WAMC (AM)
Encyclopedia
WAMC is a public radio station licensed to Albany, New York
and owned by WAMC, Inc. The station broadcasts at 1400 kHz at 1 kW unlimited, and is an AM repeater of WAMC-FM.
For 68 years, the station held the WABY calls, which are now located on an unrelated radio station
broadcasting at 1160 kHz from Mechanicville, New York
(which was formerly WMVI and took the WABY calls as a tribute to the original WABY).
to Albany in turn making the first station to broadcast from that city (though not the first one to originate, a distinction held by WOKO, now WDDY
). WABY originally broadcasted on 1370 kHz at 250 watts, moving to 1400 kHz in 1941 during the NARBA frequency shift.
The station provided the typical mix of popular music and network programming throughout most of its first 30 years of service. In 1961, the station flipped to a high energy top-40 format, but was short lived as the competition in that format was intense, leaving the format in late 1963. From 1964-1971, WABY ran a MOR format, followed by oldies in 1971, and a return to top-40 in 1973. By 1976, it had flipped to all-news
, using NBC's "News and Information Service." It then switched to country
in 1979. In 1981, WABY flipped to a Christian
fomat until 1982 when it was flipped to adult standards
. Getting many key market names, WABY would spend years as one of the highest rated standards stations in the United States, eventually adding an FM simulcast on 94.5 MHz in 1995.
In February 1999, Bendat sold his stations to Tele-Media, Inc. which flipped the AM side to an all-news
format by day with simulcasting of the FM (which itself would flip to adult contemporary that summer) nights and weekends. This arrangement remained through Tele-Media's ownership of the station through Tele-Media's sale of WABY and WKLI to Galaxy Communications
in August 2001 and through the flip of 94.5 FM to classic rock
as WRCZ.
On April 22, 2002, the WABY calls would leave 1400 kHz as Galaxy replaced it with the WHTR calls as it launched a hot talk simulcast with new move in 93.7 FM. The talk format was short-lived and that August both 1400 and 93.7 flipped to modern rock
as WKRD (1400 retained the WHTR calls, however). Galaxy would later sell 1400 to Northeast Public Radio (WAMC, Inc.) in February 2003, giving it the WAMC calls (90.3 FM would take on the WAMC-FM calls as a result). The WABY callsign was displayed on the WAMC tower until recently, although the current WABY broadcasts from an entirely different location.
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
and owned by WAMC, Inc. The station broadcasts at 1400 kHz at 1 kW unlimited, and is an AM repeater of WAMC-FM.
For 68 years, the station held the WABY calls, which are now located on an unrelated radio station
WABY
WABY is a radio station broadcasting a Adult Standards/MOR format. Licensed to Mechanicville, New York, USA, the station serves the Albany area. The station is currently owned by Anastos Media Group, Inc...
broadcasting at 1160 kHz from Mechanicville, New York
Mechanicville, New York
Mechanicville is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population is 5,196 as of the 2010 census. It is the smallest city by area in the state. The name is derived from the occupations of early residents....
(which was formerly WMVI and took the WABY calls as a tribute to the original WABY).
History
WAMC came into the Albany market in 1934 as WABY when Al Kelert moved radio station WGLC from Hudson Falls, New YorkHudson Falls, New York
Hudson Falls is a village located in Washington County, New York, USA. The village is in the southwest part of the town of Kingsbury, on US Route 4. Hudson Falls is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 6,927...
to Albany in turn making the first station to broadcast from that city (though not the first one to originate, a distinction held by WOKO, now WDDY
WDDY
WDDY is an AM radio station licensed to Albany, New York. It broadcasts in HD Radio from facilities located in Delmar, New York, operating with 5000 watts of power on 1460 kHz...
). WABY originally broadcasted on 1370 kHz at 250 watts, moving to 1400 kHz in 1941 during the NARBA frequency shift.
The station provided the typical mix of popular music and network programming throughout most of its first 30 years of service. In 1961, the station flipped to a high energy top-40 format, but was short lived as the competition in that format was intense, leaving the format in late 1963. From 1964-1971, WABY ran a MOR format, followed by oldies in 1971, and a return to top-40 in 1973. By 1976, it had flipped to all-news
All-news radio
All-news radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcast of news.All-news radio is available in both local and syndicated forms, and is carried in some form on both major US satellite radio networks...
, using NBC's "News and Information Service." It then switched to country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
in 1979. In 1981, WABY flipped to a Christian
Christian radio
Christian radio is a category of radio formats that focus on transmitting programming with a Christian message. In the United States, where it is more established, many such broadcasters play popular music of Christian influence, though many programs have talk or news programming covering...
fomat until 1982 when it was flipped to adult standards
Adult standards
Adult standards is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations.Adult standards is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly those persons over 50 years of age, but it is mostly targeted for senior citizens...
. Getting many key market names, WABY would spend years as one of the highest rated standards stations in the United States, eventually adding an FM simulcast on 94.5 MHz in 1995.
In February 1999, Bendat sold his stations to Tele-Media, Inc. which flipped the AM side to an all-news
All-news radio
All-news radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcast of news.All-news radio is available in both local and syndicated forms, and is carried in some form on both major US satellite radio networks...
format by day with simulcasting of the FM (which itself would flip to adult contemporary that summer) nights and weekends. This arrangement remained through Tele-Media's ownership of the station through Tele-Media's sale of WABY and WKLI to Galaxy Communications
Galaxy Communications
Galaxy Communications is a radio broadcasting company with radio stations entirely in the Central New York area.In 1989, the first Galaxy station, WKLL was launched by the current CEO, Ed Levine, and his business partner, Bob Raide. In the 1990s, Galaxy launched additional stations in Syracuse and...
in August 2001 and through the flip of 94.5 FM to classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
as WRCZ.
On April 22, 2002, the WABY calls would leave 1400 kHz as Galaxy replaced it with the WHTR calls as it launched a hot talk simulcast with new move in 93.7 FM. The talk format was short-lived and that August both 1400 and 93.7 flipped to modern rock
Modern rock
Modern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre...
as WKRD (1400 retained the WHTR calls, however). Galaxy would later sell 1400 to Northeast Public Radio (WAMC, Inc.) in February 2003, giving it the WAMC calls (90.3 FM would take on the WAMC-FM calls as a result). The WABY callsign was displayed on the WAMC tower until recently, although the current WABY broadcasts from an entirely different location.