WIZZ (1520 AM) is a radio station

licensed A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...

Greenfield, Massachusetts Greenfield is the county seat, and sole city, of Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. Greenfield was first settled in 1686. The population was 17,768 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Greenfield is home to Greenfield Commun ...

. It is owned by Saga Communications and operates as part of its Western Mass Radio Group. It broadcasts an

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

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, ...

, switching to

Christmas music Christmas music comprises a variety of Music genre, genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas and holiday season, Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or in the case of Christmas ...

in the weeks leading up to Christmas. By day, WIZZ transmits with 1,000 watts. As

1520 AM The following radio broadcasting, radio stations broadcast on AM broadcasting, AM frequency 1520 kHz: 1520 AM is a United States clear-channel frequency. WWKB in Buffalo, New York, and KOKC (AM), KOKC in Oklahoma City share List of broadcast ...

is a clear channel frequency, WIZZ reduces power at night to 160 watts to protect other stations from interference. Programming is also heard on

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 tr ...

W263DE at 100.5

MHz 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 u ...

in Greenfield.

History

The station

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 August 26, 1980. The original

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 ...

was WPOE, standing for Poet's Seat Broadcasting. It had a middle of the road (MOR) format. In its early years, the station was a

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 go off the air at night.''Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1984'' page B-122. Retrieved Dec. 14, 2024.
/REF> In 1987, the call letters changed to WGAM, with a format of

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

music and

adult standards Adult standards (also sometimes known as the nostalgia or Big Band format) is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations. Adult standards started in the 1950s and is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly tho ...

. The station was assigned the WIZZ call letters by 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 ...

on February 1,

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

. WIZZ previously aired a locally programmed adult standards format. It carried the national

AP Radio The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are distributed to its members, major ...

newscast on the hour and half-hour. The station verified signal reports by

QSL card QSL may refer to: *Q code The Q-code is a standardised collection of three-letter codes that each start with the letter "Q". It is an Operating signals, operating signal initially developed for commercial radiotelegraphy, radiotelegraph communi ...

. At the top of the hour, WIZZ used the same "V for Victory" time tone as WTIC in

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

. WIZZ's former owner and disc jockey, Phil D (Phillip Drumheller), was inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2010, and was active in broadcasting for 60 years. He was the first inductee into the MBHOF to have had his career outside the

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

radio market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...

. On April 6, 2022, Saga Communications acquired WIZZ and flipped it from adult standards to

. Programming is

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...

on the HD3

digital subchannel In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compress ...

of 99.3

WLZX-FM WLZX-FM (99.3 MHz) is a radio station in Northampton, Massachusetts. The station has an active rock format, and is owned by Saga Communications. WLZX-FM is also simulcast on the second HD Radio channel of WAQY (102.1 FM) in Springfield, as well ...

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

. It is also heard on an

at 100.5 MHz.

Translator

References

External links

WIZZ official website
* * {{Saga Communications IZZ Oldies radio stations in the United States Mass media in Franklin County, Massachusetts Greenfield, Massachusetts Radio stations established in 1980 1980 establishments in Massachusetts