WHAM (AM)
WHAM is a clear-channel talk radio station in Rochester, New York, owned by Clear Channel Communications. Its 50,000-watt transmitter is located in Chili, New York, and the station broadcasts on 1180 kHz.
The station first went on the air in 1922. While not the first station to be licensed to the Rochester market (that distinction belongs to the defunct WHQ), it is the oldest surviving station in the area. The selection of the "WHAM" call letters came from a suggestion from industrialist George Eastman (founder of the Eastman Kodak Co., based in Rochester). He helped the University of Rochester launch the station and thought the "WHAM" name would prove to be a clever marketing tool.
The station's 50,000-watt signal covers most of the eastern half of North America at night.
WHAM has ties to two of the city's television stations. It spawned the city's first station, WHAM-TV, in 1949; that station is now WROC-TV, the area's CBS affiliate. In 2005, the area's ABC affiliate, WOKR-TV, changed its calls to WHAM-TV; Clear Channel bought the station in 2002 and sold its entire television group to Providence Equity Partners in 2007; the two stations still have a news partnership.
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