WBTN (1370

kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base uni ...

) is an

AM radio AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio transmissions, and is still used worldwide, primarily for medium wave (also known as "AM band") transmi ...

station in

Bennington, Vermont Bennington is a New England town, town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It is one of two shire towns (county seats) of the county, the other being Manchester (town), Vermont, Manchester. As of the 2020 United States Census, US Cens ...

. Established in 1953, the station is owned by Shires Media Partnership. WBTN can also be streamed online via

TuneIn TuneIn is a global audio streaming service providing news, radio, sports, music, and podcasts to over 75 million monthly active users. TuneIn is operated by the privately held company TuneIn Inc. based in San Francisco, California. The comp ...

Radio. WBTN is run as a community station with a full service

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

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 broadcasting, ...

, including news, talk shows, music and sports. Weekday mornings begin with two

nationally syndicated Broadcast syndication is the practice of content owners leasing the right to broadcast their content to other television stations or radio stations, without having an official broadcast network to air it on. It is common in the United States whe ...

news shows, ''

America in the Morning ''America in The Morning'' is a news program airing on numerous talk radio stations, syndicated by Westwood One, a subsidiary of Cumulus Media. The one-hour live program airs weekdays at 5:00 a.m. Eastern Time and is hosted by John Tro ...

'' and '' First Light'' from

Westwood One Westwood One, Inc. is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1976. The co ...

. Then "The Big Voice of Southern Vermont morning show with Jessica Lillie and Chris Bates", a talk and music show, is heard. The rest of the schedule is made up of programs hosted by local residents, offering a variety of topics, from local musicians to birds to old time records and radio shows. WBTN is available to be heard on Google home and Alexa.

History

WBTN

signed on A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio broadcasting, radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonw ...

the air on September 13, 1953. It was originally a 500-watt

daytimer A clear-channel station is a North American AM radio station that has the highest level of protection from interference from other stations, particularly from nighttime skywave signals. This classification exists to ensure the viability of cross ...

, required to

sign-off A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonwealth countries exce ...

at sunset each day to avoid interfering with other radio stations on AM 1370. It was owned by Catamount Broadcasters, Inc. and aired a full service middle of the road music format. In the 1970s, the power was boosted to 1,000 watts, but the station was still required to go off the air at night. Catamount added an

FM radio FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting that uses frequency modulation (FM) of the radio broadcast carrier wave. Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to transmit high fidelity, high-f ...

station, 94.3 WHGC, on October 2, 1978. In 1997, WHGC switched its

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

WBTN-FM WBTN-FM (94.3 FM) is a radio station licensed to Bennington, Vermont. The station is owned by Vermont Public, and is an affiliate of their news and information network. History The station signed on as WHGC in 1979, airing an adult contemporary ...

. WBTN-AM-FM were acquired by

Vermont Public Radio Vermont Public Co. is the public broadcaster serving the U.S. state of Vermont. Its headquarters, newsroom, and radio studios are located in Colchester, with television studios in Winooski. It operates two statewide radio services aligned wit ...

(VPR) in 1999 for $901,000. VPR wanted to add WBTN-FM to its statewide network to improve coverage of Southwestern Vermont, and had no interest in operating an AM station. VPR sold 1370 WBTN to Robert Howe in 2000; Howe then donated the station to

Southern Vermont College Southern Vermont College was a private college on the former Edward Everett Estate (originally The Orchards) near Bennington, Vermont. The college closed in 2019. History Southern Vermont College was founded in 1926 as St. Joseph Business Sch ...

in 2002.

In 2008, WBTN was purchased by Shires Media Partnership. A few years later, the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

granted WBTN permission to broadcast at night with 85 watts of power. The station began simulcasting a mostly

classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

format at the 96.5 FM dial position in May 2021 using the tagline "We Bring the Noise", a play on the AM station's longtime call letters.WBTN launches FM channel
''

Bennington Banner ''The Bennington Banner'' is a daily newspaper published in Bennington, Vermont. The paper covers local, national, and world news. It is distributed throughout Southwestern Vermont and eastern New York (Rensselaer and Washington Counties). The p ...

''. Retrieved July 1, 2021.

Translator

References

WBTN website
* 1992 Broadcasting Yearbook, page A-358

External links

WBTN official homepage
* ( Guide to reading History Cards) {{Bennington and Rutland Radio BTN (AM) Community radio stations in the United States Full service radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1953 1953 establishments in Vermont Bennington, Vermont

History

Translator

See also

References

External links