WQLZ
Encyclopedia
WQLZ is a radio station
licensed
to serve Taylorville, Illinois
, serving the Springfield, Illinois
area. The station plays an active rock
format. Its current morning show is the syndicated "The Free Beer and Hot Wings Show
". The station is built to appeal to the Springfield, Illinois
market. Its estimated radiated power is 11.5 kW
.
and featuring local high school sports events as an extension of WTIM-AM 1410 (now WIHM) which was a daytimer. From 1975 to 1984, the station was WEEE (known as "Triple E" and later "W-3-E") with a variety of contemporary music formats, starting as adult contemporary then changing to "Rock 'n' Gold" (an AC/oldies
hybrid) and then to album oriented rock. As an AOR station, the station first began to attract an audience in the Springfield market and was drawing much of its advertising revenue from there.
WEEE was sold in 1984 and the new owners changed the format to country music
as WTJY. The station was sold again two years later and the format became satellite-fed AC. In 1990, WTJY took on a dayparted format with AAA/Rock mix during the day and a hard-rock/Heavy Metal mix in the evenings. The station also featured the "Todd & Joe morning show" with Todd Ellis and Joe Swank, both of whom went on to work at WKCM/WLME in Hawesville, KY/Tell City, Indiana after the station sale in 1992. The station also featured Rick Elliott music director and afternoon host, later left to become Operations Manager of WJVO/WJIL in Jacksonville, IL, Shawn Balint who went by the handle of "Doc Rock". =Ownership of WTIM and WTJY was separated in 1992 (thanks to deregulation making it possible for Springfield "clusters" to add a station, with WTJY going to Mid-West Family Broadcast Group to become part of the company's Springfield station cluster as WQLZ. The station also was granted a power increase to 11,500 watts and a tower relocation into Sangamon County
to get city-grade coverage of Springfield without relinquishing city-grade coverage of Taylorville. Ellis went to the new WQLZ for a time and Balint remained with WTIM. Meanwhile, WTIM-AM later gained a new FM sister to serve Taylorville in 94.3 WMKR, and moved to its current frequency of 97.3 in the late 1990s while a Catholic religious broadcaster took over the AM 1410 signal. In the 1990s, WQLZ was a radio station for the central Illinois area with live DJs 24 hours a day, and featuring "Ray Lytle's Morning Disaster" hosted by Ray Lytle with his brother Bodine, Jim the photographer, Shawn Balint resurfaced on the 92.7 frequency, Rocky, Mychelle the Weather Babe, Brando and Rich, and featuring Mikey,Marvin, Larz ,and others. In 2006, Balint went on to the St. Louis market, Mikey left radio, and in November 2007, Jim the Photographer died in his home. WQLZ is owned by Mid-West Family Broadcasting
in Spaulding, Illinois
.
WQLZ was also, in the 1980s, the former call sign of the station now known as WGFM in Cheboygan, Michigan
.
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...
licensed
City of license
A city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting, is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator....
to serve Taylorville, Illinois
Taylorville, Illinois
Taylorville is a city in Christian County, Illinois, United States. The population was 11,246 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat and largest city in Christian County.-Geography:Taylorville is located at ....
, serving the Springfield, Illinois
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area...
area. The station plays an active rock
Active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:...
format. Its current morning show is the syndicated "The Free Beer and Hot Wings Show
The Free Beer and Hot Wings Show
The Free Beer and Hot Wings Show is a syndicated talk radio show based at WGRD-FM in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The show is hosted by Gregg "Free Beer" Daniels and Chris "Hot Wings" Michaels with Eric "Zane" Zeitunian, "Producer" Joseph Gasmann, Jr, Assistant Producer Steve McKiernan, and Robot. The...
". The station is built to appeal to the Springfield, Illinois
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area...
market. Its estimated radiated power is 11.5 kW
Kw
kw or KW may refer to:* Kuwait, ISO 3166-1 country code** .kw, the country code top level domain for Kuwait* Kilowatt* Self-ionization of water Kw* Cornish language's ISO 639 code* Kitchener–Waterloo, Ontario, Canada...
.
History
WQLZ went on the air in 1967 as 3,000-watt WTIM-FM, playing beautiful musicBeautiful music
Beautiful music is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s...
and featuring local high school sports events as an extension of WTIM-AM 1410 (now WIHM) which was a daytimer. From 1975 to 1984, the station was WEEE (known as "Triple E" and later "W-3-E") with a variety of contemporary music formats, starting as adult contemporary then changing to "Rock 'n' Gold" (an AC/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....
hybrid) and then to album oriented rock. As an AOR station, the station first began to attract an audience in the Springfield market and was drawing much of its advertising revenue from there.
WEEE was sold in 1984 and the new owners changed the format to country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
as WTJY. The station was sold again two years later and the format became satellite-fed AC. In 1990, WTJY took on a dayparted format with AAA/Rock mix during the day and a hard-rock/Heavy Metal mix in the evenings. The station also featured the "Todd & Joe morning show" with Todd Ellis and Joe Swank, both of whom went on to work at WKCM/WLME in Hawesville, KY/Tell City, Indiana after the station sale in 1992. The station also featured Rick Elliott music director and afternoon host, later left to become Operations Manager of WJVO/WJIL in Jacksonville, IL, Shawn Balint who went by the handle of "Doc Rock". =Ownership of WTIM and WTJY was separated in 1992 (thanks to deregulation making it possible for Springfield "clusters" to add a station, with WTJY going to Mid-West Family Broadcast Group to become part of the company's Springfield station cluster as WQLZ. The station also was granted a power increase to 11,500 watts and a tower relocation into Sangamon County
Sangamon County, Illinois
Sangamon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 197,465, which is an increase of 4.5% from 188,951 in 2000...
to get city-grade coverage of Springfield without relinquishing city-grade coverage of Taylorville. Ellis went to the new WQLZ for a time and Balint remained with WTIM. Meanwhile, WTIM-AM later gained a new FM sister to serve Taylorville in 94.3 WMKR, and moved to its current frequency of 97.3 in the late 1990s while a Catholic religious broadcaster took over the AM 1410 signal. In the 1990s, WQLZ was a radio station for the central Illinois area with live DJs 24 hours a day, and featuring "Ray Lytle's Morning Disaster" hosted by Ray Lytle with his brother Bodine, Jim the photographer, Shawn Balint resurfaced on the 92.7 frequency, Rocky, Mychelle the Weather Babe, Brando and Rich, and featuring Mikey,Marvin, Larz ,and others. In 2006, Balint went on to the St. Louis market, Mikey left radio, and in November 2007, Jim the Photographer died in his home. WQLZ is owned by Mid-West Family Broadcasting
Mid-West Family Broadcasting
Mid-West Family Broadcasting is an independently owned broadcasting company based in Madison, Wisconsin. The company owns and manages radio stations in Madison and LaCrosse, WI, Benton Harbor/St Joseph, MI, Springfield, IL and Springfield, MO....
in Spaulding, Illinois
Spaulding, Illinois
Spaulding is a village in Sangamon County, Illinois, United States. The population was 559 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area...
.
WQLZ was also, in the 1980s, the former call sign of the station now known as WGFM in Cheboygan, Michigan
Cheboygan, Michigan
Cheboygan is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 5,295. It is the county seat of Cheboygan County....
.