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| Broadcast area | Portland metropolitan area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 560kHz |
| Branding | Newsradio WGAN |
| Programming | |
| Format | News/talk |
| Network | CBS News Radio |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WBAE,WCLZ,WMGX,WPOR,WYNZ,WZAN | |
| History | |
First air date | 1938; 87 years ago (1938) |
Call sign meaning | Guy Gannett Publishing Company (previous owner) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 58544 |
| Class | B |
| Power | 5,000watts |
Transmitter coordinates | 43°41′24.29″N70°19′3.18″W / 43.6900806°N 70.3175500°W /43.6900806; -70.3175500 |
| Translator | 98.5 W253DA (Portland) |
| Repeater | 93.1 WMGX-HD2 (Portland) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | wgan |
WGAN (560AM) is acommercial radio stationlicensed toPortland, Maine. The station is owned by Saga Communications and it airs anews/talkradio format. The station calls itself "Newsradio WGAN AM 560 and FM 98.5" The studios and offices are on Western Avenue inSouth Portland, Maine.
The station is also heard on a 250-wattFMtranslator, 98.5W253DA, which allows listeners who prefer FM radio to hear WGAN in Portland and its close suburbs.[2] In addition, WGAN is heard on theHD2subchannel of co-owned 93.1WMGX. AM 560 broadcasts with 5,000 watts around the clock, covering much ofSouthern Maine and along theMaine Coast up toRockland. Thetransmitter is near theMaine Turnpike off Warren Avenue in Portland.[3] WGAN is Maine's primary entry point station for theEmergency Alert System.
WGAN begins each weekday with a local news and interview show, hosted byMatthew Gagnon. A financial show is heard in late mornings. The rest of the weekday schedule is made up ofnationally syndicatedconservative talk shows from Grace Curley,Boston-basedHowie Carr,Mark Levin,CBS Eye on the World with John Batchelor,Coast to Coast AM withGeorge Noory andThis Morning, America's First News with Gordon Deal.[4]
On weekends, there are shows on money, health, home repair, technology, law, veterans and gardening. Weekend programs includeThe Larry Kudlow Show,The Lars Larson Show,Eye on Travel with Peter Greenberg.The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show,The Hugh Hewitt Show, Sundays with Walter Sterling andRich DeMuro on Tech. Most hours begin with an update fromCBS News Radio, followed by Maine news with local reporters.
WGAN was founded in 1938 byGuy Gannett Publishing, a past owner of thePortland Press Herald daily newspaper.[5] It was Portland's second radio station after 970 WCSH (now co-ownedWZAN) whichsigned on in 1925. WGAN had its studios in the Columbia Hotel and originally broadcast on 640 kHz at 500 watts. It was adaytimer, required to go off the air at sunset in Los Angeles, because it sharedAM 640 withClass I-AKFI, the dominantclear channel station.
WGAN was aCBSNetwork affiliate, carrying its schedule of dramas, comedies, news, sports, soap operas, game shows andbig band broadcasts during the "Golden Age of Radio". After the enactment of theNorth American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA) in 1941, WGAN moved to 560 kHz.[6] It got a power boost to 5,000 watts and could broadcast around the clock.
In 1954, WGAN gained a companion television station, WGAN-TV 13, and in 1967, a co-owned FM station, 102.9 WGAN-FM (nowWBLM). When network programming moved from radio to television, WGAN began airing afull service,middle of the road format of popular music, news and sports.
Until the early 1980s, Gannett's Portland operations owned the major daily newspaper, the CBS television station, 102.9 WGAN-FM and 560 WGAN, two of the city's top radio stations. Channel 13 was later renamedWGME when WGAN-AM-FM were sold to Taylor Communications in 1983. In 1987, WGAN was sold by Taylor to Saga Communications, its present owner. Saga increased the talk programming and decreased the music shows, eventually evolving WGAN to a full time talk format.
On May 27, 2014, WGAN begansimulcasting onFM translator W288CU 105.5 FM, viasister stationWMGX's HD2 subchannel.[7]
On August 22, 2019, WGAN also began simulcasting on FM translator W253DA 98.5 FM.[8] With the new translator on 98.5, the 105.5 translator switched to anoldies format in the fall.
In March 2020, morning co-host Ken Altshuler was fired, followed in April with weekend morning host John McDonald's termination. Altshuler had been with WGAN for 18 years, and McDonald for 25.
| Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | Class | Transmitter coordinates | FCC info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W253DA | 98.5 FM | Portland, Maine | 201994 | 250 | D | 43°41′26.3″N70°19′3.2″W / 43.690639°N 70.317556°W /43.690639; -70.317556 (W253DA) | LMS |