WMDX (1580 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Columbus, Wisconsin, and serving the Madison metropolitan area radio market. The station is owned by Sage Weil, through licensee Civic Media, Inc. Branded as "Mad Radio 92.7", WMDX airs a progressive talk radio format. WMDX carries live locally programmed news and talk programming for most of the day, originating from studios located on State Street in downtown Madison as well the Waukesha studios of sister station WAUK. The station also carries live syndicated programming from Stephanie Miller and Thom Hartmann. WMDX also serves as the flagship station of the Civic Media Network, a statewide news network with affiliates across Wisconsin.
Broadcast area | Madison metropolitan area |
---|---|
Frequency | 1580 kHz |
Branding | Mad Radio 92.7 |
Programming | |
Format | Progressive talk |
Affiliations | ABC News Radio |
Ownership | |
Owner |
|
WAUK, WISS, WRCO, WRCE, WRPQ | |
History | |
First air date | April 2, 1950 (as WTTN)[1] |
Former call signs | WTTN (1950–2023) |
Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 71092 |
Class | D |
Power | 5,000 watts days 800 watts critical hours 4 watts nights |
Transmitter coordinates | 43°11′43″N 88°45′17″W / 43.19528°N 88.75472°W |
Translator(s) | 92.7 W224EG (Madison) |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Website | mad.radio |
WMDX transmits 5,000 watts daytime, using a directional antenna that provides city-grade coverage of the northern and eastern portions of the Madison area including Columbia and Dodge counties. As 1580 kHz is a Canadian clear channel frequency, WMDX must protect Class A CKDO Oshawa, from interference. During critical hours, WMDX drops to 800 watts, and after sunset, to only 4 watts, which roughly covers only the city of Columbus. The transmitter is off Parpart Road in Hampden, Wisconsin.[3] All programming is simulcast on 250-watt FM translator 92.7 W224EG which affords WMDX 24/7 city grade signal to most of Dane County .[4]
History
editWMDX began broadcasting on April 2, 1950 as WTTN, and was licensed to Watertown, Wisconsin.[1] The station ran 250 watts, during daytime hours only, and was owned by Watertown Radio, Inc.[5] In 1961, the station's power was increased to 1,000 watts, and it began to be simulcast on 104.7 WTTN-FM.[5][6] WTTN aired a middle of the road (MOR) format in the 1970s and 1980s.[7][8][9][10] Nighttime operations were added in the late 1980s, running 7.8 watts.[10] The station adopted a country music format in 1991.[11]
In 1999, WTTN was sold to Good Karma Broadcasting for $525,000.[12] In 2001, the station adopted a news-talk format.[13] In January 2003, WTTN adopted an oldies format.[14][15] The station was branded "The Goose" during this period.[14][16][17]
In 2009, WTTN's city of license and transmitter site were moved to Columbus, Wisconsin, and its daytime power was increased to 5,000 watts using a directional array.[18] This move allowed for co-owned 100.5 WTLX to be moved from Columbus to Monona.[16] Later that year, the station adopted a Spanish language sports format as an affiliate of ESPN Deportes.[18] In 2018, the station adopted a progressive talk format branded as "Resistance Radio", simulcasting Milwaukee based sister station WRRD.[19] This marked a return of the progressive talk format to the strongly liberal leaning Madison area since the format change of iHeart Media's WXXM to Adult Hits in 2016.
On February 6, 2023, WTTN rebranded as "Mad Radio 92.7" under new WMDX call letters.[20] Effective February 21, 2023, WMDX and translator W224EG were sold by Good Karma Broadcasting to Civic Media, Inc. for $363,000.
Translator
editOn May 14, 2019, WTTN began to simulcast on Madison translator W224EG (92.7 FM), and was rebranded as "Talk 92.7".[21]
Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | HAAT | Class | FCC info |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W224EG | 92.7 FM | Madison, Wisconsin | 200994 | 250 | 121 m (397 ft) | D | LMS |
Previous logo
editReferences
edit- ^ a b 1971 Broadcasting Yearbook, Broadcasting, 1971. p. B-233. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WMDX". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ Radio-Locator.com/WMDX
- ^ Radio-Locator.com/W224EG
- ^ a b History Cards for WMDX, fcc.gov. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
- ^ 1963 Broadcasting Yearbook, Broadcasting, 1963. p. B-205. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
- ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1975, Broadcasting, 1975. p. C-214. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
- ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1979, Broadcasting, 1979. p. C-247. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
- ^ Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1982, Broadcasting/Cablecasting, 1982. p. C-268. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
- ^ a b Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1989, Broadcasting & Cable, 1989. p. B-333. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
- ^ "Format Changes", The M Street Journal. Vol. 8, No. 33. August 19, 1991. p. 1. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
- ^ "Transactions", Radio & Records. July 23, 1999. p. 8. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
- ^ "Format Changes and Updates", The M Street Journal. Vol. 18, No. 30. October 31, 2001. p. 6. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
- ^ a b "Broadcasting News–January 2003", Upper Midwest Broadcasting. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
- ^ Devine, Cathy (2003). The M Street Radio Directory. 12th Edition. p. 650. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
- ^ a b "WTLX Gets OK To Move Closer To Madison", All Access Music Group. September 7, 2006. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
- ^ "Moser Upped To Station Manager At Good Karma's Beaver Dam Cluster", All Access Music Group. September 26, 2006. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
- ^ a b "Broadcasting News–September 2009", Upper Midwest Broadcasting. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
- ^ "'Devils Advocate Radio' Adds Simulcast Partner", InsideRadio. March 6, 2018. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
- ^ Devil Radio Gets Mad in Madison Radioinight - February 7, 2023
- ^ "Progressive Talk Radio Returns To Madison FM Dial", InsideRadio. May 14, 2019. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
External links
edit- Facility details for Facility ID 71092 (WMDX) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- WMDX in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
- Facility details for Facility ID 200994 (W224EG) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- W224EG at FCCdata.org