WBAL (1090 kHz) is a commercial AM

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...

licensed to

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, and owned by the broadcasting division of Hearst Communications. Airing a news/ talk

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when radio was compelle ...

, WBAL broadcasts on a Class A clear-channel frequency, with 50,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...

s from a

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to ...

facility in Randallstown, Maryland. Listeners in and around Baltimore can also hear the station on FM translator station W268BA at 101.5 MHz. The station shares its studios and offices with

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

s WBAL-TV (channel 11) and WIYY (97.9 FM) on Television Hill in Baltimore's Woodberry neighborhood. WBAL and WIYY are the only two radio stations owned by Hearst, which is primarily a publishing and television company. WBAL is non-directional by day but uses a directional antenna at night to protect the other Class A stations on

1090 AM 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

, KAAY in

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

and XEPRS in

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Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

. With a good radio, WBAL's nighttime signal can be heard in much of Eastern North America, reaching as far as

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native En ...

and

Bermuda ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , ...

. Its daytime signal easily covers most of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...

as well as the

Washington metropolitan area The Washington metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the National Capital Region, is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of the states of Maryland, Virg ...

, and parts of

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacen ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

. WBAL is Maryland's designated primary entry point for the

Emergency Alert System The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is a national warning system in the United States designed to allow authorized officials to broadcast emergency alerts and warning messages to the public via cable, satellite, or broadcast television, and both ...

Programming

On weekdays, WBAL airs several local talk shows, including

Clarence M. Mitchell, IV Clarence Maurice Mitchell IV (born May 16, 1962) is an American radio host and former politician who currently cohosts ''The C4 And Bryan Nehman Show'' on Baltimore radio station WBAL. Mitchell served in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1995 ...

(known as "C4") and Bryan Nehman, as well as a program hosted by Kim Klacek and Torrey Snow. Sports programming is heard as well. Several WBAL-TV newscasts are simulcast. Weekends include a mix of local shows and syndicated programs, including

Dana Loesch Dana Lynn Loesch ( ; ; born September 28, 1978) is an American radio and TV host. She is a former spokesperson for the National Rifle Association and a former writer and editor for '' Breitbart News''. Loesch was the host of the program ''Dana'' ...

, '' Meet The Press'', '' This Week from ABC'' and Bill Cunningham. Some weekend hours are paid

brokered programming Brokered programming (also known as time-buy and blocktime) is a form of broadcast content in which the show's producer pays a radio or television station for air time, rather than exchanging programming for pay or the opportunity to play spot comm ...

. WBAL carries national news from

ABC News ABC News is the journalism, news division of the American broadcast network American Broadcasting Company, ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other progra ...

Sports

WBAL is the co-

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station with WIYY for

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...

football, and

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of ...

college football. Since the

began their inaugural season in 1954, WBAL was their flagship station for most of that team's history, though not continuously. For example, it carried Orioles games every season from 1987 to 2006, after which the team's games were broadcast on crosstown

sports radio Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sport, sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often-low comedy ...

station WJZ-FM. Orioles games returned to WBAL from 2011 to 2014 before the team switched back to WJZ-FM in 2015. On January 5, 2022, it was announced that the Orioles would be returning to WBAL along with sister station WIYY beginning with the 2022 season. The games are also streamed on the respective stations' websites and apps, but with MLB-required georestrictions limiting the broadcast to the entire states of Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and Washington DC, the Pennsylvania counties of York, Harrisburg and Lancaster, the West Virginia counties of Grant, Hardy, Mineral, Hampshire, Morgan, Berkeley and Jefferson, and most of North Carolina excluding Asheville (which is in the Braves' broadcast territory). Ravens games have been broadcast on WBAL and WIYY since the 2006 season. Other teams whose games have been broadcast on WBAL include the Baltimore Colts, the

University of Maryland Terrapins The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divis ...

and the Towson Tigers.

History

Consolidated Gas Electric

WBAL began broadcasting after being dedicated on . It was a subsidiary of the Consolidated Gas Electric Light and Power Company, a predecessor of Constellation Energy. The initial broadcasting studio was located at the utility's offices on Lexington Street. WBAL was an

affiliate Affiliation or affiliate may refer to: * Affiliate (commerce), a legal form of entity relationship used in Business Law * Affiliation (family law), a legal form of family relationship * Affiliate marketing * Affiliate network or affiliation pla ...

of the NBC Blue Network. On January 12, 1935, with radio becoming more commercialized, there was little justification for a public service company to own a radio station. WBAL was sold to the Hearst-controlled American Radio News Corporation, which operated it along with two daily newspapers, ''The Baltimore News-Post'' and ''The Baltimore American'' (later merged as the '' Baltimore News-American'').

MOR and Talk

In the 1930s, WBAL became the

flagship station In broadcasting, a flagship (also known as a flagship station or key station) is the broadcast station which originates a television network, or a particular radio or television program that plays a key role in the branding of and consumer loyalt ...

for the international broadcast of radio evangelist G. E. Lowman, whose shows originated in Baltimore until 1959. As network programming moved from radio to television in the 1950, WBAL switched to a

full service Full service or Full Service may refer to: * Full-service radio, a wide range of programming * Full Service Network, a communications company Entertainment * "Full Service", a song by the New Kids on the Block from their album ''The Block'' * Fu ...

, middle of the road (MOR) music format stressing personality and news. The station played a mix of standards with some softer songs from the

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "conte ...

By the early 1970s, the station had a full-service

adult contemporary music Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...

format with the exception of weekday evenings, where the station aired talk programming. Among its personalities during that period were program host Jay Grayson, Harley Brinsfield, who had a long-running Saturday night

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

music program, ''The Harley Show'', and

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington, D.C., NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. preside ...

-accredited newsman Galen Fromme. In the early 1980s, WBAL began running talk shows evenings and overnights, and continued to play some music during the day.

News-Talk

Music gradually decreased and talk programs were added. In the fall of 1985, WBAL transitioned to its current news-talk format, winning 19 national Edward R. Murrow Awards since then, the most of any local U.S. radio station. Since the mid-1990s, the station has become increasingly

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

, both in its on-air personalities and its editorial direction. In 2010, WBAL switched its morning and afternoon

drive time Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this cla ...

shows to an all-news format, titled ''Maryland's Morning News'' and ''Afternoon News Journal'' respectively. The shows were renamed to ''Maryland's News Now'' and later to "WBAL News Now." The all-news blocks included national newscasts from

every 30 minutes. Previously, the national feed had been provided by CBS at the top of each hour until 2014. Also in 2014, the station was re-branded as ''WBAL News Radio 1090'', to better reflect its status as Maryland's radio news leader. By the 2020s, the news blocks had been scaled back, with talk shows taking their place.

HD Radio and Translator

In addition to its analog 1090 kHz signal, WBAL is also heard on 97.9 WIYY-

HD2 HD1 is a proposed Redshift#Extragalactic observations, high-redshift galaxy, and is considered, as of April 2022, to be one of the earliest and most List of the most distant astronomical objects, distant known galaxies yet identified in the ob ...

. In 2021, the station added an

FM translator A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tra ...

at 101.5 MHz, W268BA, so the station could be heard on FM radios in and around Baltimore. WBAL (AM) logo

Anchors, reporters, and hosts

* Bill Vanko * Bryan Nehman (morning anchor) * Steve Fermier * Dan Joseph (evening host) * Yuripzi Morgan (afternoon host) * Anne Kramer * Robert Lang (anchor & public affairs host) *

(C4) * Jimmy Mathis * Doug McIntyre * Jim Russ (traffic reporter) *

* Scott Wykoff (morning reporter) * Phil Yacuboski * Troy Johnson * Liz Drabick (traffic reporter) * Stacy Lyn * Brenda Carl * Dave Gegorak * Jacob Young * Kristie McIntyre * Bill Cunningham

Notable former on-air staff

* Ron Smith – died, at the age of 70, on December 19, 2011, after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. *

Allan Prell Allan V. Prell (September 20, 1937 – December 10, 2016) was a former WBAL talk show host. Career He was ranked among “the Heavy Hundred” (top) talk radio hosts from 1999 to 2001 by Talkers Magazine. Talkers Magazine February issue 1999-2000 ...

- Along with Smith, the leading voice of WBAL in the 1980s and 90s. Left the station in 1999, died in 2016. * Dave Durian - hosted the morning show from 1990 to 2012; died at age 72 on January 28, 2019, from complications of lung cancer and a stroke. * "Detour Dave" Sandler - longtime traffic reporter, died in 2019. *

Dick Purtan Paul Richard "Dick" Purtan (born July 11, 1936) is an American radio personality. His last radio job was as the morning radio show host on WOMC serving the Detroit, Michigan, radio market. Purtan was also a disc jockey at WKNR, WXYZ, CKLW, WCZY ...

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...

and talk host, 1967-68. Originally from

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

, he was in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

in 1965, then to Baltimore for a year. Returned to Detroit in 1968, ended career there in 2010. * John V. Patti - Retired from WBAL after 38 years in 2022. * Jim Russ, traffic reporter, died suddenly from cardiac arrest on August 18, 2021. His reporting career spanned 38 years in the Washington, D.C and Baltimore area.

References

External links

WBAL website

* ttps://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getimportletter_exh.cgi?import_letter_id=50627 FCC History Cards for WBAL {{Clear Channel AM News and talk radio stations in the United States BAL (AM) Randallstown, Maryland Woodberry, Baltimore Hearst Communications assets Clear-channel radio stations Radio stations established in 1925 1925 establishments in Maryland