WSRT (FM)

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WSRT

City of license	Gaylord, Michigan
Broadcast area	Traverse City/Petoskey
Slogan	Soft Rock, Great Talk
First air date	1972
Frequency	106.7 (Mhz)
Format	Adult contemporary
ERP	100,000 watts (FM)
Callsign meaning	Soft Rock and Talk
Owner	Northern Broadcasting
Website	www.softrock1067.com

WSRT (106.7 FM "Soft Rock, Great Talk") is a radio station that broadcasts out of Gaylord, Michigan. The 100,000-watt station is also simulcasted on 100.7 WSRJ Honor/Traverse City. The station airs an Adult contemporary format, though through most of its operational life it was best-known as a CHR/Top 40-formatted station.

Contents 1 History 2 Crew 3 Changes 4 External links

[edit] History

The station began in 1972 as WWRM "Warm 107", airing primarily beautiful music. The station was the brainchild of John DeGroot and Glen Catt, the founder of the Glen's Market chain. The station's first studio was located on the second floor of the Glen's Market in Gaylord. DeGroot bought Catt out, however, and in 1984 he switched the format and changed the call letters from WWRM to WKPK in an attempt to go head-on with the highly-successful WKHQ. The new station called itself "107 The Peak"

Throughout the 1980s and into the early 1990s, KHQ and The Peak would butt heads in the ratings, mainly due to the two being so close to each other on the dial. By the early 90's, KHQ was the more-adult station while The Peak, with several countdown shows daily and "Peak It Or Plunge It", a voting show, was the hit for the younger crowd. The Peak frequently also played both alternative-rock and rhythmic tracks that few other stations, even in major markets, would touch, such as "Comedown" by Bush and "I Wish" by Skee-Lo, while WKHQ tended to stick to the proven mainstream hits and avoided most rap.

In 1996, DeGroot retired from broadcasting and sold The Peak to Northern Broadcasting, the North Dakotan owners of AOR-formatted WKLT and what is now Classic Hits The Fox. The ownership change allowed the station, to invest in new equipment, including a new studio. New automation equipment allowed the station to run 24/7 without the need of a night disc jockey, which stood in contrast to the operations of the early 1990s when the station would sign-off at 1 a.m. and return to the air at 5 a.m.

Despite excellent ratings and the battle with 106 KHQ still in swing, the station's Grand Rapids-based management decided in 2000 to make the station Hot AC, dumping most of their rap/hip-hop tracks. In 2004, the station became a full-blown AC with the demise of heritage AC WLDR.

The Peak's changes have no doubt left listeners alienated. Many people still call The Peak "the rap station" even though they haven't played a rap record in years. As a result, their last three Arbitron ratings books have put the station near the bottom of the list at around a 2.3. Still, 2004 was by far WKPK's most profitable year since its creation.

[edit] Crew

The Peak, being in the mid-sized Traverse City-Gaylord-Petoskey radio market, has seen both big market DJs in need of a gig and DJs just starting out. The station's alumni include Brent Carey (went on to WDRQ, and PD WIOG & WTWR), McConnell Adams (went on to WIOG, WDRQ & Dallas Texas), Aaron Santini (KKHQ PD in Waterloo Iowa) WQAL (Cleveland) morning jock Rebecca Wilde, Radio Disney jock Aaron K., Andrew Delancey (now producing news at a Tampa Bay television station, and doing afternoon news at SmileFM), and former WDRQ (Detroit) jock Jake Edwards (now on WDVD). Rob Weaver, who was at the station for over 20 years, is currently the PD of variety hits "The Eagle" (101.5 WMJZ) in Gaylord, MI.

[edit] Changes

In late Summer 2005, The Peak changed its call letters to WSRT, which stands for "Soft Rock and Talk".

Northern Radio also consolidated their operations, moving the station from its long-time home in a converted Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses to their Traverse City studios. All the local jocks the station has are now based in the Traverse City area.

[edit] External links

• WSRT
• Query the FCC's FM station database for WSRT