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WRWD-FM (107.3
MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one h ...
, "Country 107.3") is a
country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...
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 Highland, New York and primarily serving the mid-
Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley (also known as the Hudson River Valley) comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York. The region stretches from the Capital District including Albany and Troy south to ...
of New York. The station broadcasts at 330
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 ERP from a tower near
Illinois Mountain Illinois Mountain is a mountain located south of the Catskill Mountains of New York west of Poughkeepsie. Illinois Mountain is north of Marlboro Mountain Marlboro Mountain is a mountain which is the peak of the Marlboro Mountains. Located ...
in
Marlborough, New York Marlborough is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the southeastern corner of the county. The population was 8,808 at the 2010 census. U.S. Route 9W passes through the eastern part of the town. US Route 44 and NY 55 cross the ...
shared with sister station
WBWZ WBWZ (93.3 MHz "Z93") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to New Paltz, New York and serving the Mid-Hudson Valley of New York state. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. Its effective radiated power (ERP) is 330 watts, broadcasting f ...
. The station is owned and operated by
iHeartMedia, Inc. iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...
Its studios are in
Arlington, New York Arlington is a neighborhood and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, New York, United States. At the 2010 census, the CDP population was 4,061. Arlington is a suburb of the neighboring city of Poughkeepsi ...
.


History

WRWD was put on the air in September 1989 by apple orchard owner William H. ("Bud") Walker who used the call letters to pay tribute to his children, Rachel, William Jr, and David. WRWD took on the country format long avoided by area stations at a time when past failures daunted existing owners and out-of-market stations from
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
, Albany and
Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since ...
were garnering significant shares in the Hudson Valley. At the outset, most programming on the station was satellite fed with former
WEOK WEOK (1390 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Poughkeepsie, New York and serving the Mid-Hudson Valley. The station is owned by Townsquare Media and airs a Spanish-language adult hits radio format, known as "Juan 95.7." By day, WEO ...
personality Ken Gonyea at the helm for Mornings. 1990 saw a major change as Walker gave control of the station to Thom Williams who replaced Ken Gonyea in mornings and as program director while taking the station in a new country direction. WRWD at this time added an AM simulcast in 1170
WWLE WWLE (1170 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a Regional Mexican format. Licensed to Cornwall, New York, United States, the station serves the Newburgh-Middletown area. 1170 AM is a United States clear-channel frequency, on which WWVA and KT ...
, a daytime station licensed to
Cornwall-on-Hudson Cornwall-on-Hudson is a riverfront village in the town of Cornwall, Orange County, New York, United States. It lies on the west bank of the Hudson River, approximately north of New York City. The population as of the 2010 census was 3,018 ...
which would soon take on the WRWD calls with the FM becoming suffixed. Also added were FM translators in Newburgh, Middletown, and Kingston, all of which either signed off or took on simulcasting new stations by 2000. By 1992, WRWD added former WBPM personality Mike Vincent to their afternoon roster, who later left WRWD by February 1996 for middays/Production Director for 103.1
WGNY-FM WGNY-FM (98.9 FM) is a radio station broadcasting an oldies format. Licensed to Rosendale, New York, United States, the station serves the Poughkeepsie and Kingston areas. The station, which signed on in February 2011, is owned by Hawkeye Comm ...
in Newburgh. In 1996, WRWD-AM-FM and WBWZ were sold by Walker to Hudson Valley Radio Partners, a short-term holding company. The new ownership relieved morning man Terry Donovan of his duties and took the station to an all-local, current-leaning mainstream format and returned Mike Vincent to mornings from WGNY. Vincent would stay with WRWD until August 1999. After WWLE was sold in 2000, Roberts sold the remnants of their group to
Clear Channel Communications iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...
which assumed operational control in November. Under Clear Channel, WRWD became #1 in Dutchess and Ulster counties for the first time in 2002 - a feat repeated several times since then. In 2005, WRWD added an AM simulcast when the former WELV changed format from standards to WRWD's country music format. Following the announcement of the proposed Clear Channel decision to be acquired by a private equity group, WRWD (AM) ended its simulcast, which has moved to WRWB-FM (99.3 MHz) in Ellenville. In 2011, Clear Channel Radio of the Hudson Valley, fired all local air talent outside of morning drive time and switched to the Premium Choice programming format (pre-recorded announcers from other markets), removing live jocks and locally programmed music. In March 2012, CJ and Dee in the Morning were fired from their position in morning drive. They then hired Tommy Lee Walker, a former DJ to take over morning drive for a short run before they parted ways. In June 2014, Party Marty Mitchell took over Morning Drive and the Program Director chair for WRWD. In July 2018, Party Marty Mitchell was let go and the iHeart syndicated Bobby Bones show began in Morning Drive. In September 2018, Chase Daniels (formerly of Saga Communications' WQNY in
Ithaca Ithaca most commonly refers to: * Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey'' * Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca *Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College Ithaca, Ithak ...
) came on board to replace iHeart Premium Choice talent Boxer in the afternoon and Program the station replacing Marty Mitchell. On July 1, 2019, Beth Christy (formerly of crosstown
Townsquare Media Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...
-owned
WKXP WKXP (94.3 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Kingston, New York, and serving the Hudson Valley of New York state. The station is owned by Townsquare Media and it broadcasts a soft adult contemporary radio format from its radio studi ...
/ WZAD) returned to WRWD to host the midday show replacing iHeart Premium Choice talent Billy Greenwood.


External links


WRWD website
* {{coord, 41.700, N, 74.003, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title Country radio stations in the United States Mass media in Ulster County, New York Radio stations established in 1989 RWD-FM IHeartMedia radio stations 1989 establishments in New York (state)