WHAM (AM)

Infobox Radio Station
name = WHAM


area = Rochester
branding =
slogan = "WHAM 1180"
airdate = 1922
frequency = 1180 (KHz)
format = news talk
erp = 50,000 watts
haat =
class = A
coordinates = coord|43|4|51|N|77|43|30|W|type:landmark
owner = Clear Channel Communications
website = http://www.wham1180.com/
callsign_meaning = a clever marketing tool

WHAM is a clear channel talk radio station in Rochester, New York, owned by Clear Channel Communications. Its 50,000-watt transmitter is located in Chili, New York, and the station broadcasts on 1180 kHz.

The station first went on the air in 1922. The selection of the "WHAM" call letters came from a suggestion from industrialist George Eastman (founder of the Eastman Kodak Co., based in Rochester). He thought the "WHAM" name would prove to be a clever marketing tool.

The station's 50,000-watt signal covers most of the eastern half of North America at night.

WHAM has ties to two of the city's television stations. It spawned the city's first station, WHAM-TV, in 1949; that station is now WROC-TV, the area's CBS affiliate. In 2005, the area's ABC affiliate, WOKR-TV, changed its calls to WHAM-TV; Clear Channel bought the station in 2002 and sold its entire television group to Providence Equity Partners in 2007; the two stations still have a news partnership.

Format

Founded by Jordan Barney, in 1922, WHAM has grown to become the dominant AM newstalk station serving Rochester and the Genesee Valley.

Like its Clear Channel sister stations, WHAM carries the standardized Clear Channel talker lineup of Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage and Coast to Coast AM. However, these programs do not necessarily air live or in their entirety. Only the first two hours of Beck are heard, Savage's program is heard on a two-hour delay, Hannity's show is aired in the late-night hours, and most notably, WHAM is one of only a few stations that even airs Limbaugh's show on a two-hour tape delay.

In addition to the syndicated programming, WHAM boasts a local morning news team, an afternoon news magazine, a midday talk show hosted by Bob Lonsberry, and a sports talk show hosted by Rochester Democrat and Chronicle columnist Bob Matthews along with a rotating co-host, among whom are Marv Levy, Chuck Dickerson and Fred Smerlas.

External links

* [http://www.wham1180.com/ WHAM 1180 Home Page]
*AMQ|WHAM
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