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WCGO

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Coordinates:42°1′18.11″N87°42′41.21″W/ 42.0216972°N 87.7114472°W/42.0216972; -87.7114472
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(Redirected fromW240EH)
For the station in Chicago Heights, Illinois, on AM 1600 that held the call sign WCGO from 1959 to 2009, seeWCGO (1600 AM).

WCGO
Broadcast areaChicago metropolitan area
Frequency1590kHz
BrandingChicago's Smart Talk
Programming
FormatBrokered programming(English,Korean,Russian,Assyrian)
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
  • Jorge Rodriquez
  • (Ambiente Clasico LLC)
History
First air date
September 29, 1947;76 years ago(1947-09-29)[1]
Former call signs
  • WNMP (1947–1970)[2]
  • WLTD (1970–1979)[2]
  • WONX (1979–2009)[3]
Call signmeaning
Chicago
Technical information[4]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID35447
ClassB
Power
  • 10,000wattsday
  • 2,500 watts night
Transmitter coordinates
42°1′18.11″N87°42′41.21″W/ 42.0216972°N 87.7114472°W/42.0216972; -87.7114472
Translator(s)95.9W240EH (Evanston)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websitewww.1590wcgo.com

WCGO(1590AM) is acommercialradio stationlicensedtoEvanston, Illinois,and serving theChicago metropolitan area's northern suburbs. The station is owned by Jorge Rodriquez through licensee Ambiente Clasico LLC.[5][6]WCGO has abrokered programmingradio formatwhere hosts buy time on the station and may use their shows to advertise their services or seek donations. On weekday mornings, the station airsKorean-languageChristian radioprogramming.Russian languageshows are heard in the afternoon. Evenings and weekends, WCGO airs brokered talk and ethnic shows. Overnight, it carries thenationally syndicatedCoast to Coast AMwithGeorge NooryfromPremiere Networks.

By day, WCGO is powered at 10,000wattsnon-directional.To protect other stations on1590 AMfrom interference, at night it reduces power to 2,500 watts and uses adirectional antennawith a four-tower array.Thetransmitteris on North McCormick Boulevard near West Howard Street inSkokie.[7]Programming is also heard on 250-wattFM translatorW240EHat 95.9MHzin Evanston.[8]

History

[edit]

WNMP

[edit]

The station began broadcasting on September 29, 1947, and held thecall signWNMP.[1][2]WNMP operated during daytime hours only, with a power of 1,000 watts.[2]Block programmingwas aired in its early years.[9]In 1959, the station adopted aclassical music/light musicformat.[10]In 1960, the station was sold toHarry H. Semrowand his brother Otto Semrow for $325,000.[11][12][2]The station aired aneasy listeningformat in the 1960s and carriedNorthwestern Wildcats football.[13][14][15]In December 1969, the station was sold to Alan H. Cummings and Buddy Black for $875,000.[16][2]

WLTD

[edit]

The station's call sign was changed to WLTD on November 2, 1970.[2]WLTD aired easy listening music,old-time radioshows, and specialty talk shows.[17]On May 2, 1970,Chuck Schaden's firstThose Were The Daysprogram aired on WNMP.[18][19]It continued on WLTD until 1975, when the station changed format.[19]

In 1975, the station was sold to Kovas Communications for $400,000, and adopted abeautiful musicformat.[20][2][21][22]

WONX

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On April 9, 1979, the station's call sign was changed to WONX.[2]The station switched to aSpanish languageformat.[23][24]Programming in other languages were also aired over the years.[25][26][27][28]In 1982, the station added nighttime operations, running 2,500 watts.[2][29]It used a four-towerdirectional arrayat night.[6]In 1997, the station's daytime power was increased to 3,500 watts.[30]

WCGO

[edit]

On April 10, 2009, the previousWCGO on 1600,also owned by Kovas, was taken off the air.[31]On April 13, 2009, WONX's call sign was changed to WCGO.[3]With 1600 now vacant, the new WCGO was able to increase its daytime power to 7,000 watts.[32]In 2014, the station's daytime power was increased to 10,000 watts.[33][34]

WCGO began airing talk programs in September 2014, with local shows hosted by Franklin Raff and Geoff Pinkus, as well asDana Loesch's syndicated program.[35]On April 6, 2015,Milt Rosenbergbegan hosting a program on the station.[36]As of 2023, its programming is multilingual: Weekend programming includesLegal Eagleswith William Pelarenos,The Dave Ramsey Show,The Assyrian Cultural Foundation: The Guiding Voicewith Ninos Nirari, The Chicago Wine Report with Chip Dudley, Tom Hall, and Lainie Petersen, Domingo Felices with Frank Camacho, and Dialogo Politico with Robert Ameneiro. Weekdays features Korean Christian programming weekday mornings, Russian language programing via Radio NVC weekday afternoons, and Multiformat Network show highlights in the evenings. Overnight programming isCoast to Coast AMwithGeorge Noory.[37]

In 2017, the station was sold to William Pollack for $3 million.[5][38]In 2019, WCGO became the flagship station of the national SmartTalk Radio Network.

Pollack sold WCGO to Jorge Rodriguez's Ambiente Clasico LLC for $675,000 in 2023; Ambiente Clasico had been leasing the station's overnight programming. WCGO's real estate was separately sold to Rodriguez in a $150,000 deal.[39]

Translator

[edit]
Call sign Frequency City of license FID ERP(W) Class Transmitter coordinates FCC info
W240EH 95.9 FM Evanston, Illinois 202249 250 D 42°1′19.1″N87°42′40.2″W/ 42.021972°N 87.711167°W/42.021972; -87.711167(W240EH) LMS

References

[edit]
  1. ^ab"WNMP Started"(PDF).Broadcasting – Telecasting.October 6, 1947. p. 24.RetrievedMarch 22,2019.
  2. ^abcdefghijHistory Cards for WCGO,fcc.gov. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  3. ^abCall Sign History,fcc.gov. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  4. ^"Facility Technical Data for WCGO".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
  5. ^ab"WCGO Being Purchased By William Pollack",Chicagoland Radio and Media.May 11, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  6. ^abAM Query Results: WCGO,fcc.gov. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  7. ^Radio-Locator.com/WCGO
  8. ^Radio-Locator.com/W240EH
  9. ^"AM Histories",Broadcasting — Telecasting.A Continuing Study of Major Radio Markets: Study No. 7: Chicago. October 25, 1948. p. 20. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  10. ^"WNMP Skeds Classic Fare",Billboard.April 13, 1959. p. 2. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  11. ^"Changing hands",Broadcasting.October 3, 1960. p. 66. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  12. ^Heise, Kenan. "Harry Semrow, County Tax Official",Chicago Tribune.November 24, 1987. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  13. ^"Listeners the Final Answer?",Billboard.December 21, 1963. p. 36. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  14. ^"Stations By Format",Billboard.October 16, 1965. p. 62. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  15. ^"Stations By Format",Billboard.November 19, 1966. p. 38. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  16. ^"Changing Hands",Broadcasting.December 1, 1969. p. 40. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  17. ^Duston, Anne. "WLTD Places Emphasis on Old-Time Radio Shows",Billboard.June 10, 1972. p. 21. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  18. ^Feder, Robert."Chuck Schaden returns to his thrilling days of yesteryear",RobertFeder.com. July 24, 2015. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  19. ^ab"TWTD Archive – May 2, 1970",Speaking of Radio. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  20. ^"Ownership changes",Broadcasting.November 17, 1975. p. 71. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  21. ^Broadcasting Yearbook 1976,Broadcasting,1976. p. C-59. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  22. ^"Stations, everywhere: a listeners' guide to the AM and FM bands",Chicago Tribune Magazine.March 4, 1979. p. 37. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  23. ^Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1981,Broadcasting & Cable,1981. p. C-70. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  24. ^Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1985,Broadcasting & Cable,1985. p. B-82. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  25. ^The Broadcasting Yearbook 1990,Broadcasting & Cable,1990. p. B-98. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  26. ^Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1995,Broadcasting & Cable,1995. p. B-123. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  27. ^Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2000,Broadcasting & Cable,2000. p. D-136. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  28. ^Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2008,Broadcasting & Cable,2008. p. D-185. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  29. ^Public Notice Comment – BL-19821006AE,fcc.gov. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  30. ^"Construction Permit Activity",The M Street Journal.Vol. 14, No. 22. June 4, 1997. p. 3. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  31. ^"WCGO Being Purchased By William Pollack",Chicagoland Radio and Media.May 11, 2017. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  32. ^"WCGO Goes Dark, WONX -- Now WCGO -- Ups Power",All Access Music Group.April 13, 2009. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  33. ^"Engineering Report Covering Request for Construction Permit on Behalf of Kovas Communications, Inc. For WCGO (AM) 1590 Kilohertz Evanston, Illinois",Charles A. Hecht & Associates, Inc. January 2014. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  34. ^Application Search Details – BL-20140618ABP,fcc.gov. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  35. ^Feder, Robert."Broadcast museum to honor Rich 'Svengoolie' Koz",RobertFeder.com. August 29, 2014. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  36. ^Feder, Robert."Milt Rosenberg to host new midday show on WCGO",RobertFeder.com. April 3, 2015. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  37. ^Schedule,WCGO. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  38. ^Application Search Details – BAL-20170512AAE,fcc.gov. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  39. ^Venta, Lance (September 1, 2023)."Station Sales Week of 9/1".RadioInsight.RetrievedJune 21,2024.
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