 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "WCMF-FM" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(April 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 | |
| Broadcast area | Rochester metro area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 96.5MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 96.5 WCMF |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Classic rock |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | June 9, 1960; 65 years ago (1960-06-09)[1] |
Former call signs | WCMF (1960–1993) |
Call sign meaning | Community Music Federation |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 1905 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 48,000 watts |
| HAAT | 142 meters (466 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 43°08′06″N77°35′06″W / 43.135°N 77.585°W /43.135; -77.585 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (via Audacy) |
| Website | www |
WCMF-FM (96.5MHz) is a radio station located in theRochester, New York, area. Its transmitter is located on Pinnacle Hill inBrighton, Monroe County, while its studios are located at High Falls Studios in downtown Rochester.
WCMF is aheritageclassic rock station in the Rochester area.
WCMF was originally owned by Community Music Service, Inc., hence the "CM" in its call letters. In 1968, the station was owned by a handful of Rochester locals. Several were engineers atGeneral Dynamics, including a lawyer from Harris Beech Wilcox. The station had a mish-mash of formats fromCandlelight & Wine in the morning hosted by Bill Rund, to hard underground rock hosted by Bob Drake (Francati). On Friday evening, a local attorney hosted a very popular jazz show. The owners were not broadcasters and the station was searching for identity. In 1968, the format was flipped into R&B from 6a.m. to 3p.m. and underground rock from 3p.m. to sign off at midnight.
The station later flipped toalbum-oriented rock, then to the classic rock format it holds to this day. WCMF's major claim to fame from the late 1980s until the late 2000s was its highly rated morning showThe Brother Wease Morning Circus, hosted by Alan Levin, better known asBrother Wease, who was joined over the years by various co-hosts who later went on to national radio success includingStephanie Miller who was known as Sister Sleaze on the show, andGregg Hughes better known by his radio name Opie who started in the promotions department at the staion.[3][4] Levin was forced out of that show and the station in January 2008 when his contract ran out as the station was being sold from theCBS radio group toEntercom Communications.[5] Levin and officials from station owner Entercom Communications tried but failed to negotiate a new contract.[6] His co-hosts remained and took over the show, which was renamedThe Break Room and continues today, and Levin moved toWAIO, where he started a new morning show that he hosted until 2025.
WCMF is the Rochester affiliate of theBuffalo Bills Radio Network, and theBuffalo Sabres Radio Network.
  | This article about a radio station in New York is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |