| SimulcastsWGLIHancock | |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Marquette, Michigan |
| Frequency | 970kHz |
| Branding | The Rockin' Eagle |
| Programming | |
| Format | Active rock |
| Affiliations | Detroit Lions Radio Network |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Native American Tribe |
| WCUP,WGLI,WMQT | |
| History | |
First air date | June 26, 1959; 65 years ago (1959-06-26) (as WJAN) |
Former call signs |
|
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 64504 |
| Class | D |
| Power | 250watts day 62 watts night |
| Translator(s) | 106.9 W295CX (Marquette) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | WZAM Online |
WZAM (970AM) is anactive rock formatradio station licensed toIshpeming, Michigan, United States.
Tri-City Broadcasters, Inc. received aconstruction permit to build a new radio station in Ishpeming on February 25, 1959, to operate with 5,000 watts duringdaylight hours only.[1]: 6 The stationbegan broadcasting as WJAN on June 26, 1959.[3] Raymond and Joyce Blomquist ran the station until January 22, 1964, when it was foreclosed upon by radio equipment manufacturer Gates Radio Co. and shut down by county sheriffs.[4] The station'sCBS Radio affiliation went toWDBC six months later.[5]
A receiver was appointed for the company, and the station was sold out ofbankruptcy to Canyon Broadcasters in January 1965.[1]: 9 Canyon's owner, Frank Blotter, had become involved with the station right before it folded. Renaming it WCKD, he confronted the task of putting the station back into service. All that remained after Gates's equipment was seized was the antenna structure, requiring almost every necessary piece of equipment to be purchased. It would not be until August 30, 1965, that WCKD signed on the air.[6] Under Canyon, the station continued to struggle as a daytime-only station with a full-time competitor in a small town, losing money. A series of violations over operations after sunset and before sunrise, forbidden for daytime-only radio stations, would end up almost costing Blotter in another business venture. Blotter blamed the confusion on changes that resulted from theUniform Time Act; the Upper Peninsula moved from year-roundEastern Standard Time to year-roundCentral Standard Time (CST).[7] However, the license specified operating hours in CST. In 1971, aFederal Communications Commission (FCC) hearing examiner overturned an initial decision favoring his application to build a station inElmhurst, Illinois.[7] Blotter's station application was ultimately granted when the commission ruled the time zone confusion a misunderstanding and not an "intentional disregard" for regulations.[8]
Taconite Broadcasting acquired the station and changed thecall letters to WUPY in 1971.[1]: 12 A newtalk format was instituted, copying what Taconite's owners—Robert Olson and William Blake—had successfully done atWMPL inHancock; annual billings soared from $30,000 to $180,000.[9]
By 1994, when Olson sold his stake in Taconite Broadcasting to Blake, WMVN was airing areligious format.[10] This had changed to asimulcast ofsisterWMQT before WMVN became WZAM with anall-news format from theAssociated Press in 1996.[11] Taconite Broadcasting itself would be sold in 2005 to a company of the same name controlled by Thomas Mogush, who already owned 30 percent of the firm but became sole owner after Blake's death.[12] Mogush flipped the station from news tosports using programming fromESPN Radio.[13]
Atranslator was added in 2013 to give WZAM FM coverage for the first time.[14]
Effective May 31, 2022, Taconite Broadcasting sold WZAM, sister station WMQT, and translators W227CJ and W295CX to theKeweenaw Bay Indian Community Native American Tribe for $400,000.
In late 2022, the station flipped to a rock format, and became known as "The Rockin' Eagle", simulcasting sister stationWGLI.[15]
46°30′20″N87°32′24″W / 46.50556°N 87.54000°W /46.50556; -87.54000