WFAN
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"WFAN" redirects here. For other uses, see WFAN (disambiguation).
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| Broadcast area | New York, New York |
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| Branding | Sportsradio 66 or The Fan |
| First air date | March 2, 1922 (as WEAF) July 1, 1987 (WFAN) |
| Frequency | 660 (kHz) |
| Format | Sports/Talk |
| ERP | 50,000 watts |
| Class | A |
| Callsign meaning | The FAN |
| Owner | CBS Radio |
| Website | wfan.com |
WFAN (660 kHz), often referred to as "Sportsradio 66" or "The FAN", is a radio station in New York City. The station is on a clear channel and is owned by CBS Radio. [1] Its studios are located within the Kaufman-Astoria Studios complex in the Astoria section of Queens, New York, and the transmitter is located on High Island in the Bronx, New York.
WFAN pioneered, and has been one of the most successful examples of, the sports radio format. Over the years, WFAN has been the broadcast home to several big names in the world of radio, including the sports-talk team of Mike and the Mad Dog (Mike Francesa and Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo) and the comedian/shock jock/political commentator Don Imus, whose Imus in the Morning program is now nationally syndicated.
The 660 AM frequency in New York had a long history as WNBC prior to this format, which was the flagship station of the historic NBC Radio Network, and later was a local station with a tumultuous programming history.
[edit] NBC network radio
In 1922 AT&T Western Electric began broadcasting as WEAF (supposedly the call letters stood for Western Electric AT&T Fone), although another meaning was given as Water, Earth, Air, and Fire (the 4 classical elements).
Another story is that the licensee didn't like the originally assigned call letters, WDAM, and the FCC assigned the next available callsign in alphabetical order.
Article about the early days of WEAF
In 1922, WEAF ran the first radio advertisement which promoted an apartment development in Jackson Heights near a new elevated train line, now the #7.
It was acquired in 1926 by NBC as the flagship station of the NBC Radio Network (later the NBC Red Network), and moved to 660 kHz in 1928. The station's call letters were changed to WNBC in 1946, then to WRCA in 1954, and back to WNBC in 1960.
See NBC Radio Network for network programming during this time.
[edit] WNBC local programming
[edit] 1960s
By the early 1960s the station switched from NBC network programs to more local-oriented programs. In 1964 they adopted a talk format, the first in New York radio. Hosts included actor Robert Alda, comedian Mort Sahl, sports talk host Bill "The Amazing" Mazer, Lee Leonard, Big Wilson, Long John Nebel, Brad Crandall, Jim Gearhart, and early talk radio provocateur Joe Pyne.
Later in the decade WNBC shed its "Conversation Station" format and readopted a middle-of-the-road (MOR) music format, covering songs from the 1940s to the 1960s with non-rock and soft rock hits recorded after 1955. The format would feature such artists as Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Nat "King" Cole, the Everly Brothers, Tom Jones, the Fifth Dimension, Peggy Lee, and Dionne Warwick. Hosts during this transition back to music included Wilson, Jack Spector (ex-WMCA good guy), Jack Hayes, Charlie Brown and later Ted Brown, hired away from then-dominant standards/MOR station WNEW-AM. By 1971, music from such acts as Sinatra and Cole would disappear.
[edit] 1970s
Don Imus was hired in December 1971, giving New York its first exposure to the shock jock genre. Imus stayed with the station for most of the next two decades, except for a couple of years in the late 1970s when there was a general purge of the air staff.
Despite somewhat different formats, WNBC saw itself as a mostly unsuccessful competitor to New York Top 40 powerhouse WABC. Thus they brought in Murray the K in 1972, and Wolfman Jack opposite WABC's Bruce "Cousin Brucie" Morrow in 1973. This did not improve ratings much.
By 1973, WNBC was an Adult Contemporary radio station featuring the Carpenters, Carole King, the Stylistics, Neil Diamond, James Taylor, and other artists of that era. They also began to play more 1960s-era rock and roll oldies at that point.
Ted Brown would leave in the early 1970's and return to WNEW-AM. In 1974, WNBC hired Bruce Morrow away from WABC. Norm N. Nite arrived from WCBS-FM in 1975, as did Joe McCoy in 1976. The ratings were still mediocre.
By 1975, WNBC was playing an Adult Top 40 format and competing with WXLO-FM. They featured hits from 1964 to what was then current product. Unfortunately, most of the playlist decisions were mediocre at best.
In 1977, Bob Pittman was hired as WNBC's new Program Director. His first decision was to lay-off most of the station's veteran personalities (including Imus, Cousin Brucie, Norm N. Nite and Joe McCoy), replacing them with younger-sounding disc jockeys. He also shifted the format to mainstream Top 40, with occasional nods to FM radio (such as commercial-free hours). As a result of this tweaking, the station was now playing artists such as Andy Gibb, KC & the Sunshine Band, Boston, Peter Frampton, Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, Billy Joel, the Bee Gees, and others. However, listenership did not go up substantially, and while some of the new air personalities would find success (Johnny Dark, Frank Reed, and Allen Beebe would be heard on the station well into the 1980s), others would not (Ellie Dylan, who replaced Imus in morning drive, would be gone within months), and by mid-1979 Pittman would leave WNBC (he would soon become the founder of MTV) and Don Imus returned to the morning show (and has remained on 660 AM ever since). WNBC's playlist was tweaked back to an Adult top 40 format, though ratings continued to be mediocre.
[edit] 1980s
In 1981 when WABC added evening talk and evolved musically to adult contemporary, WNBC followed suit with the music (but did not add evening talk), moving to a similar AC format to sister station WYNY. WNBC adopted as its slogan "The Next One", meaning that it would be the number-one ranked station in New York City. As part of that slogan, the commercials would say "We're #2". When an Arbitron report was released that WNBC believed confirmed that it was in fact the most popular radio station in New York City, the slogan was changed to "The New One". Once WABC moved to all talk, WNBC added a few rock songs that were not heard on any AC stations in the area. By summer 1982, WNBC was near the top with some of their best ratings ever.
In fall 1982 to much fanfare, Howard Stern was brought in from WWDC-FM in Washington, D.C., to do afternoon drive. Initially Stern played music (about 10 to 12 songs an hour), much to his dismay, though his ratings were high. Then, in 1983 with ABC-owned WPLJ evolving to a Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR) format, as well as WHTZ's debut with the same format, WNBC began to lose some listeners. In 1984 Stern cut down to four songs an hour and began to talk much more. That fall former children's television show host Soupy Sales started a talk-intensive program in middays.
Throughout his three years at WNBC, Stern had continuous battles with station management and other jocks at the station, specifically Don Imus. Much of these conflicts were dramatized in Stern's autobiographical book and film Private Parts which included an amusing scene where he is instructed by program director Kevin Metheny (referred to in the film as "Kenny" or "Pig Vomit" Played by Paul Giamatti) on the preferred "W-ehhNNN-B-C" pronunciation of the station's call letters. (This WNBC commercial from 1983 shows Imus pronouncing the letters in this preferred manner.) The real nickname given to Metheny by Stern was "Pig Virus". Pig Vomit was the name of the rock group that played the musical intro for Sterns show at that time.
By early 1985, WNBC had evolved to more of a full service AC station, with music as a background and personality as the foreground. On weekends they became oldies-based, emphasizing 60's oldies while still playing current product in moderation; they were basically out of the Top 40/CHR realm by then. Their younger audience base had already gone to WHTZ or WPLJ, but with Stern in afternoons and Imus in the morning they continued to do reasonably well.
On September 30, 1985, Howard Stern was terminated abruptly after a series of outrageous bits and listener complaints. In "Private Parts", Stern detailed how WNBC management expected that his last day would be Thursday September 26, and that Stern would not go in to work on September 27 due to Hurricane Gloria. However, Stern went in, and because there was no station management on hand, Stern did his show as normal.
After Stern's dismissal, ratings plummeted and they were under a two-share by 1986. Initially they played a bit more music and then went through several afternoon shows like Joey Reynolds, Bill Grundfest, and Alan Colmes. Soupy Sales then left. They also added sports talk in the evenings, as well as bringing back Wolfman Jack on overnights on a syndicated show before his untimely death.
By the fall of 1986, WNBC was in crisis with Imus mornings, a blend of talk and a bit of music till 7 p.m., then sports and all talk on overnights. Weekends had this blend of shows with more music in evenings. Ratings stayed very low.
On the afternoon of October 22, 1986, the station's "N-Copter" traffic helicopter crashed into the Hudson River killing traffic reporter Jane Dornacker and severely injuring pilot Bill Pate. As millions of WNBC listeners heard Dornacker giving her traffic report she suddenly paused, a grinding noise could be heard in the background and Dornacker screaming in terror "Hit the water! Hit the water! Hit the water!", then the radio transmission was cut off and a very shaken radio host Joey Reynolds awkwardly tried to figure out what had happened by saying "Uh I think we're going to play some music now." Dornacker had recently gotten back to flying in a helicopter after surviving a previous crash of the N-Copter into the Hackensack River in New Jersey a few months earlier. An episode of NBC's television show Third Watch featured a similar incident (although it may have been more of a reference to the crash of WNBC-TV's helicopter, which crashed into the Passaic River in New Jersey over a decade later, with no deaths).
In the summer of 1987, WNBC modified their format, keeping Imus in the morning playing a few AC cuts and a couple oldies an hour with his usual talk, Ray D'Ariano (Soupy Sales' former cohost) middays playing oldies, Alan Colmes afternoons with a talk show, Sports Night along with whatever pro sports WNBC had in evenings, and Jay Sorenson overnights with an oldies format playing hits from 1955-74 called "The Time Machine" with old jingles and an echo effect. This "Time Machine" was also heard all day and night on weekends featuring djs Dan Taylor, The Real Bob James, Jim Collins, Dale Parsons and others. So for all intents and purposes WNBC was an oldies/talk station by then.
[edit] The beginning of WFAN and the end of WNBC: 1987-1988
Across town WFAN, then on 1050 kHz and owned by Emmis Communications, was launched at 3:00 p.m. on July 1, 1987, replacing country music station WHN, and billing itself as the world's first 24-hour-per-day sports talk station. The first voice heard on WFAN was that of Suzyn Waldman with a sports update, followed by the first show, which was hosted by Jim Lampley. Waldman would report for the station, covering the Yankees and Knicks, for 14 years. Other personalities that hosted shows besides Lampley in the 1050 kHz years included Bill Mazer, Pete Franklin, Greg Gumbel and Ed Coleman. WFAN also inherited broadcast rights to the defending World Series champion New York Mets from WHN, who had held the rights for several years.
In early 1988 General Electric announced that it would sell off the NBC Radio division, and in February of that year GE made a multi-station deal with Emmis. In New York, the WNBC license for 660 was included in the sale. On October 7, 1988 at 5:30 p.m., WFAN moved down the radio dial to replace WNBC at 660 kHz., which at 50 kilowatts (or 50,000 watts) has a much stronger signal. The last voice heard on WNBC was that of Alan Colmes, who counted down the seconds to WNBC's demise with the legendary NBC chimes (the notes G-E-C) playing in the background. After 66 years, the long history of NBC radio in New York had come to an end.
In the complicated switch that saw WFAN move to the 660 frequency, the 1050 frequency that was formerly the home of WFAN became that of Spanish-language WUKQ, owned by Spanish Broadcasting System. However, SBS already owned an AM station in the market, Newark-based WSKQ at 620 kHz., and in those days FCC rules stipulated that companies could own only one AM station per market. As a result, SBS received a temporary waiver to run 1050 while exploring the sale of either AM frequency. SBS chose to keep 620 (it is now WSNR), and 1050 was traded to Forward Communications, which owned WEVD, then at 97.9 FM. After that deal was approved, WEVD's call letters and programming moved to 1050 AM (it is now WEPN and ironically a sports station), and SBS took over 97.9 as WSKQ-FM. The October NBC-Emmis switch also saw Emmis's WQHT (then at 103.5 MHz.) move to 97.1 MHz., which had been the home of NBC's WYNY. Emmis sold the 103.5 frequency to Westwood One, who also acquired the WYNY call letters and its country music format.
In all this, WFAN retired two of the oldest radio call letters from the dawn of commercial radio: WHN and WNBC.
[edit] WFAN
[edit] Early history
One of the keys to WFAN's early success on 660 was acquiring Don Imus to do the morning show. WFAN's original morning show on 1050 was hosted by Greg Gumbel. The show was a straight-forward sports show (not dis-similar to the Mike and Mike show currently on ESPN Radio), but was not doing well in the ratings. At the time of the switch, sports talk radio was still an untested format with questionable prospects, and the idea of bringing on board a host that appealed to a broader audience would get more people to try the station out. WFAN also benefitted from the inertia from Imus's fans who were used to tuning in to 660 kHz on weekday mornings to listen. WFAN instantly took advantage of their Imus inheritance, for example, they featured a special live monologue by Imus character Billy Sol Hargus from Shea Stadium moments after taking over the 660 frequency.
It quickly became apparent that WFAN's gambit of bringing Imus on board worked. Ratings for the morning show were strong, and it was successful to a point in driving ratings for the rest of WFAN's programming day. This model of using a general-interest morning host for a sports talk radio station (especially at launch) has been used at other sports radio stations across the country.
WFAN was also the first station in the country to roll out sports updates every 20 minutes. These updates, called "20-20 Sports" on the Fan, are now considered an industry standard. When WFAN first started they had first done these updates every 15 minutes but it was decided that 4 updates an hour was too much and wisely cut it down to 3. Additionally, in a nod to the former WNBC, update anchors often end their top-of-the-hour updates with the catchphrase "And that's what's happening...", which is how WNBC on-air news readers had ended their updates.
Other programming that WFAN had at launch included a midmorning show with Ed Coleman and Mike Francesa, and a drive time show with talk radio icon Pete Franklin, who in Cleveland had become one of the first polarizing, outrageous talk show hosts. During his stay in New York, Franklin would probably become best known for an incident where he used a four-letter expletive on air, in error, when trying to say "All you folks" (he was not disciplined for the incident.)
Running a close second was a 30-second Franklin diatribe on whether he had been offensive -- "Do I offend anyone? I'm not here to offend you, dammit!" -- that has been replayed ever since, especially on the July 1 WFAN anniversaries.)
In a further drive to boost ratings, Imus instigated a feud with Franklin, much as he had with Howard Stern at WNBC in the mid-80's. Both Imus and Franklin would take shots at each other during their shows, Franklin calling Imus "Minus" and Imus recording parodies of radio commercials where he would bash Franklin as a "dinousaur", among other things.
Franklin would leave WFAN in August 1989. On September 5, 1989, a jointly hosted afternoon drive show with Francesa and Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo - who had been a weekend/fill-in host to that time - would premiere. The Mike and the Mad Dog show would become the defining show of WFAN, one of the most consistently popular radio shows in New York, and one of the most influential sports talk radio shows in the country.
[edit] Recent history
Over the years WFAN has continued to have a broad-based sports talk and play-by-play format. WFAN ratings gradually rose and in fact at some points it has been the top-billing station in New York and the country. In 1992 Emmis sold WFAN to Infinity, which would merge with CBS in 1997.
In addition to those mentioned above, some hosts that have come and gone include Greg Gumbel, Russ Salzberg, Dave Sims, and Jody McDonald.
As of 2005, the WFAN broadcast day begins at 5:30 a.m. (Eastern) with Imus in the Morning, hosted by Don Imus. Over the years Imus's show has evolved from a straight comedy talk show spiced with occasional political discussion, to primarily a political show spiked with sharp humor. It is syndicated to over 90 stations across the United States with an audience in excess of 10 million, according to the WFAN website. It has become a regular stop on the circuit for Washington insiders, both conservatives and liberals in the media elite, best-selling authors and the occasional presidential candidate. MSNBC began a simulcast of the show in September 2, 1996.
The rest of the day is devoted to the world of sports. The 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. timeslot is hosted by Joe Benigno, followed by the Mike and the Mad Dog show, which runs for five-and-a-half hours from 1:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.. As MSNBC does for Imus in the Morning, the YES Network has been simulcasting Mike and The Mad Dog since March 19, 2002.
On Monday nights during the NFL season, Benigno and Tony Siragusa host a football show leading into the MNF broadcast at 8:00.
Steve Somers hosts during most other evenings, often leading into and following live game broadcasts.
Other WFAN personalities including the likes of longtime New York radio fixture Richard Neer. Roberto Clemente Jr., son of the Baseball Hall-of-Famer, hosts shows during baseball season. Adam Schein hosts various shows on weekends in addition to his work hosting NFL shows on Sirius Satellite Radio. Yankees radio play-by-play announcer John Sterling also hosts from time-to-time. WFAN is the flagship station of Westwood One's NFL, NHL, Notre Dame college football, and NCAA basketball tournament radio broadcasts.
But WFAN's sports-talk shows are currently local in origin, not syndicated as is the practice of most sports-talk radio stations (usually except during the morning and/or drivetime periods).
Tony Paige works the majority of the overnight shifts, as he is on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings, as well as on late Saturday nights. The overnight host before Paige, Chris Carlin, became the sports reporter for Imus in the Morning after the previous sports reporter, Sid Rosenberg, was removed for inappropriate comments made about Kylie Minogue's battle with breast cancer. Additionally, Rosenberg, who had also co-hosted the midday show at the station for four years, resigned from the station on September 12, 2005 after being given an ultimatum by station management for not showing up to host the New York Giants' pregame show the day before.
Over the years WFAN has established a tight bond with its listeners, to the point where one of them (Benigno) eventually landed a plum mid-morning show. Benigno was a frequent caller to "The Fan" (especially the Mike and the Mad Dog show) as "Joe from Saddle River". His calls were typically interesting and insightful. He was chosen to host a one-hour show during a promotion where listeners were invited to host a show. The show went well, and he parlayed this into a regular overnight show, which was parlayed into a mid-morning show.
WFAN also features the "20-20 Flash", a one to two minute update on sports scores and news, which occurs every 20 minutes (on the hour, twenty after and forty after). The update team consists of Rich Ackerman, Harris Allen, Mike McCann, Erica Herskowitz, Bob Heussler, Marc Malusis, John Minko, Jerry Recco, and Joe Tolleson. The station also employs beat reporters to cover the Mets (Ed Coleman), Yankees (Sweeny Murti), Jets (Kevin Burkhardt) and football Giants (Carlin).
Currently, WFAN has broadcasting rights for New York Mets baseball, New York Giants football, New Jersey Nets basketball, and New Jersey Devils hockey. WFAN is also a promotional partner of the New York Yankees, as fellow CBS-owned WCBS-AM has been the team's flagship station since 2002. WFAN aired Yankees coverage while WCBS-AM was airing coverage of the 2003 blackout that greatly affected New York City and surrounding areas, and is given exclusive gameday radio access to the team. The exclusive access seems to give WFAN an information edge over 1050 ESPN Radio, which features Yankees TV voice Michael Kay in drivetime. Kay is often forced to do his show from outside the ballpark, and then leave to do the TV broadcast an hour before the game.
WFAN has marketed itself in recent years as "The Flagship Station for New York Sports", but its close partnerships with the Mets and Yankees could easily render it "New York's Baseball Station." Willie Randolph and Joe Torre, managers of the Mets and Yankees, respectively, make exclusive appearances on WFAN during the season. WFAN usually also contracts at least one Giants and one Jets player to make exclusive appearances on the station during the NFL season, as well as Giants head coach Tom Coughlin.
The station was also the longtime radio home for the New York Jets, New York Rangers and New York Knicks as well as St. John's University basketball for several years.
Currently WFAN's primary competition is WEPN, the New York ESPN Radio affiliate, ironically located at WFAN's old 1050 kHz frequency. WEPN carries many of the teams that WFAN previously did, notably the Jets, Knicks, Rangers, and St. John's, plus national ESPN Radio programming, which WFAN also once carried.
Beginning at 3 p.m. on April 11, 2006, WFAN started streaming live on the Internet. Live games are offered separately through the various league websites as annual subscriptions (except for the NHL, which currently does not charge for game audio). The stream can be found at: http://bdcast-infinity-wfan-am.wm.llnwd.net/bdcast_infinity_WFAN-AM
[edit] Radiothon
Each spring beginning in 1990, WFAN has conducted the WFAN Radiothon to benefit children’s charities that seek to ensure the continuity of life in its earliest stages and the treatment and eventual elimination of childhood cancer. The three current beneficiaries of the radiothon are Tomorrows Children's Fund [2], The CJ Foundation for SIDS [3], and the Imus Ranch. As of 2005, the Radiothon has raised more than $30 million for the charities. The portion of the radiothon that is part of the Imus show is simulcast in nearly 90 radio markets across the United States and on television on MSNBC.
WFAN has also done other radiothons and special broadcasts to raise money for assorted charities.
[edit] Midday Show Controversy
The midday slot (generally from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.) has not been one of the better slots from a ratings perspective for WFAN. However, this slot has not been without controversy.
In the early 1990s, popular hosts Ed Coleman and Dave Sims had their show (nicknamed "Coleman and the Soul-Man") cancelled. WFAN then announced that New York Daily News columnist Mike Lupica and WNBC-TV sports anchor Len Berman would co-host the new midday program. The show seemed all set to go when, at the last minute, Berman decided to back out of the show. He cited that he would have to work a near 14-hour day, combining his 10 a.m. start on radio with his 11:20 p.m. report on television. WFAN would not let Berman out of his contract, and as a result, the slot was split into two shows: Lupica hosted from 10 a.m. to Noon, while Berman hosted from Noon to 2 p.m.. The split format did not work, and eventually Berman's show would be cancelled and Lupica's show soon followed.
WWOR-TV sports anchor Russ Salzberg, who also worked an evening sportscast, was more than willing to assume the midday show duties. In 1995, he would be joined by longtime overnight host Steve Somers. This show, billed as "The Sweater and the Schmoozer", would feature one of the most famous incidents in WFAN history. It occurred when Salzberg "banned" Eli from Westchester from calling his show due to his comments that Salzberg considered to be inappropriate. Salzberg's classic line to Somers, during another Atlanta Braves World Series appearance talking about Braves' manger Bobby Cox: "What about Cox, Steve? You like Cox...., don't you Steve?"
In 1999, with the ratings not being what WFAN management expected, the Salzberg/Somers show was cancelled. Initially Somers had been fired with Salzberg, but a large outcry from listeners -- including comedian Jerry Seinfeld, a native of Long Island -- led to WFAN management giving Somers the evening shift, which (despite frequent pre-emptions for live games) he continues to hold to the present day. In middays, Salzberg and Somers were replaced by Suzyn Waldman and Jody McDonald. Waldman was best known for her work covering the New York Yankees. McDonald, son of a former Mets General Manager, was the weekend overnight host before leaving for WIP radio in Philadelphia, nearer to his southern New Jersey home. Both Waldman and McDonald had their fans and detractors at WFAN.
Waldman would leave WFAN in late 2001 to pursue a full-time job with the New York Yankees' television and radio broadcast teams. She would be replaced by controversial shock-jock Sid Rosenberg. Despite being a shock-jock, Rosenberg did have an enormous knowledge of sports. Many felt there was great chemistry between McDonald and Rosenberg. However, the ratings still weren't what WFAN expected and in 2004 McDonald was let go, later to join WEPN, Sirius Satellite Radio, and WPEN radio in Philadelphia.
Former overnight host Joe Benigno would replace McDonald. Rosenberg was fired from WFAN in late 2005 after a series of problems and incidents (see above) and Benigno now hosts the show solo. WFAN was rumored to be pursuing a co-host, but seems to have settled on having Benigno do the show alone. Benigno's program does consistently outrate rivals Max Kellerman and Stephen A. Smith on WEPN.
Announced on December 8, 2006, Evan Roberts will begin co-hosting this show with Joe Beningo beginning in January 2006.
[edit] Influence of sports format
WFAN's success - especially after the 1988 frequency switch - proved that sports-talk radio could in fact be a steadily profitable and popular format. This in turn fueled the explosive growth of sports-talk radio in the 1990's and 2000's. Once a novelty, every major market (and many smaller markets) now has at least one sports radio station, and often more. ESPN, Fox Sports and The Sporting News have all launched 24-hour national sports talk radio networks. There are also nationally syndicated radio shows, such as Jim Rome's show and 2 Live Stews. Additionally there are dedicated sports radio streams on satellite radio, such as NFL Radio on Sirius and MLB Home Plate on XM Satellite Radio. With the migration of music station to FM and other carriers all but complete, sports talk radio are considered to have been critical in saving the AM band as a viable broadcast medium.
It is worth noting that, for all the success and influence that WFAN has had, its signature Mike and the Mad Dog show has never been syndicated outside of New York State (WROW in Albany is the only syndicate), although this is primarily due to a desire by the hosts to keep their show New York-centric. However, the discussion does stray well beyond what other hosts usually talk about, as college sports and the NBA takeup a notable portion of the show outside of the standard emphasis on whatever New York players and teams are considered to be making headlines.
WFAN once produced some of FOX Sports Radio's programming, notably Chris "Mad Dog" Russo's Saturday show, but the relationship did not last even one year for the same reason that "Mike and the Mad Dog" is syndicated nationally only through the YES Network- the hosts often talk about the NFL on a national basis, but stick mostly to local coverage of baseball. Nevertheless, callers from as far as California have made it to air.
[edit] Callers
The vast majority of WFAN programming that originates in studio makes listeners' calls an important facet of the broadcast. As a testament to this, Joe Benigno - a former caller himself - ends all of his shows with "I want to thank all the callers, great job as always; I couldn't do it without you." There are a number of callers who have earned a reputation over the years and become as familiar to listeners as the hosts themselves.
[edit] John from Sandy Hook
One of the most endearing and knowledgeable callers, especially with boxing insights and old classic baseball. Listeners called in condolences on learning of his death.
[edit] Bill from Brentwood
Arugably the most popular and knowledgeable caller to WFAN is Bill from Brentwood, more popularly known as "Bill the Baker", who has an encyclopæedic knowledge of baseball, along with an unmatched ability to recall not only specific baseball moments in the past 50+ years, but the exact dates that those games were played. Although Bill calls the FAN (particularly Steve Somers, who jokes that he is his co-host) on an almost daily basis, Steve - along with his listeners - is so constantly in awe and impressed with Bill's baseball intellect that he often jokes that Bill "has to be looking at a book."
[edit] Jerome from Manhattan
Another cherished caller is Jerome Mittelman[4], widely known as "Jerome from Manhattan." A die-hard Yankees and Knickerbockers fan, Jerome is famous for his on-air take-no-prisoners blistering rants and raves, as well as his unique take on the English language. One of his favorite exclamatory phrases is "frickin' frack!" He refers to the bullpen as the "ballpen", and once shouted that the Yankees are "....done! D-O-E-N [sic], DONE!" The 50-something Jerome lives in the same Manhattan building as his mother, and his relationship status is intriguing enough for Steve Somers to once give Jerome $60 to take a lady out on a date, only for Jerome to keep the money and not go out on the date. Former host Sid Rosenberg once asked Jerome if he was upset that he was not taking his eagerly anticipated trip "....to Colorado?", and Jerome replied, "No, [it was] to Denver." He does "....not like jets. They make [him] seasick." Unfortunately, Mr. Mittelman's health problems have kept him from the WFAN airwaves on his usual daily basis since late 2004, although he did call on March 31, 2005 to appease his fans; he is under doctor's orders to refrain from calling because his hyperactive on-air demeanor may further complicate his health problems. His latest call-in was on October 9, 2006, when he called during the Mike and the Mad Dog show.
[edit] Doris from Rego Park
Doris Bauer [c.1945-2003], more affectionately known as "Doris from Rego Park", was a die-hard fan of the New York Mets, and was both loved and despised by WFAN listeners. Her knowledge of the Mets and baseball as a whole approached that of Bill the Baker, and she called the station almost daily since its first night on-air. Doris suffered from neurofibromatosis, and at least three different cancers; nevertheless, she kept the Mets and WFAN close to her heart until her premature passing at age 58.
[edit] Eli from Westchester
"Eli from Westchester" was another famous repeat caller. Citing racism as the underlying factor behind any number of sports happenings, he was occasionally banned from calling for periods of time. One of the most famous times he was banned was by former mid-day host Russ Salzberg. Eli claimed to be an ex college football player and know several pro stars. His shining moment was not on WFAN however, where he performed miserably during an on air tryout for the job which would eventually be Joe Benigno's. As a late night caller to the Lionel show on WABC, Eli fell asleep while waiting to go on air. Listners were treated to a minute's worth of "Ellie"'s, as Lionel called him, snoring. Rumors were that this is Eli Strand from Tuckahoe NY, his college football was played at Iowa State and spent 2 years in the NFL, the last with the New Orleans Saints.
[edit] Jerry from Queens
"Jerry from Queens", aka Jerry Seinfeld, has called the station at many times over the years. An avid Mets and Steve Somers fan, Seinfeld has even appeared in-studio along with the Schmoozer.
[edit] Joseph Abboud
Joseph Abboud, a noted clothing designer, has been a regular caller to the midday show to muse about his beloved Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees' sworn rival.
[edit] Miriam from Forest Hills
Miriam was a blind New York Islanders fan from Queens. The first Islanders game Miriam ever attended became the topic of a Rick Reilly column in Sports Illustrated.[5]
[edit] Chris from Middletown, NY
Chris was a frequent caller to WFAN in the early 2000s to the Midday and Overnight shows. Chris was a rabid Mets fan who occasionally got into verbal spats with Midday host Jody MacDonald over many topics, usually lamenting about former Mets' manager Art Howe. He was also the station's resident Lakers fan, taking offense to Steve Somers when he referred to them as "the Fakers".
[edit] Tommy from Brooklyn
Tommy was a frequent caller to WFAN in the early 1990s. He was known for his passion for hockey. He was a caller to Christopher Russo and would frequently assist Russo with hockey issues. Tommy is best known for his passion for not wanting Russian players to play in the NHL.
[edit] Vinny from Queens
Vinny was a frequent caller to WFAN in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Vinny was a passionate Yankee fan and a popular caller among the hosts. Vinny died in 1996 in a car accident.
[edit] Ira from Staten Island
Ira is currently a frequent caller to WFAN. He is well known for being a knowledgable and passionate fan of the New York Jets.
[edit] Reception of WFAN
WFAN's signal can be heard clearly on much of the East Coast of the United States and Eastern Canada after sunset.
During the day, WFAN's groundwave signal can be heard faintly as far south as Washington, DC and as far north as the I-90 corridor (the New York State Thruway and Massachusetts Turnpike), about 150 miles north of New York City's geographic latitude. Signal strength varies depending on factors such as weather and elevation. Still, a good car radio can pick up WFAN cleanly in most of eastern Pennsylvania and Connecticut, as well as parts of the Boston, Albany, and Syracuse markets, especially at night (WFAN does not broadcast on reduced power overnight). Callers from these locations are not uncommon, especially as some of the on-air staffers have backgrounds in those regions (Bob Heussler has done radio play-by-play for UConn, the Connecticut Sun and other teams in that state, while Chris Carlin handles Rutgers football games), attended Syracuse University's famed Newhouse Communications School, or watch the "Mike and the Mad Dog" simulcast on YES. Depending on atmospheric conditions, the station can be picked up as far south as Miami, FL. A notable event occurred after a 2003 World Series game played at Pro Player Stadium, where Yankees fans who travelled to Florida to see the games called from I-95 on their way home.
[edit] Personalities
[edit] Current hosts
- Joe Benigno
- Kevin Burkhardt
- Chris Carlin
- Ed Coleman (Mets Beat Reporter)
- Ian Eagle
- Mike Francesa
- Don Imus
- Ann Ligouri
- Marc Malusis
- Sweeny Murti (Yankees Beat Reporter)
- Richard Neer
- Tony Paige
- Ed Randall
- Evan Roberts
- Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo
- Adam Schein
- Steve Somers
- Rick Wolff
[edit] Current 20-20 Flash Updaters
- Rich Ackerman
- Harris Allen
- Kevin Burkhardt
- Erica Herskowitz
- Bob Heussler
- Mike McCann
- John Minko
- Jerry Recco
- Greg Tartaglia
- Joe Tolleson
- Joey Wahler
[edit] Past hosts
- Len Berman
- Mike Breen
- Roberto Clemente, Jr.
- Linda Cohn
- Tanyette Colon
- Howard David
- Scott Ferrall
- Pete Franklin
- Steve Fredericks
- Greg Gumbel
- Jim Lampley
- Steve Levy
- Mike Lupica
- Stan Martyn
- Bill Mazer
- Jody McDonald
- Chris Moore
- Howie Rose (former host, but still broadcasts Mets games)
- Sid Rosenberg
- Russ Salzberg
- Dave Sims
- Suzyn Waldman
- Warner Wolf
[edit] Where did the WEAF call letters go?
WEAF is now assigned to a radio station in Camden, South Carolina.
[edit] External links
- WFAN website
- 66 WNBC Tribute Pages
- The Unauthorized Mike and the Mad Dog Radio Show Blog
- Query the FCC's AM station database for WFAN
- Aerial photo of WFAN transmitter from Google Local
- Aerial view of WFAN studios from Google Local
| Preceded by: WHN |
AM 1050 kHz in New York City July 1, 1987-October 7, 1988 |
Succeeded by: WUKQ |
| Preceded by: WNBC |
AM 660 kHz in New York City October 7, 1988-Present |
Succeeded by: Incumbent |
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