carrying NIS (which NBC would end by June 1977). The final story on NewsCenter 97, was reported by Wayne Howell Chappelle, known professionally as Wayne Howell. The station then went to a commercial break and, after airing the hourly legal ID at midnight, switched to an adult contemporary music format with a rock lean, under the moniker Y-97. The first song played under the new format was "Tonight's the Night" by Rod Stewart. WYNY (1977–1988) Shortly after adopting the new music format, the station call letters were changed to WYNY. The station was now primarily competing against WKTU. Ratings were fair at best, and by the end of 1978, after toying briefly with an all-Beatles format, WYNY evolved to an MOR format featuring Frank Sinatra, The Carpenters, Elvis Presley, Barry Manilow, Tony Bennett, Neil Diamond, Elton John, Carly Simon, and Billy Joel among others. They were an easy listening station without all the elevator music heard on WRFM or WPAT-AM-FM. Ratings went up gradually. By 1980, WYNY moved away from Frank Sinatra and the Lettermen, though they continued running "Saturday with Sinatra" hosted by Sid Mark. Musically, they added Motown songs, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, the Doobie Brothers, Donna Summer, and soft hits by hard rockers. By 1981, the station format was that of pop hits from 1964 to what was then current music, with an occasional pre-'64 rock & roll song. Ratings went up from 1981 through 1983. By 1982, WYNY trimmed the '60s music slightly. Some of the air personalities included Dan Daniel, Bill St. James, Bruce Bradley, Randy Davis, Carol Mason, Mike McCann, Floyd Wright, Steve O'Brien, Bill Rock, Margaret Jones, Paulie, and Ed Baer. On Sunday evenings, the station aired a pioneering advice show, "Sexually Speaking", which made host Dr. Ruth Westheimer (also known as "Dr. Ruth") a national celebrity. The station was also a pioneer of contemporary Christian music in the city, airing the weekly show Masterpeace, hosted by Steven Joseph. Sid Mark continued hosting "Saturday with Sinatra". On weekend evenings call-in talk shows, such as "Mouth Versus Ear" with Dick Summer, was an alternative to other stations mundane public service shows. In 1983, WHTZ and WPLJ both adopted a contemporary hit radio (CHR) format, attracting younger listeners. WYNY continued with its AC format. Then in January 1984, WLTW signed on, taking away older listeners. WYNY's ratings plummeted, and in