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WHKW (1220 AM broadcasting) is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, United States, featuring a Christian radio format known as "AM 1220 The Word". Owned by Salem Media Group, the station serves both Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio. WHKW's studios are located in the Cleveland suburb of Independence, and its transmitter is in neighboring Broadview Heights. Along with a standard analog transmission, WHKW is relayed over low-power Cleveland translator W245CY () and streamed online.
A merger of two separate radio stations in Akron and Springfield that were moved into Cleveland in 1930, this station spent 60 years as the first radio home of WGAR. First under the ownership of George A. Richards' Goodwill Station group, it became a core affiliate of the CBS, the originating station for Wings Over Jordan and an early home to comedian Jack Paar. WGAR moved to its current dial position of in 1944, and increased power to 50,000 watts in 1947, but became embroiled in a lengthy license dispute involving Richards that ended with his 1951 death. Sold to Peoples Broadcasting—the forerunner to Nationwide Communications—WGAR transitioned into a personality-driven adult contemporary format in the early 1970s, headlined by personalities Don Imus, John Lanigan, Norm N. Nite and Chuck Collier. Later featuring a country music format in the mid-1980s in an eventual combination with FM broadcasting adjunct WGAR-FM, the station was sold off in 1990 and switched to sports radio as WKNR. changed ownership multiple times between 1997 and 2000, and was ultimately purchased by Salem Communications; under Salem, the station assumed WHK ()'s callsign and Christian format on July 3, 2001, as the result of a complex radio station/intellectual property asset swap. Since 2005, this station has been known as WHKW.
WCSO was first licensed as WNAP, on October 13, 1922, to Wittenberg College in Springfield, operating on the standard "entertainment" wavelength of . The station's call letters were changed to WCSO—for Wittenberg College, Springfield, Ohio—on March 6, 1925.
WFJC's first license, for 100 watts on , was issued in May 1924 under the station's original call sign, WDBK, to the M. F. Broz Furniture, Hardware & Radio Company at 13918 Union Avenue in Cleveland's Mount Pleasant neighborhood. It began broadcasting on May 15, 1924. WDBK was deleted in the fall of 1924, then relicensed the following spring, again with 100 watts, but now on . Automobile dealer W. F. Jones purchased WDBK on July 15, 1927, and was granted a permit to move WDBK, which was renamed WFJC, to Akron.
As construction for the new station began immediately, WFJC continued to broadcast from Akron until December 14; the December 13, 1930, Akron Beacon Journal informed its readers that WFJC would cease operations the next day at midnight, "to make way for WGAR, at Cleveland, which purchased its claim to the ether". In its fifth annual report, the FRC reported that, effective June 12, 1931, WCSO and WFJC had been consolidated "to form new station WGAR, Cleveland, Ohio". WADC eventually moved into the Beacon Journal building studios vacated by WFJC.
The station's transmitter was moved from the Statler to a newly constructed facility in Cuyahoga Heights on July 20, 1931, with a Blue concert by John McCormack airing after an on-air dedication, a move that partially improved reception in Akron albeit with continued interference from some listeners. In further bids to improve WGAR's signal, power was increased to during daytime hours by December 1932, then to during the daytime and at night by 1938. WGAR and WJR were eventually joined by KMPC in Los Angeles, which Richards purchased on May 5, 1937. The station became one of the first stations in the United States, and one of the first in Cleveland, to employ a staffed news room beginning in 1936 under the direction of Ralph Worden. Worden instituted a policy of "facts, not opinion" which prevented newscasts from having any commentary, later maintained by general manager John Patt. Originally with two reporters on staff, the news department grew to three staffers in 1943 and to four in 1945, and contracted for a news bureau in Washington, D.C. during World War II; WGAR also became one of the first radio stations to play recorded during newscasts. The station's coverage of events during World War II included multiple weekly programs—ranging from anthologies to light entertainment and dramatic fare—that encouraged patriotism, support of the war effort and War bond drives. Program director David Baylor and operations manager Carl George were both dispatched to the European and Pacific War theaters, respectively, filing news reports for the station.
In addition to NBC Blue programming, WGAR started to feature assorted fare from the Quality Network and its successor, the Mutual Broadcasting System. A round-robin affiliation swap with Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) affiliate WHK and independent WJAY on September 26, 1937, saw WGAR became Cleveland's new CBS affiliate; WJAY took the Mutual affiliation under new WCLE calls, while WHK took NBC Blue. Cleveland Orchestra radio broadcasts moved to WGAR on December 6, 1941, and were carried over CBS and related shortwave facilities as a sustaining program sponsored entirely by the station. WGAR and CBS's relationship with the Orchestra lasted until 1962. WGAR also originated several public affairs programs including the City Club of Cleveland's Friday Forum, which the station began carrying on October 18, 1937.
Fr. Coughlin attained notoriety for anti-capitalist and anti-Semitic views and accusing bankers of causing the Great Depression; such rhetoric directly mirrored that of Richards, who was a reactionary conservative. Initially supporting President Franklin D. Roosevelt and New Deal, Fr. Coughlin broke ranks outright to form the National Union for Social Justice (NUSJ), predicting electoral success in Ohio at a May 11, 1936, rally at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Supporting Union Party presidential candidate Rep. William Lemke, Fr. Coughlin gave the Union's Party conference keynote address at Municipal Stadium on August 16, 1936, but fainted near the end of his speech. Coughlin also spoke at the Townsend Plan held at Cleveland Public Hall one month earlier. The Golden Hour was briefly suspended after the NUSJ underperformed at the polls in the 1936 presidential election but revived two months later. Rhetoric on The Golden Hour became increasingly virulent, with Coughlin expressing conspiracy theories against Jewish people and sympathizing with Nazi Germany and Italian fascism. The outbreak of World War II in Europe prompted the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) to adopt a self-regulating code on October 1, 1939, prohibiting member stations from airing sponsored programs that contained editorializing or controversial subjects, written with Fr. Coughlin in mind. John F. Patt, general manager for both WJR and WGAR, assailed the NARB code as "censorship and abridgement of free speech", suggesting it could lead to "an emasculation of private enterprise in broadcasting with a solar plexus blow to freedom in this country and an invitation for further government regulation". While WJR and WGAR threatened to leave the NAB in protest, Patt disclosed that both stations had cancellation clauses in their contracts with Coughlin that could be exercised if necessary; the majority of affiliate contracts expired at the end of October, effectively ending the program.
One particular incident on October 30, 1938, defined Paar's early career. Aware of a new Columbia show on the Sunday evening schedule—Orson Welles's The Mercury Theatre on the Air—Paar briefly left the studios to get a snack, inadvertently missing the start of The War of the Worlds and thus unaware of a brief introduction by Welles. After an onslaught of phone calls from confused and panicked listeners who thought a real Martian invasion was taking place, an equally confused Paar interrupted the network feed twice, the first time saying "this is a drama, I think?", and a few minutes later with, "I assure you this is a drama... I am almost certain! Be calm—have I ever lied to you before?" Paar contacted general manager John Patt about the panic, Patt responded with "you're too emotional, you're never going to make it." Nevertheless, Paar was seen as a hero overnight, with newspaper coverage the next day highlighting and praising "the man who calmed Cleveland."
At age 20, WGAR assigned Jack Paar to narrate the station's Cleveland Orchestra broadcasts produced for CBS, thereby becoming the network's youngest announcer. He also announced a late-night big band program WGAR also originated for CBS, coining phrases "it's Tommy Tucker time", "a rhythmic New Deal with Dick Stabile" and "Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye", quipping that "I learned to count by working with Lawrence Welk." Eddie Paul, an area bandleader who regularly appeared on the program, later would reminisce how he and Paar would "hold gab fests" afterwards. Paar attempted to use his announcer duties to Courtship actress Doris Dudley via coded messages, only to be stopped after a CBS directive via telegram, which he saw and management never did. Paar additionally hosted an early morning entertainment gossip program that featured a daily contest to win movie tickets, and a weekly comedy program, Here's Paar; the latter featured Wayne Mack and fellow announcer Maurice Condon as his . The popular program both showcased Paar's talents and informed them at the same time: one episode had Mack inadvertently hanging up on Paar when he called into the station from jail, Condon jokingly claimed later that Paar's overnight prison sentence was for an Late fee.
After nearly four years at the station, Paar was fired near the end of 1942. Despite his eventual success as a pioneering late-night television talk show host and as the second host of NBC-TV's Tonight Show, Paar never got over his firing and claimed to suffer weekly about it into the 1980s. Paar purchased Portland, Maine station WMTW-TV in 1963, outbidding his former boss John Patt in the process, later musing, "I survived and could at this moment buy WGAR if I wished." During Paar's 1961 career apex hosting Tonight, Condon denied that he taught Paar everything he knew about show business, but jokingly added, "well, I did show Jack around." Wayne Mack remained at WGAR until 1950, when he left to help launch WDOK (), and continued to broadcast in some capacity until his death in 2000.
The show was CBS's highest-profile sustaining program and has been attributed to WGAR receiving the Peabody Awards for "distinguished service among medium-market stations" for 1940, the first such award bestowed in that category. CBS added a limited-run 15-minute weekday version of the program during the summer of 1941, broadcast out of WGAR. Wings Over Jordan was also placed on the 1941 Honor Roll of Race Relations by the New York Public Library's Schomburg Collection.
The following January, WADC countered with an identical application for them to move to with along with an agreement that Canton's WHBC could move to WADC's current frequency. Due to both stations being with CBS, it was surmised that the winner would emerge as the basic Columbia station for both markets. The FCC ordered a freeze on major facility changes after the U.S.'s entry into World War II, but with considerable leeway towards existing applications, thus WGAR amended the request again to . Both WADC and WGAR's applications were designated for hearing by April 1942, with both stations reportedly having procured the resources and materials to make the upgrade. Following a series of hearings, the FCC both approved WGAR's application and a concurrent application by WHBC to move to the frequency. WGAR purchased of land in Broadview Heights and refitted an existing farm house to become a transmitter building, owing to wartime restrictions. Copper wire from a prior transmitter site for WJR was reused for a ground system. The station heavily promoted the move to with a marketing campaign that included direct mail, , cab signs and newspaper advertisements, all culminating with the switch at 12:20 p.m. on June 4, 1944, during CBS's Trans-Atlantic Call.
The FCC granted WGAR the upgrade by October 6, 1946, determining that WADC provided insufficient evidence, and that WJR and WGAR's signal overlap would not be an issue as WJR—despite being a class I-A clear channel—had insignificant Cleveland listenership. WADC then challenged WGAR's 50 kW grant, protesting that WGAR's local programming was "tantamount to an abdication to the (CBS) network" and a potential court test of the FCC's Blue Book; WADC filed an additional petition for the FCC to no longer grant waivers to any facility changes. WGAR considered WADC's motions as estoppel, noting that programming was brought up in prior hearings and WADC did not object to anything then, and considered WADC's want to clear the CBS lineup outright "an ingenious interpretation" of the Blue Book overlooking the importance of local fare. WADC's petitions were denied by the FCC on May 23, 1947, dismissing charges of censorship, prompting WADC to appeal WGAR's 50 kW grant before the U. S. Courts of Appeals, which ruled in the FCC and WGAR's favor. WGAR's power increase to took place with a dedication program on July 4, 1947, immediately followed by a Cleveland Indians-Detroit Tigers game announced by Van Patrick. The station then launched a limited series of titled More Power To You showcasing cities such as Dover, Canton, Kent, Elyria and Painesville now serviced by the upgraded signal; in several instances, a WGAR staffer was flown in via helicopter.
Multiple members of Congress, the American Jewish Congress (AJC), the Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) and the Radio News Club of Hollywood (RNC), along with James Roosevelt, all called for an FCC investigation. The AJC stated Richards "fomented hate among minorities" by blatantly flouting the Mayflower doctrine (which the FCC earlier considered a repeal of) and called for KMPC's license to be revoked. The FCC ordered an initial examination of all three stations on March 25, 1948, then for public investigatory proceedings after corroborating the Billboard evidence, which brought up "substantial questions" regarding Richards' qualifications as an owner. While the procedure would result in "a clean bill of health" for Richards if the charges were unfounded, his physical health soon overshadowed the process. In a filed affidavit, Richards admitted to portions of the charges and claimed his impulsive behavior was due to an 11-year bout with coronary thrombosis, while asserting other broadcast outlets and networks engaged in biased coverage to the commission's tacit approval. Initially slated for mid-February 1949, the hearings were delayed until March 16 and again postponed after Richards proposed to transfer all three stations to a while his physicians insisted any hearing could potentially kill him. One of Richards' attorneys, former Sen. Burton K. Wheeler, argued the 60-year-old Richards had planned on retiring at said age. The National Community Relations Advisory Council (NCRAC) protested the trusteeship proposal, citing the FCC's general counsel Benedict P. Cottone's statements that neither of the three trustees were residents of Cleveland, Detroit or Los Angeles, while two of the trustees were known by one NCRAC member to have espoused deeply conservative viewpoints.
Presiding examiner J. Frederick Johnson Jr. died after the hearings were recessed, replacement James D. Cunningham restarted them on June 15 at the request of Richards's legal team. The FCC requested 7,000 news scripts from KMPC, and indicated the same request would be made for WJR and WGAR. Citing health reasons, Richards failed to obey a subpoena issued at the insistence of Benedict Cottone. KMPC manager Robert O. Reynolds—on the witness stand for over a month—stated Richards' prior thrombosis left him physically unable to walk or climb steps, an x-ray specialist countered by saying little evidence existed of an Cardiomegaly. When the FCC completed their prosecution at the end of August 1950, 34 gave 2,000,000 words on 8,000 pages of transcript over the course of 13 weeks; Cunningham ruled Richards did not need to testify. Richards' defense cited coverage in People's World and The Nation as evidence the hearings were inspired by the Communist Party. The NAB issued a resolution condemning the investigation as an invasion of Richards' free speech right and privacy, prompting NCRAC to criticize the NAB's "misunderstanding of the necessary and natural functions" of the FCC. The hearings ended in mid-December 1950 with Richards' legal team withdrawing the trusteeship proposal and propose advisory councils for all three stations; Examiner Cunningham deemed the hearings for WGAR as unnecessary.
In a 340-page finding submitted to the commission on May 15, 1951, Benedict Cottone recommended all three stations not have their licenses renewed as they did not serve the public interest, charged Richards with repeatedly violating FCC policy and the Communications Act of 1934 and assailed the "contempt" Richards held for the agency. Cottone also urged the FCC recognize that Richards used his stations to further his political interests and social prejudices. Examiner James D. Cunningham was to issue a subsequent proposal and en banc were scheduled but Richards died later on May 28 from an abdominal aortic aneurysm at age 62. Fr. Coughlin was among the attendees at his funeral, while Rev. James W. Fifield Jr. claimed Richards was "murdered ... by those who sought to destroy freedom" in his eulogy. Examiner Cunningham motioned to dismiss all proceedings as Mootness on June 14, 1951, due to Richards' death. Widow Frances S. Richards was bequeathed all three stations along with all other personal effects and made assurances the stations would adhere to a code eschewing bias in news reporting; the FCC renewed all three licenses and approved the ownership transfers to her name on November 28, 1951. All told, the legal fight ultimately cost Richards $2 million (equivalent to $ in ).
Tom Armstrong hosted the morning show at WGAR from 1954 to 1969, succeeding Bill Mayer, who hosted mornings from 1946 to 1954 and was remembered for having a jovial, light-hearted style. Armstrong's career at WGAR spanned much of the changes both in network radio and in local radio, joining in 1944 when the station employed two orchestras and 140 staffers; a generation later, a typical radio station would have 30 to 40 employees. The decline of network radio culminated with CBS Radio cancelling the majority of their entertainment programming in 1960 to focus on news and public affairs, but retained the WGAR-led Cleveland Orchestra broadcasts. Despite this, WGAR ended their CBS affiliation after 25 years at the end of 1961 to switch to NBC; Hubert E. Evans explained NBC "provides a service better geared to our concept of community service". WGAR switched again to ABC on December 11, 1965, after NBC's court-ordered repurchase of earlier in the year, but did not sign with either of ABC's newly launched networks at the start of 1968 and became an independent. The station was formally defined in 1966 as middle of the road (MOR) with assorted sports programming, a nightly call-in talk show and commentary segment both hosted by Sidney Andorn, a daily women's-oriented program and a news department led by news director Charles Day, in the position since 1946. Future New York City newscaster Bill Beutel was a staff announcer before joining WEWS-TV in 1959, his replacement at WGAR was future Chicago newscaster Joel Daly. Tom Armstrong left WGAR in April 1969 after he was moved to an early-afternoon slot, joining WDOK for their morning show, one of the first major-market AM radio personalities to move to the FM dial.
WGAR first filed paperwork on January 17, 1944, (Guide to reading History Cards) to establish an FM adjunct, but due to the number of applicants exceeding the number of available channels, WGAR's application was put through a competitive hearing in April 1946. The FCC decided in WGAR's favor that June, but the commission's proposed power output and height above average terrain (HAAT) was significantly less than what the station had requested, thus putting the application through another set of oral arguments. WGAR-FM launched on on December 15, 1952, but either simulcast the AM sister for the majority of the day (the FM carrying three hours of classical music in the evenings) or operated for only two hours a week to maintain their license. George Washington Campbell, who took over as head of Peoples Broadcasting in October 1966, disclosed in Broadcasting magazine intentions to establish WGAR-FM as a separate entity from WGAR "as soon as major technical improvements are made". Upgrading to stereo in 1969, WGAR-FM was renamed WNCR, denoting "Nationwide Communications Radio", on May 4, 1970; two months later, a progressive rock format was instituted. The changes made at WNCR would soon parallel substantial changes at WGAR, which like the FM had become regarded as a "sleeping giant" in the market.
WGAR signed up with ABC's American Entertainment Network, added the weekly American Top 40 with Casey Kasem and expanded the news department. Newscasts and public affairs programming were retained but now presented at a faster pace multiple times throughout the day. Thayer brought along multiple staffers from KXOA to WGAR, including program director John Lund and morning host Don Imus. Thayer and Lund had first worked together at Los Angeles's KLAC prior to KXOA, and became interested in market-driven research assisted by the Western Behavioral Sciences Institute. Lund viewed their work at KXOA as a "fantastic test market" for WGAR, as KXOA was also programmed to reach a 18–34 demographic and enjoyed significant ratings increases. The "all-request music" stunt, along with extensive community surveys, proved useful as a way to gauge who listened to WGAR at different Dayparting; Thayer and Lund found out in their research that WJW enjoyed an abnormal share of the 18–plus demo, and likewise for WIXY in the 35–plus demo, and viewed WGAR as a way to bridge a musical generation gap.
In addition to Imus, the new airstaff consisted of incumbent hosts "Emperor Joe" Mayer and Bob Vernon, along with music director Chuck Collier and Norm N. Nite. As part of their promotional campaign for Imus, WGAR purchased a series of billboards and a half-hour late-night television slot on WEWS-TV directed by Upbeat producer Herman Spero; Imus later referred Herman's son David Spero for a DJ position at WNCR-FM. Imus's tenure lasted for less than 15 months but immediately showed success; the October/November 1970 Arbitron ratings listed him at number one in the 18–49 demo, ahead of WKYC's Jim Runyon and WJW's Ed Fisher; WGAR as a whole topped both the 25–34 and 25–49 demos. Billboard awarded Imus as the number one radio personality for 1971, an honor shared with KMPC's Gary Owens.
John Lund soon followed Imus for New York City, leaving to become WBBR's program director in October 1973 and ultimately joined WNBC the following year. Loren Owens initially took over for Lund, and Chick Watkins—who joined WGAR in 1971 as creative services director—became assistant program director. Thayer was promoted to vice president of Nationwide Communications, then left to join NBC Radio by August 1974. Lund hired away Bob Vernon as WNBC's afternoon host in December 1974, completing what Newsday writer Tony Kornheiser called "that station's 'Cleveland connection.'" Norm N. Nite additionally left for New York City, but to WCBS-FM in 1973; Chuck Collier also went to WCBS-FM but returned to WGAR within two years. Watkins assumed the program director title outright by March 1975 and hired Bob James (Pondillo) for late evenings, giving him the air name "The Real" Bob James.
Even with the multiple staffing changes, WGAR maintained high ratings due to Lanigan's enduring popularity. WMMS program director John Gorman considered WGAR "an interesting battle" as he musically dayparted the album-oriented rock (AOR) station just like WGAR to take advantage of listener overlap. Gorman later stated that "the best decision by ... Nationwide Broadcasting, was not moving (WGAR's) format to FM", as Nationwide opted instead to convert WNCR from AOR to country on March 6, 1974. Other air personalities included Dave "Fig" Newton, Bruce Ryan and Kevin O'Neill.
The early 1980s brought additional changes. Chick Watkins left to join the upstart Transtar Radio Networks in January 1982; Mike Scott was his replacement. Former WHLO host Steve Cannon joined WGAR from Florida that March to host a talk-intensive evening show replacing RKO Radio Network's America Overnight. Scott's subsequent departure in 1983 resulted in multiple airshift realignments under acting program director Mike Metzger. In April, Chuck Collier was moved from early evenings to middays, with Metzger's late morning slot shortened to two hours. By September, Chuck segued over to WKSW-FM as music director and evening host, Steve Cannon replaced Chuck in middays and a jazz program hosted by Barb Richards took Cannon's place. At the same time, Lanigan was promoted to program director, succeeding Metzger; Lanigan jokingly told Radio & Records, "it's a feeling of panic!" WGAR additionally converted to AM stereo the previous December, but to minimal ratings impact.
John Lanigan left WGAR after a 12-year run in mornings on February 9, 1984, to join WMGG in Clearwater-Tampa. His replacement was incumbent afternoon host and impressionist Paul Tapie, with Lanigan and Tapie co-hosting in the days leading up to his departure. Some comedians who had already been composing material for Lanigan's WGAR show started doing so for both his new Tampa show and for Tapie's show. After Lanigan's departure, WMMS started getting requests for Top 40 songs usually heard on WGAR, and played them in hopes of attracting his former audience. WMMS's tactic worked as WGAR's ratings fell significantly when Tapie went solo.
Following the FCC's repeal of the FM Non-Duplication Rule in March 1986, rumors of WGAR simulcasting WGAR-FM emerged but were downplayed by management. However, Paul Tapie's departure for WNCX that October led to the AM station relaying the FM outright. Cleveland Force broadcasts over WGAR became the lone schedule deviation, WGAR headed up a three-station network for the Major Indoor Soccer League club. WGAR-FM was becoming one of the top-rated stations in the Cleveland market, while WGAR was among the lowest-rated with a core audience of people 55 and older; the simulcast allowed for both to be rated together. The news department was also downscaled, with newscasts limited to both drive times, noon and Saturday mornings, and staffing reduced from seven to three in the span of seven years. The former air studios were rendered as auxiliaries after the format combination and proved useful when an electrical fire struck the Keith Building on July 30, 1987, which housed the studios for WQAL; WGAR engineers arranged in the span of an hour to have the beautiful music FM station operate from their facilities for several days.
The simulcast ended shortly before midnight on June 29, 1990, with a ten-minute sendoff including audio from Don Imus and Jack Paar. After the sendoff ended, WGAR changed callsigns to WKNR and picked up Unistar's satellite-based country format using the same automation system WGAR used prior to the simulcast. Speculation about the forthcoming format included potential bidding for the broadcast rights to the Cavaliers, Indians and Browns, all of which were held by WWWE. The format again switched to oldies—also via Unistar—on October 1, with Jim Glass indicating the station could head in a full-service direction similar to Cincinnati's WLW and Indianapolis's WFNI. WKNR general manager Robert Barnes also hinted about wanting to create "a strong news and sports presence" for the station. WGAR-FM remained in the Broadview Heights facility alongside WKNR until moving to the Crown Centre in Independence by mid-March 1991, combining it with an existing sales office that had been in downtown Cleveland. Because of the prolonged simulcast and personnel that had already carried over, WGAR-FM claimed WGAR's history as its own.
WKNR's satellite-fed music was ultimately a format placeholder until WGAR-FM could depart and end what Robert Barnes called a claustrophobic "mom-and-pop setup." At the end of 1990, WKNR added local newscasts, then recruited Larry Calton and former WWWE host Geoff Sindelar to host sports talk shows in afternoon drive. By January 7, 1991, Reggie Rucker was added for evenings and the overnight hours taken up by the syndicated Sports Byline USA, with locally based weekend sports shows added a few months later. Reaction to the sports-talk block for its debut week, dubbed "Cleveland's SuperFan", was positive enough for management to consider the sustainability of a 24-hour sports format. Barnes boasted to the Akron Beacon Journal that Cablevision's ownership interests allowed him to have "full authority and an unlimited budget", but was fired on July 22; Calton was also dismissed in June after making an anti-Semitic slur on-air. Former WERE host Greg Brinda was then hired for middays, Philadelphia-based Peter Brown replaced Calton in the lineup, and a morning show with onetime WNCX personality Robert J. Wright debuted on September 9, 1991, finally making WKNR a fulltime sports radio station. WEWS-TV meteorologist Don Webster also started providing weather forecasts for the station.
Billed as "Mr. Objectivity," Peter Brown's combative afternoon show and very transparent "me-against-the-world" on-air persona attracted controversy. Brown frequently lashed out at athletes and coaches solely to elicit listener reaction, with Cavaliers players and Browns head coach Bill Belichick among his targets. Cavs broadcaster Joe Tait, who viewed Brown as a cheap Pete Franklin imitation, posited that his shock jock approach revolved around carefully picking people "who wouldn't meet him in the parking lot and punch his lights out". Despite the attention, Brown left the station in early September 1993 after two years, the result of a contract impasse. Bill Needle, a former public relations director for the Cavaliers, initially took over Robert J. Wright's morning slot in August 1992, then replaced Reggie Rucker in evenings with Paul Tapie's return to as morning host. Tapie was paired with former WKYC sportscaster Thor Tolo for a year, then hosted mornings solo until Mike Wolfe replaced him on May 9, 1994.
WKNR's on-air presentation was regarded as rigid and sober, with show topics scheduled in advance and limited solely to sports, Call screener prior to going on-air, and phone calls limited to a maximum of two minutes. The Plain Dealer Roger Brown repeatedly criticized the station as "a bloodless, antiseptic, Accountant feel" and "on the whole is so bland as to make oatmeal seem like spicy jambalaya". Hosts were marketed according to their levels of expertise: Geoff Sindelar, who gained notoriety as a regular caller to Pete Franklin's Sportsline on WWWE, was billed as "The Professor" playing off his knowledge of Sports analytics and . Sindelar also hosted the weekly collectables-oriented Sports 101 television program, produced by Dennis Goulden and syndicated nationally. Likewise, Greg Brinda was promoted as "The Dean". WHK's conversion to all-sports on May 16, 1994, took a loose, "fan-friendly" form and were themselves openly critical of WKNR's formantics; WKNR management defended their methodical approach as key to appealing towards a larger audience.
The Browns Radio Network continued to carry the games despite the loss of commercial advertising, Sportsmarketing estimated the lost ad revenue totaled tens of thousands of dollars. WKNR filled all vacated commercial breaks during the games with public service announcements. Ancillary Browns-related programming on WKNR and other broadcast outlets were cancelled in protest. While Greg Brinda remarked prior to the Browns–Steelers rivalry game that callers to his show hoped the team would lose all remaining games, including the Steelers game, he retrospectively felt the raw emotion paled in comparison to fan reaction over the team's abrupt release of quarterback Bernie Kosar in 1993. As the 1995 season began, Brinda saw the relationship between fans and head coach Bill Belichick—who was largely blamed for Kosar's release—as fractured and irreparable. The relocation to Baltimore as the Baltimore Ravens was finalized and approved on February 10, 1996, with WKNR signing up as a Cincinnati Bengals Radio Network affiliate for the 1996 season. The station saw the Bengals games as a way to gauge interest in possible secondary fanbases.
Herb Score announced his retirement as Indians broadcaster on August 8, 1997, effective at the end of the 1997 season. It was argued that Score likely witnessed more bad baseball than any other broadcaster as his 34-year tenure spanned much of , and was beloved by fans even with a tendency to confuse player names and misidentify plays on-field. As the team reached the 1997 World Series, the last games Score ever called aired exclusively on WKNR due to MLB rules, the rest of the Indians Radio Network carried Vin Scully's play-by-play over CBS Radio. Strong sentiment existed among the team's fanbase and some of the players to win the World Series for Herb, but the Florida Marlins won the series in seven games; Score was behind the mic for the final play. Tom Hamilton succeeded Score as lead team broadcaster entering the 1998 season.
Despite the Indians' success on-field, their contract with WKNR was a loss leader as the station ran an annual $1 million deficit. Jacor, which purchased WHLK and WTAM earlier in 1997, entered into talks with Cablevision to purchase WKNR. Published reports suggested Jacor's main objective was to move the Indians rights to WTAM and run WKNR as a heavily downscaled sports talker or drop the format altogether. As early as 1994, the station was subject to rumors of possible sales, with one executive lamenting the difficulty in killing the rumor while at the same time desiring an FM signal. Jacor was also interested in the land WKNR's Broadview Heights studios/transmitter site sat on that could be resold to real estate developers, Cablevision likewise held off on a deal for several weeks in hopes of recouping some of the land value. The $8.7 million purchase (equivalent to $ in ) was announced on August 19, 1997, but Cablevision faced allegations from the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition over discriminatory hiring practices; WKNR was fined $14,000 by the FCC and saw their license renewal delayed until a review of Jacor's hiring records could take place.
Capstar merged with Chancellor Media on July 13, 1999, to form AMFM Inc., putting WKNR into common ownership with WDOK, WKNR, WQAL, WZJM, WZAK and WERE, which Chancellor had acquired for a combined $275 million through three simultaneous buyouts. Clear Channel Communications (which itself had merged into Jacor earlier in the year) then purchased AMFM, Inc. on October 3, 1999—only after AMFM's creation—for $17.4 billion. Clear Channel elected to divest the entire seven-station AMFM cluster, selling WRMR and WKNR to Salem Communications on May 6, 2000, closing that July 20. The deal immediately raised speculation as to the future of WKNR's sports format given Salem's reputation as a Christian-oriented broadcaster. Salem previously purchased WHK in April 1996 and switched their format from sports to Christian talk shortly thereafter. Following his purchase of the Cleveland Indians, Larry Dolan made inquiries to Salem early in 2001 about purchasing WKNR as a possible replacement flagship; Larry's son Paul confirmed talks had taken place, but it was a "nonissue." At the start of the 2001 Indians season, WKNR hired Bruce Drennan to host The 10th Inning postgame call-in show.
WHKW's Christian radio programming is largely supplied by the co-owned Salem Radio Network. One featured program, Truth for Life, is of local origin as host Alistair Begg is the lead pastor for Parkside Church in Bainbridge Township. What's Right, What's Left, a talk show hosted by Ernie Sanders, airs in late mornings and late evenings. Some non-religious programs air on the weekends, including Turning You Onto Classical Music, hosted by Beau Coup keyboardist Dennis Lewin and The New Czech language Voice of Cleveland, hosted by John Sabol. WHKW also since 2020, has carried Warren G. Harding High School Raiders football broadcasts.
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