WSNL
Encyclopedia
WSNL is a radio station
broadcasting a religious format. Licensed to Flint, Michigan
, it first began broadcasting in 1946.
The original call letters were WFLM, but the station was purchased in December of 1946 by George W. Trendle and H. Allen Campbell, who changed the call letters to WTCB and made the station into Flint's NBC Radio Network affiliate. The calls had changed to WTAC by 1950, still under Trendle and Campbell's ownership. WTAC popularly stood for "WE THE AUTO CITY", referring to Chevrolet
and Buick
plants formerly located in Flint, but it actually stood for Trendle and Campbell.
Trendle and Campbell sold WTAC to a Hawaii
-based group in 1954. Under the ownership of Radio Hawaii, Inc., WTAC shed its NBC affiliation to become one of Michigan's first Top 40 music stations in 1956. Its original program director was Mike Joseph, who would launch the legendary WKNR "Keener 13" in Detroit in 1963 and later went on to create the Hot Hits
format in the early 1970s. It was also owned for a time by the Chess brothers, who owned and operated Chess Records
. "The Big 6" flourished as a Top 40 rock station during the 1960s and 1970s before changing to a country
format in 1981. During the early and mid-1990s WTAC operated as a contemporary Christian music
station; the WTAC
calls are now used on Smile FM
's 89.7 FM signal in the Flint area. Christian Broadcasting System purchased the station in 1997 and installed the current call sign and format.
The station has been based in Grand Blanc Township
for nearly its entire history; its studios were located near the corner of Hill and Center Roads for decades until moving to its current home on South Saginaw Street sometime in the late-1970s
or early-1980s
.
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...
broadcasting a religious format. Licensed to Flint, Michigan
Flint, Michigan
Flint is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the 2010 population to be placed at 102,434, making Flint the seventh largest city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Genesee County which lies in the...
, it first began broadcasting in 1946.
The original call letters were WFLM, but the station was purchased in December of 1946 by George W. Trendle and H. Allen Campbell, who changed the call letters to WTCB and made the station into Flint's NBC Radio Network affiliate. The calls had changed to WTAC by 1950, still under Trendle and Campbell's ownership. WTAC popularly stood for "WE THE AUTO CITY", referring to Chevrolet
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
and Buick
Buick
Buick is a premium brand of General Motors . Buick models are sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Taiwan, and Israel, with China being its largest market. Buick holds the distinction as the oldest active American make...
plants formerly located in Flint, but it actually stood for Trendle and Campbell.
Trendle and Campbell sold WTAC to a Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
-based group in 1954. Under the ownership of Radio Hawaii, Inc., WTAC shed its NBC affiliation to become one of Michigan's first Top 40 music stations in 1956. Its original program director was Mike Joseph, who would launch the legendary WKNR "Keener 13" in Detroit in 1963 and later went on to create the Hot Hits
Hot Hits
Hot Hits was a radio format created by consultant Mike Joseph in the 1970s. That concept, which helped spur the birth of what is now known as CHR, also revitalized the Top 40 format and would play a role in bringing the format to the FM band throughout the 1980s.The concept was to play only the...
format in the early 1970s. It was also owned for a time by the Chess brothers, who owned and operated Chess Records
Chess Records
Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
. "The Big 6" flourished as a Top 40 rock station during the 1960s and 1970s before changing to a country
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...
format in 1981. During the early and mid-1990s WTAC operated as a contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music is a genre of modern popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith...
station; the WTAC
WTAC
WTAC, owned by Superior Communications, began broadcasting in 2002 on 89.7 with 1kW. Officially licensed to Burton, Michigan, the station's transmitter was located in the Beecher area on the north side of Flint, Michigan until September 2011 when it moved south of Fenton, Michigan and increased its...
calls are now used on Smile FM
Smile FM
Smile FM is a network of 19 non-commercial, contemporary Christian radio stations. Most programming originates from studios in Williamston, Michigan and is relayed by an expanding number of stations throughout the state...
's 89.7 FM signal in the Flint area. Christian Broadcasting System purchased the station in 1997 and installed the current call sign and format.
The station has been based in Grand Blanc Township
Grand Blanc Township, Michigan
Grand Blanc Charter Township is a charter township of Genesee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 35,705 at the 2010 census. The city of Grand Blanc is situated within the township, but is administratively autonomous...
for nearly its entire history; its studios were located near the corner of Hill and Center Roads for decades until moving to its current home on South Saginaw Street sometime in the late-1970s
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
or early-1980s
1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
.