Local Radio Station Goes Dark After More Than Half Century of Serving Northeast Morris County

Published on December 14, 2017

Radio station WGHT, a small, 1,000 watt local broadcast outlet that for 53 years served the towns of Northeast Morris County and towns in neighboring Passaic County, stopped broadcasting today, ending its commercial run.

(PNG, 12KB)WGHT, which originally had call letters WKER and broadcast at 1500 AM on the radio dial, went dark at 2 p.m., ending a long stint as an Oldies and News station that was a vital local and regional information provider.

The station's news team had actively pursued and broadcast news and information from Morris County government, and towns in its listening area. In particular, it served Butler, Kinnelon, Lincoln Park, Pequannock and Riverdale in Morris County.

Pompton Lakes based WKER went on the air in 1964, named for its founder Robert

(PNG, 17KB) Mike Forte

Kerr. It was purchased in the 1990s by John Silliman, who changed the call letters, and who has owned and managed the station since that time.

Silliman, according to media reports, said the station was no longer financially viable. He donated the station and five-acres to the Borough of Pompton Lakes, which has one year to re-start a broadcasting operation or lose the station's FCC broadcast license.

On the final day of WGHT, news director Mike Forte was on the air in the morning for his normal shift for news, followed by Art Rooney and then John Silliman, who signed off.

The Morris County Board of Freeholders thanks the WGHT news team -- news director Mike Forte, mid-day news anchors Dan Evans and Chad Robinson, and reporters Meghan Roche, Michael Cohen, and David Lee -- for their interest in providing local and county news, and wishes them well.