WAPA (AM)
| City | San Juan, Puerto Rico |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Puerto Rico |
| Branding | Cadena WAPA Radio |
| Slogan | La Poderosa |
| Frequency | 680 kHz |
| First air date | January 15, 1947 |
| Format | News Talk Information |
| Power | 10,000 watts (day) 9,500 watts (night) |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 8889 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 18°24′16″N 65°56′52″W / 18.40444°N 65.94778°W |
| Callsign meaning | Asociación de Productores de Azúcar |
| Affiliations |
CNN en Español Telenoticias Puerto Rico |
| Owner | NotiRadio Broadcasting (Wifredo G. Blanco-Pi) |
| Sister stations | WISO, WGYA, WMIA, WVOZ |
| Website | waparadiopr.com |
WAPA (680 AM) is a radio station licensed to San Juan, Puerto Rico, broadcasting a News Talk Information format. The station is owned by NotiRadio Broadcasting. It is an affiliate of CNN en Español radio news network.
The station was relayed through an experimental synchronous station, WA2XPA Arecibo, which also broadcasts on 680 kHz. On April 19, 2017 the Federal Communications Commission ruled that WA2XPA's license will not be renewed. The ruling stated that it must discontinue operation on May 7, 2017 and the license would be cancelled on May 8, 2017.
A petition for review of the order to cancel WA2XPA's license was submitted on April 24, 2017.
Its call letters are a partial abbreviation of the station's original owners, the now-defunct Asociación de Productores de Azúcar, or Puerto Rico Sugar Grower's Association. In the late 60's, it was acquired by Hearst Corporation. In 1991 it was acquired by NotiRadio Broadcasting (Eng. Wifredo G. Blanco-Pi, owner & his son Eng. Jorge Blanco, news director).
The station has a famous show which is regularly broadcast at 8:30 am, "Dándole casco al tema" (Thinking through the topic), in which the owners discuss with the listeners political topics. Detras de la Noticia (behind the news) is the program that interviews some puertorican political personalities, airing at 9:00 am, and has a weekly edition on Saturdays. Another popular show is Opine Usted (Express yourself), in this show listeners are given 1 minute and 30 seconds to analyze the situation of the country.
In 1996, NotiRadio Broadcasting acquires radio station WISO 1260 in Ponce from South Puerto Rico Broadcasting Corporation (founded by Luis Freyre in 1953), this would become the second radio station of the WAPA Radio News Network. In 2014, After 66 years of local operation, WXRF 1590 AM in Guayama finally acquires from International Broadcasting Corporation to NotiRadio Broadcasting for $100,000, this become the third radio station of WAPA Radio. Then on March 24, the station changed its call letters to WGYA. On March 14, 2017, After a year off the air due to transmitter problems, NotiRadio Broadcasting resumes operations WVOZ 1580 AM in Morovis-Manatí, rejoining the WAPA Radio News Network, since its establishment, 35 years ago in 1981. That station acquires from International Broadcasting Corporation for $150,000, this leaves WVOZ became silent due to technical maitenance and financial reasons in April 2016. The Network consists of 7 radio stations all across Puerto Rico. On May 7, 2017, WAPA will cease operations on experimental synchronized stations in WA2XPA Arecibo, WI2XSO Mayagüez and WI3XSO Aguadilla. All 3 stations cancelled the licenses the next day, on May 8, 2017. On March 2, 2017, WAPA Radio is acquiring WMIA 1070 AM in Arecibo (originally owned by Abacoa Radio Corporation) for over $250,000, and the sale was completed on April 14, 2017. On May 1st, WMIA became the new WAPA Radio News Network station, serving the northern area. Also, WVOZ will changed its city of license from Morovis to Aguadilla, currently occupied by WI3XSO, which its license is cancelled on May 8. Now, WAPA Radio will provide a network of five radio stations across the island.
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