WDAY (AM)

WDAY (AM)

WDAY is North Dakota's first and oldest radio station, having signed on in 1922. It is an affiliate of the ABC Radio Network. Its parent company, Forum Communications, also owns ABC affiliate WDAY-TV 6 and The Forum newspaper in Fargo. Forum Communications also owns ABC affiliate WDAZ-TV 8 in Grand Forks and several other newspapers and TV stations in North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

The Forum bought 49 percent of the station in 1935 to become the largest shareholder, and bought the remaining 51 percent interest in 1958.

WDAY's power is 5,000 watts. It uses one tower to transmit a nondirectional signal by day and three towers to operate directionally at night. Its listening area is the third largest in North Dakota, after KFYR-AM in Bismarck, and talk radio local competitor WZFG The Flag 1100 AM WZFG-AM, licensed to nearby Dilworth, Minn (What about KVOX and/or KXMR, which have larger areas than WZFG or WDAY?). WDAY-AM covers the eastern half of North Dakota, parts of northwestern Minnesota, northeastern South Dakota, and extreme southern Manitoba.

Most stations west of the Mississippi have call letters which begin with K. However, WDAY was licensed before the U.S. government changed its call sign conventions. Prior to 1923, call signs beginning with W were generally assigned to stations east of an irregular line forming the western borders of states from North Dakota south to Texas, with calls beginning with K going to stations in states west of that line. In 1923, the dividing line was shifted to the Mississippi River.