WMAY (970
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 ...
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 radio ...
in
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...
. The station is owned by
Mid-West Family Broadcasting
Mid-West Family Broadcasting is an independently owned broadcasting company based in Madison, Wisconsin. The company owns and manages radio stations in Madison, Wisconsin, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, La Crosse, Wisconsin, Benton Harbor/St. Joseph, Mich ...
and the license is held by Long Nine, Inc. WMAY's
transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which i ...
,
radio studio
A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...
s and offices are all located on North Third Street in
Riverton, Illinois
Riverton is a village in Sangamon County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,455 at the 2010 census, up from 3,062 in 2000. It is part of the Springfield, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Riverton was founded by John Tay ...
.
WMAY is powered at 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 by day and 500 watts at night. Programming is
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, simultane ...
on two
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 ...
s: W234CC at 94.7
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 ...
in
Sherman, Illinois
Sherman is a village in Sangamon County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,148 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Geography
Sherman is located at .
According to the 2010 census ...
, and 102.5 W273DR in Springfield.
Previous news/talk programming
Weekdays on WMAY-AM-FM began with "The WMAY Newsfeed," a local news and information show hosted by Greg Bishop. Local talk shows were heard in late mornings with Mike Wennmacher and in afternoon
drive time
Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this c ...
with Jim Leach. The
syndicated "
Ramsey Show with
Dave Ramsey
David Lawrence Ramsey III (born September 3, 1960) is an American personal finance personality, radio show host, author, and businessman. An evangelical Christian, he hosts the nationally syndicated radio program ''The Ramsey Show''. Ramsey has ...
" is carried in early afternoons. Evenings and overnights feature "Hits and Headlines," a mix of
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 1980s ...
and news updates from
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 the WMAY newsroom.
Weekends featured programs on money, health, law, real estate, computers, guns and an hour devoted to the music of the
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...
. Some weekend shows are paid
brokered programming
Brokered programming (also known as time-buy and blocktime) is a form of broadcast content in which the show's producer pays a radio or television station for air time, rather than exchanging programming for pay or the opportunity to play spot comm ...
. The rest of the weekend is "Hits and Headlines."
History
WMAY first
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 . It was owned by Lincoln Broadcasting. In 1963, the station was acquired by Springfield Broadcasting, a division of Stuart Stations. It aired a
full service Full service or Full Service may refer to:
* Full-service radio, a wide range of programming
* Full Service Network, a communications company
Entertainment
* "Full Service", a song by the New Kids on the Block from their album ''The Block''
* F ...
middle of the road music format, using
NBC Radio News for its world and national news coverage.
Mid-West Family Broadcasting bought the station in 1976, switching it to
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
a short time later. In the early 1990s, WMAY went with an
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 ...
format, and it flipped to its current talk radio format in 1995. Mid-West Family Broadcasting also owns local stations 98.7
WNNS-FM, 97.7
WQLZ
WQLZ (97.7 FM) is a radio station broadcasting an active rock format, licensed to Petersburg, Illinois, United States. The station serves the Springfield, IL area and is currently owned by Long Nine, Inc.
History
The station began broadcasting ...
and 92.7
WMAY-FM
WMAY-FM (92.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Taylorville, Illinois, and serving the Springfield metropolitan area. It is owned by Mid-West Family Broadcasting. The station has a news/talk radio format on weekdays and plays cla ...
.
Three of the most well-known broadcasters to pass through the studio were Bob Hale (hired directly from Clear Lake, IA after the Buddy Holly plane crash in 1959. He mc'd the show at the Surf Ballroom that night, gave casualties the next day, and was hired by WMAY; he purportedly made the coin flip between Ritchie Valens and Tommy Allsup for the final seat on the plane.); Cal Schrum ("The State Policeman's Friend," on the overnight shift; starred in several B westerns and was beloved by law enforcement personnel working the "graveyard shift"); and Red Barnes (Gregory Harutunian), his 1980s successor who would "set the chickens free," in the early morning hours. The station was also known in the 1980s for its “Little Black Box” promotion that awarded keys to a new vehicle to the finder of a hidden box containing keys to a new vehicle. The station would air clues for listeners to scavenger hunt the surrounding metro area for the “black box”. The promotion ended around the time the station switched from its long-running Country format.
On August 28, 2020, it was announced by Midwest Family that WUSW (now WMAY-FM) would drop their country format and begin simulcasting WMAY on September 1. The addition of 92.7 expands WMAY's FM coverage to areas to the south and east of Springfield.
[WUSW To Flip To WMAY Simulcast](_blank)
/ref>
On April 25, 2022, WMAY changed its format from news/talk (which continues on WMAY-FM
WMAY-FM (92.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Taylorville, Illinois, and serving the Springfield metropolitan area. It is owned by Mid-West Family Broadcasting. The station has a news/talk radio format on weekdays and plays cla ...
92.7 Taylorville) to classic hits, branded as "102.5 The Lake".102.5 The Lake Debuts In Springfield
Radioinsight - April 25, 2022
References
External links
FCC History Cards for WMAY
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{{Authority control
MAY
May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the third of seven months to have a length of 31 days.
May is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, May ...
Classic hits radio stations in the United States
Radio stations established in 1995