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WGIR (AM)

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WGIR
WGIR logo
Broadcast areaSouthern New Hampshire
Frequency610 kHz
BrandingAM 610 WGIR
Programming
FormatNews/talk
AffiliationsFox News Radio
Ownership
Owner
WGIR-FM
History
First air date
October 2, 1941
Former call signs
WMUR (1941-1956)
Call sign meaning
GIRolimon family (former owner)
Technical information
Facility ID35237
ClassB
Power5,000 watts (daytime)
1,000 watts (nighttime)
Transmitter coordinates
43°00′57.0″N 71°28′48.0″W / 43.015833°N 71.480000°W / 43.015833; -71.480000 (WGIR)
Links
WebcastListen live (via iHeartRadio)
Websitewww.nhnewsnetwork610.com

WGIR (610 AM) is a radio station in Manchester, New Hampshire with a news/talk format. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc..

History

WGIR signed on October 2, 1941 as WMUR, owned by former New Hampshire governor Francis P. Murphy[1] and affiliated with the Blue Network[2] and its successor, ABC Radio.[3] An FM sister station on 95.7 MHz was added on December 21, 1947 (plans for an FM station had been in place for seven years); however, FM had a limited audience at the time, and WMUR-FM was shut down December 27, 1950 (the frequency is now occupied by WZID).[1][4] A few years later, Murphy decided to apply for a television station on channel 9, and after competing against applications from WFEA, WKBR (now WGAM), and the Manchester Union-Leader, WMUR-TV signed on March 28, 1954.[1][5]

Murphy decided to sell the WMUR stations in the mid-1950s, with the Girolimon family acquiring the station in 1956 and changing the call letters to the current WGIR (the WMUR call letters remain on channel 9, which stayed under Murphy's ownership until a few months after his death in 1958).[5] The Girolimons dropped the ABC affiliation soon after taking over,[6] but picked up CBS Radio in 1957.[7] The Girolimons sold the station to Knight Quality Stations in 1961;[8] around the same time, the station switched to NBC Radio.[9] Under Knight, the station decided to reenter FM broadcasting, and WGIR-FM (101.1 FM) signed on June 5, 1963,[10] largely simulcasting the AM station from then[11] until 1977.[12] By 1973, WGIR had a middle-of-the-road format, mixed with some talk and sports programming,[13] a format it would retain through the decade;[10] the station later evolved its music programming to adult contemporary,[14] and on December 31, 1984, WGIR ended all remaining music programming to become a full-time news/talk station.[15][16][17] In 1990, the station swapped affiliations with WFEA and returned to ABC News Radio.[18]

Knight Quality was sold to Capstar Broadcasting in 1997.[19] In 1998, Capstar rebranded the station as the "Action News Network"[20] to reflect the expansion of its programming to Seacoast radio stations WZNN (930 AM; renamed WGIN) and WMYF (1540 AM; renamed WGIP);[21][22] at the same time, WGIR again dropped ABC and returned to NBC Radio,[20] which was subsequently phased out by Westwood One in favor of CNN Radio. A few months later, Capstar merged with fellow Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst subsidiary Chancellor Media to form AMFM Broadcasting,[23] which itself announced a merger with Clear Channel Communications (now known as iHeartMedia) several months afterward.[24] For a time, Clear Channel added WGIR programming to a fourth station, WTSL (1400 AM) in Hanover.[25] Additionally, the station picked up Fox News Radio in the mid-2000s after Clear Channel signed a larger agreement with the service.[26] WGIP would leave the network in 2009, after it was placed in the Aloha Station Trust and sold off due to the privatization of Clear Channel; that station is now classic hits-formatted WXEX.[27] WGIN would also stop carrying WGIR programming in April 2011, converting to a simulcast of WMYF (1380 AM, now WMGE), an all-sports station; it became WPKX in February 2012.[28] Most of WGIR's syndicated programming (though not its local morning show) remains available on the Seacoast through sister station WQSO (96.7 FM).

Programming

During morning drive, the station airs a local show hosted by Jack Heath. Most other weekday programming consists of syndicated programming, including The Glenn Beck Program, The Rush Limbaugh Show, The Sean Hannity Show, The Daily Wrap from the Wall Street Journal, Ground Zero Radio with Clyde Lewis, and Coast to Coast AM. Weekend programming consists of lifestyle and business programming (including The Kim Komando Show and Paul Parent Garden Club), as well as best-of editions of weekday programming and the weekend editions of Coast to Coast AM.

WGIR is the flagship station of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats minor league baseball team; additionally, WGIR is co-flagship of the Wildcat Sports Network along with sister stations WPKX and WQSO.

References

  1. ^ a b c "NHAB Alumni: Francis P. Murphy". New Hampshire Association of Broadcasters. October 29, 2001. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
  2. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1943 (PDF). 1943. p. 112. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
  3. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook-Marketbook 1956 (PDF). 1956. p. 202. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
  4. ^ "WMUR-FM discontinues operation after December 27, 1950". Photo of the Month. ggn information systems. July 2005. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
  5. ^ a b Rapsis, Jeff (March 4, 2004). "WMUR At 50". The Hippo. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
  6. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook-Marketbook 1957 (PDF). 1957. p. 174. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
  7. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1958 (PDF). 1958. p. A-331. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
  8. ^ "NHAB Alumni: Bernie Mack". New Hampshire Association of Broadcasters. October 29, 2001. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
  9. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1961-62 (PDF). 1961. p. B-111. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
  10. ^ a b Broadcasting Yearbook 1981 (PDF). 1981. pp. C-147–8. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
  11. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1964 (PDF). 1964. p. B-97. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
  12. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1978 (PDF). 1978. p. C-136. Retrieved February 15, 2010.
  13. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1973 (PDF). 1973. p. B-125. Retrieved February 15, 2010.
  14. ^ Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1988 (PDF). 1988. p. B-179. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
  15. ^ "NHAB Alumni: Bob Frisch". New Hampshire Association of Broadcasters. October 29, 2001. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
  16. ^ Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1989 (PDF). 1989. p. B-189. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
  17. ^ Holmes, Steven A. (February 11, 1992). "THE 1992 CAMPAIGN: Republicans; Bush Steps Up Campaign as Buchanan Lays Out an Agenda". The New York Times. Retrieved February 15, 2010. ...WGIR-AM, a news-talk radio station...
  18. ^ Brouder, Ed (January 1, 2009). "WFEA History - 1990s". Man from Mars Productions. Retrieved February 15, 2010. On January first it [WFEA] switched from ABC to NBC, allowing cross-town rival WGIR to sign with ABC News.
  19. ^ Fybush, Scott (April 17, 1997). "In the Zone". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved February 15, 2010.
  20. ^ a b Fybush, Scott (September 25, 1998). "WNFT, WNTN Sold". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved February 15, 2010.
  21. ^ Fybush, Scott (October 1, 1998). "WNNZ Sold to Clear Channel". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved February 15, 2010.
  22. ^ Fybush, Scott (October 9, 1998). "Clear Channel Gets Jacor". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved February 15, 2010.
  23. ^ Fybush, Scott (May 21, 1999). "NHPR Goes North". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
  24. ^ Fybush, Scott (October 8, 1999). "The Big Get Bigger -- Again". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
  25. ^ Fybush, Scott (August 23, 2004). "Rochester Loses Pete Dobrovitz". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
  26. ^ "Clear Channel tunes in Fox News as primary news provider". San Antonio Business Journal. American City Business Journals. December 6, 2004. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
  27. ^ Fybush, Scott (March 16, 2009). ""Now," NY's K-Rock is History". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
  28. ^ Fybush, Scott (April 11, 2011). "WBEN Adds FM". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved April 30, 2011.
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