WNYM

WNYM, 970 AM, is a radio station licensed to Hackensack, New Jersey and serving the New York metropolitan area. Studios are in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey with co-owned WMCA-570. The station is currently owned by Salem Communications and presents a conservative talk-based format.

History

Early years

The station signed on in 1926 as WAAT on 1270, moving to 1070 in 1928, 940 in 1930 and finally to 970 in 1941. They featured a general entertainment format. The station was owned by Frank Bremmer. In 1948, WAAT launched a television station, WATV channel 13. In 1951 the stations were sold to Irving Rosenhaus. WAAT evolved to a music format by the 1950s, similar to what WNEW, WOR, and WCBS were doing at that time. They also signed on a station on 94.7 FM, WAAT-FM.

As a National Telefilm Associates station

National Telefilm Associates would buy the three stations in 1959, and changed their call letters to WNTA-AM-FM-TV. WNTA remained a MOR music station, while WNTA-FM (later to become WFME) played easy listening and WNTA-TV attempted a general entertainment format. NTA later found that seven commercial television stations could not be supported in the New York market, and sold WNTA-TV to Educational Television for the Metropolitan Area, which converted channel 13 to NET affiliate WNDT (the station is now PBS member station WNET).

Country music years

WNTA-AM-FM was sold to Communications Industries Broadcasting and changed callsigns to WJRZ on March 31, 1962. They kept a...
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