the hamptons eastern long island branding wlng 92.1 fm radio eastern long island slogan the oldies station frequency 92.1 mhz first air date august 13 1963 1963 08 13 format oldies erp 5 300 watts haat 106 meters 348 ft class a facility id 39640 transmitter coordinates 40 58 19.00 n 72 20 54.00 w 40.9719444 n 72.3483333 w 40.9719444 ; 72.3483333 callsign meaning w long island former callsigns wlng fm 1969 2000 1 affiliations westwood one current owner gary sapine rebecca johnson and raymond a. nelson trustees webcast wlng webstream website www.wlng.com wlng 92.1 fm is an oldies formatted full service broadcast radio station licensed to sag harbor new york serving the hamptons and eastern long island . wlng is owned and operated by gary sapiane rebecca johnson and raymond a. nelson trustees . contents 1 programming and history 2 on air staff 3 programs and syndicated shows 4 news and sports 5 specials 6 recognition 7 references 8 further reading 9 external links programming and history edit wlng started on am at 1600 khz . in 1996 the 1600 frequency was sold to wwrl so that they could increase the power of their station which was on the same frequency closer to new york city . 2 wlng has been broadcasting on fm since 1969 . its fm transmitter is located on a hill in noyack new york which disc jockeys call mount sidney after longtime station president paul sidney 1940 2009 3 . the station s call letters come from long island . it transmitted in monaural until january 20 2011 a rarity on the fm band which is mostly stereo . 4 wlng has earned a reputation as a throwback to an earlier era with its frequent use of jingles reverb frequent remote broadcasts at local events and personality disc jockeys . 5 in 1998 on the occasion of the station s 35th anniversary on the air and president paul sidney s 34th year there he stated the key to staying around for 35 years is pretty simple be local in news sound and music . 6 the studios of wlng . the station s target market is the hamptons and eastern long island 7 though the station has been noted as being heard from mastic to montauk ; the signal even reaches parts of rhode island and connecticut . 5 according to sidney and local business people the station built good relationships with local establishments and as of 2004 was producing 250 remote broadcasts per year from community locales events and businesses . 5 8 the station is noted for its use of numerous jingles many from the original pams jingle library which are often aired back to back . paul sidney who was with the station since the year following its start in 1963 started the jingle practice . as the use of jingles declined in the 1970s sidney became obsessed with them and collected over 2000 . as he put it in a new yorker magazine talk of the town article in 2002 we re the only station that when we say here comes fourteen in a row we re not talking about records . 9 wlng was one of the first radio stations in the country to focus on playing oldies and identified itself as the oldies station beginning in the early 1960s despite a consultant s warning . citation needed while the station included current hits in rotation for decades and even as recently as 1999 today its playlist is almost all oldies . 9 as of 1988 wlng competed with 22 other stations in its market . 10 in 2005 edison research wrote about wlng s standing in the area ... one of the oddest success stories of recent months wlng eastern long island n.y. whose broad playlist retro jingles and endless remotes have made it a radio junkie s favorite for years . then the market got its first ratings and suddenly wlng was no. 3 12 plus an individually owned station hanging in when the groups were pulling out or at least getting nervous . 11 in 1995 the station began leasing transmission tower space to connecticut based classical and npr affiliate wshu fm during a period of increasing competition for listeners in specific demographics . 12 at the time the station was described by a competitor wehm as probably generating the most sales in the region and sidney stated that banks regarded wlng as the most successful station on the east end . 12 on may 29 2015 longtime wlng air personality rusty potz ends his run on the potz on the program that aired weekdays from 3pm to 5pm with the tv trivia quiz contest each hour . mr. potz who has been in radio for 52 years will retire to sarasota florida with his wife margaret although he will continue to work part time selling advertising for the station . 13 on air staff edit gary sapiane chris buckhout brian the cannon bannon chuck mackin al case bill thomas bob aldrich ed wright al patterson scotty hart dan duprey programs and syndicated shows edit sock hop saturday night w mark edwards american standards by the sea w dick robinson american hit list w m.g. kelly shake rattle showtime w jim parsons greatest hits usa w chuck taylor beatles show w casey piotrowski doo wop stop w cool bobby b news and sports edit wlng s local news coverage according to the station s vice president in 2007 is considered the best by many locals and is famous for being the definitive source with close to a 90 % share for weather information during major storms . 8 on july 17 1996 the station was broadcasting a live remote from jamesport new york when twa flight 800 crashed into the nearby atlantic ocean and states that it was the first to break news of the event . 14 15 in 2007 the station became affiliated with espn 1050 for local broadcast of espn sports radio but was not without some coverage difficulties according to newsday . 16 the station was affiliated with nbc radio between 2012 and 2015 and is affiliated with westwood one news since 2015 for national and worldwide news . before the 2011 hurricane irene wlng was listed as the reliable resource for the latest on the hurricane s progess . by rep. timothy bishop d. ny 17 and was the designated broadcast information source . 18 during hurricane sandy in 2012 wlng continued broadcasting and streaming online on generator power using flashlights as the storm surge rose to ankle deep in the studio . when a burning smell was detected the station finally went off air from 8 p.m. on monday night until 3 a.m tuesday morning when the water subsided . 19 after the storm wlng helped coordinate relief supplies and vehicles with local police . 20 specials edit the station has allowed guest hosts on air if their airtime was sponsored . in 1987 a pair of sponsored 5th grade students broadcast for three hours during which all did not go well catching the attention of new york times long island journal desk columnist diane ketchum . 21 recognition edit in 1993 wlng won a national association of broadcasters crystal radio award for excellence in community service . 22 in 2007 paul sidney was inducted into the new york state broadcasters association hall of fame . 8 23 on the march 20 2014 and january 6 2016 episodes of the tonight show starring jimmy fallon billy joel and jimmy fallon discuss a plot they have to crash the wlng studio in sag harbor . they claim the plan was devised during a party at howard stern s house of which they both attended 24 25 references edit call sign history . cdbs public access database . fcc media bureau . retrieved april 28 2013 . http www.fybush.com nerw 2011 110725 nerw.html paul sidney of wlng dies at 69 . hamptons online . april 3 2009 . wlng fm goes stereo . wlng radio . facebook.com . january 20 2011 . wlng stereo 92.1 fm . wlng92 . youtube.com . january 23 2011 . retrieved 2013 04 26 . erickson mike september 16 2011 . wlng that sound press release . wheatstone audio processing . retrieved 2013 04 26 . a b c radio ; wlng found its style and is sticking with it . new york times . october 3 2004 . hinckley david august 22 1998 . at deejay oriented wlng mike still makes right . new york daily news . p. 63 . retrieved 2013 04 26 . who we are . wlng.com . retrieved september 10 2012 . a b c nys broadcasters association to welcome wlng s sidney into 2007 hall of fame . readmedia.com . may 30 2007 . archived from the original on 2011 07 20 . retrieved september 10 2011 . a b green adam july 22 2002 . east end oldie the new yorker . ketcham diane december 25 1988 . radio redux frequencies are in demand . the new york times . retrieved 2012 12 06 . ross sean ; silvia laura . ed . january 24 2005 . don t drop oldies before you ve read this . edison research . retrieved 2012 12 06 . a b spiegel meryl may 26 1996 . out east fierce rivalry on radio dial . the new york times . retrieved 2012 12 06 . stephen j. kotz may 29 2015 . rusty potz wlng dj for 40 years signs off . sag harbor express . fisher marc 2007 . something in the air radio rock and the revolution that shaped a generation . random house . p. 321 . nys broadcasters association to welcome wlng s sidney into 2007 hall of fame . readmedia inc. retrieved september 11 2012 . best neil november 3 2007 . sportswatch radio daze jagr shoots ... and scoresssssss . newsday . retrieved 2012 12 06 . bishop timothy h. august 26 2011 . hurricane irene resources press release . us fed news service including us state news . archived from the original on august 26 2011 . retrieved 2012 12 06 . sherman joanne august 24 2011 . midweek forecast puts east end in storm path irene takes aim at the northeast . shelter island reporter . times review newsgroup . retrieved 2012 12 06 . watson dawn november 6 2012 . no power no problem for local radio . east hampton press & southampton press . retrieved 2012 12 06 salvi carrie ann november 8 2012 . many relief efforts for sandy victims . east hampton star . retrieved 2012 12 06 . ketcham diane march 22 1987 . long island journal desk . new york times . retrieved 2012 12 06 . past award winners 1993 . national association of broadcasters . retrieved 2012 12 06 . hall of fame 2007 inductees paul sidney . new york state broadcasters association . retrieved 2012 12 06 . billy joel and jimmy fallon discuss a plot to crash wlng in sag harbor the east hampton press & the southampton press retrieved 2015 02 15 . billy joel on the tonight show says he ll dj on his sirius xm channel and duets with jimmy fallon newsday.com retrieved 2016 02 09 . further reading edit r. b. stuart broadcasting to a little piece of the world hamptons.com wlng radio tribute page a tribute to wlng am & fm wlng celebrates 50 years on air sag harbor express august 8 2013 wlng looks back at 50 years on the air the southampton press august 13 2013 external links edit wlng 92.1 fm online query the fcc s fm station database for wlng radio locator information on wlng query nielsen audio s fm station database for wlng wlng s channel on youtube v t e radio stations in the