WDAY-AM
Encyclopedia
WDAY is North Dakota's first and oldest radio station, having signed on in 1922. It is an affiliate of the ABC Radio Network. Its parent company, Forum Communications
, also owns ABC
affiliate WDAY-TV
6 and The Forum
newspaper in Fargo. Forum Communications also owns ABC affiliate WDAZ-TV
8 in Grand Forks
and several other newspapers and TV stations in North Dakota
, Minnesota
, South Dakota
and Wisconsin
.
WDAY's power is 5,000 watts, and it uses one tower in the daytime pattern and three at night. Its listening area is the third largest in North Dakota, after KFYR-AM
in Bismarck, and talk radio local competitor WZFG The Flag 1100 AM WZFG-AM
, licensed to nearby Dilworth, Minn. WDAY-AM covers the eastern half of North Dakota, parts of northwestern Minnesota, northeastern South Dakota, and extreme southern Manitoba.
Most stations west of the Mississippi have call letters which begin with K. However, WDAY was licensed before the U.S. government changed its call sign conventions in 1923. Prior to 1923, W signified a station was west of the Mississippi river and K signified a station was east of the river. Many stations around the country reversed this convention and the U.S. government changed its policy to conform to what the majority of stations did.
severely damaged WDAY's tower (which is located on Main Avenue in West Fargo, ND). Of its three towers, one completely collapsed, the second snapped approximately two-thirds of the way up, and the third remained standing but severely mangled, knocking WDAY off the air. WDAY was able to get abck on the air several days later with the remaining tower, using their full 5kW non-direction signal during the day, but only 1.2kW at night, as the two towers lost transmitted the directional 5kW signal at night.
Forum Communications
Forum Communications Company is a media firm based in Fargo, North Dakota. The company prints a number of newspapers in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, including The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead....
, also owns ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
affiliate WDAY-TV
WDAY-TV
WDAY-TV, digital channel 21 , is the ABC affiliate television station for Fargo, North Dakota. The station serves the southern half of the Fargo-Grand Forks television market, with WDAZ-TV in Grand Forks serving the northern half. The two stations are counted as a single unit for Nielsen ratings...
6 and The Forum
The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead
The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, previously titled the Fargo Forum, is a daily newspaper printed in Fargo, North Dakota and owned by Forum Communications. The Forum, as it is commonly known, is the primary daily paper for southeast North Dakota, and also much of northwest Minnesota. Its average daily...
newspaper in Fargo. Forum Communications also owns ABC affiliate WDAZ-TV
WDAZ-TV
WDAZ-TV, channel 8, is an ABC affiliate located in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The station serves the northern half of the Fargo-Grand Forks television market. The station also has significant viewership in southern Manitoba, Canada including Winnipeg and Steinbach as it is carried on cable. WDAZ is...
8 in Grand Forks
Grand Forks, North Dakota
Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 52,838, while that of the city and surrounding metropolitan area was 98,461...
and several other newspapers and TV stations in North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
and Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
.
Programming
Its main radio format is News and Talk Sports Radio, including both local and syndicated shows. WDAY's daytime lineup includes:- 5:30 AM to 8:00 AM The Morning Buzz News
- 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM Glen Beck Radio Show
- 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM Christopher Gabriel
- 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM Jay Thomas
- 5:00 PM to 5:30 PM WDAY 6 TV News at 5
- 5:30 PM to 6:00 PM ABC World News
- 6:00 PM to 6:30 PM WDAY 6 News at 6
- 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM Prime Time Sports
- 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM Dave Ramsey (Tape Delayed)
- 10:00 PM to 10:35 PM WDAY 6 News at 10
- 10:35 PM to 1:30 AM Micheal Smerconish
WDAY's power is 5,000 watts, and it uses one tower in the daytime pattern and three at night. Its listening area is the third largest in North Dakota, after KFYR-AM
KFYR (AM)
KFYR is a radio station located in Bismarck, North Dakota, owned by Clear Channel Communications. It transmits on a 5,000 Watt signal that can be heard in seven U.S. states and three Canadian provinces. KFYR also broadcasts on translator K259AF in Bismarck...
in Bismarck, and talk radio local competitor WZFG The Flag 1100 AM WZFG-AM
WZFG
WZFG is a 50,000 watt radio station serving the Fargo-Moorhead market, licensed to Dilworth, Minnesota. Its two-tower transmitter site is near Sabin, Minnesota. The station is owned by Great Plains Integrated Marketing.-History:...
, licensed to nearby Dilworth, Minn. WDAY-AM covers the eastern half of North Dakota, parts of northwestern Minnesota, northeastern South Dakota, and extreme southern Manitoba.
Most stations west of the Mississippi have call letters which begin with K. However, WDAY was licensed before the U.S. government changed its call sign conventions in 1923. Prior to 1923, W signified a station was west of the Mississippi river and K signified a station was east of the river. Many stations around the country reversed this convention and the U.S. government changed its policy to conform to what the majority of stations did.
May 2011 Tower Collapse
On May 30, 2011, a Severe ThunderstormThunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm, a lightning storm, thundershower or simply a storm is a form of weather characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere known as thunder. The meteorologically assigned cloud type associated with the...
severely damaged WDAY's tower (which is located on Main Avenue in West Fargo, ND). Of its three towers, one completely collapsed, the second snapped approximately two-thirds of the way up, and the third remained standing but severely mangled, knocking WDAY off the air. WDAY was able to get abck on the air several days later with the remaining tower, using their full 5kW non-direction signal during the day, but only 1.2kW at night, as the two towers lost transmitted the directional 5kW signal at night.
Former staff
- Al Aamodt (news anchor, 1975–2010)
- Ben Ziegler (Program Manager)
- Scott Hennen
- Ed SchultzEd SchultzEdward Andrew "Ed" Schultz Is an American television and radio host and a liberal political commentator . He is the host of The Ed Show, a daily news talk program on MSNBC, and The Ed Schultz Show, a talk radio show, nationally syndicated by Dial Global, promising "straight talk."-Early...
- Dale Van-De-Loo