WBAB (102.3
FM) is a
classic rock
Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...
radio station
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
licensed
A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit).
A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
to
Babylon, New York
The Town of Babylon is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York, United States. Its population was 218,223 as of the 2020 census. Parts of Jones Beach Island, Captree Island and Fire Island are in the southernmost part of the town. It bord ...
and owned by
Cox Radio. The station is also
simulcast
Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...
on
WHFM
WHFM (95.3 FM) is a classic rock radio station licensed to Southampton, New York, and serving eastern Long Island. It is owned by Cox Radio and simulcasts 102.3 WBAB.
History
The station began broadcasting as WWRJ on October 28, 1971, airing a ...
(95.3 FM) licensed to
Southampton, New York
Southampton, officially the Town of Southampton, is a town in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, partly on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the town had a population of 69,036. Southampton is included in the stret ...
and serving
eastern Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18th ...
.
History
WBAB first went on the air August 27, 1958 as WBAB-FM. It simulcast
WBAB
WBAB (102.3 FM) is a classic rock radio station licensed to Babylon, New York and owned by Cox Radio. The station is also simulcast on WHFM (95.3 FM) licensed to Southampton, New York and serving eastern Long Island.
History
WBAB first wen ...
(1440 AM), until September 1975 when 1440 AM adopted a
Gospel music
Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...
format.
2006 signal hijacking
On the morning of Wednesday, May 17, 2006, the station's signal was hijacked for about 90 seconds
while the signal jammers broadcast the song "Nigger Hatin' Me" by the 1960s-era
white supremacist
White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other Race (human classification), races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any Power (social and polit ...
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
singer
Johnny Rebel
Johnny Reb is the national personification of the common soldier of the Confederacy. During the American Civil War and afterwards, Johnny Reb and his Union counterpart Billy Yank were used in speech and literature to symbolize the common sold ...
. Roger Luce, the station's morning host, said at the time, "I've never seen this in 22 years at this radio station... Whatever that was - it was very racist."
The next morning, it made the front page of ''
Newsday
''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...
'' with the headline "JACKED FM". The station's new general manager, John Shea, said, "I've only been here a week and we get hijacked." Former program director John Olsen said, "This was not some child's prank, this was a federal offense."
The hijack was likely accomplished by overpowering the
studio transmitter link (STL) signal to the transmitter in
Dix Hills, New York
Dix Hills is an affluent hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) on Long Island in the town of Huntington in Suffolk County, New York. The population was 26,892 at the 2010 census.
In the past, Dix Hills and some of its neighbors have propos ...
. A signal hijacking with the same song happened to WBAB's
sister station
In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement.
Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...
WBLI
WBLI (106.1 FM) is a commercial radio station owned by Cox Radio and licensed to Patchogue, New York. It airs a top 40 (CHR) radio format. The station mainly serves Suffolk County, New York on Long Island. Its studios and offices are located o ...
about two weeks earlier.
Discography
* ''
WBAB Homegrown Album
WBAB Homegrown Album is the first compilation album recorded for WBAB-FM in Babylon, New York. The album was manufactured in 1981 at PRI Record Pressing in Wyandanch, New York. It was designed to commemorate some of the station's best local acts ...
'' (1981)
* ''WBAB Son of Homegrown'' (1984)
References
External links
*
*
{{COXMG
Classic rock radio stations in the United States
Cox Media Group
BAB
Bab or BAB can refer to:
*Bab (toponymy), a component of Arabic toponyms literally meaning "gate"
* Set (mythology) (also known as Bab, Baba, or Seth) ancient Egyptian God
* Bab (Shia Islam), a term designating deputies of the Imams in Shia Islam ...
Radio stations established in 1958
Mass media in Suffolk County, New York
Babylon (town), New York
1958 establishments in New York (state)