In 1940 the Star-Gazette ended its eight year lease of Cornell University's WESG in Ithaca and consolidated all its radio operations at WENY.
WMAJ's first license was granted on December 7, 1939,[3] as a new station operated by the Elmira Star-Gazette with the call sign WENY. It was initially assigned to 1200 kHz, with studios in the Mark Twain Hotel on Market Street in Elmira.
WENY was the third Star-Gazette affiliated radio station. In the spring of 1932, the newspaper had briefly assumed control of WBGF in Glen Falls, and changed that station's call letters to WESG,[4] with plans to move the station to Elmira. However, a short time later the newspaper instead entered into a long-term lease with Cornell University to operate its station in Ithaca from the newspaper's studios in Elmira. At this time, the Cornell station changed its call letters from WEAI to WESG[5] (now WHCU).
The newspaper's leasing of WESG was terminated in mid-1940, and WENY became the Star-Gazette's sole radio outlet.[6] In 1941, WENY moved to 1230kHz, as part of the reassignments made under the provisions of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA),[7] where it remains today.
Former sister station WENY-FM was launched in the 1960s.
In the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, WENY was a full-service operation with an extensive air staff and local news department and by far the dominant radio station in the Elmira market.
In the 1970s, as a Top 40 music station, WENY adopted the slogan "We're the One", a play on the Orleans song "Still The One", which was popular at the time and was used in promotions for ABC television, of which then-sister station WENY-TV 36 was an affiliate. The members of Orleans also were natives of the Elmira and Ithaca areas.
The station kept playing music until the early 1990s, when it switched to talk radio. That was when it dropped Voice of the People, a long-running local talk show that ran weeknights at 6 p.m. Ted Hodge was the host of Voice of the People in the late 1970s.[8]
Longtime owner Howard Green sold the station cluster to Lilly Broadcasting in 1999. As Lilly (and its predecessor, SJL Broadcast Management) was primarily a television company at the time (it would eventually reenter radio in 2019), Lilly sold off the radio stations to White Broadcasting in 2000, which switched the AM side to an oldies format. Under a limited marketing agreement, the station was managed by Eolin Broadcasting Inc., which also owned talk radio station WCLI, WCBA-FM (adult contemporary), WCBA (adult standards) and WGMM (oldies). White sold the station to EBI in 2001, at which time the television station was separated from the radio stations.
EBI moved the station to its headquarters in South Corning and switched WENY back to talk radio, simulcasting with WCLI.
In 2003, EBI sold all of the stations to Route 81 Radio, based in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. When Route 81 Radio went defunct, WS Media, a shell company for William and Paige Christian (owners of TV station WYDC), bought the stations. To circumvent ownership caps, the Christians each operate some of the stations under each individual owner's name. In November 2019, Standard Media struck an agreement to buy all of the Christians' broadcast assets, including WENY.
WENY carried a mostly syndicated lineup. Frankly Speaking with Frank Acomb, a local program, was heard during morning drive time. The station simulcast local high school sports with WGMM, with Denis Sweeney on play-by-play.
Though WENY shared the same "Patriot" brand as other Waypoint conservative talk stations WGGO and WSHY, it did not share the same lineup of hosts, because WWLZ, a competing station owned by Seven Mountains Media, held the rights to almost all the shows on those stations in the Elmira market for over a decade. The lineup became available to WENY in 2020 when WWLZ changed formats.[9]
In June 2021, WENY changed their format from talk (which continued on WENI) to adult contemporary, branded as "Magic 106.7/106.9" (the format and "Magic" branding moved from WENI-FM 92.7 and WENY-FM 97.7). This returned WENY to its earlier years as a music station.[10]
On February 13, 2023, the station changed its call sign to WMAJ.
WENI-FM is an American radio station licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to serve the community of South Waverly, Pennsylvania. Starting in early 2010, the then-WPHD moved to Comfort Hill in Ashland, New York, just south of Elmira. WENI-FM is located on the same radio tower as Elmira-licensed WCBF. WENI-FM now has one of the strongest signals in Chemung County, New York, and the greater Elmira area.
WENY-TV is a television station in Elmira, New York, United States, affiliated with ABC, CBS and The CW Plus. Owned by Lilly Broadcasting, the station has studios on Old Ithaca Road in Horseheads, and its transmitter is located on Higman Hill in Corning.
WLVY is a commercial AM radio station that is licensed to two adjacent cities in the Southern Tier of New York, Elmira Heights and Horseheads, New York. It is owned by Tower Broadcasting and airs a Top 40 (CHR) radio format.
WELM signed on in 1947 as Chemung County's second radio station and the Elmira-Corning, New York market's third. It broadcasts on 1410 kHz. The station uses a three-tower array, broadcasting with 5,000 watts from a single tower until sundown, when the power is reduced to 1,000 watts and the pattern becomes directional from all three towers.
WPGO is a non-commercial AM radio station licensed to Horseheads, New York, serving the Elmira-Corning radio market. It is owned by Montrose Broadcasting, Corporation and airs a Christian radio format, mixing Christian talk and teaching programs with Christian music. Much of the programming is simulcast from sister station WPEL-FM 96.5 FM in Montrose, Pennsylvania. The stations hold periodic fundraisers on the air to support the ministry. The studios are on High Street in Montrose.
WENI is a radio station in the Elmira-Corning market of New York state. It broadcasts with 1,000 watts day and night on 1450 kHz from studios in South Corning, New York. It airs a classic country format, branded as "Bigfoot Legends".
WCBA was a radio station in the Elmira-Corning market of New York state. It broadcast at 1,000 watts day and 37 watts night on 1350 kHz from studios in South Corning, New York.
KXCB is a commercial AM radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Omaha, Nebraska, the station serves the Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area. It is owned and operated by Steven Seline, through licensee Hickory Radio, LLC. The studios and offices are on Burt Street near North 120th Street and Dodge Road in West Omaha.
WCBF is an FM radio station licensed to Elmira, New York. It is owned by Seven Mountains Media and airs a country music format.
WRCG is a classic rock-formatted radio station in Columbus, Georgia. Studios are co-located with four sister stations on Wynnton Road in Columbus east of downtown, and the transmitter is located in Phenix City, Alabama. WRCG is an affiliate of the Atlanta Braves radio network.
WHCU is a commercial radio station in Ithaca, New York, that programs a news/talk radio format. The station has been owned by Saga Communications, operating as part of its Cayuga Radio Group, since 2005. The studios and offices are on Hanshaw Road in Ithaca.
WSHY is a commercial radio station in Lafayette, Indiana. It broadcasts a conservative talk radio format. WSHY is owned by William Fielder, III's Coastal Television, through licensee CTI License LLC, as part of a cluster with Fox/NBC affiliate WPBI-LD, ABC affiliate WPBY-LD, and sister radio stations WBPE, WYCM and WAZY-FM. All six stations share studios and offices at 3824 South 18th Street in Lafayette, with WSHY's transmitter also located at the site.
WGMA is an AM radio station licensed to the city of Hazleton, Pennsylvania with service area extending to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton radio market. The station broadcasts a classic hits radio format, simulcasting WGMM 1460 AM Tunkhannock. It broadcasts with 1,000 watts of power using a non-directional antenna. WGMA is considered a Class C AM broadcasting station according to the Federal Communications Commission.
WPHD is an FM radio station licensed to serve Corning, New York, United States. The station is owned by Kristin Cantrell's Seven Mountains Media, through licensee Southern Belle, LLC.
WMTT-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Tioga, Pennsylvania, and serving New York's Southern Tier, including the Elmira-Corning radio market. WMTT-FM is owned by Seven Mountains Media, with the license held by Southern Belle, LLC. It broadcasts a classic rock radio format, simulcast with co-owned WENI-FM (92.7) in South Waverly. The radio studios and offices are on Chemung Street in Horseheads, New York.
WNKI is a radio station broadcasting a Top 40 (CHR) format. Licensed to Corning, New York, United States, the station serves the Elmira-Corning area, and is the Nielsen Audio #1 rated station in the market. The station is currently owned by Seven Mountains Media, which closed on its $3.9 million acquisition of the station April 1, 2019, from Community Broadcasters, LLC.
WCIG is a radio station broadcasting a Christian radio format. Licensed to Big Flats, New York, United States, the station is owned by Family Life Network.
WNGZ is an AM radio station licensed to serve Watkins Glen, New York. The station is owned by Seven Mountains Media. The AM station first signed on in 1968 and has undergone numerous call letter and format changes since 1990. From 2014 to 2020 the AM station carried a classic country format.
WNDA is a radio station broadcasting a classic hits music format, simulcasting WOGA. Licensed to Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, United States, the station serves the Elmira-Corning area. The station is owned by Kristin Cantrell, through licensee Southern Belle, LLC.
WAMC is a public radio station licensed to Albany, New York. Along with WAMC-FM (90.3), the station serves as a flagship station of the Northeast Public Radio network, which carries a listener-supported, commercial-free radio format of news, talk and eclectic music. The WAMC stations are members of National Public Radio (NPR).
↑ "Alterations and Corrections", Radio Service Bulletin, April 30, 1932, page 11. (WBGF had been initially licensed in 1930 to W. Neal Parker and Herbert M. Metcalfe in Glen Falls, New York ("New Stations", Radio Service Bulletin, April 30, 1930, page 3.) and is now WAMC in Albany.)
§Online posts of letter signed by Dale L. Taylor, Manager, on WENY letterhead on March 4, 1940; Press and Sun Bulletin article, September 18, 1997, p.13, some names and dates mentioned in reporting on Taylor's passing away.
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