On December 16, 1939, WKNY first
signed on. The inaugural program was broadcast at 8:15 PM from the auditorium of Kingston High School before an audience of approximately 100 people. Major C.J. Heiselman was unable to attend WKNY's opening ceremonies but a recorded message from him was broadcast over the air. The musical program was rendered by Roger Baer's Orchestra, the Vocal Rhythm Boys of Saugerties and vocal solos by Miss Lynne Clark. Following the musical program in the High School, the program continued with musical selections from the new WKNY studios in the Governor Clinton Hotel. The following morning the services in the Fair Street Reformed Church were broadcast on the air and the station was expected to have a formal dedication in January 1940. The
FCC first licensed WKNY to begin full operations on January 17, 1940. In 1940, John McKenna held the position of President of Kingston Broadcasting. In July 1943, Benjamin F. Feiner, Jr. stepped down as President of Kingston Broadcasting. In 1944, WKNY moved its studios and offices to the Community Theatre Building at 601 Broadway, It started on Channel 66 and later moved to Channel 21. While it was
licensed to Kingston, its studios and tower were in
Poughkeepsie. WKNY-TV carried programming from the four TV networks at the time,
CBS,
NBC,
ABC and the
DuMont. It served as the only television station between
New York City and
Albany. But in the 1950s, few people had TV sets that could receive
UHF channels, above 13. And the advertising base in the sparsely populated Hudson Valley was small. WKNY-TV only lasted two years, suspending operations in 1956. In the 1960s and 1970s, WKNY was a
Top 40 station. It aired the
syndicated countdown show "
American Top 40 with
Casey Kasem" on Saturdays from 8am-noon. By the 1980s, WKNY evolved to a
full-service adult contemporary format, when it was in competition with Walter C. Maxwell's
AM 920 WGHQ. In 1971, the station moved to 212 Fair Street in a house formerly owned by Mayor Raymond Garraghan. In 1986, WKNY moved into its present studio and offices at 718 Broadway. Noted former personalities include "Morning Mayor" Ward Todd, who enjoyed a high ratings in the era when AM radio captured a large wake-up audience. WKNY also aired
New York Yankees baseball for many years before the games shifted to
country music station
FM 94.3 WKXP, when it was co-owned with WKNY. In 2002,
Cumulus Media, a major owner of radio stations across the U.S., acquired WKNY. On August 30, 2013, a deal was announced in which
Cumulus Media would swap its stations in
Dubuque, Iowa, and
Poughkeepsie, New York, including WKNY, to
Townsquare Media in exchange for Peak Broadcasting's
Fresno, California, stations. The deal was part of Cumulus' acquisition of
Dial Global. Townsquare, Peak, and Dial Global were all controlled by
Oaktree Capital Management. The transaction was consummated effective November 14, 2013. On August 2, 2017, a new
non-profit organization, The Radio Kingston Corporation, announced an agreement with Townsquare to purchase WKNY and move it to non-commercial status. Thirty–year broadcast veteran Jimmy Buff, former program director and morning host for 100.1
WDST in
Woodstock, New York, was named executive director of Radio Kingston. On October 31, 2017, the sale between Radio Kingston Corp and Townsquare was completed at a price of $500,000. ==On-air personalities==