WTAW (1620
kHz), branded as "News Talk 1620 94.5 WTAW", is a commercial
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
...
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 radi ...
licensed to serve
College Station, Texas
College Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, Brazos County, Texas, situated in East-Central Texas in the heart of the Brazos Valley, towards the eastern edge of the region known as the Texas Triangle. It is northwest of Houston and east-n ...
. Owned by the Bryan Broadcasting Company, WTAW covers College Station,
Bryan and much of the
Brazos Valley
Brazos Valley ( ) is a region of the U.S. state of Texas comprising the following 7 counties in Central Texas: Brazos, Burleson, and Robertson (which collectively comprise the Bryan–College Station metropolitan area), and the neighboring coun ...
. Its studios and transmitter site are located in College Station.
In addition to a standard
analog transmission
Analog transmission is a transmission method of conveying information using a continuous signal which varies in amplitude, phase, or some other property in proportion to that information. It could be the transfer of an analog signal, using an an ...
, WTAW broadcasts in
HD Radio, utilizing the
in-band on-channel
In-band on-channel (IBOC) is a hybrid method of transmitting digital radio and analog radio broadcast signals simultaneously on the same frequency. The name refers to the new digital signals being broadcast in the same AM or FM band (in-band) ...
hybrid standard, is simulcast over low-power
FM translator
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transl ...
K233DU (94.5 FM) College Station, and is available online.
Programming
WTAW personality Scott DeLucia hosts the morning-drive program, ''The Infomaniacs'' along with Chelsea Reber on news and Zach Taylor on sports. The show is best known for quick wit and Zach being made fun of by the other hosts.
''
The Glenn Beck Program
''Glenn'' (previously titled ''The Glenn Beck Program'') is a news talk and political opinion show on TheBlaze hosted by Glenn Beck. It is produced and recorded at TheBlaze studios in Dallas, TX. The show originally ran on CNN Headline News fr ...
'', ''
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
''The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show'' is an American radio program hosted by former Fox Sports Radio personality Clay Travis and former '' America Now/The Buck Sexton Show'' host Buck Sexton. It is broadcast on over 400 talk radio station ...
'' (a direct successor to ''
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 ...
''), and ''
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 ...
'' (via
Premiere Networks
Premiere Networks (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an American media company, a wholly owned subsidiary of iHeartMedia, for which it currently serves as its main original radio content distribution and production arm. ...
) air during the late morning, midday, and afternoons, respectively.
Joe Pags
Joseph John Pagliarulo (born August 1, 1966), also known on the air as Joe Pags, is an American nationally syndicated conservative television and radio talk show host.
Biography
Born in Amityville, New York, Pagliarulo later lived in nearby C ...
(via
Compass Media Networks), ''
Coast to Coast AM
''Coast to Coast AM'' is an American late-night radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics. Most frequently the topics relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was hosted by creator Art Bell from its inception in 1 ...
'' (via Premiere) and ''
This Morning, America's First News with Gordon Deal
''This Morning: America's First News'' (formerly ''The Wall Street Journal This Morning'') is a two-hour radio news/talk program hosted by Gordon Deal and Jennifer Kushinka, who replaced long-serving co-host Gina Cervetti on January 2, 2015. In a ...
'' (via Compass) also air on the station. Weekend hosts include
Kim Komando
Kimberly Ann Komando (born 1967) is the host of two daily radio shows and one weekend radio show about consumer technology. On her weekly call-in show, she provides advice about technology gadgets, websites, smartphone apps, and internet security. ...
and
Bill Cunningham Bill Cunningham may refer to:
People
*Bill Cunningham (rugby union) (1874–1927), New Zealand rugby union player
* Bill Cunningham (footballer), Irish international footballer active in the 1890s
*Bill Cunningham (infielder) (1886–1946), profe ...
.
History
KAZW / KZNE
WTAW originated as the expanded band "twin" of an existing station on the standard AM band. On March 17, 1997 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that eighty-eight stations had been given permission to move to newly available "
Expanded Band" transmitting frequencies, ranging from 1610 to 1700 kHz, with the
then-WTAW on 1150 kHz authorized to move to 1620 kHz.
["FCC Public Notice: Mass Media Bureau Announces Revised AM Expanded Band Allotment Plan and Filing Window for Eligible Stations"](_blank)
(FCC DA 97-537), March 17, 1997. An application for the expanded band station was filed on June 16, 1997, which on January 9, 1998 was assigned the call letters KAZW, which were changed on March 1, 2000 to KZNE.
[Call Sign History for 1620 kHz]
(Facility ID: 87145)
The FCC's initial policy was that both the original station and its expanded band counterpart could operate simultaneously for up to five years, after which owners would have to turn in one of the two licenses, depending on whether they preferred the new assignment or elected to remain on the original frequency.
However, this deadline has been extended multiple times, and the stations on both 1150 and 1620 kHz have remained authorized. One restriction is that the FCC has generally required paired original and expanded band stations to remain under common ownership.
WTAW
On May 3, 2000 the stations on 1150 and 1620 kHz swapped identities, with 1150 becoming
sports radio
Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often- boisterous on ...
KZNE (while maintaining its longtime role as the flagship of Texas A&M Aggies athletics), and 1620 inheriting the historic WTAW call letters and its
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 featu ...
format. Although for the average listener this meant that WTAW had moved from 1150 to 1620 kHz, and KNZE had done the reverse, according to FCC regulatory practices the same station on 1620 kHz continued to be licensed (Facility ID 87145 in FCC nomenclature), with just call letter changes taking place.
[
On December 4, 2003, WTAW and KZNE were sold to Bryan Broadcasting.]
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
µ
News and talk radio stations in the United States
Radio stations established in 2000
2000 establishments in Texas