WNAM

WNAM (1280 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Neenah-Menasha, Wisconsin, that serves the Appleton-Oshkosh radio market. The station is owned by Cumulus Media. It uses the "America's Best Music" radio format supplied by co-owned Westwood One, that combines soft oldies with a few adult standards and middle of the road songs each hour.

WNAM
CityNeenah-Menasha, Wisconsin
Broadcast areaAppleton-Oshkosh
Branding1280 WNAM
Slogan"America's Best Music"
Frequency1280 kHz
First air dateMay 23, 1947
FormatSoft Oldies - Adult standards
Power5,000 watts
ClassB
Facility ID50053
Call sign meaningW Neenah And Menasha
AffiliationsWestwood One "America's Best Music"
Westwood One News
OwnerCumulus Media
(Cumulus Licensing LLC)
Sister stationsWOSH, WPKR, WVBO, WWWX
WebcastListen Live
Listen Live via iHeart
Websitewww.1280wnam.com

The station also carries Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Midwest League baseball. Most hours begin with Westwood One News.

History

The station signed on the air on May 23, 1947, with 1,000 watts of power.[1] WNAM was owned by Neenah-Menasha Broadcasting Company, with studios on Wisconsin Avenue in Neenah. The station was originally a daytimer, required to go off the air at night, when radio waves travel farther. In the 1960s, the station got authorization from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to broadcast at night at 1,000 watts, with its daytime power raised to 5,000 watts.

Ron Ross began working at WNAM in 1973 as afternoon host and eventually became program director when WNAM was a Top 40 radio station. In 1976, Ross was named by Billboard one of the country's top five Top 40 personalities for markets with fewer than 1 million people. During his time at WNAM, the station achieved a 17.6 Arbitron rating.[2]

In the 1990s Value Radio Corp., owner of WOSH, purchased WNAM and WUSW in Oshkosh, Wisconsin from Odon Communications Group.[3]

Cumulus Broadcasting already owned WNAM, WOSH, WVBO and WWWX when the company bought WPKR and WPCK from Midwest Dimensions Inc. in an $8.1 million deal announced July 2, 2003.[4]

"Mad Dog and Merrill" joined WNAM in 2008 for a cooking-related show airing weekdays from 10 to noon.[5]

In 2008, WNAM began carrying Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Midwest League baseball games. The station's contract has been extended through 2021.[6]

References
  1. Broadcasting Yearbook 1948 page 256
  2. Klister, Eric (May 15, 2003). "Play time nearly over for longtime Fox Valley radio fixture". The Post-Crescent.
  3. Prestegard, Steve (February 4, 1997). "Changes in the air". Marketplace Magazine.
  4. "Cumulus buying 2 radio stations in Fox Valley". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. July 3, 2003.
  5. "Mad Dog and Merrill return to airwaves". The Post-Crescent. April 4, 2008.
  6. Sherry, Mike (March 2, 2016). "Pues named Zephyrs' new football coach". The Post-Crescent.

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