WTDY is a talk-formatted

Talk radio

Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...

 AM radio station in Madison, Wisconsin

Madison, Wisconsin

Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....

, it is also the flagship station of Mid-West Family Broadcasting

Mid-West Family Broadcasting

Mid-West Family Broadcasting is an independently owned broadcasting company based in Madison, Wisconsin. The company owns and manages radio stations in Madison and LaCrosse, WI, Benton Harbor/St Joseph, MI, Springfield, IL and Springfield, MO....

.

History

WTDY began operating in 1948 at the 1480 frequency under the call letters WISC, which were eventually changed to WISM. For years, WISM was the popular Top 40 radio station in Madison and was the first station in Wisconsin to broadcast in AM stereo

AM stereo

AM stereo is a term given to a series of mutually incompatible techniques for wireless radio broadcasting stereo audio in the AM band in a manner that is compatible with standard AM receivers...

 in the early 1980s. The very first song WISM broadcast in AM stereo was "Both Sides Now" by Judy Collins

Judy Collins

Judith Marjorie "Judy" Collins is an American singer and songwriter, known for her eclectic tastes in the material she records ; and for her social activism. She is an alumna of the University of Colorado.-Musical career:Collins was born and raised in Seattle, Washington...

. In the mid-1980s, the WTDY call letters were adopted, which originally stood for "Today Radio," a format that featured a mix of music, news, sports and weather.

WTDY was an early carrier of both Rush Limbaugh

Rush Limbaugh

Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...

and Coast to Coast AM

Coast to Coast AM

Coast to Coast AM is a North American late-night syndicated radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics, but most frequently ones that relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was created by Art Bell and is distributed by Premiere Radio Networks. The program currently...

 with Art Bell

Art Bell

Arthur W. "Art" Bell, III is an American broadcaster and author, known primarily as one of the founders and the original host of the paranormal-themed radio program Coast to Coast AM. He also created and formerly hosted its companion show, Dreamland...

.

By the late 1990s, WTDY would simulcast at both the 1480 and 1670 (Extended AM

Extended AM broadcast band

The extended mediumwave broadcast band, commonly known as the [AM] expanded band, is a broadcast frequency allocation which moved the upper limit of the AM bandplan from 1610 to 1700 kHz.- History :...

) frequencies before moving full-time to 1670 in the early 2000s. (Sister station WLMV

WLMV

WLMV , branded as "La Movida 1480", is a radio station serving the Madison, Wisconsin area. Owned by Mid-West Family Broadcasting, the station airs local Spanish language music and talk programming, along with national news breaks from CNN en Español Radio...

now occupies the 1480 frequency.)

Broadcasting

WTDY broadcasts from its Madison, WI, studios at 730 Ray-O-Vac Dr. on the far west side of Madison. Its single tower is located on Syene Rd. in the nearby Town of Madison, sharing a site with its sister station La Movida(WLMV). WTDY broadcasts at 1670 kHz on a non-directional 2 pattern antenna with daytime transmitting power of 10,000 watts reduced to 1,000 watts at sunset.

John "Sly" Sylvester

The most well known figure employed by WTDY is John Sylvester who is also known as "Sly in the Morning" and "Sly the Mid-Day Maverick". Sly has been a fixture in the Madison Media Market since the 1980s.