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WHAT (AM)
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WHAT (AM)
WHAT (1340 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The station is owned by VM Broadcasting. It airs a Spanish-language contemporary hit radio format. It was one of the first radio stations in Philadelphia, going on the air in 1922.
WHAT is powered at 1,000 watts. The transmitter is on Conshohocken Avenue, near Fairmount Park. Programming is also heard on 50-watt FM translator W260CZ at 99.9 MHz. It uses its FM dial position for its moniker "La Kalle 99.9" (The Street).
On October 17, 1922, a new Philadelphia radio station was authorized, as WNAT, by the government to the Lennig Brothers Co., a radio supply company headed up by Frederick Lennig at 827 Spring Garden Street. The call sign was randomly assigned from a roster of available call letters. In late 1929, the call sign was changed to WHAT.
In the 1930s, WHAT was powered at only 100 watts and was heard on 1310 kilocycles. It had to share time on that frequency with other radio stations. It had studios in the Public Ledger Building.
Ownership of the station changed twice within a two-year span. In 1939, the Bonwit Teller department store replaced The Evening Ledger newspaper as owner; in July 1940, J. David Stern, who published The Philadelphia Record newspaper bought the station from Bonwit Teller. At that time, WHAT operated with 100 watts of power.
On February 12, 1944, former radio station WIP salesman William Banks purchased WHAT for $22,500 from the Philadelphia Record and became the station's new president. His sister, Dolly Banks, became program director and expanded on the ethnic format while ending time-brokered programming.
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, WHAT was known for innovation. "In 1945, WHAT became the first U.S. radio station to hire a full-time black announcer, the first to program a regular show featuring a black woman as hostess and the first station in the city to hire black newscasters. It also was the first in the nation to feature a black as host of a daily talk show."
In 1954, the station moved its studios and transmitters to a new structure at 3930-3940 Conshohocken Ave in Wynnefield Heights and was dubbed "The WHAT Radio Center."
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WHAT (AM)
WHAT (1340 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The station is owned by VM Broadcasting. It airs a Spanish-language contemporary hit radio format. It was one of the first radio stations in Philadelphia, going on the air in 1922.
WHAT is powered at 1,000 watts. The transmitter is on Conshohocken Avenue, near Fairmount Park. Programming is also heard on 50-watt FM translator W260CZ at 99.9 MHz. It uses its FM dial position for its moniker "La Kalle 99.9" (The Street).
On October 17, 1922, a new Philadelphia radio station was authorized, as WNAT, by the government to the Lennig Brothers Co., a radio supply company headed up by Frederick Lennig at 827 Spring Garden Street. The call sign was randomly assigned from a roster of available call letters. In late 1929, the call sign was changed to WHAT.
In the 1930s, WHAT was powered at only 100 watts and was heard on 1310 kilocycles. It had to share time on that frequency with other radio stations. It had studios in the Public Ledger Building.
Ownership of the station changed twice within a two-year span. In 1939, the Bonwit Teller department store replaced The Evening Ledger newspaper as owner; in July 1940, J. David Stern, who published The Philadelphia Record newspaper bought the station from Bonwit Teller. At that time, WHAT operated with 100 watts of power.
On February 12, 1944, former radio station WIP salesman William Banks purchased WHAT for $22,500 from the Philadelphia Record and became the station's new president. His sister, Dolly Banks, became program director and expanded on the ethnic format while ending time-brokered programming.
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, WHAT was known for innovation. "In 1945, WHAT became the first U.S. radio station to hire a full-time black announcer, the first to program a regular show featuring a black woman as hostess and the first station in the city to hire black newscasters. It also was the first in the nation to feature a black as host of a daily talk show."
In 1954, the station moved its studios and transmitters to a new structure at 3930-3940 Conshohocken Ave in Wynnefield Heights and was dubbed "The WHAT Radio Center."