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WATZ
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| WATZ | |
 |
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| City of license | Alpena, Michigan |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | [1] |
| Branding | NewsTalk AM 1450 |
| Slogan | The Talk of Alpena |
| Frequency | 1450 kHz |
| First air date | November 1946 |
| Format | News-Talk |
| Power | 1,000 watts |
| Class | C |
| Owner | Midwestern Broadcasting Company |
| Sister stations | WATZ, WATZ-FM, WBCM, WCCW, WCCW-FM, WCZW, WJZQ, WRGZ, WTCM, WTCM-FM |
| Website | http://www.watz.com/ |
| WATZ-FM & WRGZ | |
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| City of license | WATZ-FM: Alpena, Michigan WRGZ: Rogers City, Michigan |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | WATZ-FM: [2] WRGZ: [3] |
| Branding | WATZ |
| Slogan | Today's Country |
| Frequency | WATZ-FM: 99.3 MHz WRGZ: 96.7 MHz |
| First air date | WATZ-FM: unknown WRGZ: 1983 |
| Format | Country |
| Power | WATZ-FM: 17,000 watts WRGZ: 42,000 watts |
| Class | WATZ-FM: C2 WRGZ: C2 |
| Callsign meaning | WRGZ: Rogerz City |
| Former callsigns | WATZ-FM: none WRGZ: WVXA (4/1/88-5/30/06) WMLQ (3/5/84-4/1/88) WNSR (1/9/84-3/5/84) WOEA (7/19/83-1/9/84) |
| Owner | Midwestern Broadcasting Company |
| Sister stations | WATZ, WATZ-FM, WBCM, WCCW, WCCW-FM, WCZW, WJZQ, WRGZ, WTCM, WTCM-FM |
| Website | http://www.watz.com/ |
WATZ is a group of three radio stations based in Alpena, Michigan. WATZ (1450) is a 1,000 watt news/talk station. WATZ-FM (99.3) is a 50,000 watt country station and is the flagship of the group. Its signal is repeated by 42,000 watt WRGZ (96.7) in nearby Rogers City. All three stations are owned by Midwestern Broadcasting Company.
Contents |
WATZ-AM signed on the air in November, 1946 as a full-service local radio station and was, for many years, the only broadcaster in Alpena. In the late 1960s, WATZ-FM signed on as an adult contemporary station at 93.5 FM. By this time, the format of WATZ-AM was primarily country. In 1988, the format of WATZ-FM was changed to country and the signal moved to 99.3 so the station could boost its power from 3,000 to 50,000 watts. For the next several years, WATZ-FM and WATZ-AM simulcasted the same programming. In the mid-90s, WATZ-AM was broken off from WATZ-FM and given its current news/talk format. WATZ-FM became a 24-hour broadcaster in 1999, using a satellite feed from 11 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. Prior to this, the station went off the air at 1 a.m.
WRGZ began as the 26,000 watt WMLQ, "Mello-Q", an adult contemporary station at 97.7 FM, in 1984. The station went through numerous changes during the 1990s, including a move to the current 96.7 frequency and a long-running adult standards format as "Silver 97." In 1998, the station was purchased by Xavier University in Cincinnati and converted into a public radio station. It became a repeater of WVXU, the public radio station operated by the university, and its call letters were changed to WVXA.
In August 2005, WVXA was sold to Cincinnati Public Radio, although it continued to serve as a repeater of WVXU. At the same time, the station's power was increased to 42,000 watts. In March 2006, Midwestern Broadcasting purchased the station. After the sale was closed the following May, its call letters were changed to WRGZ and it began repeating WATZ.
WATZ-FM remains locally owned and operated by the same company that founded it in 1946. All of its programming from 5:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays and from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends is broadcast from the station’s studios in downtown Alpena.
Steve Wright is the station’s operations and programming director, with Susie Martin serving as music director. The station sponsors a listener appreciation concert at Alpena’s "Brown Trout Festival" each summer and also sponsors a country concert at the Alpena County Fair every year.
Legendary WATZ air personality (and Michigan Country Music Hall of Famer) Don Parteka]was a member of the air staff at WATZ from 1968 until his death in 2005, most recently serving as host of the station's popular Sunday polka show Sunday In Poland, as well as weekend features Country Gold and Gospel Music Time.
Another famous alumnus of WATZ is University of Michigan football announcer and WJR talk show host Frank Beckmann, who started his career at WATZ in the early 1970s.
(listed alphabetically)
- April Ahlgren - news anchor
- Conrad Bruski - afternoon personality (2:00 PM to 6:00 PM)
- Bob Edwards - evening personality (6:00 PM to 11:00 PM)
- Bruce Johnson - news director
- "Uncle" Gary Mischley - sports
- Clem Misiak - co-host, "Sunday in Poland" (Sunday, 10:00 AM to noon)
- Elaine Misiak - co-host, "Sunday in Poland"
- Steven J. Wright - program director/morning personality (5:30 AM to 10:00 AM)
- Mike Markowski - co-host, "Sunday in Poland"/news anchor/substitute deejay
- Susie Martin - music director/mid-day personality (10:00 AM to 2:00 PM)
- R. Michael Rhea - weekends/substitute deejay
- J.R. Wooster - weekends/substitute deejay
- Bill Cody's Classic Country Weekend (Sunday, 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM)
- Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40 (Sunday, noon to 4:00 PM)
- Country Gold Show (Saturday, 7:00 PM to midnight)
- Country Hitmakers - hosted by Devon O'Day (Saturday, 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM)
- Country's Cutting Edge - hosted by Ramblin' Ray (Monday, 10:00 PM to 11:00 PM)
- New Music Nashville - hosted by Bob Guerra (Friday, 10:00 PM to 11:00 PM)
- Paul Harvey's News and Comment (8:30 AM and 12:30 PM)
- Paul Harvey's The Rest of the Story (5:30 PM)
- The Road - showcasing live performances (Sunday, 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM)
- Z-Max Racing Country - hosted by Paul Schadt and Cathy Martindale (Saturday, 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM)