WMGW

Last updated
WMGW
WMGW NewsTalk1490-1230-1450 logo.png
Broadcast area Crawford County
Frequency 1490 kHz
BrandingThe Allegheny News-Talk-Sports Network
Programming
Format News/talk/sports
Affiliations Fox News Radio
Fox Sports Radio
Premiere Networks
Westwood One
Pittsburgh Pirates Radio Network
Ownership
Owner
  • Seven Mountains Media
  • (Southern Belle Media Family, LLC)
History
First air date
 1947
Call sign meaning
W Mary Grace Winslow
(founder's daughter)
Technical information
Facility ID 24942
Class C
Power 1,000 watts unlimited
Translator(s) 100.7 W246DK (Meadville)
Links
Webcast Listen Live
Website WMGW Online

WMGW (1490 AM) is a commercial radio station in Meadville, Pennsylvania, the seat of government for Crawford County. WMGW is the flagship station of the "Allegheny News-Talk-Sports Network," also owned by Seven Mountains Media.

Contents

Programming is simulcast on one other Seven Mountains Media station, WFRA 1450 AM in Franklin. WMGW is also heard on 250-watt FM translator W264DK at 100.7 MHz. [1]

Programming

On weekdays, WMGW, WTIV and WFRA begin with "Daybreak News" and "The Morning Drill," two programs with local news, weather and information. The rest of the weekday schedule is made up of nationally syndicated talk shows, including Glenn Beck, Clay Travis and Buck Sexton, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Dave Ramsey, Jim Bohannon, Coast to Coast AM with George Noory and America in the Morning .

Weekends feature shows on home repair, gardening and repeats of weekday shows. Syndicated weekend programming include Sunday Night Live with Bill Cunningham Somewhere in Time with Art Bell and sports updates from Fox Sports Radio. On Sunday mornings, Christian radio shows are heard. World and national news is supplied by Fox News Radio.

History

Early years

WMGW signed on the air in 1947, as the first radio station in Crawford County. It was founded by Meadville physician Dr. Harry C. Winslow. Dr. Winslow chose his daughter's initials (Mary Grace Winslow) for the station's call letters. A year after WMGW's founding, an FM station was added at 100.3, WMGW-FM. For the first three decades, WMGW and WMGW-FM mostly simulcast their programming.

Like many small-town radio stations, WMGW-AM-FM broadcast a full service radio format through the 1960s, 70s and 80s, consisting of local, world and national news, local and Pittsburgh sports, and adult contemporary music. World and national news was provided by ABC News and the Associated Press radio network.

In the early 1970s, WMGW-AM-FM were purchased by the Regional Broadcasters Group headquartered in Kingston, New York. The FM station's call sign was changed to WZPR as a tribute to Meadville's Talon Corporation which, nearly a century earlier, had become America's first manufacturer of "hookless fasteners" or zippers. While WMGW's format remained the same, WZPR changed to automated beautiful music, and in 1978 it switched to its current format, country music, eventually taking the WGYY call sign.

Changes in ownership

WMGW was purchased by Great Circle Broadcasting in 1983, a division of the now-defunct Music Broadcasting Group. Approximately five years prior to the purchase, the studios and offices of both stations had moved from their second floor location on Park Avenue to the Downtown Mall on Water Street in Meadville, allowing shoppers to see a glimpse of the stations at work. The station remains in this location today.

In 1999, Music Broadcasting began negotiations to sell WMGW and its FM sister station WZPR, to Altoona, Pennsylvania-based Forever Broadcasting, which had been looking to gain a foothold in Northwest Pennsylvania. Forever Broadcasting acquired both stations the following year for an undisclosed price.

Switch to Talk and Sports

By the 1990s, most listeners were tuning to FM stations for music. WMGW gradually eliminated its music programming. In 199, WMGW switched to a format of all news, talk, and sports. It formed the Allegheny News Talk Sports Network, along with two other AM stations owned by Forever Broadcasting. The network consists of a "trimulcast" outside of morning drive, with all stations sharing the same programming after 9 a.m. Sports broadcasts include Pittsburgh Pirates baseball, and the NFL on Westwood One. (Prior to December 2009, WOYL in Oil City had also been a part of this network, in effect making it a quadcast. WOYL permanently ceased operations in July 2010.)

In morning drive, the trimulcast is broken down into a simulcast, with WMGW and WTIV airing a morning show independent of WFRA, which airs its own separate live morning show program with programming matter exclusive to its immediate local market. The full-time operations of the network and its respective stations originate out of the Downtown Mall location, but WFRA maintains a separate office and studio in WFRA's city of license in Franklin, Pennsylvania. Keith Allen Austin (real name: Keith Amolsch) hosted the morning show for WMGW and WTIV until his death on June 8, 2014, following a brief illness. He was 59.

Effective January 1, 2023, Forever Broadcasting sold WMGW as part of a package of 34 stations and 12 translators to Seven Mountains Media for $17.375.

Allegheny News Talk Sports Network stations

Related Research Articles

WWL-FM is a commercial radio station, licensed to Kenner, Louisiana, and serving the New Orleans metropolitan area. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and airs a news-talk and sports radio format, simulcast with WWL. The station's studios and offices are located at the 400 Poydras Tower in New Orleans' downtown district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WBVP</span> Radio station in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania

WBVP is a commercial radio station based in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. It had simulcast a news/talk radio format with WMBA. On September 16, 2023, WMBA switched to a country-rock hybrid called The Beaver. WBVP is owned by St. Barnabas Broadcasting, Inc., a division of the Saint Barnabas Health System. The studios and offices are on Seventh Avenue in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania.

WKST is a commercial AM radio station in New Castle, Pennsylvania, serving Lawrence County. It has a classic hits format and is owned by Seven Mountains Media of State College, Pennsylvania, through licensee Southern Belle Media Family, LLC, which also owns 34 other radio stations in Pennsylvania including WUZZ (AM) in New Castle and WYLE (FM) in Grove City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WFLF (AM)</span> Radio station in Pine Hills, Florida

WFLF is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Pine Hills, Florida, and serving Greater Orlando. It is owned by iHeartMedia and airs a news/talk format. The studios and offices are in the iHeart Orlando complex in Maitland.

WDEL is a commercial AM radio station in Wilmington, Delaware, airing a news/talk radio format. Its programming is simulcast on co-owned station 101.7 WDEL-FM. WDEL broadcasts at 5,000 watts using a directional antenna, with its transmitter, studios and offices located on Shipley Road in Wilmington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WPOP</span> News/talk radio station in Hartford, Connecticut

WPOP is a commercial radio station in Hartford, Connecticut, broadcasting a news/talk/sports radio format. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The studios and offices are located on Columbus Boulevard in Hartford.

WIBX is a commercial radio station in Utica, New York. It is one of Central New York's oldest radio stations, dating back to 1925. The station airs a talk radio format and is owned by Townsquare Media as part of a cluster with adult contemporary 98.7 WLZW, country music 104.3 WFRG-FM, classic hits 96.1 WODZ, and classic rock 96.9 WOUR. The studios and offices are on River Road in Marcy, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WYHT</span> Radio station in Mansfield, Ohio

WYHT is a radio station licensed to Mansfield, Ohio, United States, the station serves the Mid-Ohio area. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WRQI</span> Classic rock radio station in Saegertown, Pennsylvania, United States

WRQI is a classic rock music formatted radio station in Saegertown, Pennsylvania owned and operated by Seven Mountains Media, through licensee Southern Belle Media Family, LLC, and is branded as "Rocky 94.3 & 107.7". WRQI simulcasts with WRQW 107.7 FM, serving Titusville, Oil City, Franklin, and Tionesta. Until May 2007, this station was known as WHUZ.

WHMJ and WXMJ are classic hits music formatted radio stations broadcasting in northwest Pennsylvania, United States. The station is owned by Seven Mountains Media, through licensee Southern Belle Media Family, LLC, and broadcasts from the Downtown Mall in Meadville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WGYY</span> Radio station in WGYI: Oil City, Pennsylvania

WGYY and WGYI, branded as Froggy 100.3 and 98.5, are commercial radio stations in Crawford County in Northwestern Pennsylvania. Both stations simulcast a country music radio format and are owned by Seven Mountains Media, through licensee Southern Belle Media Family, LLC. WGYY is licensed to Meadville, Pennsylvania. WGYI is licensed to Oil City, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WDBO (AM)</span> Radio station in Orlando, Florida

WDBO is a commercial radio station broadcasting a news/talk radio format. Licensed to Orlando, Florida, the station is owned by Cox Media Group. The studios and offices are located on North John Young Parkway in Orlando.

WGAN is an commercial radio station licensed to Portland, Maine. The station is owned by Saga Communications and it airs a news/talk radio format. The station calls itself "Newsradio WGAN AM 560 and FM 98.5" The studios and offices are on Western Avenue in South Portland, Maine.

WHBO is a commercial radio station licensed to Pinellas Park, Florida, and serving the Tampa Bay area. The station is currently owned by Genesis Communications and it airs a conservative talk radio format, branded as "News Talk 1040". Much of the programming comes from Westwood One and Fox News Talk.

KRDO is a commercial radio station in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The station is owned and operated by the News-Press & Gazette Company of St. Joseph, Missouri and it airs a news/talk radio format, simulcast with KRDO-FM. Both stations are aided by the news department of co-owned KRDO-TV, with some TV newscasts also heard on the radio stations.

WVLK is a commercial AM radio station in Lexington, Kentucky. It is owned by Cumulus Media and airs a talk radio format. The studios are inside Kincaid Towers on West Vine Street in downtown Lexington.

WTIV is an American radio station, licensed to the community of Titusville, Pennsylvania. WTIV operates at a full-time power of 1,000 watts. Though licensed to Titusville, programming, sales and administrative functions originate out of Meadville, Pennsylvania.

WOYL was an American radio station, licensed to the community of Oil City, Pennsylvania. WOYL operated at the assigned frequency of 1340 kHz and a full-time output power of a thousand watts.

WFRA is an American radio station that is licensed to Franklin, Pennsylvania; the seat of government for Venango County, Pennsylvania.

WGCL is a commercial AM radio station in Bloomington, Indiana, serving Monroe County. The station is owned by Sarkes Tarzian, Inc. along with sister station WTTS 92.3 FM. WGCL broadcasts a talk radio format with programming from CBS Sports Radio in the evening. The radio studios and offices are on West 7th Street in Bloomington.

References

41°37′53″N80°10′37″W / 41.63139°N 80.17694°W / 41.63139; -80.17694

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.