WATJ
Encyclopedia
WATJ was an AM radio
station licensed to Chardon, Ohio
and serving the Cleveland, Ohio
radio market. Its transmitters are located off Claridon/Aquilla Road. The station operated on 1560 kHz during daytime hours only, but is currently silent. Its Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) license was last updated on June 14, 2004 and expired on October 1, 2004.
in Willoughby at the time, was hired by a new group to put the station back on the air. They built studios and a four-tower directional array
on Aquilla Road east of route 44 in Chardon, boosting power to 1000 watts with a very tight directional pattern, the largest lobe of the signal beamed up into populous Lake County.
At one time, WBKC even had a satellite studio at the Great Lakes Mall. Al Kipp did much of the field engineering work for the construction permit. The call letters WBKC stood for this: the B was for Oliver Bolton
, Congresswoman Frances Bolton's son, and one of the owners. The K stood for Albert King, owner of the Chardon-based King Trucking Company, another owner. The C stood for Chardon.
This group owned the station, with Al Kipp as GM, until it was sold to Painesville businessman Don Smith in the early 1980s. Clarence Bucaro of WERE, who had been a salesman at WBKC in the mid-1970s, became the general manager.
Locally owned and locally programmed, WPVL claimed a huge chunk of the Lake County audience, and billed almost as much as Cleveland stations, with a full air and news staff, local programs and high school sports games, remote broadcasts and toward the end a simulcast on a Lake County cable TV channel. WPVL became WQLS on January 15, 1984, and slowly shifted its focus to covering all of Lake County.
When Don Smith bought WQLS, WBKC's programming and call letters moved to 1460-AM March 3, 1986. 1460-AM and 1560-AM simucast each other for several months as the "B-K Country Network," but the previous WBKC was soon sold to Smith's son-in-law, taking the call sign WCDN, for Chardon. Bucaro eventually assumed ownership of the Painesville incarnation of WBKC, and owned it until 2004.
In 2001, WBKC entered an arrangement with WCLV
to simulcast the classical music station for the Lake County area, save for a morning-drive news program. This lasted until 2006, when WBKC's sister station in Cleveland, gospel music WABQ
, was sold off to a different owner. WABQ
's format and call letters moved to 1460 kHz that October. Before the sale closed, the WBKC calls temporarily moved to what was WABQ
in Cleveland, but were retired in favor of WWGK on November 7, 2006.
- licensed to the city of Geneva - under the "Music Express Broadcasting Company" banner.
WATJ once played a beautiful music
format with ethnic programming on the weekends, but was last aired a sports radio
format under the name "SportsRadio 1560 AM." This format was far from successful; its first try was with an all-local lineup, but that was dumped for Sporting News Radio
programming.
Ted Jones turned the license back a couple years ago, so as to focus on WKKY
. FCC rules now prohibit the re-licensing of daytime stations, so the station is gone forever.
AM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
station licensed to Chardon, Ohio
Chardon, Ohio
Chardon is a city in Geauga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 5,148 at the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Geauga County.-History:Chardon is named after Peter Chardon Brooks, who donated land to build the historic Chardon Square....
and serving the Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
radio market. Its transmitters are located off Claridon/Aquilla Road. The station operated on 1560 kHz during daytime hours only, but is currently silent. Its Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) license was last updated on June 14, 2004 and expired on October 1, 2004.
Origins of WBKC
What ended up becoming WATJ first went on the air in the early 1960s as WGLD, which was a mere 500-watt daytimer. WGLD fell silent around 1965. Al Kipp, who was the general manager of WELWWELW
WELW is an AM radio station licensed to Willoughby, Ohio and, while technically part of the Cleveland, Ohio radio market, its main area of service is Lake County and Eastern Cuyahoga County, Ohio.It operates on 1330 kHz...
in Willoughby at the time, was hired by a new group to put the station back on the air. They built studios and a four-tower directional array
Directional array
In broadcast engineering, directional array refers to an antenna array arranged such that the superposition of the electromagnetic waves produce a predictable electromagnetic field...
on Aquilla Road east of route 44 in Chardon, boosting power to 1000 watts with a very tight directional pattern, the largest lobe of the signal beamed up into populous Lake County.
At one time, WBKC even had a satellite studio at the Great Lakes Mall. Al Kipp did much of the field engineering work for the construction permit. The call letters WBKC stood for this: the B was for Oliver Bolton
Oliver P. Bolton
Oliver Payne Bolton was an American politician of the Republican party who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1953–1957 and from 1963-1965. He was the son of long-serving Representative Frances P...
, Congresswoman Frances Bolton's son, and one of the owners. The K stood for Albert King, owner of the Chardon-based King Trucking Company, another owner. The C stood for Chardon.
This group owned the station, with Al Kipp as GM, until it was sold to Painesville businessman Don Smith in the early 1980s. Clarence Bucaro of WERE, who had been a salesman at WBKC in the mid-1970s, became the general manager.
Painesville's 1460
Meanwhile, there was another station that existed in Painesville under the WPVL calls at 1460 kHz. It first went on the air as WPVL on April 25, 1956 as a daytime-only station at 500 watts and was later granted a twenty-four hour a day license.Locally owned and locally programmed, WPVL claimed a huge chunk of the Lake County audience, and billed almost as much as Cleveland stations, with a full air and news staff, local programs and high school sports games, remote broadcasts and toward the end a simulcast on a Lake County cable TV channel. WPVL became WQLS on January 15, 1984, and slowly shifted its focus to covering all of Lake County.
When Don Smith bought WQLS, WBKC's programming and call letters moved to 1460-AM March 3, 1986. 1460-AM and 1560-AM simucast each other for several months as the "B-K Country Network," but the previous WBKC was soon sold to Smith's son-in-law, taking the call sign WCDN, for Chardon. Bucaro eventually assumed ownership of the Painesville incarnation of WBKC, and owned it until 2004.
In 2001, WBKC entered an arrangement with WCLV
WCLV
WCLV — branded WCLV 104.9 — is the classical radio station licensed to Lorain, Ohio serving Greater Cleveland and western parts of surrounding Northeast Ohio; WCLV is one of the few remaining classical music stations in the United States....
to simulcast the classical music station for the Lake County area, save for a morning-drive news program. This lasted until 2006, when WBKC's sister station in Cleveland, gospel music WABQ
WABQ
WABQ — branded Talk 1460 — is a commercial progressive talk radio station licensed to Painesville, Ohio. Part of the Cleveland radio market, WABQ primarily serves the eastern half of Cuyahoga County, and the bulk of Lake County, as the reach of the station's transmitter is relatively...
, was sold off to a different owner. WABQ
WABQ
WABQ — branded Talk 1460 — is a commercial progressive talk radio station licensed to Painesville, Ohio. Part of the Cleveland radio market, WABQ primarily serves the eastern half of Cuyahoga County, and the bulk of Lake County, as the reach of the station's transmitter is relatively...
's format and call letters moved to 1460 kHz that October. Before the sale closed, the WBKC calls temporarily moved to what was WABQ
WABQ
WABQ — branded Talk 1460 — is a commercial progressive talk radio station licensed to Painesville, Ohio. Part of the Cleveland radio market, WABQ primarily serves the eastern half of Cuyahoga County, and the bulk of Lake County, as the reach of the station's transmitter is relatively...
in Cleveland, but were retired in favor of WWGK on November 7, 2006.
The end of 1560
When Warren Jones bought 1560, he changed the calls to its final incarnation of WATJ, after him and his father, Ted. Jones placed WATJ, and FM country outlet WKKYWKKY
WKKY is a commercial FM radio station in Geneva, Ashtabula County, Ohio, broadcasting at 104.7 MHz with a country music format. The station broadcasts using the HD Radio format.The station was started by Donald E. Martin on April 28, 1982 as WDON...
- licensed to the city of Geneva - under the "Music Express Broadcasting Company" banner.
WATJ once played a beautiful music
Beautiful music
Beautiful music is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s...
format with ethnic programming on the weekends, but was last aired a sports radio
Sports radio
Sports radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A popular format with an almost exclusively male demographic in most areas, sports radio is characterized by an often-boisterous on-air style and extensive debate and analysis by both hosts and...
format under the name "SportsRadio 1560 AM." This format was far from successful; its first try was with an all-local lineup, but that was dumped for Sporting News Radio
Sporting News Radio
Yahoo! Sports Radio, formerly Sporting News Radio is a United States sports radio network that broadcasts sports news, talk, scores, and highlights 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. On August 1, 2011, it was announced the network would change its name to Yahoo! Sports Radio, effective...
programming.
Ted Jones turned the license back a couple years ago, so as to focus on WKKY
WKKY
WKKY is a commercial FM radio station in Geneva, Ashtabula County, Ohio, broadcasting at 104.7 MHz with a country music format. The station broadcasts using the HD Radio format.The station was started by Donald E. Martin on April 28, 1982 as WDON...
. FCC rules now prohibit the re-licensing of daytime stations, so the station is gone forever.
External links
- Aerial photo of WATJ transmitter from Google Local
- Technical Info On WATJ (WATJ is still listed here) (WATJ is no longer listed in the FCC database)