WXRL
WXRL is an AM radio station located in Lancaster, New York, serving the greater Buffalo market. The station is owned and operated by the family of Ramblin' Lou Schriver, a well known local country music performer, under the name Dome Broadcasting Inc.
City | Lancaster, New York |
---|---|
Broadcast area | Buffalo |
Frequency | 1300 kHz |
Branding | "WXRL" |
Slogan | Buffalo's Hometown, Family Owned-and-Operated Radio Station |
Programming | |
Format | Classic country |
Ownership | |
Owner | Family of Ramblin' Lou Schriver (Dome Broadcasting Inc.) |
History | |
First air date | 1965 |
Call sign meaning | WX Ramblin' Lou |
Technical information | |
Class | B |
Power | 5,000 watts day 2,500 watts night |
Transmitter coordinates | 42°52′58″N 78°37′54″W |
Translator(s) | W238DD (95.5 mHz, Lancaster) |
Links | |
Webcast | Listen Live |
Website | WXRL.com |
History
WXRL signed on in 1965 as WMMJ. The station had been founded by Stan Jasinski, a local media mogul known most famously for his polka broadcasts; polka has been a fixture of the station's format since its inception. When Jasinski shifted his focus to television and started up WUTV in 1970, he sold the radio station to Schriver, who owned the station for the rest of his life and installed what was then the first country music station in Western New York. When more modern country stations such as WYRK and WNUC started reaching the airwaves in the early 1990s, Schriver, like numerous other AM country stations, maintained a classic country format. Schriver died January 17, 2016 from heart failure; he was 86.[1] His family and heirs continue to own and operate the station.
As of October 23, 2018, after a long process with the FCC, WXRL can also be heard on 95.5 FM. The station's format did not change with the addition of the new translator. In 2020, WXRL became the last commercial radio station in the Buffalo area to stream its programming on the Internet.
Programs
Local hosts include Ron Dombrowski, Matty K and Lynn Carol Schriver. Scott Cleveland was a longtime on-air personality with the station until his death in 2015, as was Ramblin' Lou Schriver himself (reruns of his "Old Country Church" program continue to be posthumously broadcast on the station).
Syndicated programs include the Renfro Valley Gatherin', Classic Country Today with Keith Bilbrey and "Country Music Greats" with Jim Ed Brown. WXRL is an affiliate of CBS Radio News.
The station has the "Drive Time Polkas" show from 5 till 7 pm Monday thru Saturday and also devotes a large portion of its weekend programming to polka music.
The station also airs some local sports programming, predominantly from Lancaster High School.
References
- Kunz-Goldman, Mary (January 18, 2016). Ramblin' Lou Schriver, soul of country music in WNY, has died. The Buffalo News. Retrieved January 18, 2016.
External links
- WXRL in the FCC's AM station database
- WXRL on Radio-Locator
- WXRL in Nielsen Audio's AM station database