WCPT
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WCPT | |
City of license | Willow Springs, Illinois |
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Broadcast area | Chicagoland |
Branding | AM 820 WCPT Chicago's Progressive Talk |
Slogan | Our Kind of Talk for Our Kind of Town |
Frequency | 820 kHz |
First air date | (May 5, 2005 As WCPT) |
Format | Liberal/Progressive Talk |
Power | 5,000 watts (Daytime) |
Class | D |
Callsign meaning | We're Chicago's Progressive Talk |
Affiliations | Air America Radio |
Owner | Newsweb Corporation (WYPA, Inc.) |
Sister stations | WAIT |
Website | wcpt820.com |
WCPT (820 AM) is a daytime-only AM progressive talk radio station licensed to Willow Springs, Illinois, and serving the Chicago area. The station carries programming from Air America Radio and Jones Radio Networks. WCPT is owned by Newsweb Corporation.
Because WCPT shares the same frequency as "clear channel" station WBAP in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas; it broadcasts only during the daytime hours.
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[edit] History
For many years this station played Adult Standards as WAIT. In the late 1990s, this station, on 820 AM, was WCSN, an all-sports station and affiliate of Sporting News Radio.
In February of 2005, a column by Robert Feder in the Chicago Sun-Times sparked speculation that a progressive talk format could end up on a station in Chicago. The article said that the station was rumored to change formats by March 31, the one year anniversary of Air America's original launch in Chicago on their original affiliate, WNTD. Air America's affiliation with WNTD was interrupted after only a few weeks, due to conflicts with the station's owner.
Many thought that WRLL 1690-AM would switch to the format, as its owner, Clear Channel Communications, had rolled progressive talk on quite a few of their struggling radio stations across the country. However, WRLL decided to continue with their oldies format, and on May 5, 2005, AM 850 launched progressive talk with the new call letters WCPT. The WAIT call letters were moved to 820 AM.
In November of 2005, the FCC denied an application by Newsweb to move the station to Addison, Illinois.
On November 26, 2007, WCPT moved its format from 850 AM to 820 AM, doubling its power and providing coverage to all of Chicago.[1] The WCPT call letters moved along with the format to 820 AM, and the WAIT call letters returned to 850 AM.
Newsweb's owner, Fred Eychaner, is a significant donor to Democratic Party causes[2], and many see WCPT's format as a natural fit for one of his stations.
In its first year of existence, WCPT was a relative ratings success, even with its signal limitations[citation needed]. As of October 17, 2007, WCPT did not appear among Arbitron's top 30 Chicago stations and was beaten out by other competing high-profile Chicago talk radio stations, WGN, WLS, WIND, and WCKG. [3]. It is too soon to report the ratings change that may be expected as a result of WCPT's signal-power doubling which occurred on November 26, 2007.
[edit] Programming
WCPT's weekday radio format is based on broadcast syndication of nationally-produced progressive talk radio personalities, mixed with CNN news-on-the-hour, and top- and bottom-of-the-hour station-produced news and weather with rush hour traffic reports. Until recently, weekend radio programming included few progressive weekly syndicated shows and relied upon investing, real estate, health supplement, motivational, fertilizer, and other packaged infomercials to fill the time. The station has reduced (but not eliminated) weekend infomercials by adding Air America weekly shows and local programming. Following the departure of popular host Randi Rhodes from Air America, the only weekday programming it receives from the network is "The Thom Hartmann Show," although "The Lionel Show" can be heard over the station's 24-hour Internet stream. Its three major shows--"Bill Press," "Stephanie Miller" and Ed Schultz"--are syndicated by the Jones Radio Network.
In early March 2008, the station added its first locally originated, locally oriented regular program -- a two-hour program hosted by former WMAQ-Ch. 5 political editor Dick Kay. After nearly four decades of television news reporting and analysis, Dick Kay takes caller comments and questions on his show "Back on the Beat" starting at 2:00 pm CT on Saturdays.
On March 29, WCPT added another locally popular on-air talk personality, Jake Hartford (formerly on WLS-AM radio), and popular locally-produced show "Awake With Jake" from 6-10 am CT on Saturdays. On May 31, 2008, Chicago radio veteran, Linda Mitry, joined Jake's show as newscaster and co-host. The station further strengthened its Saturday line-up by adding Michael Feldman's Whad'Ya Know created by host Michael Feldman and produced by Wisconsin Public Radio and distributed weekly by Public Radio International. The show broadcasts right after Hartford at 10:00 AM CT (UTC-6). Following Feldman's show, WCPT airs (noon to 2:00 pm CT) the locally-produced "Family Values with an Oy Vey" broadcast from Chicago restaurant "Joey's Brickhouse" (motto "We're Italian Jews, which means besides bickering we're into food.").
In April 2008, WCPT brought Mike Nowak's his locally-produced weekly gardening show to WCPT-AM (820) at noon Sundays. Mike Nowak is a Master Gardener, and a certified Treekeeper from the Openlands Project. The show takes calls from listeners about gardening and answers their questions based upon conservation, the environment, and recycling issues. Also on Sundays, the station now broadcasts "Uncommon Law" a call-in show with Chicago divorce and family law attorney Kurt Muller and frequent special guests.
[edit] Criticism
The most common complaints about WCPT relate to the station's status as a daytimer. As the station claims on its website, it is a situation that is out of their control, due to FCC mandates. WCPT doubled its signal power when it moved from 850 AM to 820 AM. While on 850 AM, WCPT signed off from sunset to sunrise to protect the signal of KOA in Denver. With the move to 820 AM, they sign off at sunset to protect WBAP in Dallas.
[edit] Events
- The station hosted its first event on December 9th, 2005 when Al Franken did a live broadcast of The Al Franken Show from the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago. Al's guests were Senator Barack Obama, Congressman Rahm Emanuel, Amnesty International Midwest director Dori Dinsmore, writer Studs Terkel, and a 13-year-old "Wait, Wait, Don't Lie To Me" contestant named Mike.
- The station's second event was when Jerry Springer did a live broadcast of Springer on the Radio in front of a live audience from the Chicago Center for the Performing Arts on March 27, 2006. Topics included immigration, the Iraq war, abortion, and topics from the audience.
- Al Franken returned for another live broadcast from the Steppenwolf Theatre on Monday, May 8, 2006. His guests were Senator Dick Durbin, executive director of the Death Penalty Education Project Edwin Colfax, Congressional candidates John Laesch (IL-14) and Dan Seals (IL-10), universal healthcare advocates Dr. Quentin Young and Ajitha Reddy, and Cass Sunstein.
- Ed Schultz was featured at a "meet and greet" at the Green Dolphin Restaurant on August 8, 2006. He returned for another "meet and greet" at Joey's Brickhouse on May 3, 2007 and is scheduled to return for another on December 6, 2007.
[edit] Logo gallery
[edit] External links
- wcpt820.com
- Query the FCC's AM station database for WCPT
- Radio Locator Information on WCPT
- Why AM Radio Stations Must Reduce Power, Change Operations, or Cease Operations at Night
- Approximate Sunrise/Sunset times for WCPT's transmitter location
[edit] References
- ^ WCPT doubles the power
- ^ "Fred Eychaner," Mother Jones, March 5, 2001.
- ^ Chicago Sun-Times report of Arbitron ratings, October 17, 2007
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