| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Champaign–Urbana |
| Frequency | 1400kHz |
| Branding | News Talk 1400 & 93.9 DWS |
| Programming | |
| Format | News-talk |
| Network | CBS News Radio |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | January 24, 1937 (1937-01-24) |
Call sign meaning | David W. Stevick (publisher ofNews-Gazette) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 14961 |
| Class | C |
| Power | 1,000 watts unlimited |
Transmitter coordinates | 40°5′4.1″N88°14′53.2″W / 40.084472°N 88.248111°W /40.084472; -88.248111 |
| Translator | 93.9 W230CW (Champaign) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | www |
WDWS (1400AM) is acommercial radio station inChampaign, Illinois, calling itself "Newstalk 1400 & 93.9FM DWS." It airs anews/talkradio format and is owned byThe News-Gazette, the primary daily newspaper in theChampaign-Urbana Metropolitan Area. The radio studios and offices are at the newspaper's headquarters on Fox Drive in Champaign.
WDWS is powered at 1,000 watts around the clock using anon-directional antenna. Thetransmitter is on South Neil Street (U.S. Route 45) at West Windsor Road.[2] WDWS provides at least secondary coverage to much of east-central Illinois, as far west asDecatur andBloomington-Normal, due to the area's excellent ground conductivity. Programming is also heard on 250-wattFM translatorW230CW at 93.9MHz.[3]
WDWS airs a mix of local news, talk, agricultural reports and sports shows along withnationally syndicated programs. A local weekdaydrive time program,The DWS Morning Show, is hosted by Dave Gentry and C.W. Greer. In late mornings, Brian Barnhart hosts the long-running call-in show,Penny for Your Thoughts. In late afternoons, Scott Beatty hostsSports Talk, with a focus on theIllinois Fighting Illini teams. Weekday syndicated programs includeThe Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show; Markley, Van Camp and Robbins;CBS Eye on The World with John Batchelor;Red Eye Radio andAmerica in the Morning.
On weekends, speciaty shows are heard on health, money, gardening, home repair, technology and sports. Syndicated programs includeThe Kim Komando Show,The Money Pit Home Improvement Radio Show,The Ramsey Show withDave Ramsey,Face The Nation,Meet The Press, theCBS News Weekend Roundup andFox Sports Radio. Most hours begin with an update fromCBS News Radio.
WDWS andsister stationWHMS-FM are theflagship stations forIllinois Fighting Illini football and basketball.Chicago White Sox baseball games also air on WDWS. In addition, the station carries Fox Sports Radio programs on weekends.
WDWSsigned on the air on January 24, 1937. It was the area's first commercial radio station;WILL, the non-commercial radio station of the University of Illinois, dates its start to the 1920s.
David W. Stevick, publisher ofThe News-Gazette, had applied for a license in 1935, and his wife Helen and daughter Marajen continued the project. They named the station WDWS in his honor. In 1937, WDWSaffiliated with theCBS Radio Network; it carried CBS's line up of dramas, comedies, news, sports, soap operas, game shows andbig band broadcasts during the "Golden Age of Radio".
In 1949, WDWS added an FM station at 97.5 MHz. For most of its early years, WDWS-FMsimulcast the programming of WDWS AM. In 1988 it switched itscall sign toWHMS-FM to establish a separate identity.
WDWS and WHMS-FM are theflagship stations forIllinois Fighting Illini football and basketball games, a role that WDWS has held throughout its history. Longtime sports director Jim Turpin also doubled as the radio voice of the Illini from 1960 until 2002. WDWS also airs the Illini women's basketball, volleyball, and baseball games exclusively.
WDWS was the east central Illinoisnetwork affiliate for theSt. Louis Cardinals baseball broadcasts from when it signed on until 2010. WDWS broadcast theChicago Cubs in 2011, however Cubs games moved toWGKC in 2012. WDWS later became an affiliate of theChicago White Sox Radio Network.
WDWS has been a CBS Radio Network affiliate for its entire history, except for a period from 2001 to 2009 when it was affiliated withABC News Radio. The station carriedThe Rush Limbaugh Show from 1997 until his death in 2021. Limbaugh's replacement,The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show is now heard in middays.The Sean Hannity Show was added in 2009.
WDWS's morning program is called "Penny for Your Thoughts." The show, formerly hosted by Jim Turpin, and later by Brian Barnhart, is known for its unique open-line call-in format.
In October 2021, WDWS begansimulcasting onFM translator W230CW at 93.9 MHz and rebranded itself as "Newstalk 1400 & 93.9FM DWS."