WJAS
Encyclopedia
WJAS is an adult standards
radio station
based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
. The station is owned by Renda Broadcasting
, and broadcasts at 1320 kHz with a power level of 5,000 watt
s.
WJAS, which is one of Pittsburgh's five original AM
stations, first signed on the air on August 4, 1922 and was a NBC
owned-and-operated station by the 1960s (after briefly operating as WAMP in the 1950s).
In 1973, the station became extremely popular with a new format as top 40 WKPQ, later WKTQ "13Q", under new owners Heftel Communications. A promotion was run where listeners would win prizes if they were randomly telephoned and answered with "I listen to the new sound of 13Q" (instead of "hello"). Although this was the highest-rated format ever to appear on 1320, ranking second in the ratings to KDKA
, it did not last due to the audience's move to FM radio. By 1977, 13Q's fortunes were fading, and Heftel sold the station to Nationwide Communications
, who tried adult contemporary, which failed as well. Nationwide later sold the station to Beni Broadcasting, who switched the station to its current adult standards format and brought back the WJAS call letters in 1981, Beni eventually sold WJAS to Renda Broadcasting.
WJAS boasts of two personalities with long and storied histories in Pittsburgh media: Jack Bogut and Bill "Chilly Billy" Cardille. Here's the current WJAS Line-Up:
6 - 10 AM - The Bogut In The Morning Show (Host - Jack Bogut / News - Hank Baughman / Traffic & Sidekick - Carol Finelli
10 AM - 3 PM - The Bill Cardille Show (Host - Bill "Chilly Billy" Cardille)
3 - 7 PM - The Chris Shovlin Show (Host - Chris Shovlin / Traffic Reporter - Lynn Bradley)
7 PM - Midnight - The John Tesh Radio Show
Bogut, who will be inducted into the Broadcasters' Hall of Fame in November 2011, originally came to Pittsburgh to host the morning show on KDKA-AM in 1968. After moving to WTAE-AM and WSHH-FM (WISH 99.7), Bogut became the afternoon host on WJAS before moving into the morning slot with the departure of Jack Wheeler. Cardille, who signed WIIC-TV (now WPXI-TV Channel 11) on the air in 1958, came to WJAS in 1995 while he was still working on TV, and stayed with WJAS as mid-day host following his retirement from Pittsburgh TV. Cardille, another Hall of Fame broadcaster for his TV work, still hosts the Muscular Dystrophy Labor Day Telethon. The versatile Chris Shovlin hosts the afternoon drive show (3-7 pm weekdays) and backs up both Bogut and Hank Baughman, another former Channel 11 personality and news anchor who works the news desk on the Bogut show each morning, in their absences. Shovlin is also the only Pittsburgh play-by-play announcer to have won three March of Dimes A.I.R. Awards for Best Sports Play-by-play in three different sports (football, basketball, and soccer). He is the play-by-play voice at Robert Morris University and of WPIAL High School Football on Comcast TV and X-finity. Carol Finelli serves as Bogut's morning sidekick and is the station's morning traffic reporter. Lynn Bradley handles the afternoon traffic reporting duties. The syndicated John Tesh Radio Show airs from 7 to Midnight. On the weekends, Radio Deluxe airs on Saturdays at 5 p.m., Swinging With Sinatra is heard on Sundays at 10 a.m. and the local Johnny Angel's Heavenly Soul Show is on Sunday evenings at 7 and is hosted by Jack "Johnny Angel" Hunt from the local show band, Johnny Angel and the Halos.
The Official WJAS Web Site: www.1320wjas.com
Panthers women's basketball games and the Agnes Beneratto radio show.
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...
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...
based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
. The station is owned by Renda Broadcasting
Renda Broadcasting
Renda Broadcasting is a privately held Pittsburgh-based radio broadcasting company founded by chief executive, Tony Renda.Renda Broadcasting operates stations in Pennsylvania, Florida and Oklahoma.-Stations:Pittsburgh*WSHH 99.7 – Adult contemporary...
, and broadcasts at 1320 kHz with a power level of 5,000 watt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
s.
The History of 1320 WJAS-AM
1320 WJAS is one of the top Nostalgia radio stations in America and is heard at 1320 AM in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania listening area. It is currently owned by the Renda Broadcasting Corporation, with studios located at RBC's corporate headquarters building in Green Tree Borough in Pittsburgh's South Hills with sister stations WISH 99.7 (WSHH-FM) and Money Talk 1360 WMNY-AM.WJAS, which is one of Pittsburgh's five original AM
Amplitude modulation
Amplitude modulation is a technique used in electronic communication, most commonly for transmitting information via a radio carrier wave. AM works by varying the strength of the transmitted signal in relation to the information being sent...
stations, first signed on the air on August 4, 1922 and was a NBC
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...
owned-and-operated station by the 1960s (after briefly operating as WAMP in the 1950s).
In 1973, the station became extremely popular with a new format as top 40 WKPQ, later WKTQ "13Q", under new owners Heftel Communications. A promotion was run where listeners would win prizes if they were randomly telephoned and answered with "I listen to the new sound of 13Q" (instead of "hello"). Although this was the highest-rated format ever to appear on 1320, ranking second in the ratings to KDKA
KDKA (AM)
KDKA is a radio station licensed to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Created by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation on November 2, 1920, it is one of the world's first modern radio stations , a distinction that has also been challenged by other stations, although it has claimed to be the first in...
, it did not last due to the audience's move to FM radio. By 1977, 13Q's fortunes were fading, and Heftel sold the station to Nationwide Communications
Nationwide Communications
Nationwide Communications Inc. was a media subsidiary of the Nationwide Insurance Company, which operated from 1946 until 1997. Based in Columbus, Ohio, Nationwide Communications owned and operated a variety of radio and television stations across the United States until it sold off all its radio...
, who tried adult contemporary, which failed as well. Nationwide later sold the station to Beni Broadcasting, who switched the station to its current adult standards format and brought back the WJAS call letters in 1981, Beni eventually sold WJAS to Renda Broadcasting.
WJAS boasts of two personalities with long and storied histories in Pittsburgh media: Jack Bogut and Bill "Chilly Billy" Cardille. Here's the current WJAS Line-Up:
6 - 10 AM - The Bogut In The Morning Show (Host - Jack Bogut / News - Hank Baughman / Traffic & Sidekick - Carol Finelli
10 AM - 3 PM - The Bill Cardille Show (Host - Bill "Chilly Billy" Cardille)
3 - 7 PM - The Chris Shovlin Show (Host - Chris Shovlin / Traffic Reporter - Lynn Bradley)
7 PM - Midnight - The John Tesh Radio Show
Bogut, who will be inducted into the Broadcasters' Hall of Fame in November 2011, originally came to Pittsburgh to host the morning show on KDKA-AM in 1968. After moving to WTAE-AM and WSHH-FM (WISH 99.7), Bogut became the afternoon host on WJAS before moving into the morning slot with the departure of Jack Wheeler. Cardille, who signed WIIC-TV (now WPXI-TV Channel 11) on the air in 1958, came to WJAS in 1995 while he was still working on TV, and stayed with WJAS as mid-day host following his retirement from Pittsburgh TV. Cardille, another Hall of Fame broadcaster for his TV work, still hosts the Muscular Dystrophy Labor Day Telethon. The versatile Chris Shovlin hosts the afternoon drive show (3-7 pm weekdays) and backs up both Bogut and Hank Baughman, another former Channel 11 personality and news anchor who works the news desk on the Bogut show each morning, in their absences. Shovlin is also the only Pittsburgh play-by-play announcer to have won three March of Dimes A.I.R. Awards for Best Sports Play-by-play in three different sports (football, basketball, and soccer). He is the play-by-play voice at Robert Morris University and of WPIAL High School Football on Comcast TV and X-finity. Carol Finelli serves as Bogut's morning sidekick and is the station's morning traffic reporter. Lynn Bradley handles the afternoon traffic reporting duties. The syndicated John Tesh Radio Show airs from 7 to Midnight. On the weekends, Radio Deluxe airs on Saturdays at 5 p.m., Swinging With Sinatra is heard on Sundays at 10 a.m. and the local Johnny Angel's Heavenly Soul Show is on Sunday evenings at 7 and is hosted by Jack "Johnny Angel" Hunt from the local show band, Johnny Angel and the Halos.
The Official WJAS Web Site: www.1320wjas.com
Pittsburgh Panthers Women's Basketball
1320 WJAS is the home to the University of PittsburghUniversity of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
Panthers women's basketball games and the Agnes Beneratto radio show.