WGBB is an AM radio station licensed by the FCC in Freeport, New York

Freeport, New York

Freeport is a village in the town of Hempstead, Nassau County, New York, USA, on the South Shore of Long Island. The population was 42,860 at the 2010 census. A settlement since the 1640s, it was once an oystering community and later a resort popular with the New York City theater community...

. It is located at 1240 kHz on the AM dial.

History

WGBB has been serving the Long Island

Long Island

Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...

 area since 1924. WGBB serves western Suffolk

Suffolk County, New York

Suffolk County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York on the eastern portion of Long Island. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,493,350. It was named for the county of Suffolk in England, from which its earliest settlers came...

, Nassau

Nassau County, New York

Nassau County is a suburban county on Long Island, east of New York City in the U.S. state of New York, within the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,339,532...

, Queens

Queens

Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....

, Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

 and parts of New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

.It was founded and managed by Harry H. Carman and started broadcasting as a daytime only station with 100 watts of power until the 1950's. The original tower still stands and transmits in Freeport, Long Island. The original studio was located in a loft on Main street, Freeport, half a block from the Long Island Railroad station and the old Freeport Hotel. After Mr. Carman's passing in 1954 from an automobile accident, the station changed ownership many times and so did the formats and studio locations. From 1966 to the late 1980's, the studios were located at 1240 Broadcast Plaza, Merrick

Merrick, New York

Merrick is a hamlet in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, USA. As of the 2010 census, the CDP population was 22,097. The name "Merrick" is taken from Meroke, the name of the Algonquian tribe formerly indigenous to the area...

, Long Island.

The station features a blend of specialty programming for multicultural audiences. WGBB broadcasts in several languages, although most frequently in English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 and Chinese. The station's mailing address is located in West Babylon, New York

West Babylon, New York

West Babylon is a census-designated place in the town of Babylon in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 43,452 at the 2000 census.-Geography:West Babylon is located at ....

, while the FCC query information says its mailing address is in Flushing, New York. This is because in July 2003, WGBB moved its studio location to West Babylon. The Chinese Radio Network, which airs weekdays from 6 a.m.–6 p.m., is based in Flushing. One of the first Long Island or New York City radio stations to regularly offer live streaming

Streaming media

Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...

 broadcasts on their website, WGBB began offering its 'webcast' on their current website shortly after moving to their current studios in 2003. As one of the areas oldest radio stations, WGBB has many alumni, including the late Bob Lawrence

Bob Lawrence

Robert Andrew "Bob" Lawrence was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played in one game for the Chicago White Sox on July 19, . He pitched in inning, allowing one hit, one earned run, and one walk.-External links:...

, Dave Vieser, Ted David, Buddy Carr (Tom Bigby), Mike Sullivan, Gary Berkowitz

Gary Berkowitz

Gary Berkowitz is an American Radio Broadcast Consultant based in Detroit, Michigan.Originally from Oceanside, NY, he attended Emerson College in Boston, MA where he received a B.A. in Speech and Communications....

, Dave Lefkowitz (of Dave's Gone By

Dave's Gone By

Dave's Gone By is a humorous talk program that currently airs weekly, Saturdays, 10am-1pm, on UNC Radio , the radio station of the University of Northern Colorado. A mix of comedy, talk, music and interviews, the program continues to be produced and hosted by its founder, David Lefkowitz. From...

), Dick Springfield, Al Case, Gary Nolan

Gary Nolan (radio host)

Gary Nolan is an American talk radio host and a former candidate for the Libertarian Party nomination for President of the United States....

, Drew Scott, Gary McFarlane, Dennis Falcone, Mark Alan Biggshttp://www.linkedin.com/in/mabiggs, Ray Rayner

Ray Rayner

Ray Rayner was a staple of Chicago children's television in the 1960s and 1970s on WGN-TV.-Early life:...

 and others.

From January 22, 1988 until April 15, 1991 WGBB was known by the call sign WBAB

WBAB

WBAB is a rock radio station on Long Island. Located at 102.3 FM, the station is licensed to Babylon, New York and is owned by Cox Radio. The station is also simulcast on WHFM 95.3 FM in eastern Suffolk County. Both WBAB's 102.3 and WHFM's 95.3 signals are broadcast in HD. The station also streams...

.

Programming

WGBB broadcasts an eclectic mix of programming and has helped to launch the careers of many. Some of the programs that can be heard on WGBB include:Rich Johnson's The Fishing Line the region's voice for fishing. Mickey B's Jukebox Review has played the best in Doo Wop and street corner harmonies since before Long Island had an FM oldies station. Manos Gallanis' Hellenic Harmonies the voice of the Greek community. The Joyce Keller Show is one of the longest running new age programs on radio. Other great programs include The Wizard of Is, OFF THE TOP Radio, STMS and Sports Radio NY . WGBB has offered an eclectic mix of sports, comedy, talk and music for nearly two decades.

External links

• WGBB Website
• Chinese Radio Network on WGBB