WXME (780 AM) is a

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 ...

located in

Monticello, Maine Monticello is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, United States on the northern branch of the Meduxnekeag River. The population was 737 at the 2020 census. Originally known as Wellington Township, it was settled in 1830 by General Joel Wellington, ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

serving the Northern Maine market and broadcasts a

news/talk Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

and

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as "rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States and ...

format. The station is owned and operated by Allan Weiner, who also owns the shortwave station WBCQ. WXME's broadcast facilities are co-located with WBCQ shortwave and WBCQ-FM 94.7.

History

WXME was formerly known as WCXH 780, WREM 710, and WOZW 710. WREM broadcast a variety of formats ranging from

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prim ...

and

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

and religious programming. For a number of years, WREM simulcasted talk radio from

WEGP WEGP (1390 AM) is a radio station in Presque Isle, Maine. The station airs a Catholic talk format as an affiliate of Relevant Radio, and is owned by Relevant Radio, Inc. WEGP's transmitter is off Chapman Road in Presque Isle. It is the most po ...

. In the summer of 2007, the station moved to 780

kHz 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 ...

, increased power to 5,000

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 daytime non-directional and 60 watts nighttime non-directional, and changed its call sign to WCXH, simulcasting

Channel X Radio Channel X Radio is a network of adult contemporary/ oldies/ full-service formatted American radio stations in Aroostook County, Maine. With studios in Caribou the stations are heard through various transmitters throughout Aroostook County. ...

from

Caribou, Maine Caribou is the second largest city in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. Its population was 7,396 at the 2020 census, and between the 2010 and 2020 census it was the fastest-shrinking city in Maine. The city is a service center for the agri ...

. By 2008, WCXH had dropped the Channel X Radio simulcast; on September 10, 2008, the station changed its call letters to WXME. In 2009 the station carried a

format largely from

Fox News Radio Fox News Radio is an American radio network owned by Fox News. It is syndicated to over 500 AM and FM radio stations across the United States. It also supplies programming for three channels on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. History In 2003, F ...

. From March 2010 to July 2010 the station simulcasted Central Maine-based

WSKW WSKW (1160 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Skowhegan, Maine. It is owned by Mountain Wireless and it carries a radio format of sports from CBS Sports Radio. The studios and offices are in the Lee Farm Mall in Augusta. W ...

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as wel ...

format before reverting to the previous

News/Talk Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

format. In February 2011 the station returned to a simulcast of

. In the summer of 2014 WXME changed to an

classic hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 198 ...

format before reverting to a News/Talk format in early 2015. In 2018, WXME obtained a license for 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 ...

98.3 FM The following radio stations broadcast on FM frequency 98.3 MHz: Argentina * Radio La Red (Rosario) in Rosario, Santa Fe * Radio María in San Carlos Minas, Córdoba * Radio María in Merlo, San Luis Australia * 1XXR in Canberra, Australian C ...

. Since then, the station has broadcast a news/talk format during the daylight hours and rock music at night.

References

External links

XME Mass media in Aroostook County, Maine News and talk radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1981 {{Maine-radio-station-stub