WASP (AM)
| City | Brownsville, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Branding | The Pickle |
| Frequency | 1130 kHz |
| First air date | August 2, 1968 |
| Last air date | June 28, 2012 |
| Format | Classic Hits (simulcast of WPKL) |
| Power | 1,000 watts (Daytime) 1,000 watts (Critical Hours) |
| Class | D |
| Facility ID | 65708 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 40°2′35.00″N 79°54′19.00″W / 40.0430556°N 79.9052778°W |
| Owner | Keymarket Licenses, LLC |
| Website | picklefm.com |
WASP (1130 AM) was a radio station formerly licensed to Brownsville, Pennsylvania, USA. It served the Pittsburgh area. The station was owned by Keymarket Licenses, LLC.
WASP was one of the first stations in a last round of FCC daytime-only licenses granted towards the end of the 1960s, at the time that FM was beginning to gain momentum. WASP was granted a license to broadcast at 1130 AM, with a power of 1Kw non-directional while WKEG was granted a license to broadcast at 1110 AM, 1 kW directional from nearby Washington, Pennsylvania at around this same time. When WASP increased its power in the early 70s to 5 kW and because of the close proximity of WKEG, WASP had to adopt a directional antenna pattern during daytime hours and 1 kW non-direction pattern during "Critical Hours" (2 hrs morning and 2 hours evening)to protect their adjacent competitor.
WASP was founded by Carl Loughry in the late 1960s and formed Brownsville Radio, Inc. Mr. Laughry also owned WFRB in Frostburg, Maryland. WASP was managed for many years by Bob Logue (a.k.a. Bob Williams) who went on to host the Midnight to 5AM talk program on KDKA in Pittsburgh. James J. Humes, who formed The Humes Broadcasting Corporation, purchased WASP from Laughry in the 1980s. WASP operated for many years with a classic country format, and in the late 1980s, Humes Broadcasting successfully applied for an FM license. After being granted the construction permit, WASP began to add more talk to its programming lineup.
Though the construction permit for WASP-FM in Oliver, Pennsylvania was first issued in 1988, it wouldn't go on the air until 1993. Nevertheless, WASP-FM did go on the air, and operated with a country music format similar to the one given up by its AM sister in favor of local and syndicated national talk.
WASP-FM, operating at 94.9, transmitted its signal from North Union Township. However, both stations shared studio space in the single-story brick building which also housed the transmitter of WASP (AM) along Route 88 (a.k.a. Blaine Road), just south of California, Pennsylvania.
In 1999, James Humes wanted to retire from the radio business after more than a decade of ownership. He agreed to sell WASP-AM-FM to Keymarket Communications that year. Keymarket had acquired WASP-AM-FM in an effort to use WASP-FM as a vehicle for its "Froggy" brand of networked country music stations. With the transaction went WASP-FM morning announcer Jimmy Roach, who had enjoyed a highly successful run at both WDSY and WDVE in Pittsburgh. Roach was then the flagship morning DJ of Keymarket's entire Pittsburgh Froggy operation.
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