WEDC
Encyclopedia
WEDC, and its sister shared-time radio stations, WCRW
and WSBC, are an important part of United States radio history. They operated as "shared time stations" for their entire existence; this was not uncommon in the early days of radio, but very rare in more modern times. They were also foreign language stations, catering to "niche markets". In October, 1926, WEDC signed on and was operating at 1240 on the AM dial in Chicago
; in the same year, the station began sharing the frequency with WCRW and WSBC
.
Foreign language broadcasters were always under government suspicion, especially during years when the US was at war, because of the possibility of "un-American", traitorous or "coded" information being broadcast. A nationwide council of owners of foreign language stations, including WEDC, was formed during World War II to uphold the good name of foreign language radio stations and insure foreign propaganda was banned from being broadcast.
The Broadcasting Yearbook notes that WEDC operated 11 hours daily. The three stations on 1240 were each authorized 8 hours, but according to Ed Jacker, owner of WCRW, "no one listened overnight" so WCRW sold its 3 overnight hours to WEDC.
WEDC's original studios were located on Ogden Avenue at the car dealership known as Emil Denemark Cadillac, the owner of the station. The studio was in the showroom in a glass booth.
In the 1970s, WEDC was purchased by the Pucinski family. Roman Pucinski
was a Congressman and later, a Chicago
alderman
. His mother was a long-time program host and did a daily Polish language program on WGES that included news, interviews, recipes, and commentary of interest to Chicago's Polish community. Puchinski purchased WEDC after WGES dropped all of its foreign language programming to become an all black oriented station. The Congressman fought the WGES format change because he wanted to preserve foreign language radio programming in Chicago. During Pucinski's ownership, WEDC's studios were located in the Jefferson Park neighborhood on Milwaukee Avenue on Chicago's northwest side. In 1966, Pat Sajak
, now host of TV's "Wheel of Fortune", was employed to read hourly five-minute newscasts during an all-night Spanish-music radio program.
The format of WEDC had always been mostly foreign language programming, mainly Polish
and Spanish
. Under the Denemark ownership in the 1950s, an English language program featuring "Love Music" was aired from 3:30 p.m.-5 p.m. weekdays and its overnight program, "The Midnight Fliers", from Midnight to 6 a.m.,was in English and featured big band music. In the 1930s, the station broadcast live music of jazz bands from night club venues in Chicago. There was also black oriented programming on WEDC and its sister stations produced by Jack L. Cooper.
In 1995, WCRW was purchased by the owner of WSBC, Daniel Lee, for $500,000. A year later, he also purchased WEDC for $750,000 to make WSBC a 24 hour a day radio station; this ended the 60+ years of "shared-time" operation. The next year, Lee sold WSBC to Fred Eyechanner's Newsweb; Eyechanner was the former owner of WPWR-TV
Channel 50 Chicago. WSBC and WEDC used separate transmitter sites, located within a mile of each other on the northwest side of Chicago. Lee was once the owner of WXRT-FM and WSCR
in Chicago. Those stations were later sold to Westinghouse Broadcasting
, and are now a part of CBS
.
At midnight on June 13, 1997, WSBC took over WEDC's hours putting an end to the last of the original time-sharing arrangements in the United States.
WCRW
WCRW was a "shared time" AM radio station in Chicago, Illinois; sharing its frequency with two other stations, , each broadcasting a part of the day. Clinton White, a radio engineer, started the station in 1926; it initially operated on 720 KHZ from studios at Waveland and Pine Grove on Chicago's...
and WSBC, are an important part of United States radio history. They operated as "shared time stations" for their entire existence; this was not uncommon in the early days of radio, but very rare in more modern times. They were also foreign language stations, catering to "niche markets". In October, 1926, WEDC signed on and was operating at 1240 on the AM dial in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
; in the same year, the station began sharing the frequency with WCRW and WSBC
WSBC
WSBC is a radio station broadcasting a Variety format. Licensed to Chicago, Illinois, USA, the station serves the Chicago area. The station is owned by Newsweb Corporation....
.
Foreign language broadcasters were always under government suspicion, especially during years when the US was at war, because of the possibility of "un-American", traitorous or "coded" information being broadcast. A nationwide council of owners of foreign language stations, including WEDC, was formed during World War II to uphold the good name of foreign language radio stations and insure foreign propaganda was banned from being broadcast.
The Broadcasting Yearbook notes that WEDC operated 11 hours daily. The three stations on 1240 were each authorized 8 hours, but according to Ed Jacker, owner of WCRW, "no one listened overnight" so WCRW sold its 3 overnight hours to WEDC.
WEDC's original studios were located on Ogden Avenue at the car dealership known as Emil Denemark Cadillac, the owner of the station. The studio was in the showroom in a glass booth.
In the 1970s, WEDC was purchased by the Pucinski family. Roman Pucinski
Roman Pucinski
Roman Conrad Pucinski was an American Democratic politician from Chicago, Illinois. He was a U.S. Representative from 1959 to 1973, and alderman from the 41st Ward of Chicago from 1973 to 1991...
was a Congressman and later, a Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
. His mother was a long-time program host and did a daily Polish language program on WGES that included news, interviews, recipes, and commentary of interest to Chicago's Polish community. Puchinski purchased WEDC after WGES dropped all of its foreign language programming to become an all black oriented station. The Congressman fought the WGES format change because he wanted to preserve foreign language radio programming in Chicago. During Pucinski's ownership, WEDC's studios were located in the Jefferson Park neighborhood on Milwaukee Avenue on Chicago's northwest side. In 1966, Pat Sajak
Pat Sajak
Pat Sajak is a television personality, former weatherman, actor and talk show host, best known as the host of the American television game show Wheel of Fortune.-Early life:...
, now host of TV's "Wheel of Fortune", was employed to read hourly five-minute newscasts during an all-night Spanish-music radio program.
The format of WEDC had always been mostly foreign language programming, mainly Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. Under the Denemark ownership in the 1950s, an English language program featuring "Love Music" was aired from 3:30 p.m.-5 p.m. weekdays and its overnight program, "The Midnight Fliers", from Midnight to 6 a.m.,was in English and featured big band music. In the 1930s, the station broadcast live music of jazz bands from night club venues in Chicago. There was also black oriented programming on WEDC and its sister stations produced by Jack L. Cooper.
In 1995, WCRW was purchased by the owner of WSBC, Daniel Lee, for $500,000. A year later, he also purchased WEDC for $750,000 to make WSBC a 24 hour a day radio station; this ended the 60+ years of "shared-time" operation. The next year, Lee sold WSBC to Fred Eyechanner's Newsweb; Eyechanner was the former owner of WPWR-TV
WPWR-TV
WPWR-TV, channel 50, is a MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station licensed to Gary, Indiana, and serving the Chicago, Illinois area. WPWR-TV is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox network outlet WFLD-TV...
Channel 50 Chicago. WSBC and WEDC used separate transmitter sites, located within a mile of each other on the northwest side of Chicago. Lee was once the owner of WXRT-FM and WSCR
WSCR
WSCR is a sports radio station in the Chicago, Illinois radio market. The station is owned by CBS Radio and transmits on 670 kHz on the AM dial. Its transmitter is located just off Army Trail Road in Bloomingdale, which is a western suburb of Chicago. It is known as "The Score," and has been on...
in Chicago. Those stations were later sold to Westinghouse Broadcasting
Westinghouse Broadcasting
The Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, also known as Group W, was the broadcasting division of Westinghouse Electric Corporation. It owned several radio and television stations across the United States and distributed television shows for syndication....
, and are now a part of CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
.
At midnight on June 13, 1997, WSBC took over WEDC's hours putting an end to the last of the original time-sharing arrangements in the United States.