WVMT

WVMT (620 kHz) is an AM radio station licensed to Burlington, Vermont, and serving the Champlain Valley of Vermont and New York.

WVMT
CityBurlington, Vermont
Broadcast areaChamplain Valley
Frequency620 kHz
BrandingNews/Talk 620 WVMT
SloganBurlington & Plattburgh's #1 News/Talk Station
Programming
FormatNews/talk
AffiliationsABC News Radio
Fox News Radio
Westwood One
Premiere Radio Networks
TheBlaze Network
New York Yankees Radio Network
Ownership
OwnerPaul S. Goldman
(Sison Broadcasting, Inc.)
OperatorVox AM/FM, LLC
Sister stationsWXXX, WCPV, WEAV, WEZF, WVTK, WXZO
History
First air dateMay 20, 1922
Former call signsWCAX (1922–1963)
Former frequencies360 meters (1922–1925)
1190 kHz (1926–1927)
1180 kHz (1927–1928)
1200 kHz (1928–1941)
1230 kHz (1941–1942)[1]
Call sign meaningVermont[2]
Technical information
Facility ID29923
ClassB
Power5,000 watts
Transmitter coordinates44°32′4.00″N 73°13′15.00″W
Translator(s)96.3 W242BK (Colchester)
Links
WebcastListen live
Websitewww.wvmtradio.com

Owned and operated by local businessman Paul S. Goldman, WVMT broadcasts with a power of 5,000 watts as a class B station, using a directional antenna with slightly different daytime and nighttime directional patterns in order to protect other stations on the AM 620 frequency–principally, WTMJ in Milwaukee. Its daytime signal decently covers most of northern Vermont and northeastern New York, as well as large portions of Quebec, Canada. At night, the station adjusts its coverage to concentrate the signal around the Burlington and Plattsburgh, New York areas.

WVMT is also simulcast on FM translator station W242BK (96.3); the translator's owner, Vox AM/FM, LLC, operates WVMT under a local marketing agreement and is in the process of acquiring it outright.

The station has a news/talk format. Most of its programming consists of carrying nationally syndicated politically conservative talk shows, and sports broadcasts, including New York Yankees baseball and University of Vermont hockey and Vermont Catamounts women's basketball. The morning show, hosted by Marcus Certa and Kurt Wright, is produced locally. Weekday national shows include Rush Limbaugh, Brian Kilmeade, Mark Levin, Jim Bohannon, America in The Morning and Coast to Coast AM with George Noory.[3] Boston-based Howie Carr is heard on weekday afternoons. WVMT is an affiliate of ABC News Radio.

WVMT's easily identifiable triple towers are shown on Lake Champlain navigation charts. They are located in Colchester, Vermont near Malletts Bay.[4] The station's studios and offices are within Fort Ethan Allen in Colchester, in a facility shared with Vox's other stations.

History

WVMT is the oldest radio station in Vermont,[5] going on the air May 20, 1922[6] as WCAX under the ownership of the University of Vermont (UVM).[7] In its early years, WCAX largely operated on an experimental basis,[8] and it was not until October 10, 1924 that the station formally signed on.[9] WCAX was run by UVM students,[9][10] with most of its programming consisting of farming information from the University's Extension Service;[11] although the call letters have been claimed to stand for College of Agriculture Extension in recognition of this service,[11] the station's license was granted, and the call letters assigned, on May 13, 1922,[8] in close proximity to stations such as WCAU (now WPHT) in Philadelphia and WCAY (now WTMJ) in Milwaukee.[12] Initially operating at 833 kHz (as most stations did at that time),[7] it had moved to 1200 kHz by 1925,[13] to 1190 kHz in 1926,[14] to 1180 kHz in 1927,[15] and then back to 1200 in November 1928.[16]

By 1931, the University of Vermont did not have the funds to continue its operation of WCAX, largely due to the need to purchase newer equipment required by the Federal Radio Commission, and on June 17 it sold the station to the Burlington Daily News;[8][17] at that time, the newspaper was controlled by Dr. Horatio Nelson Jackson, the first person to drive across the country in a motor car.[10] The Daily News relaunched WCAX as a commercial station[10] on November 4, 1931;[17] however, under the terms of the sale, UVM continued to broadcast its programming on the station.[8] Charles Hasbrook bought WCAX and the Daily News in 1939; the following year, the station joined the CBS Radio Network.[10] The North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement moved the station to 1230 kHz in 1941;[18] the following year, WCAX moved to its current position at 620 kHz,[19] and the Daily News was sold off,[20] with Hasbrook retaining the station through the WCAX Broadcasting Corporation.[19] (The 1230 frequency is now occupied by WJOY.) A television station, WMVT, was launched on September 26, 1954; it would be renamed WCAX-TV two years later.[20] By 1960, WCAX had switched from CBS to NBC Radio, even though WCAX-TV 3 remains a CBS TV network affiliate.[21]

Hasbrook sold WCAX to James Broadcasting, a company controlled by Simon Goldman that also owned WJTN in Jamestown, New York, in 1963, and the call letters were changed to WVMT.[22] (The previous call letters remain on WCAX-TV, which, until 2017; was owned by the family of Hasbrook's stepson, Stuart T. Martin Jr.)[20] By 1971, WVMT had a middle-of-the-road music format.[23] The station had placed more of an emphasis on oldies by 1980, but largely remained middle-of-the-road;[24] by 1984, the station had shifted to an adult contemporary format,[25] which, by 1986, also emphasized oldies.[26] WVMT gained an FM sister station in 1990, when James Broadcasting purchased 95.5 WXXX from Atlantic Ventures.[27]

By 1994, WVMT had shifted its music programming entirely to oldies, and had also incorporated some talk shows;[28] by 1999, the station had formally moved to a talk format.[29] Paul Goldman's company, Sison Broadcasting, purchased WVMT and WXXX in 1997.[27][30] WVMT and WXXX were sold to Vox AM/FM LLC in October 2018 pending FCC approval; Vox took over the stations under a local marketing agreement on January 1, 2019.[31]

Translators
Call signFrequency
(MHz)		City of licenseFacility
ID		ERP
(W)		Height
(m (ft))		ClassTransmitter coordinatesFCC info
W242BK96.3Colchester, Vermont1404072532.8 m (108 ft)D44°30′22.00″N 73°9′0.00″WFCC
gollark: Then explain why atmospheric bee density is at record levels.
gollark: Worrying.
gollark: So, is anything ever working?
gollark: Please hold on while Polytopia updates.
gollark: Worrying.

References
  1. "WVMT history cards" (PDF). CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  2. "Call Letter Origins". Radio History on the Web.
  3. http://www.newstalk620wvmt.com/programming.asp
  4. "WVMT-AM Radio Station Coverage Map".
  5. Mishkind, Barry (October 15, 2008). "The Oldest Stations in the United States by State". The Broadcast Archive. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
  6. Broadcasting/Cable Yearbook 1989 (PDF). 1989. p. B-214. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
  7. "U. S. Radio Stations as of June 30, 1922". History of American Broadcasting. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
  8. Frost, S. E. (1971). Education's Own Stations. Ayer Publishing. pp. 444–6. ISBN 0-405-03573-X. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
  9. "Vermont History Timeline". Vermont State Historic Sites. Vermont Division for Historic Preservation. Archived from the original on June 9, 2007. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
  10. Duffy, John J.; Samuel B. Hand; Ralph H. Orth (2003). The Vermont Encyclopedia. University Press of New England. p. 313. ISBN 1-58465-086-9. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
  11. "All About WCAX-TV". WCAX.com. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
  12. "The One Hundred Oldest Stations in the United States". The Broadcast Archive. November 20, 2001. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
  13. "U. S. Radio Stations as of June 30, 1925". History of American Broadcasting. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
  14. Radex (PDF). Cleveland, Ohio: The Radex Press. 3 (1): 11–12. October 1926 http://www.davidgleason.com/Archive%20Radex/Radex%203-1%2026%2010.pdf. Retrieved November 8, 2010. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. "U. S. Radio Stations as of June 30, 1927". History of American Broadcasting. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
  16. Radex (PDF). Cleveland, Ohio: The Radex Press: 18, 54. October 1928 http://www.davidgleason.com/Archive%20Radex/Radex%2024%2028%2010.pdf. Retrieved November 8, 2010. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. "A Chronology of AM Radio Broadcasting 1900-1960". History of American Broadcasting. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
  18. Radex (PDF). Emerson, New Jersey: The Radex Publishing Company: 68. September–October 1941 http://www.davidgleason.com/Archive%20Radex/Radex%20145%2041%2009-10.pdf. Retrieved November 8, 2010. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  19. Broadcasting Yearbook 1943 (PDF). 1943. p. 148. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
  20. Dispirito Wales, Mary Ann (February 25, 2008). "Vermont's Early Pioneers Of Radio, Television Broadcasting Centered Around Burlington". Champlain Business Journal. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
  21. Broadcasting Yearbook 1960 (PDF). 1960. p. A-241. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
  22. Broadcasting Yearbook 1964 (PDF). 1964. p. B-162. Retrieved November 9, 2010.
  23. Broadcasting Yearbook 1972 (PDF). 1972. p. B-130. Retrieved November 9, 2010.
  24. Broadcasting Yearbook 1981 (PDF). 1981. p. C-240. Retrieved November 9, 2010.
  25. Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1985 (PDF). 1985. p. B-278. Retrieved November 9, 2010.
  26. Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1987 (PDF). 1987. p. B-293. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  27. "Mergers & Acquisitions: 1997". Business People—Vermont. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  28. Tymecki, Joe (August 20, 1994). "Burlington VT Plattsburgh NY RADIO - WEXP". rec.radio.broadcasting. Google Groups. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  29. Fybush, Scott (April 23, 1999). "WABY Goes All-News". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  30. Fybush, Scott (February 1, 1997). "Tower For Sale, WFCR on WTTT". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  31. Vox AM/FM Acquires WVMT/WXXX Burlington VT Lance Venta, radioINSIGHT, October 15, 2018
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