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WCCW (AM)
Encyclopedia
WCCW is one side of a radio combo in Traverse City, Michigan
. It is owned by the Midwestern Broadcasting group, which to this day includes the family members of its original partners from the early 1940s, the Biedermans, Kikers and McClays. Midwestern acquired WCCW AM
/FM
, its long-time "local competitor" in 1996. The highly-rated FM station is Oldies 107.5
, while the AM station is one of the lowest-rated Arbitron
-wise in the area.
WCCW today carries a sports talk radio format, and is the Traverse City affiliate of ESPN Radio
, plus airs ESPN shows Mike and Mike in the Morning
. It also airs play-by-play coverage of the Detroit Tigers
, Detroit Lions
, Detroit Red Wings
, Detroit Pistons
and Michigan State University
sports.
On November 1, 1967, WCCW added an FM sister at 92.1, which broadcast with 3,000 watts. It was Traverse City's first late night broadcast signal, as both WTCM and WLDR signed off at 11 p.m. This FM originally had an automated beautiful music format.
In the beginning, WCCW was an MOR-formatted station, but added Top 40 afternoon programming in the mid-1960s to appeal to the younger crowd. It was Northwest Michigan's first truly contemporary format, even though in later-dayparts, and was soon followed by WVOY-AM in Charlevoix about 1974.
For most of the 1970s, the WCCW air staff was:
Jerry Meyer and Bob Burian were both involved in management along with owner John Anderson. Meyer later became operations manager at WTCM in 1976 and went on to co-own Murrays Boats & Motors, was the long time news anchor for TV 9 & 10, and made a run for state representative. LD Greilick and Michael Bradford were the stations engineers. Bradford went on to establish WBNZ-FM in Beulah-Benzonia.
"Radio Double C" also had Northern Michigans earliest avante-garde modern rock programming late at night with the "Pen Ultimate" radio show hosted by Al Vasquez ("Alan White") and Carolyn Beaudette, and was the home of Traverse Citys first "real" production agency for radio commercials.
By that time, WCCW was carrying the Music of Your Life
standards
format. Anderson, who still lives to this day, sold WCCW Radio to the Fabiano Brothers of Mt. Pleasant
, a well-known beer distributor. At this time, the station was housed in an old converted funeral home next door to the Cherry County Playhouse, sharing quarters with a local chapter of Planned Parenthood as the upstairs tenants. The Fabianos brought in Paul Binsfeld, son of former Lieutenant Governor, and State Senator Connie Binsfeld, to launch the FM side of the facility as WMZK, The Bay's Music. Binsfeld brought his morning man, Mark Blackwell from WSOO/WSUE in Sault Ste. Marie and started an adult contemporary music format which enjoyed some success. The line up included Steve Cook mornings, Ron Jolly middays, Mark Blackwell (who used the stage name Murphey) afternoon drive, and Jim Moriarty evenings. The AM side, still known as WCCW, continued the "Music of Your Life" format using an antiquated automation system setup up in what was once the viewing room of the funeral home.
Other Broadcasters associated with WCCW in and after its hey-day were Lucien Jaye ("The Boogie Man"), Dave Elliot (later with WTCM 14-T) and Dave Walker (now the longtime news anchor at TV 7&4). Steve Cook went on to be Production Director for WTCM, Mark (Murphey) Blackwell is currently Production Director at WJR Detroit, Ron Jolly became morning man on WTCM-AM, and Jim Moriarty can sometimes still be heard on WCCW-FM playing oldies.
In 1996, the Fabianos sold WCCW combo Radio to Ross Biederman for $3 million, who made drastic improvements to the stations. He moved the stations out of the old Michigan Theatre
building on Front St. to a Today Show-esque window studio next in the former Midwestern Cablevision building next door to WTCM.
In 2001, after years of airing some type of MOR format, this time being ABC's "Stardust" ("Unforgettable Music") format, WCCW flipped to sports radio
as ESPN Radio 1310 AM. The station airs most of ESPN's schedule.
WCCW is currently a 15 kW days and 7.5 kW nights station. This upgrade was approved in May 2006. With the power boost and upgrade to a full-time signal, it allows Midwestern Broadcasting to air more sports on their AMs. The station has local sports cast in the morning with station manager Brian Hale. Along with being and ESPN affiliate they also carry the broadcast of all the major Detroit sports teams, Tigers, Lions, Red Wings & Pistons. Plus college basketball and football from M.S.U. and a varety of sports features on subjects like fishing and NASCAR.
Traverse City, Michigan
Traverse City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although a small portion extends into Leelanau County. It is the largest city in the 21-county Northern Michigan region. The population was 14,674 at the 2010 census, with 143,372 in the Traverse...
. It is owned by the Midwestern Broadcasting group, which to this day includes the family members of its original partners from the early 1940s, the Biedermans, Kikers and McClays. Midwestern acquired WCCW AM
AM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
/FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
, its long-time "local competitor" in 1996. The highly-rated FM station is Oldies 107.5
WCCW-FM
WCCW-FM is an FM combination in Traverse City, Michigan, United States, consisting of WCCW-FM in Traverse City and relaying station WCZW in Charlevoix...
, while the AM station is one of the lowest-rated Arbitron
Arbitron
Arbitron is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio audiences. It was founded as American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging with L.A. based Coffin, Cooper and Clay in the early 1950s...
-wise in the area.
WCCW today carries a sports talk radio format, and is the Traverse City affiliate of ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio is an American sports radio network. It was launched on January 1, 1992 under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN." ESPN Radio is located at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut...
, plus airs ESPN shows Mike and Mike in the Morning
Mike and Mike in the Morning
Mike and Mike in the Morning is an American sports-talk radio show hosted by Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg on ESPN Radio and simulcast on television, normally on ESPN2. If ESPN is broadcasting a live sporting event during the show's timeslot, Sportscenter will air on ESPN2, and the show's...
. It also airs play-by-play coverage of the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
, Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
, Detroit Red Wings
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...
, Detroit Pistons
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are a franchise of the National Basketball Association based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The team's home arena is The Palace of Auburn Hills. It was originally founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons as a member of the National Basketball League in 1941, where...
and Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
sports.
History
WCCW, whose call letters stand for "Cherry Capitol of the World", signed on in 1960 under the ownership of John Anderson, a former Midwestern employee who ventured out on his own with contemporary ideas and skills learned working for Midwestern as a salesperson in the 1950s.On November 1, 1967, WCCW added an FM sister at 92.1, which broadcast with 3,000 watts. It was Traverse City's first late night broadcast signal, as both WTCM and WLDR signed off at 11 p.m. This FM originally had an automated beautiful music format.
In the beginning, WCCW was an MOR-formatted station, but added Top 40 afternoon programming in the mid-1960s to appeal to the younger crowd. It was Northwest Michigan's first truly contemporary format, even though in later-dayparts, and was soon followed by WVOY-AM in Charlevoix about 1974.
For most of the 1970s, the WCCW air staff was:
- Les Foerster - morning
- Michael Bradford - Mid-days
- Michael O'Shea - Afternoons
- Phill Orth - Evenings
- Carolyn Beaudette - Overnights
Jerry Meyer and Bob Burian were both involved in management along with owner John Anderson. Meyer later became operations manager at WTCM in 1976 and went on to co-own Murrays Boats & Motors, was the long time news anchor for TV 9 & 10, and made a run for state representative. LD Greilick and Michael Bradford were the stations engineers. Bradford went on to establish WBNZ-FM in Beulah-Benzonia.
"Radio Double C" also had Northern Michigans earliest avante-garde modern rock programming late at night with the "Pen Ultimate" radio show hosted by Al Vasquez ("Alan White") and Carolyn Beaudette, and was the home of Traverse Citys first "real" production agency for radio commercials.
By that time, WCCW was carrying the Music of Your Life
Music of Your Life
Music of Your Life is a satellite-delivered radio network featuring the Adult Standards music format. Created by record executive and jingle writer Al Ham, and now under the direction of Marc Angell, Music of Your Life has more than 50 AM, FM and HD-2 radio station affiliates, and has been in...
standards
Standard (music)
In music, a standard is a tune or song of established popularity.-See also:* Blues standard* Jazz standard* Pop standard* Great American Songbook-Further reading:* Greatest Rock Standards, published by Hal Leonard ISBN 0793588391...
format. Anderson, who still lives to this day, sold WCCW Radio to the Fabiano Brothers of Mt. Pleasant
Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Mount Pleasant is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Isabella County. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 25,946. The 2008 census estimate places the population at 26,675....
, a well-known beer distributor. At this time, the station was housed in an old converted funeral home next door to the Cherry County Playhouse, sharing quarters with a local chapter of Planned Parenthood as the upstairs tenants. The Fabianos brought in Paul Binsfeld, son of former Lieutenant Governor, and State Senator Connie Binsfeld, to launch the FM side of the facility as WMZK, The Bay's Music. Binsfeld brought his morning man, Mark Blackwell from WSOO/WSUE in Sault Ste. Marie and started an adult contemporary music format which enjoyed some success. The line up included Steve Cook mornings, Ron Jolly middays, Mark Blackwell (who used the stage name Murphey) afternoon drive, and Jim Moriarty evenings. The AM side, still known as WCCW, continued the "Music of Your Life" format using an antiquated automation system setup up in what was once the viewing room of the funeral home.
Other Broadcasters associated with WCCW in and after its hey-day were Lucien Jaye ("The Boogie Man"), Dave Elliot (later with WTCM 14-T) and Dave Walker (now the longtime news anchor at TV 7&4). Steve Cook went on to be Production Director for WTCM, Mark (Murphey) Blackwell is currently Production Director at WJR Detroit, Ron Jolly became morning man on WTCM-AM, and Jim Moriarty can sometimes still be heard on WCCW-FM playing oldies.
In 1996, the Fabianos sold WCCW combo Radio to Ross Biederman for $3 million, who made drastic improvements to the stations. He moved the stations out of the old Michigan Theatre
Frauenthal Center for the Performing Arts
The Frauenthal Center for Performing Arts is located in downtown Muskegon in the U.S. state of Michigan.It houses the historic Frauenthal Theater, the Beardsley Theater, Clark-Cannon Gallery, several meeting rooms, and two rehearsal halls....
building on Front St. to a Today Show-esque window studio next in the former Midwestern Cablevision building next door to WTCM.
In 2001, after years of airing some type of MOR format, this time being ABC's "Stardust" ("Unforgettable Music") format, WCCW flipped to sports radio
Sports radio
Sports radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A popular format with an almost exclusively male demographic in most areas, sports radio is characterized by an often-boisterous on-air style and extensive debate and analysis by both hosts and...
as ESPN Radio 1310 AM. The station airs most of ESPN's schedule.
WCCW is currently a 15 kW days and 7.5 kW nights station. This upgrade was approved in May 2006. With the power boost and upgrade to a full-time signal, it allows Midwestern Broadcasting to air more sports on their AMs. The station has local sports cast in the morning with station manager Brian Hale. Along with being and ESPN affiliate they also carry the broadcast of all the major Detroit sports teams, Tigers, Lions, Red Wings & Pistons. Plus college basketball and football from M.S.U. and a varety of sports features on subjects like fishing and NASCAR.