WDLC
Encyclopedia
WDLC is a radio station
broadcasting an oldies
format. Licensed to Port Jervis, New York
, USA, the station serves the Sussex area. The station is owned by PJ Radio, L.L.C. and features programing from ABC Radio.
, Perry Como
, Patti Page
, Glenn Miller
, Doris Day
, Nat "King" Cole, Bing Crosby
, among others. As artists like Elvis Presley
, Ray Charles
, Platters, Everly Brothers, and other rock and roll artists became popular, WDLC added softer songs from such artists. The station featured local news and community-oriented programming as well. By the late 1960s the station was mixing softer songs by artists such as the Beatles, Petula Clark
, Mamas & Papas
, Simon & Garfunkle, BJ Thomas, and others.
In 1970, Oscar Wein signed-on 96.7 WDLC-FM initially with a Country Music format. WDLC 1490 continued to play a Middle Of The Road (MOR) music format, by then also playing artists like Elton John
, Neil Diamond
, Carpenters, Tony Orlando
, James Taylor
, among others as well as current product. By then, along with Oscar, his wife (air name Kathy Burke) and son, Bob, were heard on the stations.
By the mid 1970s the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) relaxed simulcast restrictions between AM and FM radio stations. Because WDLC-FM was automated, they decided to begin simulcasting both stations. The MOR format was duplicated from 5 to 10 a.m. as well as from 3 to 7 p.m.; played Country music from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., and instrumental easy listening music from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. On Sundays, the station had many specialty shows.
In 1984 WDLC-FM began separate programming from the AM station, and eventually became WTSX (Tri-State Crossroads). The new station began with an Adult Contemporary format. WDLC continued the MOR format from 6 to 10 a.m. and from 3 to 7 p.m. and the country format from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. to midnight. Both WTSX and WDLC-AM did well in terms of ratings and profitability through the 1980s. Later in that decade Oscar Wein retired and his son, Bob, took over operations. (Oscar Wein died on December 18, 2000 at the age of 82.). In 1995, WDLC dropped most of the specialty programs, its eclectic part-time MOR format, and part-time Country format in favor of a satellite delivered Oldies-leaning Adult Standards format called Stardust.
In the 1990s, both stations began to have financial troubles. As a result, in 1997, half the staff (including WDLC's newly hired morning man and program director) were laid off and WTSX became automated evenings and overnights. WDLC automated several years before using the satellite delivered Adult Standards format. In September 1998 Robert Wein began leasing WDLC and WTSX to Nassau Broadcasting in a local marketing agreement
. The air talent and sales staff remained, becoming Nassau Broadcasting employees.
Nassau changed WTSX to a 1964-1969-based Oldies format, mixing in some early 70's, late 50's and early 60's oldies as well. The ratings were low in the Southern Hudson Valley, but decent in the Sussex County radio market. WDLC kept the Standards/MOR format. In 2000, WDLC dropped Stardust in favor of Westwood One's "AM Only" format, which played Adult Standards mixed with a moderate amount of soft AC cuts and soft Oldies. In February 2001, Nassau sold the Local Marketing Agreement of WDLC and WTSX to Clear Channel Communications
, along with full ownership of WSUS
, WNNJ
, and WHCY
.
Under Clear Channel, WDLC remained an Adult Standards MOR station until 2003 when the station began simulcasting WTSX, which was airing Oldies from 1964 to 1979 with only a few pre '64 songs and a few '80s songs.
In September 2004 the Local Marketing Agreement with Clear Channel expired and Bob Wein opted not to renew it. As a result, most of the staff with the exception of their morning DJ Robert Oefinger (known on-air simply as "Bob-O"), remained under Clear Channel employ and moved aspects of the Oldies format on WDLC/WTSX to WNNJ 1360. This made Bob-O the only on-air personality at WDLC/WTSX.
By this time, Bob Wein again assumed operational control of WTSX and WDLC, however, the jingles and advertisers which the station had been using were Clear Channel's, and as a result, the station had no jingles and very few advertisers for a few weeks. The Oldies format deepened to include the hits of 1955 to 1990. The station announced they were "building a new radio station". In November 2004 new management (with intentions to buy) took over daily operations with Bob Wein retaining ownership. More on-air personalities were added with jingles and advertisers returning. It was thought that WTSX Fox 96.7 would remain an Oldies station.
In early 2005 Fox 96.7 dropped most of the pre-1964 oldies. The new managers (now PJ Radio, L.L.C.) bought the station from Bob Wein. In March 2005, they began a Local Marketing Agreement with Hits 103.1 WGNY-FM from Newburgh, NY. The two stations combined airstaffs. Each station would have their own local shows, and local news was brought back. However, after the local morning show each day, both stations shadowcast, meaning they had the same announcers after 10 a.m., playing different songs at different times. More 80's and 90's music was added as well as some current and recent music. At this point, 1490 WDLC began simulcasting a 1955 to 1972 Oldies format with 1220 WGNY
, Newburgh.
In January 2007, WDLC dropped the oldies format in favor of a sports talk format from ESPN Radio
. In February 2009, the station returned to the WGNY simulcast.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
broadcasting an oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
format. Licensed to Port Jervis, New York
Port Jervis, New York
Port Jervis is a city on the Delaware River in western Orange County, New York, with a population of 8,860 at the 2000 census. The communities of Deerpark, Huguenot, Sparrowbush, and Greenville are adjacent to Port Jervis, and the towns of Montague, New Jersey and Matamoras, Pennsylvania face the...
, USA, the station serves the Sussex area. The station is owned by PJ Radio, L.L.C. and features programing from ABC Radio.
History
WDLC began operation on July 4, 1953 owned by Oscar Wein and ran a popular music format focusing on artists like Frank SinatraFrank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Perry Como
Perry Como
Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with them in 1943. "Mr...
, Patti Page
Patti Page
Clara Ann Fowler , known by her professional name Patti Page, is an American singer, one of the best-known female artists in traditional pop music. She was the best-selling female artist of the 1950s, and has sold over 100 million records...
, Glenn Miller
Glenn Miller
Alton Glenn Miller was an American jazz musician , arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big Bands"...
, Doris Day
Doris Day
Doris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...
, Nat "King" Cole, Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, among others. As artists like Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
, Platters, Everly Brothers, and other rock and roll artists became popular, WDLC added softer songs from such artists. The station featured local news and community-oriented programming as well. By the late 1960s the station was mixing softer songs by artists such as the Beatles, Petula Clark
Petula Clark
Petula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
, Mamas & Papas
Mamas & Papas
Mamas & Papas is a UK-based retailer and manufacturer supplying prams, pushchairs, baby products, furniture and maternity wear. It was established in Huddersfield in 1981 by Italian entrepreneurs David and Luisa Scacchetti and has grown as a family business to become one of the UK’s top nursery...
, Simon & Garfunkle, BJ Thomas, and others.
In 1970, Oscar Wein signed-on 96.7 WDLC-FM initially with a Country Music format. WDLC 1490 continued to play a Middle Of The Road (MOR) music format, by then also playing artists like Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
, Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present....
, Carpenters, Tony Orlando
Tony Orlando
Michael Anthony Orlando Cassavitis , better known as Tony Orlando, is an American show business professional, best known as the lead singer of the group Tony Orlando and Dawn in the early 1970s. Discovered by producer Don Kirshner, Orlando had songs on the charts in 1961 when he was 16, "Halfway to...
, James Taylor
James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
, among others as well as current product. By then, along with Oscar, his wife (air name Kathy Burke) and son, Bob, were heard on the stations.
By the mid 1970s the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) relaxed simulcast restrictions between AM and FM radio stations. Because WDLC-FM was automated, they decided to begin simulcasting both stations. The MOR format was duplicated from 5 to 10 a.m. as well as from 3 to 7 p.m.; played Country music from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., and instrumental easy listening music from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. On Sundays, the station had many specialty shows.
In 1984 WDLC-FM began separate programming from the AM station, and eventually became WTSX (Tri-State Crossroads). The new station began with an Adult Contemporary format. WDLC continued the MOR format from 6 to 10 a.m. and from 3 to 7 p.m. and the country format from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. to midnight. Both WTSX and WDLC-AM did well in terms of ratings and profitability through the 1980s. Later in that decade Oscar Wein retired and his son, Bob, took over operations. (Oscar Wein died on December 18, 2000 at the age of 82.). In 1995, WDLC dropped most of the specialty programs, its eclectic part-time MOR format, and part-time Country format in favor of a satellite delivered Oldies-leaning Adult Standards format called Stardust.
In the 1990s, both stations began to have financial troubles. As a result, in 1997, half the staff (including WDLC's newly hired morning man and program director) were laid off and WTSX became automated evenings and overnights. WDLC automated several years before using the satellite delivered Adult Standards format. In September 1998 Robert Wein began leasing WDLC and WTSX to Nassau Broadcasting in a local marketing agreement
Local marketing agreement
In U.S. and Canadian broadcasting, a local marketing agreement is an agreement in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another licensee...
. The air talent and sales staff remained, becoming Nassau Broadcasting employees.
Nassau changed WTSX to a 1964-1969-based Oldies format, mixing in some early 70's, late 50's and early 60's oldies as well. The ratings were low in the Southern Hudson Valley, but decent in the Sussex County radio market. WDLC kept the Standards/MOR format. In 2000, WDLC dropped Stardust in favor of Westwood One's "AM Only" format, which played Adult Standards mixed with a moderate amount of soft AC cuts and soft Oldies. In February 2001, Nassau sold the Local Marketing Agreement of WDLC and WTSX to Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
, along with full ownership of WSUS
WSUS (FM)
WSUS is a Class A radio station serving the Sussex County, New Jersey, area. The station is licensed to Franklin, New Jersey, is owned by Clear Channel Communications and has an adult contemporary music format...
, WNNJ
WTOC (AM)
WTOC was a radio station licensed to Newton, New Jersey. They offered an oldies music format with songs from the 1960s and 1970s along with a small amount oldies from 1955 to 1964 and a small amount of hits from the 1980's. They were a full-time affiliate of Scott Shannon's True Oldies Channel...
, and WHCY
WHCY
WHCY, known as Max 106.3, is a hot adult contemporary class A FM radio station broadcasting on 106.3 FM. The format is now satellite programming along with some syndicated shows. The station is licensed to Blairstown, New Jersey and serves Sussex County and Warren County in western New Jersey, and...
.
Under Clear Channel, WDLC remained an Adult Standards MOR station until 2003 when the station began simulcasting WTSX, which was airing Oldies from 1964 to 1979 with only a few pre '64 songs and a few '80s songs.
In September 2004 the Local Marketing Agreement with Clear Channel expired and Bob Wein opted not to renew it. As a result, most of the staff with the exception of their morning DJ Robert Oefinger (known on-air simply as "Bob-O"), remained under Clear Channel employ and moved aspects of the Oldies format on WDLC/WTSX to WNNJ 1360. This made Bob-O the only on-air personality at WDLC/WTSX.
By this time, Bob Wein again assumed operational control of WTSX and WDLC, however, the jingles and advertisers which the station had been using were Clear Channel's, and as a result, the station had no jingles and very few advertisers for a few weeks. The Oldies format deepened to include the hits of 1955 to 1990. The station announced they were "building a new radio station". In November 2004 new management (with intentions to buy) took over daily operations with Bob Wein retaining ownership. More on-air personalities were added with jingles and advertisers returning. It was thought that WTSX Fox 96.7 would remain an Oldies station.
In early 2005 Fox 96.7 dropped most of the pre-1964 oldies. The new managers (now PJ Radio, L.L.C.) bought the station from Bob Wein. In March 2005, they began a Local Marketing Agreement with Hits 103.1 WGNY-FM from Newburgh, NY. The two stations combined airstaffs. Each station would have their own local shows, and local news was brought back. However, after the local morning show each day, both stations shadowcast, meaning they had the same announcers after 10 a.m., playing different songs at different times. More 80's and 90's music was added as well as some current and recent music. At this point, 1490 WDLC began simulcasting a 1955 to 1972 Oldies format with 1220 WGNY
WGNY (AM)
WGNY is a radio station broadcasting a Oldies format. Licensed to Newburgh, New York, the station serves the Newburgh-Middletown area and is currently owned by Sunrise Broadcasting Corporation and features programming from ABC Radio ....
, Newburgh.
In January 2007, WDLC dropped the oldies format in favor of a sports talk format from ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio is an American sports radio network. It was launched on January 1, 1992 under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN." ESPN Radio is located at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut...
. In February 2009, the station returned to the WGNY simulcast.