WMHG

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WMHG
City of license Muskegon, Michigan
Broadcast area [1] (Daytime)
[2] (Nighttime)
Branding Unforgettable Magic
Frequency 1600 kHz
Format Currently Silent, was Adult Standards
Power 5,000 watts
Class B
Callsign meaning Muskegon Heights
Former callsigns WSFN (3/13/92-11/18/96)
WSNZ (2/25/89-3/13/92)
WSNX (2/24/89-2/25/89)
WTRU (1956-2/24/89)
WKNK (1948-1956)
Owner Cumulus Broadcasting, operated by Clear Channel Communications

WMHG (1600 AM, "Unforgettable Magic") was a radio station in Muskegon, Michigan. It broadcasted a MOR/Oldies format. WMHG used ABC Radio Networks' satellite-delivered "Timeless Favorites" (formerly known as "Stardust") format.

It first began broadcasting around 1948 under the WKNK call sign, which stood for the original owner of the station, Nick Kurtis. In 1956, WKNK became WTRU, airing a Top 40 music format that would become legendary in the history of West Michigan radio and dominated the Muskegon market through the mid-1970s. Despite the weak signal, WTRU was once one of the most listened-to and most influential contemporary hits stations in Michigan.[citation needed] In the 1970s, during its peak of popularity, its slogan was "The TRU spirit of America". During the station's later years, one of the DJs, Larry Allen, hosted an FM-like program called "Spectrum" on late Saturday nights. This program rivaled the FM stations of the day.[1] The station's influence and popularity waned with the waxing of FM radio in the late 1970s -- by the end of the 1970s, however, as rock music continued its shift from AM to FM, WTRU had shifted to a full-service adult contemporary format.

The Top 40/CHR format returned to 1600 AM in 1986 as WTRU began to simulcast "Sunny" 104.5 WSNX-FM, taking the WSNX-AM calls to go along with the simulcast. This continued through 1992, when the station became sports-talk WSFN "The Fan." In 1996, 1600 AM adopted an urban contemporary format with the new calls WMHG ("Magic"); the urban format moved up the AM dial to 1680 WJNZ and was replaced on 1600 AM by ABC's Stardust format in the fall of 1998. The "Stardust" format was renamed to "Timeless Favorites" in 2007, by which time the music rotation had moved away from traditional adult standards to soft Top 40 oldies chiefly of the 1960s and 1970s.

WMHG was owned by Cumulus Media but was operated by Clear Channel Communications via a Local Marketing Agreement (LMA).

On January 1, 2008, WMHG went dark permanently, to satisfy conditions related to the existence of WDSS. [3]

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  1. ^ Allen currently hosts a Saturday night deep-track show on WMMQ-FM (94.9) in Lansing, Michigan.

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