WFAN (AM)

For other uses, see WFAN (AM) (disambiguation).

WFAN

File:Wfanlogo.jpg
New York City
Broadcast area	New York City area
Frequency	660 kHz AM (HD Radio)
Branding	Sports Radio 66 The Fan
Programming
Format	Commercial; Sports
Ownership
Owner	CBS Radio
Sister stations	WCBS, WCBS-FM, WINS, WWFS, WXRK
History
First air date	March 2, 1922 (as WEAF)
Former call signs	WEAF (1922-1946) WNBC (1946-1954 and 1960-1988) WRCA (1954-1960)
Call sign meaning	the word fan
Technical information
Class	A
Power	50,000 watts
Links
Webcast	Listen Live!
Website	wfan.com

WFAN (660 kHz), often referred to as "Sports Radio 66" or "The FAN", is a radio station in New York City. The station broadcasts on a clear channel and is owned by CBS Radio. Its studios are located within the Kaufman-Astoria Studios complex in the Astoria section of Queens, New York, and the transmitter is located on High Island in the Bronx, New York.

WFAN pioneered, and has been one of the most successful examples of, the sports radio format. Over the years, WFAN has been the broadcast home to several big names in the world of radio, including the sports-talk team of Mike and the Mad Dog (Mike Francesa and Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo) and the comedian/shock jock/political commentator Don Imus, whose Imus in the Morning program was nationally syndicated.

The 660 AM frequency in New York had a long history as WNBC prior to this format, which was the flagship station of the historic NBC Radio Network, and later was a local station with a tumultuous programming history.

NBC network radio

In 1922 AT&T Western Electric began broadcasting as WEAF (supposedly the call letters stood for Western Electric AT&T Fone), although another meaning was given as Water, Earth, Air, and Fire (the 4 classical elements).

Another story is that the licensee didn't like the originally assigned call letters, WDAM, and the FCC assigned the next available callsign in alphabetical order.

In 1922, WEAF ran the first radio advertisement which promoted an apartment development in Jackson Heights near a new elevated train line, (the IRT's Flushing-Corona line, now the number 7 line).

It was acquired in 1926 by NBC as the flagship station of the NBC Radio Network (later the NBC Red Network), and moved to 660 kHz in 1928. The station's call letters were changed to WNBC in 1946, then to WRCA in 1954, and back to WNBC in 1960.

See NBC Radio Network for network programming during this time.

WNBC local programming

Main article: WNBC (AM)

1960s

By the early 1960s the station switched from NBC network programs to more local-oriented programs. In 1964 they adopted a talk format, the first in New York radio. Hosts included genial morning-drive companion Big Wilson, Tonight Show announcer Ed McMahon, New York-based actor Robert Alda, NBC Radio comedian/satirist Mort Sahl, the witty mid-morning game-show host ("Fortune Phone") Sterling Yates, late-morning talk radio provocateur Joe Pyne, midday voices Lee Leonard and later Jim Gearhart, sports talk host Bill Mazer, plus late-nighters Brad Crandall (later of NFL Films) and Long John Nebel.

On weekends, WNBC aired almost all of the NBC Radio Network's Monitor program, which featured many of WNBC's own hosts as well as the already established lineup holding court at NBC's Radio Central (Gene Rayburn, Henry Morgan, Bill Cullen, David Wayne, Kitty Carlisle and Wayne Howell).

Later in the decade WNBC shed its "Conversation Station" format and readopted a middle-of-the-road (MOR) music format, covering songs from the 1940s to the 1960s with non-rock and soft rock hits recorded after 1955. The format would feature such artists as Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Nat "King" Cole, the Everly Brothers, Tom Jones, the Fifth Dimension, Peggy Lee, and Dionne Warwick. Hosts during this transition back to music included Wilson, Jack Spector (formerly of WMCA), Jack Hayes, Charlie Brown and later Ted Brown, hired away from then-dominant standards/MOR station WNEW. Well-known MOR host and vocalist Jim Lowe joined WNBC for a time during one of his many shuttles to and from WNEW. By 1971, music from such acts as Sinatra and Cole would disappear, separating WNBC from its WNEW-like beginnings.

1970s

Don Imus was hired in December 1971, giving New York its first exposure to the shock jock genre. Imus stayed with the station for most of the next two decades, except for a couple of years in the late 1970s when there was a general purge of the air staff.

Despite somewhat different formats, WNBC saw itself as a mostly unsuccessful competitor to New York Top 40 powerhouse WABC. Thus they brought in Murray "the K" Kaufman in 1972, and Wolfman Jack opposite WABC's Bruce "Cousin Brucie" Morrow in 1973. This did not improve ratings much.

By 1973, WNBC was an Adult Contemporary radio station featuring the Carpenters, Carole King, the Stylistics, Neil Diamond, James Taylor, and other artists of that era. They also began to play more 1960s-era rock and roll oldies at that point.

Ted Brown would leave in the early 1970s and return to WNEW. In 1974, WNBC hired Bruce Morrow away from WABC. Norm N. Nite arrived from WCBS-FM in 1975, as did Joe McCoy in 1976. The ratings were still mediocre.

By 1975, WNBC was playing an Adult Top 40 format and competing with WXLO. They featured hits from 1964 to what was then current product. Unfortunately, most of the playlist decisions were mediocre at best.

In 1977, Bob Pittman was hired as WNBC's new Program Director. His first decision was to lay-off most of the station's veteran personalities (including Don Imus, Cousin Brucie, Norm N. Nite and Joe McCoy), replacing them with younger-sounding disc jockeys. He also shifted the format to mainstream Top 40, with occasional nods to FM radio (such as commercial-free hours). As a result of this tweaking, the station was now playing artists such as Andy Gibb, KC & the Sunshine Band, Boston, Peter Frampton, Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, Billy Joel, the Bee Gees, and others. However, listenership did not go up substantially, and while some of the new air personalities would find success (Johnny Dark, Frank Reed, and Allen Beebe would be heard on the station well into the 1980s), others would not (Ellie Dylan, who replaced Imus in morning drive, would be gone within months), and by mid-1979 Pittman would leave WNBC (he would soon become the founder of MTV) and Don Imus returned from a brief stint in Cleveland to host the morning show. WNBC's playlist was tweaked back to an Adult top 40 format, though ratings continued to be mediocre.

1980s

In 1981 WABC added evening talk and evolved musically to adult contemporary. WNBC followed suit with the music (but did not add evening talk), moving to a similar AC format to sister station WYNY. WNBC adopted as its slogan "The Next One", meaning that it would be the number-one ranked station in New York City. As part of that slogan, the commercials would say "We're #2". When an Arbitron report was released that WNBC believed confirmed that it was in fact the most popular radio station in New York City, the slogan was changed to "The New One". Once WABC moved to all talk, WNBC added a few rock songs that were not heard on any AC stations in the area. By summer 1982, WNBC was near the top with some of their best ratings ever.

In fall 1982 to much fanfare, Howard Stern was brought in from WWDC-FM in Washington, D.C., to do afternoon drive. Initially Stern played music (about 10 to 12 songs an hour), much to his dismay, though his ratings were high. Then, in 1983 with ABC-owned WPLJ evolving to a Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR) format, as well as WHTZ's debut with the same format, WNBC began to lose some listeners. In 1984 Stern cut down to four songs an hour and began to talk much more. That fall former children's television show host Soupy Sales started a talk-intensive program in middays.

Throughout his three years at WNBC, Stern had continuous battles with station management and other jocks at the station, specifically Don Imus. Much of these conflicts were dramatized in Stern's autobiographical book and film Private Parts which included an amusing scene where he is instructed by program director Kevin Metheny (referred to in the film as "Kenny" or "Pig Vomit", and played by Paul Giamatti) on the preferred "W-ehhNNN-B-C" pronunciation of the station's call letters.

By early 1985, WNBC had evolved to more of a full service AC station, with music as a background and personality as the foreground. On weekends they became oldies-based, emphasizing 1960s oldies while still playing current product in moderation; they were basically out of the Top 40/CHR realm by then. Their younger audience base had already gone to WHTZ or WPLJ, but with Stern in afternoons and Imus in the morning they continued to do reasonably well.

On September 30, 1985, Howard Stern was terminated abruptly after a series of outrageous bits and listener complaints. In Private Parts, Stern detailed how WNBC management expected that his last day would be September 26, and that Stern would not go in to work on September 27 due to Hurricane Gloria. However, Stern went in, and because there was no station management on hand, Stern did his show as normal.

File:Wnbc.gif

The final WNBC logo, used from 1986 to 1988.

After Stern's dismissal, ratings plummeted and they were under a two-share by 1986. Initially they played a bit more music and then went through several afternoon shows like Joey Reynolds, Bill Grundfest, and Alan Colmes. Soupy Sales then left. With radiocasts of the New York Knicks and New York Rangers already on the schedule, WNBC added sports talk in the evenings, as well as bringing back Wolfman Jack on overnights on a syndicated show before his untimely death. But despite these changes, by the fall of 1986 WNBC was in a ratings crisis.

On the afternoon of October 22, 1986, the station's "N-Copter" traffic helicopter crashed into the Hudson River killing traffic reporter Jane Dornacker and severely injuring pilot Bill Pate. As millions of WNBC listeners heard Dornacker giving her traffic report she suddenly paused, a grinding noise could be heard in the background and Dornacker screaming in terror "Hit the water! Hit the water! Hit the water!", then the radio transmission was cut off and a very shaken radio host Joey Reynolds awkwardly tried to figure out what had happened by saying "Okay, we're going to play some, uh, some music here, I think." Dornacker had recently gotten back to flying in a helicopter after surviving a previous crash of the N-Copter into the Hackensack River in New Jersey a few months earlier. An episode of NBC's television show Third Watch featured a similar incident (although it may have been more of a reference to the crash of WNBC-TV's helicopter, which crashed into the Passaic River in New Jersey over a decade later, with no deaths).

In the summer of 1987, WNBC modified their format, keeping Imus in the morning playing a few AC cuts and a couple oldies an hour with his usual talk. Ray D'Ariano (Soupy Sales' former cohost) played oldies during middays, and Alan Colmes hosted an afternoon drive talk show. In evenings, Dave Sims held court with sports talk along with Knicks/Rangers games. Big Jay Sorensen hosted overnights with The Time Machine, an oldies (1955-74) show complete with old jingles and an echo effect, resulting in a sound similar to WABC's during its Top 40 heyday. The Time Machine was also heard on weekends with hosts Dan Taylor, The Real Bob James, Jim Collins, Dale Parsons and others.

The beginning of WFAN and the end of WNBC: 1987-1988

On July 1, 1987, Emmis Communications-owned WFAN signed on at 1050 kHz, replacing country music station WHN, and billing itself as the world's first 24-hour-per-day sports talk station. The first voice heard on WFAN was that of Suzyn Waldman with a sports update at 3:00 p.m., followed by the first show, which was hosted by Jim Lampley. Waldman would report for the station, covering the Yankees and Knicks, for 14 years. Other personalities that hosted shows besides Lampley in the 1050 kHz years included Bill Mazer, Pete Franklin, Greg Gumbel and Ed Coleman. WFAN also inherited broadcast rights to the defending World Series champion New York Mets from WHN, who had held the rights for several years.

In early 1988 General Electric, which now owned NBC through its purchase of RCA two years earlier, announced that it would sell off the NBC Radio division. In February of that year GE made a multi-station deal with Emmis and, in New York, the WNBC license for 660 was included in the sale. On October 7, 1988 at 5:30 p.m., WFAN moved down the radio dial to replace WNBC at 660 kHz, which at 50 kilowatts (or 50,000 watts) has a much stronger signal. The last voice heard on WNBC was that of Alan Colmes, who counted down the seconds to WNBC's demise with the legendary NBC chimes (the notes G-E-C) playing in the background. After 66 years, the long history of NBC radio in New York had come to an end.

In the complicated switch that saw WFAN move to the 660 frequency, the 1050 frequency that was formerly the home of WFAN became that of Spanish-language WUKQ, owned by Spanish Broadcasting System. However, SBS already owned an AM station in the market, Newark-based WSKQ at 620 kHz, and in those days FCC rules stipulated that companies could own only one AM station per market. As a result, SBS received a temporary waiver to run 1050 while exploring the sale of either AM frequency. SBS chose to keep 620 (it is now WSNR), and 1050 was traded to Forward Communications, which owned WEVD, then at 97.9 FM. After that deal was approved, WEVD's call letters and programming moved to 1050 AM (it is now WEPN and ironically a sports station), and SBS took over 97.9 as WSKQ-FM. The October NBC-Emmis switch also saw Emmis's WQHT (then at 103.5 MHz.) move to 97.1 MHz., which had been the home of NBC's WYNY. Emmis sold the 103.5 frequency to Westwood One, who also acquired the WYNY call letters and its country music format.

In all this, WFAN retired two of the oldest radio call letters from the dawn of commercial radio: WHN and WNBC.

WFAN

Early history

One of the keys to WFAN's early success on 660 was acquiring Don Imus to do the morning show. WFAN's original morning show on 1050 was hosted by Greg Gumbel. The show was a straight-forward sports show (not dis-similar to Mike and Mike in the Morning currently on ESPN Radio), but was not doing well in the ratings. At the time of the switch, sports talk radio was still an untested format with questionable prospects, and the idea of bringing on board a host that appealed to a broader audience would get more people to try the station out. WFAN also benefitted from the inertia from Imus's fans who were used to tuning in to 660 kHz on weekday mornings to listen. WFAN instantly took advantage of their Imus inheritance, for example, they featured a special live monologue by Imus character Billy Sol Hargus from Shea Stadium moments after taking over the 660 frequency.

It quickly became apparent that WFAN's gambit of bringing Imus on board worked. Ratings for the morning show were strong, and it was successful to a point in driving ratings for the rest of WFAN's programming day. This model of using a general-interest morning host for a sports talk radio station (especially at launch) has been used at other sports radio stations across the country.

WFAN was also the first station in the country to roll out sports updates every 20 minutes. These updates, called 20-20 Sports Flashes, are now considered an industry standard. When WFAN first started updates were done every 15 minutes. Additionally, in a nod to the former WNBC, update anchors often end their top-of-the-hour updates with the catchphrase "And that's what's happening...", which is how WNBC on-air news readers had ended their updates.

Other programming that WFAN had at launch included a midmorning show with Ed Coleman and Mike Francesa, and a drive time show with Pete Franklin, who in Cleveland had become one of the first polarizing, outrageous talk show hosts. During his stay in New York, Franklin would probably become best known for an incident where he used a four-letter expletive on air, in error, when trying to say "All you folks" (he was not disciplined for the incident.)

Running a close second was a 30-second Franklin diatribe on whether he had been offensive -- "Do I offend anyone? I'm not here to offend you, dammit!" -- that has been replayed ever since, especially on the July 1 WFAN anniversaries.)

In a further drive to boost ratings, Imus instigated a feud with Franklin, much as he had with Howard Stern at WNBC in the mid-80's. Both Imus and Franklin would take shots at each other during their shows, Franklin calling Imus "Minus" and Imus recording parodies of radio commercials where he would bash Franklin as a "dinousaur", among other things.

Franklin would leave WFAN in August 1989. On September 5, 1989, a jointly hosted afternoon drive show with Francesa and Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo - who had been a weekend/fill-in host to that time - would premiere. The Mike and the Mad Dog show would become the defining show of WFAN, one of the most consistently popular radio shows in New York, and one of the most influential sports talk radio shows in the country.

Recent history

Over the years WFAN has continued to have a broad-based sports talk and play-by-play format. WFAN ratings gradually rose and in fact at some points it has been the top-billing station in New York and the country. In 1992 Emmis sold WFAN to Infinity Broadcasting, which would be purchased by Westinghouse Electric Corporation -- CBS' then-parent company -- in 1997.

WFAN's broadcast day begins at 6:00 a.m. (Eastern time) with Boomer and Carton, hosted by former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason and Craig Carton. The 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. timeslot is co-hosted by Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts, followed by the Mike and the Mad Dog show, which runs for five-and-a-half hours from 1:00 to 6:30 p.m.. The YES Network has been airing a video simulcast of Mike and the Mad Dog since March 19, 2002.

On Monday nights during the NFL season, Benigno and Tony Siragusa host a football show leading into the Monday Night Football broadcast at 8:00.

Steve Somers hosts during most other evenings, often leading into and following live game broadcasts. Tony Paige works the majority of the overnight shifts, as he is on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings, as well as on late Saturday nights. Another WFAN personality is longtime New York rock radio fixture Richard Neer. Adam Schein hosts various shows on weekends in addition to his work hosting NFL shows on Sirius Satellite Radio. Ed Randall hosts a radio version of the Talking Baseball show that aired on TV for many years.

WFAN is the flagship station of Westwood One's NFL, NHL, Notre Dame college football, and NCAA basketball tournament radio broadcasts.

WFAN stands out in that all of its sports-talk shows are currently local in origin, not syndicated as is the practice of most sports-talk radio stations (usually except during the morning and/or drive-time periods).

Over the years WFAN has established a tight bond with its listeners, to the point where one of them (Benigno) eventually landed a plum mid-morning show. Benigno was a frequent caller to "The Fan" (especially the Mike and the Mad Dog show) as "Joe from Saddle River". His calls were typically interesting and insightful. He was chosen to host a one-hour show during a promotion where listeners were invited to host a show. The show went well, and he parlayed this into a regular overnight show, which was parlayed into a mid-morning show.

WFAN also features the "20-20 Flash", a one to two minute update on sports scores and news, which occurs every 20 minutes (on the hour, twenty after and forty after). The update team consists of Rich Ackerman, Harris Allen, Mike McCann, Erica Herskowitz, Bob Heussler, Marc Malusis, John Minko, Jerry Recco, and Joe Tolleson. The station also employs beat reporters to cover the Mets (Ed Coleman), Yankees (Sweeny Murti), Jets (Kevin Burkhardt) and football Giants (Carlin).

Currently, WFAN has radio broadcasting rights for New York Mets baseball, New York Giants football, New Jersey Devils hockey, and New Jersey Nets basketball. WFAN is also a promotional partner of the New York Yankees, as fellow CBS-owned WCBS has been the team's flagship station since 2002. WFAN is given exclusive game-day rights to broadcast at the ballpark. The exclusive access seems to give WFAN an information edge over WEPN, which features Yankees television voice Michael Kay in drivetime. Kay is often forced to do his show from outside the stadium, and then leave to do the TV broadcast an hour before the game.

WFAN has marketed itself in recent years as the "Flagship Station for New York Sports", but its close partnerships with the Mets and Yankees could easily render it "New York's Baseball Station." Willie Randolph and Joe Torre, managers of the Mets and Yankees, respectively, make exclusive appearances on WFAN during the season. WFAN usually also contracts at least one Giants and one Jets player to make exclusive appearances on the station during the NFL season, as well as Giants head coach Tom Coughlin.

The station was also the longtime radio home for the New York Jets, New York Rangers and New York Knicks (the latter two were inherited from WNBC), as well as St. John's University basketball for several years. Currently WFAN's primary competition is WEPN, the New York ESPN Radio affiliate, ironically located at WFAN's old 1050 kHz frequency. WEPN carries many of the teams that WFAN previously did, plus national ESPN Radio programming, which WFAN also once carried.

Beginning at 3 p.m. on April 11, 2006, WFAN started streaming live on the Internet. Live games are offered separately through the various league websites as annual subscriptions (except for the NHL, which currently does not charge for game audio). The stream can be found at wfan.com.

Radiothon

Each spring beginning in 1990, WFAN has conducted the WFAN Radiothon to benefit children’s charities that seek to ensure the continuity of life in its earliest stages and the treatment and eventual elimination of childhood cancer. The three current beneficiaries of the radiothon are Tomorrows Children's Fund, the CJ Foundation for SIDS, and the Imus Ranch. As of 2005, the Radiothon has raised more than $30 million for the charities. The portions of the radiothon that aired during Imus and Mike and the Mad Dog were available on those shows' radio networks and television simulcasts.

WFAN has also done other radiothons and special broadcasts to raise money for assorted charities.

Midday show controversy

The midday slot (generally from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.) has not been one of the better slots from a ratings perspective for WFAN. However, this slot's hosts have often found controversy.

In the early 1990s, popular hosts Ed Coleman and Dave Sims had their show cancelled. WFAN then announced that New York Daily News columnist Mike Lupica and WNBC-TV sports anchor Len Berman would co-host the new midday program. The show seemed all set to go when, at the last minute, Berman decided to back out of the show. He cited that he would have to work a near 14-hour day, combining his 10 a.m. start on radio with his 11:20 p.m. report on television. WFAN would not let Berman out of his contract, and as a result, the slot was split into two shows: Lupica hosted from 10 a.m. to noon, while Berman hosted from noon to 2 p.m.. The split format did not work, and eventually Berman's show would be cancelled and Lupica's show soon followed.

WWOR-TV sports anchor Russ Salzberg, who also worked an evening sportscast, was more than willing to assume the midday show duties. In 1995, he would be joined by longtime overnight host Steve Somers. This show, billed as "The Sweater and the Schmoozer", would feature one of the most famous incidents in WFAN history. It occurred when Salzberg "banned" Eli from Westchester from calling his show due to his comments that Salzberg considered to be inappropriate. Salzberg's classic line to Somers, during another Atlanta Braves World Series appearance talking about Braves' manager Bobby Cox: "What about Cox, Steve? You like Cox...., don't you Steve?"

In 1999, with the ratings not being what WFAN management expected, the Salzberg/Somers show was cancelled. Initially Somers had been fired with Salzberg, but a large outcry from listeners -- including comedian Jerry Seinfeld, a native of Long Island -- led to WFAN management giving Somers the evening shift, which (despite frequent pre-emptions for live games) he continues to hold to the present day. In middays, Salzberg and Somers were replaced by Suzyn Waldman and Jody McDonald. Waldman was best known for her work covering the Yankees and Knicks for the station. McDonald, son of a former Mets general manager, was the weekend overnight host before leaving for WIP radio in Philadelphia, nearer to his southern New Jersey home. Both Waldman and McDonald had their fans and detractors at WFAN.

Waldman would leave WFAN in late 2001, joining the YES Network's Yankee broadcast team the following year. She would be replaced by Sid Rosenberg who, despite his shock jock reputation, had an enormous knowledge of sports. Many felt there was great chemistry between McDonald and Rosenberg. However, the ratings still weren't what WFAN expected and in 2004 McDonald was let go, later to join WEPN, Sirius Satellite Radio, and WPEN radio in Philadelphia.

Former overnight host Joe Benigno would replace McDonald. Rosenberg was forced to resign from WFAN on September 12, 2005 after being given an ultimatum by station management for not showing up to host the New York Giants' pregame show the day before. Benigno hosted the show solo for over a year. On January 2, 2007, part-time overnight host Evan Roberts became Beningo's new midday co-host. However, it will take some time to determine if the new pairing will affect ratings for the midday program, which does consistently outrate rivals Max Kellerman and Stephen A. Smith on WEPN.

Exit Imus, enter Boomer and Carton

On the April 4, 2007 broadcast of Imus in the Morning, Don Imus made a sexually and racially insensitive comment in reference to the Rutgers University women's basketball team. Imus made the remarks during a conversation with the show's producer, Bernard McGuirk, and Sid Rosenberg (who was on the phone).

Two days after making the comments, Imus issued a public apology. By that time, however, there were various calls for his dismissal, particularly from civil rights activists Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, who threatened to protest both CBS Radio and MSNBC (which aired a video simulcast of the program), as well as boycott companies who advertised on the program. WFAN offered its hosts and listeners a sounding board for their own feelings and comments, which were both for and against his dismissal. Chris Russo, in particular, expressed his disappointment at Imus for waiting two days before retracting his comments.

Imus was initially given a two-week suspension which was scheduled to begin on April 16, allowing him to work the annual WFAN Radiothon on April 12 and 13. On consecutive days Imus appeared on both Sharpton's syndicated radio show (April 9) and NBC-TV's Today Show (April 10) to reiterate his regret for the remarks. But on April 11, MSNBC announced the cancellation of the video simulcast of Imus in the Morning. The following day, CBS Radio dismissed Imus, effectively ending his near-continuous run of 35 years in New York radio, and leaving WFAN with a very large programming -- and money-earning -- void in their schedule.

Imus' last program was aired on the opening day of the radiothon. Imus's wife Deirdre joined his longtime co-host and news reader, Charles McCord, to anchor the final segment of the radiothon on April 13. It is unknown whether WFAN will air future radiothons, and if they do, whether the Imus Ranch will be one of the supported charities.

From that point on, the 6:00 to 10:00 a.m. time slot was filled by various hosts. McCord and Chris Carlin remained on all the replacement shows as assistance and staff, in similar roles as they were on Imus's show, and the replacement shows continued to be syndicated via Westwood One. Mike Francesa and Chris Russo were the first to fill the spot, hosting for the two weeks (April 16-27) immediately after Imus' firing. Francesa and Russo also worked the shift separate from each other, as did fellow WFAN staffers Richard Neer, Joe Beningo and Evan Roberts, and Carlin, who worked both alone and with co-hosts, notably YES Network reporter Kimberly Jones and Washington Post sports columnist John Feinstein.

WFAN and Westwood One also brought in outside personalities into the slot. Among them were Boomer Esiason, Patrick McEnroe, Geraldo Rivera, Lou Dobbs, and Chicago sports radio host Mike North. As MSNBC also held its own claim to the slot, the cable network was able to have its own replacement shows simulcasted; these programs were hosted by in-house personalities David Gregory, Jim Cramer, and Joe Scarborough, who was named as MSNBC's replacement host.

On September 4, 2007, Boomer Esiason took over as the permanent host of the WFAN morning show, with veteran radio personality Craig Carton (previously of WKXW-FM in Trenton, New Jersey) serving as co-host, and Chris Carlin remaining to do sports updates. The new program will not be distributed nationally by Westwood One.

Influence of sports format

WFAN's success -- especially after the 1988 frequency switch -- proved that sports-talk radio could in fact be a steadily profitable and popular format. This in turn fueled the explosive growth of sports-talk radio in the 1990s and 2000s. Once a novelty, every major market (and many smaller markets) now has at least one sports radio station, and often more. ESPN Radio, Fox Sports Radio and Sporting News Radio have all launched 24-hour national sports talk radio networks. There are also nationally syndicated radio shows, such as The Jim Rome Show and 2 Live Stews. Additionally there are dedicated sports radio streams on satellite radio, such as NFL Radio on Sirius and MLB Home Plate on XM Satellite Radio. With the migration of music station to FM and other carriers all but complete, sports talk radio are considered to have been critical in saving the AM band as a viable broadcast medium.

It is worth noting that, for all the success and influence that WFAN has had, its signature Mike and the Mad Dog show has experienced limited syndication outside of New York state (the show is carried on WROW in Albany, New York, and WQYK in Tampa, Florida). This is primarily due to a desire by the hosts to keep their show New York-centric. However, the discussion does stray well beyond what other hosts usually talk about, as college sports and the NBA takeup a notable portion of the show outside of the standard emphasis on whatever New York players and teams are considered to be making headlines.

WFAN once produced some of Fox Sports Radio's programming, notably Chris "Mad Dog" Russo's Saturday show, but the relationship did not last even one year for the same reason that Mike and the Mad Dog is syndicated nationally only through the YES Network -- the hosts often talk about the NFL on a national basis, but stick mostly to local coverage of baseball. Nevertheless, callers from as far as California have made it to air. Recently on Mike and the Mad Dog, a caller from Norway made the air, crossing transatlantic boundaries for the first time in sports radio.

Callers

The vast majority of WFAN programming that originates in studio makes listeners' calls an important facet of the broadcast. As a testament to this, Joe Benigno - a former caller himself - ends all of his shows with "I want to thank all the callers, great job as always; I couldn't do it without you." There are a number of callers who have earned a reputation over the years and become as familiar to listeners as the hosts themselves.

John from Sandy Hook

One of the most endearing and knowledgeable callers, especially with boxing insights and old classic baseball. Listeners called in condolences on learning of his death.

Bruce from Flushing

Bruce is lifetime Yankee fan and was a long time caller of Joe Beningo in the overnights and Howie Rose in prime-time. Recently married, Bruce has taken a short hiatus from his daily calls to the FAN. He is still one of the most popular and knowledgeable callers, and both Marc Malusis and Rich Ackerman list Bruce as their favorite caller. Bruce claims that he was on hold, but never made it to the air, for WFAN's first show.

Bill from Brentwood

Arugably the most popular and knowledgeable caller to WFAN is Bill from Brentwood, more popularly known as "Bill the Baker", who has an encyclopedic knowledge of baseball, along with an unmatched ability to recall not only specific baseball moments in the past 50+ years, but the exact dates that those games were played. Although Bill calls the FAN (particularly Steve Somers, who jokes that he is his co-host) on an almost daily basis, Steve - along with his listeners - is so constantly in awe and impressed with Bill's baseball intellect that he often jokes that Bill "has to be looking at a book".

Jerome from Manhattan

Another cherished caller is Jerome Mittelman, widely known as "Jerome from Manhattan." A die-hard Yankees and Knicks fan, Jerome is famous for his on-air take-no-prisoners blistering rants and raves, as well as his unique take on the English language. One of his favorite exclamatory phrases is "frickin' frack!" He refers to the bullpen as the "ballpen", and once shouted that the Yankees are "....done! D-O-E-N [sic], DONE!" His relationship status is intriguing enough for Steve Somers to once give Jerome $60 to take a lady out on a date, only for Jerome to keep the money and not go out on the date. Former host Sid Rosenberg once asked Jerome if he was upset that he was not taking his eagerly anticipated trip "....to Colorado?", and Jerome replied, "No, [it was] to Denver." He does "....not like jets. They make [him] seasick." Unfortunately, Mr. Mittelman's health problems have kept him from the WFAN airwaves on his usual daily basis since late 2004, although he did call on March 31, 2005 to appease his fans; he is under doctor's orders to refrain from calling because his hyperactive on-air demeanor may further complicate his health problems. His latest call-in was on June 5, 2007 when he asked Somers to stop using his Twilight Zone-like entrance.

Doris from Rego Park

Doris Bauer [c.1945-2003], more affectionately known as "Doris from Rego Park", was a die-hard fan of the New York Mets, and was loved by many WFAN listeners. Her knowledge of the Mets and baseball as a whole approached that of Bill the Baker, and she called the station almost daily since its first night on-air. Doris suffered from neurofibromatosis, and at least three different cancers; nevertheless, she kept the Mets and WFAN close to her heart until her premature passing at age 58.

Eli from Westchester

"Eli from Westchester" was another famous repeat caller. Citing racism as the underlying factor behind any number of sports happenings, he was occasionally banned from calling for periods of time. One of the most famous times he was banned was by former mid-day host Russ Salzberg. Eli claimed to be an ex college football player and know several pro stars. His shining moment was not on WFAN however, where he performed miserably during an on air tryout for the job which would eventually be Joe Benigno's. As a late night caller to the Lionel show on WABC, Eli fell asleep while waiting to go on air. Listneers were treated to a minute's worth of "Ellie"'s, as Lionel called him, snoring. Rumors were that this is Eli Strand from Tuckahoe NY, his college football was played at Iowa State and spent 2 years in the NFL, the last with the New Orleans Saints.

Jerry from Queens

"Jerry from Queens", aka Jerry Seinfeld, has called the station at many times over the years. An avid Mets and Steve Somers fan, Seinfeld has even appeared in-studio twice along with the Schmoozer.

Joseph Abboud

Joseph Abboud, a noted clothing designer, has been a regular caller to the midday show to muse about his beloved Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees' sworn rival.

Miriam from Forest Hills

Miriam is a blind New York Islanders and New York Mets fan from Queens. The first Islanders game Miriam ever attended became the topic of a Rick Reilly column in Sports Illustrated.

Kelsey from Summit, NJ

A bumbling caller who only calls into the FAN in the middle of the night to complain about the Mets. He is always noticeably intoxicated.

Chris from Middletown, NY

Chris was a frequent caller to WFAN in the early 2000s to the Midday and Overnight shows. Chris was a rabid Mets fan who occasionally got into verbal spats with Midday host Jody MacDonald over many topics, usually lamenting about former Mets' manager Art Howe. He was also the station's resident Lakers fan, taking offense to Steve Somers when he referred to them as "the Fakers".

Tommy from Brooklyn

Tommy was a frequent caller to WFAN in the early 1990s. He was known for his passion for hockey. He was a caller to Christopher Russo and would frequently assist Russo with hockey issues. Tommy is best known for his passion for not wanting Russian players to play in the NHL.

Short Al from Brooklyn

Knowledgeable old time Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Mets Fan. A longtime favorite caller of overnight hosts.

Vinny from Queens

Vinny was a frequent caller to WFAN in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Vinny was a passionate Yankee fan and a popular caller among the hosts. Vinny died in 1996 in a car accident.

Ira from Staten Island

Ira is currently a frequent caller to WFAN. He is well known for being a knowledgable and passionate fan of the New York Jets.

Val in Brooklyn

Val is an older male who speaks with a noticable stutter. He often brags about his female friends, notably his chauffeur named Sandra in the summer of 2007.

Reception of WFAN

WFAN's signal can be heard clearly on much of the East Coast of the United States and Eastern Canada after sunset because it is a FCC "Class A" clear channel station.

During the day, WFAN's groundwave signal can be heard faintly as far south as Washington, DC and as far north as the I-90 corridor (the New York State Thruway and Massachusetts Turnpike), about 150 miles north of New York City. WFAN can also allegedly be heard clearly on the northern beaches of North Carolina's Outer Banks during the day. Signal strength varies depending on factors such as weather and elevation. Still, a good car radio can pick up WFAN cleanly in most of eastern Pennsylvania and throughout Connecticut, as well as parts of the Philadelphia, Boston, Albany, and Syracuse markets, especially at night (WFAN does not broadcast on reduced power overnight, and thus needs very few affiliate stations for the teams it broadcasts). Callers from these locations are not uncommon, especially as some of the on-air staffers have backgrounds in those regions (Bob Heussler does radio play-by-play for the Connecticut Sun, Fairfield Stags basketball and has done radio play-by-play for UConn basketball and football, while Chris Carlin handles Rutgers football games), and attended Hobart. Alternatively, the callers listen to the streaming internet feed on wfan.com, or watch the "Mike and the Mad Dog" simulcast on YES. Depending on atmospheric conditions, the station can be allegedly picked up as far south as Havana, Cuba. In parts of South Florida after sunset, reception of WFAN is rumored to be clearer than Miami-based "competitors" including WAXY.

Personalities

• Joe Benigno
• Kevin Burkhardt
• Chris Carlin
• Craig Carton
• Ed Coleman (Mets Beat Reporter and show host)
• Ian Eagle
• Boomer Esiason
• Mike Francesa
• Ann Ligouri
• Marc Malusis
• Sweeney Murti (Yankees Beat Reporter)
• Richard Neer
• Tony Paige
• Ed Randall
• Evan Roberts
• Lori Rubinson
• Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo
• Bob Salter
• Adam Schein
• Steve Somers
• Rick Wolff

Current 20-20 Flash anchors

• Rich Ackerman
• Harris Allen
• Erica Herskowitz
• Bob Heussler
• Mike McCann
• John Minko
• Jerry Recco
• Greg Tartaglia
• Joe Tolleson
• Joey Wahler

Past hosts

• Len Berman
• Mike Breen
• Roberto Clemente, Jr.
• Linda Cohn
• Tanyette Colon
• Howard David
• Kate Delaney
• Scott Ferrall
• Pete Franklin
• Steve Fredericks
• Greg Gumbel
• Don Imus
• Jim Lampley
• Steve Levy
• Mike Lupica
• Stan Martyn
• Bill Mazer
• Jody McDonald
• Chris Moore
• Howie Rose (former host, but still broadcasts Mets games on WFAN)
• Sid Rosenberg
• Russ Salzberg
• Dave Sims
• John Sterling
• Suzyn Waldman
• Warner Wolf

External links

• WFAN website
• 66 WNBC Tribute Pages
• ‹The template AMQ is being considered for deletion.›  WFAN in the FCC AM station database
• Template:AML
• Template:Transmitter
• Template:Studio

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