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WBAL (AM)
Encyclopedia
WBAL is a news-talk
radio station
located in Baltimore, Maryland, USA
. WBAL broadcasts on a clear channel frequency with 50 kilowatts (or 50,000 watts
) of power. Owned by the Hearst Corporation
, WBAL's tri-mast
transmitters are located in Randallstown, Maryland
. The station shares its studios and offices with sister stations WBAL-TV
(channel 11) and WIYY (97.9 FM, formerly WBAL-FM) on Television Hill in Baltimore's Woodberry
neighborhood.
WBAL has the highest signal strength of any radio station in Maryland and its directional nighttime signal reaches as far as Nova Scotia
and Bermuda
. WBAL employs the largest number of news
staff of any radio station in the state. WBAL and WIYY are the only two radio stations still owned by Hearst.
WBAL began broadcasting after being dedicated on November 2, 1925, as a subsidiary of the Consolidated Gas Electric Light and Power Company, a predecessor of Constellation Energy
. WBAL's initial broadcasting studio was located at the utility's offices on Lexington Street, and it operated as part of the Blue Network
of the National Broadcasting Company
. On January 12, 1935, with radio becoming more commercialized, there was little justification for public service company
ownership of a radio station, and WBAL was sold to the Hearst-controlled American Radio News Corporation.
In the 1930s, WBAL became the flagship station
for the international broadcast of radio evangelist G. E. Lowman
, which originated in Baltimore until 1959. During the 1960s, WBAL had a full service free-flowing Middle Of The Road music format heavily emphasising personality. The station played a mix of soft rock and roll and non rock songs/standards.
By the early 1970s, the station had a full-service adult contemporary music
format with the exception of weekday evenings, where the station employed talk programming. Among its personalities during that period were program host Jay Grayson, Harley Brinsfield (who had a long-running Saturday night jazz music program, The Harley Show), and White House-accredited newsman Galen Fromme. In the early 1980s, WBAL began running talk shows overnights as well as evenings and continued to play some music during the day. Music gradually decreased and in the fall of 1985, WBAL had transitioned to its current news-talk format, winning 19 national Edward R. Murrow Awards since then the most of any local U.S. radio station. Since the mid-1990s, the station has become increasingly conservative, both in terms of its on-air personalities and its editorial disposition.
In 2010, WBAL switched its morning (5-9 AM) and afternoon (3-6 PM) drive-time shows to an all-news format, entitled Maryland's Morning News and Afternoon News Journal respectively. The all-news blocks include national newscasts from CBS
at the top of each hour.
In addition to its analog 1090 kHz signal, WBAL is repeated on WIYY-HD4, a digital subchannel
of WIYY
's HD Radio
signal.
football and the flagship station for Baltimore Orioles
baseball and Navy
football.
WBAL is also an affiliate of Sporting News Radio
which it broadcasts late nights and weekends.
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
located in Baltimore, Maryland, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. WBAL broadcasts on a clear channel frequency with 50 kilowatts (or 50,000 watts
Watts
-People:*Watts , the surname of several people*Watts S. Humphrey , American software engineer often called the father of software quality*Watts , a Canadian record producer-Fictional characters:*Watts family in EastEnders...
) of power. Owned by the Hearst Corporation
Hearst Corporation
The Hearst Corporation is an American media conglomerate based in the Hearst Tower, Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. Founded by William Randolph Hearst as an owner of newspapers, the company's holdings now include a wide variety of media...
, WBAL's tri-mast
Mast radiator
A mast radiator is a radio mast or tower in which the whole structure itself functions as an antenna. This design is commonly used for transmitting antennas operating at low frequencies, in the VLF, LF and MF ranges, in particular those used for AM broadcasting. The metal mast is electrically...
transmitters are located in Randallstown, Maryland
Randallstown, Maryland
Randallstown is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is named after Christopher and Thomas Randall, two 18th-century tavern-keepers. At that time, Randallstown was a tollgate crossroads on the Liberty Turnpike, a major east-west...
. The station shares its studios and offices with sister stations WBAL-TV
WBAL-TV
WBAL-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station in Baltimore, Maryland. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 11. It is one of the flagship stations of Hearst Television, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Hearst Corporation, which also owns sister radio stations WBAL and...
(channel 11) and WIYY (97.9 FM, formerly WBAL-FM) on Television Hill in Baltimore's Woodberry
Woodberry, Baltimore
Woodberry is a neighborhood located in the north-central area of Baltimore, Maryland, USA. A largely residential, middle-class area, Woodberry is a historic community bordered on the north by Cold Spring Lane, on the south by Druid Hill Park, on the west by Greenspring Avenue, and on the east by...
neighborhood.
WBAL has the highest signal strength of any radio station in Maryland and its directional nighttime signal reaches as far as Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
and Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
. WBAL employs the largest number of news
News
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
staff of any radio station in the state. WBAL and WIYY are the only two radio stations still owned by Hearst.
History
Constellation Energy
Constellation Energy, headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, is an energy producer, trader, and distributor. The company operates over 35 power plants in 11 states under its operating company Constellation Commodities Group and/or Constellation Generation Group...
. WBAL's initial broadcasting studio was located at the utility's offices on Lexington Street, and it operated as part of the Blue Network
Blue Network
The Blue Network, and its immediate predecessor, the NBC Blue Network, were the on-air names of an American radio production and distribution service from 1927 to 1945...
of the National Broadcasting Company
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
. On January 12, 1935, with radio becoming more commercialized, there was little justification for public service company
Public service company
A public service company is a corporation or other non-governmental business entity which delivers public services - certain services considered essential to the public interest...
ownership of a radio station, and WBAL was sold to the Hearst-controlled American Radio News Corporation.
In the 1930s, WBAL became the flagship station
Flagship station
In broadcasting, a flagship is the broadcast which originates a television network, or a particular radio show or TV show, primarily in the United States and Canada. This includes both direct network feeds and broadcast syndication, but generally not backhauls...
for the international broadcast of radio evangelist G. E. Lowman
G. E. Lowman
Guerdon Elmer Lowman, more familiarly G. E. Lowman was an American Christian clergyman and a pioneering international radio evangelist beginning in 1930, following a successful business career....
, which originated in Baltimore until 1959. During the 1960s, WBAL had a full service free-flowing Middle Of The Road music format heavily emphasising personality. The station played a mix of soft rock and roll and non rock songs/standards.
By the early 1970s, the station had a full-service adult contemporary music
Adult contemporary music
Adult contemporary music is a broad style of popular music that ranges from lush 1950s and 1960s vocal music to predominantly ballad-heavy music with varying degrees of rock influence, as well as a radio format that plays such music....
format with the exception of weekday evenings, where the station employed talk programming. Among its personalities during that period were program host Jay Grayson, Harley Brinsfield (who had a long-running Saturday night jazz music program, The Harley Show), and White House-accredited newsman Galen Fromme. In the early 1980s, WBAL began running talk shows overnights as well as evenings and continued to play some music during the day. Music gradually decreased and in the fall of 1985, WBAL had transitioned to its current news-talk format, winning 19 national Edward R. Murrow Awards since then the most of any local U.S. radio station. Since the mid-1990s, the station has become increasingly conservative, both in terms of its on-air personalities and its editorial disposition.
In 2010, WBAL switched its morning (5-9 AM) and afternoon (3-6 PM) drive-time shows to an all-news format, entitled Maryland's Morning News and Afternoon News Journal respectively. The all-news blocks include national newscasts from CBS
CBS Radio Network
The CBS Radio Network provides news, sports and other programming to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by CBS Corporation, and operated by CBS Radio ....
at the top of each hour.
In addition to its analog 1090 kHz signal, WBAL is repeated on WIYY-HD4, a digital subchannel
Digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
of WIYY
WIYY
WIYY is a radio station in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, owned by the Hearst Corporation. WIYY broadcasts an Mainstream Rock format that mixes music popular in the modern rock, heavy metal and classic rock genres...
's HD Radio
HD Radio
HD Radio, which originally stood for "Hybrid Digital", is the trademark for iBiquity's in-band on-channel digital radio technology used by AM and FM radio stations to transmit audio and data via a digital signal in conjunction with their analog signals...
signal.
Personalities
- Dave Durian
- Ron SmithRon Smith (radio host)Ron Smith is an American talk radio show host on WBAL in Baltimore, Maryland. His show now airs weekdays from 9 to noon ET. It formerly aired from 3 to 6 pm ET....
- Brett Hollander
- Clarence M. Mitchell, IV (C4)
- Mary Beth Marsden
- Doug McIntyreDoug McIntyreDoug McIntyre is the host of "Talking the News" on 77 WABC New York City , the lead-in morning drive show before "Imus in the Morning." He also hosts the four-hour radio talk show "Doug McIntyre's Red Eye Radio", syndicated across the United States on Cumulus Media Networks, and is the page one...
- Brian KilmeadeBrian KilmeadeBrian Kilmeade a Fox News Channel television personality. Weekdays, he co-hosts Fox's morning show, Fox & Friends, along with Steve Doocy and Gretchen Carlson. Kilmeade also co-hosts Brian and the Judge, a talk-news radio show on Fox News Radio, with Judge Andrew P. Napolitano...
- Kim Kommando
Sports
WBAL is the co-flagship station (with WIYY) of Baltimore RavensBaltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
football and the flagship station for Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
baseball and Navy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
football.
WBAL is also an affiliate of Sporting News Radio
Sporting News Radio
Yahoo! Sports Radio, formerly Sporting News Radio is a United States sports radio network that broadcasts sports news, talk, scores, and highlights 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. On August 1, 2011, it was announced the network would change its name to Yahoo! Sports Radio, effective...
which it broadcasts late nights and weekends.