Effective December 1, 1921, the U.S. Department of Commerce set aside a single wavelength, 360 meters (833 kilohertz), for radio stations to broadcast "entertainment" programs.

[6] Three other broadcasting stations were already on the air in the region transmitting on 360 meters: WJZ, also in Newark, operated by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA); WNO, operated by The Jersey Journal newspaper in Jersey City; and WDT, owned by the Ship Owners Radio Service in the Stapleton section of Staten Island.

[8] In September 1922 the Department of Commerce set aside a second entertainment wavelength, 400 meters (750 kHz), for "Class B" stations that had quality equipment and programming.

[10] WOR moved to 740 kHz, where it shared time with WDT (which shut down by the end of the year) and a new RCA station, WJY.

On November 11, 1928, under the provisions of the FRC's General Order 40, this assignment was designated a "clear channel" frequency, with WOR the dominant station.

In December 1924, although still licensed to Newark, WOR opened a second studio in Manhattan to originate programs, so that stars of the day based in New York City would have better access to the station.

[citation needed] On April 30, 2005, WOR moved from its offices and studios at 1440 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, where it had been based for 79 years.

Past notable hosts include Ed and Pegeen Fitzgerald, Arlene Francis, Long John Nebel, Peter Lind Hayes and Mary Healy, Bernard Meltzer, Barry Farber, Jean Shepherd, Bob and Ray, Bob Grant and Gene Klavan.

Although never aimed at young listeners, WOR was this group's radio station of record in the New York metropolitan area during bad winter weather.

Students of all ages dialed up 710 AM on their radios as the Gamblings dutifully announced a comprehensive list of school closings for New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, in strict alphabetical order.

Newscasters Henry Gladstone,[16] Harry Hennessey, Jack Allen, John Wingate, Lyle Vann, Peter Roberts, Ed Walsh, Shelly Strickler, Sam Hall and Roger Skibenes were some of the on-air members of the news department.

WOR introduced live, on-air, helicopter traffic reports with pilot-reporters "Fearless" Fred Feldman and George Meade.

On January 10, 1969, fill-in pilot/reporter Frank McDermott died when the WOR helicopter crashed into an apartment building in Astoria, Queens as he was broadcasting a traffic update.

Thus each WOR tower hosted AM detuning apparatus to prevent adverse distortion of WINS and WLIB radiation patterns.

In late 2014, after WOR cancelled the hot talk Elliot in the Morning show, simulcast from iHeart alternative rock station WWDC in Washington, D.C., former WNBC sportscaster Len Berman and Tampa Bay area radio host Todd Schnitt were hired as the station's morning hosts.

[citation needed] On January 1, 2014, both the Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity shows were transferred from rival talk radio station WABC, owned by Cumulus Media.

On November 4, 2013, WOR and the New York Mets announced the team's games would be broadcast on 710 AM, as well as advertised on all local Clear Channel radio stations, beginning with the 2014 baseball season.

[24] To act as a lead-in to the Mets, sportscaster Pete McCarthy was given an early evening show called "The Sports Zone".

The relationship with the Mets lasted through the 2018 season, after which the team announced a new seven-year agreement with Entercom to air games on WCBS 880.

The Airwaves of New York: Illustrated Histories of 156 AM Stations in the Metropolitan Area, 1921-1996 by Bill Jaker, Frank Sulek and Peter Kanze, 1998.