The station offers general and financial news reports 24-hours a day, along with local information and interviews with corporate executives, economists, and industry analysts.

[2] WBBR broadcasts with 50,000 watts, the maximum authorized power for AM stations, from a four-tower antenna array located in Carlstadt, New Jersey.

[4] WODA was initially licensed in April 1925 to the James K O'Dea Radio and Victrola Shop, 115 Ellison Street in Paterson.

[5] WNEW debuted February 13, 1934, as "New York's newest radio station", and with new call sign representing NEWark, NEW Jersey.

[6] WNEW was known for its popular adult music selection as well as its staff of radio personalities (including Martin Block, Dee Finch, Gene Rayburn, Gene Klavan, Al "Jazzbo" Collins, Ted Brown and William B. Williams), as well as for developing modern morning radio.

[7] WNEW was acquired in 1934 by advertising executive Milton H. Biow and watch manufacturer Arde Bulova, under the name The Greater New York Broadcasting Company.

It also acquired the Manhattan studios at 501 Madison Avenue which had been constructed for the recently failed Amalgamated Broadcasting System.

New York socialite Bernice Judis was hired as WNEW's first general manager, making her a rare female executive during the "Golden Age of Radio".

[7]: 5 In 1935, WNEW pioneered the concept of a disc jockey when staff announcer Martin Block needed to fill time between news bulletins during his coverage of the Lindbergh kidnapping trial of Bruno Hauptmann.

During Block's tenure as host of Make Believe Ballroom, the show attracted 25% of the listening audience in New York City.

[7]: 8 In 1936, as the popularity of recorded music grew, WNEW was the defendant in a lawsuit initiated by bandleaders Paul Whiteman, Sammy Kaye and Fred Waring.

They claimed that the playing of records on radio broadcasts was undermining performers' network contracts, which often called for exclusive services.

In 1942, Judis set up a broadcast desk at the New York Daily News and WNEW became one of the first stations to carry hourly newscasts, something that would become commonplace in the industry over the next fifteen years.

[16] Less than eighteen months later, in October 1955 the station changed hands again with Buckley joining two new partners, television producer and investor Jack Wrather and banker John L.

[7]: 40  Aerospace author Martin Caidin anchored live broadcasts for WNEW during early American space launches in the 1960s, traveling to Cape Canaveral to report on-site.

[citation needed] Long-time general manager Bernice Judis left WNEW in 1959 and was replaced by John Van Buren Sullivan, who started the station's affiliation with the New York Giants football team in 1960.

The station struggled to maintain an adult pop standards audience that was being replaced by an expanding youth market.

With FM radio taking a larger share of young listeners, WNEW as an AM station opted to return to its roots in pop standards in 1976, reinstating Milkman's Matinee on overnights.

[20] Even with new additions to programming such as Larry King's overnight radio show, the station's ratings continued to decline.

In 1990, WNEW began mixing in soft hits by baby boomer pop artists such as Neil Diamond, The Carpenters, The Righteous Brothers, Carole King, Barry Manilow, Lionel Richie and Linda Ronstadt.

[20] In the period before the format change, the airstaff was given an opportunity to say goodbye, culminating on December 10 and 11, 1992, when the station had one big farewell show.

The show ended at 8:15 p.m. on the 11th, as Mark Simone signed off for the last time with the entire current and many living former personalities at his side.

After airing the Perry Como Christmas Special, shows from Talknet, and the first hour of Larry King, the station signed off at 11:59 pm.

[23] By March 2002, WBBR's programming during non-market hours began to emphasize talk shows, with hosts that included Caroline Baum, Ellis Henican, Jim Cramer, and Ed Koch.