WFBL

WFBL
City of license Syracuse, New York
Broadcast area Syracuse, New York
Branding CNY Talk Radio 1390
Frequency 1390 kHz
Format Talk
Audience share 1.6 (Fa'06, R&R[1])
Power 5,000 watts day
5,000 watts night
Class B
Facility ID 34821
Transmitter coordinates 43°9′10.00″N 76°11′35.00″W / 43.1527778°N 76.1930556°W
Callsign meaning First Broadcast License Note: now[2]
Former callsigns WLLF (1989-1989)
WDCW (1993-1989)
Affiliations Talk Radio Network, Talk Shows USA
Owner Buckley Broadcasting of New York, LLC
Webcast Listen Live
Website wfbl.com

WFBL, located at 1390 kHz on the AM dial, is a talk and news radio station owned by Buckley Broadcasting and serving the city of Syracuse, New York.

WFBL's call sign stands for "First Broadcast License" because the station was the first FCC-licensed radio station to sign on in central New York in 1922. The station went on the air as WFBL in 1922, changed signs to WLLF on 1989-10-17. On 1989-11-01, the station changed its call sign to the current WFBL. on 1993-09-21 to WDCW, on 2003-12-01 to the current WFBL.[3]

The station is currently owned by the "Leatherstocking Media Group", owner of WMCR, WMCR-FM, WSEN and WSEN-FM.

Programming

As of October 11, 2009, WFBL is known as CNY Talk Radio and contains primarily syndicated news and talk radio commentators. The station is affiliated primarily with Talk Radio Network, WestStar TalkRadio Network, and Westwood One. Programming includes First Light, America's Morning News and America's Radio News Network, The Laura Ingraham Show, Dennis Miller, Jason Lewis, Doug Urbanski and Phil Valentine. The Kim Komando Show, Jim Slinsky's Outdoor Talk Network, The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show, Larry Kudlow, Cigar Dave, and a local show known as "The Car Guys" are heard on Saturdays. Meet the Press, The Other Side With Steve Godfrey, Motor Trend Radio, The Tech Guy, Phil Valentine, and Science Fantastic with Michio Kaku air on Sundays.

WFBL's chief competitor is WSYR.

Historical notes

WFBL was a charter member of the CBS Radio Network, being one of the 16 stations that aired the first CBS network program on September 18, 1927.[4]

In late 1932, controlling interest in the station was bought by Oscar and Robert Soule and Samuel H. Cook.[5]

From May 1979 to October 1980, WFBL, then known as "Fire 14," used consultant Mike Joseph's Hot Hits format as a Top 40 competitor to 1490 WOLF. Airchecks of the station during its Hot Hits phase can be heard here.

WFBL dropped "Hot Hits" in October 1980 in favor of the then-emerging adult standards format called Music of Your Life. The WFBL calls (and standards format) later moved to 1050 AM in Baldwinsville, New York (now WSEN) before returning to their original home at 1390.

For a few years, WFBL was a talk radio station with a line-up that very closely mirrored, with few exceptions, that of its sister station, WOR in New York City.

This continued until April 7, 2008 at 6:00AM, when WFBL switched formats from "Talk Radio 1390" to "Oldies 1390." The station features music from the 1950s and 1960s. The station now complements WSEN, which focuses on 1970s and 1980s hits. A handful of talk programs, primarily heard on weekends, will be retained, including Joey Reynolds and The Dolans.

On October 12, 2009, the oldies format moved to WSEN 1050 and announced the return of the talk radio format.

Previous logo

References

  1. ↑ "Syracuse Market Ratings". Radio & Records.
  2. ↑ "Call Letter Origins". Radio History on the Web.
  3. ↑ "WFBL Call Sign History". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  4. ↑ Radio Digest, September 1927, quoted in: McLeod, Elizabeth (September 20, 2002). CBS—In the Beginning, History of American Broadcasting. Retrieved on 2007-01-01. The other stations were WOR in Newark; WADC in Akron, Ohio; WAIU in Columbus, Ohio; WCAO in Baltimore; WCAU in Philadelphia; WEAN in Providence; WGHP in Detroit; WJAS in Pittsburgh; WKRC in Cincinnati; WMAK in Buffalo-Lockport; WMAQ in Chicago; WNAC in Boston; WOWO in Fort Wayne, Indiana; KMOX in St. Louis; and KOIL in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
  5. ↑ "(untitled brief)". Broadcasting. November 15, 1932. Retrieved 6 October 2014.

External links