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| Broadcast area | Capital District |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 1300kHz |
| Branding | Talk 1300 AM & 98.7 FM |
| Programming | |
| Format | Talk |
| Network | Townhall Radio News |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Capital Broadcasting, Inc. |
| History | |
First air date | December 3,1961 |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | The initials of the owner's children |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 40768 |
| Class | B |
| Power |
|
| Translator | 98.7 W254DA (Albany) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | talk1300.com |
WGDJ (Talk 1300AM) is acommercialradio stationlicensed toRensselaer, New York, and serving theCapital District. It airs atalk radioformat and is owned and operated by Capital Broadcasting, Inc. Thetransmitter is off River Road (New York State Route 9J) in Rensselaer.[2] Programming is also heard in Albany and Rensselaer on 80-wattFMtranslatorW254DA at 98.7MHz.[3]
WGDJ features local talk hosts in morning and afternoondrive times. Weekdays begin with "The Paul Vandenburgh Show". It is considered the longest running radio talk program in The Capital District. In afternoons, Jack Chatham hosts a local talk program. The rest of the weekday schedule isnationally syndicatedconservative talk shows, includingMark Levin,Brian Kilmeade,Dan Bongino,Guy Benson, Rich Valdes,Red Eye Radio andFirst Light.[4] Weekends feature shows on money, law, guns, home repair, car repair as well as a localswap and trade show. The station also features local news most hours on weekdays, with national updates fromTownhall Radio News. Traffic and weather reports are presented bySpectrum News 1 Capital Region.
On December 3, 1961, WEEE firstsigned on as a 5,000-wattdaytimer radio station.[5] The 1300 kHz frequency allocation was created for another station that was forced off the air a year earlier, 1280 WRSA in nearbySaratoga Springs. WEEE playedcountry music, but always had trouble competing against more powerful and popular WOKO (nowWOPG), the leading country station in the market. In 1970, WEEE was bought by People Communication and became WQBK, initially switching to aTop 40 sound, then trying amiddle of the road. On December 1, 1972, an FMsister station signed on, WQBK-FM at 103.9 MHz, which mostlysimulcast AM 1300, allowing listeners to hear WQBK day and night.[6] After several years, People Communication decided to give the FM station its own separate format,progressive rock.
With the FM station doing its own programming, People Communication moved WQBK to a full-time talk format, using news fromUnited Press International. Then, in 1981, WQBK became a full-time station with 5,000 watts of nighttime power. Now able to stay on the air after sunset, WQBK became theNew York Yankees radionetwork affiliate for the Capital District. With the exception of upstart WWCN from 1985 to 1987, WQBK was the only full-time talk radio station in the Albany area untilWGY and WPTR (laterWDCD, now defunct) moved to that format in the late 1990s. WQBK was the first talk station forTom Leykis early in his career before he left for Miami. Also, market veterans Paul Vandenburgh (later ofWROW, and current morning host at WGDJ) and Tom Mailey (who went on toWRGB) began their careers at the station. The talk format did well even against the larger signaled WPTR and the evolution of WGY to talk.
In 1996, WQBK-AM-FM were sold to Radio Enterprises, Inc., leading to drastic changes for cost savings. All local programming was quickly canceled, many of the staff fired, and sports contracts were terminated including the Yankees, hours before the first pitch ofopening day. The new WQBK ran mostly syndicated programming fromABC Talk Radio andNBC Talknet, using hourly newscasts fromCBS Radio News.[7]
In 1997, Radio Enterprises was purchased byClear Channel Communications (which had owned a minority share). Noticing a steady performance byNew York Citysports radio pioneerWFAN, even in the Albany ratings 150 miles to the north, management decided to flip WQBK to become the first all-sports station in the market. The station took thecall sign WTMM (referring to "Team") and began to acquire a number of play-by-play rights for regional sports teams. In the first year of its new format, much of WTMM's programming came fromOne-on-One Sports. In early 1998, WTMM became an affiliate ofESPN Radio. With the station's launch came the addition of play-by-play ofBuffalo Billsfootball,Albany Firebirdsarena football,College of Saint Rose athletics, andUnion College men'shockey.
The station's biggest acquisition came in 2000 when the station returned to broadcasting New York Yankeesbaseball games, a fixture on the station during its time as WQBK. Later that year,Regent Communications purchased the station after Clear Channel divested several stations in the market and decided to launch its own sports talk station,WOFX. Regent made budget cuts, eliminating most of WTMM's non-ESPN programming including the "Albany Times Union Sports Minute" and all locally based play-by play. The station also lost its own sales staff, leading to commercial breaks being filled withpublic service announcements and ads sold on group deals. Some exceptions came when WTMM and sister stationWABT airedAlbany Conquest arena football games in 2004 and when theAmerican Hockey League'sAlbany River Rats began airing their games on WTMM in 2006.
Regent's moved a new FM station on105.7 MHz into the Albany market, sparking a realignment of its stations. With the new signal taking WABT's format, WTMM's all-sports format was moved to WABT's former home at104.5 MHz. Prior to this move, Regent entered a deal with Greenstone Media to air that company's female-targeted talk radio programs, and in January 2007 the station became WEEV,Eve 1300 AM.[8] However, Greenstone Media went out of business that August, and the station reverted to the WTMM call letters as an AM simulcast of WTMM-FM.[9]
During 2007, Regent Communications began selling many of their smaller market and lower priority stations. Having lost its audience due to theEve experiment, Regent decided to sell WTMM to Capital Broadcasting, Inc., with former WQBK host Paul Vandenburgh serving as its president and general manager. The price was $850,000.[9] On November 26, 2007, Capital Broadcasting took control of the station from Regent and rolled out a talk radio format similar to the old WQBK, emphasizing local shows over nationally syndicated hosts.[10]
Capital Broadcasting initially announced the new call letters for the station would be WCBI.[9] However, Capital Broadcasting was unable to secure permission fromMorris Multimedia, owner ofWCBI-TV inColumbus, Mississippi, to share the WCBI call sign, and on February 14, 2008, the station instead changed its call letters to WGDJ. The call sign's origins are disputed. Claims have been made to it being the initials of former Albany MayorGerald D. Jennings, who had a regularly scheduled program on the station. However, sources at the station say it is actually the initials of the owner's children.[11]
In November 2009, WGDJ boosted its power to 10,000 watts in the daytime and 8,000 watts at night. Also in 2009,Siena College began broadcasting its men'sbasketball games on WGDJ.[12] On February 7, 2013, WGDJ announced that formerHouse of Representatives memberJohn E. Sweeney would host a show on the station. After local outcry and criticism against the station for employing Sweeney, Sweeney would quit the show two weeks later, citing schedule conflicts.[13]
In March 2018, WGDJ addedThe Mark Levin Show to its lineup after the show was dropped by WGY.[14] In 2021, it began airingTheDan Bongino Show after rival station WGY began airing TheClay Travis andBuck Sexton Show.[15] Both shows occupy the same time slot formerly given toThe Rush Limbaugh Show after Limbaugh's death.[16][17]
WGDJ is rebroadcast on the FM band via translator station W254DA.
| Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | HAAT | Class | Transmitter coordinates | FCC info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W254DA | 98.7 FM | Albany, New York | 20922 | 80 | 0 m (0 ft) | D | 42°47′9.3″N73°37′41.4″W / 42.785917°N 73.628167°W /42.785917; -73.628167 | LMS |
42°35′23″N73°44′37″W / 42.58972°N 73.74361°W /42.58972; -73.74361