WGAR-FM
Encyclopedia
WGAR-FM — branded 99.5 WGAR — is a commercial radio station
in Cleveland, Ohio
with a country music
format. Studios are located at 6200 Oak Tree Boulevard off of Rockside Road in Independence, Ohio
along with other local Clear Channel
stations, and its transmitter is located in Parma
.
, and resumed broadcast operations in November 1927 as WFJC, the new call letters being derived from the owner's initials. Sam Townshend was listed as co-owner, and the first two announcers were Cyril Jones and Jerry McKiernam.
Jones sold the station to George A. Richards of Detroit in September 1930, and Richards moved the station back to Cleveland. He obtained a new callsign based on his initials, and WGAR signed on the air on December 15, 1930. WGAR was part of the Goodwill Station group that included WJR
and KMPC
, both also owned by Richards.
In 1937 WGAR became Cleveland's CBS
affiliate. On October 30, 1938 it broadcast Mercury Theatre
's "War of the Worlds
," and it was left to a young staff announcer named Jack Paar
to go on the air and calm Cleveland listeners by telling them that the program was only a dramatization. WGAR produced some programs for the CBS network, one of the notable ones being Wings Over Jordan, a popular Sunday morning CBS show that had the widest audience of any African-American broadcast. Wgar is a full country station
Originally at 1480 kHz, it switched to 1450 kHz on March 29, 1941 during the NARBA
frequency shift, and then to 1220 kHz on June 4, 1944. On July 4, 1947, it increased its power from 5,000 to 50,000 watts during daytime hours. WGAR was the flagship station for Cleveland Browns
broadcasts 1946–1949, 1954 and 1956–1961. In 1950, the Federal Communications Commission began an investigation of George Richards and the station group for bias in the news, (known to broadcast historians as "The Richards Case"). George Richards died before federal action could be taken, with his widow (who then gained control of the group), committing to the FCC that such conditions would never happen again. After Richards death in May 1951, WGAR was purchased in 1953 by People's Broadcasting Corp., a company that had been founded seven years earlier by the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation to serve rural communities. People's Broadcasting became Nationwide Broadcasting
, a subsidiary of Nationwide Insurance in 1954.
With the demise of network radio in the 1950s, WGAR tried various music formats, settling into an adult contemporary format in the 1960s. Don Imus
did a stint at WGAR as a morning drive personality from 1970 to 1971 before moving on to WNBC
in New York
. (He returned to Cleveland in 1979 to do afternoons on WHK
.) Imus was replaced in 1972 by John Lanigan who had a very successful run as the morning man until he left for a Florida station on February 9, 1984. (In 1985 John Lanigan returned to Cleveland and went to work at WMJI
, using much of the material he developed at WGAR.)
WGAR abandoned its adult contemporary format for a country music format on July 15, 1984. It donated its entire collection of jazz recordings to WCPN
, the new public radio outlet that was going on the air the following September.
WGAR soon simulcast the country music format with its FM sister station, WGAR-FM, starting in 1986. By 1990, WGAR was sold off to Douglas Broadcasting, and it changed its call sign to WKNR
-adopting a sports/talk format-while WGAR-FM assumed the WGAR identity (as allowed by the FCC regulations at the time.) WKNR maintained studios at the 1220-AM transmitter site in Broadview Heights-which were used by WGAR (AM) since the early 1970s, while WGAR-FM moved to new studios in nearby Independence, Ohio
.
In January 1998, WKNR was sold to Jacor Communications, but were forced to spin it off to Capstar that very same August as a condition of the Jacor
-Nationwide Communications
merger - which ironically took WGAR-FM under the Jacor umbrella. Then, Capstar merged with Chancellor Media-who owned six other stations in the market-to form AMFM, Inc. in 1999.
When AMFM merged with Clear Channel in August 2000, WKNR was spun off again, this time to Salem Communications
. And then, Salem moved WKNR
to 850 kHz - formerly home to WRMR and earlier, WJW (AM) - in the July 2001 Great Cleveland Frequency Swap. WHK's programming and call letters moved to 1220 kHz in that same swap, but changed again to WHKW in 2005 when the WHK calls moved back to 1420 kHz following Salem's re-acquisition of that frequency.
Following the move, WKNR still broadcast from its studios at the former WGAR (AM) transmitter site (currently in use by WHKW
), which were officially vacated on October 29, 2007, ending 30 years of near-continuous use.
, and David Spero
- to jump over to a new WMMS. The station was owned by the Peoples Broadcasting Company, an affiliate of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company
and sister station of WNCI
in Columbus. Peoples Broadcasting Company later became known as Nationwide Communications
.
When WNCR-FM began broadcasting, US market penetration of FM Radio receivers per household was only 7%. By its third year of broadcasting, the WNCR Progressive Rock Format was being employed by FM broadcasters throughout North America. Consequently, the penetration ratio per household of FM radios grew to 73% nationally, and WNCR FM was the number one FM per capita
radio station in the USA an early, unknowing contributor to making Cleveland, Ohio, the Rock and Roll Capital of the World. This was a syergistic effort which by nature of its formation, along with Lee Abrams
to develop the FM Progressive rock
format into a revolutionary power in radio. These defining, cornerstone accomplishments led to the erection of the $120 million Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland.
The WNCR Management team also worked, "To free the world of government broadcasting monopolies and their stranglehold on AM broadcasters,” according one of the founding management teammenbers, Jack Craciun III. "By marketing consumer use of FM Radio and applying the unique FM Progressive Rock Format offshore, European “pirate” broadcasters were able to break Federal Government broadcast monopolies in major “Democratic” European markets, like the BBC in the UK, and subsequently in markets throughout Asia."
, its country music programming was simulcast on the AM outlet.
WGAR-FM was sold to Jacor Communications in 1997 as part of a $620 million purchase of Nationwide Communications and its 17 stations by Jacor. In May 1999, Clear Channel Communications completed its $6.5 billion purchase of Jacor and its 454 stations, including WGAR-FM.
From 1992-2010, the WGAR-FM morning show starred longtime personality Jim Mantel, along with various sidekicks and co-hosts through the years. The current morning show stars veteran Cleveland DJs Brian Fowler and LeeAnn Sommers, and news/traffic anchor Laurie Hovater.
WGAR-FM also broadcasts with an HD-2 side channel that plays classic country. In addition to the morning show, the on-air staff included the legendary Marconi Award winning Chuck Collier, whose broadcast career extended four decades with WGAR (dating back to the AM 1220 days). In March 2009, Chuck Collier was inducted into the Country Radio Hall Of Fame in Nashville, one of only 60 personalities in the history of country radio to achieve this honor. Collier was the music director/afternoon host until his death on September 22, 2011 due to a heart attack. Other personalities include Michael J. (middays - voice tracked from a station in Baltimore
), Shotgun Taylor (moved to afternoons following Collier's death - local), and Kat Jackson (evenings - local). Syndicated programming includes After Midnite with Blair Garner
(overnights), The Big Time Saturday Night with Whitney Allen, Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40 and Rick Jackson's Country Hall Of Fame (all on weekends).
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
in Cleveland, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
with a country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
format. Studios are located at 6200 Oak Tree Boulevard off of Rockside Road in Independence, Ohio
Independence, Ohio
Independence is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,133.-Geography:Independence is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
along with other local Clear Channel
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
stations, and its transmitter is located in Parma
Parma, Ohio
Parma is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is the largest suburb of Cleveland and the seventh largest city in the state of Ohio...
.
WGAR
The history of WGAR begins with AM station WDBK, which signed on the air on May 15, 1924 with 250 watts of power. The station was owned by Stanley Broz in the name of the M.F. Broz Furniture, Hardware and Radio Co., and was located at 13918 Union Avenue in Cleveland. The station moved to Boltan Square Hotel on Carnegie Avenue in 1925, and was using the slogan, "Broadcasting from Cleveland." In September 1927, Broz sold the station to William F. Jones, and WDBK was taken off the air. The station relocated to the Akron Beacon Journal building in AkronAkron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
, and resumed broadcast operations in November 1927 as WFJC, the new call letters being derived from the owner's initials. Sam Townshend was listed as co-owner, and the first two announcers were Cyril Jones and Jerry McKiernam.
Jones sold the station to George A. Richards of Detroit in September 1930, and Richards moved the station back to Cleveland. He obtained a new callsign based on his initials, and WGAR signed on the air on December 15, 1930. WGAR was part of the Goodwill Station group that included WJR
WJR
WJR is a radio station in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It broadcasts a news/talk format. It is a class A clear channel station whose broadcasts can be heard throughout most of the Midwest, eastern United States and Canada at night, making it one of the most powerful radio stations in the...
and KMPC
KMPC
KMPC is a radio station based in Los Angeles, California and is owned by P&Y Broadcasting Licensee, LLC. Radio Korea is a division of the Radio Korea Media Group. The station airs Korean-language programming...
, both also owned by Richards.
In 1937 WGAR became Cleveland's CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
affiliate. On October 30, 1938 it broadcast Mercury Theatre
Mercury Theatre
The Mercury Theatre was a theatre company founded in New York City in 1937 by Orson Welles and John Houseman. After a string of live theatrical productions, in 1938 the Mercury Theatre progressed into their best-known period as The Mercury Theatre on the Air, a radio series that included one of the...
's "War of the Worlds
The War of the Worlds (radio)
The War of the Worlds was an episode of the American radio drama anthology series Mercury Theatre on the Air. It was performed as a Halloween episode of the series on October 30, 1938, and aired over the Columbia Broadcasting System radio network. Directed and narrated by actor and future filmmaker...
," and it was left to a young staff announcer named Jack Paar
Jack Paar
Jack Harold Paar was an author, American radio and television comedian and talk show host, best known for his stint as host of The Tonight Show from 1957 to 1962...
to go on the air and calm Cleveland listeners by telling them that the program was only a dramatization. WGAR produced some programs for the CBS network, one of the notable ones being Wings Over Jordan, a popular Sunday morning CBS show that had the widest audience of any African-American broadcast. Wgar is a full country station
Originally at 1480 kHz, it switched to 1450 kHz on March 29, 1941 during the NARBA
North American Radio Broadcasting Agreement
The North American Radio Broadcasting Agreement, usually referred to as NARBA, is a treaty that took effect in March 1941 and set out the bandplan and interference rules for mediumwave AM broadcasting in North America. Although mostly replaced by other agreements in the 1980s, the basic bandplan...
frequency shift, and then to 1220 kHz on June 4, 1944. On July 4, 1947, it increased its power from 5,000 to 50,000 watts during daytime hours. WGAR was the flagship station for Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
broadcasts 1946–1949, 1954 and 1956–1961. In 1950, the Federal Communications Commission began an investigation of George Richards and the station group for bias in the news, (known to broadcast historians as "The Richards Case"). George Richards died before federal action could be taken, with his widow (who then gained control of the group), committing to the FCC that such conditions would never happen again. After Richards death in May 1951, WGAR was purchased in 1953 by People's Broadcasting Corp., a company that had been founded seven years earlier by the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation to serve rural communities. People's Broadcasting became Nationwide Broadcasting
Nationwide Communications
Nationwide Communications Inc. was a media subsidiary of the Nationwide Insurance Company, which operated from 1946 until 1997. Based in Columbus, Ohio, Nationwide Communications owned and operated a variety of radio and television stations across the United States until it sold off all its radio...
, a subsidiary of Nationwide Insurance in 1954.
With the demise of network radio in the 1950s, WGAR tried various music formats, settling into an adult contemporary format in the 1960s. Don Imus
Don Imus
John Donald "Don" Imus, Jr. is an American radio host, humorist, philanthropist and writer. His nationally-syndicated talk show, Imus in the Morning, is broadcast throughout the United States by Citadel Media and relayed on television by the Fox Business Network.-Personal life:Imus was born in...
did a stint at WGAR as a morning drive personality from 1970 to 1971 before moving on to WNBC
WFAN
WFAN , also known as "Sports Radio 66" or "The FAN", is a radio station in New York City. The station broadcasts on a clear channel and is owned by CBS Radio...
in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. (He returned to Cleveland in 1979 to do afternoons on WHK
WHK (AM)
WHK is the oldest radio station in Ohio, and 15th oldest in the country still broadcasting. WHK is currently owned by Salem Communications and broadcasts on 1420 kHz with a news/talk format with programming provided by the Salem Radio Network, as well as being the Cleveland affiliate for The...
.) Imus was replaced in 1972 by John Lanigan who had a very successful run as the morning man until he left for a Florida station on February 9, 1984. (In 1985 John Lanigan returned to Cleveland and went to work at WMJI
WMJI
WMJI — branded Majic 105.7 — is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio broadcasting a classic hits format. The station serves Cleveland, Akron and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio....
, using much of the material he developed at WGAR.)
WGAR abandoned its adult contemporary format for a country music format on July 15, 1984. It donated its entire collection of jazz recordings to WCPN
WCPN
WCPN — branded 90.3 WCPN — is a public radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, and serving the serving Greater Cleveland area....
, the new public radio outlet that was going on the air the following September.
WGAR soon simulcast the country music format with its FM sister station, WGAR-FM, starting in 1986. By 1990, WGAR was sold off to Douglas Broadcasting, and it changed its call sign to WKNR
WKNR
WKNR — branded ESPN 850 WKNR — is a commercial sports radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio. Owned by Good Karma Broadcasting, WKNR is the primary Cleveland affiliate for ESPN Radio; together with sister station WWGK, WKNR is often referred to as ESPN Cleveland.WKNR is the Cleveland affiliate...
-adopting a sports/talk format-while WGAR-FM assumed the WGAR identity (as allowed by the FCC regulations at the time.) WKNR maintained studios at the 1220-AM transmitter site in Broadview Heights-which were used by WGAR (AM) since the early 1970s, while WGAR-FM moved to new studios in nearby Independence, Ohio
Independence, Ohio
Independence is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,133.-Geography:Independence is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
.
In January 1998, WKNR was sold to Jacor Communications, but were forced to spin it off to Capstar that very same August as a condition of the Jacor
Jacor
Jacor Communications was a media corporation which owned a large number of radio stations in the United States. Inside the radio industry, Jacor was seen as one of the most competitive broadcast companies in history. Jacor's re-image in 1996 created the slogan "The Noise You Can't Ignore".Jacor was...
-Nationwide Communications
Nationwide Communications
Nationwide Communications Inc. was a media subsidiary of the Nationwide Insurance Company, which operated from 1946 until 1997. Based in Columbus, Ohio, Nationwide Communications owned and operated a variety of radio and television stations across the United States until it sold off all its radio...
merger - which ironically took WGAR-FM under the Jacor umbrella. Then, Capstar merged with Chancellor Media-who owned six other stations in the market-to form AMFM, Inc. in 1999.
When AMFM merged with Clear Channel in August 2000, WKNR was spun off again, this time to Salem Communications
Salem Communications
Salem Communications is a U.S. radio broadcaster, Internet content provider, and magazine and book publisher specializing in evangelical Christian and conservative political talk radio. It owns 99 commercial radio stations, 65 of which are in the top 25 markets. Salem is the fifth largest U.S....
. And then, Salem moved WKNR
WKNR
WKNR — branded ESPN 850 WKNR — is a commercial sports radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio. Owned by Good Karma Broadcasting, WKNR is the primary Cleveland affiliate for ESPN Radio; together with sister station WWGK, WKNR is often referred to as ESPN Cleveland.WKNR is the Cleveland affiliate...
to 850 kHz - formerly home to WRMR and earlier, WJW (AM) - in the July 2001 Great Cleveland Frequency Swap. WHK's programming and call letters moved to 1220 kHz in that same swap, but changed again to WHKW in 2005 when the WHK calls moved back to 1420 kHz following Salem's re-acquisition of that frequency.
Following the move, WKNR still broadcast from its studios at the former WGAR (AM) transmitter site (currently in use by WHKW
WHKW
WHKW is an AM radio station in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, operating on 1220 kHz. The station is owned by Salem Communications and carries religious programming from the company's radio network. The bulk of WHKW's programming is simulcast on WHKZ in Warren, Ohio.The 1220 frequency in Cleveland was the...
), which were officially vacated on October 29, 2007, ending 30 years of near-continuous use.
WGAR-FM: 1952–1970
The FM outlet began broadcasting in August 1952, simulcasting the AM programming as most FM stations did at the time. Hours of operation were very limited, usually at the bare minimum of two hours per week. By 1970, however, WGAR-FM underwent several massive changes. It started broadcasting in stereo that April 1, and became WNCR-FM (which stood for either Nationwide Communications Radio or North Coast Rock) on July 2. Or as the original staff joked, "National Cash Register."WNCR-FM
On Thursday, July 2, 1970, classical music died at 99.5 in Cleveland, and up came WNCR. Ginger (Steve Sinton) rolled "Mississippi Queen" in the penthouse studio in the Statler Hilton at 9th & Euclid and the place was a ratings and sales success instantly. The original air staff was Mitch Michaels-mornings, Chris Gray-midday, Steve Scott-afternoons, Ginger-evenings and David Elmore-overnight. The PD was Jerry Dean. Chuck Lansing came in for afternoons as the Army got Scott for Vietnam. The station became the thread that bound youth in northeastern Ohio. "Cleveland doesn't have radio stations. It has cultural phenomena. That's what we were." Ginger said. "We were good for a bunch of 19- and 20 year-old kids who made it up as we went along. And WIXY 1260 helped. They were awful." The rap was pure counter culture. The sound was Woodstock-meets-San Francisco-by-way-of London. By August, all of the air staff, tired of being at odds with management about the huge amount of commercials and attempts to commercialize the station sound, went on strike. All were fired after a midnight meeting with the GM mediated by Don Imus. Ginger went to Columbus, then to WMMS. Michaels followed him in short time. This ushered in the Second Era of WNCR. While a considerable success at first, conflicts between management and staff prompted key members of WNCR-FM's on-air staff - including Program Director Billy Bass and personalities Martin PerlichMartin Perlich
Martin Perlich, born 1937 in Cleveland, Ohio is an American broadcaster and writer. He attended Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio and Columbia University where he studied music history with composer Douglas Moore....
, and David Spero
David Spero
David Spero was a "rock-radio pioneer" in the 1970s and is a "high-profile" music manager and owner of the Cleveland office of Alliance Artists Ltd.-Radio DJ:...
- to jump over to a new WMMS. The station was owned by the Peoples Broadcasting Company, an affiliate of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company & Affiliated Companies is a group of large U.S. insurance and financial services companies based in Columbus...
and sister station of WNCI
WNCI
WNCI is a radio station in Columbus, Ohio. Its official print brand identifier is WNCI 97.9 in a purple oval, while the station is known on-air as 97.9 WNCI...
in Columbus. Peoples Broadcasting Company later became known as Nationwide Communications
Nationwide Communications
Nationwide Communications Inc. was a media subsidiary of the Nationwide Insurance Company, which operated from 1946 until 1997. Based in Columbus, Ohio, Nationwide Communications owned and operated a variety of radio and television stations across the United States until it sold off all its radio...
.
When WNCR-FM began broadcasting, US market penetration of FM Radio receivers per household was only 7%. By its third year of broadcasting, the WNCR Progressive Rock Format was being employed by FM broadcasters throughout North America. Consequently, the penetration ratio per household of FM radios grew to 73% nationally, and WNCR FM was the number one FM per capita
Per capita
Per capita is a Latin prepositional phrase: per and capita . The phrase thus means "by heads" or "for each head", i.e. per individual or per person...
radio station in the USA an early, unknowing contributor to making Cleveland, Ohio, the Rock and Roll Capital of the World. This was a syergistic effort which by nature of its formation, along with Lee Abrams
Lee Abrams
Lee Abrams is an American media executive who has held a number of posts for large and influential companies, and is generally credited with developing the "Album Oriented Rock" format employed by hundreds of radio stations across the country.-Career:...
to develop the FM Progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
format into a revolutionary power in radio. These defining, cornerstone accomplishments led to the erection of the $120 million Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland.
The WNCR Management team also worked, "To free the world of government broadcasting monopolies and their stranglehold on AM broadcasters,” according one of the founding management teammenbers, Jack Craciun III. "By marketing consumer use of FM Radio and applying the unique FM Progressive Rock Format offshore, European “pirate” broadcasters were able to break Federal Government broadcast monopolies in major “Democratic” European markets, like the BBC in the UK, and subsequently in markets throughout Asia."
Quadraphonic radio
To enhance listenership ratings, and establish FM Radio as the new rudder steering consumer spending trends and consequently manufacture investments in new technologies and new consumer products, the WNCR team decided to create and market a Quadraphonic Broadcasting system to replace stereo, promoting manufactures to bring new products to the marketplace. WNCR engineers created the black box that synthesized stereo into quadraphonic. If FM stereo’s two speakers were better than AM’s one, which wiped out AM radio’s national economic base, they reasoned, the new technology application of quad’s four speakers certainly would promote even greater ratings for FM, and the consumer manufacturing and distribution of new audio products. Radio stations around the country followed suit, and soon many were broadcasting in quadraphonic. Audio equipment manufactures from around the world ran to design and market new “Quad” receivers and audio playback equipment. Today, Quad lives on as “Surround Sound.”WKSW
On January 1, 1973, WNCR gave up the progressive rock format and changed to an automated country format. In 1975, the format was changed to beautiful music/easy listening using Jim Schulke's format. A few months later, the call letters changed to WKSW and the station's slogan became, "WKSW, FM 100. All music. All the time." For a brief period, no local announcers were used. Instead, recordings of Philadelphia announcer Nelson Hobdell were used for all station breaks. Eventually, WKSW went to all local personalities, including David Mark (who had the highest ratings the station ever achieved), Tom Mart, Jim Field, and Ted Lux. With the lone exception of David Mark, whose ratings in Cleveland were bested only by Cleveland Indians baseball on WWWE and rock music on WMMS, the station was never quite able to equal or better the ratings at competitors WQAL and WDOK, and the format was switched back to country by 1980.WGAR-FM: 1984–Present
On July 15, 1984, it switched its calls to WGAR-FM. It has continued its country music format since then. For a time around 1986 before WGAR (AM) was sold off and became WKNRWKNR
WKNR — branded ESPN 850 WKNR — is a commercial sports radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio. Owned by Good Karma Broadcasting, WKNR is the primary Cleveland affiliate for ESPN Radio; together with sister station WWGK, WKNR is often referred to as ESPN Cleveland.WKNR is the Cleveland affiliate...
, its country music programming was simulcast on the AM outlet.
WGAR-FM was sold to Jacor Communications in 1997 as part of a $620 million purchase of Nationwide Communications and its 17 stations by Jacor. In May 1999, Clear Channel Communications completed its $6.5 billion purchase of Jacor and its 454 stations, including WGAR-FM.
From 1992-2010, the WGAR-FM morning show starred longtime personality Jim Mantel, along with various sidekicks and co-hosts through the years. The current morning show stars veteran Cleveland DJs Brian Fowler and LeeAnn Sommers, and news/traffic anchor Laurie Hovater.
WGAR-FM also broadcasts with an HD-2 side channel that plays classic country. In addition to the morning show, the on-air staff included the legendary Marconi Award winning Chuck Collier, whose broadcast career extended four decades with WGAR (dating back to the AM 1220 days). In March 2009, Chuck Collier was inducted into the Country Radio Hall Of Fame in Nashville, one of only 60 personalities in the history of country radio to achieve this honor. Collier was the music director/afternoon host until his death on September 22, 2011 due to a heart attack. Other personalities include Michael J. (middays - voice tracked from a station in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
), Shotgun Taylor (moved to afternoons following Collier's death - local), and Kat Jackson (evenings - local). Syndicated programming includes After Midnite with Blair Garner
Blair Garner
Blair Garner is an American radio personality. According to his After MidNite with Blair Garner show website, he purchased his first car at age 12. He is the host of the syndicated radio programs After MidNite with Blair Garner and The Blair Garner Show...
(overnights), The Big Time Saturday Night with Whitney Allen, Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40 and Rick Jackson's Country Hall Of Fame (all on weekends).