WNAM (1280

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 ...

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 ...

Neenah Neenah () is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, Winnebago County, Wisconsin, in the East North Central States, north central United States. It is situated on the banks of Lake Winnebago, Little Lake Butte des Morts, and the Fox River (Wiscon ...

- Menasha,

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, that serves the Appleton- Oshkosh

radio market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television station, television and radio broadcasting, ra ...

. The station is owned by

Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 87 ...

. It uses the "

America's Best Music America's Best Music is the on-air branding of a soft oldies and adult standards 24-hour radio network, formerly known as AM Only. The service is syndicated by Westwood One, a subsidiary of Cumulus Media. It was one of the original Transtar Ra ...

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...

supplied by co-owned

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 ...

, that combines soft

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 ...

with a few adult standards and middle of the road songs each hour. The station also carries

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Grand Chute, Wisconsin, a town on the outskirts of Appleton, Wisconsin, Appleton in the Fox ...

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

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 ...

. Most hours begin with

Westwood One News Westwood One News was a radio news network launched on January 1, 2015, and operated by Westwood One through its parent company Cumulus Media. Using audio from CNN reports and correspondents, and anchored by Cumulus employees, it provided radio ...

History

The station

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 May 23, 1947, with 1,000

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 of power. WNAM was owned by Neenah-Menasha Broadcasting Company, with studios on Wisconsin Avenue in Neenah. The station was originally a

daytimer A clear-channel station is an AM radio station in North America that has the highest protection from interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. The system exists to ensure the viability of cross-coun ...

, required to go off the air at night, when radio waves travel farther. In the 1960s, the station got authorization from the

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 ...

(FCC) to broadcast at night at 1,000 watts, with its daytime power raised to 5,000 watts. Ron Ross began working at WNAM in 1973 as afternoon host and eventually became program director when WNAM was a

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 ...

radio station. In 1976, Ross was named by ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' one of the country's top five Top 40 personalities for markets with fewer than 1 million people. During his time at WNAM, the station achieved a 17.6

Arbitron Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by mergin ...

rating. Jim Roberts was hired by WNAM in the fall of 1987 to host the afternoon show. He stayed until late 1998. In the 1990s Value Radio Corp., owner of

WOSH WOSH (1490 AM) is a radio station serving the Oshkosh, Wisconsin area with a News/ Talk format including the ABC News Radio network. This station is under ownership of Cumulus Media. The station began broadcasting on December 31, 1941. During ...

, purchased WNAM and WUSW in

Oshkosh, Wisconsin Oshkosh is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, of which it is the county seat. The city had a population of 66,816 in 2020, making it the ninth-largest city in Wisconsin. It is also adjacent to the Town of Oshkosh. History Oshkosh was ...

from Odon Communications Group. Cumulus Broadcasting already owned WNAM, WOSH,

WVBO WVBO (103.9 FM) is a classic hits formatted radio station licensed to Winneconne, Wisconsin, that serves the Appleton- Oshkosh area. The station is owned by Cumulus Media. History This station began broadcasting in the fall of 1966 as WOSH-FM ...

and

WWWX WWWX (96.9 FM, "96.9 The Fox") is an alternative rock formatted radio station licensed to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, that serves the Appleton- Oshkosh area. The station is owned by Cumulus Media. The station shares a transmitter site with WNAM locat ...

when the company bought

WPKR WPKR (99.5 FM, "99.5 PKR") is a country music radio station licensed to Omro, Wisconsin, that serves the Oshkosh, Appleton and Fond du Lac areas. It started as a simulcast of Green Bay-based country music station WPCK. Since then it has split o ...

and

WPCK WPCK (104.9 FM) is a radio station licensed to Denmark, Wisconsin and serving Green Bay. The station is owned and operated by Educational Media Foundation. WPCK's transmitter is located off Finger Road in Montpelier. History The station wa ...

from Midwest Dimensions Inc. in an $8.1 million deal announced July 2, 2003. "Mad Dog and Merrill" joined WNAM in 2008 for a cooking-related show airing weekdays from 10 to noon. In 2008, WNAM began carrying

games. The station's contract has been extended through 2021.

References

External links

*
FCC History Cards for WNAM
Adult standards radio stations in the United States NAM Radio stations established in 1947 1947 establishments in Wisconsin Cumulus Media radio stations {{Wisconsin-radio-station-stub