Everything about Wlw totally explained
WLW is a
clear channel radio station located in
Cincinnati, Ohio, run by
Clear Channel Communications and broadcasting on 700 kHz
AM. The station's programming also airs all across the
United States on
XM Satellite Radio channel 173. Like most commercial talk stations, WLW has a delay system to remove anything obscene from the airwaves, but the XM feed of the station is uncensored, as is the online stream.
WLW airs a nearly entirely locally-produced
talk format, and is the
flagship station for three nationally syndicated shows:
America's Trucking Network (formerly
The Truckin' Bozo), a popular nationwide, overnight program especially for truckers;
Live on Sunday Night with
Bill Cunningham; and
The Weekend with Mike McConnell. McConnell and Cunningham also host weekday programs on the station.
America's Trucking Network is syndicated by
Clear Channel Syndication; the others are syndicated by
Premiere Radio Networks.
In addition, WLW is the flagship radio station for the
Cincinnati Reds, and a co-flagship station for
Cincinnati Bengals football. WLW has a 24-hour local news department, and is affiliated with
ABC Radio and
Hearst-Argyle's
WLWT-TV (the former TV sister to WLW). WLW was also affiliated with
Paul Harvey until May 2008.
The WLW studios are in the Towers of Kenwood building next to
I-71 in the
Kenwood section of
Sycamore Township and its transmitter is located in
Mason.
The station frequently uses its nickname, "The Big One", as a tagline (since copied by sister stations
WTAM in
Cleveland and
WWVA in
Wheeling). It also uses the original tagline, "The Nation's Station", which is mainly used today to refer its broadcast coast-to-coast on
XM Satellite Radio.
History
The station was started by radio manufacturer
Powel Crosley Jr. and operated by the
Crosley Broadcasting Corporation until the
1960s when it became
Avco Broadcasting until the mid
1970s. Powell owned a number of enterprises including the
Crosmobile, a refrigerator/freezer company, and for many years he held ownership of The
Cincinnati Reds baseball club. Powell was innovative, personally inventing or funding the development of many cutting-edge (for their time) technological advances in all his ventures. From that point until the 1990s, WLW had different owners which included Queen City Communications, Mariner Communications, Seven Hills Broadcasting and finally
Jacor Communications before its merger with Clear Channel.
Prior address - In the late 70's through 1989 700 WLW's downtown studios were located at 3 East 4th Street. What is now the National City Bank tower in downtown Cincinnati.
From 1989-2005 WLW was located in Mt. Adams, a trendy neighborhood overlooking downtown. The address was 1111 St. Gregory Street. WLW was originally on the 4th floor where it shared studios with sister station
WEBN. In 1992 as Jacor started to consolidate stations the 5th floor was taken over to house HR and Traffic Departments along with new studios for 550 WLWA formerly WKRC Radio. In 1994, the failed attempt at a second version of WLW became 550 WCKY. The name of the station has returned to
55KRC. In 1995, Jacor moved all of it's stations into the Mt. Adams facility leasing the entire building.
"The Nation's Station"
WLW currently broadcasts using 50,000
watts of power, the maximum allowed for an AM
clear channel broadcaster under current FCC rules. For about six years, WLW experimented with broadcasting at 500,000 watts, the first station in the world to do so (during initial testing under the callsign W8XO, then as WLW when regular programs began with the higher overnight power). It stopped in
1939 because of complaints from around the
United States and
Canada that WLW was overpowering other stations as far away as
Toronto. Many reports have surfaced over the years of the power fluctuations from those who lived near the transmitter. People would see their lights flicker in time to the modulation peaks of the transmitter. The signal was so overpowering it was widely reported some people actually picked up WLW radio on the metal coils of mattress and boxed bedsprings, similar to
KDKA-AM in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The high power broadcasts led WLW to call itself "The Nation's Station", a slogan renewed with WLW's inclusion on
XM Channel 173 on
2006-03-01, giving it a signal coverage that extends throughout the continental United States. WLW also broadcasts using the
HD-Radio digital system.
WLW powered up to higher wattage a few times during
World War II in order to send special broadcasts to American troops in
Europe, but hasn't broadcast regular programming at 500 kW since. However, the 500 kW transmitting equipment was used by the US government for broadcasting to Cuba early in the Kennedy administration.
After sundown, the 50 kW signal can be heard across much of the eastern half of the
United States and
Canada, and as far west as
Denver, CO. In 1985 overnight host
Dale Sommers received a call from Hawaii on his overnight program. It is believed WLW can be heard, regularly, in at least 38 U.S. states at night, and the station refers to this in some advertising.
The station's first 50 kW transmitter, made by
Western Electric, is still functional and sees occasional service, including on
December 31,
1999, when it was powered up and helped to bring WLW into the new year on
January 1,
2000. The station's unusual diamond-shaped
antenna (designed and erected by
Blaw-Knox Tower company) is one of eight still operational in the United States and is featured on the official seal of the City of Mason.
WLW carries games of the
Cincinnati Reds, which makes it among the last of the clear channel AM radio stations to carry live
Major League Baseball games. Similar stations
WJR in
Detroit,
WSB in
Atlanta,
KMOX in
St. Louis, and
KDKA in
Pittsburgh have all lost their respective team's broadcast rights in recent years.
Former personalities
Rod Serling, the creator of the classic TV series
The Twilight Zone, worked for WLW from 1950-51 producing historical documentaries, community profiles and commercials, before leaving to pursue other opportunities in the broadcasting industry. The station also claims many other well-known alumni, including
Rosemary Clooney,
Ruth Lyons,
Bob Braun,
Wally Phillips,
NBC sportscasters
Cris Collinsworth and
Al Michaels, longtime "Sportstalk" hosts
Bob Trumpy and
Andy Furman, former morning host
Bill Wills (now with
WTAM),
Dale Sommers (better known as the "Truckin' Bozo"),
J. R. Gach (who was fired for referring to Japanese as "yellow monkeys"),
Gary Burbank (comedy talk host, impressionist, and creator of the nationally syndicated
Earl Pitts monologues) and former
Clear Channel radio CEO
Randy Michaels.
Randy Michaels is credited for developing WLW from an MOR signal into a successful all-local talk station in the early 1980's. Much of WLW's lineup has remained intact for several years. 700 WLW today is one of the only stations left with original 24 hour locally produced programming.
Network affiliations
Along with other Clear Channel talk stations, WLW switched from
ABC Radio to
Fox News Radio. However, on June 26, 2006, a realignment of network affiliations by Clear Channel's Cincinnati AM stations reunited WLW with
ABC Radio. (
WKRC (AM) picked up
Fox News Radio, while
WCKY (AM) took
CBS Radio.)
Not included in the rearrangement was ABC Radio commentator Paul Harvey. WLW continued to carry Harvey's commentaries through all the changes, although after extended absences, Harvey was dropped by WLW in April 2008.
WLW clones
A short lived attempt at a WLW clone was
WLWA, airing on the 550 frequency in Cincinnati, from 1992 to 1994.
In 1997, WLW owner Jacor purchased 700 KFAM in Salt Lake City. As a joke, they changed the call letters to KWLW and even began to air programming such as
The Truckin' Bozo on the station. The call letters and format stayed on the station until 1999. That station is now known as
KALL and carries a
sports radio format.
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