Hubbry Logo
search
logo
WZHF
WZHF
current hub

WZHF

logo
Community Hub0 Subscribers
Write something...
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
See all
WZHF

WZHF (1390 AM) is a radio station in the United States. Licensed to Capitol Heights, Maryland, it serves the Washington, D.C. area with a regional Mexican format. It is owned by Multicultural Broadcasting and operated by RM Broadcasting.

The station went on air on April 7, 1947 as WEAM, licensed to Arlington, Virginia and founded by J. Maynard Magruder. Throughout its history, WZHF has had a variety of formats including top 40, rock, R&B, big band, country, and health. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the station broadcast local college basketball games from American University, Georgetown, and George Washington. In 1984, WEAM was purchased by Viacom, became WMZQ, and changed to a classic country format. WMZQ was later a full simulcast of WMZQ-FM, its sister station that played contemporary country music, from 1987 to 1996. The WMZQ stations were among the most popular in the Washington area in the late 1980s and 1990s; they topped local ratings in 1988, 1992, and 1995. In 1996, WMZQ changed its call sign to the present WZHF and its format to health and fitness programming.

Beginning in 1999, WZHF had a variety of ethnic formats, with programming primarily in Spanish and various Asian languages. Multicultural Broadcasting bought WZHF in 2000. In 2011, WZHF began broadcasting English-language Voice of Russia programming. After resuming a Spanish-language format around 2015, WZHF began broadcasting Radio Sputnik, the successor of Voice of Russia, in November 2017. The station gained notoriety during this time due to Radio Sputnik's status as an official broadcaster of the Russian government; program broker RM Broadcasting was required to register with the U.S. government under the Foreign Agents Registration Act in 2019. Sanctions on the Russian government forced the winding-up of Radio Sputnik's U.S.-based operations in 2024.

Originally licensed to Arlington, Virginia, the station began broadcasting as WEAM, with a daytime-only, 1,000-watt signal, on April 7, 1947. WEAM's founder was J. Maynard Magruder, an Arlington entrepreneur and member of the Virginia House of Delegates. Pianist and bandleader Jack Little was an afternoon host for six months during the station's first year of operations. In January 1948, Magruder and other station investors sold WEAM to Harold and Meredith Thoms, who incorporated Thoms Broadcasting in 1966. By July 1948, WEAM upgraded its signal to 5,000 watts with unlimited broadcast hours.

WEAM was one of the most popular top-40 stations in the Washington area in the 1960s. In the late 1960s, WEAM's offices moved from its original Radio Building in Arlington to its transmitter location in nearby Falls Church.

In the mid-1970s, WEAM had progressive music and rock formats and was affiliated with the ABC Radio network. By 1977, WEAM changed its programming to target a black audience with R&B music and Georgetown University basketball games. By 1978, WEAM dropped Georgetown in favor of George Washington basketball play-by-play coverage.

WEAM briefly changed back to rock music before switching to big band in 1980. By 1981, WEAM began carrying American University basketball games. Thoms Broadcasting laid off DJs Al Ross and Bob Bassett in February 1984 in favor of syndicated programming from the Satellite Music Network.

In March 1984, Viacom bought WEAM. Viacom changed the station's call sign to WMZQ, after its country station WMZQ-FM; initially, the AM station played classic country, in contrast to its sister FM station that played newer music. Owing to a new FCC rule that allowed stations to simulcast more than 50 percent of content on both AM and FM, Viacom converted WMZQ into a complete simulcast of WMZQ-FM in July 1987.

See all
User Avatar
No comments yet.