 | |
| Broadcast area | Rochester metropolitan area Genesee River Valley |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 1040kHz |
| Branding | WYSL NewsPower 1040, The Voice of Liberty |
| Programming | |
| Format | Talk radio |
| Affiliations | CBS News Radio Townhall News Westwood One WHEC-TV |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | January 23, 1987 (1987-01-23) |
Call sign meaning | easily pronounce the word "whistle"[1] |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 54665 |
| Class | B |
| Power |
|
| Translators | 92.1 W221CL (Rochester) 95.5 W238DE (Spencerport) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | wysl1040.com |
WYSL (1040AM) is acommercialradio stationlicensed toAvon, New York, and serving theRochester metropolitan area. It broadcasts atalk radioformat and is known as "WYSL NewsPower 1040, The Voice of Liberty." The station is owned by Robert C. Savage under the name "Radio Livingston."
By day, WYSL transmits with 27,000watts, the second-most-powerful AM station in the Rochester area.1040 AM is aclear channel frequency reserved forClass AWHO inDes Moines, at night WYSL must reduce power to 500 watts to avoid interference. Adirectional antenna with a four-tower array is used. Programming is also heard on twoFM translators:W221CL at 92.1MHz in Rochester andW238DE at 95.5 MHz inSpencerport.
Weekdays begin with a wake-up talk and information program hosted by Pittsburgh radio personality Wendy Bell, who succeededJim Quinn in 2025. Severalnationally syndicatedconservative talk shows are also heard,Glenn Beck in late mornings, Jimmy Failla and Vince Coglianese in afternoons andDana Loesch in the evening.Red Eye Radio fromWBAP inFort Worth is carried overnight.
Weekends are largely paidbrokered programming, with shows on health, money, religion, guns and law. Retired state legislatorJoseph Robach and former Libertarian gubernatorial candidateLarry Sharpe host weekly shows on the station. WYSL carries some local high school, college and minor league sports. Some newscasts from Channel 10WHEC-TV, theNBCNetwork affiliate in Rochester, aresimulcast on WYSL. Most hours begin with world and national news fromTownhall News.
The WYSLcall sign was taken from a radio station inBuffalo (the currentWWWS). Management started the new WYSL in January 23, 1987, originally on 1030 kHz.[3] But that frequency required the station to sign off at sunset. So the station moved to 1040 kHz, allowing it to broadcast around the clock.
The station began with anall-news radio format, combining local content with news programming from theAssociated Press. The all-news format ended in 2006 for a number of reasons. First, the Associated Press discontinued its expanded radio services in July 2005. WYSL replaced the network withCNN Headline News, the only other national commercial all-news outlet available. After that, however, Headline News stopped broadcasting news in the evening, switching to talk and reality shows. This left a large hole in the schedule.
As a result, WYSL picked up conservative talk hostsLaura Ingraham andBill O'Reilly, and addedRusty Humphries andJerry Doyle from theTalk Radio Network in the evening, as it transitioned to a News/Talk outlet.
WYSL was affiliated withABC News Radio and theWall Street Journal Radio Network, but switched to theSalem Radio Network for newscasts in 2012. It now airs a different Salem news service,Townhall News.
WYSL increased its daytime power from 2,500 watts to 20,000 watts in November 2006. It operates at reduced power at night to protectclear-channel stationWHO inDes Moines, Iowa.
WYSL continued to transition into a full-timetalk radio station in 2007. Early in 2007, the station added its first local talk show, hosted by local attorney Bill Nojay, as well as picking upDennis Miller in the afternoon drive time slot.Jim Bohannon was added for late evenings, whileJim Quinn's syndicatedThe War Room with Quinn and Rose was picked up in the morning drive, thus eliminating the last "all news" programming block on the station, in October 2007. Nojay's show began syndication in 2008 onWLEA inHornell as well as onWGVA and its numerous simulcasts in theFinger Lakes.
An FM translator, W221CL, went on the air in early 2010 which covers the city of Rochester and portions of Monroe County. The FM station is branded "FM TALK 92.1 WYSL", which simulcasts WYSL 1040 AM.
Owner Robert Savage has been a vocal opponent ofHD Radio technology being used on the AM band, saying it causes interference and unnecessary broadcast delay for minimal gain in quality.[4][5]
He filed a complaint with theFederal Communications Commission over interference caused byWBZ's nighttime HD signal on the adjacent 1030 kHz frequency,[6]
AttorneyBill Nojay hosted a daily hour-long program on WYSL for several years, prior to his election to theNew York State Assembly as well as during his tenure in the legislature. Nojay's show wassyndicated across two other radio stations in upstate New York.
Nojay was still hosting the show when he committed suicide in 2016. Nojay's time slot was filled by Shannon Joy for a time.
Jim Quinn's morning show, in its various incarnations, remained on WYSL until Quinn's death in 2025.[7]
On November 11, 2024, Savage announced that he had struck an agreement to take over programming ofWLEA inHornell, New York in an effort to save that station from being shut down. WLEA and sister stationWCKR had been in financial distress for several years, forcing its owner—the estate of Kevin Doran, who had died in 2015—to sell to Dawn Ichikawa.[8]
42°51′16″N77°42′39″W / 42.85444°N 77.71083°W /42.85444; -77.71083