New 10,000 Watt WRCR AM 1700 Launches

BY GEORGE J. DACRE

WRCR AM 1700, a new radio station born in Rockland that will also do some growing up in the big city and beyond, officially launched Monday, July 13, 2015.

At the stroke of midnight, July 12 WRCR AM 1300 ceased operations, giving way to WRCR AM 1700. Operated by Alexander Broadcasting Company, the new station will be anchored by Steve Possell during the A.M. drive and will still feature its current programming lineup, including talk shows, local, regional and national news and adult contemporary music.

Boosted by the powerful 10,000 watt signal and a new digital transmitter, the new WRCR will reach across, Rockland, Westchester, Orange and Bergen Counties and cover all five boroughs of New York City. Before the upgrade WRCR could not even be counted on reaching the upper reaches of Rockland County. Now it will have a reach of more than 12 million people, while also streaming live from its website at www.WRCR.com.

“We are excited to come to this new phase of radio programming history in Rockland County and beyond. New York City and the surrounding areas have always been a home to eclectic tastes and sounds and there is plenty of room on the dial for something different,” Dr. Alexander Medakovich, president of Alexander Broadcasting Company, said. “Our listeners and advertisers are thrilled about the prospect of sharing our home-grown radio station with a larger audience and helping make it more exciting than ever before.”

In the WRCR format entrepreneurs, organizations and area politicians lease time slots for their own shows, resulting in a mix of programming that includes “Who Wants To Be A Volunteer” with George James Patrick Dacre, “Mostly Movies” with Mercedes and Big Jim Wheeler and “Dying to Bloom.”