WDYT
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| WDYT | |
 |
|
| City of license | Kings Mountain, North Carolina |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Charlotte, NC area |
| Branding | Think Radio |
| Frequency | 1220 kHz |
| Format | Talk/Personality |
| ERP | 25,000 watts day 106 watts night |
| Class | D |
| Facility ID | 6817 |
| Transmitter Coordinates | |
| Affiliations | ABC Radio , Fox Sports Radio |
| Owner | CRN Communications |
| Website | 1220wdyt.com |
WDYT (1220 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a Talk/Personality format. Licensed to Kings Mountain, North Carolina, USA. The station is currently owned by CRN Communications, LLC and features programing from ABC Radio and Fox Sports Radio.[1]
The call letters stand for "What do you think?"[citation needed]
Contents |
[edit] History
Jonas Bridges joined WKMT in Kings Mountain when it signed on in 1953, eventually becoming the owner. He never attempted to compete with large FM stations, focusing instead on making WKMT a good local station. The white concrete building built in the 1920s once was home to a "beer joint" which someone actually was looking for after the station had been there 15 years.[2]
Bridges, who once worked at WOHS in Shelby, played "Oh Lonesome Me" by Don Gibson in 1957 on WKMT.[3]
The format of country, bluegrass and gospel music stayed the same for many years.[4]
During the 1990s, Tommy Faile of Arthur Smith and the Crackerjacks was a DJ on WKMT. His sidekick was Curly Howard, who also did the morning show.[5] Howard spent 18 years at WKBX in Winston-Salem and later worked at WCGC and WSVM. He was known for being just like his listeners, even hanging out at the store with them.[6]
WKMT aired high school football for more than 10 years starting in the 1980s.[7]
Bridges sold WKMT in November 2004 to Geddings & Phillips Broadcasting, who planned to continue programming that included country and gospel music, high school football and basketball, and Kings Mountain city council meetings. Jim Arp would remain as a DJ after more than 35 years.[2]
When Kevin and Kris Geddings switched the format of WXNC radio to talk, they announced WKMT would change to a simulcast of most of WXNC's programming. This would allow programming such as CNN News to be heard at night in some areas when WXNC was off the air.[8] Soon after WXNC's change to talk, though, that station switched to Spanish language programming and WKMT was country again.[9]
Three years after WBT (AM) fired him, Danny Fontana announced he would buy WKMT. The station had received permission in May 2005 to increase its power from 1000 to 10,000 watts during the day to better cover Charlotte, and the station also was applying for a new tower location.[10]
In April 2006, CRN completed the purchase of WKMT from Geddings & Phillips Broadcasting. The station's signal was 1000 watts during the day and 106 watts at night. An increase to 25,000 watts during the day was planned, with an eventual signal improvement at night.
Jon Robinson, former co-host of "Charlotte's Morning News" on WBT, and Liz Luke, previously an anchor on the WWMG morning show, co-hosted the first morning show, "Think Mornings." Robinson said the station would focus on solutions to problems rather than just talking about them. Luke said the station would do "adult humor" but that the material would be clean and make people think. She also said the station would not be Christian, but there would be a spiritual component. CRN executive vice president Casey Shannon said the station would be an alternative to 50,000-watt WBT, targeting listeners over 25.
Fontana hosted the afternoon show and a financial advice show called "Lunch Money" at noon. He was already doing an early afternoon show on WKMT from CRN studios at Fourth and College Streets in Charlotte, which was distributed by Charis Radio Network and was being aired on iLifeTV on cable.[11]
The power increase was approved in March 2007. At that time the station announced plans to affiliate with ABC Radio and to add comedian Dennis Miller in the late morning. Also, Bill O'Reilly would replace Fontana's early afternoon show.[12] TV advertising soon followed, even though the station's signal increase was not expected to be complete until July.[13] First, the station increased to 6250 watts during the day. [14] WDYT began broadcasting at 25,000 watts during the day in September. [15] Also in September, Luke found out she would no longer be a host of the morning show.[16]
[edit] Current WDYT programming line up
 |
This article or section contains a current television or radio schedule. Please convert this schedule to prose. Schedules which have been copied and pasted from an external source may possibly be in violation of copyright. Please remove this template after editing. |
6am - 10am: Think Mornings with Jon Robinson; Molly Carroll (co-host) Chris Stowe (sports director & co host), John Moore (imaging director), David Ulrich (executive producer), and Keven Casey (News Director) 10am - 12pm: The Dennis Miller Show 12pm - 2pm: The Bill O'Reilly Show 2pm - 3pm: Think Money with Danny Fontana 3pm - 4pm: The Danny Fontana Show (David Ulrich, Executive Producer) 4pm - 7pm: The Sean Hannity Show
[edit] References
- ^ WDYT Facility Record. United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
- ^ a b Sharon E. White, "WKMT Changes Hands - But Gospel, Country Tunes Will Stay Same, New Owner Says," The Charlotte Observer, July 28, 2004.
- ^ Joe DePriest, "Country Music Hall-of-famer, Shelby Native Dies at Age 75 - Singer/songwriter Penned Hit `I Can't Stop Loving You,'" The Charlotte Observer, November 19, 2003.
- ^ Richard Walker, "Changing Their Tune with Emergence of Stronger FM Stations, AMs Must Adapt to Survive," The Charlotte Observer, August 14, 1993.
- ^ Joe DePriest, "Tommy Faile: Still Singing, Playing Country Music," The Charlotte Observer, April 27, 1995.
- ^ Joe DePriest, "Back on the Air Just Like Family, Curly Howard Is There to Chat Every Morning," The Charlotte Observer, July 15, 1992.
- ^ Kevin Cary, "Broadcasts Fill Void for Football Fans - Radio Stations Boosting Coverage of High Schools," The Charlotte Observer, November 12, 2004.
- ^ Mark Washburn, "New Station Offers a Different Sort of Talk - AM Format Focuses on Lifestyle Programming," The Charlotte Observer, January 14, 2005.
- ^ Mark Washburn, "WXNC to Return Old Format - Atlanta-Based Group's Purchase Would Solidify Spot in Latino Market," Charlotte Observer, April 30, 2005
- ^ Mark Washburn, "Fontana to Buy Radio Station - Ex-WBT Employee Says He Won't Compete Against Old Company, The Charlotte Observer, August 26, 2005.
- ^ Mark Washburn, "New Station to Hit Charlotte Radio - WDYT-AM Wants to Fill Niche with Upbeat Talk," Charlotte Observer, December 5, 2006.
- ^ Mark Washburn, "Radio Station Adding Towers - Federal Regulators Approve Transmitter in Gaston County," Charlotte Observer, March 28, 2007.
- ^ Mark Washburn and Marion Paynter, "Charlotte Goes up the Dial," Charlotte Observer, June 2, 2007.
- ^ Mark Washburn, "A Patent Hit, `Edisons' Ok'd for 2nd Season," Charlotte Observer, September 1, 2007.
- ^ Mark Washburn, "New Radio Station Is on the Air - Monroe Transmitter Brings La Tremenda-FM to Charlotte," Charlotte Observer, September 25, 2007.
- ^ Mark Washburn, "N.C. Pals Get Gig Hosting Show on CW," Charlotte Observer, September 22, 2007.
[edit] External links
- Query the FCC's AM station database for WDYT
- Radio Locator Information on WDYT
- Query Arbitron's AM station database for WDYT
|
||||||||||||||
