WCCS

Infobox Radio Station
name = WCCS


area = Homer City / Indiana, Pennsylvania
branding = Newstalk 1160 WCCS
slogan = "The Voice of Indiana County"
airdate = October 25, 1983
frequency = 1160(kHz)
format = Newstalk, Sports
power = 10,000 watts (Daytime)
1,000 watts (Night)
erp =
class = B
owner = St. Pier Group, LLC (Renda Broadcasting Corporation)
website = http://www.1160wccs.com

WCCS (1160-AM) is a commercially-licensed AM radio station, licensed to Homer City, Pennsylvania, about 50 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, and 25 miles northwest of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. WCCS operates at the federally-assigned frequency of 1160 kHz with a maximum daytime power output of 10,000 watts, and 1,000 watts night. The station operates with a four-tower directional antenna pattern, and programs a daily format of news talk, sports talk, as well as local news/sports reports.

Beginnings: A New AM in an FM World

WCCS was the brainchild of founders Mark Harley and Ray Goss, both of whom had served as general managers at stations in State College and Indiana, Pennsylvania, respectively, both of which had been owned by Progressive Publishing, which also published the Clearfield Progress newspaper.

Goss left WDAD-AM and WQMU-FM in 1981 after being general manager for 15 years. Harley had also left WMAJ and WXLR-FM after an 11 year stint as general manager. Not long after they parted ways with their old stations, Harley called Goss and asked him about getting together to put a new station on the air.

"Mark told me 'what do you think about us putting a station on of our own?', said Goss in an interview. "My response was 'with what?' Then he asked me how much equity I had in my house and if my wife was still working, and after thinking about it some more, I thought 'why not'." It was a well-matched partnership, as Harley's knowledge of accounting (he's also a CPA) and management complimented Goss' creative sales and marketing ingenuity.

As WRID AM 1520

The pair had first made overtures towards a license in Ebensburg, about a half hour away from Goss' home base in Indiana. As luck would have it, Goss and Harley later learned of a dormant construction permit for an AM station two miles south of Indiana in Homer City that had yet to sign on the air. The pair formed Raymark Broadcasting in 1982 (an amalgam of their first names) and negotiated with Ridge Communications of Somerset (which then owned WVSC-AM and FM in Somerset) to buy the permit. A deal was struck with an alfalfa farmer for a field in which to erect a tower site and a studio building, and on October 25, 1983, the station signed on the air as "AM 1520 The Adult Address." The call letters were WRID (originally the choice for Ridge Communications), but were seldom used. The station was one of the first in the country to use satellite-delivered technology for not just its news, but its adult contemporary music format, through an affiliation agreement with the Satellite Music Network (SMN).

WRID operated at a modest daytime directional signal of only 250 watts, but thanks to better-than-expected financial goals, they were able to double that in less than six months, and then the following year, the station increased its power to a full thousand watts, but still retained its daytime-only status.

WCCS: AM-azing things

In 1986, Raymark Broadcasting completed a very aggressive move. Following a frequency move by another station in Western Pennsylvania, Raymark learned of a frequency opening at 1160 AM. Submitting an engineering plan for directional day and night operation, Raymark was granted permission to move their station to the new frequency.

With the frequency move came a new set of call letters...WCCS. The call letters had been given up by an FM station (now WCCL), licensed to Somerset, and a then-competitor of WVSC. The station adopted the moniker "The AMazing AM", referring to its addition of AM stereo technology. The station operated at 1,000 watts until the following year, when it was granted an increase to 5,000 watts.

WCCS' power upgrades were finally complete in 1988 when it was given permission to increase its power to an incredible 10,000 watts, making it the 8th most powerful AM radio signal in all of Pennsylvania. It was also a sigh of relief for Harley, who jokingly complained of an ongoing debt the station could never seem to overcome: "we kept buying transmitters".

In 1989, Goss retired from WCCS, selling his interests in the station to Harley, who signed on an FM sister station, WOKW, licensed to Curwensville, (Clearfield County) later that fall. Like WCCS, WOKW also affiliated with SMN's adult contemporary format.

Harley, who still kept the Raymark name, signed a third station on the air two years later, WCCZ-FM, licensed to Spangler (northern Cambria County). Unforeseen circumstances forced Harley to sell the oldies-formatted WCCZ two years later. This station today is known as WPCL.

WCCS Today

In August 2002, Harley sold WCCS to Pittsburgh-based Renda Broadcasting Corporation. Harley continued his ownership of WOKW. Renda, owned by Indiana County native Anthony F. Renda, had entered into a local marketing agreement with highly successful competitor WLCY-FM Blairsville that June, making WLCY WCCS' new local sister station. Renda purchased WLCY outright the following year.

In 2003, Renda also acquired WCCS-AM/WLCY's crosstown competitors, WDAD/WQMU, for $3.2 million.

In need of additional studio space to accommodate four radio stations (WDAD, WCCS, WLCY, WQMU), Renda Broadcasting acquired the former Gatti Pharmacy building at the corner of 9th and Philadelphia Streets in downtown Indiana, where the four stations and it's business operations occupy the first and second floors. It is said by some broadcast engineers to be one of the most state-of-the-art radio facilities in the country, small or large market. All four stations were housed in the new building by the end of 2004.

The stations have a long history of tenured personnel: Mark Bertig, who first joined WCCS in 1985 as a sales consultant, serves as Regional Vice President of the four Indiana stations, Renda's co-owned WGSM in Greensburg, and WECZ, WPXZ, and WKQL in Punxsutawney. Bertig serves as General Manager of the four Indiana stations. Jack Benedict has been with the four Indiana stations under the different owners since 1969, and Bill Otto since 1980.

On January 14th, 2008, after almost 25 years with its ABC/SMN affiliation, AM 1160 WCCS changed its format from full-service adult contemporary to News/Talk. Research through the IUP Small Business Institute found that the News/Talk format was the #1 programming preference in the area. #2 was country, which precipitated the WLCY change to Country music in 2007.

WCCS dropped its affiliation with ABC News, picking up FOX Radio News for 24 hour coverage. Fox News reports air every thirty minutes, excluding weekend specialty shows.

On The Air

Weekdays

* 5am to 6am - America In The Morning with Jim Bohannan
* 6am to 7am - Total News Hour
* 7am to 8am - Total News Hour
* 8am to 10am - Open Mic
* 10am to 12pm - Dennis Miller
* 12pm to 1pm - Noon News Hour
* 1pm to 3pm - Clark Howard
* 3pm to 6pm - Tom Sullivan
* 6pm to 5am - Fox Sports

Local Saturday Programming

* Oldies Attic with Bill Otto - 9am to 12pm

Local Sunday Programming

* The Acoustic Hour with Anthony Frazier - 9am to 10am
* Polka Beat with Nick Kanyan - 10am to 12pm

ports

* Pittsburgh Pirates baseball
* Pittsburgh Panthers football and basketball
* Homer-Center Wildcats high school football and basketball

Homer-Center Wildcat Football

Newstalk 1160 WCCS is the proud radio affiliate of the Homer-Center Wildcat football team. All nine of the regular season games are broadcasted on the radio, and on the Internet at www.msasports.net. Joining the award-winning broadcast team of Mark Bertig and Ward Hilliard for the 2007 season are Mario Sacco (sideline reporter) and Michael Bertig (studio host). All four are Homer-Center alumni.

tation Personnel

News Department

* Dan Flickinger - Morning and Noon News Anchor
* Jack Benedict - Morning Sports Anchor & Sports Director
* Michael Bertig - Interim Afternoon News Anchor
* Randall Thorn - Weekend News Anchor; Reporter
* Kevin Stiffler - Reporter

Off-Air Management

* Mark Bertig - Vice President and General Manager
* Mark Hilliard - General Sales Manager
* Jim DeCesare - Program Director
* Todd Marino - Production Director
* Michael Bertig - Interim Assistant Production Director
* Travis Williams - Traffic Director
* Keith Reiter - Assistant Traffic Director