts local area high school sports and NASCAR. WKCH had previously broadcast UW-Whitewater Warhawks athletics, but ended that agreement following the 2021-2022 academic year. WKCH's studios are located in Fort Atkinson, alongside sister stations WFAW and WSJY.

WBZH is a radio station licensed to serve Hayward, Wisconsin, United States. Established in 1957 as WHSM, the station is owned by Sage Weil and Michael Crute, through licensee Civic Media, Inc.

WKBH-FM is a radio station broadcasting a classic rock and classic hits hybrid format. Licensed to Onalaska, Wisconsin, United States, the station serves the La Crosse area. The station is owned by Magnum Communications, Inc. as of July 31, 2020.

References

  1. ↑ "Call Letter Origins". Radio History on the Web.
  2. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WFAW". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ↑ "WFAW Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  4. ↑ Radio-Locator.com/WFAW
  5. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 page ?. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  6. ↑ Wisconsin AM Station Drops Talk for Oldies
  7. ↑ Magnum Media Brings Classic Rock to Southern Wisconsin Radioinsight - August 23, 2022


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.