WOOD (AM)

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Coordinates: 42°45′22″N 85°39′24″W / 42.75611°N 85.65667°W / 42.75611; -85.65667
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WOOD
iHeartMedia, Inc.
  • (iHM Licenses, LLC)
    • WBCT, WBFX, WMAX-FM, WSNX-FM, WSRW-FM, WTKG
    History
    First air date
    		September 16, 1924; 99 years ago (1924-09-16)
    Former call signs
    		WEBK (1924–1926)
    Call sign meaning
    		Furnwood Broadcasting; station funded originally by furniture manufacturers
    Technical information
    Facility ID73604
    ClassB
    Power20,000 watts
    Repeater(s)106.9 WOOD-FM (Muskegon)
    Links
    WebcastListen Live
    Websitewoodradio.iheart.com

    WOOD (1300

    nationally syndicated talk shows from Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Dave Ramsey, Joe Pags, "The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show" and "Coast to Coast AM with George Noory". Most hours begin with an update from Fox News Radio
    .

    WOOD is powered at 20,000

    Moline.[1]

    History

    Early years

    WOOD is the oldest radio station in West Michigan. Its

    sign-on
    date, 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 1170

    kHz during its early years in order to avoid interference with stations in Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland
    , 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) and George Trendle, owners of WXYZ in 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 an

    NBC Red Network. It carried NBC's schedule of dramas, comedies, news, sports, game shows, soap operas and big band broadcasts during the "Golden Age of Radio
    ".

    Changes in ownership

    In 1946, the fledgling American Broadcasting Company (ABC) bought the King-Trendle stations, but the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) forced ABC to sell WOOD since it had been an NBC affiliate since 1935. After a two-year dispute between competing buyers, the station was finally sold to Harry Bitner, former general manager of the Hearst newspaper chain, in 1948.

    Since 1951, the station's mascot has been Willie Wood, a cartoon

    adult contemporary WSRW-FM
    .

    full service, middle of the road
    format 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

    former logo

    Clear Channel Communications bought WOOD and its sister stations in 1996. In 2011, Clear Channel's 106.9 WMUS-FM and its country music format 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 the iHeartRadio
    platform 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.[3] 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.[4]

    Programming

    WOOD's program director Phil Tower leads an airstaff that includes an

    all-news morning program, West Michigan's Morning News with Steve Kelly, Bret Bakita, Lauren Smith, and Rick Albin. West Michigan Live follows 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 Pags and Coast to Coast AM with George Noory. Most of WOOD Radio's weekday lineup comes from iHeart's Premiere Networks
    .

    Weekend programs and hosts include: "Leo Laporte: The Tech Guy", Gordon Deal, "The Weekend with Michael Brown", Bill Cunningham and "Jill On Money".[5]

    WOOD Radio's local newsroom provides local, regional and national news every day of the week, plus world and national news from Fox News Radio. It also utilizes reports and breaking news coverage through an ancillary affiliation with CBS News Radio.

    WOOD Radio is the Grand Rapids home of University of Michigan Wolverines football and basketball. It also carries Grand Rapids Griffins ice hockey.

    See also

    • WOOD-FM for information on WOOD 1300's simulcast on 106.9 FM.

    References

    1. ^ Radio-Locator.com/WOOD-AM
    2. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1963 page B-92
    3. ^ "2012 Broadcast Excellence Awards Winning Stations". michmab.com. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
    4. ^ "2012 Broadcast Excellence Award Winners List" (PDF). michmab.com. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
    5. ^ "WOOD Radio Program Schedule". woodradio.com. Retrieved 2013-05-29.

    External links

    42°45′22″N 85°39′24″W / 42.75611°N 85.65667°W / 42.75611; -85.65667

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