WNAM 1280 AM to Sign Off After 78 Years on Air

RADIO ONLINE | Friday, December 19, 2025 | 10:44am CT

WNAM-AM (1280) in Appleton-Oshkosh, WI

WNAM-AM (1280) in Appleton-Oshkosh, WI will end broadcasting at midnight on Wednesday, December 31, closing a chapter that began more than 78 years ago. The station first signed on May 23, 1947, after announcing its launch in the Post-Crescent the day before. Its inaugural broadcast featured local and national news segments, sports programming including a Cincinnati-Chicago Cubs game, and music blocks billed as "Dinner Melodies."

In a statement released December 17, WNAM cited changing listener habits and economic challenges as reasons for the decision. "This difficult decision comes in response to evolving listener habits and economic realities that have reshaped the media landscape," the station said.

Over the decades, WNAM served the Fox Valley with music, news, weather coverage, and local advertising, becoming a longtime fixture in the region's radio landscape. The station also carried Wisconsin Timber Rattlers baseball play-by-play for the past 16 seasons.

That coverage will continue on sister station WOSH-AM (1490), according to the announcement.

WNAM thanked listeners, advertisers, and staff for their support across nearly eight decades, noting its role in local life and community connection. The station plans to remain on the air through the end of the year as it marks its final days of broadcasting.