WHAM (AM)

Last updated

WHAM
Broadcast area
Frequency 1180 kHz
BrandingNewsRadio WHAM 1180
Programming
Format News/talk
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
WAIO, WDVI, WHTK, WKGS, WNBL, WVOR
History
First air date
July 11, 1922;102 years ago (1922-07-11)
Former frequencies
  • 1080 kHz (1922–1928)
  • 1150 kHz (1928–1941)
Technical information [1]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 37545
Class A
Power 50,000 watts unlimited
Transmitter coordinates
Translator(s) 96.1 W241DG (Rochester)
Repeater(s) 95.1  WAIO-HD2 (Honeoye Falls)
Links
Public license information
Webcast Listen live (via iHeartRadio)
Website wham1180.iheart.com

WHAM (1180 kHz) is a commercial clear channel AM radio station in Rochester, New York, United States. It is owned by iHeartMedia and airs a news/talk radio format. The studios and offices are at Five Star Bank Plaza in downtown Rochester.

Contents

Its 50,000-watt non-directional transmitter, located in Chili, New York, operates the maximum power for commercial AM stations in the United States and Canada. During the day, it provides at least secondary coverage to all of Western New York, including Buffalo. It can also be heard in much of Southern Ontario, including Toronto, Peterborough, and Kingston. At night, WHAM can be received across much of the Eastern United States and Eastern Canada with a good radio. It is the Emergency Alert System's primary entry point station for Western New York.

Programming

WHAM carries two local news blocks on weekdays: The WHAM Morning News and The WHAM 5 O'Clock Hour News. Local talk shows are Bob Lonsberry and Talking Back with Shannon Joy. The rest of the schedule is nationally syndicated talk shows, mostly from co-owned Premiere Networks: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show , Sean Hannity and Coast to Coast AM with George Noory. In addition, WHAM carries Mark Levin from Westwood One and Joe Pags, who is based at co-owned WOAI in San Antonio.

Weekend programming includes shows on money, health, home repair, cars, technology and law. Weekend hosts include Bill Cunningham and some brokered programming.

History

University of Rochester

The station first signed on the air on July 11, 1922. [2] While not the first station to be licensed to the Rochester market (that distinction belongs to the defunct WHQ), it is the oldest surviving station in the area.

Industrialist George Eastman, the founder of the Rochester-based Eastman Kodak Company, helped the University of Rochester launch the station and thought the "WHAM" name would prove to be a clever marketing tool. Jim Barney helped the university get the station on the air.

Stromberg-Carlson

In 1927, WHAM was acquired by Stromberg-Carlson, [3] a maker of radio and telecommunications equipment then based in Rochester. The company expanded the station's operations and boosted its signal to 5,000 watts shortly after the acquisition.

It was relocated from 1080 to 1150  kHz in the overall national reorganization of the AM radio band by the Federal Radio Commission in 1928. In 1933, WHAM was allowed to increase power to 25,000 watts. A ceremony marking the event included a three-hour broadcast from the Eastman Theatre with "a galaxy of stars" participating. [4] It later got a boost to its current 50,000 watt level.

In the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA), the AM band was shuffled in March 1941. WHAM changed frequency once more to its current 1180 kHz.

Rochester Radio City

In February 1948, WHAM and its FM sister station, WHFM (now WBZA), moved into a new facility, Rochester Radio City. The building included 24 offices and six studios, the largest of which could accommodate 400 people in the audience. [3]

WHAM has ties to two of the city's television stations. It put the city's first station on the air, WHAM-TV, in 1949. That station is now WROC-TV, the area's CBS affiliate. In 2005, the area's ABC affiliate, WOKR, changed its call sign to WHAM-TV. Clear Channel Communications (now known as iHeartMedia), already the owner of WHAM radio, owned WOKR/WHAM-TV from 2002 until the sale of its entire television group to Newport Television (controlled by Providence Equity Partners) in 2007; the two stations still have a news partnership.

Controversy

WHAM radio host Bob Lonsberry has often been the source of controversy, due to his on-air remarks. [5] He was fired from his show in 2003, but was later brought back due to boycotts by aggrieved fans.

News articles were circulated about him comparing a derogatory racial reference to the term "Boomers" - a colloquial reference for people born during the Baby Boom. [6]

Lonsberry also hosts a show later in the day on co-owned WSYR (570 AM and 106.9 FM) in Syracuse and co-hosts a show on WHAM sister station WAIO.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WHAM-TV</span> TV station in Rochester, New York

WHAM-TV is a television station in Rochester, New York, United States, affiliated with ABC and The CW. It is owned by Deerfield Media, which maintains a local marketing agreement (LMA) with Sinclair Broadcast Group, owner of Fox affiliate WUHF, for the provision of certain services. The two stations share studios on West Henrietta Road in Henrietta ; WHAM-TV's transmitter is located on Pinnacle Hill on the border between Rochester and Brighton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WOKV (AM)</span> Sports radio station in Jacksonville, Florida, United States

WOKV is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Jacksonville, Florida, United States. WOKV is owned by Cox Media Group and broadcasts a sports format from studios in Jacksonville's Southside district and transmitters in Orange Park and Baldwin.

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

WYSL is a commercial radio station licensed to Avon, New York, and serving the Rochester metropolitan area. It broadcasts a talk radio format and is known as "The Voice of Liberty." The station is owned by Robert C. Savage under the name "Radio Livingston."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WSYR (AM)</span> Radio station in New York, United States

WSYR is a commercial AM radio station in Syracuse, New York, and serving Central New York. Owned and operated by iHeartMedia, it broadcasts a news/talk format, calling itself "Newsradio 570 WSYR". The station has simulcast on WSYR-FM in Solvay since January 2011. The studios and offices are on Plum Street in Syracuse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KZOT</span> Radio station in Bellevue, Nebraska

KZOT is a commercial radio station licensed to Bellevue, Nebraska, and serving the Omaha metropolitan area. The station is owned by NRG Media and the license is held by NRG License Sub, LLC. It airs a sports radio format, with programming from Infinity Sports Network. Studios are at 50th Avenue and Dodge Street in Midtown Omaha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WGUE (AM)</span> Radio station in Turrell, Arkansas, serving Memphis, Tennessee

WGUE is a commercial AM radio station in Turrell, Arkansas, serving the Memphis metropolitan area. WGUE is owned by Butron Media Corporation and airs a Regional Mexican radio format. The transmitter is off Legion Road in West Memphis, Arkansas.

WNRP is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Gulf Breeze, Florida, and serving the Pensacola metropolitan area. The station broadcasts a news/talk radio format and is owned by ADX Communications of Escambia. The radio studios and offices are at 7251 Plantation Road in Pensacola.

WXLA is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Dimondale, a suburb of Lansing, Michigan. It is owned by MacDonald Broadcasting and airs a soft adult contemporary radio format. During the months of November and December, the station switches to an all-Christmas music format. It uses the branding "Easy 93.3". The dial position refers to WXLA's FM translator, W227DO at 93.3 MHz in Lansing.

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

WBZA is a commercial radio station in Rochester, New York. It airs an adult hits format and is owned by Audacy, Inc., based at the High Falls Studios, on Commercial Street and State Street in downtown Rochester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WAIO</span> Radio station in Honeoye Falls–Rochester, New York

WAIO is a commercial radio station licensed to Honeoye Falls, New York, and serving the Rochester metropolitan area. The station airs a hybrid hot talk and mainstream rock radio format and is owned and operated by iHeartMedia. Its studios and offices are located at the Five Star Bank Plaza building in downtown Rochester. The station features one of the longest running morning comedy shows in the region, hosted by Brother Wease. It also carries Rover's Morning Glory from WMMS Cleveland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WZAN</span> Radio station in Maine, United States

WZAN is a commercial AM radio station broadcasting a classic country radio format. Licensed to Portland, Maine, it is owned by Saga Communications. The studios and offices are on Western Avenue in South Portland, Maine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KFH (AM)</span> Sports radio station in Wichita, Kansas

KFH is a commercial AM radio station in Wichita, Kansas. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. It airs a sports radio format. The station's studios and offices are located on East Douglas Avenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KOFI</span> Radio station in Kalispell, Montana

KOFI is a commercial radio station licensed to Kalispell, Montana, and owned by KOFI, Inc. It airs an oldies radio format with some news, talk and sports programs. KOFI carries syndicated talk shows at night, including Rick Valdes-America at Night and Coast to Coast AM with George Noory. It also airs Denver Broncos football during the NFL season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WRSB (AM)</span> Spanish music radio station in Brockport, New York, United States

WRSB is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Brockport, New York, and serving the Rochester metropolitan area. The station broadcasts a Spanish tropical radio format and is owned by Brian McGlynn, through licensee Genesee Media Corporation. It is operated by William Santiago through his company Uno Communications.

<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.

WOKR is a radio station broadcasting a classic country music format. Licensed to Canandaigua, New York, United States, the station is owned by Tim Stratton, through licensee 1310 FLX Radio, Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KERN</span> Radio station in Wasco-Greenacres, California

KERN is a commercial radio station licensed to Wasco-Greenacres, California, and serving the Bakersfield metropolitan area. The station is owned by American General Media. The radio studios and offices are in the American General Media complex at 1400 Easton Drive, STE 134 in Bakersfield.

Bob Lonsberry is an conservative American radio talk show host, columnist, and author.

WKCE is a commercial AM radio station in Knoxville, Tennessee. It is owned by Loud Media and it airs an oldies radio format. The station is branded as 105.1 WKCE, referring to its FM translator's dial position. The studios and offices are on the fifth floor of the Sunsphere in Knoxville.

KARN is a commercial AM radio station in Little Rock, Arkansas, owned and operated by Cumulus Media. It airs a sports radio format known as "920 AM The Sports Animal." The station's studios are located on Wellington Hills Road in West Little Rock. The transmitter tower is located off North Hills Boulevard in North Little Rock. KARN broadcasts at 5,000 watts, using a directional antenna at night to avoid interfering with other stations on AM 920. KARN is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to broadcast a digital HD signal, although it is not currently broadcasting in HD.

References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WHAM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ↑ "Widespread Circle Help To Mark WHAM Birthday" (PDF). Broadcasting. July 14, 1947. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
  3. 1 2 "WHAM-WHFM Million Dollar Home Opens" (PDF). Broadcasting. February 16, 1948. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  4. ↑ "WHAM ad" (PDF). Broadcasting. April 1, 1933. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  5. ↑ "It's (way past) time for Bob Lonsberry to go". Daily Kos. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
  6. ↑ Herbert, Geoff (November 4, 2019). "Radio host Bob Lonsberry says 'boomer' is like N-word, gets ridiculed online". syracuse.com. Retrieved September 5, 2024.

FM translator


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.