WTBQ

WTBQ is an independently owned radio station broadcasting from Warwick, New York. The last locally owned radio station left 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.

History

Local media figure Ed Klein brought WTBQ to air July 27, 1969 with studios originally located in the village of Warwick. The call sign 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" located 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.