''Wake Up with Whoopi'' was a morning radio show that aired on various stations in the United States from July 31, 2006 until March 28, 2008.

Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...

was the host of the program. The show was syndicated by

Premiere Radio 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. I ...

out of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. The program was roughly one-third talk and two-thirds music (excluding commercials); the music was programmed by the individual stations in most cases. Discussion largely centered on water cooler topics as well as interviews with various guests, mostly from the entertainment industry.

History

The program signed on on July 31, 2006 on flagship station

WKTU WKTU (103.5 FM) is a rhythmic adult contemporary formatted radio station licensed to Lake Success, New York, a suburb of New York City. WKTU is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts from studios in the former AT&T Building in the Tribeca neig ...

, launching into syndication two weeks later. ''Wake Up with Whoopi'' aired from 5am - 9am local time (live on the East Coast) in several markets. At its peak, the program was heard on four of the top six major markets (New York's

, Chicago's WLIT, San Francisco's

KKSF KKSF (910 AM) is a licensed broadcasting commercial radio station coming out of Oakland, California. The station is owned by iHeartMedia and serves the San Francisco-Oakland- San Jose media market. It operates as the Bay Area affiliate for the ...

and Philadelphia's WISX) and approximately twenty affiliates overall. However, affiliates began dropping the program in the summer of 2007. Flagship station WKTU dropped the program in November 2007;David Hinckley, "WKTU Cans Whoopi Goldberg," ''New York Daily News'', November 28th, 2007. the show moved its production from the WKTU studios to sister station

WWPR-FM WWPR-FM (105.1 FM) is an urban contemporary music radio station licensed to New York City. WWPR-FM is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts from studios in the former AT&T Building in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan; its transmitter is lo ...

, although that station did not carry the program. The program was produced by longtime WKTU morning show producer Michael Opelka until he left the show and the company, ending nearly 10 years of his affiliation with the station. Opelka left to join

Opie and Anthony ''Opie and Anthony'' was an American radio show hosted by Gregg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia that aired from March 1995 to July 2014, with comedian Jim Norton serving as third mic from 2001. The show originated in 1994 when Cumia took part in ...

; he was replaced by a team of Matt Bosso, Lisa Jackson, and Glenn Baker. Cubby Bryant, who had been Goldberg's co-host, left the show in January 2008, staying on WKTU's morning drive. The show's cancellation had been anticipated for months, and the last live broadcast was March 27, 2008. ''Wake Up with Whoopis final broadcast on March 28, 2008 was a taped performance from the previous year, with a final sign-off by Whoopi, explaining her thoughts on the show's cancellation. When the show was cancelled, only

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

, Utica and

Muskegon Muskegon ( ') is a city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Muskegon County. Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, pleasure boating, and as a commercial and cruise ship port. It is a popular vacation destination because of the expans ...

were carrying the show; all but one of the stations are owned by Clear Channel Communications (Utica's WUMX was owned by Clear Channel but the company sold WUMX to

Galaxy Communications Galaxy Media (formerly Galaxy Communications) is a radio broadcasting company with radio stations entirely in the Central New York area. History Ed Levine, current president, attended the Newhouse School at Syracuse University where his love fo ...

, who kept the show until its cancellation).

References

External links

Official site
American talk radio programs {{US-radio-show-stub