WNIS (790 AM ) is a commercial radio station licensed to Norfolk, Virginia , and serving the Hampton Roads media market . WNIS is owned and operated by Sinclair Telecable, Inc. It airs a talk radio format .
59-1079: WNIS has studios and offices on Waterside Drive in Norfolk. Its transmitter site is off Hall Road in Hampton . It transmits with 5,000 watts around the clock, using a directional antenna with a three- tower array . Weekdays, WNIS has local morning drive time talk and information shows called "Marcrini's Morning News" and the “Karen and Mike Show.” Other weekday hours feature nationally syndicated shows from Sean Hannity , Brian Kilmeade , " Clay Travis & Buck Sexton ," Mark Levin , " Coast to Coast AM with George Noory " and " This Morning, America's First News with Gordon Deal ." Weekends feature shows on money, health, cars and fishing, with syndicated hosts including Kim Komando , Guy Benson , Rudy Maxa , Mike Imprevento, " Live on Sunday Night, It's Bill Cunningham " and " Somewhere in Time with Art Bell ." Most hours begin with world and national news from Fox News Radio . WNIS
118-702: A management agreement . Radio sister stations will often have different formats , and sometimes one station is on the AM band while another is on the FM band . Conversely, several types of sister-station relationships exist in television; stations in the same city will usually be affiliated with different television networks (often one with a major network and the other with a secondary network), and may occasionally shift television programs between each other when local events require one station to interrupt its network feed. Sister stations in separate (but often nearby) cities owned by
177-485: A telephone hybrid for putting telephone calls on the air, a POTS codec for receiving remote broadcasts , a dead air alarm for detecting unexpected silence , and a broadcast delay for dropping anything from coughs to profanity . In the U.S., stations licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) also must have an Emergency Alert System decoder (typically in the studio), and in
236-401: A different machine, which records the combined signals (called printing ) to a 1 ⁄ 2 -inch two-track stereo tape, called a master . Before digital recording, the total number of available tracks onto which one could record was measured in multiples of 24, based on the number of 24-track tape machines being used. Most recording studios now use digital recording equipment, which limits
295-750: A home studio is challenging because they are usually the loudest instruments. Acoustic drums require sound isolation in this scenario, unlike electronic or sampled drums. Getting an authentic electric guitar amp sound including power-tube distortion requires a power attenuator or an isolation cabinet , or booth. A convenient compromise is amplifier modeling , whether a modeling amp, preamp/processor, or software-based guitar amp simulator. Sometimes, musicians replace loud, inconvenient instruments such as drums, with keyboards, which today often provide somewhat realistic sampling . The capability of digital recording introduced by ADAT and its comparatively low cost, originally introduced at $ 3995, were largely responsible for
354-476: A home studio via the Internet. Additional outside audio connections are required for the studio/transmitter link for over-the-air stations, satellite dishes for sending and receiving shows, and for webcasting or podcasting . Sister station In broadcasting , sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through
413-413: A large role in the recording process. With software, a powerful, good quality computer with a fast processor can replace the mixing consoles , multitrack recording equipment, synthesizers, samplers and effects unit (reverb, echo, compression, etc.) that a recording studio required in the 1980s and 1990s. A computer thus outfitted is called a digital audio workstation , or DAW. While Apple Macintosh
472-444: A lesser amount of diffused reflections from walls to make a good-sounding room. A drummer, vocalist, or guitar speaker cabinet, along with microphones, is acoustically isolated in the isolation booth. A typical professional recording studio today has a control room , a large live room , and one or more small isolation booths . All rooms are soundproofed by varying methods, including but not limited to, double-layer 5/8" sheetrock with
531-508: A regular stage or film set. In the era of acoustical recordings (prior to the introduction of microphones, electrical recording and amplification), the earliest recording studios were very basic facilities, being essentially soundproof rooms that isolated the performers from outside noise. During this era it was not uncommon for recordings to be made in any available location, such as a local ballroom, using portable acoustic recording equipment. In this period, master recordings were made by cutting
590-410: A rotating cylinder (later disc) made from wax. Performers were typically grouped around a large acoustic horn (an enlarged version of the familiar gramophone horn). The acoustic energy from the voices or instruments was channeled through the horn to a diaphragm to a mechanical cutting lathe , which inscribed the signal as a modulated groove directly onto the surface of the master. Electrical recording
649-497: A selection of instruments in their live room, typically instruments, amplifiers and speaker cabinets that are large, heavy, and difficult to transport (e.g., a Hammond organ ) or infeasible (as in the case of a grand piano ) to hire for a single recording session. Having musical instruments and equipment in the studio creates additional costs for a studio, as pianos have to be tuned and instruments and associated equipment needs to be maintained. General-purpose computers rapidly assumed
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#1732902379608708-402: A signal from one or more of the microphones in the studio could be routed to the loudspeaker in the echo chamber; the sound from the speaker reverberated through the chamber and the enhanced signal was picked up by the microphone at the other end. This echo-enhanced signal, which was often used to sweeten the sound of vocals, could then be blended in with the primary signal from the microphone in
767-414: A single take. In the 1970s the large recording companies began to adopt multi-track recording and the emphasis shifted to isolation and sound-proofing, with treatments like echo and reverberation added separately during the mixing process, rather than being blended in during the recording. Generally, after an audio mix is set up on a 24-track tape machine, the tracks are played back together, mixed and sent to
826-408: A vibrant acoustic signature as the natural reverb enhanced the sound of the recording. In this period large, acoustically live halls were favored, rather than the acoustically dead booths and studio rooms that became common after the 1960s. Because of the limits of the recording technology, which did not allow for multitrack recording techniques, studios of the mid-20th century were designed around
885-428: Is a key goal, the musicians, singers, audio engineers and record producers still need to be able to see each other, to see cue gestures and conducting by a bandleader. As such, the live room, isolation booths, vocal booths and control room typically have windows. Amplified instruments, like electric guitars and digital keyboards, may be connected directly to the recording console using DI units and performance recorded in
944-613: Is a specialized facility for recording and mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enough to record a single singer-guitarist, to a large building with space for a full orchestra of 100 or more musicians. Ideally, both the recording and monitoring (listening and mixing) spaces are specially designed by an acoustician or audio engineer to achieve optimum acoustic properties (acoustic isolation or diffusion or absorption of reflected sound reverberation that could otherwise interfere with
1003-409: Is essential to preserving the ability to fine-tune lines up to the last minute. Sometimes, if the rapport between the lead actors is strong enough and the animation studio can afford it, the producers may use a recording studio configured with multiple isolation booths in which the actors can see each another and the director. This enables the actors to react to one another in real time as if they were on
1062-530: Is the oldest radio station in Virginia. The station was first licensed, as WTAR, on September 21, 1923. The original call letters were randomly assigned from a sequential roster of available call signs. WTAR signed on the air at 780 kHz with a power of 15 watts. A second Norfolk station was licensed as WSUF, which in early 1928 changed its call sign to WPOR. As part of a consolidation, WTAR was formally licensed as WTAR-WSUF and later WTAR-WPOR, with WPOR only used when
1121-487: Is used for most studio work, there is a breadth of software available for Microsoft Windows and Linux . If no mixing console is used and all mixing is done using only a keyboard and mouse, this is referred to as mixing in the box (ITB). OTB describes mixing with other hardware and not just the PC software. A small, personal recording studio is sometimes called a project studio or home studio . Such studios often cater to
1180-531: The CBS Radio Network . At that time, the station was owned and operated by the parent company of the Norfolk Ledger-Star and The Virginian-Pilot . By the late 1930s, WTAR got a power boost to 5,000 watts by day, 1,000 watts at night. In the 1940s, the nighttime power was increased to match the daytime power, 5,000 watts. WTAR added an FM counterpart in 1947, WTAR-FM (97.3), which mostly simulcast
1239-579: The DuMont Television Network . Within a year of the TV station's debut, both the TV and radio facilities moved into a new broadcasting center at 720 Boush Street. In 1961, WTAR management decided to return to FM broadcasting, and signed on a new WTAR-FM, this time at 95.7 MHz (now WVKL ). WTAR-FM aired automated beautiful music , separate from the AM station, which had a full service format of middle of
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#17329023796081298-511: The RCA company in the 1930s were crucial to the crooning style perfected by Bing Crosby , and the famous Neumann U 47 condenser microphone was one of the most widely used from the 1950s. This model is still widely regarded by audio professionals as one of the best microphones of its type ever made. Learning the correct placement of microphones is a major part of the training of young engineers, and many became extremely skilled in this craft. Well into
1357-407: The "studio" or "live room" equipped with microphones and mic stands, where instrumentalists and vocalists perform; and the " control room ", where audio engineers, sometimes with record producers, as well, operate professional audio mixing consoles , effects units , or computers with specialized software suites to mix , manipulate (e.g., by adjusting the equalization and adding effects) and route
1416-573: The 1950s and 1960s, the sound of pop recordings was further defined by the introduction of proprietary sound processing devices such as equalizers and compressors, which were manufactured by specialist electronics companies. One of the best known of these was the Pultec equalizer which was used by almost all the major commercial studios of the time. With the introduction of multi-track recording , it became possible to record instruments and singers separately and at different times on different tracks on tape. In
1475-508: The 1960s, in the classical field it was not uncommon for engineers to make high-quality orchestral recordings using only one or two microphones suspended above the orchestra. In the 1960s, engineers began experimenting with placing microphones much closer to instruments than had previously been the norm. The distinctive rasping tone of the horn sections on the Beatles recordings " Good Morning Good Morning " and " Lady Madonna " were achieved by having
1534-469: The 30th Street Studio at 207 East 30th Street, the CBS Studio Building at 49 East 52nd Street, Liederkranz Hall at 111 East 58th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues (a building built by and formerly belonging to a German cultural and musical society, The Liederkranz Club and Society), and one of their earliest recording studios, Studio A at 799 Seventh Avenue. Electric recording studios in
1593-455: The 30th Street Studios in the late 1940s and A&R manager Mitch Miller had tweaked it to perfection, Miller issued a standing order that the drapes and other fittings were not to be touched, and the cleaners had specific orders never to mop the bare wooden floor for fear it might alter the acoustic properties of the hall. There were several other features of studios in this period that contributed to their unique sonic signatures. As well as
1652-454: The AM station. However, few people owned FM radios at that time, and WTAR gave up its FM license a couple of years later. The 97.3 frequency returned to the air in the mid-1950s as WGH-FM . In 1950, WTAR signed on a TV station, WTAR-TV (Channel 4, now WTKR on channel 3). Because WTAR was an NBC affiliate, the TV station primarily carried NBC -TV programs. As the first TV station in the Norfolk area, it also ran some shows from CBS , ABC and
1711-519: The case of full-power stations, an encoder that can interrupt programming on all channels which a station transmits to broadcast urgent warnings. Computers are used for playing ads , jingles , bumpers , soundbites , phone calls, sound effects , traffic and weather reports , and now are able to perform full broadcast automation when no staff are present. Digital mixing consoles can be interconnected via audio over Ethernet . Network connections allow remote access , so that DJs can do shows from
1770-489: The concept of grouping musicians (e.g., the rhythm section or a horn section ) and singers (e.g., a group of backup singers ), rather than separating them, and placing the performers and the microphones strategically to capture the complex acoustic and harmonic interplay that emerged during the performance. In the 2000s, modern sound stages still sometimes use this approach for large film scoring projects that use large orchestras. Because of their superb acoustics, many of
1829-480: The consideration of the physical dimensions of the room itself to make the room respond to sound in the desired way. Acoustical treatment includes and the use of absorption and diffusion materials on the surfaces inside the room. To control the amount of reverberation, rooms in a recording studio may have a reconfigurable combination of reflective and non-reflective surfaces. Soundproofing provides sonic isolation between rooms and prevents sound from entering or leaving
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1888-436: The control room. This greatly enhances the communication between the producer and engineer with the player, as studio mics, headphones and talkback are unnecessary. Recording studios are carefully designed around the principles of room acoustics to create a set of spaces with the acoustical properties required for recording sound with accuracy. Architectural acoustics includes acoustical treatment and soundproofing and also
1947-412: The inherent sound of the large recording rooms, many of the best studios incorporated specially-designed echo chambers , purpose-built rooms which were often built beneath the main studio. These were typically long, low rectangular spaces constructed from hard, sound-reflective materials like concrete, fitted with a loudspeaker at one end and one or more microphones at the other. During a recording session,
2006-640: The larger studios were converted churches. Examples include George Martin 's AIR Studios in London, Columbia Records 30th Street Studio in New York City, and Pythian Temple studio in New York. Facilities like the Columbia Records 30th Street Studio in New York and Abbey Road Studios in London were renowned for their identifiable sound—which was (and still is) easily identifiable by audio professionals—and for
2065-473: The main network (such as the Nick Jr. Channel or Nicktoons ) or broadcast to a wider audience than the main network (such as CNN International or Al Jazeera English ). However, in other cases, these cable or satellite channels may only share common ownership. The establishment and proliferation of sister networks on cable, satellite and internet providers has become easier and more commercially profitable over
2124-584: The mid-20th century often lacked isolation booths, sound baffles , and sometimes even speakers. A major reason that isolation was not used was that recordings in this period were typically made as live ensemble takes and all the performers needed to be able to see each other and the ensemble leader while playing. The recording engineers who trained in this period learned to take advantage of the complex acoustic effects that could be created through leakage between different microphones and groups of instruments, and these technicians became extremely skilled at capturing
2183-422: The mid-20th century, recordings were analog , made on 1 ⁄ 4 -inch or 1 ⁄ 2 -inch magnetic tape , or, more rarely, on 35 mm magnetic film , with multitrack recording reaching 8 tracks in the 1950s, 16 in 1968, and 32 in the 1970s. The commonest such tape is the 2-inch analog, capable of containing up to 24 individual tracks. Throughout the 1960s many pop classics were still recorded live in
2242-524: The number of available tracks only on the basis of the mixing console 's or computer hardware interface's capacity and the ability of the hardware to cope with processing demands. Analog tape machines are still used in some cases for their unique sonic characteristics. Radio studios are very similar to recording studios, particularly in the case of production studios which are not normally used on-air , such as studios where interviews are taped for later broadcast. This type of studio would normally have all of
2301-502: The property. A Recording studio in an urban environment must be soundproofed on its outer shell to prevent noises from the surrounding streets and roads from being picked up by microphones inside. Equipment found in a recording studio commonly includes: Not all music studios are equipped with musical instruments. Some smaller studios do not have instruments, and bands and artists are expected to bring their own instruments, amplifiers, and speakers. However, major recording studios often have
2360-459: The rise of project studios in the 1990s. Today's project studios are built around software-based DAWs running on standard PC hardware. An isolation booth is either a partially enclosed area in the live room or a completely separate small room built adjacent to the live room that is both soundproofed to keep out external sounds and keep in the internal sounds. Like all the other recording rooms in sound industry, isolation booths designed for having
2419-725: The road music , adult contemporary , news, sports and talk. By 1986 or 1987, WTAR switched its full-service format to an oldies format and became an affiliate of CBS Radio News. In the early 1990s, the station stopped playing music and became a news/talk station, adding an affiliation with CNN as well as CBS Radio. Around the same time, rival talk station WNIS got a big boost in power, going to 50,000 watts by day, 25,000 watts at night. Eventually, both stations would become co-owned, with Sinclair acquiring AM 850 in June 1997. On July 15, 1997, WTAR and its sister station on AM 850, WNIS, exchanged call letters, with AM 790 becoming WNIS, while WTAR
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2478-645: The same company may or may not share a network affiliation. For example, WNYW and WWOR-TV , in New York City and Secaucus, New Jersey , are both owned by Fox Corporation . WNYW is a Fox owned-and-operated station ; WWOR-TV is a MyNetworkTV owned-and-operated station. WPSG in Philadelphia and KBCW in San Francisco were the flagship stations of The CW until 2022 and are owned by CBS Television Stations . In addition, stations in different cities affiliated with
2537-444: The same equipment that any other audio recording studio would have, particularly if it is at a large station, or at a combined facility that houses a station group, but is also designed for groups of people to work collaboratively in a live-to-air situation. Broadcast studios also use many of the same principles such as sound isolation, with adaptations suited to the live on-air nature of their use. Such equipment would commonly include
2596-444: The same network, but not sharing an ownership tie, may refer to each other informally as sister stations. Sister networks or sister channels , in many cases, are cable or satellite channels which are launched to either broadcast series which either premiered on the main network but has been moved out of the higher-priority schedule (such as TV Land or Boomerang ), fulfill a specific niche of content which would not be fulfilled on
2655-401: The saxophone players position their instruments so that microphones were virtually inside the mouth of the horn. The unique sonic characteristics of the major studios imparted a special character to many of the most famous popular recordings of the 1950s and 1960s, and the recording companies jealously guarded these facilities. According to sound historian David Simons, after Columbia took over
2714-508: The seams offset from layer to layer on both sides of the wall that is filled with foam, batten insulation, a double wall, which is an insulated wall built next to another insulated wall with an air gap in-between, by adding foam to the interior walls and corners, and by using two panes of thick glass with an air gap between them. The surface densities of common building materials determines the transmission loss of various frequencies through materials. Thomas A. Watson invented, but did not patent,
2773-516: The skill of their staff engineers. As the need to transfer audio material between different studios grew, there was an increasing demand for standardization in studio design across the recording industry, and Westlake Recording Studios in West Hollywood was highly influential in the 1970s in the development of standardized acoustic design. In New York City, Columbia Records had some of the most highly respected sound recording studios, including
2832-495: The smaller independent studios were often owned by skilled electronics engineers who designed and built their own desks and other equipment. A good example of this is Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles, the site of many famous American pop recordings of the 1960s. Co-owner David S. Gold built the studio's main mixing desk and many additional pieces of equipment and he also designed the studio's unique trapezoidal echo chambers. During
2891-474: The sound and keep it from bleeding into the other microphones, allowing better independent control of each instrument channel at the mixing console . In animation, vocal performances are normally recorded in individual sessions, and the actors have to imagine (with the help of the director or a reader) they are involved in dialogue. Animated films often evolve rapidly during both development and production, so keeping vocal tracks from bleeding into each other
2950-408: The sound for analog or digital recording . The engineers and producers listen to the live music and the recorded "tracks" on high-quality monitor speakers or headphones . Often, there will be smaller rooms called isolation booths to accommodate loud instruments such as drums or electric guitar amplifiers and speakers, to keep these sounds from being audible to the microphones that are capturing
3009-401: The sound heard by the listener). Recording studios may be used to record singers, instrumental musicians (e.g., electric guitar, piano, saxophone, or ensembles such as orchestras), voice-over artists for advertisements or dialogue replacement in film, television, or animation, Foley , or to record their accompanying musical soundtracks. The typical recording studio consists of a room called
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#17329023796083068-445: The soundproof booth for use in demonstrating the telephone with Alexander Graham Bell in 1877. There are variations of the same concept, including a portable standalone isolation booth and a guitar speaker isolation cabinet. A gobo panel achieves the same effect to a much more moderate extent; for example, a drum kit that is too loud in the live room or on stage can have acrylic glass see-through gobo panels placed around it to deflect
3127-474: The sounds from other instruments or voices, or to provide "drier" rooms for recording vocals or quieter acoustic instruments such as an acoustic guitar or a fiddle . Major recording studios typically have a range of large, heavy, and hard-to-transport instruments and music equipment in the studio, such as a grand piano , Hammond organ , electric piano , harp , and drums . Recording studios generally consist of three or more rooms: Even though sound isolation
3186-444: The specific needs of an individual artist or are used as a non-commercial hobby. The first modern project studios came into being during the mid-1980s, with the advent of affordable multitrack recording devices, synthesizers and microphones. The phenomenon has flourished with falling prices of MIDI equipment and accessories, as well as inexpensive direct to disk recording products. Recording drums and amplified electric guitar in
3245-532: The station was broadcasting from an auxiliary studio. However, the Federal Radio Commission (FRC) requested that stations using only one of their assigned call letters drop those that were no longer in regular use, so on May 15, 1933 WPOR was eliminated from the dual call sign, with the station reverting to just WTAR. On July 6, 1934, WTAR became an affiliate of the NBC Red Network after dropping
3304-435: The studio and mixed into the track as the master recording was being made. Special equipment was another notable feature of the classic recording studio. The biggest studios were owned and operated by large media companies like RCA, Columbia and EMI, who typically had their own electronics research and development divisions that designed and built custom-made recording equipment and mixing consoles for their studios. Likewise,
3363-571: The unique acoustic properties of their studios and the musicians in performance. It was not until the 1960s, with the introduction of the high-fidelity headphones that it became common practice for performers to use these to monitor their performance during recording and listen to playbacks. The use of different kinds of microphones and their placement around the studio is a crucial part of the recording process, and particular brands of microphones are used by engineers for their specific audio characteristics. The smooth-toned ribbon microphones developed by
3422-442: Was common by the early 1930s, and mastering lathes were electrically powered, but master recordings still had to be cut into a disc, by now a lacquer, also known as an Acetate disc . In line with the prevailing musical trends, studios in this period were primarily designed for the live recording of symphony orchestras and other large instrumental ensembles. Engineers soon found that large, reverberant spaces like concert halls created
3481-453: Was moved to 850 kHz. 850 has the stronger signal, broadcasting at 50,000 watts by day, the highest power authorized for AM stations by the Federal Communications Commission . At night it runs 25,000 watts, while 790 kHz transmits 5,000 watts day and night. Both stations had talk formats, although 850 WTAR later became a sports radio station and network affiliate of Fox Sports Radio . Radio studio A recording studio
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