WDTK
 | |
| Broadcast area | Metro Detroit |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 1400kHz |
| Branding | FM 101.5 & AM 1400 The Patriot |
| Programming | |
| Format | Conservative talk radio |
| Network | Townhall Radio News |
| Affiliations | Salem Radio Network Premiere Networks Wayne State UniversitySports |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WLQV | |
| History | |
First air date | November 1925 |
Former call signs | WMBC (1925–39) WJLB (1939–80) WMZK (1980–82) WQBH (1982–2004) |
Call signmeaning | "Detroit talk" |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 68641 |
| Class | C |
| Power | 1,000wattsunlimited |
Transmitter coordinates | 42°24′22″N83°6′44″W/ 42.40611°N 83.11222°W |
| Translator(s) | 101.5W268CN (Detroit) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | www |
WDTK(1400kHz) is acommercialAMradio stationlicensedtoDetroit,Michigan,and known as "The Patriot." It broadcasts aconservative talk radioformatand is owned bySalem Communications.Thestudiosand offices are on Radio Plaza inFerndale, Michigan,shared withsister station1500WLQV.
WDTK transmits with 1,000wattsnon-directional.Thetransmitteris on Midland Street near Hamilton Avenue inHighland Park, Michigan.[2]Programming is also heard on 99-wattFM translatorW268CNon 101.5MHzin Detroit.[3]
Programming
[edit]Most of WDTK's weekday schedule is from the co-ownedSalem Radio Network's line up of talk shows:Hugh Hewitt,Mike Gallagher,Dennis Prager,Charlie Kirk,Sebastian GorkaandBrandon Tatum.A local show is hosted by Darryl Wood. WDTK also carriesThe Sean Hannity ShowfromPremiere Networks.
On weekends, WDTK features shows on money, health, the outdoors and travel. Syndicated weekend hosts includeGordon Deal,Eric MetaxasandRudy Maxa.Wayne State Universityfootballandbasketballgames are also broadcast on WDTK. Most hours begin with an update fromTownhall Radio News.
History
[edit]WMBC
[edit]The station began in November 1925 on 1170 kHz asWMBC.Thecall signstood for the station's original owners, the Michigan Broadcast Company. WMBC's frequency changed to 1230 in 1927 and to 1420 in 1930. WMBC was an early outlet for religious programming andgospel musicin Detroit.
It was also the home of conservative radio commentatorJerry Buckley,who was shot dead in the lobby of the LaSalle Hotel in 1930 after successfully campaigning for a mayoral recall election in which then-mayorCharles Bowleslost.
WJLB
[edit]WMBC's callsign was changed toWJLBin 1939 after the station was acquired by John Lord Booth (who renamed the station for himself). In 1941, with the enactment of theNorth American Regional Broadcasting Agreement(NARBA), the station moved to its current home of 1400 kHz. Being a small independent station, WJLB relied onbrokered programmingto pay the bills.
Many of the paid shows were ethnic. This included many programs targeted toward Detroit'sAfrican-Americancommunity. One of WJLB's most popular programs during its early years was theInterracial Goodwill Hour,ajazzandR&Bshow hosted by later Cleveland radio legendBill Randle.
By the 1960s, WJLB had competition for Detroit's black audience in the form of 1440 AMWCHBand later 107.5 FMWGPR.At that point, WJLB evolved into a mostlyR&Bandsoul musicstation, using the slogan "Tiger Radio" for a time in the late 1960s. Perhaps WJLB's most well-known personality in the 1960s and 1970s wasMartha Jean "The Queen" Steinberg.She was one of the first successful female air personalities in Detroit, best known for her trademark line, "I betcha!" On the evening of July 23, 1967 Steinberg got the station to cancel its regular programing and let her do a broadcast encouraging people to stop rioting.[4]In the early 1970s, Steinberg led the WJLB air staff in protesting the fact that the station employed no African-Americans outside of the air personalities.
WMZK and WQBH
[edit]In 1980, in response to the growing popularity ofFM radio,WJLB 1400 switched call signs and formats with its ethnic sister station, WMZK-FM 97.9.WJLB-FM began broadcasting anurban contemporaryformat and has been among top-rated station in Detroit. However, WJLB-FM dropped Steinberg's show. Meanwhile, the AM station took the callsignWMZKand its ethnic format.
Martha Jean the Queen found herself without a radio home until 1982, when a Steinberg-led group, the TXZ Corporation, purchased WMZJ 1400 AM. The callsign was switched toWQBH(standing for theQueen Broadcasts Here). WQBH took on afull-service formatof R&B and urban gospel music, along with African-American oriented talk which would continue for over two decades. With backing from theMichigan National Bank,Steinberg took full ownership of WQBH (as "Queen's Broadcasting Corporation" ) in 1997. After Steinberg's death in January 2000, ownership of the station reverted to a consortium of her three daughters and the Order of the Fisherman Ministry. WQBH continued to air broadcasts of Steinberg's past programs after her death.
WDTK
[edit]In March 2004, Salem Communications announced that it would be acquiring WQBH from the Steinberg family for $4.75 million. The sale was finalized in May, and in September, Salem changed WQBH's call sign toWDTK,which stands forDetroitTalK.It flipped the station to the current conservative talk format, using Salem Radio Network syndicated shows.
In late July 2012, WDTK added an FM translator. W224CC broadcast on 92.7 MHz, signing on with 99 watts of power.
In the Fall of 2014 the Patriot began covering the "Detroit Catholic High School League Game of the Week." Jeremy Otto and Sean Baligian called the action. In 2015, the station added an afternoondrive timeshow hosted by Brendan Johnson. Darryl Wood later replaced Johnson.
On November 18, 2016, WDTK stopped broadcasting on its FM translator on 92.7 MHz. It switched to a new translator inOak Park,W268CN, on 101.5 MHz. The former translator on 92.7 remains on the air, but was repurposed as a repeater for sister station WLQV. The translator on 101.5 is on the same frequency asToledostationWRVF.The two station's signals overlap in some suburbs south of Detroit.
Further reading
[edit]- "You're Gonna Like It... I Bet'cha!", chapter on Martha Jean "The Queen" Steinberg fromRockin' Down the Dial: A History of Detroit Radio from Jack the Bellboy to the Big 8,by David Carson (University of Michigan Press). Details Steinberg's early career in Detroit at WCHB and WJLB.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^"Facility Technical Data for WDTK".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
- ^Radio-Locator.com/WDTK
- ^Radio-Locator.com/W268CN
- ^Sidney Fine,Violence in the Model City: The Cavanagh Administration, Race Reliations, and the Detroit Riot of 1967(Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1989), p. 184
External links
[edit]- FCC History Cards for WDTK
- Facility details for Facility ID 68641 (WDTK)in theFCCLicensing and Management System
- WDTKinNielsen Audio's AM station database
- Facility details for Facility ID 156770 (W268CN)in theFCCLicensing and Management System
- W268CNat FCCdata.org
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