WABC (AM)

WABC
	Logo for 77 WABC]
Broadcast area	New York, New York
Frequency	770 kHz
Branding	NewsTalkRadio 77WABC
Programming
Format	News/Talk
Ownership
Owner	ABC Radio
History
First air date	October 1, 1921 (as WJZ)
Call sign meaning	W American Broadcasting Company
Technical information
Class	A
ERP	50,000 watts
Links
Website	www.wabcradio.com

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WABC AM (770 kHz New York City) "NewsTalkradio 77" is the flagship station of the ABC Radio Network. The station's transmitter is located in nearby Lodi, New Jersey.

Since the 1980s WABC has had a talk radio format, and is the dominant talk radio station in the New York area. During much of the 1960s and 1970s, WABC was a music station with a Top 40 format, and likewise was the dominant music station in the New York area (as FM was not much of a factor yet).

As of 2005, WABC is also the flagship station for nationally-known radio talkers Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and John Batchelor. Limbaugh's show was even produced at the WABC studios from the late 1980s to the early 2000s, when he started doing the program from Premiere Radio Networks and his home studio in Florida. Hannity and Batchelor remain based at WABC, from which their shows are beamed to affiliates of the ABC Radio Network.

WJZ (1921 to 1953)

WABC's early years (1953 to 1960)

Musicradio 77 (1960 to 1982)

From the very early 1960s and through the 1970s, WABC was the huge Top 40 radio station in New York City. They were known as "Musicradio WABC". They simply played the top 40 (actually, top 20 or fewer) hits heavily; the number one song was heard almost every hour. The station also tried to identify itself with the most popular musical acts: During the British invasion in 1964 it became W-A-Beatle-C, then during the Jackson 5's initial popularity in 1970 much was made of their hit "ABC".

Early 1960s disc jockeys included Herb Oscar Anderson, Charlie Greer, Scott Muni, and Bob Lewis, but the best known WABC DJs are the ones that followed them in the mid-1960s and later: Harry Harrison, Ron Lundy, Johnny Donovan, Dan Ingram, Radio Hall of Fame member "Cousin Brucie" Bruce Morrow, Chuck Leonard, Bob Cruz, George Michael and others all graced the airwaves. Radio Hall of Fame member Rick Sklar was the program director and is credited as one of the pioneering architects of the Top 40 format.

Especially in the afternoons and evenings, WABC was the sound teenagers could be heard listening to on transistor radios all over the New York metropolitan area. Bruce Morrow later spoke about how he felt an almost psychic bond to his young listeners.

By 1968 WABC had become the top radio station in New York. They dominated with huge ratings. In the 1970s WABC was either #1 or #2 consistantly. Once in a while, a station attracting an older audience like WOR or WPAT would move into the top spot, but few of their listeners were aged 18 to 39 years old. Chief competitor WMCA stopped playing top 40 music in 1970; WWDJ lasted from 1971 to 1974; and 99X came and went from 1973 to 1978. Other FM competitors like oldies WCBS-FM, progressive-urban WBLS, and album-oriented rock (AOR) stations like WPLJ and WNEW-FM all did okay in the ratings, but none came close to WABC's success. AM rival WNBC also could not come close to WABC's audience, even though they tried sounding younger, older, and in between. Still WABC was king.

Cousin Brucie would leave in 1974 for WNBC. Sklar left in 1976, to become VP of programming for ABC Radio. In 1976 assistant PD Glenn Morgan became program director and stayed until the Spring of 1979.

The decline of the music format

In July of 1978, WKTU abruptly dropped its adult contemporary format in favor of a disco-based top 40 format known as "Disco 92". By December of that year, WABC was unseated as WKTU now became the #1 station in New York City. In the spring and summer of 1979 WABC began to lean disco with some rock and pop mixed in, but this also did not work well for the station. By August, they had returned to a mainstream Top 40 format.

Back in its trademark format, WABC went down in the ratings four books in a row. Then, in September of 1979, Al Brady Law took over the station. He cut back the currents slightly but still played played the top song over a dozen times a day. Brady added more 70's rock, a few album rock cuts, and a few big 60's hits. He also changed the presentation of the station. As a result, he let Harry Harrison, Chuck Leonard, and George Michael go that November. Dan Ingram moved to mornings, Bob Cruz moved to afternoons, and Sturgis Griffin came on overnights while Howard Hoffman did evenings. Hoffman was the first of the 80's style contemporary hit radio (CHR) DJ's. He was heavy on brief phone bits from listeners, had a good sense of humor, and sounded "hip." He sounded similar to the future Z100 DJ's a few years later.

The ratings erosion seemed to stabilize in 1980. Still, Al Brady left the station in the Summer of 1980. At that point WABC added New York Yankees baseball games that all-news WINS was unable to air due to the 1980 Democratic and Republican conventions.

In the summer of 1980, Jay Clark took over WABC. By the fall the station played top 40 music that was more Adult Contemporary (AC) in sound. As a result, WABC began to lean that way but still played rock and R&B crossovers in moderation. However, the station also began to move away from album cuts and toward more '60s and '70s oldies. They also dropped the "Musicradio WABC" name and became "77 WABC, New York's Radio Station".

In 1981 Howard Hoffman and Bob Cruz left. Dan Ingram went back to afternoons. Ross Britain & Brian Wilson from Atlanta moved into mornings. That spring, WABC became the full-time flagship radio outlet for the New York Yankees baseball games, a distinction the station carried until the end of the 2001 season. -- the longest continuous relationship the Bronx Bombers have had with any flagship station.

At the time the Yankees became a regular WABC feature, the station also began running a sports-talk show from Art Rust Jr. from 7-9 PM weeknights. Even though ratings at this point were mediocre, they were still going down.

In the fall of 1981, WABC dropped all the heavy rock cuts and the handful of non-crossover urban hits. They began playing more oldies, as well as songs from the adult contemporary chart. They added an advice show with Doctor Judy in the fall of 1981 as well. By this point, rumors were rampant that the station would be going to an all-talk format.

In February of 1982, WABC officially confirmed it would be going to an all-talk format that May. The airstaff began saying goodbye with a comment here and there from February into May. Finally, on April 30, they announced the date for the switch to an all-talk format would be on May 10 at noon. From May 7 to May 9, the station airstaff said goodbye one last time.

May 10, 1982, the day WABC stopped playing music, is sometimes called "The Day The Music Died". WABC ended its 21 and a half year run as a music station with a 9AM-noon farewell show hosted by Dan Ingram and Ron Lundy.

NewsTalkradio 77 (1982 to present)

Initially after the format change, the station ran a lot of satellite talk from corporate ABC's "Talk Radio" network. Ross and Wilson stayed on and continued to play 4 songs per hour (mostly '60s and '70s hits) throughout 1982. In 1983, they stopped playing music as well. Ross and Wilson split up in 1983 when Ross went over to Z-100. While the station's final ratings as a music station were very mediocre, their talk ratings initially were even lower.

Still, the station stuck with the new format. They added more issues-oriented talk shows, with an increasing amount of conservative talk show hosts (a couple of liberals also hosted shows). The ratings grew and by the late 1980s, they were a very successful talk station. The program director behind this was and continues to be Phil Boyce.

From 1984 to 1996 WABC hosted Bob Grant, a pioneer of controversial talk radio. After years of what some considered inflammatory remarks, he was fired in 1996 for a tasteless comment regarding the death of United States Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown.

In the 2000s, the major WABC hosts have been the "crossfire"-style duo of Curtis Sliwa and Ron Kuby in morning drive time, three-generation-WOR-former host John Gambling in late morning, Rush Limbaugh noon to 3 P.M., and Sean Hannity in afternoon drive time. Paul Harvey's newscasts are also featured.

Mark Simone hosts two popular Saturday shows--a morning talk show (6-10 AM), and the Saturday Night Oldies show (6-10 PM). He is also a frequent fill-in host on weekdays, thus the station bills Mark Simone as "supersub."

WABC has also sometimes featured out-of-town hosts carried in syndication. Laura Schlessinger and Michael Savage were once carried by WABC. Currently Laura Ingraham is syndicated from Washington, D.C.

Prior to 2001, the New York Yankees games were broadcast on WABC. They have since moved to WCBS

The 2005 lineup from 10 AM to midnight is Gambling, Limbaugh, Hannity, Mark Levin, Ingraham and John Batchelor. The Limbaugh to Ingraham stretch consists of four hosts with virtually identical viewpoints, each of whom tend to echo the other's talking points daily. Director Boyce has stated that these programming decisions are ratings-driven, while critics of WABC state that the station's programming reflects a conscious conservative political advocacy.

Even though Talkradio WABC has proven to be a success, the station has not forgotten its roots. There is an annual "WABC Rewound" program which consists of old broadcasts from the Musicradio era, usually as originally aired. This tribute has been heard every Memorial Day since 1998. The station announced in December 2005 that a "Saturday Night Oldies" show would air from 6 to 10 PM weekly, hosted by Mark Simone, a long time WABC talk show host. Simone's roots in New York radio extend back to the 1970s, and include music shows on WPIX-FM and WNEW-AM, among others. Initial reaction to the first WABC "Saturday Night Oldies" program aired on December 3 appears to have been overwhelmingly positive and quite significant, with listeners (via radio and a live Internet stream) in most if not all fifty states, and several foreign countries.

External links

http://www.marksimone.com

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Saturdaynightoldiesshow