- WGY
Infobox Radio station
name = WGY
airdate =February 4 ,1922
city =Schenectady, New York
frequency = 810kHz
area =Capital District ,Hudson Valley ,Mohawk Valley , westernNew England
format =Talk radio
erp = 50,000watt s | class = A | callsign_meaning = Obtained from sequential list, but explained as
Wireless General Electric
in SchenectadY
sister_stations = WGY,WRVE ,WHRL ,WPYX ,WTRY-FM ,WKKF
owner =Clear Channel Communications
website = [http://www.wgy.com/ www.wgy.com]WGY is a 50,000
watt radio station licensed to Schenectady,New York . It is one of theUnited States 's oldest radio stations as well as the oldest in New York'sCapital Region . WGY is the heritageclear channel occupant of the 810kHz frequency and has a signal which blankets much of the Northeast by day and much of the easternUnited States by night, being heard as far away asChicago . Owned and operated byClear Channel Communications , the station broadcasts atalk radio format and is operated out of the company's Albany complex in Latham, just outside of Schenectady. WGY's main competitors in the region areWROW andWGDJ .History
From its sign-on in 1922 until 1983, WGY was the flagship station of
General Electric 's broadcasting group, joined later by pioneering sister stations in television (WRGB , signed on 1928) and FM radio (W2XOY, later WGFM and todayWRVE , signed on 1939). In 1926, WGY became an early affiliate of the NBC Red network, and after the split of the sister NBC Blue network into today's ABC, WGY remained with NBC through the decades. As the golden age of radio ended, WGY evolved into a full servicemiddle of the road station, evolving its format as programming tastes seemed fit. The station changed from full service middle of the road to news/talk on Memorial Day Weekend, 1994.In 1983, WGY and WGFM were sold to local owners and for the next several years bounced around a series of owners before
Dame Media acquired the stations in late 1993. In 1998, Dame sold its entire group to Clear Channel, whose ownership remains to this day.Programming
WGY's schedule is typical for a heritage large-signal news/talk station outside of major markets with a balance of local and syndicated talk programming plus frequent news updates. Newscasts air every 30 minutes with more frequent coverage in cases of breaking news or inclement weather. Top-of-hour newscasts are approximately six to seven minutes long and usually include two minutes of
Fox News Radio national news, a few minutes of local news, traffic ("WGY All-Day Traffic"), and weather ("WGY Storm Team Forecast"); some weekend newscasts substitute sports for traffic. Bottom-of-the-hour updates, lasting around three minutes, usually consist of a lead national story, some local news, and a weather report. Shorter weather updates are also broadcast at :20 and :50 past the hour.During "
Don Weeks and the WGY Morning News" (weekdays 5:30-9:00 AM), this format is altered in that there are also local news updates at :20 and :50 past the hour, sports updates at :15 and :45, and "Traffic and Weather on the Eights" to go along with the normal news updates. WGY carriedABC News Radio from July 1994 until August 2005, whenClear Channel Communications switched the majority of its news/talk radio stations to Fox News Radio as a boost to that network's launch.Paul Harvey would remain on WGY for an additional year though.Besides Weeks, WGY's other weekday local show is hosted by
Al Roney (9:00AM-Noon). Jason Keller, who hosts mornings on sister station WHRL, was in the 6:00-7:00 PM time slot until mid-August 2007. Handling local talk on the weekends is WGY veteran Joe Gallagher (6:00-10:00 AM), and Jamie Roberts (Sun. 11:00-1:00 PM). Joining the station in June of 2008 were attorneysMathew B. Tully and Greg T. Rinckey, co-hosts of theTully Rinckey Legal Power Hour (Sunday 9:00-10:00 PM). Notable syndicated hosts on WGY includeRush Limbaugh ,Sean Hannity , Michael Savage,Phil Hendrie ,Kim Komando , andGeorge Noory ("Coast to Coast AM ").Three notable former WGY hosts are
Mike Gallagher (who hosted afternoon drive in the mid-1990s before moving to WABC and is now part of theSalem Radio Network ),J. R. Gach (controversial shock jock) andAndrew Wilkow ofSirius Satellite Radio (who did part of afternoon drive and later late mornings from 2003-2006).Schedule
The complete program schedule can be found directly from [http://www.wgy.com/pages/programming.html WGY's schedule page] .
Weekdays
*5:00-5:30 AM: "810 WGY Daybreak"
*5:30-9:00 AM: "Don Weeks and the WGY Morning News"
*9:00 AM-12:00 PM::Al Roney
*12:00-3:00 PM:Rush Limbaugh
*3:00-6:00 PM:Sean Hannity
*6:00-10:00 PM: Michael Savage
*10:00 PM-1:00 AM:Phil Hendrie
*1:00 AM-5:00 AM: "Coast to Coast AM with George Noory"aturday
*5:00-5:30 AM: "
Wall Street Journal This Weekend with Gordon Deal"
*5:30-10:00 AM: Joe Gallagher
*10:00-11:00 AM: "The Mutual Fund Show with Adam Bold"
*11:00 AM-12:00 PM: "Travel Today withPeter Greenberg "
*12:00-3:00 PM: Mike McConnell's "The Weekend"
*3:00-7:00 PM: Dr. Dean Edell
*7:00-9:00 PM: Bob Costas' "Costas on the Radio"
*9:00 PM-1:00 AM: "Coast to Coast Live with Ian Punnett"unday
*1:00 AM-5:00 AM: "Coast-to-Coast AM with Art Bell"
*6:00 AM-10:00 AM: Joe Gallagher
*10:00 AM-11:00 AM: The Fagan Financial Report
*11:00 AM-1:00 PM: Jamie Roberts
*1:00 PM-4:00 PM:Kim Komando
*4:00 PM-7:00 PM: "Money Talk withBob Brinker "
*7:00 PM-8:00 PM: "Eco Radio Network with Pete Muscanelli (local paid programming)
*8:00 PM-9:00 PM: Let's Talk Money with Steven Bouchey, CFP
*9:00 PM-10:00 PM: "The Tully Rinckey Legal Power Hour
*10:00 PM-10:30 PM: "Infomercial s
*10:30 PM-11:00 PM: " "The Lutheran Hour"
*10:00 PM to 10:30PM: Paid Programming
*10:30 PM-11:00 PM: "The Lutheran Hour "
*11:00 PM-11:30PM: "Clear View with Read Shepherd"
*11:30 PM-12:00 AM: "InfoTrak with Chris Witting"
*12:00 AM-5:00 AM: "Coast to Coast AM with Art Bell"News Team
*Chuck Custer - News/Program Director
*W. Read Shepherd - Afternoon Anchor
*Jim Knapp - Anchor/Reporter
*Matt Delsignore - Anchor/Reporter
*Ali Skinner - Morning Anchortreaming audio
In late 2005, WGY began streaming its local shows on their website (the combination of affiliate contracts and/or hosts with pay services preclude full streaming). In May 2006, WGY began posting the most recent top-of-hour newscast on the website for on-demand streaming as well as podcasts of newscasts and key features.
ee also
* 1928 in television
External links
* [http://www.wgy.com WGY's website]
* [http://www.oldradio.com/archives/general/100oldest.html The 100 Oldest U.S. Stations]
*amq|WGY
*aml|WGY
* [http://www.tullyrinckeyshow.com The Tully Rinckey Legal Power Hour Show Website]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.