PORT JERVIS—The WALL is back—the WALL—AM 1340, that is. Once called the best of local radio in the Hudson Valley, the station was recently bought by Bud and Julie Williamson and their son who plan to restore true local radio to the region.
The Williamsons exchanged the signal for another with Townsquare Media to purchase WALL. They say they plan to keep it family-owned and independent—not allow it to be controlled by another radio network or company.
Deep Community Roots
The return of WALL is long overdue. The Middletown area has been without live radio programming since 1998, apart from time leased by local legend Mark West from April 2011 until this May.
But from the mid 1940s until 1998 WALL Radio was a local “must listen” for area residents interested in keeping up with what was happening in Orange County. Many of its personalities moved on to careers in major market radio or in administrative positions in the industry.
“The station touched people. [Julie] remembers waking up to WALL radio,” Bud said. “That’s where you got your information. There needs to be that one-on-one communication.”
