WCBM (680

kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that on ...

) is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

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 ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. It is owned by WCBM Maryland, Inc., and broadcasts a

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

format Format may refer to: Printing and visual media * Text formatting, the typesetting of text elements * Paper formats, or paper size standards * Newspaper format, the size of the paper page Computing * File format, particular way that informatio ...

, calling itself "Talk Radio 680 WCBM." The

radio studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...

s and offices are on York Road in Lutherville, off the Baltimore Beltway ( Interstate 695). By day, WCBM transmits 50,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...

s, the maximum for commercial AM stations; but to protect other stations on 680 AM, at night it reduces power to 20,000 watts. It uses a

directional antenna A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna which radiates or receives greater power in specific directions allowing increased performance and reduced interference from unwanted sources. Directional antennas provide increased performance ...

at all times, with a six-

tower array A tower array is an arrangement of multiple radio towers which are mast radiators in a phased array. They were originally developed as ground-based tracking radars. Tower arrays can consist of free-standing or guyed towers or a mix of them. Tower a ...

. The

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which i ...

is off Marriottsville Road in Randallstown. Programming is also heard on 220-watt

FM translator A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tran ...

W260BV at 99.9

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...

Aberdeen, Maryland Aberdeen is a city located in Harford County, Maryland, United States, northeast of Baltimore. The population was 16,254 at the 2020 United States Census. Aberdeen is the largest municipality in Harford County. Aberdeen is part of the Baltimor ...

History

Early Years

WCBM first

signed on Signing may refer to: * Using sign language * Signature A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on do ...

the air in 1924. The original studios were in the Hotel Chateau, located at the northwest corner of Charles Street and North Avenue. The

call letters In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...

- Chateau Baltimore Maryland, are derived from the hotel's name. The Chateau was also home to the

drugstore A pharmacy (also called "drugstore" in American English or "community pharmacy" or "chemist" in Commonwealth English, or rarely, apothecary) is a retail shop which provides pharmaceutical drugs, among other products. At the pharmacy, a pharmacis ...

where Dr. George Bunting first produced and marketed the skin cream

Noxzema Noxzema ( ) is a brand of skin cleanser marketed by Unilever. Since 1914, it was sold in a small cobalt blue jar; but is now sold in a blue plastic jar. Noxzema contains camphor, menthol, phenol and eucalyptus, among other ingredients. Original ...

. In the 1930s, WCBM had moved to the Hearst Tower Building in Baltimore. It broadcast on 1370

kilocycle The cycle per second is a once-common English name for the unit of frequency now known as the hertz (Hz). The plural form was typically used, often written cycles per second, cycles/second, c.p.s., c/s, or, ambiguously, just cycles (Cy./Cyc.). The ...

s but was only transmitted 500 watts by day, 250 watts at night, while competitor WBAL ran 50,000 watts. WCBM was the

NBC Blue Network The Blue Network (previously known as the NBC Blue Network) was the on-air name of a now defunct American radio network, which broadcast from 1927 through 1945. Beginning as one of the two radio networks owned by the National Broadcasting Comp ...

affiliate for Baltimore, carrying its dramas, comedies, news and sports, during the "

Golden Age of Radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment, entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcastin ...

." The Blue Network later became

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

Move to 680 AM

WCBM moved several times on the dial. With the 1941 enactment of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA), it switched from 1350 to 1400. In 1949, it relocated to its current frequency: 680 kHz, which allowed WCBM to increase its power to 10,000 watts in the daytime and 5,000 watts at night. As network programming shifted from radio to television in the 1950s, WCBM gradually became a

full service Full service or Full Service may refer to: * Full-service radio, a wide range of programming * Full Service Network, a communications company Entertainment * "Full Service", a song by the New Kids on the Block from their album ''The Block'' * F ...

, middle of the road music and personality station. In 1960 WCBM added an FM station. WCBM-FM broadcast at 106.5

, simulcasting the AM station. It was sold to the owner of Channel 2

WMAR-TV WMAR-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. The station's studios and offices are located on York Road (Maryland Route 45) in Towson (though with ...

in 1968, becoming WMAR-FM and today is

WWMX WWMX (106.5 FM), known on-air as Mix 106.5, is a commercial radio station in Baltimore, Maryland. It broadcasts a hot adult contemporary radio format and is owned by Audacy, Inc. The studios and offices are on Clarkview Road off Jones Falls Expre ...

, owned by

Audacy Audacy, previously known as Radio.com, is a free broadcast and Internet radio platform owned by the namesake company Audacy, Inc. (formerly known as Entercom). The Audacy platform functions as a music recommender system and is the national um ...

Metromedia Ownership

WCBM-AM-FM were sold in 1963 to

Metromedia Metromedia (also often MetroMedia) was an American media company that owned radio and television stations in the United States from 1956 to 1986 and controlled Orion Pictures from 1988 to 1997. Metromedia was established in 1956 after the DuMo ...

, a large

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

-based broadcasting company. Metromedia also owned

WTTG WTTG (channel 5) is a television station in Washington, D.C., airing programming from the Fox network. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside MyNetworkTV outlet WDCA (channel 20). WTTG and WDCA share ...

—

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

; WNEW,

WNEW-FM WNEW-FM (102.7 FM, ''NEW 102.7'') is a hot adult contemporary formatted radio station, licensed to New York, New York and owned by Audacy, Inc. The station's studios are located at the Audacy facility in the Hudson Square neighborhood of Manha ...

and

WNEW-TV WNYW (channel 5) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the Fox network. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside Secaucus, New Jersey–licensed MyNetworkTV flagship ...

—

; WHK and WHK-FM—

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

; and WIP and

WIP-FM WIP-FM (94.1 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. and broadcasts a sports radio format. The WIP-FM offices and studios are co-located within Audacy's corporate hea ...

—

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. The studios were moved to

Owings Mills, Maryland Owings Mills is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Baltimore. Per the 2020 census, the population was 35,674. Owings Mills is home to the northern terminus o ...

. Metromedia helped WCBM establish a reputation for radio news reporting. It affiliated WCBM with

CBS Radio News CBS News Radio, formerly known as CBS Radio News and historically known as the CBS Radio Network, is a radio network that provides news to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by Paramount Global. It ...

and maintained a staff of professional reporters and anchors. An advertisement in the 1964 '' Broadcasting Yearbook'' said WCBM airs 32 hours of news each week. "WCBM listeners hear it first! WCBM legmen are first on the scene, in Baltimore, surrounding counties and at the state capital of Annapolis." But WCBM had a hard time competing with

Hearst Corporation Hearst Communications, Inc., often referred to simply as Hearst, is an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate based in Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Hearst owns newspapers, magazines, televis ...

-owned WBAL, which also had a large news-gathering staff, as well as a powerful 50,000-watt signal. By the 1970s, WCBM evolved into more of an

Adult Contemporary music Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...

format.

Switch to All-Talk

In 1981, WCBM began running talk programming in the evening, while keeping its music and news in the daytime. As fewer people listened to music on AM radio, WCBM evolved to all talk by 1983. It was also the flagship radio station of the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team.

Chuck Thompson Charles Lloyd Thompson (June 10, 1921 – March 6, 2005) was an American sportscaster best known for his broadcasts of Major League Baseball's Baltimore Orioles and the National Football League's Baltimore Colts. He was well-recognized for his r ...

and Vince Bagli called the action in the broadcast booth. The station was sold in 1987 to local owners using the corporate name "Magic 680 Inc." WCBM returned to an adult contemporary format, dropping talk abruptly. After several months, it began playing

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...

music, with a playlist of hits from 1955 to 1969. In 1987, when the radio broadcast rights for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

team became available, WCBM surprisingly outbid both WBAL and WFBR which had been the radio home of the Orioles for the previous eight years. Considered to be a major coup at the time, WCBM's tenure as the Orioles

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

lasted only one season, as the station faced severe financial difficulties. By 1988, WCBM had filed

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

, went

dark Darkness, the direct opposite of lightness, is defined as a lack of illumination, an absence of visible light, or a surface that absorbs light, such as black or brown. Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low lu ...

soon after, and was put up for sale.

Rescue from Bankruptcy

At about the same time that WCBM was in the middle of bankruptcy, rival AM station 1300 WFBR was sold in 1988 and changed its format from news/talk to 1950s' rock & roll. With the format flip, WFBR let go most of the station's talk show hosts that summer. In October 1988, WCBM was bought by Baltimore area businessman and philanthropist Nick Mangione, Sr. who resurrected it from bankruptcy. A

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

veteran, Mangione was an avid listener of talk radio and a fan of WFBR's former talk radio format. Once he acquired the station, Mangione brought most of WFBR's former talk radio line-up to WCBM, including Frank Luber, Joe Lombardo,

Tom Marr Thomas Aquinas Marr (October 17, 1942 – July 7, 2016) was an American talk radio host on WCBM (680-AM) in Baltimore, Maryland, known for his conservative political views. He spent nearly 20 years as a newsman and sportscaster, including e ...

, Ken Maylath, Les Kinsolving and Stan "The Fan" Charles. WCBM originally had ''

The Rush Limbaugh Show ''The Rush Limbaugh Show'' is an American conservative talk radio show hosted by Rush Limbaugh. Since its nationally syndicated premiere in 1988, ''The Rush Limbaugh Show'' became the highest-rated talk radio show in the United States. At its ...

'' on its weekday schedule in the early 1990s, but lost it to competitor 1090 WBAL in 1994. With its stronger signal and higher ratings, Limbaugh's syndicator put the program on WBAL. At the time, WCBM was broadcasting at 10,000

s by day and 5,000 watts night. WCBM had to scramble to replace Limbaugh in the Noon to 3 p.m. slot, choosing Zoh Heironimus to fill the role. Despite having a following, Zoh Heironimus didn't capture the listeners as well as Limbaugh. So WCBM added Dr. Laura Schlessinger to the 12–3 spot but her ratings dropped further. After WJFK (1300 AM) discontinued his program, WCBM added the syndicated '' G. Gordon Liddy Show''. Liddy improved the ratings numbers for WCBM, although was not as successful as Limbaugh. By the end of 2001, ''

The Sean Hannity Show ''The Sean Hannity Show'' is a conservative talk radio show hosted by Sean Hannity. The program is broadcast live every weekday, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET. The show is produced in the New York City studios of radio station WOR and is sometimes ...

'' was added to the 3–6 p.m. time slot, replacing Bob Scherr.

Power Boost

In 2001, WCBM completed construction on a new six-

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

transmitter array in

Randallstown, Maryland Randallstown is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is named after Christopher and Thomas Randall, two 18th-century tavern-keepers. At that time, Randallstown was a tollgate cro ...

. WCBM went to a daytime power of 50,000 watts in 2004. The nighttime power increased to 20,000 watts. At the end of his contract with WBAL, on July 1, 2006, Limbaugh returned to WCBM. WBAL did not renew its contract with

Premiere Networks Premiere Networks (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an American media company, a wholly owned subsidiary of iHeartMedia, for which it currently serves as its main original radio content distribution and production arm. It ...

due to the high cost. The station decided to go with a local host and use the extra money to win back the broadcast rights to the Baltimore Orioles and to go after the rights to the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

team. Limbaugh's show replaced G. Gordon Liddy in the early afternoon time slot. ''

The Mark Levin Show ''The Mark Levin Show'' is a conservative talk radio show hosted by Mark Levin. The program is broadcast nationwide on Westwood One and reaches an estimated seven million weekly listeners, according to an estimate from ''Talkers Magazine''. The ...

'', syndicated by

Westwood One Westwood One is an American radio network There are two types of radio network currently in use around the world: the one-to-many (simplex communication) broadcast network commonly used for public information and mass-media entertainment, and ...

, debuted on the same day as Limbaugh's return, airing from 7 to 9 p.m. In 2009, WCBM dropped the

ABC News Radio ABC News Radio is the news radio service of ABC Audio, a division of ABC News in the United States. Formerly known as ABC Radio News, ABC News Radio feeds, through Skyview Networks, five minute newscasts on the hour and news briefs at half-pas ...

Network and switched to

Fox News Radio Fox News Radio is an American radio network owned by Fox News. It is syndicated to over 500 AM and FM radio stations across the United States. It also supplies programming for three channels on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. History In 2003, ...

for its world and national news coverage. This change coincided with competitor 1090 WBAL's change to an

all news All-news radio is a radio format devoted entirely to the discussion and broadcast of news. All-news radio is available in both local and syndicated forms, and is carried on both major US satellite radio networks. All-news stations can run the ...

morning show. For both WCBM and WBAL, new station sweepers, imaging, station ID's and music accompanied the changes in programming. WCBM's imaging now centers on its affiliation with Fox News. During the end of 2020, WCBM changed national news affiliation from Fox News to Townhall News, part of the

Salem Radio Network Salem Radio Network is a United States-based radio network that specializes in syndicated Christian political talk, music, and conservative secular news/talk programming. It is a division of the Salem Media Group. Network information Salem Ra ...

Popular Personalities

On October 31, 2019, veteran personality Frank Luber retired after 31 years with WCBM, 27 of them hosting "Maryland's Wake Up Call."InsideRadio.com "Frank Luber Steps Away from Mornings" October 28, 2019
/ref> Luber's co-host, Sean Casey, was teamed with former late morning host Bruce Elliott for "The Morning Drive with Casey & Elliott." Derek Hunter, formerly of 1090 WBAL, took Elliott's time slot, 9 to 11:45 a.m. Derek Hunter has been with WCBM since 2019. With the death of syndicated host Rush Limbaugh in February 2021, WCBM management decided to replace his popular early afternoon show with local programming. Derek Hunter was moved to Limbaugh's early afternoon time slot, with Elliott relocated to late mornings and Casey remaining as the wake-up host.

Programming

Weekdays on WCBM, local hosts are heard from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. The morning

drive time Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this c ...

show is "Casey and Company" with Sean Casey. He's followed by Bruce Elliott and Bill O'Reilly's 15-minute commentary. In early afternoons, Derek Hunter is heard. The rest of the schedule is made up of nationally syndicated shows:

Sean Hannity Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30, 1961) is an American talk show host, conservative political commentator, and author. He is the host of ''The Sean Hannity Show'', a nationally syndicated talk radio show, and has also hosted a commentar ...

Mark Levin Mark Reed Levin (; born September 21, 1957) is an American lawyer, author, and radio personality. He is the host of syndicated radio show Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and rad ...

Dan Bongino Daniel John Bongino (born December 4, 1974) is an American conservative political commentator, radio show host, and author. He served as a New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer from 1995 to 1999 and as a Secret Service agent from 1999 ...

, "

Coast to Coast AM ''Coast to Coast AM'' is an American late-night radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics. Most frequently the topics relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was hosted by creator Art Bell from its inception in 19 ...

with

George Noory George Ralph Noory (born June 4, 1950) is an American radio talk show host. Since January 2003, Noory has been the weekday host of the late-night radio talk show ''Coast to Coast AM''. The program is syndicated to hundreds of radio stations in ...

" and

Todd Starnes Todd Starnes (born October 28, 1967) is a conservative American columnist, commentator, author and radio host. He has appeared on ''Fox and Friends'' and ''Hannity''. In June 2017, Starnes began hosting a syndicated talk radio show on Fox News ...

. Weekends feature shows on money, health, gardening, cars, movies, technology, travel, veterans affairs, real estate and religion. They include "

The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show ''The Money Pit'' is the largest American syndicated radio show offering home improvement advice. It is hosted by Tom Kraeutler and Leslie Segrete and has a call-in format. As of February 2018, ''The Money Pit'' airs on over 350 radio stations in ...

," "

The Lutheran Hour ''The Lutheran Hour'' is a U.S.-based Christian radio program produced by Lutheran Hour Ministries. The weekly broadcast began on October 2, 1930, as an outreach ministry of the Lutheran Laymen's League, part of the Lutheran Church–Missouri S ...

," " The RM Travel Show with Rudy Maxa" and

Kim Komando Kimberly Ann Komando (born 1967) is the host of two daily radio shows and one weekend radio show about consumer technology. On her weekly call-in show, she provides advice about technology gadgets, websites, smartphone apps, and internet security. ...

. Some weekend shows are paid

brokered programming Brokered programming (also known as time-buy and blocktime) is a form of broadcast content in which the show's producer pays a radio or television station for air time, rather than exchanging programming for pay or the opportunity to play spot comm ...

. Most hours begin with world and national news from Townhall News. The sister station for WCBM, WQLL, is currently in an LMA (Licensed Marketing Agreement with iHeartMedia) agreement broadcasting BIN (Black Information Network).

References

External links

*
FCC History Cards for WCBM
{{News/Talk Radio Stations in Maryland News and talk radio stations in the United States Metromedia CBM Randallstown, Maryland Radio stations established in 1924 1924 establishments in Maryland