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WHAS (AM)
Encyclopedia
WHAS, known by the on air branding as "84 WHAS", is an AM radio station broadcasting in Louisville, Kentucky
. It is a 50,000 Watt
clear channel radio station assigned to frequency 840 kHz. With clear channel status, its nighttime signal can be heard in most of the continental U.S.
and much of Canada
, and even in other countries at times.
On May 16, 1925, the first live broadcast of the Kentucky Derby
was originated by WHAS and was also carried by WGN
in Chicago. The call of the Derby featured an announcer who watched from the windows of one of the famous twin spires of Churchill Downs
.
During the 1937 Flood
the station aired 115,000 messages. On March 29, 1941 the station moved to its current frequency of 840 AM. On March 30, 1970 WHAS began 24-hour operation.
The station was originally part of the local media empire ruled by the Bingham family
, which also published Louisville Courier-Journal
(now owned by Gannett
) and operated television station WHAS-TV
(now owned by Belo
), originally a CBS
affiliate, now with ABC
. WHAS Radio is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications
The station has been broadcasting on a full time basis in the IBOC digital radio
mode, using the HD Radio
system from iBiquity
, since September 2007 after an initial testing period which started in 2006. Prior to 1995, WHAS broadcast in C-QUAM
AM stereo
.
's American Top 40
. The station continued to feature a full-service Hot AC format through the 1980s (and was the last 50 kW AM station with a full time AC format), and by 1995, most of the remaining music programming was oldies-based; this made WHAS one of the last 50,000-watt clear-channel radio stations to feature music programming on a regular basis.
Today the station features The Rush Limbaugh Show
on its daily lineup. Some other personalities on the weekday lineup include Terry Meiners
on "Terry Meiners and Company" and Lachlan McLean
on "Sports Talk 84". Francene Cucinello hosted "The Francene Show" until her death on January 15, 2010; she was replaced that summer by Mandy Connell.
Weekend programming includes The Dave Ramsey
Show and The Mutual Fund Show with Adam Bold
.
WHAS is Louisville's home for University of Kentucky
athletic broadcasts, carrying Wildcats
football and men's basketball games. Previously, it had been the flagship for Louisville Cardinals
football and basketball.
telethon. The station also broadcasts The Moral Side of the News, one of the oldest public affairs programs in American broadcasting, dating back to the 1940s. The show has also been shown on WHAS-TV since the 1950s. The show's panel of clergy
members have been involved in distributing the proceeds of the Crusade for Children among local charities since the telethon's beginning.
WHAS radio has solidifed its reputation over the years as a leader in coverage of crisis situations, particularly severe weather.
During the flood of 1937
, the station gained nationwide notice for its coverage of the disaster, which included broadcasting Louisville flood bulletins over the facilities of WSM
in Nashville
after Lousiville authorities were forced to cut electrical power to the city because of the rising flood waters (thus forcing WHAS' own signal off the air).
On the afternoon of April 3, 1974, Louisville was hit by an F4 tornado that developed during the "Super Outbreak
". WHAS broke away from regular programming to track the storm as it passed through the Louisville metropolitan area. In the hours immediately following the storm, the station delivered important information about what areas had been directly impacted by the storms, and traffic reporter Dick Gilbert followed the tornado in his helicopter, reporting on the damage as he flew at a safe distance behind the storm. The station stayed with continuous coverage of the disaster in Louisville and across the state of Kentucky and the southern portion of Indiana until well into the early morning hours of April 4. For their efforts, the station's personnel earned thanks from then-Kentucky Governor Wendell Ford and President Richard Nixon
.
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
. It is a 50,000 Watt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
clear channel radio station assigned to frequency 840 kHz. With clear channel status, its nighttime signal can be heard in most of the continental U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and much of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and even in other countries at times.
History
Its first broadcast was on July 18, 1922. It was originally assigned the frequency of 350 kHz.On May 16, 1925, the first live broadcast of the Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
was originated by WHAS and was also carried by WGN
WGN (AM)
WGN is a radio station in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It is the only radio station owned by the Tribune Company, which also owns the flagship television station WGN-TV, the Chicago Tribune newspaper and Chicago magazine locally. WGN's transmitter is located in Elk Grove Village, Illinois...
in Chicago. The call of the Derby featured an announcer who watched from the windows of one of the famous twin spires of Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs, located in Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, is a Thoroughbred racetrack most famous for hosting the Kentucky Derby annually. It officially opened in 1875, and held the first Kentucky Derby and the first Kentucky Oaks in the same year. Churchill Downs...
.
During the 1937 Flood
Ohio River flood of 1937
The Ohio River flood of 1937 took place in late January and February 1937. With damage stretching from Pittsburgh to Cairo, Illinois, one million persons were left homeless, with 385 dead and property losses reaching $500 million...
the station aired 115,000 messages. On March 29, 1941 the station moved to its current frequency of 840 AM. On March 30, 1970 WHAS began 24-hour operation.
The station was originally part of the local media empire ruled by the Bingham family
Barry Bingham, Sr.
George Barry Bingham, Sr., CBE, was the patriarch of a family that dominated local media in Louisville for several decades in the 20th century....
, which also published Louisville Courier-Journal
The Courier-Journal
The Courier-Journal, locally called "The C-J", is the main newspaper for the city of Louisville, Kentucky, USA. According to the 1999 Editor & Publisher International Yearbook, the paper is the 48th largest daily paper in the United States and the single largest in Kentucky.- Origins :The...
(now owned by Gannett
Gannett Company
Gannett Company, Inc. is a publicly-traded media holding company headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia, United States, near McLean. It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation. Its assets include the national newspaper USA Today and the weekly USA Weekend...
) and operated television station WHAS-TV
WHAS-TV
WHAS-TV channel 11 is the ABC affiliated television station in Louisville, Kentucky. Owned by Belo Corporation, the station's transmitter is located in Floyd County, Indiana, near the community of Floyds Knobs...
(now owned by Belo
Belo
Belo Corp. is a Dallas-based media company that owns 20 commercial broadcasting television stations and two regional 24-hour cable news television channels. The company was previously known as A.H. Belo Corp. after one of the early owners of the company, Alfred Horatio Belo, now the name of the...
), originally a CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
affiliate, now with ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. WHAS Radio is currently 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...
The station has been broadcasting on a full time basis in the IBOC digital radio
Digital radio
Digital radio has several meanings:1. Today the most common meaning is digital radio broadcasting technologies, such as the digital audio broadcasting system, also known as Eureka 147. In these systems, the analog audio signal is digitized into zeros and ones, compressed using formats such as...
mode, using the HD Radio
HD Radio
HD Radio, which originally stood for "Hybrid Digital", is the trademark for iBiquity's in-band on-channel digital radio technology used by AM and FM radio stations to transmit audio and data via a digital signal in conjunction with their analog signals...
system from iBiquity
IBiquity
iBiquity Digital Corporation is a company formed by the merger of USA Digital Radio and Lucent Digital Radio, with the goal of creating an in-band on-channel digital radio system for the United States and around the world...
, since September 2007 after an initial testing period which started in 2006. Prior to 1995, WHAS broadcast in C-QUAM
C-QUAM
C-QUAM is the method of AM stereo broadcasting used in Canada, the United States and most other countries. It was invented in 1977 by Norman Parker, Francis Hilbert, and Yoshio Sakaie, and published in an IEEE journal....
AM stereo
AM stereo
AM stereo is a term given to a series of mutually incompatible techniques for wireless radio broadcasting stereo audio in the AM band in a manner that is compatible with standard AM receivers...
.
Programming
WHAS modernized in the early 1970s from an old-line MOR music outlet into an early form of Hot Adult Contemporary music format, featuring adult-appeal Top 40 hits and rock oldies; one longtime slogan was "Good and Gold" (as in "good music", or adult contemporary, and "golden" oldies). For a time in the 1980s, it was also the Louisville affiliate for Casey KasemCasey Kasem
Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem is an American radio personality and voice actor who is best known for being the host of the nationally syndicated Top 40 countdown show American Top 40, and for voicing Shaggy in the popular Saturday morning cartoon franchise Scooby-Doo.Kasem, along with Don Bustany and...
's American Top 40
American Top 40
American Top 40 is an internationally syndicated, independent radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds and Ron Jacobs. Originally a production of Watermark Inc...
. The station continued to feature a full-service Hot AC format through the 1980s (and was the last 50 kW AM station with a full time AC format), and by 1995, most of the remaining music programming was oldies-based; this made WHAS one of the last 50,000-watt clear-channel radio stations to feature music programming on a regular basis.
Today the station features 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...
on its daily lineup. Some other personalities on the weekday lineup include Terry Meiners
Terry Meiners
Terry Allen Meiners, born January 22, 1957, is an American radio and television personality on WHAS and WHAS-TV in Louisville, Kentucky. On radio, The Terry Meiners Show has aired weekday afternoons from 3-7 since 1985...
on "Terry Meiners and Company" and Lachlan McLean
Lachlan McLean
Lachlan McLean has been host of "SportsTalk84" on WHAS-AM radio in Louisville, Kentucky since July 2004. The show airs from 7-9pm ET and is the top-rated sports radio talk show in Louisville...
on "Sports Talk 84". Francene Cucinello hosted "The Francene Show" until her death on January 15, 2010; she was replaced that summer by Mandy Connell.
Weekend programming includes The Dave Ramsey
Dave Ramsey
David L. Ramsey III is an American financial author, radio host, television personality, and motivational speaker.Ramsey's syndicated radio program The Dave Ramsey Show is promoted with a tagline that "It's about your life and your money," and it is heard on over 450 radio stations throughout the...
Show and The Mutual Fund Show with Adam Bold
Adam Bold
Adam Bold is an American author and businessman. He is the founder and minority shareholder of The Mutual Fund Store, and host of The Mutual Fund Show, a national weekly talk radio show focused on actively managed mutual fund investments...
.
WHAS is Louisville's home for University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
athletic broadcasts, carrying Wildcats
Kentucky Wildcats
The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky , a founding member of the Southeastern Conference...
football and men's basketball games. Previously, it had been the flagship for Louisville Cardinals
Louisville Cardinals
The Louisville Cardinals are the athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. A member of the Big East Conference since 2005, they are known nationally as traditional powers in men's basketball, women's volleyball, and dance team...
football and basketball.
Public service
WHAS is the flagship radio station of the annual WHAS Crusade for ChildrenWHAS Crusade for Children
The WHAS Crusade for Children is an annual telethon broadcast by WHAS-TV and WHAS Radio in Louisville, Kentucky. The telethon benefits a wide range of children's charities throughout Kentucky and southern Indiana....
telethon. The station also broadcasts The Moral Side of the News, one of the oldest public affairs programs in American broadcasting, dating back to the 1940s. The show has also been shown on WHAS-TV since the 1950s. The show's panel of clergy
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
members have been involved in distributing the proceeds of the Crusade for Children among local charities since the telethon's beginning.
WHAS radio has solidifed its reputation over the years as a leader in coverage of crisis situations, particularly severe weather.
During the flood of 1937
Ohio River flood of 1937
The Ohio River flood of 1937 took place in late January and February 1937. With damage stretching from Pittsburgh to Cairo, Illinois, one million persons were left homeless, with 385 dead and property losses reaching $500 million...
, the station gained nationwide notice for its coverage of the disaster, which included broadcasting Louisville flood bulletins over the facilities of WSM
WSM (AM)
WSM is the callsign of a 50,000 watt AM radio station located in Nashville, Tennessee. Operating at 650 kHz, its clear channel signal can reach much of North America and various countries, especially late at night...
in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
after Lousiville authorities were forced to cut electrical power to the city because of the rising flood waters (thus forcing WHAS' own signal off the air).
On the afternoon of April 3, 1974, Louisville was hit by an F4 tornado that developed during the "Super Outbreak
Super Outbreak
The Super Outbreak is the second largest tornado outbreak on record for a single 24-hour period, just behind the tornado outbreak of April 25–28, 2011...
". WHAS broke away from regular programming to track the storm as it passed through the Louisville metropolitan area. In the hours immediately following the storm, the station delivered important information about what areas had been directly impacted by the storms, and traffic reporter Dick Gilbert followed the tornado in his helicopter, reporting on the damage as he flew at a safe distance behind the storm. The station stayed with continuous coverage of the disaster in Louisville and across the state of Kentucky and the southern portion of Indiana until well into the early morning hours of April 4. For their efforts, the station's personnel earned thanks from then-Kentucky Governor Wendell Ford and President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
.
Notable WHAS alumni
- Randy AtcherRandy AtcherRandall "Randy" Atcher was an American country musician.Atcher was born in Tip Top, Kentucky, the fifth in a family of eight. Soon after his birth his family moved to North Dakota, and then back to Kentucky when he was twelve. As a high schooler, Atcher played guitar and mandolin on WHAS radio in...
, children's host, cowboy singer - Beth Andrews, meteorologist
- Foster BrooksFoster BrooksFoster Brooks was an American actor and comedian most famous for his portrayal of a lovable drunken man in nightclub performances and television programs.-Biography:...
- Gary BurbankGary BurbankGary Burbank is an American radio personality. He was heard daily on WLW in Cincinnati, Ohio, from June 15, 1981 until December 21, 2007, when he signed off for the last time.-Career in Radio:...
, afternoon DJ - Joe Donovan, overnight "oldies" DJ
- Dr. Stan Frager
- Dick Gilbert, traffic reporter
- Cawood LedfordCawood LedfordCawood Ledford was a longtime radio play-by-play announcer for the University of Kentucky basketball and football teams...
, sports - Doug McElvein DJ/talk show host
- Don McNeillDon McNeill (performer)Don McNeill was an American radio personality, best known as the creator and host of The Breakfast Club, which ran for more than 30 years.-Early career:...
, national morning radio host - Milton MetzMilton MetzMilton Metz is a retired American radio and television personality in Louisville, Kentucky. He still does commercial work for local radio and television stations....
, talk show host - Jane Norris, talk show host
- Wayne Perkey, morning DJ
- Gary RizzoGary RizzoGary Rizzo is an American sound engineer. He has won an Academy Award for Best Sound and has been nominated for another two in the same category...
, meteorologist - Ken Schulz, morning meteorologist
- Hugh SmithHugh Smith (news anchor)Hugh Smith was a reporter, news anchor, and news director at WTVT in Tampa, Florida, from 1963 until his retirement in 1991...
- Chuck Taylor, meteorologist
- Fred Wiche, farm reporter
- Reed Yadon, meteorologist
- John ZieglerJohn Ziegler (talk show host)John Ziegler is a conservative radio talk show host turned documentary film writer/director.Ziegler's most prominent work in radio has been as the evening host of a radio talk show called The John Ziegler Show on KFI AM 640 in Los Angeles, California from January 12, 2004 until November 13, 2007...