City Warwick, New York Frequency 1110 kHz | Branding "WTBQ" Translator(s) W228CG (93.5, Warwick) | |
Broadcast area Orange County and Northern New Jersey, including Sussex and Passaic Counties Slogan "Radio Worth Listening To"; "The Best Music" | ||
WTBQ is an independent radio station broadcasting from Warwick, New York. The last locally-owned radio station in Orange County, New York (and one of the few in the entire Hudson Valley), WTBQ broadcasts on 1110 AM and 93.5 FM, throughout Orange County and Northern New Jersey.
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History
Local media figure Ed Klein brought WTBQ to air July 27, 1969 with studios originally located in the village of Warwick. The call letters come from Klein's young daughter's affection for her teddy bear. Originally, WTBQ had a "Beautiful Music" format (dubbed "The Casual Q"), in contrast to Top 40 music, which Klein hated. WTBQ also had a strong emphasis on news, both local and national (the station was a Mutual Broadcasting System affiliate in the 1970s before later switching to ABC).
In 1982, WTBQ was purchased by Jimmy Sturr, who in 1984 moved the studios to the "Professional Building" at 62 North Main Street in nearby Florida, New York. After another change in ownership (George Dacre's "Goodtime Broadcasting"), the station went silent in late 1992, but returned to the air under the station's current owner Frank "Smokin'" Truatt on July 1, 1994.
WTBQ became the first station in the Hudson Valley to carry its programs on the internet in 1999; it was also the first area radio station with a website, back in 1995.
On November 30, 2007, WTBQ moved from the Village of Florida, NY to Warwick, NY. Ed Klein died on October 18, 2008, at the age of 86. WTBQ celebrated its 40th anniversary with a special ceremony at the station's broadcasting tower where a plaque was placed at the antenna site, honoring Ed Klein for having signed-on the station forty years ago.
In June 2012, WTBQ moved to Sanfordville Road. On July 1, 2014, local officials (including State Senator William Larkin and Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus) honored Frank Truatt's 20 years of independent ownership and giving back to the community.
A January 2014 article in The Wall Street Journal honored Frank Truatt for owning one of the last of the real "community" radio stations in the New York metro area.
FM translator
At 1:30 pm on January 28, 2011, WTBQ switched its FM frequency to 93.5 MHz, after just more than three years at 99.1 MHz. The new translator, W228CG, broadcasts at 250 watts. A considerable upgrade from the previous 19 watts, the coverage area is about 50% larger than on 99.1.
WTBQ became one of the first American AM stations to use an FM translator when it began airing on W256BD on January 25, 2008. The arrangement, made possible by a Special Temporary Authority from the Federal Communications Commission and Digital Radio Broadcasting, allowed WTBQ to broadcast its programs 24 hours a day via an FM antenna located on WTBQ's AM broadcast tower. The new translator also broadcasts from WTBQ's tower, located in the Town of Warwick.