WWSW-FM (94.5
MHz
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 one he ...
) – branded 94.5 3WS – 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 ...
FM 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 ...
in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
. It airs a
classic hits
Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 1980 ...
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 was compelle ...
and is owned by
iHeartMedia, Inc.
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 ...
For most of November and December, WWSW-FM switches to all-
Christmas music.
The
studios and offices are on Fleet Street, off the Penn-Lincoln Highway (
Interstate 376
Interstate 376 (I-376) is a major auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System in the US state of Pennsylvania, located within the Allegheny Plateau. It runs from I-80 near Sharon south and east to a junction with the Pennsylvania T ...
) in
Green Tree. The
transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the ...
is off Rising Main Avenue at Lanark Street, on a
tower
A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures.
Towers are specifi ...
shared with
WPXI-TV and other FM stations in the Pittsburgh
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 and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...
. WWSW-FM broadcasts using
HD Radio technology, with its
digital subchannel playing 1960s and 70s
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 ...
.
WWSW is notable for being an FM "superpower station." Its
effective radiated power
Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would h ...
(ERP) is 50,000
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 ...
s on a
tower
A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures.
Towers are specifi ...
that is 247 meters (810 ft) tall. The normal
height above average terrain
Height above average terrain (HAAT), or (less popularly) effective height above average terrain (EHAAT), is the vertical position of an antenna site is above the surrounding landscape. HAAT is used extensively in FM radio and television, as it i ...
(HAAT) for
Class B FM signals found in Pennsylvania should be 152 meter (500 ft) for a station broadcasting at 50,000 watts.
History
Early years
On August 13, 1940, Walker & Downing Radio Corporation applied to 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 jurisdicti ...
(FCC) for a
construction permit to build a new FM station. It would broadcast on 43.5 MHz in the original FM broadcast band, which was located between 42 and 50 MHz. The FCC granted the permit on December 12, 1940, while reallocating the station to 44.7 MHz and assigning the station the
call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assign ...
W47P. The station was granted its first license by the FCC on May 20, 1942. On September 23, 1942, the FCC modified the station's license when Walker & Downing Radio Corporation changed its name to WWSW, Inc., named after co-owned
WWSW (970 AM).
On November 1, 1943, the station was assigned the WTNT call sign, followed by another call sign change to WMOT effective October 3, 1945.
The FCC created the current FM broadcast band on June 27, 1945. The commission granted WWSW, Inc. the authority to cease operations effective December 12, 1945, so the station could be converted to a new frequency on the new band.
On July 25, 1946, the FCC reallocated the station to 94.5 MHz, and granted WWSW, Inc. a construction permit for operation on the new frequency effective November 13, 1947.
On February 24, 1949, the call sign was changed to WWSW-FM. Following a series of modifications to the construction permit from 1947 to 1954, the FCC granted the station a new license with the new facilities on January 11, 1954.
The station's license was voluntarily reassigned to WWSW Radio, Inc. effective August 1, 1955. On December 21, 1957, the FCC granted the new owner a construction permit to increase the station's
effective radiated power
Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would h ...
(ERP) to 50,000 watts while increasing the antenna
height above average terrain
Height above average terrain (HAAT), or (less popularly) effective height above average terrain (EHAAT), is the vertical position of an antenna site is above the surrounding landscape. HAAT is used extensively in FM radio and television, as it i ...
(HAAT) to 940 feet. A new license with the upgraded facilities was granted by the FCC on September 25, 1958.
Due to subsequent regulations adopted by the FCC that significantly limit the height placement for Class B FM stations corresponding to their ERP, WWSW-FM is recognized as a
grandfathered
A grandfather clause, also known as grandfather policy, grandfathering, or grandfathered in, is a provision in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations while a new rule will apply to all future cases. Those exempt from t ...
“superpower” station.
WWSW Radio, Inc. was granted a construction permit by the FCC on August 6, 1967, to install a new transmitter and antenna. The permit lowered the station's HAAT to 810 feet. The FCC granted a new license with the new facilities on August 1, 1969.
Top 40 hits
Until the late 1960s, WWSW-FM had mostly
simulcast
Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simulta ...
its AM counterpart on 970 AM. By this point, the FCC was requiring AM-FM combo stations to offer separate programming for most of the broadcast day; as a result, WWSW-FM switched to an
automated
Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, namely by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines ...
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 "cont ...
format with limited interruptions, while WWSW (AM) remained a Top 40 station with live
disc jockey
A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...
s and hourly newscasts.
On November 18, 1973, the station's call sign was changed to WPEZ, carving out its own identity apart from WWSW.
WPEZ was a successful Top 40 station for the next seven years. On
Labor Day, 1980, the station gave up Top 40 hits for an
adult contemporary
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, quie ...
format. The station's call sign was changed back to WWSW-FM on September 28, 1980.
For most of the 1980s, WWSW-FM began to add more
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 ...
titles into its playlist to distinguish it from other Pittsburgh AC stations.
Oldies
The AM and FM stations both flipped to all-oldies in February 1988, simulcasting for part of the time. When not simulcasting, the FM played a core blend of oldies hits from the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s, while the AM leaned more towards 1950s and early 1960s titles. In 1991, the AM's independent programming was abandoned and began simulcasting the FM full-time.
The AM split from the FM in August 2000 and adopted a
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 ...
format as
WBGG. In 2006,
Pitt Panthers
The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facu ...
football and basketball games would be aired on WWSW-FM. This lasted until 2012, when the team's games switched to
KDKA-FM
KDKA-FM (93.7 MHz, "93.7 The Fan") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to serve Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. through licensee Audacy License, LLC and broadcasts a sports radio format
Format may refer t ...
.
Classic hits
Like many FM oldies stations in the early 2000s, WWSW-FM had been de-emphasizing music of the 1950s and 1960s in favor of more songs from the 1970s and a few early 1980s titles. It also stopped using the word "oldies" on the air. In 2006, the music was adjusted forward with some 1970s hits and a larger selection of 1980s titles.
The station started to play artists it had ignored before, including
Styx,
Huey Lewis & the News,
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...
and
Bruce Springsteen, while dropping long-time staples of an earlier vintage like the
Dave Clark Five
The Dave Clark Five, also known as the DC5, were an English rock and roll band formed in 1958 in Tottenham, London. Drummer Dave Clark served as the group's leader, producer and co-songwriter. In January 1964 they had their first UK top ten sin ...
,
Little Richard,
Gary Lewis and the Playboys and
Herman's Hermits. However,
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
and
Motown continued to be a staple of the station's playlist.
By the 2010s, the only 1960s tracks that remain on the station's playlist were those that had a high level of popularity over the years, including songs by The Beatles,
Simon and Garfunkel
Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of " ...
,
The Supremes
The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successf ...
, and
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
. In addition, the station began to incorporate some tracks from the early 1990s into the playlist, including hits from
Bryan Adams
Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...
,
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...
, Prince and
Sheryl Crow. The station's playlist began focusing on the mid-1970s all the way up through 1989, with a few late 1960s, early 1970s, and early 1990s tracks also getting airtime.
Christmas music
Beginning each year in early to mid-November, WWSW switches to all
Christmas music, including both classic Christmas standards and some recent material. During the holidays, WWSW suspends some features such as the "All Request Cafe," "The Ultimate Radio Party" and replays of 1970s/1980s versions of ''
American Top 40''.
Airstaff
Currently, WWSW has only four live and local weekday airstaffers - Jonny Hartwell (5-10 a.m.), Tall Cathy (10 a.m.-2 p.m.), and Mike Frazer (2-8 p.m.). Bonnie Diver, morning traffic director for iHeartMedia Pittsburgh and former 3WS midday host, also contributes to the morning drive show. Outside of local programming, the station carries talent from iHeartMedia's
Premium Choice
The majority of programming syndicated by iHeartMedia is distributed through its subsidiary, Premiere Networks, owned by the company since 1999 and purchased by antecedent Jacor in 1997. However, several music and talk shows originated on iHeartM ...
network (which is also utilized when Cathy and Frazer are absent), which is voice-tracked from out-of-market, as well as several nationally syndicated shows.
Past air personalities on 3WS include Jim Merkel, Gary Dickson, Kenny Woods, Steve Hansen, Cris Winter, Bumper Morgan (deceased), RD Summers (deceased), Theresa Colaizzi, Ray Walker (deceased),
Clarke Ingram Clarke Ingram is a United States radio personality and programming executive.
Ingram is best known in his home market (and hometown) of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Career
Ingram was formerly the program director of two Pittsburgh stations, top 40 ...
, Lani Daniels, Mike Steele (deceased), Steve Grenato, Sheri Van Dyke, and Kate Harris. During the prime years at 3WS, the morning show featured Merkel and Dickson. Longtime air personality Jim Merkel was released from 3WS on October 4, 2010, after more than 31 years on the station, and Sheri Van Dyke after 30 years on November 6, 2020.
Concerts and Awards
The station had oldies concerts that filled
Three Rivers Stadium
Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL).
Buil ...
many times with oldies acts, and even legendary oldies DJ
Wolfman Jack
Robert Weston Smith (January 21, 1938July 1, 1995), known as Wolfman Jack, was an American disc jockey active from 1960 till his death in 1995. Famous for his gravelly voice, he credited it for his success, saying, "It's kept meat and potatoes ...
made an appearance on February 23, 1991. The station received 3
Marconi Awards for best oldies station in the United States, while the morning show received five AIR awards (Achievement in Radio) for best morning show in Pittsburgh.
WWSW HD2
On April 25, 2006, WWSW's HD2 subchannel began carrying a format focusing on
Rhythmic Oldies
Rhythmic oldies is a radio format that concentrates on the rhythmic, R&B, disco, or dance genres of music. Playlists can span from the 1960s through the 2000s and, depending on market conditions, may be designed for African-American or Hispanic ...
, which was originally heard on the former
WJJJ (104.7 FM).
In 2016, when 3WS cancelled its weekly "Sunday Night Diner" program, the format of the HD2 station was changed to 1950s and 60s oldies, similar to what was heard on the diner program each week. In addition, the subchannel carried
Duquesne Dukes
The Duquesne Dukes are the athletic teams of Duquesne University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Dukes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. Football and bowling, however ...
football and men's basketball games, as well as pre-game, post-game, and coaches shows for both sports.
A couple of years later, the HD2 station moved its focus to 1960s and 70s oldies, and was branded as "3WS HD2."
References
External links
WWSW-FM official website*
{{Authority control
WSW-FM
IHeartMedia radio stations
Classic hits radio stations in the United States
Radio stations established in 1940
1940 establishments in Pennsylvania