WLEA (1480 AM) is 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 ...

broadcasting 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. Licensed to

Hornell, New York Hornell is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Steuben County, New York, Steuben County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 8,259 at the 2020 census. The city is named after the Hornell family, early set ...

, United States, the station serves the Canisteo Valley area, and is a part of the Elmira Corning Radio Market The station is currently owned by PMJ Communications, Inc. Pmj Communications was founded by Kevin Doran, who also hosted the station's morning show for a time in the 1970s, then again from the early 1990s until his death in 2015; his estate continues to own the company and sister station WCKR. Previously, the station was owned by Charlie Henderson, who represented Hornell in the State Assembly (1956-1981).

FM translator

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 ...

is used to widen the coverage area of WLEA, especially at night when the

AM broadcasting AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio transmissions, and is still used worldwide, primarily for medium wave (also known as "AM band") transmis ...

frequency reduces power to only 19

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 ...

History

WLEA signed on in 1948 at 1320 kHz; two years later, the 1320 slot was bought out by

WWHG WWHG (105.9 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial mainstream rock radio station licensed to Evansville, Wisconsin and serving the areas of Madison, Wisconsin, Madison and Janesville, Wisconsin, Janesville. The station is owned by Scott Thompson, ...

, later the now-defunct

WHHO WHHO (1320 AM) was a radio station broadcasting a sports talk format. Licensed to Hornell, New York, United States, the station served the Elmira- Corning area. The station was owned by Bilbat Radio, Inc. (at the time of closure, wholly owned ...

, necessitating the station to move to a new frequency. It was part of 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 ...

. Actor

Bob Crane Robert Edward Crane (July 13, 1928 – June 29, 1978) was an American actor, drummer, radio personality, and disc jockey known for starring in the CBS situation comedy ''Hogan's Heroes''. Crane was a drummer from age 11, and he began his ente ...

was one of the station's earliest employees, beginning as a janitor and later hosting "The 1480 Club." Programming heard on WLEA includes This Morning: America's First News,

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 ...

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 ...

Jim Bohannon James Everett Bohannon (January 7, 1944 – November 12, 2022) was an American broadcaster who worked in both television and radio. He is best known for hosting the nationally syndicated late night radio talk show ''The Jim Bohannon Show'' orig ...

John Batchelor John Calvin Batchelor (born April 29, 1948) is an American author and host of ''Eye on the World'' on the CBS Audio Network. His flagship station is New York's 710 WOR. The show is a hard-news-analysis radio program on current events, world his ...

, a local interview show called "Newsmaker Show" and the "1480 Club", as well as local news updates,

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 ...

and

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, ...

. WLEA is the broadcast home of the Hornell Dodgers team and also carries Hornell High School athletics (sister station WCKR carries Canisteo–Greenwood High School sports).

References

External links

LEA Lea or LEA may refer to: Places Australia * Lea River, Tasmania, Australia * Lake Lea, Tasmania, from which the Lea River flows * RAAF Base Learmonth, IATA airport code "LEA" England * Lea, Cheshire, a civil parish * Lea, Derbyshire, a set ...

News and talk radio stations in the United States Hornell, New York {{NewYork-radio-station-stub