WOR is a class A (nighttime clear-channel station), AM radio station located in New York, New York, U.S., operating on 710 kHz. The station has a talk format and is owned by Clear Channel Communications. WOR is one of the flagship stations of the Coast to Coast AM program and broadcasts the Rutgers Scarlet Knights football and basketball games.

Its call letters have no meaning, being sequentially assigned. They had previously been authorized for use by the ship SS California, owned by the Orient Lines.

History[edit]

WOR began broadcasting on February 22, 1922, using a 500-watt transmitter on 833 kHz from Bamberger's Department Store in Newark, New Jersey. Louis Bamberger's sale of radio sets to consumers explained their affiliation with the station. The WOR call sign was reissued from the U.S. maritime radio service. The station initially operated limited hours, sharing time with two other stations, WDT-AM and WJY-AM, which also operated on 833 kHz. WOR changed frequency to 740 kHz in June 1923 and shared time with WJY until July 1926, when WJY closed and WOR received full use of the frequency. In December 1924, WOR acquired a studio in Manhattan. On June 17, 1927, WOR moved to 710 AM, the channel it currently occupies. Later in 1926, WOR moved from its New York City studio on the 9th floor of Chickering Hall at 27 West 57th Street to 1440 Broadway, two blocks from Times Square.

WOR was first 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.^[1] In partnership with Chicago radio station WGN and Cincinnati radio station WLW, WOR formed the Mutual Broadcasting System in 1934 and became its New York flagship station. Mutual was one of the "Big Four" national radio networks in the United States during the 1930s – 1980s. In 1941, the station changed its city of license from Newark to New York City. However, for all intents and purposes it had been a New York City station since it signed on, and had actually moved its studios across the Hudson two years after signing on.

In 1957, WOR ended its relationship with Mutual and became an independent station and Mutual's New York outlet became WAAT in Newark for a brief period, but WOR continued to carry Mutual's "Top of the News" with Fulton Lewis for 15 minutes each evening Monday to Friday at 7:00 p.m. for several more years after it had briefly shifted to WMGM (WHN) where the program, from WOL Mutual in Washington, had debuted in New York City in the 1930s.

In 1949, WOR started a sister TV station, WOR-TV, on channel 9. This station became WWOR-TV after it and WOR were sold to separate companies in 1987.

From the 1930s to the early 1980s, WOR was a free-flowing full-service station. There was an emphasis on news reports and talk programs, but music was played also, usually a blend of pop standards and adult contemporary tunes. WOR played several songs per hour weekday mornings from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and again afternoons from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. They also played about a dozen songs per hour on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. On ratings books, WOR was classified as a MOR/Talk station rather than a News/Talk station until 1984. From 1983 to about 1985, WOR gradually stopped playing music altogether, evolving into its current talk format. Past notable hosts were Ed and Pegeen Fitzgerald, Arlene Francis, Patricia McCann, Long John Nebel, Bernard Meltzer, Barry Farber, Jean Shepherd, Bob and Ray, Jack O'Brian, Bob Grant and Gene Klavan. WOR introduced live, on-air, helicopter traffic reports with pilot reporters "Fearless" Fred Feldman and later George Meade. From 1945 to 1963, Dorothy Kilgallen and her husband Dick Kollmar (1910–1971) co-hosted WOR morning show Breakfast With Dorothy and Dick.

The station was known for its detailed, 15-minute news reports on the hour. Noted newsmen such as Henry Gladstone, Harry Hennessey, John Wingate, Lyle Vann, Peter Roberts, and Roger Skibenes were the backbone of the news department.

WOR's most renowned program was morning show Rambling with Gambling, which aired continuously from March 1925 to September 2000 across three generations of hosts: John B. Gambling, John A. Gambling, and John R. Gambling. After John R. Gambling's edition of the show was dropped, he moved to WABC, where he hosted a late-morning show until January 2008; he returned to WOR mornings in May 2008. Although never a favorite of young listeners, WOR was this group's radio station of record in the New York metropolitan area during bad winter weather. Students of all ages dialed up 710AM on their radios as John A. Gambling dutifully announced a comprehensive list of school closings for New York City, northern New Jersey, and southern Connecticut, in strict alphabetical order.

Today, WOR is a news and talk radio station. It broadcasts 24 hours each day with 50,000 watts using a three-tower directional antenna with slightly different radiation patterns day and night. Its transmitter is located in Rutherford, New Jersey. It is the only New York City AM station to have retained its original three-letter call sign, which are the oldest continually used ones in the New York City area.

On April 30, 2005, WOR moved its offices and studios from 1440 Broadway at 40th Street in Midtown Manhattan where it had been based for 79 years to a new facility at 111 Broadway near Wall Street in Downtown Manhattan.

On June 28, 2010, they announced the launch of an online country-music-only station, worcountry.com. The stream was branded as "The Elephant;" it has since been discontinued. On January 17, 2011, WOR announced that it would be dropping Glenn Beck in favor of Mike Gallagher.

On August 13, 2012, it was announced that WOR was to be purchased by Clear Channel Communications, pending FCC approval.^[2] A local marketing agreement began on August 15, 2012. On December 20, 2012, the day Clear Channel officially took ownership of the station. The Dr. Browne Show, The Gov. David Patterson Show, and Mike Huckabee were removed from the WOR program schedule.^[3]

On January 2, 2013, WOR added former WABC weekend host Mark Simone ^[4] and John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou.^[5] Simone takes over the 10 a.m. to Noon slot previously held by Mike Gallagher. Kobylt and Chiampou, who also host a local show on Los Angeles' KFI AM 640, host a program from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. from the KFI studios. The first hour is simulcast to both markets and the second hour is New York-only. The 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. time slot has been filled by Inside Edition anchor Rita Cosby. WOR now offers thirteen hours of live and local programming. Along with the change in programming came the slogan "New York's Only Live and Local News and Conversation."

Current weekday program schedule[edit]

WOR Radio Network[edit]

WOR was once the flagship station of the now-defunct WOR Radio Network. The network distributed nationally syndicated programming, all from the WOR studios at 111 Broadway in New York. Following the sale of WOR to Clear Channel Communications, what was left of the WOR Radio Network was folded into Premiere Networks, Clear Channel's syndication wing.

Noted WOR talk radio personalities, past and present[edit]

Among the current hosts heard on WOR are:

• Ken Chiampou
• Rita Cosby
• John Kobylt
• Joan Hamburg
• Three generations of The Gambling family: John A. Gambling, John B. Gambling, and (incumbent) John R. Gambling
• George Noory
• Mark Simone

______________________________________________________________

Past notable WOR program hosts and news casters have included:

• Jack Allen
• Lou Adler
• Ron Ananian
• Richard N. Ash MD
• Dr. Karen Blaker
• Gene Burns
• Joy Browne
• "Uncle Don" Carney
• George Hamilton Combs
• Jay Diamond
• Rocco DiSpirito, succeeded Arthur Scwhartz as host of Food Talk (October 2004 through December 2005)
• Lou Dobbs
• Warren Eckstein
• Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding (Bob and Ray)
• Jinx Falkenburg and Tex McCrary (Tex and Jinx)
• Fred Feldman
• Barry Farber
• Ed and Pegeen Fitzgerald
• Arlene Francis
• Joe Franklin
• Carlton Fredericks
• Arthur Frommer
• Henry Gladstone
• Floyd Gibbons
• Bob Garrity
• Mike Gallagher
• John A. Gambling
• John B. Gambling
• Lisa G
• Bob Grant
• Barry Gray
• Donna Hanover
• Sherrye Henry
• Harry Hennessy
• Gabriel Heatter
• Ellis Henican
• Ronald Hoffman MD
• Larry King
• Gene Klavan
• Walter Kiernan
• Dorothy Kilgallen and Richard Kollmar (Dorothy and Dick)
• Fulton Lewis, Jr.
• Stan Lomax
• Lionel
• Jim Lounsbury
• George Meade
• Tony Marvin
• Henry Morgan
• Mary Margaret McBride
• Three generations of the McCann Family Alfred Sr, Alfred Jr, Dora, Patricia.
• Bernarr Macfadden
• Steve Malzberg
• Bernard Meltzer
• Dennis Miller (from an outside syndicator)
• Long John Nebel
• Jack O'Brian
• James Randi
• Bill O'Reilly (from an outside syndicator)
• David Paterson
• Drew Pearson
• George Carson Putnam
• Quentin Reynolds
• Joey Reynolds
• Joan Rivers
• Peter Roberts
• Thurman Ruth
• Michael Savage
• Arthur Schwartz, former host of Food Talk
• Jay Severin
• Rodger Skibenes
• Steve Severn, host of Steve Severn's Pet Talks
• Jean Shepherd
• Lester Smith
• Shelly Strickler
• Michael Smerconish
• Ralph Snodsmith
• Michael Strange
• Marian Young Taylor, Air Name: Martha Dean
• Harry Wahlberg, appearing as "Uncle Henry" on a children's story-telling program
• Lyle Van
• Ed Walsh
• John Wingate
• Walter Winchell
• Charles Woods
• Sid Walton

References[edit]

This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (May 2008)

1. ^ 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 WADC in Akron, Ohio; WAIU in Columbus, Ohio; WCAO in Baltimore; WCAU in Philadelphia; WEAN in Providence; WFBL in Syracuse; 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.
2. ^ Clear Channel to Purchase WOR Radio (press release). Mediabistro, 13 August 2012.
3. ^ http://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/69551/wor-new-york-sold-to-clear-channel/ WOR New York Sold To Clear Channel
4. ^ http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/113842/wor-adds-mark-simone-for-10a-noon?ref=search
5. ^ http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/113787/wor-adds-john-and-ken-for-evenings?ref=search

External links[edit]

• WOR AM
• WOR AM History
• WOR News Historical Profile & Interviews - 1978
• Query the FCC's AM station database for WOR
• Radio-Locator Information on WOR
• Query Arbitron's AM station database for WOR