WLNG
Encyclopedia
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...
in Sag Harbor, New York
Sag Harbor, New York
Sag Harbor is an incorporated village in Suffolk County, New York, United States, with parts in both the Towns of East Hampton and Southampton. The population was 2,313 at the 2000 census....
that has earned a reputation as a throwback to an earlier era with its frequent use of jingles, reverb, frequent remote broadcasts at store openings, carnivals and sundry events, and personality disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
s. Its transmitter is located on a hill in Noyack, New York
Noyack, New York
Noyack is a hamlet in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 2,696 at the 2000 census.Noyack is an Indian word meaning “a corner or point of land”. It’s...
which disc jockeys call "Mount Sidney" after station founder Paul Sidney (1940–2009). The stations also streams its audio via Live365
Live365
Live365 is an Internet radio network where members can create their own online radio station or listen to other Live365 broadcasters' online stations. As of October 2006, there were about 6,500 active stations, some of which play niche genres seldom heard on AM/FM radio...
.
It had broadcasts in Monaural
Monaural
Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction is single-channel. Typically there is only one microphone, one loudspeaker, or channels are fed from a common signal path...
till January 20, 2011.
The station's call letters come from Long Island.
The station's target market is the Hamptons
Hamptons
The Hamptons may refer to several villages and hamlets in the towns of Southampton and East Hampton on the far east end of Suffolk County in Long Island, New York. These townships occupy the South Fork of Long Island, stretching into the Atlantic Ocean. The Hamptons form a popular seaside resort,...
of Southampton, New York
Southampton (town), New York
The Town of Southampton is located in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, U.S., partly on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the United States 2000 Census, the town had a total population of 54,712...
and East Hampton, New York
East Hampton (town), New York
The Town of East Hampton is located in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, at the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. It is the easternmost town in the state of New York...
as well as the North Fork, Suffolk County, New York
North Fork, Suffolk County, New York
The North Fork is a 30-mile-long peninsula in the northeast part of Suffolk County, New York, roughly parallel with an even longer peninsula known as the South Fork...
. The emphasis on advertisements for the local Five and dime
Five and Dime
Five and Dime is a cartoon short by Walter Lantz which features Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. It is the 74th Oswald short produced by Lantz and the 125th overall. It also is among the number of shorts that feature Oswald in his fully clothed appearance....
, delis and crafts stores have made it popular among the Bonackers
Bonackers
Bonackers is the name for a native people of the Springs area of East Hampton, New York.-History:The name traditionally refers specifically to the working class families who live in an area called Springs in the north of the Town of East Hampton, New York Bonackers is the name for a native people...
(Hamptons locals). The station has extensive local news which is considered the best by many locals and is famous for being the definitive source for weather information during major storms.
On July 17, 1996, the station was having a live remote at a carnival in Jamesport, New York
Jamesport, New York
Jamesport is a census-designated place that roughly corresponds to the hamlet by the same name in the town of Riverhead in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The CDP's population was 1,526 at the 2000 census. Jamesport is known for its quaint downtown area including antique shops and...
when TWA Flight 800
TWA Flight 800
Trans World Airlines Flight 800 , a Boeing 747-131, exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, on July 17, 1996, at about 20:31 EDT, 12 minutes after takeoff, killing all 230 persons on board. At the time, it was the second-deadliest U.S...
fell out of the sky into the nearby Atlantic Ocean and the station was the first to break the news that something momentous had happened.
The station is probably most famous for it using numerous jingles (many from the original PAMS
PAMS
PAMS , based in Dallas, Texas, was the most famous jingle production company in American broadcasting. It produced identification packages for radio stations around the world, as well as some commercial music.-History:The company was founded by William B. Meeks, Jr. PAMS (an acronym for Production,...
jingle library) often back to back. Paul Sidney who was with the station since the year following its start in 1963 and started the jingle obsession was quoted in a New Yorker Magazine Talk of the Town article in 2002: We're the only station that when we say 'Here comes fourteen in a row' we're not talking about records.
WLNG was one of the first radio stations in the country to focus on playing oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
, although the station included current hits in rotation for decades and even as recently as 1999. Today WLNG's music is almost all oldies.
WLNG also had an AM station at 1600. In 1996 the frequency was sold to WWRL
WWRL
WWRL is a radio station in New York City, broadcasting at 1600 kHz AM owned by Access.1 Communications. Since September 1, 2006, its format has been progressive talk radio...
so that it could increase its power. It is owned by Main Street Broadcasting Co., Inc. It broadcasts at 5.3 kW.