WCSR
Encyclopedia
WCSR is a community service radio station located in Hillsdale, Michigan
. It operates on the frequencies of 92.1 FM at 6,000 watts ERP and 1340 AM at 500 watts in the daytime and 250 watts at night.
radio network air around the clock.
WCSR is well known for their public interest programs, including the previously mentioned "News and Views of Hillsdale," the latter portion of which is an interview segment with a selected government official or public figure in the community. Other notable programs include the daily broadcasts of the Michigan Farm Radio Network, the "Pet Rescue" animal lost and found program (which, from time to time, may feature the occasional farm animal) and "The County Extension Report," which is a service of the Michigan State University Hillsdale County Extension Office. The day's local-intensive programming is generally ended with the "Sell and Swap Shop," a local trading and selling program
where listeners can submit three items to sell, purchase or trade each night. On Sundays, a variety of religious programming can also be heard.
The station is also home of Hillsdale College
Charger and Hillsdale High School Hornet athletics, mainly football
and men's basketball, and is a member of the Detroit Tigers
, Detroit Lions
and Motor Racing Network
radio networks. The station also airs a variety of sporting events from Hillsdale County's several local public and private schools, often splitting the simulcast between the AM and FM stations in order to broadcast two games at the same time.
The music the station plays is mostly Adult Contemporary in nature, though Oldies
music is also heard throughout the day ("How Long" and "Already Gone" by The Eagles make almost daily rotations), and Sunday mornings are home to the long-time local favorite "Big Band
Sunday" music block. During evening and weekend dayparts, the station airs Dial Global
's adult-contemporary format via satellite.
WCSR programming was also heard in Hillsdale on translator W258AO at 99.5 FM between 2008 and 2009. That translator was eventually sold and moved to another location, ending the 99.5 simulcast.
Hillsdale, Michigan
Hillsdale is a city in the state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 8,305. It is the county seat of Hillsdale County, and is run as a council-manager government....
. It operates on the frequencies of 92.1 FM at 6,000 watts ERP and 1340 AM at 500 watts in the daytime and 250 watts at night.
History
WCSR began in 1955 as WBSE, a 100-watt AM station with studios on the corner of Howell Street and McCollum Street in downtown Hillsdale. In 1962 the station moved to their current location on West Street and upgraded their power to 500 watts as well as changing their call letters to the current WCSR. In 1974, the station licensed WCSR-FM 92.1, a 6,000-watt station. The two stations were simulcast, and they continue that practice today.Current ownership/management
WCSR is operated by general manager and morning host Mike Flynn, news director Russ Martin, general sales manager Gary Floyd, program director and afternoon host Bob Flynn, and office/traffic manager Juli Morgan.Format
WCSR's programming is varied, and is best described as the format once known as "full service". Much of the day's airtime is devoted to local news and discussions relating to it, including full local newscasts at the top of each hour, the late morning news program "News and Views of Hillsdale" and "The Early Evening News Report" in the evening, along with several morning newscasts devoted specifically to various cities, villages and communities around the area (most notably Litchfield, Jonesville, Hudson and Reading). Adding to the news lineup, national and world news updates from the Associated PressAssociated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
radio network air around the clock.
WCSR is well known for their public interest programs, including the previously mentioned "News and Views of Hillsdale," the latter portion of which is an interview segment with a selected government official or public figure in the community. Other notable programs include the daily broadcasts of the Michigan Farm Radio Network, the "Pet Rescue" animal lost and found program (which, from time to time, may feature the occasional farm animal) and "The County Extension Report," which is a service of the Michigan State University Hillsdale County Extension Office. The day's local-intensive programming is generally ended with the "Sell and Swap Shop," a local trading and selling program
Tradio
Tradio is the name given to a type of talk radio show format where listeners call in to buy or sell items. The concept of is analogous to classified ads in local newspapers....
where listeners can submit three items to sell, purchase or trade each night. On Sundays, a variety of religious programming can also be heard.
The station is also home of Hillsdale College
Hillsdale College
Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan, United States, is a co-educational liberal arts college known for being the first American college to prohibit in its charter all discrimination based on race, religion, or sex; its refusal of government funding; and its monthly publication, Imprimis...
Charger and Hillsdale High School Hornet athletics, mainly football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
and men's basketball, and is a member of the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
, Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
and Motor Racing Network
Motor Racing Network
The Motor Racing Network is the principal radio broadcasting operation of NASCAR, promoting themselves as "The Voice of NASCAR." It broadcasts coverage of most major NASCAR races at the top three levels of NASCAR at tracks owned by International Speedway Corporation as well as Dover International...
radio networks. The station also airs a variety of sporting events from Hillsdale County's several local public and private schools, often splitting the simulcast between the AM and FM stations in order to broadcast two games at the same time.
The music the station plays is mostly Adult Contemporary in nature, though Oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
music is also heard throughout the day ("How Long" and "Already Gone" by The Eagles make almost daily rotations), and Sunday mornings are home to the long-time local favorite "Big Band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
Sunday" music block. During evening and weekend dayparts, the station airs Dial Global
Dial Global
Dial Global is a radio syndication company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Triton Media Group and is a sister company to Townsquare Media, both of which are owned by Oaktree Capital Management....
's adult-contemporary format via satellite.
WCSR programming was also heard in Hillsdale on translator W258AO at 99.5 FM between 2008 and 2009. That translator was eventually sold and moved to another location, ending the 99.5 simulcast.