WILM (1450
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
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 hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...
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 ...
broadcasting in
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...
, United States. The station is owned by
iHeartMedia
iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...
. WILM is known as the station where radio and television talk show
Joe Pyne
Joe Pyne (December 22, 1924 – March 23, 1970) was an American radio and television talk show host, who pioneered the confrontational style in which the host advocates a viewpoint and argues with guests and audience members. He was an influence ...
developed the confrontational style now standard in radio and TV talk shows. Another well-known WILM personality was
Tom Mees
Thomas E. Mees (October 13, 1949 – August 14, 1996) was an American sportscaster best known for his role in hosting professional and collegiate ice hockey and for being a prominent personality on ESPN during that network's early years.
Early ...
(
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
) who worked at the station in the 1970s.
![1450 WILM](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/1450_WILM.png)
In the 1950s and 1960s WILM, under the ownership of Ewing Hawkins, experimented with various music formats, including
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 "conte ...
and
MOR (middle-of-the-road). For a time, the WILM deejays were known as the "Flip Top Jocks." One of the program directors was Dean Tyler, who would later go on to be an influential broadcaster and manager in Philadelphia radio. In the early 1970s WILM adopted 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 and featured an all-night block of
rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...
music geared to the city's
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
community. At this time, the station was affiliated with the
Mutual Broadcasting System
The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Old-time radio, golden ...
.
In January 1976, WILM switched 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 ...
format, using the short-lived NIS (News and Information Service), operated by
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
. When the NIS ceased operations shortly thereafter, WILM continued on with its news format. Eventually the station modified its format and affiliated with the
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
radio network for news and features. The station also kept a secondary affiliation with the Mutual Broadcasting System, which carried ''
The Larry King Show''.
By the 1990s, WILM had added syndicated
talk
Talk may refer to:
Communication
* Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people
* Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people
* Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct
...
programming throughout its lineup. The station became one of the first to add, then, the very first to drop
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 ...
's daily show from its schedule. A former program director said the decision was made due to incompatibilities with sales and audience demand but has since acknowledged the station chose not to pay increased carriage fees. During this period, another Wilmington station with a stronger signal,
WDEL also adopted a full-time news and talk format, beginning direct competition with WILM, including picking up Rush Limbaugh's program.
By 2000, WILM began to shift toward talk radio.
Mike Gallagher's syndicated show joined local host John Watson on the station's daily schedule. An evening hour featured a cavalcade of amateur talk radio hosts; most were members of the Wilmington-area community. Weekend programming was almost exclusively all satellite talk by 2004.
In 2004, owner Sally V. Hawkins sold WILM to Clear Channel Communications (now iHeartMedia) for $4 million. On July 28, 2006, WILM dropped the national newscasts from
CBS Radio
CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadc ...
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, ...
. Clear Channel moved WILM into a new broadcast facility shared with its other Delaware stations. The new facility allows automated operation and Clear Channel reduced WILM's local air staff and local programming and added syndicated talk programming including Rush Limbaugh,
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 ...
and
Michael Savage
Michael Alan Weiner (born March 31, 1942), known by his professional name Michael Savage, is a far-right author, conspiracy theorist, political commentator, activist, and former radio host. Savage is best known as the host of '' The Savage Na ...
. Both Limbaugh and Hannity had been carried by WDEL during a period when it dominated local ratings in the talk format, although these programs have not received comparable ratings on WILM.
In 2010, Clear Channel dropped WILM's morning news block programming and replaced it with a local talk show hosted by Bruce Elliott, who had previously done a weekend talk show at
WBAL in Baltimore. In 2011, about six months after Elliott's arrival, Clear Channel dropped WILM's late morning local talk show hosted by John Watson and replaced it with a syndicated program hosted by
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 ...
(which Clear Channel distributes). Almost all programs on WILM are simulcast on Clear Channel's
WDOV
WDOV (1410 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a news/talk format. Licensed to Dover, Delaware, United States, the station serves the Dover area. The station is currently owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. and features programming from Fox News Radio ...
in Dover. WILM, which once boasted about its large local news staff, now carries local news from WDOV. Sunday morning programs on WILM are generally public access shows which include health, real estate, gardening and Italian-American programs.
Notable alumni
*
Tom Donahue Thomas or Tom Donahue may refer to:
* Thomas R. Donahue (born 1928), American trade union leader
* Thomas Michael Donahue (1921–2004), American physicist, astronomer, and space and planetary scientist
* Tom Donahue (DJ) (1928–1975), pioneerin ...
- Top 40 DJ in Philadelphia and Los Angeles, d. 1975
*
Tom Mees
Thomas E. Mees (October 13, 1949 – August 14, 1996) was an American sportscaster best known for his role in hosting professional and collegiate ice hockey and for being a prominent personality on ESPN during that network's early years.
Early ...
- Sports broadcaster,
ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio, which is alternately platform-agnostically branded as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN". ...
, d. 1996
*
Joe Pyne
Joe Pyne (December 22, 1924 – March 23, 1970) was an American radio and television talk show host, who pioneered the confrontational style in which the host advocates a viewpoint and argues with guests and audience members. He was an influence ...
- Nationally syndicated talk show host, d. 1970
External links
FCC History Cards for WILM
{{IHeartMedia
ILM Ilm or ILM may refer to:
Acronyms
* Identity Lifecycle Manager, a Microsoft Server Product
* '' I Love Money,'' a TV show on VH1
* Independent Loading Mechanism, a mounting system for CPU sockets
* Industrial Light & Magic, an American motion ...
News and talk radio stations in the United States
IHeartMedia radio stations
Radio stations established in 1928
1928 establishments in Delaware