WCED (AM)
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| WCED | |
| Broadcast area | DuBois, Pennsylvania / DuBois |
|---|---|
| Branding | "News/Talk 1420 WCED" |
| Frequency | 1420(kHz) |
| First air date | February 1941 |
| Format | News, talk, sports |
| ERP | 5,000 watts (Daytime); 1,000 watts (Nighttime) |
| Callsign meaning | W Continental Eastern Divide |
| Owner | Priority Communications |
| Website | http://www.1420wced.com/ |
WCED is a commercial AM radio station, licensed to the city of DuBois, Pennsylvania. WCED broadcasts at the assigned frequency of 1420 kilohertz with a power output of 5,000 watts non-directional day, and 500 watts using a three-tower directional antenna system at night. WCED, along with its FM sister station, WDSN, are owned and operated by Priority Communications of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
[edit] History
For much of its existence, WCED was the sister station of WOWQ-FM, also licensed to DuBois. The latter would, in the 90's, become a country music legend known best in Central Pennsylvania by the moniker Q-102. The stations were owned by Derrick Publishing, Inc., of Oil City, PA; (dba Tri-County Broadcasting) which also printed the Oil City Derrick newspaper.
WCED would also become known for its full-service approach to local programming for both DuBois and the Tri-County area, particularly Clearfield, Jefferson, and Elk. It also became the local radio outlet for ABC News, airing the likes of Paul Harvey and other full-service network program offerings. The station also offered various music formats such as CHR, oldies, and nostalgia in addition to some talk, but the station would go all news and talk after its sale to Priority Communications.
WCED and WOWQ also became one of the first stations in the country to use computer-based hard-disk audio storage technology in the early 1990's. The highly experimental DOS-based system was developed by Computer Concepts Corporation, and turned out to be a highly successful venture for both stations.
WCED and WOWQ would soon go their separate ways at the turn of the century, when both stations were sold to Vox Media in 1999. Vox Media sold WOWQ to First Media, as the stations were out of their market footprint, and then WCED in 2003 to Priority Communications, which had been operating competitor WDSN-FM since first putting it on the air February 14, 1990. First Media had been operating WCED under an LMA, but had no interest in owning it. WCED, left behind after Q-102 moved to a new building nearby, vacated the train station building after the sale to Priority. The purchase price for WCED was $150,000, according to FCC records.
[edit] WCED Today
WCED today functions as News/Talk 1420, with local and syndicated talk programming during the daytime hours, and ESPN sports radio during the evening hours. The WCED Morning Magazine is hosted by Gary Stormer, who has been part of WCED for more than 30 years. In 2003, WCED moved from North Park Place to 51 West Long Avenue in DuBois, where it shared space with WDSN temporarily until a new facility conducive to a news/talk formatted radio station could be found.
As it happened, Priority Communications negotiated a deal for an old bank building at 12 West Long Avenue, across and down the street from its original location. Both stations were moved into the new, state of the art facility by the end of 2004.
Among the lineup of national talk hosts are Dr. Joy Browne, Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity.
Morning show host Gary Stormer is the longest-tenured employee of WCED, having been with the station for more than 30 years.
[edit] External links
- Query the FCC's AM station database for WCED
- Radio Locator Information on WCED
- Query Arbitron's AM station database for WCED
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