Simulcasts WSHU, Westport, Connecticut | |
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Frequency | 1340 kHz |
Branding | WSHU Public Radio |
Programming | |
Format | News/talk (public radio) |
Affiliations |
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Ownership | |
Owner | Yale Broadcasting Company, Inc. |
Operator | Sacred Heart University |
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History | |
First air date | December 1944; 79 years ago (1944-12) |
Former call signs | WNHC (1944–1998) |
Call sign meaning | Yale Broadcasting Company |
Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 72820 |
Class | C |
Power | 1,000 watts day 880 watts night |
Transmitter coordinates | 41°17′33″N 72°57′12″W / 41.29250°N 72.95333°W / 41.29250; -72.95333 |
Translator(s) | 105.5 MHz W288DV (New Haven) |
Links | |
Public license information |
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Website | www |
WYBC (1340 AM) is a radio station operating on the campus of Yale UniversityinNew Haven, Connecticut. The station is owned by Yale Broadcasting Company, Inc.; however, it is programmed by Sacred Heart University under a time brokerage agreement. WYBC is a public radio station, airing a news/talk format.
The 1340 AM frequency first signed-on in December 1944[2] as WNHC, under the ownership of the Elm City Broadcasting Corporation. Elm City was principally controlled by Patrick J. Goode, U.S. postmaster for New Haven and former co-owner of WELI radio; and Aldo DeDominicis, a former WELI sales person.[3] Triangle Publications acquired the station, along with WNHC-FM (99.1, now WPLR) and WNHC-TV (channel 8, now WTNH), from Elm City in 1956.[4]
Triangle had sold its stations, including WNHC-AM-FM-TV, to Capital Cities Communications in 1971.[5][6] However, the new owners were forced by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to spin-off the radio stations to comply with then-current ownership limits; WNHC was sold to Westerly Broadcasting Company.[7] By this time, the station had a contemporary format;[8] this gave way in 1976 to a middle-of-the-road/talk format.[9]
WNHC again attempted a top 40 format starting in June 1979 in an attempt to compete against WAVZ; however, just weeks later, WAVZ swapped formats with its sister station, WKCI.[10] With minimal promotion, WNHC struggled to compete with WKCI's stronger FM signal, and in March 1980 it flipped to an urban format.[10][11] However, the station ran into financial problems during the 1990s, forcing owner Willis Communications to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 1997.[12][13] The bankruptcy resulted in a battle between Yale Broadcasting Company, which wanted to eliminate a competitor to WYBC-FM, and Buckley Broadcasting over the sale of WNHC, as well as protests against Yale Broadcasting in New Haven's African American community.[13][14] The dispute ended on June 3, 1998, when Yale Broadcasting purchased the station in bankruptcy court; the next morning, WNHC was shut down at the order of a United States bankruptcy judge for the District of Connecticut.[15] It returned to the air under Yale Broadcasting's control on September 15;[16] on October 5, the call sign was changed to WYBC.[17] Starting in 1941, Yale students had operated an unofficial AM radio station using weak-signal carrier current technology tolerated by the FCC and common among student-run stations at the time, renamed WYBC and changed to 640 AM in 1945, but that station ceased operations by the early 1980s.[18]
In the station's first decade as WYBC, unlike many college campus radio stations, it featured both student and non-student programming, some professional. However, interest in the station eventually dwindled (in sharp contrast, sister station WYBC-FM, largely programmed by Cox Radio, is one of the highest-rated urban adult contemporary stations in the country), and its college radio programming was transitioned to an Internet radio station, WYBCX, by 2010.[19] WYBC then adopted its current public radio programming, provided by Sacred Heart University, on April 4, 2011 (WYBC-FM continues to operate as a commercial station).[20] The time brokerage agreement with Sacred Heart University provides funding for WYBCX's operations.[21] The AM station uses a small ValCom fiberglass antenna in place of the original metal tower which stood on the site.[22]
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NPR member stations in the state of Connecticut
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Connecticut Public Radio Stations |
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WSHU Stations |
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Other Stations |
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See also List of NPR stations | |
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Located in: Fairfield, Connecticut | |||
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