WHLX
| City of license | Marine City, Michigan |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area |
(Daytime) (Nighttime) |
| Branding | 1450 & 1590 WHLS - The Cruise |
| Slogan | Cruisin' with the Classics |
| Frequency | 1590 kHz |
| First air date | December 10, 1951 |
| Format | Classic Hits |
| Power |
1,000 watts (Daytime) 102 watts (Nighttime) |
| Class | D |
| Facility ID | 56266 |
| Former callsigns |
WHYT (11/17/97-9/19/00) WIFN (6/2/93-11/17/97) WSMA (1967-6/2/93) WDOG (1954-67) WSDC (1950-54) |
| Affiliations | CNN News Radio |
| Owner | Radio First |
| Website | whls.net |
WHLX is an American radio station, licensed to Marine City, Michigan at 1590 kHz on the AM dial, with a power output of 1,000 watts day, 102 watts night. The station is currently a simulcast of 1450 WHLS in Port Huron. Together, the stations are branded as 1450 & 1590 WHLS - The Cruise, airing a locally programmed Classic Hits / Adult Hits format.
The station transmits from a two-tower directional antenna site along Marine City Highway, which was also its main studio location for much of its existence. Studio facilities today are at 808 Huron Street in downtown Port Huron. WHLX/WHLS are owned by Radio First of Port Huron, which also owns three other radio stations in St. Clair and Sanilac Counties.
The station started as WSDC in 1951, then WDOG and later became WSMA with country music for many years.
History
Early Years
WHLX first went on the air on December 10, 1951 with the call letters WSDC, operating from its transmitter facility at 5300 Marine City Highway, on the outskirts of Marine City. Doing business as Radio St. Clair, Inc., Jerry Coughlin served as the station's first president and general manager.
By 1954, Coughlin had turned the duties of general manager to sales director John Bell and renamed the station WDOG. Fred Cale assumed sales and management duties by 1960.
First Sale
In February 1967, Coughlin sold WDOG to Sommerville Broadcasting Company, owned by Richard S. Sommerville. He renamed the station WSMA, and adopted a country music format, for which this station would likely best be remembered during its years with independent programming, as it maintained this format and call sign for the next 26 years.
A disadvantage that the station had for much of its history was its geographic separation from more profitable markets. Located about 12 miles from any kind of urban sprawl, it had difficulty attaching itself to another community for more profit potential, as retail business in tiny Marine City was unable to provide a steady source of revenue, even during AM's halcyon years. For a time, WSMA maintained a small sales office in Port Huron, across the street from competitors WHLS and WSAQ. Despite the challenges, WSMA still managed to produce a modest profit during its early years.
The Port Huron office later closed when the station began to fail in the late 80's, not long after coming under the control of a new owner.
Those failures arose out of an overall lack of dependability of the station, often shutting down operations at sunset (even after being granted nighttime power authorization), and sometimes not even going on the air at all during holidays and even some weekends.
Second Sale
On May 17, 1987, Richard S. Sommerville, who by this time owned WCEN-AM/FM in Mount Pleasant, sold WSMA to Frink, Inc., under a land contract agreement to pay for the station in monthly installments of $1,845.00. However, in a letter to the FCC dated November 7, 1990, Washington attorney Earl Stanley stated that Sommerville resumed control of WSMA after Frink Inc. failed to meet its financial obligations, prompting a foreclosure civil action in the Circuit Court of St. Clair County.
Frink Inc. was declared in default on May 7, 1990, and was given 180 days to bring its monetary obligations to Sommerville from that date. Frink was required to pay more than $30,000 in unpaid promissory note payments and real estate taxes, according to court papers, putting its total amount owed to more than $150,000. The debts were not satisfied, and as of November 3, 1990, the 181st day of the notice, Sommerville recaptured the license, and assumed the role of trustee.
Reborn: WIFN-AM
Hoping to restore WSMA to its former glory, broadcasters David Barr and Rick Schremp formed Barr/Schremp Communications in 1993 and took control of WSMA that year. Coincidentally, Barr's father William was the former owner of WATC AM 900 & WZXM FM 95.3 (now 101.5 WMJZ) in Gaylord, 220 miles north of Detroit, before selling it in 1986.
Barr/Schremp Communications changed the station's call letters to WIFN, and began a gradual phase-out of the country music format in favor of personality talk. Under the new format, the station bore such talents such as G. Gordon Liddy, Larry King, Chuck Harder and Sports Byline USA. Ken Hawk and Dave Haze handled news duties, with Marty Simmonds serving as sports director. The station experienced an increase in revenue under the new format and owners.
Barr and Schremp dissolved their partnership two years after taking control of WIFN, with Schremp pursuing other interests. In 1997 Barr sold the station to Hanson Communications, then-licensee of WPHM-AM and WBTI-FM in Port Huron, one of WIFN's longtime competitors. Given multiple job offers after the sale, Barr then moved north to Traverse City, where he assumed a promotions and marketing role with country music powerhouse WTCM.
Back to Music
Following completion of the sale in late 1997, country music returned with "Real Country" via satellite from the ABC/SMN radio network, after a brief period of simulcasting with CHR/Hot AC sister station WBTI 96.9 FM. WIFN became WHYT (picking up the calls dumped by Detroit's 96.3 FM, now WDVD) under the "Real Country" format. Hanson Communications also moved the station's on-air operations from its longtime location at 5300 Marine City Highway to its main base of operations at 2379 Military Street in Port Huron.
Most administrative functions were handled by the existing staff of Hanson Communications, and Hanson's sales force dedicated their same aggression to selling WHYT as they did their two other properties.
By 2000, Hanson Communications sold 1590 WHYT to Liggett Communications (now Radio First). Liggett, who was also in the process of acquiring Hanson's competitor, WHLS-AM and WSAQ-FM, decided to co-locate all five stations at 808 Huron Street, which was the main base of operations for WHLS and WSAQ, and had enough space for expansion, unlike the Military Street facility.
Today
Recognizing the opportunity to extend WHLS's signal to the southern Thumb area of Michigan, Liggett Communications abandoned the "Real Country" format and moniker, and simulcast WHLS's programming. WHYT changed its call letters to WHLX, to more closely match that of its sister station. The move allowed WHLS to be heard as far south as Warren, Michigan in Macomb County and as far north as Sandusky, Michigan in Sanilac County. Its directional covers most of Macomb County, eastern Lapeer County, and most of Lambton County Ontario.
In 2000, WHLS's satellite oldies was simulcast over WHLX for the first time. Its format then changed to Adult Standards America's Best Music format in 2001, and back to Oldies using Dial Global's Kool Gold Timeless Classics format in 2009.
"The Cruise"
As of July 2011, WHLS/WHLX have dropped the Dial Global Kool Gold format and transitioned to airing a locally automated classic/adult hits format. The local format is branded as "WHLS - The Cruise" and is staffed by Radio First personalities. Unlike Dial Global's format which focuses on the late 1960s through the 1980s, WHLS/WHLX's new format was a more traditional oldies mix of the late 1950s and 1960s with some classic rock and roll influences, as well as a few tracks from the 1990s and 2000s. The station has re-imaged itself as "the cruise" focusing the area's auto industry roots.
The station airs the syndicated program American Standards By The Sea Saturday mornings. WHLS is also the radio home of the Port Huron Fighting Falcons and University of Michigan football (MSU football and basketball can be heard on sister station WPHM). WHLS also features local news, NBC News Radio news, and locally oriented talk shows weekend mornings.
The signal strength of WHLS-AM 1450 covers most of St. Clair County, Michigan as well as southern Sanilac County, Michigan. WHLX-AM 1590 covers the southern portion of St. Clair County and much of Macomb County, Michigan. WHLX broadcasts with less power after sunset to protect other larger AM radio stations.
Sources
- Michiguide.com - WHLX History
- 1952 Broadcasting Yearbook
- 1953 Broadcasting Yearbook
- 1960 Broadcasting Yearbook
- 1965 Broadcasting Yearbook
- 1978 Broadcasting Yearbook
External links
- Query the FCC's AM station database for WHLX
- Radio-Locator Information on WHLX
- Query Nielsen Audio's AM station database for WHLX
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Coordinates: 42°43′42″N 82°31′15″W / 42.72833°N 82.52083°W