WCKY-FM

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For the Cincinnati AM radio station with the same call sign, see WCKY (AM)

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WCKY (103.7 FM, "103-7 CKY," formerly known as "Buckeye Country 103.7") is a radio station in Tiffin, Ohio. It operates a country music format. Originally it simulcast and was a sister station to WTTF, now an AM station at 1600kHz.

[edit] History

[edit] Beginnings: As WTTF-FM

WCKY first signed on the air as WTTF-FM in 1963, four years after the premiere of its AM sister. The station was founded by Robert E. Wright Sr. and Milton Maltz, who formed Malrite Communications, based in Cleveland, Ohio.

As one of the few high-powered FM radio stations in rural northwest Ohio at the time, the station offered a full-service format of both oldies and adult contemporary music, with high school sports and college sports from Heidelberg College and Tiffin University.

[edit] Break from Malrite

In the late 1970s, Wright sold his interest in Malrite to his partner. The transaction resulted in the split of WTTF-AM/FM from Malrite and operated as a separate entity under Wright's management. Wright died of lung cancer in the early 1980s.

His younger son Richard, who served as the station's engineer, ascended to the position of General Manager. Wright's other son Robert (who answered to his middle name Ed until his father's death, then took the nickname "Bob") E. Wright, Jr. continued in his capacity as Program Director.

[edit] WTTF in its heyday

WTTF prided itself on community service and had a full contingency of live on-air personnel at a time when most stations were automating. Music was delivered almost exclusively on records and the station had an extensive record library encompassing adult contemporary, country and some rock and roll. There was a special Saturday oldies programming, on vinyl records supplied by the station and by the disc jockeys.

Prior to the FCC Telecommunications Act of 1996, which made the EAS (Emergency Alert) system the law of the land, radio stations broadcast emergency information through EBS (Emergency Broadcast System). Rather than pay full price for an expensive unit to receive EBS messages, Richard Wright built his own receiver, called the DW-76 (meaning Dick Wright and the year it was manufactured). The unit field-tested successfully, and received FCC Type Acceptance for legal use, but only for WTTF-AM/FM.

Former WTTF-AM/FM afternoon announcer Ken Hawk in 1994, taken in the main on-air studio at former 185 South Washington Street studio location. The DW-76 is seen just below microphone boom (gray panel with two switches).

Bob Wright handled morning DJ duties with others handling the midday and evening on-air shifts. Bob, Jr., also did a daily talk and opinion show called "Sound Off" from 11 a.m.-11:30 a.m. The Wrights prided themselves on having a permanent staff. They paid well, generally matching the salaries in the much larger Toledo market for fulltime personnel. The station also paid extra for remote broadcasts and sportscasts, allowing personnel to make a good living. Bob was on the air from 6am-10am, with the midday announcer taking over until 4pm, and the evening announcer taking the controls until sign-off at 10pm. Under the Wright regime, the station only broadcast about 16 hours a day.

The station had a community service and adult contemporary music format during the day. Around 6 p.m., the station played country music on a program called the "Double T Roundup." The AM station (1600) signed off at local sundown. The FM station (103.7) broadcast until 10 p.m. During the day, the two stations simulcast.

Among the many announcers that had peopled WTTF over the years were Jack Kagy (who served as news director for 19 years), Rick (Cochran) West (nearly eight years in the mid-day slot), Kevin Craig, Randy Dean, Ken Hawk, Andree Sterling, and Frank Barber (who remains today). Many of the announcers went on to larger markets for many years as WTTF provided not only a good living but also a fertile training ground.

[edit] Tragedy Strikes: Bob Wright dies

The Wright family's ownership came to an abrupt and tragic end in the winter of 1996 when Bob Wright was killed in a head-on collision during a snowstorm north of Tiffin on Ohio Route 53, when his Jeep Wrangler went left of center and struck an oncoming pickup truck. The 65-year-old woman driving the pickup also died in the crash.

Wright, who never married nor sired offspring, was 56. Surviving co-owners Richard Wright, along with his mother, Vera, agreed to sell WTTF to Jacor Communications later that year. Jacor eventually was absorbed into Clear Channel Communications, which continued to operate both stations separately as WTTF-AM and WCKY-FM.

[edit] Today as WCKY-FM

As of October 2006, three staff members from Wright's ownership remain at the station: Todd Wright (Richard Wright's son), account executive; Conrad Hufford, account executive; and Frank Barber, who replaced Jack Kagy in 1994. Former co-owner Dick Wright also remained as an assistant engineer on a contract basis, up until his passing on January 1, 2008 [1].

Clear Channel initially was selling their Findlay cluster, along with other small market clusters, over to Florida based GoodRadio.TV LLC in May of 2007, but the deal soon collapsed prior to FCC approval. Clear Channel ended up spinning off WTTF, along with the Sandusky cluster and WPFX over to Fremont-based BAS Broadcasting in January 15, 2008. BAS took over WTTF on February 1, and as WCKY-FM is not included in the deal, this ended 45 years of common ownership between the two stations.

As of December 2007, the station has dropped the "Buckeye Country" identifier and is identifying simply as "103-7 CKY." under veteran Toledo and Detroit radio personality Johny D (formerly with WVKS and WKRK).

[edit] External links

• WCKY-FM's weekend programs