| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Metro Detroit |
| Frequency | 560kHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | The Word AM 560 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Christian talk and teaching |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WCHB,WMUZ,WMUZ-FM | |
| History | |
First air date | July 12, 1956; 69 years ago (1956-07-12) |
Former call signs | WMIC (1956–59) WQTE (1959–75) WHND (1975–96) WLLZ (1996–2003) |
Call sign meaning | TheWoRD DetroiT |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 25083 |
| Class | D |
| Power | 500watts day 14 watts night |
Transmitter coordinates | 41°53′28″N83°25′39″W / 41.89111°N 83.42750°W /41.89111; -83.42750 (day) 42°27′13″N83°09′50″W / 42.45361°N 83.16389°W /42.45361; -83.16389 (night) |
| Translator | 107.1 W296DY (Detroit) |
| Repeater | 103.5 WMUZ-HD3 (Detroit) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | wrdt560 |
WRDT (560AM) is acommercialradio stationlicensed toMonroe, Michigan, and servingMetro Detroit. It is owned byCrawford Broadcasting and it broadcasts aChristian talk and teachingradio format. Thestudios and offices are on Capitol Avenue near Burt Road in the Weatherby section ofDetroit.
By day, WRDT is powered at 500watts using adirectional antenna. But at night, to prevent interference to other stations on560 AM, it reduces power to only 14 watts. The daytimetransmitter is on Vineyard Road in Monroe.[2] The nighttime transmitter is on Radio Plaza inFerndale. It broadcasts in the daytime usingHD Radio technology.[3][4][5] The nighttimetower is located inRoyal Oak Township, and is shared with several Detroit area full power commercial FM stations, namelyWDVD,WYCD,WMGC-FM andWCSX.[6]
Programming is also heard on 99-wattFM translatorW296DY at 107.1MHz and on the thirddigital subchannel ofWMUZ-FM.[7] The translator is located along the Ferndale- Hazel Park border on Woodward Heights, and is co-located with the broadcast facility of sister stationWCHB 1340 AM andAudacy ownedWOMC 104.3 FM. The translator has a highly directional antenna and provides coverage limited to the areas ofFerndale,Royal Oak, andOak park, communities within the immediate vicinity of its nighttime transmitter. TheWMUZ-HD3 simulcast provides a 24-7 FM-like quality signal to the entire Detroit Metro area.
WRDT calls itself "The Word AM 560, Detroit's Christian Talk." It uses abrokered programming system, where hosts buy time on the station and may use their programs to seek donations to their ministries. National religious leaders heard on WRDT includeAlistair Begg,Chuck Swindoll,Jim Daly andAdrian Rogers.
Crawford Broadcasting also owns three other religious stations in the Detroitradio market: 1200WMUZ (AM), which also has a Christian talk and teaching format; 103.5WMUZ-FM, which playsContemporary Christian music and 1340/96.7WCHB, which has anurban gospel format.
The stationsigned on the air on July 12, 1956; 69 years ago (1956-07-12). The originalcall sign was WMIC, which stood for the owner, the McIntyre Broadcasting Company. It featured a block programmed variety format, including some earlyrock and roll shows.
In 1959, the station was purchased by Dick Jones, Ross Mulholland and the Brink family, and its call letters were changed to WQTE. Originally, WQTE aired what would now be called anAdult Contemporary music format, but in 1960 the station made a shift.
WQTE began playing a teen-orientedTop 40 format, dubbing itself "Cutie Radio" and "Fabulous 56." It issued a weekly music survey called "The Cutie Music Meter." The Production Director was Bob Bennett, who later became the General Manager ofBob Hope's radio stationWBMJ inSan Juan, Puerto Rico. WQTE personalities during this time includedTom Clay (who emceed popular dances for the station atCobo Hall), and Ed McKenzie, best remembered to Detroit audiences as "Jack the Bellboy" onWJBK radio in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Also heard on WQTE during this time was Ralph Binge and Eddie Chase.
After a year of competing against rival Top 40 stations WJBK,WXYZ,WKMH and, to a lesser extent,CKLW, for the ears of Detroit's teen audience, WQTE gave up on Top 40.
WQTE flipped to anEasy Listening/Middle of the Road (MOR) format, becoming a modest success. The morningdrive time announcer was Roy Blair, who later joinedWJBK-TV. In 1974,Greater Media acquired WQTE and new plans for 560 AM.
Greater Media switched WQTE from Easy Listening/MOR toOldies. It was a memory of WQTE's early Top 40 years, playing the hits of the 1950s and 1960s as "Honey Radio." It beganshadowcasting the Oldies format heard on WHNE 94.7 FM. The AM station's call letters were changed to WHND on March 28, 1975. "Honey Radio" was one of the first all-oldies stations in the nation and specialized in music from the first generation of rock and roll includingdoo-wop hits.
Honey Radio featured aplaylist incorporating records that never made, or scored low on, the national charts but were hits in the Detroit market. WHND, like its FM counterpart, was completelyautomated in the first few years, using asyndicated format fromDrake-Chenault called "Classic Gold." But the station went live and local in 1980 under the guidance of consultantPaul Christy.
It took a few years for everything to gel, but by 1987, "Honey Radio" had become not only an oldies station, but a re-creation of the sound of early 1960sTop-40 radio. Oldies fans enjoyed WHND'sdisc jockeys, whom they perceived to be as passionate about the music as they were. The DJs also had a strong community presence, with frequent remotes and "cruise" broadcasts around the area.
Initially, "Honey Radio" programming was also heard on sister station WHNE-FM 94.7, but in 1976, Greater Media changed format of the FM toSoft Adult Contemporary as "Magic 94.7 WMJC." (94.7 is now owned byBeasley Broadcast Group asClassic rockWCSX.) "Honey Radio" continued as a standalone format on AM 560 for almost two more decades.
WHND picked up competition from a number of FM oldies stations during the late 1980s, includingWKSG 102.7,CKLW-FM 93.9 andWOMC 104.3, with WOMC eventually coming to dominate in the format. As oldies fans increasingly tuned to FM stations, WHND's ratings fell. The station dropped its local programming and switched toSatellite Music Network's "Kool Gold" format.
On December 2, 1994, "Honey Radio" came to an end, as Greater Media began tobroker time on the station to local Spanish-language broadcasters. On April 1, 1996, WHND changed its call letters to WLLZ, picking up the call sign dropped by Detroit's 98.7 FM after its change fromAlbum Rock toSmooth Jazz asWVMV. WLLZ 560's format remained brokered Spanish for another year.
In June 1997, Greater Media sold WLLZ to Crawford Broadcasting, which changed the format to Christian Talk and Teaching, asAM 560, The WMUZ Word Station. AM 560 did not change its real call sign to WMUZ but it used this positioner to tie the AM station to Crawford's flagshipContemporary Christian outlet, WMUZ-FM 103.5. The AM station's call letters were changed to WRDT on August 11, 2003. The station remained inAM Stereo even after the end of the oldies format.
TheWHND call letters are now used by aWisconsin Public Radioclassical music and news station inSister Bay, Wisconsin. The WLLZ call sign was reassigned to an LP (low power) TV station in theTraverse City area shortly after AM 560 dropped them. Then in 2019, they were picked up byiHeartMedia for itsclassic rock station at 106.7 in Detroit, now known asWLLZ.
In early 2018, WRDT's programming began to be simulcast onFM translator W296DY at 107.1 MHz. However, on April 13, 2018,Cumulus Media filed a complaint with theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding interference with the signal of the company'sAnn Arbor-based stationWQKL, which also broadcasts at 107.1 FM. After operating for a short period at reduced power, Crawford Broadcasting took W296DYsilent on April 24, 2018.
Crawford Broadcasting did some work on the translator. The power was reduced to 99 watts and adirectional antenna was installed to minimize interference with WQKL. The translator was returned to the air later in 2018.
Tower Collapse
On June 9, 2025, while farm work was being done in the field where WRDT's daytime transmitter and towers reside, a farm tractor snagged aguy wire on one of the four towers on the site, causing the tower to collapse and temporarily taking WRDT off the air. No injuries occurred from this incident. Crawford Broadcasting afterward filed aSpecial Temporary Authority with the FCC (which was later approved) to temporarily broadcast from its separately located nighttime transmitter site full time, at 125 wattsnon-directional during daytime hours while maintaining its ordinary nighttime signal. After insurance claims are processed, WRDT planned to rebuild the tower and resume daytime transmissions from that site in the future.[8] By November 2025, normal transmissions have resumed from the Monroe facility.
