WOOD (AM)

'''WOOD''' is a [[news]]/[[talk radio|talk]] [[radio station]] broadcasting at 1300 kHz and 106.9 FM in [[Michigan]], [[United States]]. WOOD-AM is licensed to [[Grand Rapids, Michigan]] and [[WOOD-FM]] to [[Muskegon, Michigan]]. ===Full-service station=== WOOD-1300 is the oldest radio station in West Michigan and one of the oldest in the world, having signed on September 16, 1924 as WEBK as a marketing tool for the C.J. Litscher Company, a seller of radio receivers. The station's original owners were backed by the Furniture Manufacturers Association of Grand Rapids. At their suggestion, the station became WOOD on January 13, 1926. It broadcast on Sundays and Wednesdays at 1170 kHz during its early years in order to avoid competition with stations in [[Chicago]], [[Detroit]] and [[Cleveland]]--all of which could easily be heard in West Michigan. It went through numerous owners over the years before being bought by John King (known as John Kunsky until 1936) and [[George Trendle]], owners of [[WXYZ-AM]] 1270 in Detroit, in 1930. They bought Grand Rapids' second radio station, WASH, a year later; the two stations had shared the same frequency, 1270, for four years. The station operated as WOOD-WASH (with WASH on the air during the day and WOOD at night) until 1942, when the WASH license was dropped. At about the same time, WOOD's broadcast power was increased from 500 watts to 5000 watts. In 1946, the fledgling [[American Broadcasting Company]] bought the King-Trendle stations, but the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) forced ABC to sell WOOD since it had been an [[NBC]] affiliate since 1935. After a two-year dispute between competing buyers, the station was finally sold to Harry Bitner, former general manager of the [[Hearst Corporation|Hearst newspaper chain]], in 1948. [[Time, Inc.]] bought WOOD in 1957 and owned it until 1972, when a local group bought the station. After a series of ownership changes over the next quarter-century, Clear Channel bought WOOD in 1996. Over the years the station's format evolved from full-service [[Middle of the road (music)|Middle of the Road]] into standard News/Talk. ===News/talk=== Today, WOOD's Program Director Kelly Iris leads an airstaff that includes an all-news morning program, ''West Michigan's Morning News'' with Gary Allen, Steve Kelly & John Bry. In the fall of 2010 WOOD replaced a much-loved local talk show which followed the morning news, ''Mouth 2 Mouth with Scott Winters and Michelle McKormick'', with syndicated national programming. This led to an outcry from local West Michigan talk radio fans who felt that the best local voice for discussion of locally-relevant topics had been silenced. Now, [[Glenn Beck]], [[Rush Limbaugh]], [[Sean Hannity]], [[Dave Ramsey]], [[Michael Savage (commentator)]], and [[Coast to Coast AM]] round out the lineup. Local programming airs weekdays from 5am to 9am, and syndicated programming airs the remaining 20 hours of every weekday. WOOD 1300's award winning local newsroom provides local, regional and national news every day of the week, plus top of the hour newscasts from [[Fox News Radio]] from 8pm-4am weekdays It also utilizes reports and breaking news coverage through an ancillary affiliation with [[CBS Radio News]]. The WOOD newsroom is led by News Director and afternoon news anchor Rod Kackley, and three full time anchors/reporters including morning anchor John Bry, anchor/reportor Dave Wheaton, anchor/reportor Paul Cicchini, and anchor/reporter John C. Smith. Weekend programs and hosts are: [[Real Estate Today]], [[Coast to Coast AM]], [[Bill Cunningham]], [[Adam Bold]], and local how-to programming covering [[Automobile|cars]], [[home improvement]], [[gardening]], [[law]], and [[pets]]. NEWSRADIO WOOD 1300 AM is the Grand Rapids home of [[University of Michigan]] [[American football|football]] and [[basketball]]. Since 1951, the station's mascot has been Willie Wood, a cartoon [[woodpecker]]. See [[WOOD-FM]] for information on AM 1300's simulcast on 106.9 FM. ==Sources== *[http://www.michiguide.com/dials/rad-m/woodam.html Michiguide.com - WOOD History] *[http://www.woodradio.com/pages/grr_history.html WOODRadio.com - WOOD 1300 History] ==External links== {{Grand Rapids Radio}} {{News/Talk Radio Stations in Michigan}} {{coord missing|Michigan}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Wood (Am)}}