Branding Beach Radio Format Oldies | Frequency 1160 kHz | |
City Lakewood Township, New Jersey Broadcast area Monmouth County, New Jersey First air date November 20, 1970 (as WHLW at 1170) | ||
WOBM (1160 AM) is a radio station broadcasting an oldies format. Located near Lakewood Township, New Jersey, the station serves the Monmouth County area. The station is owned by Millennium Shore License Holdco, LLC.
History
The station was originally a daytime-only operation on 1170 kHz, using the call letters WHLW. Early in its existence it became a Top 40 station calling itself 11-7 Radio, featuring such disk jockeys as Jay Sorensen and Joey Reynolds. The station became WOBM (AM) in 1981, and in 1983 moved to the 1160 frequency and became a 24-hour operation. At the time, the station was owned by North Shore Broadcasting Partners, which was affiliated with WOBM-FM's ownership group, Seashore Broadcasting.
During the late 1980s WOBM was known as "1160 AM Star Country" and featured a country music format and New York Mets baseball games. Local airstaff at the time included general manager Kevin Buckelew, (son of co-owner Joseph Buckelew and known on-air as Kevin Carr), Tom Maciazak, Ava Holly and Kevin Hodge, although most of the programming was satellite-delivered. The station also simulcast Bob Levy's "Topic A" program on Sunday mornings from the sister FM station. Levy had originated the program while general manager of WOBM-AM-FM and continued the program after retiring from the position in the late 1980s. At the time, programming and ad sales operations emanated from WOBM's studios and transmitter site in Howell Township, just off Route 9.
In the 1990s, WOBM adopted an Adult Standards/MOR, and added Bob Levy and his wife Marianne as local morning hosts. Outside of the local morning show, WOBM featured Dial Global's syndicated "Adult Standards" format, known on-air by the handle America's Best Music.
On September 3, 2010, WOBM changed its format and branding to "Good-Time Oldies", and began simulcasting on 1310 WADB (AM). The station will continue to feature Bob and Marianne in the morning, and will feature a lineup of local personalities during the rest of the day, including Lou Russo, Big Joe Henry, Tom Lawler, and Christopher Knight.[1]
The WOBM News/Townsquare Media News team includes bureau chief Thomas Mongelli and morning anchor Dianne DeOliveira.
On May 19, 2014 WOBM changed their format from oldies to news/talk.
On January 3, 2017 WOBM changed their format from news/talk to oldies, branded as "Beach Radio".