WAMC
FCC | |
Facility ID | 70849 |
---|---|
Class | B |
ERP | 10,000 watts |
HAAT | 600 meters (2,000 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 42°38′14.3″N 73°10′5.4″W / 42.637306°N 73.168167°W |
Translator(s) | See § Translators |
Repeater(s) | See § Repeaters |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Webcast | Listen live |
Website | www |
WAMC-FM (90.3
Unlike many NPR stations around the U.S. which use mostly outside programming, much of WAMC's schedule is produced in-house. WAMC is a charitable, educational, non-commercial broadcaster meeting the requirements of Section
Dottie Reyonolds serves as chair of WAMC's board of trustees, while Sarah Gilbert is the station's CEO and President. Gilbert succeeded
History
This section needs additional citations for verification. (December 2017) |
Albany Medical Center
WAMC signed on the air in October 1958.[8] Albert P. Fredette served as the first general manager. WAMC was put on the air by the local hospital and medical school, Albany Medical Center and Albany Medical College. Albany Medical Center is a large tertiary-care hospital serving the upper Hudson Valley, and the medical school is one of the country's ACGME-accredited medical schools. The affiliation with Albany Medical College was the source of the call sign WAMC. In 1981, the station became an independent institution, no longer associated with the medical school.
In its early days, WAMC had a mostly classical music radio format. The earliest years also included broadcasts of health information and lectures from visiting medical professors. Early on, part of WAMC's regular programming was the broadcast of live concerts by the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) from Tanglewood and Boston. When the NPR network was founded in 1970, WAMC signed on as one of NPR's original 90 "charter" members.
Separating from the medical school
Around 1980, financial pressures caused the hospital and medical school to begin divesting the station. In 1981, the
In the years since the transfer, the station has eliminated classical music, except for live BSO concerts. It has become a producer of information-based, non-music programming, providing a variety of interview-format programs to radio stations across the country via the station's in-house subsidiary, National Productions. (
Expanding the network
Listener contributions (often obtained during periodic pledge drives) and corporate contributions have helped the original single station grow over the years into a network of 22 facilities with large primary
It has been a custom on WAMC to play two songs to mark the end of every fund drive: Kate Smith's "God Bless America" and Ray Charles' rendition of "America the Beautiful". The station's February 2017 fund drive raised over $1,000,000 in less than one day.[9]
The main 90.3 MHz signal has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 10,000 watts, which on paper is somewhat modest for a full NPR member on the FM band. However, its height above average terrain (HAAT) of 600 meters (2,000 ft) gives it one of the largest coverage areas of any NPR station in the Northeast. It provides at least grade B coverage to most of east-central New York (including the Capital District), southwestern Vermont, western Massachusetts, southwestern New Hampshire, and northwestern Connecticut.
Mount Greylock
While WAMC-FM is based in Albany, its
On December 22, 2017, WAMC entered into an agreement to purchase the Mount Greylock WCDC transmitter and tower from the owner of WTEN/WCDC,
Accusations of bias
NPR's official news policy says its affiliate stations should be "fair, unbiased, accurate, honest, and respectful of the people that are covered".[11] A Washington-based NPR news producer, who requested anonymity, stated that Chartock, the station's then-president and a frequently heard voice on the station, presented politically biased commentary.[12]
Chartock responded that WAMC's editorial neutrality is maintained by "including as many conservative commentators on the air as liberal ones".[12]
First Amendment Fund
In 2005, WAMC's board of trustees established a "First Amendment Fund" to promote and preserve
Other stations
WAMC-FM extends its signal throughout much of New York and portions of Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Jersey, Vermont and Massachusetts, along with portions of Quebec, via the following network of full-power satellite stations and low-power analog translators:
Repeaters
Translators
Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | HAAT
|
Transmitter coordinates | FCC info | Relays |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W204CJ | 88.7 FM | Lake Placid, NY |
66421 | 13 | −20 m (−66 ft) | 44°17′31.9″N 73°59′23″W / 44.292194°N 73.98972°W | LMS | WAMC-FM |
W211CE | 90.1 FM | Oneonta, NY |
70845 | 250 | 4.5 m (15 ft) | 42°27′23.2″N 75°4′35.5″W / 42.456444°N 75.076528°W | LMS | WAMC-FM |
W215BG | 90.9 FM | Milford, PA |
92758 | 10 | 76.37 m (250.6 ft) | 41°22′23″N 74°43′47.9″W / 41.37306°N 74.729972°W | LMS | WOSR |
W225BM | 92.9 FM | Scotia, NY |
147781 | 10 | 203.7 m (668 ft) | 42°51′0.2″N 74°3′55.4″W / 42.850056°N 74.065389°W | LMS | WAMC-FM |
W226AC | 93.1 FM | Troy, NY |
70843 | 250 | 165.05 m (541.5 ft) | 42°47′9.2″N 73°37′41.4″W / 42.785889°N 73.628167°W | LMS | WAMC-FM |
W240CR | 95.9 FM | Peekskill, NY |
147798 | 10 | 80.2 m (263 ft) | 41°20′18.3″N 73°53′39.5″W / 41.338417°N 73.894306°W | LMS | WOSR |
W243BZ | 96.5 FM | Ellenville, NY |
141863 | 6.5 | 470 m (1,540 ft) | 41°41′1.3″N 74°21′22.6″W / 41.683694°N 74.356278°W | LMS | WOSR |
W246BJ | 97.1 FM | Hudson, NY |
147822 | 200 | −77.44 m (−254.1 ft) | 42°15′17.3″N 73°46′34.4″W / 42.254806°N 73.776222°W | LMS | WAMC-FM |
W247BM | 97.3 FM | Cooperstown, NY |
140147 | 10 | −478.51 m (−1,569.9 ft) | 42°40′44.3″N 74°53′57.6″W / 42.678972°N 74.899333°W | LMS | WCAN |
W257BL | 99.3 FM | Oneonta, NY |
157957 | 250 | 22.1 m (73 ft) | 42°27′23.2″N 75°4′35.5″W / 42.456444°N 75.076528°W | LMS | WCAN |
W271BF | 102.1 FM | Highland, NY | 147233 | 10 | 256.42 m (841.3 ft) | 41°43′10.3″N 73°59′43.5″W / 41.719528°N 73.995417°W | LMS | WAMK |
W280DJ | 103.9 FM | Beacon, NY |
147411 | 10 | 321.79 m (1,055.7 ft) | 41°29′20.2″N 73°56′51.2″W / 41.488944°N 73.947556°W | LMS | WAMK |
W292DX | 106.3 FM | Middletown, NY |
46502 | 99 | 28.2 m (93 ft) | 41°27′16.3″N 74°25′4.5″W / 41.454528°N 74.417917°W | LMS | WOSR |
W292ES | 106.3 FM | Dover Plains, NY |
147759 | 10 | 188.68 m (619.0 ft) | 41°42′50.3″N 73°32′5.4″W / 41.713972°N 73.534833°W | LMS | WAMK |
W296BD | 107.1 FM | Warwick, NY | 156156 | 10 | 115.9 m (380 ft) | 41°16′51.3″N 74°21′44.6″W / 41.280917°N 74.362389°W | LMS | WOSR |
W299AG | 107.7 FM | Newburgh, NY |
70850 | 10 | 113.65 m (372.9 ft) | 41°25′21.3″N 74°0′40.5″W / 41.422583°N 74.011250°W | LMS | WAMK |
Programs
WAMC
- Legislative Gazette
- Women's news show 51% with Jesse King
- Environmental news show Earth Wise
- Person Place Thing with Randy Cohen
- The Academic Minute with Lynn Pasquerella
- Ideas show The Best of Our Knowledge with Bob Barrett
- Author interview program The Book Show with Joe Donahue[15]
- The Capitol Connection
- Media criticism show The Media Project
See also
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WAMC-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "Coverage Map | WAMC". Retrieved May 6, 2012.
- ^ "Frequencies". Retrieved September 22, 2016.
- ^ "Coverage Map | WAMC". Retrieved May 2, 2014.
- GuideStar. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
- ^ Falk, Tyler (May 25, 2023). "Longtime WAMC CEO Alan Chartock retires". current.org. Current. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
- ^ "After four decades leading WAMC, President and CEO Dr. Alan Chartock retires". wamc.org. WAMC Northeast Public Radio. May 25, 2023. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
- Broadcasting Yearbook1961-1962 page B-108
- ^ "Thanks to anti-Trump sentiment, WAMC meets goal in 12 hours". Times Union. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
- Berkshire Eagle. Retrieved December 25, 2017.
- ^ "NPR Ethics Handbook | How to apply our standards to our journalism". NPR. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
- ^ a b Dechter, Gadi (July 13, 2005). "Locally Grown". Baltimore City Paper. Archived from the original on December 25, 2005. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
- ^ "WAMC's IRS Form 990 for Fiscal 2006 (page 35)" (PDF).
- ^ "WAMC Distribution –". Retrieved August 24, 2019.
- ^ "The Book Show". WAMC. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
Further reading
External links
- Official website
- Facility details for Facility ID 70849 (WAMC-FM) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- WAMC in Nielsen Audio's FM station database