WMAL (AM) - History

History

WMAL first went on the air on October 12, 1925, using call letters incorporating the initials of Martin A. Leese, a local optician who began selling radio sets at 720 11th Street NW in Washington, D.C., and started WMAL as a low-power station advertised along with his radio business. After the demise of station WCAP left the city with WRC as its only high-power station, local business leaders affiliated with the City Club of Washington banded together to create a second high-powered station. Their original plan was to buy WCAP and convert it to a municipal station, but instead they worked with Leese to boost WMAL's signal and make it the city's second large station. The new high-power WMAL went on the air from studios at 710-712 11th Street NW on October 2, 1926, with former WCAP announcer William T. Pierson as director and with a policy of encouraging young broadcasting talent in hopes of creating "a people's forum".

In 1927, Leese left his optical business to focus full-time on running the station, and the following year the Federal Radio Commission's national frequency allocation plan assigned WMAL the AM 630 frequency, which it still uses today. WMAL was a CBS affiliate from 1928 until October 19, 1932, and then was briefly unaffiliated until joining the NBC Blue network in January 1933; this network later became ABC, with which WMAL is still affiliated today.

By mid-1932, M.R. Baker had been appointed manager of the station, and Kenneth H. Berkeley was appointed station director of WMAL in 1933. While still owned by the Leese family, WMAL was eventually leased to the National Broadcasting Company in 1934, joining it with owned-and-operated station WRC.

NBC’s Washington vice president Frank M. Russell supervised the operation of both WMAL and WRC by 1935 when studios were moved from the National Press Building to the Trans-Lux Theatre Building, 724 14th Street NW. Transmitting facilities continued to be located at 712 Eleventh Street NW.

In the late months of 1937, the lease to NBC was terminated, with station operation reverting back to the Leese interests. NBC, however, continued to operate it under a managerial agreement executed in the fall of 1937. Norman Leese was President of WMAL’s licensee at this time. On May 1, 1938, the M.A. Leese Radio Corporation was acquired by publishers of the now-defunct "Washington Evening Star" newspaper, a family-owned concern headed by Board Chairman and President Samuel H. Kauffman. Norman Leese remained President and K.H. Berkeley continued as General Manager of WMAL.

The operating arrangement between NBC and the M.A. Leese Radio Corporation ended in February 1942. The station then reverted back to the direct control of the Evening Star Broadcasting Company, of which K. H. Berkeley was executive vice president. Mr. Berkeley was also WMAL’s general manager. In October 1947, WMAL-TV signed on as the first high-band VHF television station in the United States. It became an ABC affiliate a year later.

By 1946, S.H. Kauffman, president and part owner of the Evening Star, was given additional duties as president of its broadcasting subsidiary, the Evening Star Broadcasting Company until his resignation in August 1954. His replacement as general manager was Frederick S. Houwink.

Also in 1954, John W. Thompson, Jr. replaced S.H. Kauffman as president of Evening Star Broadcasting Co. Andrew Martin Ockershausen was appointed station manager of WMAL in 1960. In 1962, Fred Houwink became a company vice-president while continuing as WMAL’s general manager. In 1965 Houwink was named Vice President of Evening Star Broadcasting and Ockershausen was elevated to general manager of WMAL.

In 1970 Houwink retired and Ockershausen was named Vice President, Operations. Also in 1970 Richard S. Stakes was named general manager and Harold L. Green was named station manager. In 1974 Charles A. Macatee became WMAL’s general manager.

In early January 1976, the Evening Star Broadcasting Company’s WMAL, WMAL-FM and WMAL-TV and majority control of the ailing newspaper were acquired from the Kauffman, Noyes and Adams families by publisher Joseph L. Albritton’s Perpetual Corporation and Albritton became board chairman and chief owner of WMAL’s license. On January 21, 1976, WMAL’s licensee name was changed to Washington Star Communications of Delaware, Inc. Richard S. Stakes became station president, but resigned in December 1976. Mr. Albritton then assumed the presidency, with Robert Nelson becoming president of the broadcasting division. General Manager Charles Macatee resigned in January 1977.

A requirement of the purchase of the Evening Star properties included the sale of the radio or television properties. In March 1977, WMAL and WMAL-FM were spun off to ABC Radio, while the TV station was retained and became WJLA-TV, named after Albritton's initials. The transfer fetched $16 million, a record price for radio properties at that time. Andrew Ockershausen was appointed executive vice president.

On January 3, 1986, Capital Cities and ABC, Inc. merged in a $3.52 billion deal. Thomas S. Murphy was chairman and CEO of the new firm. Frederick Weinhaus became president and general manager following the resignation of Andrew Ockershausen in March 1986. Weinhaus was transferred to ABC Radio New York in January 1988. His replacement in May 1988 was Thomas Bresnahan, who continued in that role until his retirement in 2002.

Chris Berry was named president and general manager November 19, 2002. Prior to joining WMAL, Berry was vice president, radio for ABC News, based in New York. ABC sold its non-Radio Disney and ESPN Radio stations, including WMAL, to Citadel Broadcasting in 2007; Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011.

The former WMAL-FM has since become WRQX (Mix 107.3). Today, 630 WMAL remains Washington’s oldest station to be operating under its original call letters.

On September 19, 2011, WMAL began simulcasting their AM signal on 105.9 FM, now WMAL-FM.