Hudson Valley Retro Dial: Putnam County - September 1986

[mooneyhill1]

AM Dial:
570 WMCA - (News/Talk)
600 WICC - (Top 40)
620 WSKQ - (Spanish)
660 WNBC - (News/Talk)
710 WOR - (News/Talk)
770 WABC - (News/Talk)
800 WLAD - (Variety)
820 WNYC - (NPR & News/Talk)
850 WREF - (Pop Standard)
880 WCBS - (News)
910 WRKL - (Pop)
930 WPAT - (Pop)
940 WINE - (Adult Contemporary)
970 WWDJ - (Christian)
1010 WINS - (News)
1050 WHN - (Country/Sports Talk)
1130 WNEW - (Pop Standard)
1230 WFAS - (Pop Standard)
1260 WSHU - (College)
1280 WADO - (Spanish)
1310 WVIP - (Pop)
1380 WKDM - (Orient)
1390 WEOK - (Oldies)
1400 WSTC - (Community)
1420 WLNA - (Community)
1430 WNJR - (Urban)
1450 WKIP - (Top 40)
1490 WGCH - (News/Talk)
1460 WVOX - (Community)
1560 WQXR - (Classical)
1600 WWRL - (Religious/Urban Community)
1700 WGRC - (Oldies/Adult Standard)

FM Dial:
88.1 WARY - (Variety/Classical)
88.3 WBGO - (NPR/Jazz)
88.7 WPSC - (Variety)
88.9 WSIA - (College)
89.9 WKCR - (College)
90.3 WDFH - (Community)
90.7 WFUV - (College)
91.1 WFSU - (College)
91.5 WNYE - (Variety)
91.7 WXCI - (College)
92.3 WXPK - (Rock)
92.7 WLIR - (Rock)
93.1 WPAT - (Adult Contemporary)
93.5 WRTN - (Pop Standards)
93.9 WNYC - (NPR/Talk/Classical)
94.3 WBPM - (Top 40)
94.7 WFME - (Community)
95.1 WRKI - (Rock)
95.5 WPLJ - (Top 40)
96.3 WQXR - (Classical)
96.7 WYRS - (Jazz)
97.1 WYNY - (Pop)
97.5 WALK - (Pop)
97.9 WSKQ - (Spanish)
98.3 WDAQ - (Adult Contemporary)
98.7 WRKS - (R&B/Dance)
99.1 WAWZ - (Christian)
99.5 WBAI - (Variety)
99.9 WEZN - (Pop)
100.3 WHTZ - (Rock)
100.7 WHUD - (Music)
101.1 WCBS - (Oldies)
101.3 WKCI - (Top 40)
101.5 WPDH - (Rock)
101.9 WPIX - (Music)
102.3 WBAB - (Rock)
102.7 WNEW - (Rock)
103.1 WGNY - (Top 40)
103.5 WQHT - (Dance/R&B Contemporary)
103.9 WFAS - (Adult Contemporary)
104.3 WNCN - (Classical)
104.7 WSPK - (Top 40)
105.1 WNSR - (Soft Rock)
105.5 WMJV - (Pop)
105.9 WNWK - (Ethnic)
106.1 WBLI - (Contemporary)
106.3 WVIP - (Pop)
106.7 WLTW - (Pop)
107.1 WZFM - (Adult Contemporary)
107.5 WBLS - (R&B)
107.9 WEBE - (Pop)

 

[mooneyhill1]

If you lived in Putnam County, New York in September 1986, you did listen to any of those radio stations.

 

[Mark Roberts]

Where in Putnam? I worked for WBNR in Beacon for a few months in 1984. I know its signal is directional, aimed mostly at Newburgh and Poughkeepsie, but I would have thought that you could pick it up in, say, Cold Spring. Possibly not well, but Cold Spring isn't that far away from Beacon; and the WBNR transmitting site was on the far south side of Beacon, near where Fishkill Creek goes into the Hudson River.

 

[Towerclimber31]

This listing is a great trip down memory lane. Mark, I am guessing WBNR was the 1260 from the Taconic West in Putnam. Even in the I-84 corridor it probably started fuzzing out in Lake Carmel when you were on the other side of the Stormville rest stop. Putnam near the CT line probably would have been what was WMMM at the time.

WARY, the 10-watt wonder of Westchester Community College, under the auspices of the great Peter Kanze, probably never made it North of 117 in Pleasantville.

Mysteriously missing from this fabulous list is WPUT, 1510 am! Not sure if they were at the Prospect Hill Studios in Southeast yet. But they were gone forever in 2014!

 

[Mark Roberts]

This listing is a great trip down memory lane. Mark, I am guessing WBNR was the 1260 from the Taconic West in Putnam. Even in the I-84 corridor it probably started fuzzing out in Lake Carmel when you were on the other side of the Stormville rest stop.

Maybe even sooner. I don't recall hearing it past East Fishkill. Ground conductivity in the Hudson Valley is, as you know, best described by the technical term "awful". There were lots of these AMs, mostly daytimers, with fairly limited coverage areas. Someone recently mentioned Cornwall. I knew there was a station there, but it had zero impact on the Newburgh-New Windsor-Beacon market. In some recent historical research I found that the Cornwall station had actually been off the air from 1981-83 due to transfer-of-control issues with the FCC. I suspect hardly anyone noticed when it came back on the air.

What surprised me about the list was the inclusion of WKIP. I recall barely receiving it in Beacon. Unusually for a Class IV, now class C, it had a directional antenna, aimed away from Newburgh. This was the vestige of a time when WKIP and WGNY were co-owned and there would have been overlap issues otherwise. That situation had long passed by the 1980s, but it was only last year that WKIP finally applied to go non-directional!

WBNR's owners, the Lessner brothers, really wanted to be big shots in...wait for it...Newburgh. For example, all the WBNR phone lines, though physically located in Beacon, were served out of New York Telephone's Newburgh office so they would have a 561 prefix. We were encouraged strongly to cover Newburgh events. There was some coverage of Beacon and Wappinger as well, and WBNR definitely sold to Beacon businesses but Newburgh was the emphasis. Of course, that put us in direct competition with WGNY, which was long established. Both were full-service AC stations, but WBNR was grossly overproduced compared to WGNY. I also believe their focus on Newburgh led the Lessners to neglect what was the true crown jewel of the operation, WSPK(FM). At least they knew enough to keep the license and not sell it the way WKIP did in the 1960s.

Oh, well, I only lasted a few months in the Lessner nano-empire but at least I can say that I lived in Beacon before it became cool.

Mysteriously missing from this fabulous list is WPUT, 1510 am! Not sure if they were at the Prospect Hill Studios in Southeast yet. But they were gone forever in 2014!

Wasn't Brewster kind of a mysterious corner of Dutchess to start with? It once was kind of the country hangout for rich New Yorkers.

 

[Towerclimber31]

LOL- Yeah, in the 70's Brewster was an outpost near the Canadian Border for Long Islanders! Disclaimer- I was born in Islip.
But it is decidedly in Putnam County. There is a nice stack of logs and mulch where the WPUT tower used to be.

You get a medal for passing through the doors at the K and BNR! You were on the Monopoly board and well past Oriental Place.

Kudos to the list maker as well. They got WGNY FM in there just under the change. Stereo Newburgh sold WFMN 103.1 at the end of 1985, the new owners went with WGNY-FM.

I love this stuff!

 

[Mark Roberts]

LOL- Yeah, in the 70's Brewster was an outpost near the Canadian Border for Long Islanders! Disclaimer- I was born in Islip.
But it is decidedly in Putnam County. There is a nice stack of logs and mulch where the WPUT tower used to be.

You're right; I mixed it up with Pawling somehow.

You get a medal for passing through the doors at the K and BNR! You were on the Monopoly board and well past Oriental Place.

Until somebody at 475 South Avenue decided to throw the Monopoly board up in the air. More than 40 years later, I still have no idea why I was fired. Everything seemed to be going great with Al Lessner until suddenly one day it didn't. I have my suspicions but won't put names to them in public.

It was unfortunate. Jon Lemieux was doing mornings on WSPK then. I would step into the FM studio for news briefs and some chit-chat with Jon. We developed a really good rapport and I think something positive could have been done with that.

About ten years ago, on a trip to the valley, I drove by the old studios. It looked someone was running a machine shop or auto repair place out of the building. Since then, in the course of some research, I found a zoning notice filed with the City of Beacon in which Pamal proposed turning the second floor of the building into an apartment. That was where the studios and the newsroom was. I always felt that building was something of a fire trap but maybe with less wiring it's OK.

I love this stuff!

In the end, I did way better than all right by getting out of radio, and WBNR/WSPK was strike one in that losing ball game, but what a bumpy ride it was. I did meet some good folks along the way, but also some real {unprintable_words}.

 

[Hyrum]

Kudos to the list maker as well. They got WGNY FM in there just under the change. Stereo Newburgh sold WFMN 103.1 at the end of 1985, the new owners went with WGNY-FM.

I love this stuff!

WFMN was sold to Media Horizons, owners of WGNY, in 1973. The call letters remained with the continued beautiful music format until 1985, when "The Beautiful Island" was dropped for AC and the name changed to WGNY FM.

 

[Towerclimber31]

WFMN was sold to Media Horizons, owners of WGNY, in 1973. The call letters remained with the continued beautiful music format until 1985, when "The Beautiful Island" was dropped for AC and the name changed to WGNY

 

[Towerclimber31]

I hope Jeff and Bruce Cowan are doing well. They were quite the news team at WGNY in the day.

And, High School football.

 

[Mark Roberts]

I hope Jeff and Bruce Cowan are doing well. They were quite the news team at WGNY in the day.

What about Hank Gross? He was a fixture in the valley. The Lessner brothers at WBNR were obsessed with him. Maybe that's why they were never satisfied with whomever they had as ND at any given time.

Last night, I was going through some of the materials at worldradiohistory.com, and it appeared that being news director of WBNR and WSPK was not a recipe for career longevity. (I should know.) It seems every two or three years, there would be another ad in Broadcasting and/or Radio & Records seeking a news director for the combo, until Pamal took over from the people the Lessners sold it to, and merged it with the Peekskill operation in the late 1990s.

And, High School football.

WBNR had Army football, and was, in fact, the flagship station for it. To their credit, the Lessners were fairly committed to news, but they also wanted a news director who was interested in sports and could participate in Army football PBP. That was not an easy combination to find, because people interested in sports tended to want to do that most or all the time and not have it be a sideline. But WBNR didn't have a sports department. I don't think WGNY did, either. So between that and not being able to have their own Hank Gross, the Lessners never could be happy with the non-music side of the stations. They had too many contradictory impulses.

Generally speaking, radio news people in the valley came and went. Ron Lyons at WHVW managed to stick around a while, and Al Larson at WALL was a legend. But, for the most part, there were a lot of revolving doors.

 

[Hyrum]

I think Jeff runs the family business (jewelry store). Not sure about his brother

 

[Gregg.]

660 WNBC was not news/talk. The station played Adult Contemporary music with Oldies on weekends. Some of the hosts talked more than would be heard on an AC station on the FM dial. But WNBC was still playing music until it switched to WFAN Sports in 1988.

WNBC had been a Talk station in the 1960s but only for a few years before going back to Middle of the Road and AC music.

 

[Towerclimber31]

Just passing by the old WPUT studios. The tower came down around 10 years ago. It's no longer in the field where it stood. There is a void at 1510 am in Putnam County.

 

[CentralFL]

660 WNBC was not news/talk. The station played Adult Contemporary music with Oldies on weekends. Some of the hosts talked more than would be heard on an AC station on the FM dial. But WNBC was still playing music until it switched to WFAN Sports in 1988.

WNBC had been a Talk station in the 1960s but only for a few years before going back to Middle of the Road and AC music. WNBC was really floundering towards the end. If memory serves, in 1988, they played oldies during mid-days and then Alan Colmes who had a liberal talk show during afternoon drive time.

But you're right, they weren't news talk.

I'm surprised they included WBLI. Their signal is all but non-existent in Putnam County.

WALK has always had an amazing signal.

 

[mooneyhill1]

AM Dial:
570 WMCA - (News/Talk)
600 WICC - (Top 40)
620 WSKQ - (Spanish)
660 WNBC - (Music)
710 WOR - (News/Talk)
770 WABC - (News/Talk)
800 WLAD - (Variety)
820 WNYC - (NPR & News/Talk)
850 WREF - (Pop Standard)
880 WCBS - (News)
910 WRKL - (Pop)
930 WPAT - (Pop)
940 WINE - (Adult Contemporary)
970 WWDJ - (Christian)
1010 WINS - (News)
1050 WHN - (Country/Sports Talk)
1130 WNEW - (Pop Standard)
1230 WFAS - (Pop Standard)
1260 WSHU - (College)
1280 WADO - (Spanish)
1310 WVIP - (Pop)
1380 WKDM - (Orient)
1390 WEOK - (Oldies)
1400 WSTC - (Community)
1420 WLNA - (Community)
1430 WNJR - (Urban)
1450 WKIP - (Top 40)
1490 WGCH - (News/Talk)
1460 WVOX - (Community)
1560 WQXR - (Classical)
1600 WWRL - (Religious/Urban Community)
1700 WGRC - (Oldies/Adult Standard)

FM Dial:
88.1 WARY - (Variety/Classical)
88.3 WBGO - (NPR/Jazz)
88.7 WPSC - (Variety)
88.9 WSIA - (College)
89.9 WKCR - (College)
90.3 WDFH - (Community)
90.7 WFUV - (College)
91.1 WFSU - (College)
91.5 WNYE - (Variety)
91.7 WXCI - (College)
92.3 WXPK - (Rock)
92.7 WLIR - (Rock)
93.1 WPAT - (Adult Contemporary)
93.5 WRTN - (Pop Standards)
93.9 WNYC - (NPR/Talk/Classical)
94.3 WBPM - (Top 40)
94.7 WFME - (Community)
95.1 WRKI - (Rock)
95.5 WPLJ - (Top 40)
96.3 WQXR - (Classical)
96.7 WYRS - (Jazz)
97.1 WYNY - (Pop)
97.5 WALK - (Pop)
97.9 WSKQ - (Spanish)
98.3 WDAQ - (Adult Contemporary)
98.7 WRKS - (R&B/Dance)
99.1 WAWZ - (Christian)
99.5 WBAI - (Variety)
99.9 WEZN - (Pop)
100.3 WHTZ - (Rock)
100.7 WHUD - (Music)
101.1 WCBS - (Oldies)
101.3 WKCI - (Top 40)
101.5 WPDH - (Rock)
101.9 WPIX - (Music)
102.3 WBAB - (Rock)
102.7 WNEW - (Rock)
103.1 WGNY - (Top 40)
103.5 WQHT - (Dance/R&B Contemporary)
103.9 WFAS - (Adult Contemporary)
104.3 WNCN - (Classical)
104.7 WSPK - (Top 40)
105.1 WNSR - (Soft Rock)
105.5 WMJV - (Pop)
105.9 WNWK - (Ethnic)
106.1 WBLI - (Contemporary)
106.3 WVIP - (Pop)
106.7 WLTW - (Pop)
107.1 WZFM - (Adult Contemporary)
107.5 WBLS - (R&B)
107.9 WEBE - (Pop)

 

[XCountry285]

AM Dial:
570 WMCA - (News/Talk)
600 WICC - (Top 40)
620 WSKQ - (Spanish)
660 WNBC - (News/Talk)
710 WOR - (News/Talk)
770 WABC - (News/Talk)
800 WLAD - (Variety)
820 WNYC - (NPR & News/Talk)
850 WREF - (Pop Standard)
880 WCBS - (News)
910 WRKL - (Pop)
930 WPAT - (Pop)
940 WINE - (Adult Contemporary)
970 WWDJ - (Christian)
1010 WINS - (News)
1050 WHN - (Country/Sports Talk)
1130 WNEW - (Pop Standard)
1230 WFAS - (Pop Standard)
1260 WSHU - (College)
1280 WADO - (Spanish)
1310 WVIP - (Pop)
1380 WKDM - (Orient)
1390 WEOK - (Oldies)
1400 WSTC - (Community)
1420 WLNA - (Community)
1430 WNJR - (Urban)
1450 WKIP - (Top 40)
1490 WGCH - (News/Talk)
1460 WVOX - (Community)
1560 WQXR - (Classical)
1600 WWRL - (Religious/Urban Community)
1700 WGRC - (Oldies/Adult Standard)

FM Dial:
88.1 WARY - (Variety/Classical)
88.3 WBGO - (NPR/Jazz)
88.7 WPSC - (Variety)
88.9 WSIA - (College)
89.9 WKCR - (College)
90.3 WDFH - (Community)
90.7 WFUV - (College)
91.1 WFSU - (College)
91.5 WNYE - (Variety)
91.7 WXCI - (College)
92.3 WXPK - (Rock)
92.7 WLIR - (Rock)
93.1 WPAT - (Adult Contemporary)
93.5 WRTN - (Pop Standards)
93.9 WNYC - (NPR/Talk/Classical)
94.3 WBPM - (Top 40)
94.7 WFME - (Community)
95.1 WRKI - (Rock)
95.5 WPLJ - (Top 40)
96.3 WQXR - (Classical)
96.7 WYRS - (Jazz)
97.1 WYNY - (Pop)
97.5 WALK - (Pop)
97.9 WSKQ - (Spanish)
98.3 WDAQ - (Adult Contemporary)
98.7 WRKS - (R&B/Dance)
99.1 WAWZ - (Christian)
99.5 WBAI - (Variety)
99.9 WEZN - (Pop)
100.3 WHTZ - (Rock)
100.7 WHUD - (Music)
101.1 WCBS - (Oldies)
101.3 WKCI - (Top 40)
101.5 WPDH - (Rock)
101.9 WPIX - (Music)
102.3 WBAB - (Rock)
102.7 WNEW - (Rock)
103.1 WGNY - (Top 40)
103.5 WQHT - (Dance/R&B Contemporary)
103.9 WFAS - (Adult Contemporary)
104.3 WNCN - (Classical)
104.7 WSPK - (Top 40)
105.1 WNSR - (Soft Rock)
105.5 WMJV - (Pop)
105.9 WNWK - (Ethnic)
106.1 WBLI - (Contemporary)
106.3 WVIP - (Pop)
106.7 WLTW - (Pop)
107.1 WZFM - (Adult Contemporary)
107.5 WBLS - (R&B)
107.9 WEBE - (Pop)

Z100 was not Rock. It was Top 40. 92.3's call sign was WXRK FM.

 

[bilvihur]

Speaking of Hank Gross, I listen to his recorded Hudson Valley news weekday mornings, 6 AM, on WKNY-AM, with Warren Lawrence. I don't want to cast aspersions, but his recordings are almost word-for-word what I read in the Daily Freeman a little later!