WLIP
Encyclopedia
WLIP is a radio station
located in Kenosha
, Wisconsin
, U.S.
serving the Chicago
-Milwaukee metropolitan region along the west shore of Lake Michigan
with 250 watts effective radiated power, and also streams worldwide at www.wlip.com . It has been owned and operated by Colorado-based NextMedia Group
since 2000.
In 1962, the station launched an FM sister 95.1 WLIP-FM, later known as WJZQ, and now the current-day WIIL
During the 1960s the AM station programmed a Pop music format; however the owner, Will Lipman, did not allow for "Hits" to be played. A weekend show with former station staffer Terry Havel would be the only show featuring the hits. The station would sign off at night.
WLIP-FM offered separate programming during that time, and carried an easy listening format. Bill Lipman's wife called the shots for WLIP-FM, again until 1975 when new management took over. In 1975, these rules ended under new management and the station moved to an Adult Contemporary format as "Music 1050" with a high dedication to the Kenosha Area as the station had in the past and still does somewhat today. Lipman's sons assumed ownership of the stations by the late 70s. In the 1980s, the Federal Communications Commission
granted WLIP permission to broadcast on a 24-hour-a-day basis. During the 1990s the station continued with its Adult Contemporary format, but was mostly various talk programming by the mid 1990s with Oldies
music played nights and weekends. In 1996 the station changed its format to Adult Standards
from the now-Dial Global
Adult Standards format (yndicated) This format lasted until December 2003 when the station changed format and affiliation to the now-defunct Unforgettable Favorites format from ABC. This format was switched over the 4th of July weekend of 2005 to ABC's Oldies Radio
now known as Classic Hits
Radio.
's America in the Morning and The Jim Bohannon Show. On the weekends it airs how-to programming, music programming, brokered shows, and talk shows most of which are local.
with Lou Rugani airs each Sunday morning and afternoon.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
located in Kenosha
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Kenosha is a city and the county seat of Kenosha County in the State of Wisconsin in United States. With a population of 99,218 as of May 2011, Kenosha is the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Kenosha is also the fourth-largest city on the western shore of Lake Michigan, following Chicago,...
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
serving the 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...
-Milwaukee metropolitan region along the west shore of Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
with 250 watts effective radiated power, and also streams worldwide at www.wlip.com . It has been owned and operated by Colorado-based NextMedia Group
NextMedia Group
NextMedia Group is an out-of-home media company headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado. NextMedia owns and operates 33 AM and FM stations , 5,700 outdoor advertising display across several regions and markets , as well as an interactive division ....
since 2000.
History
At 8:00 AM on Sunday, May 18, 1947, WLIP signed on the air from the basement of the Kenosha National Bank Building at Seventh Avenue and 57th Street in downtown Kenosha, licensed as a daytime-only station. In 1982, WLIP built and opened its new studios at 8500 Green Bay Road.In 1962, the station launched an FM sister 95.1 WLIP-FM, later known as WJZQ, and now the current-day WIIL
WIIL
WIIL is a radio station in Kenosha, Wisconsin that plays Active Rock music and serves Kenosha, Racine, and Milwaukee Counties in Wisconsin, and northern suburbs of Chicago. The call letters stand for Wisconsin and Illinois, as Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, the station's transmitter location, is...
During the 1960s the AM station programmed a Pop music format; however the owner, Will Lipman, did not allow for "Hits" to be played. A weekend show with former station staffer Terry Havel would be the only show featuring the hits. The station would sign off at night.
WLIP-FM offered separate programming during that time, and carried an easy listening format. Bill Lipman's wife called the shots for WLIP-FM, again until 1975 when new management took over. In 1975, these rules ended under new management and the station moved to an Adult Contemporary format as "Music 1050" with a high dedication to the Kenosha Area as the station had in the past and still does somewhat today. Lipman's sons assumed ownership of the stations by the late 70s. In the 1980s, the 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...
granted WLIP permission to broadcast on a 24-hour-a-day basis. During the 1990s the station continued with its Adult Contemporary format, but was mostly various talk programming by the mid 1990s with 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 played nights and weekends. In 1996 the station changed its format to Adult Standards
Adult standards
Adult standards is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations.Adult standards is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly those persons over 50 years of age, but it is mostly targeted for senior citizens...
from the now-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....
Adult Standards format (yndicated) This format lasted until December 2003 when the station changed format and affiliation to the now-defunct Unforgettable Favorites format from ABC. This format was switched over the 4th of July weekend of 2005 to ABC's Oldies Radio
Oldies Radio
Classic Hits Radio is a 24-hour Classic Hits radio network. Classic Hits Radio, formerly known as "Pure Gold" and "Oldies Radio", plays a selection of well-tested pop and rock hits from the late 60s, 70s and 80s...
now known as Classic Hits
Classic hits
Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes rock and pop music from 1964 to 1989. The term is sometimes erroneously used as a synonym for the adult hits format, but is more accurately characterized as a contemporary style of the oldies format...
Radio.
Current programming
WLIP airs local talk programming during most of the day and replays some of them in the evenings with the syndicated talk show Jim BohannonJim Bohannon
James E. "Jim" Bohannon is an American broadcaster who has worked in both television and radio.During the 1980s he was a fill-in for Larry King when King had his popular nighttime national radio program. He also does much work with the Smithsonian Associates...
's America in the Morning and The Jim Bohannon Show. On the weekends it airs how-to programming, music programming, brokered shows, and talk shows most of which are local.
Music
WLIP has played music most of its life. Currently the station plays 60s-70s oldies music during part of each weekend, along with specialty 50s-60s oldies shows Jukebox Saturday Night on Saturdays and The Doo-Wop Diner on Sundays. The Music of the StarsMusic Of The Stars
The Music of the Stars is a four-hour radio program in the Chicago-Milwaukee radio market; it is heard worldwide from WLIP in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and is produced and hosted by Lou Rugani...
with Lou Rugani airs each Sunday morning and afternoon.
Station Alumni
Since its launch in 1947, many people have gone through WLIP and have moved onto larger markets. Some of these airstaff and management include:- Bill Lipman (The station's founder, and namesake "The Lip" and "LIP" came from "Lipman"
- Irene Buri-Nelson (Longtime host of Around The Town she was on the air with the station nonstop from its launch in 1947 until her death in 2006 in a car accident)
- Lou Rugani (Lou has been hosting his Music Of The Stars show since the early 90s. He previously has done work for WAXOWAXOWAXO is a radio station broadcasting a Country music format. Licensed to Lewisburg, Tennessee, USA. The station is currently owned by Marshall County Radio Corporation and features programing from Jones Radio Network...
which was Kenosha's other commercial radio station, now WWDVWWDVWWDV is a radio station in Zion, Illinois, known as "The Drive". The station is currently owned by Hubbard Broadcasting, and simulcasts with WDRV...
- Terry Havel (Terry was WBSD-Burlington's main advisor. WBSD is Wisconsin's only high schoolHigh schoolHigh school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
station and one of the country's first. He spent time at WEMP (Now WSSPWSSPWSSP is a Milwaukee-based sports talk station owned by Entercom.The station is the secondary home station for any play-by-play sports coverage on WTMJ-AM which conflicts with another event; for instance the Milwaukee Bucks air on WSSP if a Milwaukee Brewers game airs. If a Green Bay Packers game...
) Milwaukee, WLUM Milwaukee and had worked at WLIP as far back as the 1960s
- Dex Card (Dex came to WLIP from WLSWLSWLS may refer to:* White light scanner, a device for measuring physical geometry* WLS , a radio station * WLS-FM, a radio station * WLS-TV, a television station...
in Chicago. He was the station manager from 1975 and was responsible for WLIP becoming more mainstream and was there when WLIP-FM became WJZQ)
- Mike Terry (Did news for WLIP in the 70s, later moved on to WTMJWTMJ (AM)WTMJ is a radio station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin broadcasting at 620 AM. It is a 50,000-watt station airing a format of news, talk and sports. WTMJ is owned by Journal Broadcast Group, which also owns the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and sister station WLWK-FM....
in Milwaukee)
- David Cole (David Cole was WLIP's longtime news guy from the 80s until about 2002. He is currently the General Manager across town at Gateway Technical College's Wisconsin Public RadioWisconsin Public RadioWisconsin Public Radio is a network of 32 radio stations in the state of Wisconsin. WPR's network is divided into two distinct analog services, the Ideas Network and the NPR News and Classical Network, as well as the "HD2 Classical Service," a digital-only, full-time classical music service.-Ideas...
affiliate WGTDWGTDWGTD is a radio station licensed to Kenosha, Wisconsin, serving the Racine/Kenosha area. The station is part of Wisconsin Public Radio , and airs WPR's "NPR News and Classical Network", consisting of classical music and news and talk programming....
David Cole was well known for his coverage of the American MotorsAmerican MotorsAmerican Motors Corporation was an American automobile company formed by the 1954 merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company. At the time, it was the largest corporate merger in U.S. history.George W...
closing/sale to Chrysler Corporation in the late 80s and the September 11th, 2001 attacks.
- Paul Kern (Paul Kern hosted mornings on WLIP for a long period of time. He currently hosts mornings on WRJNWRJNWRJN is a news/talk radio station located in Racine, Wisconsin, and serving the areas of Racine, Kenosha and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The station is owned by Bliss Communications, along with local sister station WEZY-FM....
in Racine, WisconsinRacine, WisconsinRacine is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city had a population of 82,196...
).
- Steve DahlSteve DahlSteven Robert Dahl has been an American radio personality and humorist for more than thirty years. He is currently podcasting, and releases the podcasts for download daily from his own website as well as the iTunes store...
(One of this Chicago radio legend's first gigs was a show on WLIP)