History
WAAF
The station was licensed by the Department of Commerce on April 7, 1922. [1] The original call sign was WAAF. [5] [1] It was one of the first radio stations in Chicago and was owned by the Chicago Daily Drover's Journal , with its transmitter and studios at the Union Stock Yards. [5] [1] [6]
The station originally broadcast at 620 and later 830 kHz. [7] [8] By 1923, the station's frequency had been changed to 1050 kHz. [9] [10] By 1925 the station was broadcasting at 1080 kHz, running 200 watts. [11] [12] By 1927, the station's power had been increased to 500 watts, and the station's frequency was changed to 770 kHz. [1] In 1928, the station's frequency was changed to 920 kHz. [1] The station operated during daytime hours only. [1]
The station's programming was initially devoted to trade news, but in 1929, its programming was broadened. [6] The station would air a variety of music programs, along with news, live market reports, and a variety of other programs. [13] [14]
The station's transmitter and studios were destroyed in the 1934 Stock Yards fire. [6] [1] The station broadcast live coverage of the fire until smoke and heat forced them to leave the building. [6] The station's studios were moved to the Palmer House following the fire. [6] [1]
In 1936, the station's power was increased to 1,000 watts. [1] In 1941, the station's frequency was changed to 950 kHz. [1] In the 1940s, the station aired orchestral music and popular music. [5] In 1948, the station's studios were moved to the LaSalle-Wacker Building. [15] [6] [1]
In 1955, the station began airing "Juke Box Matinee", hosted by Hal Fredericks, in association with the Recorded Music Service Association and the Chicago Juke Box Operators' Association. [16] [17] The show featured a monthly "Hunch Tune", which would be promoted on the show and featured as the No. 1 selection in juke boxes. [17] [18] The first "Hunch Tune" was "Rollin' Stone" by Eddie Fontaine. [18]
In 1956, the station adopted a jazz format. [19] Personalities heard on the station during its jazz years included Marty Faye, Daddy-O Daylie, Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens, and Dick Buckley. [19] [20] [21]
WGRT
In 1967, the station was sold to a corporation formed by Ralph Atlass, for $900,000. [22] [1] The station's call sign was changed to WGRT ("W-Great!") and it adopted a soul music format. [23] Daddy-O Daylie continued as a DJ on WGRT, hosting a morning jazz program. [24] [25] Daylie's jazz program was initially two hours long, but was reduced to an hour and a half, and eventually a half hour in 1971. [24] [25] In 1971, the station's transmitter was moved to the Midland Warehouses on Western Avenue in Chicago. [1]
WJPC
On May 29, 1973, the station was purchased by Johnson Publishing Company for $1,800,000. [26] [27] On November 1, 1973, the station's call sign was changed to WJPC. [27] The station aired an urban contemporary format. [28] Disc jockeys included Tom Joyner and LaDonna Tittle. [29] Daddy-O Daylie hosted a Sunday jazz program. [30] [29] In 1980, the station began nighttime operations, running 5,000 watts using a directional array. [1] [29] In the late 1980s and early 90s the station simulcast the soft urban contemporary format of its sister station 106.3 WLNR in Lansing, Illinois, and was branded "Soft Touch". [31] [32] [33] At Noon on July 15, 1992, the station began airing an all-rap format. [34] [35]
106 Jamz
In 1994, Johnson Publishing sold the station, along with 106.3 WJPC-FM, to Broadcasting Partners for $8 million. [26] [36] In June 1994, the station became "106 Jamz", airing an urban contemporary format as a simulcast of 106.3 WJPC-FM. [37] [38] The station's call sign was changed to WEJM later that year, with its FM simulcast partner taking the call sign WEJM-FM. [2] [39] In spring of 1997, the station was sold to Douglas Broadcasting for $7.5 million. [26] [40] [41] In June 1997, its FM sister station left the simulcast, adopting an urban gospel format as 106.3 WYBA. [42]
One-on-One Sports
On August 28, 1997, WEJM 950's format was changed to sports, as a One-on-One Sports affiliate. [43] [44] Around this time, the station was purchased by One-on-One for $10 million. [26] [45] In November 1997, the station's call sign was changed to WIDB. [2] One-On-One was headquartered in suburban Northbrook. [43] The One-on-One Sports affiliation moved to WJKL on March 1, 1999, though the One-on-One Sports format continued to simulcast on WIDB until May 1999. [46] [47]
WNTD
In 1999, the station was sold to Radio Unica for $16,750,000. [48] In May 1999, the station began airing a Spanish-language news-talk format as Radio Unica. [46] [47] [49] [50] The station's callsign was changed to WNTD that month. [2] Personalities heard on Radio Unica included Paul Bouche and Dra. Isabel, among others. [51] [52] Ricardo Brown was news director. [52] [51] In 2004, Multicultural Radio Broadcasting acquired Radio Unica's 15 radio stations for $150 million. [53] [54] [55]
WNTD was the original affiliate of Air America Radio in Chicago. [56] Program hosts included Al Franken, Randi Rhodes, Janeane Garofalo, Rachel Maddow, Lizz Winstead and Chuck D. [56] The network launched on March 31, 2004. [56] However, these programs ended after two weeks, on April 14, due to a payment dispute between Multicultural Radio Broadcasting, then owner of WNTD, and Air America Radio. [57] On April 15, a judge ruled that Air America had fully paid for airtime on WNTD and ordered Multicultural to broadcast Air America on the station. [58] However, Air America would only continue on the station through the end of the month. [59] WNTD would return to airing a Spanish language format. [60] [61] [62]
In 2007, the station was sold to Sovereign City Radio for $15 million. [63] [64] In October 2007, Relevant Radio began to air from 6 AM to 6 PM weekdays, while brokered Spanish language programming aired the remainder of the time. [64]
From August 2009, until August 14, 2010, WNTD carried "Avenue 950", programmed by Sovereign City Radio Services, which featured an eclectic mix of jazz, blues, standards, and adult contemporary from 6:00 PM to 5:00 AM. [65] [66] Relevant Radio continued to air during the remainder of the station's schedule. [66] On August 15, 2010, the station began airing Relevant Radio full time. [66]
In 2014, the station was sold to Starboard Media Foundation, Inc. for $14.4 million. [67] The transaction was consummated on May 2, 2014. [68]
