WOOD (AM)
 | |
| Broadcast area | Grand Rapids metropolitan area West Michigan |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 1300kHz |
| Branding | NewsRadio WOOD 1300 and 106.9 FM |
| Programming | |
| Format | News/talk |
| Affiliations | CBS News Radio Fox News Radio Compass Media Networks Premiere Networks Grand Rapids Griffins Michigan IMG Sports Network Michigan Radio Network |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WBCT,WBFX,WMAX-FM,WSNX-FM,WSRW-FM,WTKG | |
| History | |
First air date | September 16, 1924 |
Former call signs | WEBK (1924–1926) |
Call signmeaning | FurnwoodBroadcasting; station funded originally byfurnituremanufacturers |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 73604 |
| Class | B |
| Power | 20,000watts |
| Repeater(s) | 106.9WOOD-FM(Muskegon) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | woodradio.iheart |
WOOD(1300kHz) is acommercialAMradio stationinGrand Rapids, Michigan,servingWest Michiganand owned byiHeartMedia, Inc.It has anews/talkradio formatand issimulcaston co-ownedWOOD-FMat106.9 MHz.The studios and offices are at 77 Monroe Center in Downtown Grand Rapids. Following a local weekdaydrive timeshow, "West Michigan's Morning News", the station carriesnationally syndicatedtalk shows fromSean Hannity,Glenn Beck,Dave Ramsey,Joe Pags,"The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show"and"Coast to Coast AMwithGeorge Noory".Most hours begin with an update fromFox News Radio.
WOOD is powered at 20,000watts.To protect other stations on1300 AMfrom interference, it uses adirectional antennawith a four-tower array.Thetransmitteris on 146th Avenue SE inMoline.[2]
History
[edit]Early years
[edit]WOOD is the oldest radio station in West Michigan. Itssign-ondate, as WEBK, was September 16, 1924, and it was a marketing tool for the C.J. Litscher Company, a seller of radio receivers. The station's original owners were backed by the Furniture Manufacturers Association of Grand Rapids. At their suggestion, the station's original call sign, which was randomly assigned from a sequential roster of available call letters, became WOOD on January 13, 1926, since wood is required for crafting furniture.
It broadcast on Sundays and Wednesdays at 1170kHzduring its early years in order to avoid interference with stations inChicago,DetroitandCleveland,all of which could easily be heard in West Michigan.
It went through numerous owners over the years before being bought by John King (known as John Kunsky until 1936) andGeorge Trendle,owners ofWXYZin Detroit, in 1930. They bought Grand Rapids' second radio station, WASH, a year later; the two stations had shared the same frequency for four years. The station operated as WOOD-WASH (with WASH on the air during the day and WOOD at night) until 1942, when the WASH license was dropped. At about the same time, WOOD's broadcast power was increased from 500 watts to 5,000 watts.
WOOD was anaffiliateof theNBC Red Network.It carried NBC's schedule of dramas, comedies, news, sports,game shows,soap operasandbig bandbroadcasts during the "Golden Age of Radio".
Changes in ownership
[edit]In 1946, the fledglingAmerican Broadcasting Company(ABC) bought the King-Trendle stations, but theFederal Communications Commission(FCC) forced ABC to sell WOOD since it had been anNBCaffiliate since 1935. After a two-year dispute between competing buyers, the station was finally sold to Harry Bitner, former general manager of theHearst newspaper chain,in 1948.
Since 1951, the station's mascot has been Willie Wood, a cartoonwoodpecker,tying in with the station's call letters. Also in 1951, a subsidiary of Bitner's company acquired Channel 8 for $1.37 million. That station had been called WLAV-TV but switched its call sign to WOOD-TV. In February 1962, an FM station was also added, 105.7 WOOD-FM.[3]For the first few years, it simulcast WOOD 1300 but later took on abeautiful musicformat and today isadult contemporaryWSRW-FM.
Time Inc.bought WOOD-AM-FM-TV in 1957 and owned it until 1972. As network programming moved from radio to television in the 1950s and 60s, WOOD began afull service,middle of the roadformat of popular adult music, talk, news and sports. In the 1980s, the talk programming increased and music was reduced, as most music listening switched from AM radio to the FM dial. By the 1990s, the station had evolved into a full time News/Talk format.
iHeart ownership
[edit]
Clear Channel Communicationsbought WOOD and itssister stationsin 1996. In 2011, Clear Channel's 106.9 WMUS-FM and itscountry musicformat came to an end. The station flipped to a simulcast, allowing its listeners to hear the station either on WOOD 1300 AM or WOOD-FM 106.9. Clear Channel switched its name to iHeartMedia in 2014. WOOD-AM-FM can be heard on theiHeartRadioplatform and app.
WOOD Radio has received "Station of the Year" honors from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters for 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2016, as part of the Broadcast Excellence Awards in the Commercial Radio - Market 2 division.[4]In earning "2012 Station of the Year", WOOD received numerous news and programming awards, with five entries receiving 'Best In Category' recognition, and three receiving 'Merit' recognition.[5]
Programming
[edit]WOOD's program director Phil Tower leads an airstaff that includes anall-newsmorning program,West Michigan's Morning Newswith Steve Kelly, Bret Bakita, and Lauren Smith.West Michigan Livefollows with host Justin Barclay. The rest of the day is filled by:Glenn Beck,The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show,Sean Hannity,Dave Ramsey,Joe PagsandCoast to Coast AMwithGeorge Noory.Most of WOOD Radio's weekday lineup comes from iHeart'sPremiere Networks.
Weekend programs and hosts include: "Leo Laporte:The Tech Guy",Gordon Deal,"The Weekend with Michael Brown",Bill Cunninghamand "Jill On Money".[6]
WOOD Radio's local newsroom provides local, regional and national news every day of the week, plus world and national news fromFox News Radio.It also utilizes reports and breaking news coverage through an ancillary affiliation withCBS News Radio.
WOOD Radio is the Grand Rapids home ofUniversity of MichiganWolverines footballandbasketball.It also carriesGrand Rapids Griffinsice hockey.
See also
[edit]- WOOD-FMfor information on WOOD 1300's simulcast on 106.9 FM.
References
[edit]- ^"Facility Technical Data for WOOD".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
- ^Radio-Locator /WOOD-AM
- ^Broadcasting Yearbook 1963 page B-92
- ^"2012 Broadcast Excellence Awards Winning Stations".michmab.Retrieved2013-03-18.
- ^"2012 Broadcast Excellence Award Winners List"(PDF).michmab.Retrieved2013-03-18.
- ^"WOOD Radio Program Schedule".woodradio.Retrieved2013-05-29.
External links
[edit]- FCC History Cards for WOOD
- Facility details for Facility ID 73604 (WOOD)in theFCCLicensing and Management System
- WOODinNielsen Audio's AM station database
- https://woodradio.iheart / The station's website