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WCFS-FM (105.9 Hertz) – branded Newsradio 105.9 WBBM – is a commercial All-news radio radio station licensed to the Chicago suburb of Elmwood Park, Illinois. Owned by Entercom, the station services the Chicago metropolitan area, operating as a full-time simulcast of WBBM (780 AM).
WCFS-FM has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 4,100 . FM Query Results: WCFS-FM, fcc.gov. Retrieved March 10, 2019. The transmitter is atop the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower). The studios and newsroom are located at Two Prudential Plaza in the Chicago Loop." Contact Us", WBBM. Retrieved March 10, 2019.Robert Feder. " WBBM Newsradio dedicates studio to Eric Brown", RobertFeder.com. June 26, 2015. Retrieved March 10, 2019. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WCFS-FM broadcasts over two HD Radio subchannels,http://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=4 HD Radio Guide for Chicago and is available online via Audacy.
The station's studios and transmitter were located on Harlem Ave, in Elmwood Park. It had an ERP of 320 watts at a height above average terrain (HAAT) of 240 feet. In 1949, its ERP was increased to 1,000 watts and its HAAT was increased to 250 feet. In 1955, the station's ERP was increased to 32,000 watts and its frequency was changed to 105.9 MHz, after the previous occupant of that frequency, WFMT, moved to 98.7 MHz. History Cards for WFMT, fcc.gov. Retrieved February 2, 2019. WLEY was taken silent in 1956.
In the 1960s and 1970s, WXFM featured a variety of musical programming, including classical music, jazz, show tunes, folk music, Light music, and MOR programs." FM Units Double in Two Year Period", Broadcasting. February 20, 1961. p. 82. Retrieved February 16, 2019.Bundy, June. " Vox Jox", Billboard. February 20, 1961. p. 37. Retrieved February 4, 2019." Music as Written", Billboard. February 8, 1960. p. 24. Retrieved February 4, 2019." FM Station Key", U.S. Radio. Vol. 5, No. 1. January 1961. p. 13. Retrieved February 3, 2019.Paige, Earl. " Chicago MOR/Classical FM Station Encouraged By Triad Programming", Billboard. May 29, 1971. pp. 32, 36. Retrieved February 4, 2019. Broadcasting Yearbook 1976, Broadcasting, 1976. p. C-59. Retrieved February 4, 2019. On October 3, 1962, it became an affiliate of the WQXR-FM Network."WXFM Will Join QXR Network on Wednesday", Chicago Tribune. September 28, 1962. p. C10.Biro, Nick. " Stereo Called FM's Most Exciting Tool", Billboard. April 13, 1963. p. 41. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
In 1966, the station's transmitter was moved to 333 North Michigan Ave. in Downtown Chicago, and in 1974 its transmitter was moved to the Sears Tower.
In 1970, Triad Radio, a freeform radio program, began airing on the station. Triad Radio began in 1969, as a three hour weekly program on 105.1 WOJO. The program eventually aired for five hours nightly on WXFM, and continued to air on the station through 1977.Childers, Scott (2008). Chicago's WLS Radio. Arcadia Publishing. Retrieved February 5, 2019." Looking Back", The AOR Story. Radio & Records. 1978. p. 9. Retrieved February 5, 2019. Triad Radio published a free monthly magazine that was distributed through retail outlets.
Dick Lawrence, historian and radio personality, hosted "Sound of the 1920s" an original hour-long feature program of vintage music 'old scratchies' woven together by offbeat historical themes.Heise, Kenan. " Dick Lawrence, 66; Was Host of WNIB Weekly Radio Show", Chicago Tribune. March 31, 1992. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
Count Bee-Jay's "Journeys Into Music", broadcast from a truck stop at 39th and Morgan to the radio station was a daily feature on WXFM from the 70s into the early 80s.
In 1978, Herb Kent began hosting a show on WXFM." Inside Track", Billboard. July 8, 1978. p. 82. Retrieved February 4, 2019.Moser, Whet. " RIP Herb Kent: Cool Gent, King of the Dusties (and Former Classical and Punk DJ)", Chicago. October 26, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2019." Herb Kent aircheck, WXFM-FM 7/13/81", Chicagoland Radio and Media. February 28, 2017. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
In the early 1980s, jazz began to dominate WXFM's schedule. Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1983, Broadcasting/Cablecasting, 1983. p. B-73. Retrieved February 4, 2019.McCormick, Moria. " Count B.J. Out of Work as WXFM Abandons Jazz", Billboard. February 11, 1984. p. 14. Retrieved February 4, 2019." Cox Picks Jeffries as WXFM's PD", Radio & Records. March 2, 1984. pp. 1, 32. Retrieved February 4, 2019. Personalities on the station at this time included Daddy-O Daylie and Dick Buckley.Reich, Howard. " Air-Waives", Chicago Tribune. February 21, 1993. Retrieved February 4, 2019. Pervis Spann hosted an overnight blues show.Baker, Cary. " WXOL Chicago Plays The Blues", Billboard. May 16, 1981. p. 27. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
WAGO featured John Records Landecker in mornings, who had made a name for himself on 890 WLS.Bornstein, Rollye. " Vox Jox", Billboard. September 8, 1984. p. 12. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
By 1987, WCKG had transitioned into a classic rock format. Chicagoland Radio Waves, MediaTies. Summer 1988/Spring-Summer 1989. Retrieved February 4, 2019." Winter '87 Arbitron Ratings", Billboard. May 2, 1987. Retrieved February 4, 2019.Freeman, Kim. " Winter Arbs Hot and Cold", Billboard. May 2, 1987. p. 81. Retrieved February 4, 2019. On-air personalities included Stephanie Miller, John Howell, Mitch Michaels, Allan Stagg, Joe Thomas, Debbie Alexander, and Rich Koz." WCKG FM 105.9", Radio Chicago. Fall 1989. p. 34. Retrieved February 4, 2019." WCKG FM 105.9", Radio Chicago. Winter 1990. p. 51. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
WCKG picked up the syndicated Howard Stern Show for mornings in March 1995. After Stern tried to foment a local rivalry with the locally-based Mancow Muller on WKSC-FM by attacking the personality, his boss, and their families, Cox dropped the show in October 1995. The station blamed issues with "some of Howard's on-air content", and one day later, it was picked up by WYLL, then owned by Infinity Broadcasting, who distributed the show.
In an ironic twist, WCKG would sold to Infinity Broadcasting and become WJJD's sister station in 1996, with Cox acquiring Infinity stations in Orlando in exchange." Transactions", Radio & Records. May 24, 1996. p. 6. Retrieved February 5, 2019. At the end of the year, Infinity Broadcasting was purchased by the parent company of CBS." Westinghouse to Change Name to CBS After Spinoff", Bloomberg News. Los Angeles Times. February 6, 1997. Retrieved March 10, 2019. This would then clear the way for Stern to return to 105.9 after one year on the AM band.
In 2002, rock music was re-added to the station's schedule in certain hours, and its slogan became "Talk That Rocks". On April 1, 2002, Kevin Matthews joined WCKG as midday host.Mowatt, Raoul V. " WCKG-FM feels a lot like home to Kevin Matthews", Chicago Tribune. April 19, 2002. Retrieved February 5, 2019. Other personalities and programs during this era include, Patti Haze & Mary Pat LaRue, Pete McMurray, Opie and Anthony, Karen Hand and Dr. Kelly Johnson, Bill O'Reilly, Jim Cramer, Buzz Kilman, Wendy Snyder, Frankie "Hollywood" Rodriguez, Bob Sirott, Marianne Murciano, Little Steven's Underground Garage, and The House of Blues Radio Hour with Dan Aykroyd. The rock music was removed from the station's schedule by early 2005.
On October 25, 2005, the station was rebranded "Free FM".Phil Rosenthal. " Meet the new Howard Sterns", Chicago Tribune. October 26, 2005. Retrieved February 5, 2019.Peterson, Al. " Stern Replacements Revealed!", Radio & Records. pp. 1, 12. October 28, 2005. Retrieved February 13, 2019. With Stern's departure from terrestrial radio on December 16, 2005, Infinity announced that effective January 3, 2006, WCKG would become the flagship station of Rover's Morning Glory, a show that originated from Cleveland and outside of moving to Chicago, held no previous connection to the Windy City and focused on a much younger audience than the rest of WCKG's staff, meaning the remaining audience which had not moved with Stern to satellite radio and other programs didn't stick around for the rest of the station's schedule. Following months of abysmal ratings, Rover's Morning Glory was dropped on August 1, 2006, and was replaced by the New York-based Opie and Anthony Show." 'Rover' is out; Opie and Anthony are in", Chicago Tribune. August 1, 2006. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
WCKG was also the flagship station of the NBA's Chicago Bulls from 2006 until 2007." Bulls returning to ESPN 1000", Daily Herald. October 29, 2007. Retrieved February 5, 2019.Sherman, Ed. " Bulls will flip to FM dial in '06, on WCKG", Chicago Tribune. October 18, 2005. Retrieved February 5, 2019. With the demise of WCKG's talk format, the Bulls returned to sports radio 1000 WMVP.
Steve Dahl's son, Matt Dahl, joined WCKG on March 5, 2007, and Garry Meier joined the station on April 2, hosting late mornings.Phil Rosenthal. " Oscar honchos smarter than 5th graders?", Chicago Tribune. March 4, 2007. Retrieved February 6, 2019.Phil Rosenthal. " Meier finds right fit at last with WCKG", Chicago Tribune. March 28, 2007. Retrieved February 6, 2019. On May 2, 2007, the station's branding was changed from "Free FM" to "Chicago's FM Talk Station". It was later rebranded back to "The Package". By this time, the weekday lineup consisted of Opie and Anthony, Meier, Stan Lawrence and Terry Armour, Steve and Matt Dahl, Glenn Beck, Loveline, and Bill O'Reilly.
October 29, 2007, was the last day of the talk format on WCKG, as hosts and station staff said their goodbyes on-air. Steve Dahl's show continued to air on WCKG, with best-of clips airing for the rest of the day. His show moved to sister station 104.3 WJMK on November 5.
On November 2, CBS Radio 'tipped' to the media writers at the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune that the station would switch to an Christmas music format that afternoon before the unveiling of its actual new format. However this was a ruse, designed to throw long-time ratings leader 93.9 WLIT-FM off from its plans to start playing all-Christmas music beginning November 8. The trick worked, as WLIT switched to all-Christmas music on November 2, while WCKG continued to play the "Best of Dahl" until November 5. That day, WCKG began stunting by simulcasting several of Chicago's other CBS Radio stations. From 5:30 to 10 a.m., it carried Dahl's first show on WJMK." WCKG Becomes Fresh 105.9", Format Change Archive. Retrieved February 14, 2019. From 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., it simulcast 670 WSCR; from 2 to 4 p.m., it simulcast 93.1 WXRT, and from 4 to 5 p.m., it simulcast 780 WBBM.
On February 25, 2008, morning personality Mike LeBaron and midday personality Lisa Greene signed on as the first DJ's on Chicago's "Fresh 105.9"." Fresh 105.9 Adds LeBaron And Greene", All Access Music Group. February 14, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2019. In April 2008, Program Director Mike Peterson named Rick Hall as afternoon host." Rick Hall Joins WCFS For Afternoons", All Access Music Group. April 11, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2019. On October 6, 2009, Roxanne Steele began hosting afternoons on WCFS.Phil Rosenthal. " Fresh 105.9 hires Roxanne Steele", Chicago Tribune. October 1, 2009. Retrieved February 6, 2019. Rick Hall moved to mornings on a temporary basis after Mike LeBaron left the station.
In November 2009, Steve Fisher debuted as the new morning host on WCFS.Phil Rosenthal. " Steve Fisher gets Fresh morning slot", Chicago Tribune. October 1, 2009. Retrieved February 6, 2019. Upon Fisher's arrival, Rick Hall was moved to middays. However, in June 2010, new program director Jim Ryan told reporters that Hall had been released. Evening host Brooke Hunter was moved to middays.
On March 30, 2010, it was announced that Bill Gamble left CBS Radio Chicago, where he was Program Director of WCFS-FM and WUSN.Phil Rosenthal. " Gamble out as US 99.5, Fresh 105.9 program director", Chicago Tribune. March 30, 2010. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
The format change was seen as a counter to WBBM's new competitor, 101.1 WWWN, which switched to an all-news format on July 31, 2011, one day before WCFS's switch.Channick, Robert. " Merlin Media launches Chicago's first all-news FM station", Chicago Tribune. July 31, 2011. Retrieved February 7, 2019. The "Fresh" AC format was moved to WCFS-HD2 on August 1, rebranding as "The New Sound of Fresh 105.9 HD2".
The move left 93.9 WLIT-FM as the only adult contemporary radio station at the time in Chicago. The switch also gave the NFL's Chicago Bears an FM outlet." Newsradio 780 To Simulcast On 105.9 FM, Starting Aug. 1", WBBM-TV. July 14, 2011. Retrieved February 7, 2019. The "FM News" format on WWWN, which later became WIQI, failed in the market and was replaced by a 90's-centric adult hits format on July 17, 2012.Gillers, Heather. " After a year of trying news, WIQI-FM 101 switches to adult hits", Chicago Tribune. July 17, 2012. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
Though WCFS uses WBBM's on-air branding ("NewsRadio 780 and 105.9 FM, WBBM"), its official call sign remains WCFS, call letters only mentioned once per hour. Arbitron's use of the Portable People Meter for Chicago radio ratings does not need call letter verification to give credit for listening to 105.9 FM. WBBM thus identifies both signals in a rushed form of station identification at :56 past the hour as "WBBM Chicago, WCFS-FM-HD1 Elmwood Park-Chicago".
The two stations have simulcast continuously since August 1, 2011, with one exception. During the 2015 baseball season, WBBM carried Chicago Cubs baseball exclusively over the AM 780 frequency during the 2015 season, while WCFS-FM 105.9 continued to carry the all-news format on its own during Cubs broadcasts.Robert Feder. " Play ball! Cubs move to The Score", RobertFeder.com. November 11, 2015. Retrieved February 7, 2019. Starting with the 2016 season, the Cubs moved to co-owned 670 WSCR. WBBM and WCFS returned to a full-time simulcast at the end of the 2015 season.
On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with Entercom.Venta, Lance. " CBS Radio to Merge with Entercom", RadioInsight. February 2, 2017. Retrieved February 7, 2019. The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and was consummated on November 17.
The station's HD2 subchannel debuted in January 2006, and simulcast the all-news format of WBBM AM 780. After WBBM began simulcasting on the analog/HD1 in 2011, the HD2 subchannel continued to carry an automated version of WCFS's former AC format (which gradually shifted to Hot AC) as "Fresh 105.9", leading to one of the few situations where the station's callsign meaning referred instead to an HD Radio subchannel. In February 2019, the "Fresh" format was replaced with an electronic dance music format, branded as "Energy". This format had aired on co-owned 96.3 WBBM-FM-HD2 as "B96 Dance" from 2006 until February 2019, when it was replaced with "Channel Q"." Channel Q Expands To Six More Markets" RadioInsight. February 26, 2019. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
On March 19, 2021, WCFS-HD2 switched to carrying a new national format covering legalized sports gaming, branded as "BetQL Network".
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