In this week’s issue… Family abandons WFME plans – Big new antenna in Canada – Mets, Giants add FM signals
By SCOTT FYBUSH
*It was never supposed to be a NEW YORK radio station when it started in 1929. When engineer John V.L. Hogan put experimental station W2XR on the air 95 years ago from his lab in Queens, the broadcast signal was intended to try out the nascent technology of television, back when it was mechanical and decidedly low-resolution.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the TV era: Hogan’s low-res images at 2100 kc on the shortwave dial were silent, so he applied for a second transmitter at 1550 (then above the top of the standard broadcast band) to supply a soundtrack to his video. When there wasn’t programming, which was most of the time, Hogan’s engineers played classical music over the audio signal – and because that audio signal was designed to be high-fidelity by the standards of the day, music buffs around New York City began to listen to W2XR as a radio station.
By the mid-1930s, Hogan had pivoted away from TV, instead using W2XR as one of the new hi-fi AM stations then being licensed experimentally by the new FCC. When the AM band was expanded to 1600 in 1941, W2XR moved to 1560, became WQXR, and the rest, as you likely know, is history – purchased in 1944 by the New York Times, WQXR became a classical music institution for decades, raised its power to 50,000 watts and spawned an FM signal that survives today as part of the WNYC public radio empire.
AM 1560, however, didn’t come along for all of that ride. By the 1990s, with the classical audience shifted entirely to FM, 1560 went to standards as WQEW, then was sold to Disney, finally ending up with Family Stations as WFME, the AM replacement for its former WFME(FM) on 94.7.
And that, it now appears, is where the history of AM 1560 will end. On Monday, Family announced that it’s unable to find a permanent new transmitter site for 1560 and signed off the station’s low-power interim signal, likely for good.
The 2026 Tower Site Calendar was the final edition, and there will no longer be a Fybush Media Store.
We still have some old calendars and some books, so if you’ve been planning to buy some but just haven’t gotten around to it — this week is your last chance.
Go to our store now and get your favorite tower pin-ups!
Not sure what pictures are in which calendars? Ask Lisa — she’ll tell you.
Looking to get into station ownership? Our StationSale division has some great new listings for you, including a very successful multimedia combo including radio/digital/print in one of the finest small markets in the region, a major market FM translator opportunity, a profitable Midwest FM, an inexpensive entry into a fast-growing Western market, and a turnkey profitable FM/AM/translator small-market combo that’s ready for a new owner. Drop me a line at scott@fybush.com and I’ll set you up with an NDA and all the details…
And if your noncommercial FM station is ready to think about translators, there’s a filing window coming this fall from the FCC and it’s the perfect time to start making plans.
In this week’s issue… iHeart cuts leave some small markets vacant - Townsquare makes more NJ moves - Format shuffles in the Connecticut River Valley - Veteran meteorologists retire - Toronto AM seeks FM voice
In this week’s issue… FCC, licensees prepare for translator window - Ithaca exec moves on - Border gets the Lake back - Malloy returns to NJ 101.5 - AMs sell in MA, CT - Windsor vet retires
In this week’s issue… NYC veteran leaves desk - Bulldozers take down some Boston history - Public radio sale in PA - Family adds FM - CKNX celebrates centennial
In this week’s issue… NJ PBS enters new era - Adam 12's new Boston gig - Audacy relocates studios - NYC morning host plans retirement - CHUM, Flow retool in Toronto - Remembering Rocky Allen, Pittsburgh's Negri
