WLIB
FCC | |
Facility ID | 28204 |
---|---|
Class | B |
Power |
|
Transmitter coordinates | 40°47′48″N 74°06′06″W / 40.79667°N 74.10167°W |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Website | www |
WLIB (1190
History
WLIB's origins reach back to 1926, when the station, originally WBKN,[2] went on the air from Brooklyn. In 1928, the call sign was changed to WCLB, reflecting its new location in the City of Long Beach.[3] In 1930, the new call sign of WMIL was adopted,[4] which was changed to WCNW in 1933,[5] and to WLIB in 1942.
Sharing time with
In 1949 WLIB was purchased by the New Broadcasting Company. The firm was headed by former
In the 1960s WLIB was one of several commercial jazz stations in New York, among its disc jockeys was Billy Taylor. During much of this period WLIB's primary competition came from WWRL, another station which programmed to Black audiences.
WLIB became Black-owned in the 1970s after activists picketed the station and demanded African Americans be given a chance to purchase it. Many felt the station's series of white owners didn't care about broadcasting with community concerns in mind. Percy Sutton, Malcolm X's former attorney and then-Manhattan borough president, formed the Inner City Broadcasting Corporation (ICBC) with the backing of a group of Black investors (including Hal Jackson and Billy Taylor), and purchased WLIB from the Novik brothers in 1972.[12][13] The station's first talk shows featured Betty Shabazz, widow of Malcolm X, and Dr. Carlos Russell, a noted former college professor who taught some of the Black and Latino students who later founded the Young Lords.
Increased signal power
The station's nighttime power was increased to 30,000 watts in the early 2000s, in a swap with
Politics
Since becoming Black-owned the station has broadcast political,
In 2004, the station affiliated with Air America due to a lack of advertiser support and ratings during its daytime hours. The switch was controversial, with many in the community seeing the switch as replacing local black activist programming with Air America network's national, primarily white, liberal on-air personalities.[14] Air America programming, which featured shows hosted by Al Franken, Randi Rhodes and Rachel Maddow, aired most of the day over WLIB with the exception of overnights, when the station aired the Global Black Experience, hosted by Imhotep Gary Byrd. Starting in 2005, the apolitical Satellite Sisters aired instead of the Mike Malloy show on WLIB from 10 p.m. to midnight on weeknights.
Air America programming left WLIB after August 31, 2006; the network moved to WWRL the next day. It was rumored that the
Sale to Emmis
Following Inner City Broadcasting's bankruptcy in 2012, WLIB and WBLS (and Inner City's other station properties) were acquired by YMF Media LLC, owned jointly by investor
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WLIB". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "New Stations", Radio Service Bulletin, October 30, 1926, page 3.
- ^ "Alterations and Corrections", Radio Service Bulletin, April 30, 1928, page 5.
- ^ "Alterations and Corrections", Radio Service Bulletin, March 31, 1930, page 14.
- ^ "Broadcasting Station List: (2) Changes to List", Radio Service Bulletin, October 1, 1933, page 4.
- ^ WLIB(advertisement), Broadcasting, May 18, 1942, page 5.
- ^ "Elias Godofsky Dies; Founder Of Station WHLI" (PDF). The Long-Islander. Huntington New York. December 6, 1951. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
- ^ WLIB advertisement. Broadcasting Yearbook, 1945, page 133
- ^ "WLIB Taps Negro Mart, Nation's 6th Biggest 'City'". Billboard. January 5, 1952. p. 6. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
- ^ WLIB advertisement. Broadcasting Yearbook, 1957, page 174
- ^ "Trailblazing broadcaster Bill McCreary is dead at 87". New York Amsterdam News. May 13, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
- ^ "Black group to buy WLIB (AM) New York." Broadcasting, July 19, 1971, pg. 61.
- ^ "Changing Hands." Broadcasting, July 3, 1972, pg. 23
- ^ Carrillo, Karen Juanita (March 2004). "Liberal Air America will displace Black talk at WLIB". New York Amsterdam News. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
- ^ Bachman, Katy (April 27, 2006). "Air America to Lose NY Flagship". mediaweek.com. VNU eMedia Inc. Archived from the original on May 13, 2006. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
- ^ "Court OKs YMF Media LMA Of Inner City Stations". All Access Music Group. May 21, 2012. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
- ^ "Emmis buys WBLS and WLIB-A". All Access Music Group. February 11, 2014. Retrieved February 11, 2014.
External links
- Official website
- WLIB in the FCC AM station database
- WLIB in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
- FCC History Cards for WLIB (covering 1927-1981 as WBKN / WCLB / WMIL / WCNW / WLIB)