WGIR (AM)
Encyclopedia
WGIR is a radio station in Manchester, New Hampshire
with a news/talk format
. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications
.
and affiliated with the Blue Network
and its successor, ABC Radio. An FM
sister station on 95.7 MHz was added on December 21, 1947 (plans for an FM station had been in place for seven years); however, FM had a limited audience at the time, and WMUR-FM was shut down December 27, 1950 (the frequency is now occupied by WZID
). A few years later, Murphy decided to apply for a television station
on channel 9, and after competing against applications from WFEA
, WKBR (now WGAM
), and the Manchester Union-Leader, WMUR-TV
signed on March 28, 1954.
Murphy decided to sell the WMUR stations in the mid-1950s, with the Girolimon family acquiring the station in 1956 and changing the call letters to the current WGIR (the WMUR call letters remain on channel 9, which stayed under Murphy's ownership until a few months after his death in 1958). The Girolimons dropped the ABC affiliation soon after taking over, but picked up CBS Radio
in 1957. The Girolimons sold the station to Knight Quality Stations in 1961; around the same time, the station switched to NBC Radio
. Under Knight, the station decided to reenter FM broadcasting, and WGIR-FM
(101.1 FM) signed on June 5, 1963, largely simulcasting the AM station from then until 1977. By 1973, WGIR had a middle-of-the-road format, mixed with some talk and sports
programming, a format it would retain through the decade; the station later evolved its music programming to adult contemporary, and on December 31, 1984, WGIR ended all remaining music programming to become a full-time news/talk station. In 1990, the station swapped affiliations with WFEA and returned to ABC News Radio
.
Knight Quality was sold to Capstar Broadcasting in 1997. In 1998, Capstar rebranded the station as the "Action News Network" to reflect the expansion of its programming to Seacoast
radio stations WZNN (930 AM; renamed WGIN
) and WMYF (1540 AM; renamed WGIP); at the same time, WGIR again dropped ABC and returned to NBC Radio, which was subsequently phased out by Westwood One
in favor of CNN Radio. A few months later, Capstar merged with fellow Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst subsidiary Chancellor Media to form AMFM Broadcasting, which itself announced a merger with Clear Channel Communications several months afterward. For a time, Clear Channel added WGIR programming to a fourth station, WTSL (1400 AM) in Hanover
. Additionally, the station picked up Fox News Radio
in the mid-2000s after Clear Channel signed a larger agreement with the service. WGIP would leave the network in 2009, after it was placed in the Aloha Station Trust and sold off due to the privatization of Clear Channel; that station is now classic hits
-formatted WXEX
. WGIN would also stop carrying WGIR programming in April 2011, converting to a simulcast of the current WMYF
(1380 AM), an all-sports
station. Most of WGIR's syndicated programming (though not its local morning show) remains available on the Seacoast through sister station WQSO
(96.7 FM).
who most recently was host of the White House Brief on iHeartRadio
. Most other weekday programming consists of syndicated programming, including The Glenn Beck Program, The Rush Limbaugh Show
, The Sean Hannity Show
, The Savage Nation
, The Alan Colmes Show
, and Coast to Coast AM
. Weekend programming consists of lifestyle and business programming (including The Kim Komando Show
and Paul Parent Garden Club), as well as best-of editions of weekday programming and the weekend editions of Coast to Coast AM.
WGIR is the flagship station of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats
minor league
baseball team; additionally, WGIR is co-flagship of the Wildcat Sports Network along with sister stations WGIN and WQSO.
Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...
with a news/talk format
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
.
History
WGIR signed on October 2, 1941 as WMUR, owned by former New Hampshire governor Francis P. MurphyFrancis P. Murphy
Francis Parnell Murphy was a manufacturer and politician from Nashua, New Hampshire. He served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives and on the Governor's Council before being twice elected as a Republican Governor.Murphy supported Roosevelt's New Deal policies and switched to the...
and affiliated with the Blue Network
Blue Network
The Blue Network, and its immediate predecessor, the NBC Blue Network, were the on-air names of an American radio production and distribution service from 1927 to 1945...
and its successor, ABC Radio. An FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
sister station on 95.7 MHz was added on December 21, 1947 (plans for an FM station had been in place for seven years); however, FM had a limited audience at the time, and WMUR-FM was shut down December 27, 1950 (the frequency is now occupied by WZID
WZID
WZID is an American radio station located at 500 Commercial Street in Manchester, New Hampshire. Its signal can be heard as far south as Route 128 in Massachusetts, as far east as southern Maine and as far west as Vermont.-History:...
). A few years later, Murphy decided to apply for a television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
on channel 9, and after competing against applications from WFEA
WFEA
-History:WFEA has been broadcasting continuously since 9:00 a.m. on March 1, 1932, making it New Hampshire's oldest radio station. It has always had the same call letters. During its long life, WFEA has had 10 owners. Saga Communications of New England LLC has operated WFEA since April, 1991. Saga...
, WKBR (now WGAM
WGAM
WGAM and WGHM are simulcasting radio stations broadcasting a sports talk format. WGAM is licensed to Manchester, New Hampshire, WGHM to Nashua, New Hampshire, USA. The stations serve southern New Hampshire...
), and the Manchester Union-Leader, WMUR-TV
WMUR-TV
WMUR-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for the state of New Hampshire that is licensed to Manchester. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 9 from a transmitter on the south peak of Mount Uncanoonuc in Goffstown. Owned by Hearst Television, the station has studios...
signed on March 28, 1954.
Murphy decided to sell the WMUR stations in the mid-1950s, with the Girolimon family acquiring the station in 1956 and changing the call letters to the current WGIR (the WMUR call letters remain on channel 9, which stayed under Murphy's ownership until a few months after his death in 1958). The Girolimons dropped the ABC affiliation soon after taking over, but picked up CBS Radio
CBS Radio Network
The CBS Radio Network provides news, sports and other programming to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by CBS Corporation, and operated by CBS Radio ....
in 1957. The Girolimons sold the station to Knight Quality Stations in 1961; around the same time, the station switched to NBC Radio
NBC Red Network
The NBC Red Network was one of the two original radio networks of the National Broadcasting Company. After NBC was required to divest itself of its Blue Network , the Red Network continued as the NBC Radio Network.It, along with the Blue Network, were the first two commercial radio networks in the...
. Under Knight, the station decided to reenter FM broadcasting, and WGIR-FM
WGIR-FM
WGIR-FM is a radio station in Manchester, New Hampshire, airing an active rock format, branded as Rock 101. The station is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications. According to Arbitron, ROCK 101 is currently the #2 rated radio station in the Manchester radio market...
(101.1 FM) signed on June 5, 1963, largely simulcasting the AM station from then until 1977. By 1973, WGIR had a middle-of-the-road format, mixed with some talk and sports
Sports radio
Sports radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A popular format with an almost exclusively male demographic in most areas, sports radio is characterized by an often-boisterous on-air style and extensive debate and analysis by both hosts and...
programming, a format it would retain through the decade; the station later evolved its music programming to adult contemporary, and on December 31, 1984, WGIR ended all remaining music programming to become a full-time news/talk station. In 1990, the station swapped affiliations with WFEA and returned to ABC News Radio
ABC News Radio
ABC News Radio is the radio service of ABC News, a division of the ABC Television Network. Formerly known as ABC Radio News, ABC News Radio feeds, through Cumulus Media Networks, newscasts on the hour to its more than 2,000 affiliates...
.
Knight Quality was sold to Capstar Broadcasting in 1997. In 1998, Capstar rebranded the station as the "Action News Network" to reflect the expansion of its programming to Seacoast
Seacoast Region (New Hampshire)
The Seacoast Region is the southeast area of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The region stretches 18 miles along the Atlantic Ocean from New Hampshire's border with Salisbury, Massachusetts to the Piscataqua River and New Hampshire's border with Kittery, Maine. The shoreline is generally very...
radio stations WZNN (930 AM; renamed WGIN
WGIN
WGIN is a radio station in Rochester, New Hampshire with a Sports radio from ESPN Radio simulcasting WMYF. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications.-History:...
) and WMYF (1540 AM; renamed WGIP); at the same time, WGIR again dropped ABC and returned to NBC Radio, which was subsequently phased out by Westwood One
Westwood One
Westwood One was an American radio network and was based in New York City. At one time, it was managed by CBS Radio, the radio arm of CBS Corporation, and Viacom and was later purchased by the private equity firm The Gores Group...
in favor of CNN Radio. A few months later, Capstar merged with fellow Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst subsidiary Chancellor Media to form AMFM Broadcasting, which itself announced a merger with Clear Channel Communications several months afterward. For a time, Clear Channel added WGIR programming to a fourth station, WTSL (1400 AM) in Hanover
Hanover, New Hampshire
Hanover is a town along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 11,260 at the 2010 census. CNN and Money magazine rated Hanover the sixth best place to live in America in 2011, and the second best in 2007....
. Additionally, the station picked up Fox News Radio
Fox News Radio
Fox News Radio is an American radio network programmed by Fox News Channel.- History :In 2003, Fox News began syndicating one minute radio updates to radio stations via syndication service Westwood One. On June 1, 2005, Fox News Radio employed 60 people and provided five minute newscasts at the top...
in the mid-2000s after Clear Channel signed a larger agreement with the service. WGIP would leave the network in 2009, after it was placed in the Aloha Station Trust and sold off due to the privatization of Clear Channel; that station is now classic hits
Classic hits
Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes rock and pop music from 1964 to 1989. The term is sometimes erroneously used as a synonym for the adult hits format, but is more accurately characterized as a contemporary style of the oldies format...
-formatted WXEX
WXEX
WXEX is a radio station broadcasting a '60s & '70s rock 'n' roll plus Motown music format. It is licensed to Exeter, New Hampshire, USA, and covers the New Hampshire Seacoast region...
. WGIN would also stop carrying WGIR programming in April 2011, converting to a simulcast of the current WMYF
WMYF
WMYF is a radio station broadcasting a sports format. Licensed to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA, the station serves the Portsmouth area. The station is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications and features programing from ESPN Radio....
(1380 AM), an all-sports
Sports radio
Sports radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A popular format with an almost exclusively male demographic in most areas, sports radio is characterized by an often-boisterous on-air style and extensive debate and analysis by both hosts and...
station. Most of WGIR's syndicated programming (though not its local morning show) remains available on the Seacoast through sister station WQSO
WQSO
WQSO is a radio station broadcasting a News Talk format. Licensed to Rochester, New Hampshire, USA, the station serves the Rochester-Portsmouth area. The station is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications. The biggest local programming is the station's morning show, the New Hampshire...
(96.7 FM).
Programming
During morning drive, the station airs a local show hosted by Paul WestcottPaul Westcott
Paul Westcott is an American radio host, conservative political commentator, and blogger. He currently hosts the New Hampshire Insider with Paul Westcott on WGIR & 96.7 the Wave WQSO out of Manchester...
who most recently was host of the White House Brief on iHeartRadio
Iheartradio
iHeartRadio is a Clear Channel Radio network to aggregate local radio brands, personalities and on-demand content. It is best known as a mobile application...
. Most other weekday programming consists of syndicated programming, including The Glenn Beck Program, The Rush Limbaugh Show
The Rush Limbaugh Show
The Rush Limbaugh Show is an American talk radio show hosted by Rush Limbaugh on Premiere Radio Networks...
, The Sean Hannity Show
The Sean Hannity Show
The Sean Hannity Show is a talk radio show hosted by Sean Hannity on Citadel Media and Premiere Radio Networks. The program is broadcast live every weekday, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m...
, The Savage Nation
The Savage Nation
The Savage Nation is an American radio show hosted by conservative commentator Michael Savage on Talk Radio Network. His show is heard by 8-10 million listeners a week and syndicated across the U.S. in over 300 markets, making it the 3rd most listened to radio show in the country...
, The Alan Colmes Show
The Alan Colmes Show
The Alan Colmes Show is a nationally-syndicated American radio show hosted by commentator Alan Colmes on Fox News Radio.The show is aired on weeknights from 10:00 p.m.-1:00 a.m. from Fox's New York City studios...
, and Coast to Coast AM
Coast to Coast AM
Coast to Coast AM is a North American late-night syndicated radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics, but most frequently ones that relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was created by Art Bell and is distributed by Premiere Radio Networks. The program currently...
. Weekend programming consists of lifestyle and business programming (including The Kim Komando Show
The Kim Komando Show
The Kim Komando Show is a commercial talk radio program focusing on personal computers, the use of the Internet, and the complexities of consumer electronics....
and Paul Parent Garden Club), as well as best-of editions of weekday programming and the weekend editions of Coast to Coast AM.
WGIR is the flagship station of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats
New Hampshire Fisher Cats
The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are a minor league baseball team based in Manchester, New Hampshire. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays major-league club....
minor league
Minor league
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities. This term is used in North America with regard to several organizations competing in...
baseball team; additionally, WGIR is co-flagship of the Wildcat Sports Network along with sister stations WGIN and WQSO.