WARF (AM)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
|
| Broadcast area | Akron, Ohio |
|---|---|
| Branding | Radio Free Ohio |
| Slogan | Talk radio for the rest of us |
| First air date | April 8, 1925 as WADC |
| Frequency | 1350 (kHz)be |
| Format | Talk |
| Power | 5,000 watts |
| Class | B |
| Callsign meaning | Akron, Radio Free Ohio |
| Former callsigns | WTOU (1994-2005) WSLR (1965-1994) WADC (1925-1965) |
| Owner | Clear Channel Communications |
| Website | www.1350radiofreeohio.com |
WARF is an AM radio station serving the Akron, Ohio metro area, operating on 1350 kHz. The station is known as "Radio Free Ohio" and carries a progressive talk format, carrying Al Franken and Randi Rhodes from Air America Radio, and Ed Schultz and Stephanie Miller from Jones Radio. WARF was the only station in the country to carry Bill Press's radio show when it debuted on June 27, 2005, until KRXA picked up the show on August 22.
WARF carries local news updates from Clear Channel's Akron/Canton newsroom for part of the day, supplemented by local news updates supplied from Clear Channel's Cleveland facilities outside of drive-time hours. It also carries national news updates from ABC Radio.
Contents |
[edit] History
The station traces its history to WADC which debuted as a temporary station for a February 1925 car show at the Central Garage [1]. The call letters were derived from the name of the Automobile Dealers Co. that sponsored the show. After the show ended, Allen T. Simmons, owner of the Allen Theater, bought the station and obtained a permanent license which was granted on March 23, 1925 [2]. It was the second radio station in Akron (after WOE which went on the air on April 27, 1922, but was off the air in July 1923). Regular broadcasts began on April 8, 1925 from studios in the Portage Hotel. The station originally broadcast at 1160 kHz with 100 watts, [3], but its signal increased to 500 watts by 1926 [4].
WADC was a charter member of the CBS Radio Network, being one of the 16 stations that aired the first CBS network program on September 18, 1927. (The other stations were WOR in Newark; WAIU in Columbus, Ohio; WCAO in Baltimore; WCAU in Philadelphia; WEAN in Providence; WFBL in Syracuse; WGHP in Detroit; WJAS in Pittsburgh; WKRC in Cincinnati; WMAK in Buffalo-Lockport; WMAQ in Chicago; WNAC in Boston; WOWO in Fort Wayne, Indiana; KMOX in St. Louis; and KOIL in Council Bluffs, Iowa.) The station soon opened new studios in Tallmadge and increased its power to 5,000 watts. Its frequency jumped around from 1160 to 1010 to 1260, and to 1320 after the FRC's General Order 40 went into effect on November 11, 1928. On March 29, 1941 it moved to 1350 kHz as part of the NARBA frequency shifts.
As the CBS affiliate during the 1930s and 1940s, WADC was the leading Akron radio station, rivaled later only by WAKR after it took to the air in 1940. Akron had no NBC Red affilliate, since WTAM's signal from Cleveland covered the area. WADC's success was symbolized by the two-story art-deco WADC Building, which was completed on May 6, 1949 and became a local landmark on the southeast corner of Main and Mill Streets in downtown Akron. The entire second floor of the building was occupied by the station's studios and offices.
WADC was sold in late 1964 to Welcome Radio, Inc. headed by Cleveland lawyer Harrison Fuerst. In January 1965, the station became WSLR, known as "Whistler 1350." It brought a country music format to the area, with legendary morning host Jaybird Drennan.
On August 22, 1984, Welcome Radio sold WSLR to OBC Broadcasting, Inc., headed by Richard A. Nicoletti.
Faced with competition from WQMX in Akron, along with WGAR in Cleveland and WQXK in Youngstown, WSLR dropped its country format. On September 1, 1994 station adopted an urban contemporary format delivered by ABC Radio called "The Touch," and it switched to call letters WTOU on September 29.
In October 1998, the station switched to a sports talk format. It first carried programming from ESPN Radio, then flipped to Fox Sports Radio along with the Jim Rome Show in September 2001. All along, the station kept the WTOU calls but dropped "The Touch" nickname and instead went by "1350AM ESPN - Akron's Sports Network," and later, "Fox Sports 1350". WTOU and sister station WKDD were sold by OBC Broadcasting to Clear Channel on August 15, 2000.
The sports talk format was dropped on June 2, 2005, and the station switched to a liberal talk radio format (albeit with no Air America programming), changing its call letters to WARF. Fox Sports Radio programming was picked up by WJMP, who, ironically enough, dropped an Air America liberal talk format. Despite the format change, WARF continued to carry its live sports programming—University of Akron football and basketball and Akron Aeros minor league baseball, though NASCAR races have moved to sister station WHLO.
On February 13, 2006 veteran radio personality Joe Finan (long heard on rival talk station WNIR) began a locally produced talk show 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. weekdays. Finan was released from WARF that October 27.
[edit] Programming
[edit] Weekdays
- 5:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m.: The Wall Street Journal This Morning with Gordon Deal
- 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.: Bill Press
- 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.: Stephanie Miller
- 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.: Ed Schultz
- 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.: Randi Rhodes
- 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.: Rachel Maddow
- 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.: Politically Direct with David Bender
- 9:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.: EcoTalk with Betsy Rosenberg
- 10:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.: Lionel
- 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m.: Best of Randi Rhodes
[edit] Saturday Highlights
- 5:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m.: The Wall Street Journal This Weekend with Gordon Deal
- 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.: Paid Programming
- 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.: Handel on the Law
- 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.: Lionel Weekend
[edit] Sunday Highlights
- 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m.: Sunday Magazine with Tom Duresky
- 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.: Road to Glory with Henry Dunn
- 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.: Gospel Time with Anne Robinson
- 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.: Keep Hope Alive with Rev. Jesse Jackson
- 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.: Dr. Dean Edell
[edit] Sports
[edit] External links
| AM Radio Stations in the Akron, Ohio Market (Arbitron #74)
By Frequency: 640 | 1150 | 1350 | 1520 | 1590 |
