WWCK (AM)
WWCK (1570 AM, "SuperTalk 1570") is a radio station in Flint, Michigan broadcasting a talk format. Its studios are located south of the Flint city limits and its transmitter is east of downtown Flint near the intersection of Dort Highway and I-69.
 | |
| City | Flint, Michigan |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Flint, Michigan |
| Frequency | 1570 kHz |
| Branding | SuperTalk 1570 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Talk |
| Affiliations | Westwood One News Michigan State Spartans football and men's basketball |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Cumulus Broadcasting (Cumulus Licensing LLC) |
| Sister stations | WDZZ, WFBE, WTRX, WWCK-FM |
| History | |
| First air date | November 11, 1946 |
| Former call signs | WGMZ (6/18/84-5/17/86) WWMN (1/1/81-6/18/84) WLQB (1976-1/1/81) WCZN (1971-1976) WMRP (1946-1971) |
| Call sign meaning | reminiscent of CKLW |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 39679 |
| Class | D |
| Power | 1,000 watts (Daytime) 179 watts (Nighttime) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 43°00′39″N 83°39′2″W |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | supertalk1570.com |
Programming
The Cumulus Media-owned station features a roster of mainly syndicated talk show hosts including Mark Levin, John Batchelor and Red Eye Radio. Local news, weather, sports, and traffic reports are provided by anchors from WJRT-TV, state news from The Michigan News Network and national/international news from Westwood One News. Weekend programs and hosts include Kim Komando, The Weekend, Bob Brinker, Leo LaPorte, USA Financial Headquarters, Free Talk Live, and Mike Avery's Outdoor Magazine. It also airs Michigan State Spartans football and men's basketball games.[1][2]
History
The station began operations on November 11, 1946. As WMRP-AM (Methodist Radio Parish) in the 1960s, it served as a broadcast ministry of the United Methodist Church, featuring MOR music. The conservative owners of WMRP-AM and WMRP-FM 105.5 (unrelated to today's current WMRP-LP at 104.7) refused to allow any cigarette or alcohol advertising on the stations.
The United Methodist Church withdrew support for WMRP-AM/FM in 1971, and the stations were purchased that year by John W. Nogaj, who converted 105.5 to Top 40 and later album rock as WWCK (the calls being a tribute to CKLW in Windsor, Ontario) and installed a country music format on AM 1570 with the new calls WCZN ("Your Country Cousin"). The country format was replaced by oldies as "Solid Gold 16" in 1974. In 1975, following the sale of WWCK and WCZN to Reams Broadcasting, WWCK-FM went full-time album rock, and WCZN picked up the Top 40 format. This was followed by religious programming as WLQB (1976), a female-oriented talk/adult contemporary format as WWMN (1981), and beautiful music/easy listening as WGMZ (picking up the calls and format that were dropped by 107.9 FM when it became WCRZ in 1984).
In 1986, AM 1570 became WWCK-AM and began to simulcast WWCK-FM (which switched from album rock to CHR on January 1, 1989 following the sale of the stations from Reams Broadcasting to Majac of Michigan). Originally a daytime-only station on a Mexican clear channel, a treaty signed between the American and Mexican governments allowed the station to broadcast full-time at reduced power at night in 1986. Cumulus Media took control of WWCK-AM/FM in March 2000, and a year later, WWCK-AM dropped its simulcast of the FM station in favor of urban contemporary gospel music via ABC Radio's "Rejoice - Musical Soul Food" network. The current Talk format was adopted on March 1, 2004, allowing Flint to once again have a News/Talk station of its own following WFDF AM 910's move into the Detroit market and metamorphosis into Radio Disney.
References
- Michigan State Spartans Basketball affiliates Michigan State Spartans Basketball Sports Network official site
- Michigan State Spartans Football Radio affiliates Michigan State Football official site
External links
- WWCK in the FCC's AM station database
- WWCK on Radio-Locator
- WWCK in Nielsen Audio's AM station database