WBAL-AM rises to No. 3

Riding a strong climate of local news stories and a surprising performance by Orioles baseball, radio station WBAL-AM added 55,000 viewers to its weekly audience, according to figures released yesterday by the Arbitron ratings service.

The station's surge -- the most dynamic development in the survey that measured listenership from March to June -- moved the 50,000-watt news and talk station from fifth to third in overall audience size among viewers 12 years and older.

Urban-contemporary WERQ-FM and country-themed WPOC-FM remained the top two stations. WERQ had the highest overall rating in average audience. But in terms of listeners throughout the week, WPOC reached 376,600, while WERQ clocked in with 343,400. WBAL's weekly audience is 320,000.

"Our station is fueled by events, and when events occur, we respond," said Jeffrey J. Beauchamp, vice president and station manager of WBAL.