WTAQ-AM

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WTAQ-AM
Broadcast area	Green Bay, Wisconsin
Branding	"News Radio 1360 WTAQ"
Slogan	"The Wisconsin Broadcaster's Association Choice for Best Newscast of the Year"
First air date	September 4, 1923
Frequency	1360 (kHz)
Format	News/Talk
ERP	10,000 watts day; 5,000 watts night
Class	B
Former callsigns	WBAY-AM, WGEE-AM
Affiliations	CBS Radio Network
Owner	Midwest Communications
Website	www.wtaq.com

News Radio 1360 WTAQ is a news-talk station located in Green Bay, Wisconsin. WTAQ's frequency is 1360 kHz on the AM dial. The station is locally-owned and operated by Midwest Communications. WTAQ's studios and newsroom are located in the WBAY building in downtown Green Bay. The station's transmitter is located on Lost Dauphin Road in De Pere.

On July 18, 2006, Midwest Communications broke ground on their new, $4.725 Million facility in Bellevue. The facility will be located on the WNFL tower site on Bellevue Street. WTAQ and the six other Midwest Communications stations in Northeast Wisconsin will move to the new facility in the Summer of 2007.^[1]

Contents 1 History 2 Programming 3 Green Bay Packers and Milwaukee Brewers games 4 WTAQ personalities 5 Slogans 6 References 7 External links

[edit] History

WTAQ was originally licensed to Osseo, Wisconsin on September 4, 1923 on the 1180 frequency. In 1930, the Gillette Rubber Co. bought the station and moved it to Eau Claire on the 1330 frequency. Ten years later, in 1940, The Norbertine Fathers of St. Norbert College in De Pere, then-owners of WHBY-AM, bought the station, changed its city of license to Green Bay, and moved it's frequency to 1360, where it remains today. Later, they changed the call letters to WBAY.

When the Norbertine Fathers sold WBAY-AM & WBAY-FM, and WBAY-TV to different owners, WBAY-AM changed its call letters to WGEE.

In the year 1996, WGEE, then a country music station, picked up the rights to air the syndicated Rush Limbaugh Show. The station began a gradual move towards News/Talk over the course of the next two years. The station's moniker became "News Radio 1360 WGEE". In addition to WGEE's nationally syndicated programs, the station chose former WIXX disc jockey Bill LuMaye to host a local talk show. LuMaye left the station in 2004.

In 2003, the historical WTAQ calls became available and WGEE decided to bring them back. The official change took place on March 17. Midwest Communications gave the WGEE calls to their ESPN Radio affiliate in Duluth, Minnesota.

At the 2006 Wisconsin Broadcasters Association award ceremony, WTAQ won eight awards, more than any other station in the state. WTAQ took first place for "Best Locally Originated Newscast", first place for "Best Use of Audio", and first place for a "Mini-Documentary or Series". WTAQ also received five Merit Awards.^[2]

[edit] Programming

WTAQ carries mostly conservative programming including Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage, and Michael Reagan. The station also has a local morning show, hosted by Mike Austin and Matt Z., called "Mike, Matt, and the Morning News" and a local political show hosted by WTAQ's Program Director, Jerry Bader.

WTAQ has local news updates every half-hour that are produced by WTAQ's News Department, which is directed by News Anchor Danielle Bina. The station also airs national news updates every hour, courtesy of CBS News. Local weather updates are provided every half-hour courtesy of WGBA-TV NBC26.

WTAQ has a news-sharing agreement with WTMJ-AM of Milwaukee, in which WTMJ reporters cover issues in Milwaukee for WTAQ and WTAQ reporters cover issues in Green Bay for WTMJ. This kind of relationship also exists between other stations owned by Midwest Communications.

[edit] Green Bay Packers and Milwaukee Brewers games

On January 8, 2007, Jerry Bader announced, on his show, that WTAQ will carry Green Bay Packers football games and Milwaukee Brewers baseball games beginning in their 2007 seasons.

The station will become the official AM affiliate of the Green Bay Packers Radio Network in Green Bay and will broadcast the full nine-hour slate of Packers programming, including pregame and postgame coverage.

WTAQ will broadcast all regular-season Milwaukee Brewers night and weekend games. Pre-season spring training games and regular-season day games will remain on WTAQ’s sister station WNFL. When Brewers games are being broadcast during the time slot of The Savage Nation, Savage will be heard on WNFL.^[3]

[edit] WTAQ personalities

Mike Austin: AG Reports and host of "Mike, Matt, and the Morning News"
Jerry Bader: Host of "The Jerry Bader Show" and Program Director of WTAQ
Danielle Bina: News Director/Morning Anchor
Steve Brown: Weekend weather (from WGBA-TV)
Mark Daniels: Sports
Steve Frazier: Morning weather (from WGBA-TV)
Shawn Kiser: Morning Anchor/Reporter
Chuck Lakefield: Host of "Ask the Expert"
Larry McCarren: Green Bay Packers coverage (Monday mornings)
Cameron Moreland: Afternoon and evening weather (from WGBA-TV)
Scott Patrick: Reporter/Anchor
Tom Tomaszewski: Reporter/Anchor
Matt Zee: Host of "Mike, Matt, and the Morning News"

Several reporters of other Midwest Communications stations and WTMJ can also be heard on occasion, reporting on issues outside of Northeast Wisconsin.

[edit] Slogans

"Green Bay's News, Weather, and Information Station" (Past)
"Depend On It!" (Past)
"News Radio 1360: Today's 'TAQ" (Past)
"The Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Choice for Best Newscast of the Year." (Current)

[edit] References

• "Midwest Communications Breaks Ground for New Broadcast Center Today" (from WTAQ News)
• History of Wisconsin AM Stations
• "Packers, Brewers making AM moves" (from Green Bay Press-Gazette)
• Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Award Winners
• Wisconsin Broadcasting.com: TV & Radio Callsign Meanings

[edit] External links

• News Radio 1360 WTAQ
• Midwest Communications
• Query the FCC's AM station database for WTAQ
• Click here to see a map of WTAQ's transmitter site
• Click here to view a virtual tour of Midwest Communications' new building