WGMS was a
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 ...
in
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, ...
that maintained a
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
format from
1946
Events January
* January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held.
* January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...
to
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
. Last owned by
Bonneville International
Bonneville International Corporation is a media and broadcasting company, wholly owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) through its for-profit arm, Deseret Management Corporation. It began as a radio and TV network ...
, it was known on air for many years as Classical 103.5. It last broadcast on 104.1 FM from a transmitter in
Waldorf, Maryland
Waldorf is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Charles County, Maryland, United States. Located south-southeast of Washington, D.C., Waldorf is part of the Southern Maryland region. It is an urban area, with a populat ...
, with a
repeater
In telecommunications, a repeater is an electronic device that receives a signal and retransmits it. Repeaters are used to extend transmissions so that the signal can cover longer distances or be received on the other side of an obstruction. Some ...
signal broadcast from
Braddock Heights, Maryland
Braddock Heights is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,608 at the 2010 census. The local ZIP codes are 21714 (post office boxes only) and 21703.
...
, on 103.9 FM under the call sign of WGYS.
The WGMS call letters are today in use by public radio station
WETA-FM
WETA (90.9 FM) is a non-commercial, public FM radio station licensed to serve Washington, D.C., broadcasting a classical music format. Its studios are located in Arlington, Virginia and its broadcast tower is located near Arlington at ().
WE ...
's repeater in
Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown is a city in Washington County, Maryland,
United States and the county seat of Washington County. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2020 census was 43,527, and the population of the Hagerstown metropolitan area (exten ...
, having been donated by Bonneville as part of an agreement between both stations made public the same day WGMS signed off.
History
Early history
The station went on air on December 29, 1946, under the call sign of WQQW at 570 kHz on the
AM band. It added an
FM signal, at 103.5 MHz, on September 18,
1948
Events January
* January 1
** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated.
** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect.
** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...
. It changed its call letters in
1951
Events
January
* January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950).
* January 9 – The Government of the United ...
to WGMS, which stood for "Washington's Good Music Station" (that slogan had been used on the station several years before). According to the station's website, WGMS "was the first FM signal in the marketplace and holds the record for the longest consecutive broadcast in the same format."
WGMS was at one time owned by
RKO General
RKO General, Inc. (previously General Teleradio, RKO Teleradio Pictures, and RKO Teleradio) was, from 1952 through 1991, the main holding company for the noncore businesses of the General Tire, General Tire and Rubber Company and, after General Ti ...
Radio, which also owned
top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...
stations in
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 ...
(
WXLO-FM),
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
(
WRKO
WRKO (680 AM) is a commercial news/talk
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 ho ...
),
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
(
KHJ),
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
(
WHBQ), and
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
(
CKLW
CKLW (800 AM) is a commercial radio station in Windsor, Ontario, serving Southwestern Ontario and Metro Detroit. CKLW has a news/talk format. It features local hosts in morning and afternoon drive times, with syndicated Canadian hosts in midd ...
). In the 1970s, to comply with new
FCC
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
regulations limiting simulcasting, RKO prepared to change the format of WGMS (AM) to top 40. A public outcry in support of the classical format forestalled the change, and the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
authorized the stations to simulcast their programming full-time, as an exemption from
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
regulations mandating separate programming on AM and FM outlets owned by a single entity.
In 1988, both WGMS AM & FM were sold off to Washington, D.C.,
venture capital
Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which ha ...
ists
Steven
Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...
and
Mitchell Rales
Mitchell Rales (born 1956) is an American billionaire businessman, and a collector of modern and contemporary art. He co-founded Danaher Corporation in 1983 and is the chairman of its executive committee. Rales is one of the Washington, D.C. re ...
and John VerStandig. The Rales Brothers later bought out VerStandig and converted WGMS AM into the first frequency for
WTEM
WTEM (980 AM) is a commercial sports radio station licensed to serve Washington, D.C. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station services the Washington metropolitan area as the flagship station of the Washington Wizards. WTEM is also the co-flagship st ...
, a sports-talk station, on May 24,
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
. WTEM moved to 980 AM in
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
as the result of a format swap between that station and business talk station
WWRC
WWRC (570 AM) – branded ''AM 570 The Answer'' – is a commercial conservative talk radio station licensed to serve Bethesda, Maryland. Owned by the Salem Media Group, the station services the Washington metro area and is the market affiliat ...
, which itself now resides at 1260 AM. The 570 kHz frequency now belongs to
Salem Communications
Salem Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SALM; formerly Salem Communications Corporation) is an American radio broadcaster, Internet content provider, and magazine and book publisher formerly based in Camarillo, California (moved most operations to Ir ...
, which uses it for news/talk station
WWRC
WWRC (570 AM) – branded ''AM 570 The Answer'' – is a commercial conservative talk radio station licensed to serve Bethesda, Maryland. Owned by the Salem Media Group, the station services the Washington metro area and is the market affiliat ...
.
During WGMS's tenure at 103.5 FM, its antenna and engineering facility were located on The
American University
The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...
Tower.
2006 frequency change
On January 4,
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
, Bonneville and the ''
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' announced that the frequencies then used by
WTOP — 1500 kHz and 107.7 MHz — would be reassigned to a new station,
WTWP, to be known on air as "Washington Post Radio." WTOP would move to 103.5 MHz, the frequency then used by classical music station WGMS; in turn, WGMS would move to 104.1 and 103.9 MHz, displacing contemporary music station
WWZZ (Z104)
WPRS-FM (104.1 FM) is an Urban Gospel formatted radio station in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The station is licensed to Waldorf, Maryland, and is co-owned with WKYS-FM, WMMJ, WOL and WYCB and has studios located in Silver Spring, M ...
. At noon that day, WGMS and WTOP shifted frequencies, and Z104 shut down.
The change in frequency left WGMS with a weaker signal in the Washington area. At 103.5 MHz, it had broadcast at a strength of 44,000 watts; its new transmitter at 104.1 MHz broadcast at 20,000 watts from southern
Prince George's County
)
, demonym = Prince Georgian
, ZIP codes = 20607–20774
, area codes = 240, 301
, founded date = April 23
, founded year = 1696
, named for = Prince George of Denmark
, leader_title = Executive
, leader_name = Angela D. Alsobrook ...
, well away from the center of the metropolitan area. Its repeater signal, at 103.9 MHz, had a strength of only 350 watts. (Coincidentally, the 103.9 signal in Braddock Heights, Maryland, had also once been a CHR station known as "Z104," under the WZYQ calls.)
Attempted sale
On December 8, 2006, ''The Washington Post'' reported a preliminary agreement by
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
owner
Daniel Snyder
Daniel Marc Snyder (born November 23, 1964) is an American businessman and owner of the Washington Commanders, an American football team belonging to the National Football League (NFL). He bought the team, then known as the Washington Redskins, ...
to buy WGMS and convert it to a sports talk format, adding its frequency to the
Triple X ESPN Radio
WTNT (730 AM) is a Spanish hits radio station licensed to Alexandria, Virginia and serving the Washington metro area. WTNT is owned and operated by Metro Radio. 730 kHz is a Canadian and Mexican clear-channel frequency.
The station flipped ...
network. Had the deal gone through, Washington, D.C., would have been left without a classical-music station as a result of the earlier
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
switch of WETA to a public-radio news and talk format.
Washington-based
XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio (XM) was one of the three satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable television. Its s ...
attempted to capitalize on the development, purchasing advertisements in ''The Washington Post'' billing itself as the new home of classical music in the region.
Snyder eventually withdrew from the purchase agreement, citing "a change in the radio climate" and hopes that "a better signal will soon become available in the market." News accounts suggested that a comment to the ''Post'' from an unnamed Bonneville executive, who said Snyder had offered "50 percent more than
GMS GMS may refer to:
Education
* Gates Millennium Scholars Program, higher education scholarship program in the United States
* Glen Mills Schools, in Thornbury Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States
* Governor Morehead School, in Ra ...
was worth," had stalled the negotiations.
2007 format change
The Snyder offer led Bonneville executives to rethink their commitment to classical music on WGMS, with sports talk or popular music being the most likely formats considered as its replacement. Public outcry among the area’s classical music listeners over this possibility led the board of
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
WETA (FM)
WETA (90.9 FM) is a non-commercial, public FM radio station licensed to serve Washington, D.C., broadcasting a classical music format. Its studios are located in Arlington, Virginia and its broadcast tower is located near Arlington at ().
WETA ...
to vote to approve a return to classical programming should Bonneville decide to end classical on WGMS. (WETA had carried classical music and NPR programming until February 2005, when it switched exclusively to a news-and-talk format.)
On January 22,
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
, at 3 p.m. EST, WGMS ceased operations. The final classical selection played on the station was the closing chorus, "With Tears of Grief," from
Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...
's ''
St. Matthew Passion.'' Longtime program director Jim Allison made the announcement of the station's ceasing, but also announced at the same time that Bonneville had reached a deal with WETA that returned the latter station to a classical format. WETA assumed the classical format just five hours later, at 8 p.m. EST.
WETA hired Jim Allison as its new program director, and Bonneville donated its 15,000-disc WGMS music library to WETA. Bonneville also gave WETA the right to use the WGMS callsign; WETA adopted it for its repeater station in
Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown is a city in Washington County, Maryland,
United States and the county seat of Washington County. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2020 census was 43,527, and the population of the Hagerstown metropolitan area (exten ...
, previously known as WETH. The two stations struck an unusual public/commercial cross-promotion agreement, under which WETA would promote Bonneville's news/talk stations
WTOP-FM
WTOP-FM (103.5 FM) – branded ''WTOP Radio'' and ''WTOP News'' – is a commercial all-news radio station licensed to serve Washington, D.C. Owned by Hubbard Broadcasting, the station serves the Washington metropolitan area, extending its re ...
and
WTWP, and Bonneville's stations would, in turn, promote classical programming on WETA.
The on-air talent of WGMS was terminated, while WETA released several talk show hosts and longtime Saturday-night folk music host Mary Cliff. The ''
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' reported that some of the displaced hosts from each station might be hired by either WETA or Bonneville. On January 30, WETA reported that WGMS afternoon announcer John Chester was hired for the 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. shift.
The programming changes meant that WETA converted to a format consisting of classical music 24 hours per day and seven days per week, dropping all long-form
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
and
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
'' in the process. (Most of the cancelled programming already aired on, or moved to,
.) Hourly NPR newscasts remain during the daytime, as well as a simulcast of WETA-TV-produced ''
'' in the 7 p.m. hour, broadcast on radio for the benefit of commuters unable to arrive home in time to view the television airing.
Bonneville switched the 104.1 MHz frequency to an "
, a gospel format).
s of 104.1 and 103.9 to carry "Viva La Voce," an all-vocal classical music station, as well as a high-definition version of WGMS. WGMS also broadcast "long-form" classical music on a digital subchannel of its former frequency, 103.5-FM.
According to the site of the Viva La Voce digital subchannel of WGMS, Viva La Voce has ceased operations. Viva La Voce is now carried full-time on WETA-FM HD-2.