WSRT (FM)

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WSRT & WSRJ
City of license	WSRT: Gaylord, Michigan WSRJ: Honor, Michigan
Broadcast area	WSRT: [1] WSRJ: [2]
Slogan	Soft Rock, Great Talk
First air date	WSRT: 1972 WSRJ: January, 2002
Frequency	WSRT: 106.7 MHz WSRJ: 100.7 MHz
Format	Adult Contemporary
Power	WSRT: 100,000 watts WSRJ: 4,700 watts
Class	WSRT: C1 WSRJ: A
Callsign meaning	WSRT: Soft Rock, Great Talk WSRJ: Soft Rock
Former callsigns	WSRT: WKPK (10/1/84-9/14/05) WWRM-FM (11/15/82-10/1/84) WWRM (1972-1982) WSRJ: WKVK (1/31/02-9/19/05) WAIR (1/4/99-1/31/02) WIAR (5/22/98-1/4/99)
Owner	Northern Radio
Website	http://www.1067wsrt.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 Sources 5 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" (later modified to "106.7 The Peak" to reflect the increasing prevalence of radios with digital readout).

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 CHR 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. One memorable liner from this period stated, "If you stop at '106' [referring to WKHQ], you haven't reached 'The Peak.' The difference is .7."

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 of WIOG Saginaw and WTWR Toledo), McConnell Adams (went on to WIOG, WDRQ and Dallas Texas), Aaron Santini (KKHQ PD in Waterloo, Iowa), WQAL (Cleveland) morning jock Rebecca Wilde, Radio Disney jock Aaron K., Craig Russell, who did 2 tours of duty in the Alpine City, hosted both the Morning Hustle (1993-1995) and the Afternoon Hustle (1999-2004)--(he was last at KKHQ 92.3 in Waterloo, Iowa as part of the "J.C. And The Hustle" morning show) Andrew Delancey (now producing news at a Tampa Bay television station, and doing afternoon news for the statewide "Smile FM" contemporary Christian music network), 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 "Eagle 101.5" (WMJZ) in Gaylord, MI. Middayer Jeremy is now the "J.C." of the "J.C. and Chase" Morning show on KKHQ Q92.3 Waterloo, Iowa.

[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] Sources

• Michiguide.com - WSRT History
• Michiguide.com - WSRJ History

[edit] External links

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