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WMAY
Radio station in Springfield, Illinois From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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WMAY (970 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Springfield, Illinois, simulcasting a news-talk radio format with sister station WMAY-FM 97.7. The stations are owned by Mid-West Family Broadcasting and the license is held by Long Nine, Inc.[2] WMAY's transmitter, radio studios and offices are all located on North Third Street in Riverton, Illinois.[3]
WMAY is powered at 1,000 watts by day and 500 watts at night. Programming is simulcast on two FM translators: W234CC at 94.7 MHz in Sherman, Illinois, and 102.5 W273DR in Springfield.[4][5]
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Programming
Weekdays on WMAY-AM-FM begin with Springfield's Morning News with Patrick Finkston. The rest of the weekday schedule is nationally syndicated talk programs: The Brian Kilmeade Show, The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, The Dana Loesch Show, The Erick Erickson Show, The Ramsey Show with Dave Ramsey, Our American Stories with Lee Habeeb, Coast to Coast AM with George Noory and America in the Morning.
Weekends feature specialty programs on money, health, law, real estate, farming, guns and technology. Some are paid brokered programming. Weekend syndicated shows include At Home with Gary Sullivan, Rich DeMuro on Tech, The Kim Komando Show, The Jeanne Pirro Show, Eye on Travel with Peter Greenberg and The Jesus Christ Show with Neil Saavedra. Most hours begin with an update from ABC News Radio. WICS ABC Channel 20 supplies weather forecasts.
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History
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WMAY first signed on the air on September 15, 1950.[6] It was owned by Lincoln Broadcasting. In 1963, the station was acquired by Springfield Broadcasting, a division of Stuart Stations. It aired a full service, middle of the road music format, using NBC Radio News for its world and national news coverage.
Mid-West Family Broadcasting bought the station in 1976, switching it to country music a short time later.[7] In the early 1990s, WMAY went with an oldies format, and it flipped to its current talk radio format in 1995. Mid-West Family Broadcasting also owns local stations 98.7 WNNS-FM, 97.7 WQLZ and 92.7 WMAY-FM.
Three of the most well-known broadcasters to pass through the studio were Bob Hale (hired directly from Clear Lake, IA after the Buddy Holly plane crash in 1959. He mc'd the show at the Surf Ballroom that night, gave casualties the next day, and was hired by WMAY; he purportedly made the coin flip between Ritchie Valens and Tommy Allsup for the final seat on the plane.); Cal Schrum ("The State Policeman's Friend," on the overnight shift; starred in many B western supporting roles and was beloved by law enforcement personnel working the "graveyard shift"); and Red Barnes (Gregory Harutunian), his 1980s successor who would "set the chickens free," in the early morning hours. The station was also known in the 1980s for its “Little Black Box” promotion that awarded keys to a new vehicle to the finder of a hidden box containing keys to a new vehicle. The station would air clues for listeners to scavenger hunt the surrounding metro area for the “black box”. The promotion ended around the time the station switched from its long-running Country format.
On August 28, 2020, Midwest Family announced that WUSW (now WMAY-FM) would drop its country format and begin simulcasting WMAY on September 1. The addition of 92.7 expanded WMAY's news/talk coverage to areas to the south and east of Springfield.[5]
On April 25, 2022, WMAY changed its format from news/talk (which continued on WMAY-FM 92.7 Taylorville) to classic hits, branded as "102.5 The Lake".[8]
On May 2, 2025, WMAY returned to news/talk, simulcasting WMAY-FM 92.7 Taylorville.[9] The classic hits format shifted to co-owned 99.7 FM.
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References
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