WPIT
WPIT (730 AM) is a hybrid religious and Christian contemporary radio station based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The station is licensed to Pennsylvania Media Associates, Inc which is wholly owned by Salem Communications Holding Corporation, which is, in turn, owned by Salem Communications Corporation.[1] The transmitter power is 5,000 watts during the day and 24 watts at night.
 | |
| City | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Pittsburgh metropolitan area |
| Frequency | 730 kHz |
| Branding | WPIT 96.5 FM / 730 AM |
| Slogan | Talk Radio That Helps People |
| Programming | |
| Format | Religious/Christian contemporary |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Salem Communications (Salem Communications Holding Corporation) |
| WORD-FM, WPGP (AM) | |
| History | |
First air date | 1947 |
Call sign meaning | W PITtsburgh |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 58624 |
| Class | D |
| Power | 5,000 watts (daytime) 24 watts (nighttime) |
Transmitter coordinates | 40°29′02″N 79°59′34″W |
| Translator(s) | 96.5 W243CW (Pittsburgh) |
| Links | |
| Webcast | |
| Website | www |
The station's antenna system uses a single tower that results in an omnidirectional signal pattern. According to the Antenna Structure Registration database, the tower is 99 m (325 ft) tall.[2] The transmitter site is located near Millvale. WPIT's studios are located at Parkway Center in Pittsburgh.
It also is simulcast on translator W243CW 96.5 FM.
History
WPIT, which signed on the air in 1947, has been a religious station for most of its life, and at one time was a simulcast of its FM sister station up until 1993, when both stations were sold to Salem.
WPIT's studios were once located on Smithfield Street in downtown Pittsburgh. A neon sign reading "WPIT DIAL 730" hung outside their former location for years after they had moved out, well into the early 1980s. The station moved to Gateway Towers in downtown Pittsburgh around 1980, next door to the KDKA and KDKA-TV home of One Gateway Center.
WPIT has had only three managers in its long history. Michael Komichak, who also built the station back in 1947 and did much of its engineering work, Chuck Gratner, who assumed control of WPIT-AM and FM after both were sold to Salem in 1993, and then-sales manager Tom Lemmon, who became General Manager following Gratner's retirement in 2014.
After Salem's takeover, old policies against atheist guests were lifted and Richard Dawkins has even appeared on air. Once the sale to Salem was complete, the operations of WPIT and its FM sister, WORD-FM moved up to Seven Parkway Center in Greentree, just outside the Pittsburgh city limits.
WPIT had added some secular conservative talk programming to its lineup (like Dr. Laura, Michael Medved, and Hugh Hewitt), but religious programming continues to fill most of the station's hours. For many years, WPIT has also aired foreign-language and ethnic programming on weekends.
Recently, WPIT began to air syndicate Christian contemporary music programs to its evening and overnight schedules,[3] with the talk programs moving over to Salem Pittsburgh sister station WPGP.
The station is the Pittsburgh affiliate for Penn State Nittany Lions football.[4]
The station is known as "73 WPIT"
References
External links
- WPIT in the FCC's AM station database
- WPIT on Radio-Locator
- WPIT in Nielsen Audio's AM station database