WGH
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WGH is an AM radio station licensed to Newport News, Virginia. The letters chosen for WGH (1310 kHz AM) stood for "Worlds Greatest Harbor" for Hampton Roads. The station took to the airwaves in October 1928 as WNEW (for Newport News). Call letters were changed when the following month the new station was authorized to be begin broadcasting with its distinctive 3 letter call sign "WGH". It signed on for the first time with the new call sign on November 20, 1928. The WNEW calls would eventually be used on 1130 AM in New York City (now WBBR), where they would become legendary.
Long known as the "Voice of Old Virginia", WGH usually made the required federal station identification announcements as "WGH - Newport News - Norfolk, Virginia." WGH announcers broadcast from several studio locations, including Military Circle Studios in Norfolk, at Ocean View Amusement Park at Ocean View (where the broadcast booth was located under the famous roller coaster), and at the Todd Center studios in Hampton. The multiple tower transmitter site on Todd's Lane in Hampton became a visible landmark when Virginia State Highway 168, later designated Interstate 64 was built through the area in the late 1950s.
For many years, WGH was owned by the Newport News Daily Press and Times Herald newspapers. WGH was the number one station in Tidewater from the late 50s until the mid-70s. In 1983, the station was sold to a Pennsylvania broadcast group. The station simulcasted sister station 97.3's country broadcast until about 1990, when it broadcasted CNN Radio News, which was popular during the Gulf War. Country returned to the station in March 1991, but became "1310 the Score" in 1992. It was Virginia's first all sports radio station.
Since 1986, WGH-AM has broadcasted "Afternoon Sportstalk", hosted by Tony Mecurio weekday afternoons. Now the show is simply called "The Tony Mecurio Show" on ESPN Radio 1310. It began on September 15, 1986, and was created by Sandy Goldberg and Fred Wright shortly after they came to run the station. One of their first ideas was to make WGH-AM 1310 a sports radio station. Therefore, they decided to start the first weeknight "sportstalk" show ever in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Local Newspapers criticised this idea of Sports Talk, saying it would not last more than one month. The show celebrates it's 20th year on the air in September 2006.
On February 1, 1999, the Sports Entertainment Network was dropped and the station signed on with the ESPN Radio network, only the second in the nation to do so. "The Score" was also dropped, and ESPN Radio 1310 was the result. The station carries ESPN Radio programming 7 days a week, along with the Tony Mecurio Show from 3 to 7 p.m. Weekdays.
WGH-AM were sold in the mid 90s to Barnstable Broadcasting, which also picked up other stations in the area. One of the stations, Classic Country 1050 WCMS was later sold in 2004 to Davidson Media. The format was changed to Spanish, and the calls changed to WVXX. Since Barnstable did not want to lose the WCMS call letters, they were given to 1310 AM, and was then known as ESPN Radio 1310 WCMS.
In 2005, Max Media Hampton Roads purchased the stations owned by Barnstable Broadcasting, making them once again Locally Owned and Operated. With this purchase, on July 1, 2005, the call sign for 1310 reverted to WGH. The Station is still an ESPN Radio affiliate, on 1310 kHz.
WGH-AM has broadcast play-by-play of Norfolk Tides baseball since 2002, and recently signed a contract to do so until 2011. The station also carries Old Dominion University Men's and Women's Basketball, and James Madison University Football and Basketball as well. WGH-AM is also the only station in the country to broadcast the Coach's shows for men's and women's basketball during Drive-time for Old Dominion University.
A sister station, WGH-FM, broadcasts at 97.3 MHz.
Trivia
- The three letter call sign (versus the customary four letters) of a U.S. radio or television station generally indicates one of the older broadcasting stations in the United States. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) required four letter call signs for new broadcasters after January, 1930. Transfers, and addition of television and FM frequencies were grandfathered under the FCC rules.
- While newspapers were often the source of financing for new radio and television stations in the early years of development, later FCC rules discouraged common ownership of both print and broadcast media in major markets in order to ensure public access to independent sources of news.
External links
References
| AM radio stations in the Hampton Roads market | |
|---|---|
| By frequency: | 560 | 670 | 740 | 790 | 850 | 940 | 1010 | 1050 | 1110 | 1230 | 1270 | 1310 | 1350 | 1400 | 1420 | 1450 | 1490 | 1550 | 1600 | 1650 |
| By callsign: | WBVA | WCPK | WGAI | WGH | WGPL | WHKT | WJOI | WKGM | WLRT | WMBG | WNIS | WPCE | WPMH | WRJR | WTAR | WTJZ | WVAB | WVXX | WXGM | WYRM |
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