WGOP
Encyclopedia
WGOPWGOP (540 AM
is a radio station
licensed to Pocomoke City, Maryland
. The station currently airs an adult standards
format.
The station is owned by Birach Broadcasting, and has long been under a local marketing agreement
(LMA) with Mike Powell.
with the WDMV call sign
. In the early 1960s, local radio legend "Choppy" Layton began his association with WDMV at the age of fifteen. He left the station for several years, ultimately becoming one of the principals in a new FM Station in Ocean City, Maryland, WKHI.
After divesting himself of his interest in that station, "Choppy" returned to WDMV/WGOP several years ago and lends his voice to commercials and other programming, including a live interview show, broadcast from various businesses in Pocomoke on Friday mornings. WDMV was silent for several years in the mid-1990s. WDMV has had a longstanding application to move to Damascus, Maryland
. The station used the WDMV call letters up until July 1, 2004
, and still calls itself WDMV at all times, except for legal identification.
Over the years, the station has been home to several formats. They once programmed a gospel music
format, as well as oldies
, country music
and they even simulcast LMA partner WBEY-FM
(96.9 FM).
Radio shows that air on both WBEY and WGOP include The Oldies but Goodies Show on Saturday nights, The Old Country and Bluegrass Show on Sunday nights and Light and Easy Cafe on Monday nights.
WGOP is currently simulcast on a 170 watt FM translator at 100.7 in Pocomoke City.
, which is commonly called the "GOP" (for "Grand Old Party"). Locals like to think GOP stands for "Good old Pocomoke".
AM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
is a radio station
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...
licensed to Pocomoke City, Maryland
Pocomoke City, Maryland
Pocomoke City, dubbed "the friendliest town on the Eastern Shore", is a city in Worcester County, Maryland, United States. Although renamed in a burst of civic enthusiasm in 1878, the city is regularly referred to by its inhabitants simply as Pocomoke...
. The station currently airs an adult standards
Adult standards
Adult standards is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations.Adult standards is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly those persons over 50 years of age, but it is mostly targeted for senior citizens...
format.
The station is owned by Birach Broadcasting, and has long been under 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...
(LMA) with Mike Powell.
History
The 540 AM frequency signed on in 19551955 in radio
The year 1955 saw a number of significant events in radio broadcasting.-Events:*2 May – Opening at Wrotham, Kent, of the United Kingdom's first VHF/FM transmitters....
with the WDMV call sign
Call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In North America they are used as names for broadcasting stations...
. In the early 1960s, local radio legend "Choppy" Layton began his association with WDMV at the age of fifteen. He left the station for several years, ultimately becoming one of the principals in a new FM Station in Ocean City, Maryland, WKHI.
After divesting himself of his interest in that station, "Choppy" returned to WDMV/WGOP several years ago and lends his voice to commercials and other programming, including a live interview show, broadcast from various businesses in Pocomoke on Friday mornings. WDMV was silent for several years in the mid-1990s. WDMV has had a longstanding application to move to Damascus, Maryland
Damascus, Maryland
Damascus is a census-designated place and an unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States.In the early part of the 20th century, there was an incorporated municipality there for about a quarter century, but it no longer exists...
. The station used the WDMV call letters up until July 1, 2004
2004 in radio
The year 2004 saw a number of significant events in radio broadcasting history.-Events:*30 October - In the UK a 163-metre-high radio mast at Peterborough collapses in a fire.-Debuts:...
, and still calls itself WDMV at all times, except for legal identification.
Over the years, the station has been home to several formats. They once programmed a gospel music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
format, as well as 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....
, country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
and they even simulcast LMA partner WBEY-FM
WBEY-FM
WBEY-FM is a radio station broadcasting a Country music format. Licensed to Crisfield, Maryland, USA. The station is currently owned by Bay Broadcasting, Inc. and features programing from ABC Radio .-External links:*...
(96.9 FM).
Radio shows that air on both WBEY and WGOP include The Oldies but Goodies Show on Saturday nights, The Old Country and Bluegrass Show on Sunday nights and Light and Easy Cafe on Monday nights.
WGOP is currently simulcast on a 170 watt FM translator at 100.7 in Pocomoke City.
Additional note
Although the station is in the Washington, D.C. market, it is not connected in any way to the Republican PartyRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, which is commonly called the "GOP" (for "Grand Old Party"). Locals like to think GOP stands for "Good old Pocomoke".