| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | |
| Frequency | 95.5MHz |
| Branding | K-Love |
| Programming | |
| Format | Christian contemporary |
| Network | K-Love |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
| Founded | September 20, 1960 (1960-09-20) |
First air date | April 10, 1961 (1961-04-10)[a] |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | K-Love |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 54778 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 31,000 watts |
| HAAT | 189 meters (620 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 41°26′32.2″N81°29′27.4″W / 41.442278°N 81.490944°W /41.442278; -81.490944 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | klove |
WKLV-FM (95.5FM) is anon-commercialradio station licensed toCleveland, Ohio, United States, airing aChristian contemporary format as the Cleveland affiliate forK-Love. Owned by theEducational Media Foundation (EMF)d/b/a K-Love Inc., the station servesGreater Cleveland and much of surroundingNortheast Ohio. WKLV-FM's transmitter is located inWarrensville Heights.
This station was built and signed on by Douglas G. Ovaitt Sr. and Jr. as WDGO in 1961. Sold twice in the following year, the second sale was to Cecil "Pat" Patrick and Robert Conrad, who relaunched the station in November 1962 as WCLV. Featuring afine arts andclassical music format, WCLV began originating live broadcasts of theCleveland Orchestra in 1965, which it and its successor stations have continued in the years since. The station also launched an annual fundraising drive marathon for the Orchestra in 1970, which was soon imitated in other markets. AnnouncerMartin Perlich became an early champion ofprogressive rock with the Friday nightPerlich Project, the first such program of its kind in Cleveland radio. SoloistA. Grace Lee Mims hosted a long-running weekly series devoted to contributions to the fine arts made by African Americans. WCLV became the home station forKarl Haas'Adventures in Good Music and theCity Club of Cleveland'sFriday Forum, establishing aradio syndication unit for those and other programs includingWeekend Radio, an extension of a Saturday night variety show Conrad hosted.
With studios and transmitter originally inMayfield Heights, the station upgraded its signal twice, moving facilities to the top of theTerminal Tower in 1968 and again to Warrensville Heights in 1986. Widespread consolidation in the late 1990s resulted in WCLV becoming the only commercial radio station licensed to the city that was still locally owned. To perpetuate the classical format, Conrad initiated a complex seven-stationintellectual property andasset swap in 2001, selling the95.5FM signal toSalem Communications in exchange for1420AM from Salem and104.9FM fromClear Channel. Upon taking over on July 3, 2001, Salem relaunched95.5FM as WFHM-FM, with a Christian contemporary format as "The Fish", whose airstaff included several veteran personalities formerly associated with secular radio formats. The station was sold to EMF in January 2025 and consequently switched to carrying K-Love.
Douglas G. Ovaitt, Jr., half of a father-son real estate developer team fromGeauga County (father Douglas Ovaitt, Sr. was also the mayor ofSouth Euclid[3]), filed paperwork with theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) on February 3, 1960, to construct a radio station at95.5MHz, and was granted a construction permit on September 20.[4] Ovaitt originally considered building an AM station inChardon, Ohio, but began pursuing an FM station after realizing the signal limitations of an AM facility. Named after both father and son, WDGO's transmitter and studios were co-located at Eastgate Shopping Center inMayfield Heights, where Ovaitt constructed several storefronts.[5] The95.5MHz frequency became available for broadcasting afterWCUY inCleveland Heights moved from95.3FM to92.3FM following a transmitter and power upgrade.[6]
WDGO took to the air on April 10, 1961, carrying afine art format focused onclassical music.Plain Dealer critic Russell W. Kane lauded their intent but questioned its commercial viability, saying, "... right or wrong, they are entering an area with laws just as inexorable as those of the real jungle, laws thatThe Law and Mr. Jones is finding tough to repeal or evade."[7] The station's classical programming was supplemented by concert recordings from the International Good Music service.[8] WDGO also featured a daily afternoon program oriented towards school-aged children.[7] Ovaitt Sr.'s wife ownedFrench poodles and included one of them on stationletterhead, giving rise to the transposed misidentification of "WDOG".[3]
The Ovaitts sold WDGO to Janssen Broadcasting Company on November 17, 1961;[9] Ovaitt, Jr. retained a minority ownership stake.[4] Under Janssen ownership, WDGO began broadcasting inmultiplexed stereo, and identified anymonaural recordings for the benefit of listeners tuning into the station with stereo equipment.[10] WDGO's stereo signal, however, encountered multiple weak spots due to the transmitter being in Mayfield Heights instead of a more centralized location likeSeven Hills orNorth Royalton.[11] WDGO was also the only FM station in Cleveland to broadcast classical music full-time, as other signals only programmed classical on a part-time basis.[10]
WDGO was sold for the second time in less than a year in August 1962 to Radio Seaway, Inc.,[4] a partnership headed by the station's sales manager Cecil K. "Pat" Patrick, and Robert Conrad, program director and co-founder ofDetroit classical stationWDTM.[12] Patrick considered buying the station but had no experience in programming, and was introduced to Conrad from his network of contacts.[13] Approved on October 18, 1962, the sale price was misidentified as $38,000,[14] which Patrick corrected to $80,000.[15]
Intending to create a new image for the station, Patrick and Conrad requested new WCLV calls; as Conrad told thePlain Dealer, "... some of the announcers have trouble saying WDGO, and some of our listeners address us as WDOG, and even WGOD."[16] Patrick and Conrad chose WCLV after realizing no other station in Cleveland was named after the city, and were inspired byWNYC inNew York City,WDET-FM in Detroit andWBUF inBuffalo, New York.[3] The WCLV calls took effect on November 1, 1962;[4] programming on that day included a Unity Center meditation,Broadwayshow tunes,folk music, and a recording ofRomeo and Juliet starringClaire Bloom andAlbert Finney.[17] Patrick and Conrad promised to maintain the existing classical format, along with adding more live programming and linking with New York stationWQXR-FM.[14] The station operated at a loss financially for the first four years under Patrick and Conrad, with both earning less money than the other staff, and operated with frugality.[18][19]
WCLV launched their signature program,Symphony at Seven, on October 5, 1964, withCleveland Trust as the title sponsor; Cleveland Trust's sponsorship was the largest such contract in the station's history to that point and it, along with the program, continues to this day through successor banks Ameritrust, Society Bank andKeyBank.[20]Heinen's became the title sponsor ofMorning at the Pops on February 4, 1965, and eventually the title sponsor for the eveningConcert Hall, the latter airing nightly over WCLV and its successor station through 2003.[21] TheCleveland Catholic Diocese leased a WCLVSCA subchannel beginning in 1965 to offer in-school instructional programming.[22] Commercials withjingles were generally rejected as they did not fit the image of the station.[18]
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Conrad and Patrick welcomed competition from other FM stations that carried classical music, believing it would improve all the stations and provide additional listenership, and successfully persuaded NBC to retain the format overKYW-FM when they retook ownership of the station as WKYC-FM.[23] This coincided with an overall move of classical from AM to FM; while two other FM stations still had classical by 1967, only WCLV featured live programming.[24] WCLV addedMetropolitan Opera radio broadcasts in 1969 afterWGAR dropped it, becoming the first FM-only affiliate in the Opera's network of AM stations.[25][b] The Opera broadcasts were mono-only until 1973, when the network began offering them in stereo;[28][29] the Opera continues to be heard over WCLV's successor station into the present day.[30] TheCity Club of Cleveland'sFriday Forum moved to WCLV on October 9, 1970, after WGAR also dropped it.[31] TheFriday Forum originated over WCLV and its successor station until 2008, when it moved toWCPN.[32]
The station's reception issues worsened in the mid-1960s, whenWLDM in Detroit (which also broadcast at95.5FM) underwent a power increase.[24] WCLV's transmitter was thus moved to downtown Cleveland'sTerminal Tower in 1968, with the antenna mounted on the tower'sflagpole; new studios were constructed in the tower's fifteenth floor.[33] Patrick estimated the new transmitter would add up to 300,000 potential listeners and improve reception both in downtown and to the west of Cleveland.[34] WCLV's transmitter height increased from 212 feet (65 m) at Eastgate to 752 feet (229 m) at the Tower,[35] but it came with a reduction in transmitter power output to 8.9 kW, and 21.9 kW verticaleffective radiated power, in order to protect WLDM.[4]
WCLV was among the first FM stations in the market to broadcast continuously through the overnight hours.[36] The Friday overnight slot took a much different tone with booth announcerMartin Perlich. A graduate ofColumbia University andUniversity of Chicago and a student atJuilliard School, Perlich debutedThe Perlich Project in late 1966, a mixture of classical withprogressive rock selections along with interviews, personal comments and editorials on events of the day.[37]The Perlich Project was one of the earliest such shows on commercial radio in Cleveland, as similar shows debuted over ethnic stationWZAK andTop 40 stationWIXY, both in the overnight hours.[38] Perlich also hostedAudition Booth, devoted to newer classical recordings, operated local music store chain Discount Records[39] and once conducted interviews with Orchestra directorGeorge Szell andPink Floyd in the same hour.[40] Perlich was dismissed from WCLV in October 1970 after growingfacial hair that ran counter to the Orchestra's public image, and subsequently joinedWNCR.[41][42]
WCLV started recording performances by theCleveland Orchestra in 1963,[18] and began airing the Orchestra's 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon concerts on November 1, 1965, both live andlive to tape[43] with Conrad as host and commentator. This followed similar moves made by thePhiladelphia Orchestra and theBoston Symphony Orchestra.[44] This marked a return to live radio for the Orchestra as WGAR originated broadcasts forCBS Radio from 1941 to 1962.[45][46][47] WCLV invested heavily in recording equipment atSeverance Hall, owing to the demands of then-director Szell.[18] Prior to the first broadcast, Conrad and Perlich co-anchored live coverage of the Orchestra's return to Cleveland from a tour in Europe and theSoviet Union.[48] The Orchestra immediately boasted affiliates in the United States and Canada, and on both commercial andnon-commercial educational stations; revenue generated from the tape rentals went to the Orchestra'spension fund.[49][50] Patrick led the drive to acquire the Orchestra, later saying, "I wanted people in the street to hear it. I thought I'd be doing something great for the arts. I never thought of syndication, but it exploded."[17] Conrad remained as lead commentator for the Orchestra broadcasts through the late 2010s, a record in American radio.[51]
Seaway Productions was established in 1981, with Dennis Miller—a former manager atWKSU-FM inKent—hired as syndication vice president.[52] Along with the Orchestra, WCLV syndicated broadcasts of theDetroit Symphony, theRoyal Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, theRotterdam Philharmonic and theSan Francisco Symphony, along with theFriday Forum.[53] A satellite network for program distribution was set up in conjunction withWFMT in Chicago; Seaway Productions had four syndication clients by 1981, which grew to 17 by 1992[17] and distributed programs to 550 stations by 1995.[52] WCLV also began producing and syndicatingAdventures in Good Music, whichKarl Haas created forWJR in Detroit,[54] on March 22, 1970.[55][56] It was, at its peak, one of the most-listened-to classical music programs in the world.[57] While Haas still considered WJR his flagship station as late as 1977, the program was largely recorded atCarnegie Hall and WCLV received all fan mail.[58] Haas continued producing new episodes ofAdventures in Good Music until his retirement in 2002, while reruns continued airing until 2007, two years after his death.[56]
WKSU-FM, which carried a mix of National Public Radio (NPR), classical, andjazz,[59] upgraded their signal to reach Cleveland to take advantage of a public radio vacancy in the market.[c] A feud between Conrad and WKSU general manager John Perry emerged in 1982; Conrad claimed a verbal agreement existed to provide WCLV with NPR programming includinga radio adaptation of the firstStar Wars film trilogy (which commercial stations could do due to an NPR rule change[60]) but was rescinded, Perry claimed no agreement was made and the NPR board rejected Conrad's request.[61][62] in response, Conrad pulled from WKSU theChicago Symphony, theMilwaukee Symphony andNew York Philharmonic,[63] threatened to pull the Metropolitan Opera, and WCLV aired promos promoting their commercial status.[61] WCLV also threatened to deny WKSU further broadcast rights to the Cleveland Orchestra.[60] Don Robertson of theCleveland Press criticized WCLV for both the feud with WKSU and their loosening of standards for advertising, considering the commercials "fatuous junk" and "so bad, they're unreal".[59] The dispute was largely settled at the end of 1982, with WKSU being allowed to continue airing the Cleveland Orchestra broadcasts, but on Saturday mornings.[62][64]
Conrad enacted a rule forbidding the playing of recordings withsopranos until 9 a.m. daily;[19][17] the "Conrad No Soprano Until 9 Rule" persisted into the early 2010s.[65] Another policy forbade recordings from recent composers during drive time hours out of concern they would alienate the audience.[66] ComposerDonald Erb took offense to this and to a remark by Conrad that modern composers are "speakingSwahili",[19] prompting Erb to distributebumper stickers reading "WCLV Kiwachosa" (WCLV is Boring).[66] After moving to Dallas to lead theAmerican Music Center, Erb denounced Conrad for "pompous contentiousness" in a newsletter editorial, while Conrad said in reply, "we are probably the only radio station in Ohio that plays Erb's music".[19] The station collaborated with the Cleveland Composer Guild in 1998 forNot The Dead White Male Composers Hour, showcasing music from active area composers; the humorous title was a direct nod toNot the Nine O'Clock News while also reflecting Conrad's sensibilities.[67]
WCLV became the first radio station in the region to utilizecompact discs for recordings in mid-1983, followed byWMMS and WKSU.[68] The station's studios were moved again toWarrensville Heights on September 30, 1986, in a $2 million investment. This originally included unveiling a new 470-foot (140 m) tower and power increase expected to improve reception to the west, east and south of Cleveland, particularly in the Akron area,[69] but technical issues delayed the transmitter move until later in 1987.[70] WCLV's tower, which also housed the mast for92.3FM in Cleveland Heights, was also opened up to rentals for other broadcasters; by 1992, up to 60 different antenna were mounted onto the tower, creating an additional revenue stream for Radio Seaway.[17]
In September 1995, WCLV won theNational Association of Broadcasters'Marconi Award for Classical Music Station of the Year,[71] followed days later by theGabriel Award for radio station of the year.[72] During theCleveland Browns relocation controversy, WCLV aired promos boasting they were "the radio home of the team that wins every time it plays, and will not move to Baltimore: the Cleveland Orchestra".[73] Tying to the start of the1996 Cleveland Indians season, WCLV featured aBach and Baseball marathon, combining works from Bach with classic baseball recordings and highlights.[74]
In 1970, WCLV began an annual on-air fundraiser for the Cleveland Orchestra, pre-empting regular programming for one weekend in favor of requested Orchestra recordings.[75][76] The first marathon raised over $30,000 in a 54-hour span.[77] Prior to this, any outstanding debt from the Orchestra was covered by board members who would draw names from a hat, and the board approached WCLV to consider an alternative.[78] WCLV was no stranger to such marathons: it devoted much of October 1970 to air recordings from George Szell after his death,[79] and aired a 17-day marathon of recordings fromLorin Maazel after he became Orchestra conductor in 1971.[80] Guest conductors and musicians during the marathons have ranged fromMitch Miller[81] toBobby McFerrin.[78]
The Orchestra fundraiser marathon quickly became a WCLV fixture and inspired similar fundraisers elsewhere,[82] in particularWCRB's efforts for the Boston Symphony.[81] By 1973, the Orchestra fundraisers were moved from the WCLV studios toWestgate Mall andSeverance Center.[83] Within the first 25 years of the fundraiser marathon's existence, WCLV raised up to $3.7 million total for the Orchestra.[84] Conrad told thePlain Dealer in 1971, "the Orchestra is to WCLV what theBrowns are to [then-radio flagship]WHK".[80]
On Saturday night, WCLV presented an eclectic program offolk,novelty music and comedy—primarilyBritish comedy—titledWCLV Saturday Night, hosted by Conrad;[85][86] it debuted on WDGO four weeks prior to the change to WCLV.[87] The program typically aired live on Saturdays and rebroadcast on Wednesdays asWCLV Saturday Night on Wednesday Afternoon, but the inverse occurred whenever Conrad emceed Saturday night Orchestra concerts atBlossom Music Center,[88] a practice that continued for nearly 25 years.[89] Area jewelry store chain owner Larry Robinson (who later became a radio station owner[90]), served as the program's title sponsor in 1965.[91] The show was credited for being the first on American radio to play recordings fromMonty Python,[92]The Goon Show andP. D. Q. Bach,[87] and was described as an "evangelistic lifeline for younger listeners" by theAkron Beacon Journal[93] and "has to be heard to be appreciated" by thePlain Dealer.[85]
WCLV Saturday Night spawned an hourlong syndicated version in 1982 titledWeekend Radio.[94] By 1990, Conrad retired the local program in favor of the hourlong show,[95] later telling thePlain Dealer, "my wife grew tired of being a Saturday night widow".[92]
From their relaunch as WCLV, the station boasted an airstaff that had significant stability.[17][96] Tony Bianchi befriended Conrad when the two worked together in Detroit[97] and was present for Conrad and Patrick signing the paperwork purchasing WDGO in 1962, but wasdrafted the next day.[98] Conrad's invitation to Bianchi was open-ended and he debuted on Labor Day 1964.[17] Bianchi's shift was dubbedGassenhauer in 1972 after themusical piece of the same name and represented the first major attempt for on-air talent to show personality,[99] which proved a ratings success.[85] Albert Petrak, who previously programmed KYW-FM/WKYC-FM, became WCLV's morning host in 1973, credited for increasing the station's visibility in mornings and known for his daily "up, up, up" exhortation to listeners.[100] Petrak left briefly in 1977 for a managerial role atWQED-FM, but returned in six months.[101] John Simna, who also joined WCLV in 1973, took over as music director from Petrak in 1977,[102] a role he continues to hold.[17][103] Simna also took over the weekend programJazz comes to WCLV in 1978 from original host Christopher Colombi.[104][105]
Wayne Mack, an announcer in Cleveland radio since 1931, joined WCLV in 1981;[106] initially hosting the late-evening program, he later helmedNoontime throughout the 1990s.[107] Mack also produced a perennial series ofbig band concert recreations—a concept he originated while at WDOK AM-FM and carried over to WCLV—filled withsound effects and detailed descriptions of the imaginary locations and guests, often fooling listeners into believing the concerts were real.[106][108] ThePress's Don Robertson equated Mack's stature to that ofWalter Cronkite, saying, "his voice is instantly recognizable; it has a calm and a benevolence that is positively buttery, its professionalism is wondrous to hear".[109] The station hired veteran newsman Hugh Danaceau in November 1980 to be their first news anchor;[110] Danaceau continued in this position until his death in 2003.[111] WCLV's unusual level of continuity among their airstaff resulted in Danaceau being described as "one of the newest hires" in 2000, nineteen years after his debut.[96]
In 1976, soloistA. Grace Lee Mims approached Conrad about hosting a show on WCLV devoted to contributions to fine arts, classical music and jazz made by African Americans, feeling it would accentuate the station's ethnic programming.[112]Black Arts debuted over WCLV on May 8, 1976.[113] Conrad offered her the show under the condition she hosted it for at least six months.[92][114] Mims also hosted the daily interview programArts Log[112] from 1980 to 2010. She continued to write, produce and hostBlack Arts over WCLV and its successor station for 43 years until her death in 2019.[115]
Rebecca Fischer joined WCLV in November 1979 as the station's first female announcer, moving to Cleveland fromKansas City after meeting Conrad at a fundraiser marathon there. Aside from a brief ten-month stint in Europe, Fisher became a fixture at the station[116][117] and took over as morning host in 1989 following Petrak's retirement, initiating their first major schedule change in 12 years.[118][119] Owing to family commitments, Fischer left the station in March 2000, prompting a nationwide search for her replacement.[120] Jacqueline Gerber succeeded Fischer asFirst Program host in April 2001,[121] a role she continues to hold.[122] Gerber's arrival coincided with Tony Bianchi's retirement, concluding for him a 37-year run at WCLV.[98] Mack retired from WCLV in 1998, but taped reruns of past shows continued until his death on October 15, 2000, at age 89.[123]
Bill O'Connell was named program director in early 1998, the second in its history and succeeding Conrad; under O'Connell, the station instituted the five-hourMonday Music Marathon, eschewing all commercials and most on-air announcements aside from the noonBBC World Service bulletin. The change ran contrary to other large-market classical stations that emphasized shorter pieces in the daytime.[124] By 2001, O'Connell became the afternoon drive host, succeeding Bianchi.[121]
Rapid consolidation in radio ownership took place throughout 1998 in Cleveland, punctuated by one transaction where three local operators collectively sold six stations toChancellor Broadcasting for a combined $275 million.[125] WCLV thus became the lone remaining commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland that was still locally owned. As Conrad told thePlain Dealer, "the glory days for radio in this town are over".[126] The station poked fun of their new distinction with print advertising that read, "when it's raining on the North Coast, only one Cleveland FM radio station owner actually gets wet."[127]
In 1989, 41 commercial radio stations in the United States carried a classical format.[128] By 2000, the number dropped to 33, and followed high-profile format switches by commercial classical stations in Los Angeles,[129] New York,[130] Chicago, Philadelphia and Detroit, in addition to a threatened switch in Miami.[131][132] Conrad told theMiami Herald "tens of millions" were offered by various groups for WCLV, but declined every time "... because WCLV is not a commodity, but a community service for the Cleveland Orchestra, theopera andballet. It also has longtime employees who'd have difficulty getting jobs in any other kind of radio. So why sell it? We make a very good living."[131] Conrad said in 1997 that while the station could generate more revenue with a more commercially accessible format, "we choose to be a classical music station ... it is a matter of our corporate will."[53]
On November 1, 2000, the 38th anniversary of WDGO's call sign change to WCLV, Radio Seaway announced the station'sintellectual property and format would be donated to a newly establishednonprofit organization.[133] To enable the donation, Radio Seaway sold WCLV'sbroadcast license toSalem Communications and purchased both the licenses to WHK (1420AM) from Salem andWAKS (104.9FM) fromClear Channel, which in turn purchasedthe98.1FM facility licensed toCanton from Salem. Conrad and Radio Seaway partner Rich Marschner negotiated between the two chains for two years[134] and saw the move as a means to perpetuate the classical format.[135] The nonprofit donation was heavily modeled after a similar one made by the owners ofKING-FM in 1994.[136]
When the donation was announced, the95.5FM license had anestimated value of $45 million (equivalent to $82.2 million in 2024), while the104.9FM license—a class A signal licensed toLorain[137] and with a tower inAvon[138]—was valued at $8 million (equivalent to $14.6 million in 2024).[133] It was later revealed to be a $40 million deal, with the WCLV Foundation receiving $18.5 million;[132] $3 million was used to pay offshareholder equity.[136] Conrad later explained, "we were paid a lot to move WCLV from 95.5 to 104.9".[92]Cleveland Foundation president Steven Minter lauded the donation as "generous and farsighted",[136] while industry analyst J.T. Anderton said Conrad "... gets his lifetime achievement award. He deserves it. He is an FM pioneer."[139]
Radio Seaway's original plan was to use1420AM as a simulcast of104.9FM,[140] but purchased the intellectual property andadult standards format ofWRMR (which was to be replaced on850AM with WKNR'ssports format and call sign) prior to consummation.[141] While generally regarded as a "frequency swap",[140] when the asset deals closed on July 3, 2001, WCLV changed format tocontemporary Christian music (CCM) as "95.5 The Fish" under the WHK-FM call sign, renamed again to WFHM-FM on August 16.[142] WAKS concurrently changed calls to WCLV-FM, bringing over the classical format intact and retaining all on- and off-air staff.[143][144] Radio Seaway ultimately donated WCLV toideastream, one of the partners behind the WCLV Foundation,[133] on November 1, 2011.[145]
Salem's installation of CCM on95.5FM followed the implementation of similar "Fish"-themed stations in Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta, with the brand alluding toIchthys, a traditional Christian symbol.[121] The move also returned the format to Greater Cleveland for the first time since May 1999, when Clear Channel changed104.9FM's format from CCM (under the WZLE calls) tocontemporary hit radio as WAKS.[146][147] The initial airstaff for "The Fish" included former WZLE operations manager Len Howser, along with secular radio personalities Dan Deely, Daune Robinson and Rob Schuler.[139] Sue Wilson, a veteran programmer best known for her tenure at secularadult contemporary WDOK, was named as program director; Wilson emphasized that WFHM's format would be "... positive, uplifting music, and definitely spiritual, but it's not churchy, it's not preachy".[121]
Robinson was replaced in 2002 by former Cleveland television news anchorRobin Swoboda; Swoboda's stint lasted for three years, leaving in 2005 due to family commitments.[148][149] Sue Wilson left as program director in 2006 to take the same role at country-formattedWQMX inAkron, Ohio.[150] Deely left in 2007[151] and was succeeded by Howser, who co-hosted the morning show for the remainder of The Fish's existence.[152][153]
In a multi-market transaction, Salem sold WFHM-FM and six other CCM stations in their portfolio toEducational Media Foundation (EMF) on December 30, 2024, for a combined $80 million. The sale was initiated to help Salem repurchase and pay off all remaining outstandingdebt.[154] WFHM was confirmed as the new market affiliate forK-Love on January 17, 2025.[155] The change took effect on February 1, resulting in the dismissal of the station's airstaff;[153]95.5FM became WKLV-FM in a call sign swap witha K-Love station inButler, Alabama.[156]
The sale to EMF,d/b/a K-Love, Inc., closed on March 20, 2025.[157]
WCLV (FM) April 1, 1960: 95.5 mc...
... The grocery chain continued to be a WCLV spot advertiser and sponsor ofConcert Hall through 2003.