WEPM
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| WEPM | |
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| City of license | Martinsburg, West Virginia |
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| Broadcast area | Martinsburg, West Virginia Berkeley County, West Virginia |
| Branding | "1340 WEPM" |
| Frequency | 1340 kHz |
| First air date | 1946 |
| Format | News/Talk/Sports |
| Power | 1,000 Watts day and night |
| Class | C |
| Callsign meaning | W Mountaineer Eastern Panhandle see note |
| Owner | Prettyman Broadcasting Co. |
| Sister stations | WICL, WLTF |
| Website | WEPM Online |
WEPM is a News/Talk/Sports formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Martinsburg, West Virginia, serving Martinsburg and Berkeley County, West Virginia. WEPM is owned and operated by Prettyman Broadcasting Co. The station celebrated its 60th anniversary on October 13th, 2006.
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[edit] Call sign meaning
Owner Leslie Golliday, a prominent Martinsburg businessman, envisioned a group of stations in the state, and his early announcers used the tag line, "This is the Mountaineer station for the Eastern Panhandle," thus the call sign there of WEPM. Another suggested meaning for EPM is "Eastern Panhandle, Martinsburg."
Golliday also owned WCLG-AM in Morgantown, WV which carried a similar tag line, "This is the Mountaineer station for northern West Virginia."
Golliday died in late June, 2007 at the age of 92.
Golliday's long-time play-by-play partner, Ed Dockeney, died January 4, 2008, at the age of 92.
[edit] Notable events
In late 1963, Golliday, who also doubled as a deejay, played a Beatles song, Love Me Do; after a minute, he took the record off and broke it, saying, "that's it folks, I have had enough". Golliday played the record on his program mainly as a joke, to give an example of the "trashy music" that was coming from Europe. (It should also be known that WEPM, at the time, was a country music station.) However, unknown to him at the time, he was the first in the United States to give his listeners a taste of The Beatles. WWDC in Washington, DC, a popular Top 40 station there, would soon take credit for being the first to play The Beatles, thoughh in a more-serious fashion. [1][citation needed]
[edit] Notable Alumni
- Warner Wolf, famed New York sportscaster
- former Ford Administration press secretary Ron Nessen
- Jamie Costello, morning show anchor for WMAR-TV in Baltimore
- Patsy Cline, played shows and lived in Martinsburg for a time in the mid-50s
- West Virginia State Senator John Unger, a former 2008 congressional candidate
[edit] External links
- 1340 WEPM Online
- Query the FCC's AM station database for WEPM
- Radio Locator Information on WEPM
- Warner Wolf allowed to use real name at WEPM - New York Newsday
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