WBNR

WBNR

Simulcast of WGHQ Kingston
Beacon, New York United States
Broadcast area	Hudson Valley
Frequency	1260 kHz
Branding	The Beacon
Programming
Language(s)	English
Format	Conservative talk
Ownership
Owner	Pamal Broadcasting (6 Johnson Road Licenses, Inc.)
Sister stations	WBPM, WGHQ, WHUD, WLNA, WSPK, WXPK
History
First air date	December 17, 1959 (1959-12-17)
Call sign meaning	"Beacon Newburgh Radio"
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	19629
Class	B
Power	1,000 watts (day) 400 watts (night)
Transmitter coordinates	41°29′32.34″N 73°58′41.5″W
Translator(s)	96.5 W243EM (Beacon)
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Webcast	Listen live
Website	www.wghq.fm

WBNR is the call sign of an AM radio station licensed to Beacon, New York, and serving the Hudson Valley. The station is owned by Pamal Broadcasting and broadcasts on 1260 kHz at 1,000 watts daytime and 400 watts nighttime, both directional, from a two tower array at 475 South Avenue in the city of Beacon. The station's studios are also located in Beacon. WBNR simulcasts WGHQ (920 AM) from Kingston.

History

WBNR signed on in 1959 as a 1,000 watt directional antenna daytime only station built, engineered, owned and operated by Robert Gessner and brothers Sy and Al Dresner The original studio location is in close proximity to Denning's Point, a location on the Hudson River that has an archaeological record going back 5,000 years. Many staffers and former staffers felt that this explained a usually high reported incidence of paranormal activity in the studio building.

It was not until 1987 that WBNR was licensed for 480 watts night time operation with a DA2 antenna pattern. For many years it was owned by brothers Robert and Alford Lessner of Candid Camera fame. The station served the community with a middle of the road music format, local news and sports. It was heavily involved with Beacon community events and was the flagship station for Army Black Knights football until 2003.

In 1970, Lance (later Beacon) Broadcasting, then owners of WBNR, acquired WSPK from Poughkeepsie, New York–based Olympian Broadcasting, owners of WKIP, along with the mountain top transmitter site located on North Mount Beacon.

The station began to suffer a long steady decline through the 1980s and 1990s as many AM radio stations did.

In 1994, WBNR, along with its sister station WSPK was sold to Enterprise Media of Binghamton, New York. Both stations were subsequently sold to Pamal Broadcasting in October 1997. The studios moved from their original 1959 location at 475 South Avenue, Beacon to the newly reconstructed "Broadcast Center" at 715 Fishkill Avenue (NY Route 52), in Fishkill, New York.

On Monday, March 24, 2014, WBNR and WLNA introduced the "Real Country" music format.

On December 3, 2019, WBNR added translator W243EM (96.5 MHz).

On March 15, 2021, WBNR changed their format from classic country to a simulcast of classic hits-formatted WBPM.

On October 14, 2024, WBNR changed their from a simulcast of WBPM to a simulcast of conservative talk-formatted WGHQ 920 AM Kingston, branded as "The Beacon".

Translator

Broadcast translator for WBNR

Call sign	Frequency	City of license	FID	ERP (W)	Class	Transmitter coordinates	FCC info
W243EM	96.5 FM	Beacon, New York	202877	100	D	41°29′32″N 73°58′38″W	LMS

Previous logo

External links

• Facility details for Facility ID 19629 (WBNR) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• WBNR in Nielsen Audio's AM station database

FM translator

• Facility details for Facility ID 202877 (W243EM) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• W243EM at FCCdata.org