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WCGO

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For the station in Chicago Heights, Illinois on AM 1600 that held the call sign WCGO from 1959 to 2009, see WCGO (1600 AM).
WCGO
Broadcast areaChicago metropolitan area
Frequency1590 kHz
BrandingChicago's Smart Talk
Programming
FormatBrokered programming (English, Korean, Russian, Assyrian)
AffiliationsGenesis Communications Network
Premiere Networks
USA Radio Network
Ownership
Owner
  • Pollack Broadcasting (William Pollack)
  • (Evanston Broadcasting LLC)
History
First air date
September 29, 1947; 77 years ago (1947-09-29)[1]
Former call signs
WNMP (1947-1970)[2]
WLTD (1970-1979)[2]
WONX (1979-2009)[3]
Call sign meaning
Chicago
Technical information
Facility ID35447
ClassB
Power10,000 watts day
2,500 watts night
Transmitter coordinates
42°1′20.00″N 87°42′43.00″W / 42.0222222°N 87.7119444°W / 42.0222222; -87.7119444
Translator(s)95.9 W240EH (Evanston)
Links
WebcastListen Live
WebsiteWCGOradio.com

WCGO (1590 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Evanston, Illinois, and serving the Chicago metropolitan area's northern suburbs. The station is owned by William Pollack through licensee Evanston Broadcasting LLC.[4][5] WCGO has a brokered programming radio format where hosts buy time on the station and may use their shows to advertise their services or seek donations. On weekday mornings, the station airs Korean-language Christian radio programming. Russian language shows are heard in the afternoon. Evenings and weekends, WCGO airs brokered talk and ethnic shows. Overnight, it carries the nationally syndicated Coast to Coast AM with George Noory from Premiere Networks.

By day, WCGO is powered at 10,000 watts non-directional. But to protect other stations on 1590 AM from interference, at night it reduces power to 2,500 watts and uses a directional antenna with a four-tower array. The transmitter is on North McCormick Boulevard near West Howard Street in Skokie.[6] Programming is also heard on 250-watt FM translator W240EH at 95.9 MHz in Evanston.[7]

History

WNMP

The station signed on the air on September 29, 1947; 77 years ago (1947-09-29)[1] It held the call sign WNMP.[1][2] WNMP operated during daytime hours only, with a power of 1,000 watts.[2] Block programming was aired in its early years.[8] In 1959, the station adopted a classical music/light music format.[9] In 1960, the station was sold to Harry H. Semrow and his brother Otto Semrow for $325,000.[10][11][2] The station aired an easy listening format in the 1960s and carried Northwestern Wildcats football.[12][13][14] In December 1969, the station was sold to Alan H. Cummings and Buddy Black for $875,000.[15][2]

WLTD

Its call sign was changed to WLTD on November 2, 1970.[2] WLTD aired easy listening music, old-time radio shows, and specialty talk shows.[16] On May 2, 1970, Chuck Schaden's first Those Were The Days program aired on WNMP.[17][18] It continued on WLTD until 1975, when the station changed format.[18]

In 1975, the station was sold to Kovas Communications for $400,000, and adopted a beautiful music format.[19][2][20][21]

WONX

On April 9, 1979, the station's call sign was changed to WONX.[2] The station switched to a Spanish language format.[22][23] Programming in other languages were also aired over the years.[24][25][26][27] In 1982, the station added nighttime operations, running 2,500 watts.[2][28] It used a four-tower directional array at night.[5] In 1997, the station's daytime power was increased to 3,500 watts.[29]

WCGO

File:WCGO 1590 is Chicago Logo.png
WCGO Previous Logo

On April 10, 2009, the previous WCGO on 1600, also owned by Kovas, was taken off the air.[30] On April 13, 2009, WONX's call sign was changed to WCGO.[3] With 1600 now vacant, the new WCGO was able to increase its daytime power to 7,000 watts.[31] In 2014, the station's daytime power was increased to 10,000 watts.[32][33]

WCGO began airing talk programs in September 2014, with local shows hosted by Franklin Raff and Geoff Pinkus, as well as Dana Loesch's syndicated program.[34] On April 6, 2015, Milt Rosenberg began hosting a program on the station.[35] As of 2023, its programming is multilingual: Weekend programming includes Legal Eagles with William Pelarenos, The Dave Ramsey Show, The Assyrian Cultural Foundation: The Guiding Voice with Ninos Nirari, The Chicago Wine Report with Chip Dudley, Tom Hall, and Lainie Petersen, Domingo Felices with Frank Camacho, and Dialogo Politico with Robert Ameneiro. Weekdays features Korean Christian programming weekday mornings, Russian language programing via Radio NVC weekday afternoons, and Multiformat Network show highlights in the evenings. Overnight programming is Coast to Coast AM and Coast to Coast Weekends with George Noory.[36]

In 2017, the station was sold to William Pollack for $3 million.[4][37] In 2019, WCGO became the flagship station of the national SmartTalk Radio Network.

References

  1. ^ a b c "WNMP Started" (PDF). Broadcasting – Telecasting. October 6, 1947. p. 24. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j History Cards for WCGO, fcc.gov. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  3. ^ a b Call Sign History, fcc.gov. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  4. ^ a b "WCGO Being Purchased By William Pollack", Chicagoland Radio and Media. May 11, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  5. ^ a b AM Query Results: WCGO, fcc.gov. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  6. ^ Radio-Locator.com/WCGO
  7. ^ Radio-Locator.com/W240EH
  8. ^ "AM Histories", Broadcasting — Telecasting. A Continuing Study of Major Radio Markets: Study No. 7: Chicago. October 25, 1948. p. 20. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  9. ^ "WNMP Skeds Classic Fare", Billboard. April 13, 1959. p. 2. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  10. ^ "Changing hands", Broadcasting. October 3, 1960. p. 66. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  11. ^ Heise, Kenan. "Harry Semrow, County Tax Official", Chicago Tribune. November 24, 1987. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  12. ^ "Listeners the Final Answer?", Billboard. December 21, 1963. p. 36. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  13. ^ "Stations By Format", Billboard. October 16, 1965. p. 62. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  14. ^ "Stations By Format", Billboard. November 19, 1966. p. 38. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  15. ^ "Changing Hands", Broadcasting. December 1, 1969. p. 40. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  16. ^ Duston, Anne. "WLTD Places Emphasis on Old-Time Radio Shows", Billboard. June 10, 1972. p. 21. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  17. ^ Feder, Robert. "Chuck Schaden returns to his thrilling days of yesteryear", RobertFeder.com. July 24, 2015. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  18. ^ a b "TWTD Archive – May 2, 1970", Speaking of Radio. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  19. ^ "Ownership changes", Broadcasting. November 17, 1975. p. 71. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  20. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1976, Broadcasting, 1976. p. C-59. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  21. ^ "Stations, everywhere: a listeners' guide to the AM and FM bands", Chicago Tribune Magazine. March 4, 1979. p. 37. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  22. ^ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1981, Broadcasting & Cable, 1981. p. C-70. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  23. ^ Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1985, Broadcasting & Cable, 1985. p. B-82. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  24. ^ The Broadcasting Yearbook 1990, Broadcasting & Cable, 1990. p. B-98. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  25. ^ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1995, Broadcasting & Cable, 1995. p. B-123. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  26. ^ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2000, Broadcasting & Cable, 2000. p. D-136. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  27. ^ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2008, Broadcasting & Cable, 2008. p. D-185. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  28. ^ Public Notice Comment – BL-19821006AE, fcc.gov. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  29. ^ "Construction Permit Activity", The M Street Journal. Vol. 14, No. 22. June 4, 1997. p. 3. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  30. ^ "WCGO Being Purchased By William Pollack", Chicagoland Radio and Media. May 11, 2017. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  31. ^ "WCGO Goes Dark, WONX -- Now WCGO -- Ups Power", All Access Music Group. April 13, 2009. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  32. ^ "Engineering Report Covering Request for Construction Permit on Behalf of Kovas Communications, Inc. For WCGO (AM) 1590 Kilohertz Evanston, Illinois", Charles A. Hecht & Associates, Inc. January 2014. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  33. ^ Application Search Details – BL-20140618ABP, fcc.gov. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  34. ^ Feder, Robert. "Broadcast museum to honor Rich 'Svengoolie' Koz", RobertFeder.com. August 29, 2014. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  35. ^ Feder, Robert. "Milt Rosenberg to host new midday show on WCGO", RobertFeder.com. April 3, 2015. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  36. ^ Schedule, WCGO. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  37. ^ Application Search Details – BAL-20170512AAE, fcc.gov. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
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