WILM (AM)
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WILM (1450 AM) is a News/Talk-formatted radio station broadcasting in Wilmington, Delaware, USA. Often mistakenly called "the birthplace of talk radio",[citation needed] WILM is best known as the station where radio and television personality Joe Pyne honed his skills in the late 1940s and developed the confrontational style that would make him famous. Another well-known WILM personality was Tom Mees (ESPN) who worked at the station in the 1970s.
In the 1950s and 1960s WILM, under the ownership of Ewing Hawkins, experimented with various music formats, including Top-40 and MOR (middle-of-the-road). For a time, the WILM deejays were known as the "Flip Top Jocks." One of the program directors was Dean Tyler, who would later go on to be an influential broadcaster and manager in Philadelphia radio. In the early 1970s WILM adopted an Adult contemporary music format and featured an all-night block of rhythm and blues music geared to the city's African-American community. By this time, the station was affiliated with NBC Radio and carried that network's weekend mainstay, "Monitor."
In January of 1976 WILM switched to an all-news format, using the ill-fated NIS (News and Information Service), operated by NBC. When the NIS ceased operations shortly thereafter, WILM continued on with its news format. Eventually the station modified its format and affiliated with the CBS radio network for news and features. The station also kept a secondary affiliation with the Mutual Broadcasting System, which carried nighttime shows from Larry King.
Despite its relatively weak AM broadcasting signal, WILM competed closely with rival WDEL in the Arbitron rating service during this time.
By the 1990s, WILM had added syndicated talk programming throughout its lineup. The station became one of the first to add, then, the very first to drop Rush Limbaugh's daily show from its schedule. Program director Allan Loudell said the decision was made due to incompatibilities with sales and audience demand but has since acknowledged the station chose not to pay increased carriage fees.
By 2000, WILM began to shift away from its heritage all-news format and more toward talk radio. The syndicated "Mike Gallagher Show" joined local host John Watson on the station's daily schedule. An evening hour featured a cavalcade of amateur talk radio hosts; most were members of the Wilmington-area community. Weekend programming was almost exclusively all satellite talk by 2004.
In 2004, owner Sally V. Hawkins sold WILM to Clear Channel Communications for $4 Million. On July 28, 2006, WILM-AM dropped the national newscasts from CBS Radio and switched to Fox News Radio. Clear Channel has moved WILM into a new broadcast facility shared with its other Delaware stations. The new facility allows automated operation and Clear Channel has reduced WILM's local air staff and local programming and added syndicated talk programming including Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin and Michael Savage. Recent Arbitron ratings show WILM has garnered a larger audience with more syndicated programs (and a smaller staff and less local programming).
[edit] Notable Alumni
- Jim Bachman - Traffic broadcaster, Shadow Traffic, Philadelphia; Sports broadcaster, WCBS Newsradio 88, New York
- Matt Cherry - Reporter/newscaster, CNN Radio
- Matt Demlein - Anchor/Reporter 1140 WRVA Newsradio, Richmond, Va.
- Jim DeSouza - News director, WDIY public radio, Allentown, PA
- Tom Donahue - Top 40 DJ in Philadelphia and Los Angeles, d. 1975
- Janet Fried - Reporter/newscaster, Millennium Radio New Jersey Network
- Randy Hennig - Editor, Voice of America
- Valerie Knight - Morning show co-host, WOGL Oldies 98, Philadelphia
- John Lewis - Newscaster, WCBM, Baltimore
- Donna McQuillan - Sports anchor/reporter, UPI Radio; Sports reporter, WPEN Philadelphia
- Tom Mees - Sports broadcaster, ESPN Radio, d. 1996
- Sharon Mittelman - Newscaster, CBS Radio Network
- Marcy Norton - Newscaster, Wall Street Journal Radio
- Michelle Pilenza - After Hours talk show host, New Jersey 101.5
- Joe Pyne - Nationally-syndicated talk show host, d. 1970
- Jeff Seldin - Editor, WTOP Newsradio, Washington, DC
- Mike Strug - Reporter, WCAU NBC 10, Philadelphia
- Adam Tuss - Reporter, WTOP Newsradio, Washington, DC
- Dean Tyler - Music director, WIBG (now WNTP); Program Director and General Manager, WPEN (AM), both in Philadelphia
- Lauren Wilson - Wilmington reporter, WPVI ABC 6, Philadelphia.
- Jon Warner - Sportscaster, WTOP Washington, DC; CNN, AP, CBS and NBC radio networks
[edit] References
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