WELM

WELM signed on in 1947 as Chemung County's second radio station and the Elmira-Corning, New York market's third. It broadcasts on 1410 kHz. The station uses a three-tower array, broadcasting with 5,000 watts from a single tower until sundown, when the power is reduced to 1,000 watts and the pattern becomes directional from all three towers.

In its early years, it produced several local programs, including the 6:00 News, with newscaster Gordon M. Ridenour, from 1947-1948. In the sixties, the station was home to a popular morning program "Stan and Russ on the Bus" hosted by Stan Douglas and Bill Russell. After that program left the air, Douglas continued to be involved with the station by hosting a well-received Sunday morning polka music program. For a time in the sixties and early seventies, there was also a Saturday evening jazz program, "Twentieth Century Jazz" hosted by John "Cappy" Caparulo. For most of its history, the station was affiliated with CBS Radio, and ran many network based shows including News on the Hour, CBS Mystery Theatre and Music and the Spoken Word.

It was the market's dominant Top 40 station in the early 1970s, but in 1975 the station was purchased by New England broadcaster Robert Condit, who controversially changed the format to easy listening and middle-of-the-road standards, angering listeners and driving away the station's on-air staff. The move was a failure, and the format gradually shifted to adult contemporary in the later part of the decade. By 1990, it had become an oldies station. Later, the station would switch to an all sports format.

In 2019, the all-sports format was changed to Classic Rock Gold with selective sports programming from MRN and local highschool sports. Also continue to air sports updates from CBS and NBC. The proper station name of WELM - The Sports Giant was updated to "The Pirate" and is currently^[when?] broadcast on 1410 AM & 106.5 FM.

THE PIRATE WEBSITE

WELM is owned by Tower Broadcasting LLC.