WMAY
| Broadcast area | Springfield metropolitan area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 970kHz |
| Branding | 102.5 The Lake |
| Programming | |
| Format | Classic hits |
| Affiliations | ABC Radio News |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WMAY-FM,WNNS,WQLZ | |
| History | |
First air date | September 15, 1950 |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 38348 |
| Class | B |
| Power | 1,000wattsday 500 watts night |
| ERP | 250 watts (translators) |
Transmitter coordinates | 39°51′42.00″N89°32′32.00″W/ 39.8616667°N 89.5422222°W |
| Translator(s) |
|
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | thelakespringfield |
WMAY(970kHz) is acommercialAMradio stationinSpringfield, Illinois.The station is owned byMid-West Family Broadcastingand the license is held by Long Nine, Inc.[2]WMAY'stransmitter,radio studiosand offices are all located on North Third Street inRiverton, Illinois.[3]
WMAY is powered at 1,000wattsby day and 500 watts at night. Programming issimulcaston twoFM translators:W234CCat 94.7MHzinSherman, Illinois,and 102.5W273DRin Springfield.[4][5]
Previous news/talk programming
[edit]Weekdays on WMAY-AM-FM began with "The WMAY Newsfeed," a local news and information show hosted by Greg Bishop. Local talk shows were heard in late mornings with Mike Wennmacher and in afternoondrive timewith Jim Leach. Thesyndicated"Ramsey ShowwithDave Ramsey"is carried in early afternoons. Evenings and overnights feature" Hits and Headlines, "a mix ofclassic hitsand news updates fromABC News Radioand the WMAY newsroom.
Weekends featured programs on money, health, law, real estate, computers, guns and an hour devoted to the music of theGrateful Dead.Some weekend shows are paidbrokered programming.The rest of the weekend is "Hits and Headlines."
History
[edit]WMAY firstsigned onthe air on September 15, 1950.[6]It was owned by Lincoln Broadcasting. In 1963, the station was acquired by Springfield Broadcasting, a division of Stuart Stations. It aired afull servicemiddle of the roadmusic format, usingNBC Radio Newsfor its world and national news coverage.
Mid-West Family Broadcasting bought the station in 1976, switching it tocountry musica short time later.[7]In the early 1990s, WMAY went with anoldiesformat, and it flipped to its current talk radio format in 1995. Mid-West Family Broadcasting also owns local stations 98.7WNNS-FM,97.7WQLZand 92.7WMAY-FM. Three of the most well-known broadcasters to pass through the studio were Bob Hale (hired directly from Clear Lake, IA after the Buddy Holly plane crash in 1959. He mc'd the show at the Surf Ballroom that night, gave casualties the next day, and was hired by WMAY; he purportedly made the coin flip between Ritchie Valens and Tommy Allsup for the final seat on the plane.); Cal Schrum ( "The State Policeman's Friend," on the overnight shift; starred in many B western supporting roles and was beloved by law enforcement personnel working the "graveyard shift" ); and Red Barnes (Gregory Harutunian), his 1980s successor who would "set the chickens free," in the early morning hours. The station was also known in the 1980s for its “Little Black Box” promotion that awarded keys to a new vehicle to the finder of a hidden box containing keys to a new vehicle. The station would air clues for listeners to scavenger hunt the surrounding metro area for the “black box”. The promotion ended around the time the station switched from its long-running Country format.
On August 28, 2020, it was announced by Midwest Family that WUSW (now WMAY-FM) would drop their country format and begin simulcasting WMAY on September 1. The addition of 92.7 expands WMAY's FM coverage to areas to the south and east of Springfield.[5]
On April 25, 2022, WMAY changed its format from news/talk (which continues onWMAY-FM92.7 Taylorville) to classic hits, branded as "102.5 The Lake".[8]
References
[edit]- ^"Facility Technical Data for WMAY".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
- ^"WMAY Facility Record".United StatesFederal Communications Commission,audio division.
- ^Radio-Locator /WMAY
- ^Radio-Locator /W234CC
- ^abWUSW To Flip To WMAY Simulcast
- ^Broadcasting Yearbook 1951 page 135
- ^Broadcasting Yearbook 1980 page C-72
- ^102.5 The Lake Debuts In SpringfieldRadioinsight - April 25, 2022
External links
[edit]- FCC History Cards for WMAY
- Facility details for Facility ID 38348 (WMAY)in theFCCLicensing and Management System
- WMAYinNielsen Audio's AM station database
- Facility details for Facility ID 138451 (W234CC)in theFCCLicensing and Management System
- W234CCat FCCdata.org
- Facility details for Facility ID 202958 (W273DR)in theFCCLicensing and Management System
- W273DRat FCCdata.org
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