- WHAS (AM)
Infobox Radio station
name = WHAS-AM
city =Louisville, Kentucky
area =Louisville, Kentucky
branding = "84 WHAS"
slogan = "Depend On It
airdate =July 18 ,1922
frequency = 840 kHz (AM) +HD Radio
format =News /Talk
power = 50,000Watt s
erp =
class =
callsign_meaning = We Have A Signal (abackronym , as the call was randomly assigned by the FCC)
former_callsigns =
owner = Clear Channel
webcast =
website = [http://www.whas.com WHAS.com]
affiliations =WHAS, known by the on air branding as "84 WHAS", is an
AM radio station broadcasting inLouisville, Kentucky . It is a 50,000Watt clear channel radio station assigned to frequency 840kHz . Withclear channel status, its nighttime signal can be heard in most of the continental U.S. and much ofCanada , and even in other countries at times.Its first broadcast was on
July 18 ,1922 . It was originally assigned the frequency of 350kHz . OnMay 16 ,1925 , the first broadcast of theKentucky Derby was broadcast over WHAS and WGN. [ "Derby To Go On The Air", "The New York Times", 16 May 1925, p. 11] During the 1937 Flood the station aired 115,000 messages. OnMarch 29 ,1941 the station moved to its current frequency of 840 AM. OnMarch 30 ,1970 WHAS began 24-hour operation. WHAS' music format was for many years an adult-oriented combination ofTop 40 hits andOldies ; one longtime slogan was "Good and Gold" (as in "good music", or adult contemporary/MOR, and "golden" oldies). The station continued to feature some music programming (mostly of theoldies variety) well into the 1990s, making it one of the last 50,000-watt clear-channel radio stations to feature music programming on a regular basis.The station has been broadcasting on a full time basis in the
IBOC digital radio mode, using theHD Radio system fromiBiquity , since September 2007 after an initial testing period which started in 2006. Prior to 1995, WHAS had been broadcasting inAM stereo , and was the last 50 kW AM station with a full timeAdult Contemporary format. [http://users.hfx.eastlink.ca/~amstereo/offenders.htm]The station was originally part of the local media empire ruled by the Bingham family, which also published "Louisville Courier-Journal" (now owned by Gannett) and owned television station and
CBS turned ABC affiliateWHAS-TV (owned byBelo now).WHAS is the flagship radio station of the annual
WHAS Crusade for Children telethon. The station also broadcasts "The Moral Side of the News," one of the oldest public affairs programs in American broadcasting, dating back to the 1940s. The show has also been shown on WHAS-TV since the 1950s. The show's panel ofclergy members have been involved in distributing the proceeds of the Crusade for Children among local charities since the telethon's beginning. [http://www.whascrusade.org/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=12]WHAS was the first station to broadcast the call of the Kentucky Derby live, using an announcer who watched from the windows of one of the famous twin spires of
Churchill Downs .WHAS is currently owned by
Clear Channel Communications .Programming
The station also features "
The Rush Limbaugh Show " on its daily lineup. Some other personalities on the weekday lineup includeTerry Meiners on "Terry Meiners and Company", Francene Cucinello on "The Francene Show," andLachlan McLean on "Sports Talk 84"WHAS is the flagship station for
University of Louisville athletic broadcasts, carrying Cardinal football and men's basketball games.Public Service
On the afternoon of April 3, 1974, Louisville was hit by an F4 tornado that developed during the "
Super Outbreak ". WHAS broke away from regular programming to track the storm as it passed through the Louisville metropolitan area.In the hours immediately following the storm, the station delivered important information about what areas had been directly impacted by the storms, and traffic reporter Dick Gilbert followed the tornado in his helicopter, reporting on the damage as he flew at a safe distance behind the storm.
The station stayed with continuous coverage of the disaster until well into the early morning hours of April 4. For their efforts, the station's personnel earned thanks from then-Kentucky Governor
Wendell Ford and PresidentRichard Nixon .Notable WHAS alumni
*
Beth Andrews , meteorologist
*Foster Brooks
*Joe Donovan , overnight "oldies" DJ
*Dr. Stan Frager
*Dick Gilbert , traffic reporter
*Cawood Ledford , sports
*Don McNeill, national morning radio host
*Milton Metz , talk show host
*Jane Norris , talk show host
*Wayne Perkey , morning DJ
*Gary Rizzo , meteorologist
*Ken Schulz , morning meteorologist
*Hugh Smith
*Chuck Taylor , meteorologist
*Fred Wiche , farm reporter
*Reed Yadon , meteorologist
*John Ziegleree also
*
WHAS-TV References
External links
* [http://www.whas.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.francene.net Francene]
*AMQ|WHAS
*AML|WHAS
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