WGHQ (920
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
AM 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
Kingston, New York
Kingston is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, United States. It is north of New York City and south of Albany, New York, Albany. The city's metropolitan area is grouped with t ...
and serving the
Hudson Valley
The Hudson Valley (also known as the Hudson River Valley) comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York. The region stretches from the Capital District including Albany and Troy south to ...
. WGHQ is owned by
Pamal Broadcasting
Pamal Broadcasting, Ltd. is a family-owned radio group with twenty-three stations in medium-to-small markets in the Northeast. Based in the Albany suburb of Latham, New York, Pamal Broadcasting was founded in 1987 as Albany Broadcasting Company, w ...
The station airs a mix of
adult standards,
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 ...
, and
soft adult contemporary
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 sto ...
formats known as "Magic 92.5".
WGHQ operates at 1000
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 daytime and 38 watts nighttime, non-directional, from a single tower located south of
Port Ewen, New York
Port Ewen is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 3,678 at the 2020 census. Port Ewen is in the Town of Esopus, south of Kingston, along U.S. Route 9W.
History
The prospect of fi ...
, while its studios are in
Beacon
A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location. A common example is the lighthouse, which draws attention to a fixed point that can be used to navigate around obstacles or into port. More mode ...
. WGHQ also broadcasts on an FM translator (W223CR) also in Port Ewen, New York at 92.5 FM.
History
WGHQ 920 kHz 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 on March 4, 1956. The original
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 ...
were WSKN licensed to
Saugerties, New York
Saugerties () is a town in the northeastern corner of Ulster County, New York. The population was 19,038 at the time of the 2020 Census, a decline from 19,482 in 2010. The village of the same name is located entirely within the town.
Part ...
with 1000 watts of power, for
daytime broadcasting only. Its transmitter and studio were located on the Glasco Turnpike, in the Town of Saugerties. In 1959 the call letters were changed to WGHQ, the City of License was changed to Kingston, the transmitter site was moved to Route 9W, just south of Port Ewen, NY. The station's operating power was increased to 5,000 watts, still as a daytimer.
WGHQ was the second radio station licensed to Kingston (after
WKNY
WKNY (1490 kHz; "Radio Kingston") is an AM and FM radio station in Kingston, New York, serving Ulster County. It broadcasts at a power of 1,000 watts from a single tower located off Albany Avenue. The studios and offices are on Broadway in Kin ...
). In 1965, WGHQ-FM was licensed on (later the original WBPM, now
WKXP
WKXP (94.3 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Kingston, New York, and serving the Hudson Valley of New York state. The station is owned by Townsquare Media and it broadcasts a soft adult contemporary radio format from its radio studi ...
) 94.3 MHz. It was a full-time simulcast the AM's programming for much of the next decade. From its inception, WGHQ aired a somewhat Kingston-centric full service
middle of the road format which had a vast daytime advantage to WKNY, but WKNY was a full-time station.
WGHQ kept its focus but rising costs and the decline of full service formats on AM forced the station to drop much of its news coverage and change to an all adult contemporary music format. In 1988, WGHQ was licensed for 78 watts nighttime power, however, the station dropped local programming, going instead to mainly satellite
syndicated music programming.
WGHQ aired
Adult Standards for most of the 1990s. In 1999 the family sold WGHQ and WBPM to
WRWD/
WBWZ
WBWZ (93.3 Hertz, MHz "Z93") is a commercial radio, commercial FM radio, FM radio station city of license, licensed to New Paltz (village), New York, New Paltz, New York and serving the Mid-Hudson Valley of New York state. The station is owned by ...
local radio owner Roberts Radio Group. This began a period of multiple format changes. Roberts Radio sold to
Clear Channel in mid-2000. WGHQ became 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 ...
station under Clear Channel ownership, airing syndicated talk shows including
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( ; January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021) was an American conservative political commentator who was the host of '' The Rush Limbaugh Show'', which first aired in 1984 and was nationally syndicated on AM and FM r ...
and
Glenn Beck
Glenn Lee Beck (born February 10, 1964) is an American conservative political commentator, radio host, entrepreneur, and television producer. He is the CEO, founder, and owner of Mercury Radio Arts, the parent company of his television and rad ...
. WGHQ along with
WBPM 92.9 MHz was sold to
Pamal Broadcasting
Pamal Broadcasting, Ltd. is a family-owned radio group with twenty-three stations in medium-to-small markets in the Northeast. Based in the Albany suburb of Latham, New York, Pamal Broadcasting was founded in 1987 as Albany Broadcasting Company, w ...
in April 2007
Pamal Broadcasting changed the format from talk radio back to
Adult Standards in July 2007, simulcasting with co-owned WBNR and WLNA, but keeping locally originated "Kingston Community Radio," produced by Walter Maxwell, in its 7-9 am time slot. See www.mykcr.org In March 2008 the tri-mulcast of WBNR, WLNA and WGHQ changed to a service-oriented talk radio format under the name "Hudson Valley Talk Radio." HVTR featured non-political syndicated advice hosts Gary Goldberg (financial), Dr.
Laura Schlesinger (life advice),
Dave Ramsey
David Lawrence Ramsey III (born September 3, 1960) is an American personal finance personality, radio show host, author, and businessman. An evangelical Christian, he hosts the nationally syndicated radio program ''The Ramsey Show''. Ramsey has ...
(Money management) as well as local experts under
time brokered arrangements.
On December 20, 2013, Pamal announced that Tri-State Public Communications, which operates
WHDD in
Sharon, Connecticut
Sharon is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States, in the northwest corner of the state. At the time of the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 2,680. The ZIP code for Sharon is 06069. The urban center of the town is ...
and WLHV in
Annandale-on-Hudson
Annandale-on-Hudson is a hamlet in Dutchess County, New York, United States, located in the Hudson Valley town of Red Hook, across the Hudson River from Kingston. The hamlet consists mainly of the Bard College campus.
Municipal services
Emerge ...
as
public radio
Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...
station Robin Hood Radio, would acquire WGHQ through a donation. As of January 1, 2014 WGHQ was re-transmitting Robin Hood Radio programming except during the 7-9 AM time slot Monday thru Friday when The "Kingston Community Radio" program airs on WGHQ. A
local marketing agreement
In North American broadcasting, a local marketing agreement (LMA), or local management agreement, is a contract in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another party. In essence, it is a sort of lease or tim ...
or LMA was in effect until paperwork was filed and approved by the FCC for the donation of WGHQ to Robin Hood Radio.
On March 1, 2016, Tri-State Public Communications ended its lease of the station
Robin Hood Radio Walks Away From WGHQ Lease
- ''RadioInsight'', February 25, 2016. Pamal Broadcasting took back programming control of WGHQ and now simulcasts it again with WBNR and WLNA airing the syndicated "Real Country" classic country music format.
On June 28, 2016, Pamal Broadcasting removed two of three towers at the WGHQ transmitter site due to the poor physical condition of the towers. The station power was reduced to 1000 watts daytime, 38 watts nighttime non-directional from the remaining tower.
In January 2017 Pamal Broadcasting acquired an FM Translator at 92.5 FM to simulcast WGHQ's programming. WGHQ continued to feature the syndicated Real Country format.
On March 15, 2021, in a move to better utilize the AM frequencies and their FM translators, Pamal relaunched WGHQ on its own with a nostalgia/oldies format and rebranded as "Magic 92.5" playing "Great Songs and Magic Memories" from pop vocalists of the 1950s through the 1980s. Meanwhile, sister stations WBNR and WLNA began simulcasting 92.9 WBPM's classic hits format in areas south of Kingston.
Programming
WGHQ features ''Kingston Community Radio'', which airs weekday mornings from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m and features interviews with local government and business leaders, followed by automated
Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, namely by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines ...
music for the rest of the day.
WGHQ also serves as the flagship station of United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...
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 ...
and men's basketball broadcasts, which are produced by Learfield
LEARFIELD, formerly Learfield IMG College, is a large collegiate sports marketing company, representing more than 200 of the nation's top collegiate properties including the NCAA and its 89 championships, NCAA Football, leading conferences, and ...
.
References
External links
Magic 92.5 official website
*
*
{{Pamal Broadcasting
GHQ
Mass media in Ulster County, New York
Radio stations established in 1955
Soft adult contemporary radio stations in the United States
Oldies radio stations in the United States
Adult standards radio stations in the United States
Kingston, New York
1955 establishments in New York (state)