 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Greater Cleveland |
| Frequency | 1420kHz |
| Branding | AM 1420 The Answer |
| Programming | |
| Format | Conservative talk |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
| Founded | August 26, 1921 (1921-08-26) |
First air date | March 5, 1922 (103 years ago) (1922-03-05) |
Former call signs |
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Former frequencies |
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Call sign meaning | First Station Manager, Howard K. Carpenter. |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 72299 |
| Class | B |
| Power | 5,000 watts |
Transmitter coordinates | 41°21′30.19″N81°40′2.46″W / 41.3583861°N 81.6673500°W /41.3583861; -81.6673500 |
| Translator(s) | 102.9 W275DF (Cleveland) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | whkradio |
WHK (1420kHz) is a commercialAMradio station licensed toCleveland, Ohio, carrying aconservative talk format known as "AM 1420 The Answer". Owned by theSalem Media Group, the station serves bothGreater Cleveland and theNortheast Ohio region as an affiliate for theSalem Radio Network. WHK's studios are currently located in the Cleveland suburb ofIndependence while the transmitter site resides in neighboringSeven Hills.[2]
Formally established in 1922 but borne out of experimental broadcasts by founder Warren R. Cox, WHK was the first licensed radio station to broadcast in Ohio and is the 15th oldest station still broadcasting in the United States.[3] Operated by Cox and then the Radio Air Service Corporation, WHK spent the 1940s and 1950s as the broadcast extension of daily newspaperThe Plain Dealer. Owned byMetromedia from 1958 to 1973, WHK signed on an FM adjunct which took on the identity ofWMMS in 1968 as one of the city's firstprogressive rock outlets, while WHK boasted a popularTop 40 format earlier in the decade led byJohnny Holliday. Purchased byMalrite Communications in 1973, WHK converted to acountry music format headlined byshock jockGary Dee,Joe Finan and, for a brief period,Don Imus. Flipping tooldies in 1984 andbusiness news in 1988, WHK and WMMS would be sold twice between 1993 and 1994, segueing tosports radio in the latter year. Purchased by Salem in 1996, WHK adopted aChristian radio format, then a complex radio station/intellectual propertyasset swap on July 3, 2001, sawWCLV owner Radio Seaway purchasing the license as a second incarnation ofadult standards WRMR (using the WCLV calls from 2001 to 2003). Repurchased by Salem in 2004, it has carried a conservative talk format with the restored WHK calls since.
In addition to a standardanalog transmission, WHK is relayed over low-power Clevelandtranslator W273DG (102.9FM) and is available online.
WHK received its first broadcasting station license in February 1922. However, the station's history dates back to a series of broadcasts begun in August 1921 over anamateur radio station operated by WHK's original owner, Warren R. Cox.[4]
Radio broadcasting in the United States started to become organized in the fall of 1919, largely due to improvements invacuum tube design. Many of the earliest programs originated from a mixture of amateur and experimental stations. The amateurs in the Cleveland area were particularly well organized, and in early May 1921 the Cleveland Radio Association announced that its members had inaugurated a weekly Friday evening series of live concerts, transmitted on the standard amateur wavelength of 200 meters (1500 kHz) by a rotating roster of local amateur stations.[5]
Warren R. Cox made his first contribution to the series on August 26, 1921,[a] operating amateur station 8ACS at 3138 Payne Avenue S. E.[b] This was the location of the Cox Manufacturing Company, which primarily produced electrical components for automotive markets and radio receiver construction. Cox's station was described as "one of the newer and most powerful in the city".[7]
The 8ACS programs were soon recognized as providing "exceptional wireless entertainment", and B. Dreher's Sons Company donated aSteinway grand piano for use in the station's studio.[8] In October the Cleveland Radio Association concerts moved to Thursday nights. Around this time Warren R. Cox added his own weekly concerts, on Sunday evenings. In December the Cleveland Radio Association ended the Thursday broadcasts, and switched to exclusively supporting the 8ACS Sunday concerts.[9]
Warren R. Cox's broadcasting activities gained special prominence during local elections held in the fall of 1921. The November 3 broadcast featured short speeches by six of the city's seven candidates for mayor.[10] In addition, theCleveland Plain Dealer made arrangements to relay vote totals on election night by telephone to 8ACS for broadcasting by the station.[11]
Initially there were no specific standards in the United States for radio stations making transmissions intended for the general public, and numerous stations under various classifications made entertainment broadcasts. However, effective December 1, 1921, theDepartment of Commerce, regulators of radio at this time, adopted a regulation that formally created a broadcasting station category, and stations were now required to hold a Limited Commercial license authorizing operation on wavelengths of 360 meters (833 kHz) for "entertainment" broadcasts or 485 meters (619 kHz) for "market and weather reports".[12] By the end of 1922 over 500 stations would be authorized nationwide.
At first this new policy was loosely enforced, but in early February 1922, the government's official monitor of radio in the region, S. W. Edwards,[c] contacted the local stations to reiterate that amateurs were no longer permitted to make entertainment broadcasts. Thus, on February 3, 1922, Edwin H. Poad, president of the Cleveland Radio Association, announced that his organization was ending the weekly broadcasts started nine months earlier.[13] This ban also ended the broadcasts over 8ACS, however it was soon reported that Warren R. Cox was making plans to apply for one of the new broadcasting station licenses in order to return to the airwaves.[14]
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WHK was issued its first broadcasting station license on February 21, 1922, for operation on the 360–meter entertainment wavelength, with Warren R. Cox listed as the licensee.[15] Prior to April 4, 1922, the Commerce Department issued three-letter call signs to most commercial radio stations;[16] the WHK call letters were randomly chosen and did not have any particular meaning.[d] According to one analysis, WHK was the second broadcasting station license issued for Ohio, and the 52nd in the United States,[18] and is Ohio's oldest surviving radio station, and 15th in the country.[3]
The station began broadcasting from the Radiovox Company,[19] which was located at the Stuyvesant Building on 5005 Euclid Avenue. WHK's debut broadcast, on Sunday night March 5, 1922, was advertised as a continuation of the suspended Cleveland Radio Association weekly concert series. Cox announced that, in addition to the Sunday schedule, he planned to broadcast Tuesday night concerts in conjunction with the Keith vaudeville organization, with additional programs on Thursday nights.[20] In July 1922 the station's transmitting power was reported to be 200 watts.[21] Later in the year the licensee name was changed to "Radiovox Company (Warren R. Cox)".[22]
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In May 1923 the U.S. government made additional broadcasting station transmitting frequencies available.[24] In late 1923 WHK was reassigned to1060kHz, which was followed by moves to1100kHz in early 1925 and1130kHz in 1927.[25]
WHK was sold to the Radio Air Service Corporation in October 1925.[26] In the following years, the station facilities underwent a series of moves, including 5105 Euclid Avenue, the Hotel Winton at 1010 Prospect Avenue (later the Hotel Carter), theStandard Building at St. Clair and Ontario, the top floor of theHigbee Company onPublic Square, and Carnegie Hall at 1220 Huron Road. By 1928, the station was located in the Engineers' Building at 1370 Ontario Street.[27]
On November 11, 1928, under the provisions of a major reallocation resulting from theFederal Radio Commission's (FRC)General Order 40, WHK was reassigned to1390kHz.[28] WHK became aCBS affiliate in 1930,[6] operating with 1,000 watts full-time.[25] WhenGeorge A. Richards establishedWGAR on December 15, 1930, the new station had to sign on using WHK's backup transmitter at the Standard Building.[29] On March 9, 1931, the station moved to theTerminal Tower, and celebrated with the live broadcast ofFaust from its auditorium.[27]
As of January 1, 1934, WHK was broadcasting with a daytime power of 2,500 watts and a nighttime power of 1,000 watts.[30] The station broadcast a full season ofCleveland Indians baseball games in 1936, with announcersJack Graney and Pinky Hunter.[27]
In 1939 the Radio Air Service Corporation sold WHK to the United Broadcasting Company, which also purchased WCLE, a station that had been broadcasting in Cleveland since January 5, 1927, and was currently transmitting on610kHz.[31] WCLE's studios were relocated to the Terminal Tower to join WHK, and the two stations were placed under common management.[32] WHK switched its network affiliation in 1937 fromCBS to theNBC Blue Network plus theMutual Broadcasting System, which had started three years earlier. In the 1940s WHK, like most Mutual affiliates, became a participant in network programming.Rhythm and Rhyme Time was a Saturday night band concert on Mutual that originated from the Terrace Room of the Statler Hotel through the WHK's facilities. In 1943, when the NBC Blue Network was sold toEdward Noble to eventually becomeABC, the Blue Network switched its Cleveland affiliate from WHK toWJW, leaving WHK with just Mutual. The Mutual network brought its popularQueen for a Day program to Cleveland Music Hall on April 5, 1946, for a two days of broadcast with local contestants chosen by WHK.[27]
On March 29, 1941, WHK, along with all the other stations on1390kHz, moved to1420kHz[25] as part of the implementation of theNorth American Regional Broadcasting Agreement.[33] In 1945 as the FCC began enforcing a rule limiting owners to a singleAM station in a market, United Broadcasting moved WCLE out of Cleveland toAkron[32] and changed its call sign to WHKK and its frequency to640kHz. (WHKK becameWHLO in 1962.) This in turn meant United could now use the vacated 610 frequency inColumbus, where it was assigned to WHKC, which had been broadcasting daytime-only on 640.[34] (WHKC becameWTVN in the 1950s).
In August 1946 WHK received an experimentalFM license, W8XUB, transmitting at107.1MHz; this station became WHK-FM at100.7MHz upon receipt of a commercial license.
WHK also obtained a construction permit for television station WHK-TV on Channel 19,[35] but this never made it on the air, due to the financial challenge of the time of launching aUHF station in aVHF market such as Cleveland.
WHK moved its studios in 1951 to 5000 Euclid Avenue, across the street from its first studio location, which it would occupy for 26 years. (This is presently the site of theAgora Theatre and Ballroom and Lava Room Recording.) In 1955, ownership was transferred to the Forest City Publishing Company, the parent company ofThe Plain Dealer. In May 1957, as part of the station's 35th anniversary celebration, WHK honored founder Warren R. Cox with "a small transistor radio and a plaque".[36]
The February 10, 1958, issue ofBroadcasting magazine reported that WHK AM/FM, along with the construction permit for channel 19, were "on verge of being sold", with the DuMont Broadcasting Corporation as the likely buyer.[37] The $700,000 deal for all three stations (equivalent to $7.63 million in 2024) was approved by the FCC by April,[38] with the company renaming itself as Metropolitan Broadcasting by July and again toMetromedia in 1961.[25][e] The new owners soon adopted a rock and rollTop 40 format. Morning manErnie Anderson was let go because he did not fit into the new format. Ironically, Anderson would later find local fame with hisGhoulardi character that would have been ideally suited as an early rock disk jockey. Pete "Mad Daddy" Myers, another early iconic rock DJ, was lured away from rivalWJW for a successful stint in WHK's early rock-and-roll years, before he left for New York.
By the early 1960s WHK was Top 40 powerhouse, adopting the slogan "Color Radio" and "Color Channel 14." The station soared with fast-talking deejays like Johnny Holliday, who broadcast from "the glass cage" at 5000 Euclid, and dubbed the station's echo-chamber reverberation its "stratophonic sound." The "Action Central" newsroom included young reportersTim Taylor and Dave Buckel. WhenThe Beatles made one of their North American tours in 1964, WHK outmaneuvered rival KYW to sponsor the Beatles appearance at Cleveland Public Auditorium on September 15, 1964. The station offered free tickets to listeners with an on-air promotion; the winners were selected in what is believed to be the first automated audience selection. Those receiving tickets were selected by anIBM computer.[40] In the mid-1960s, the WHK DJs adopted the name the "Good Guys" and included Joe Mayer. On the cover of The Beatles’Sgt. Pepper album, a doll wears a sweater emblazoned with "Welcome The Rolling Stones" and "Good Guys", a possible reference to the WHK DJs.[27]
Late in 1967, WHK stopped rocking to become "The Good Life Station," with easy-listening music and phone-in shows aimed at older listeners.[41] Possibly the biggest reason for the format change at WHK, was the pressure put on the station by newcomerWIXY, an AM station at 1260 which started playing top 40 music in 1966.
In 1968 the FCC mandated that FM sister stations could no longer duplicate their AM sister's programming, and WHK-FM adopted a newprogressive rock sound, one of a handful of commercial stations in the country to try that format. The callsign of WHK-FM was changed toWMMS on September 28, 1968.
From 1968 through 1984, WHK was the flagship station of theCleveland Browns radio network.Gib Shanley providedplay-by-play commentary for the majority of the Browns' run at WHK; he was succeeded byNev Chandler.Color commentary duties were first held byJim Graner, then Jim Mueller, and finallyDoug Dieken, who continues in that position to this day.[42]
Metromedia sold WHK and WMMS in November 1971 toDetroit–basedMalrite Broadcasting for $3.5 million (equivalent to $27.2 million in 2024); co-founder Milton Maltz had applied for a job at WHK in 1958 while awaiting approval to buildWTTF inTiffin, Ohio.[43] When the sale closed, Malrite moved its corporate headquarters to Cleveland.[44] WHK dropped the beautiful music in 1973 for "Cover Hits", a modifiedTop 40 format developed byMike Joseph featuring hit songsrecorded by different artists instead of the more well-known versions.[45] Despite a visible marketing and promotional effort, "Cover Hits" failed to catch on in theArbitron ratings in the Fall 1973 book, while ratings for WMMS doubled.[46]
Maltz originally intended to flip WMMS tocountry music[47] but rescinded those plans after the station's air talent, listeners,community activist Henry Speeth andCleveland councilmanDennis Kucinich lobbied in support of the progressive rock format.[48][44] Ultimately, it was WHK that flipped to country on March 16, 1974,[49] within two weeks of WNCR's format switch to country from Top 40.[50][51] Veteran personalityJoe Finan was originally placed in morning drive with the switch[52] but formerWERE hostGary Dee (Gary D. Gilbert) took over the slot in July 1975[53] after WERE switched to anall-news format.[54] Dee's addition moved Finan to middays, turning WHK into a combination country and talk format[55] and the lone country outlet in the market as WNCR flipped to beautiful music as WKSW.[56] After being fired fromNew York City'sWNBC for excessive drinking andabsenteeism in 1977,[57] WHK hiredDon Imus—who briefly hosted mornings onWGAR in 1971—for afternoon drive until WNBC rehired him a year later.[53]
The majority of attention and media coverage for the station, however, focused on the mercurialshock jock Dee. In one particular incident, Dee claimed "40 percent" of money raised during the annualMDA Labor Day Telethon went toJerry Lewis with the MDA keeping the other 60 percent; after finding out WHK took out newspaper advertisements apologizing for his claim, Dee resigned on-air but management refused to accept it.[58] Dee's volatile and public marriage withWEWS-TV anchor Liz Richards, which had the couple repeatedly trading insults on his show, ended after Dee's 1980 arrest ondomestic violence charges.[54] WMMS program directorJohn Gorman later recalled how Dee would typically conclude his show at 10 a.m., leave the studio, quietly stand against a wall and take deep breaths for a few minutes and eventually comeout of character.[53]
On February 14, 1977, WHK and WMMS moved their studios from 5000 Euclid Avenue to theStatler Office Tower nearPlayhouse Square, which originally housed WGAR and their FM adjunct WNCR from 1930 through the early 1970s.[59][60]
WHK's monopoly on country music ended when WKSW flipped back to country in April 1980[61] and WWWE also switching to country in December 1981.[62] All three stations struggled in the Arbitron ratings, with WHK and WKSW seeing slight declines and WWWE losing listeners.[63] The three-way battle also affected Dee's ratings, falling from first place to fifth.[64] Following a nearly month-long absence, WHK fired Dee on September 27, 1983, after a survey commissioned by Malrite showed that Dee's largely negative approach no longer appealed to listeners who felt more positive about Cleveland.[65] Prior to his firing, Dee only referred to himself by his birth name as a contract negotiation ploy, claiming that Gary Dee is "dead";[66] WHK was ultimately compelled to take out advertisements inThe Plain Dealer stating, "Gary Dee is gone for good."[67]
Dee's departure caused WHK's ratings to decline substantially against WKSW, while WWWE reverted to MOR in August 1983.[68] Conceding the country battle outright to WKSW,[69] WHK flipped tooldies on April 24, 1984, as "14K Solid Gold"[70] intended as complementary to WMMS and utilizing that station's existingrecord library, with WMMS calling it a "transistorsister".[71] Gorman, who helped oversee the launch of "14K", boasted that the station would play "full-service rock 'n' roll, and no wimpy stuff either, noBarry Manilow orBobby Sherman."[70] The station also carriedDr. Demento's syndicated show on weekends.[72] WHK's relationship with the Browns ended afterthe 1984 season when team ownerArt Modell attempted to move the radio rights to his own station,WJW (850AM)[73] and later sold WJW to purchase WWWE and WDOK.[74]
Following program director Bernie Kimble's departure forWNCX in 1986 (along with Gorman),[75] the station fired the majority of local air talent as February 1987 began, opting to useTranstar Radio Networks' "The Oldies Channel."[76] WHK fell to 19th place in the Cleveland Fall 1988 Arbitron ratings and 23rd place in Akron, symptomatic of music-oriented AM stations.[77] In a time-brokered arrangement with Belkin Productions, the station began breaking format on Saturday nights to airheavy metal.[78] On November 14, 1988, WHK switched to abusiness-themed format with Business Radio Network andNBC Talknet programming along with local news updates.[79] General manager Chuck Bortnick defined the format as "theWall Street Journal,Business Week magazine and theUSA Today money section all rolled into one"[77] whileAkron Beacon Journal radio critic Bob Dyer regarded WHK as "... (epitomizing) the longtime radio trend of 'narrowcasting'".[80] WHK started simulcasting the audio ofWJW-TV's 6 p.m. newscasts in mid-1990,[81] and along with WMMS, regained the Browns rights in 1991 in what was termed an "expensive" deal.[6]
WHK's format transitioned again totalk radio on August 10, 1992, when veteran local hosts Merle Pollis and Joel Rose joined the station in late-morning and afternoon drive.[82] In 1992, studios were moved again to theSkylight Office Tower as part of theTower City Center complex.[83]
Early in 1992, Malrite found itself unable to service its growing debt, withStandard & Poor's putting $115 million ofjunk bonds held by the company for downgrading.[84] By December of that year, trade publications began reporting on a possible merger between Malrite's radio group andShamrock Broadcasting—controlled byRoy E. Disney—and a potential re-sale of WHK and WMMS to former Malrite executive andWMJI owner Carl Hirsch.[85] WMJI had already formed a joint operating venture with WHK/WMMS that merged the station's marketing and sales staffs, but continued to be run autonomously.[86] The $300 million (equivalent to $653 million in 2024) Shamrock-Malrite merger, including the assumption of $165.5 million in Malrite debt, was announced in March 1993.[87] Pollis and Rose both left on October 1, 1993, after the Shamrock merger cleared, with WHK airing an all-syndicated lineup ofDoug Stephan,G. Gordon Liddy[88] andCharles Adler.[89]
The rumors of Shamrock spinning off WHK/WMMS to Hirsch came to pass on November 2, 1993, in a $12 million (equivalent to $26.1 million in 2024) deal.[86][90] As part of the deal, Hirsch transferred WMJI, which he had owned under the "Legacy Broadcasting" name, to OmniAmerica.[91] In announcing the deal, Hirsch spoke of restoring WHK by possibly installing an aggressive locally oriented news and talk format, stating, "what you have now on AM radio doesn't work".[86] Prior to the takeover, WHK/WMMS lost the Browns radio rights to bothWKNR andWDOK,[92][93] while Hirsch also openly floated the idea of flipping WHK back to country.[94]
None of WHK's employees were retained when the deal closed on April 15,[95] with the station continuing to run the all-syndicated talk lineup on a temporary basis. WHK flipped tosports radio on May 16, 1994, featuring Tom Bush, Les Levine,Rick Bay and WMJI sportscaster Tony Rizzo.[96] WHK's approach to the format was regarded as more loose and "fan-friendly" as opposed to WKNR, which WHK hosts openly criticized for being tightly programmed, rigid and sober.[97] Bush and Bay were reassigned to other roles by early July due to personal schedule conflicts[98] with Pat McCabe,Dan McDowell[99] and Ken Jurek being added to the lineup;[100] Jurek was eventually replaced by producer Ron Brines.[101] The station also signed up as an affiliate of theOhio State Sports Network.[102]
WHK struggled in the Arbitron ratings, with Levine as the highest-rated show but heavily outranked by both WKNR's Geoff Sindelar and WWWE'sMike Trivisonno.[100][101] WKNR had a stronger signal along with the Browns andIndians radio rights; by contrast, WHK held play-by-play rights to Ohio State,Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball, theCleveland Crunch andLumberjacksIHL hockey.[97] The Fall 1995 Arbitron ratings, influenced by the1995 World Series and theBrowns relocation controversy, showed WHK continuing to trail WKNR by substantial margins.[99] By February 4, 1996, WHK began simulcasting WMJI's morning show withJohn Lanigan, John Webster andJimmy Malone (whom Rizzo did sports reports for)[97] as part of a wide-ranging schedule realignment that also saw executives Phil Levine and Art Greenberg dismissed.[103] The station continued to airbrokered programming throughout the weekend, a practice WERE also embraced throughout the week.[104]
Following an attempted merger withCiticasters announced on August 28, 1995,[105] and called off by November 17,[106] rumors soon emerged of OmniAmerica divesting their Cleveland radio properties, potentially toClear Channel Communications.[107] On April 23, 1996, WMJI and WMMS were sold to WGAR-FM ownerNationwide Communications for $43.5 million (equivalent to $87.2 million in 2024)[108] andWOMX-FM in Orlando, Florida.[109] Two days later, WHK was sold toCamarillo, California–basedSalem Communications for $6.5 million (equivalent to $13 million in 2024).[110] Hirsch's divestments limited OmniAmerica's holdings to Florida along with the possibility of selling those stations and going into retirement, while Hirsch acknowledged that he had tried unsuccessfully to purchase other stations in Cleveland.[109]
Les Levine left radio to host a call-in show onSportsChannel Ohio, remarking that WHK's pending format change made the last few months at the station "just horrible".[111] All local programming was eliminated on June 28, 1996,[112] with Pat McCabe's final day documented byPlain Dealer staffers in a photo essay commemorating Cleveland's bicentennial year.[113] Syndicated sports talk aired asfiller until the sale closed on September 2, 1996, when Salem instituted aChristian radio format; the new ownership also announced plans to upgrade WHK's Seven Hills transmitter site.[111] Salem purchased WHLO and Canton-basedWTOF-FM fromMortenson Broadcasting that October,[114] with WTOF-FM becoming WHK-FM (98.1), a full-time WHK simulcast. Parma-licenseddaytimerWCCD was purchased by Salem in March 1997.[115] Salem later purchasedWRMR (850AM) and WKNR on May 6, 2000, as part of a court-ordered divestiture to complete Clear Channel's merger into AMFM, Inc.[116]
In addition to the station's regular lineup of taped sermons and Christian music, nationally syndicated area pastorAlistair Begg[117] aired daily on both WHK and WHK-FM.[118] In October 1997, both stations broadcast live from the "Stand in the Gap" rally held byPromise Keepers.[119]
WHK was one of sevenNortheast Ohio radio stations involved in a complex exchange on July 3, 2001, between three radio companies.[120][f] Announced on November 1, 2000,WCLV (95.5FM) parent Radio Seaway reached an agreement to donate the assets of WCLV to anonprofitfoundation; in order to finance the deal, Radio Seaway sold the station's95.5FM license to Salem and purchased the licenses forLorain's104.9FM from Clear Channel and1420AM from Salem, while Salem sold WHK-FM's license to Clear Channel.[121] Negotiations between Salem, Clear Channel and Radio Seaway had been ongoing for nearly two years.[122] Radio Seaway's original plan for1420AM was to simulcast theclassical programming originated from104.9FM, which was weaker than the original95.5FM signal and centered primarily around Cleveland's western suburbs.[123]
Salem retained WHK's format and call letters and announced plans on May 17, 2001, to transfer them to1220AM in place of WKNR, simultaneously transferring WKNR's call sign and sports format from1220AM to850AM, displacing WRMR'sadult standards format entirely.[124] Despite WRMR still having respectable ratings in the 12+ demographic, the format struggled throughout the 1990s in the 25–54 demographic—seen by agencies as the most lucrative[125]—and had a core demographic of 65 and older.[124] Ultimately, Radio Seaway agreed to purchase theintellectual property of WRMR, including the station's music library and some equipment, for an undisclosed fee on May 31, 2001, and announced that1420AM would adopt the format but with the WCLV call sign.[126] Acknowledging the signal weaknesses of104.9FM to the east of Cleveland, Radio Seaway arranged a partial simulcast for WCLV-FM programming withPainesville stationWBKC.[127]
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In announcing the format change—reported on as "a new version of WRMR"—Radio Seaway billed WCLV's format as "classic pop".[126] The station placed an emphasis on older standards from the 1930s and 1940s, along with assortedshow tunes, in an attempt to make the format hold a more sophisticated sound along the lines of WCLV-FM's classical format.[128] In response to WRMR's format attracting older demos, Robert Conrad, WCLV's co-founder and president, said, "the people who grew up withBach aren't around anymore either."[126] The entirety of WRMR's air talent was retained for WCLV except forBill Randle and Rob Schuler; Randle joined WCLV in 2002,[129] while Schuler stayed with Salem asWFHM-FM's midday host.[127] Jim Davis, WRMR's operations manager since 2000,[124] again both programmed and assumed on-air duties.[130]
The long-runningIrish Hour with Gerry Quinn, a WRMR staple, also made the move to WCLV on Sunday mornings. WCLV-FM news director Hugh Danaceau also did live drive-time newscasts on the AM station until his death in 2003.[131] Many of WCLV-FM's long-running specialty shows, includingWeekend Radio, theCity Club of Cleveland's weekly forum, andFootlight Parade were also aired;[130]Footlight Parade host Bill Rudman also hosted a Saturday afternoon program for the AM station.[132]
On January 1, 2003, WCLV's call sign was changed to WRMR, reinforcing the station's link to the former WRMR at850AM and to resolve confusion between it and WCLV-FM.[133]
Rebranded as "The Songs You Love", WRMR's music programming reverted to the adult standards format, again placing an emphasis on pop music and contemporary ballads from the 1950s and 1960s.[134] In November 2003, WRMR's lineup significantly changed: Ted Alexander replaced Ted Hallaman in the morning slot,[135] WCLV staffer John Simna assumed the mid-morning slot and Jim Davis and Carl Reese were moved to the afternoon and evening slots, respectively.[136]
Despite these changes, Radio Seaway sold the station back to Salem on July 6, 2004, for $10 million (equivalent to $16.6 million in 2024).[137] WRMR had experienced an overall loss in listenership and advertising revenue so significant that Robert Conrad said, "we gave (the standards format) three years, but unfortunately it's dying all across the country", conceding WRMR had become a financial liability for WCLV.[136] The sale was indicative of the adult standards format fading from terrestrial radio, having fallen from a peak of 595 stations nationwide in 1999 to 457 stations in 2004.[134] WRMR's sale and pending format change was made more poignant as Bill Randle died five days later, on July 11, 2004, at the age of 81.[138]
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Salem took over WRMR vialocal marketing agreement on July 13, 2004, changing the station's format toconservative talk,[139] assuming a format WCCD had adopted in early 2003.[140] While branded as "WHK"[137] and reported on as "WHK moving back to 1420 on the dial",[139] the WRMR call sign stayed until April 5, 2005, when the sale was consummated;[136] WHK then changed their calls toWHKW, allowing the WHK calls to be restored on1420AM.[141] While WHK's conservative talk format was at launch entirely syndicated via theSalem Radio Network,[139] a local program hosted by area personality Bob Frantz was added in 2015.[142][143] WHK was rebranded as "The Answer" on April 15, 2013, a slogan used by many Salem-owned conservative talk stations.[144]
Aside from Frantz's local late morning show, the bulk of the weekday lineup featuresSalem Radio Network conservative talk programming,Bloomberg Radio in early mornings and daily commentaries fromBill O'Reilly.[145] Brokered programming makes up the majority of the station's weekend lineup,[146] and WHK serves as the Cleveland affiliate forNotre Dame Fighting Irish football.
WHK is additionally relayed over the following low-power FM translator:
| Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | HAAT | Class | Transmitter coordinates | FCC info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W275DF | 102.9 FM | Cleveland | 143930 | 50 | 9 m (30 ft) | D | 41°23′36.8″N81°39′15.7″W / 41.393556°N 81.654361°W /41.393556; -81.654361 (W275DF) | LMS |
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