- WIND (AM)
infobox Radio Station
name= WIND
first airdate = 1927
frequency= 560 (kHz )
area =Chicago, Illinois
format = News/Talk
owner =Salem Communications
power = 5,000 watts
erp =
branding= News-Talk 560
slogan= Where Your Opinion Counts
class= B
website= [http://www.560wind.com www.560wind.com]
callsign_meaning= W - INDiana (originally licensed toGary, Indiana ),
WINDy City
sister_stations=WYLL WIND-AM "News-Talk 560" is a
radio station based inChicago, Illinois , broadcasting itstalk radio format on 560kHz .Its current owner is
Salem Media , a company specializing primarily inChristian radio . WIND is similar to many of Salem's othersecular talk stations, airing a lineup consisting of syndicated conservative talkers includingMichael Medved ,Laura Ingraham ,Dennis Prager , Michael Savage,Hugh Hewitt , and formerSaturday Night Live starDennis Miller . A local show hosted by former country music disc jockey Big John Howell and Cisco Cotto (former WLS-AM midday news man) airs weekday mornings.History
WIND first signed on in 1927. It was started by Ralph Atlass, originally as a
Gary, Indiana station. Atlass also started WBBM, Chicago.WIND's coverage map notes a 4 tower directional array located South and East of Chicago along
I-80 I-94 near Cline Ave. The North lobe of their signal went to Milwaukee 24 hours daily. Another lobe of the directional signal extended toward Indianapolis during the day, but was shut off at sunset. At 560 on the dial, with 5000 watts, the signal easily blanketed Chicagoland.WIND's studios were located on the 3rd floor of the South tower of the
Wrigley Building .According to old Chicago Tribune radio schedules (found on the website JJ's radio logs) in the late 40's WIND was the "hit music" station for Chicago, mostly playing contemporary music. It also featured Cubs and Sox baseball and big band programs, including
Lawrence Welk .WIND's programming has always been music and personality driven. In the 50's, Howard Miller, a Chicago radio personality, started a longtime run as Chicago's top rated morning DJ. For the next 20 years, Miller claimed the top spot in Chicago morning radio ratings, only to be toppled in the 1970s by WGN's Wally Phillips.
Over the years, other WIND personalities included Bernie Allen, Lee Rogers, Dick Williamson, Perry Marshall, Kassidy, Joel Sebastian, Milo Hamilton, Doug Dalghren, Chuck Benson and Kurt Russell, Clark Weber, Jerry G Bishop, Ron Riley, Ron Brittain, Steve King, Bill Jurek, and Connie Szerczen.
Overnight programing began with "Night Watch" featuring Bruce Lee, several other hosts, then Larry Johnson, then Chicago Eddie Schwartz (who was also music director for a time).
From the 1940s until the demise of the music format, following the 2:00am newscast, WIND played "The Whiffenpoof Song." The station had a library of over 100 versions of this song.
In 1956, Atlass sold WIND to Westinghouse. Westinghouse expanded the news department, adding such names as Walt Hamilton, Dick Brazie, Dick Elliott and
Bernard Shaw (later ofCNN ). WIND pioneered 5 minute newscasts at the top and bottom of every hour, and a "meteorologist" (for many years, Earl Finkel) doing the weather forecast, hourly.By the 1960s, though WIND, along with other Westinghouse stations employed a
gentle top 40 music format, WLS did much better in the ratings. Several Westinghouse stations went to an all-news format. Others like WIND evolved intoadult contemporary formats by the 1970s. Instead of competing against WLS they opted to compete against WGN and its MOR/talk format.By 1977 WIND played music during the day along with local news until 10:00 p.m. when they would switch to call-in talk programming featuring Dave Baum (called "Contact"). Similar formats were on Westinghouse sister stations like WBZ in
Boston, Massachusetts and KDKA inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania .During these years, WIND and WGN had similar formats except the latter played less music. By 1978 WIND switched to a (mostly satellite delivered) news/talk format and opted to add local talk shows in the morning.
According to "
Radio and Records ", a radio trade publication, the WIND oldies format was strong until FM station WKFM 103.5 changed call letters to WFYR when it was purchased byRKO for one million dollars (a record price for an fm at the time) and broadcast "Drake-Chenault" automated oldies in stereo.When WIND evolved into talk, the tape cartridges, which held the 2000+ song music library, were sent to WOWO, Fort Wayne, another Westinghouse station.
In 1981, when WIND added all-news blocks between 6:00-9:00 a.m. and 3:00-7:00 p.m. the station did not perform as well as sister stations. In 1985 Westinghouse sold WIND to Tichenor Radio for $6 million and left the Chicago market. The radio station then moved to the 625 N. Michigan building.
Westinghouse later returned to the area by purchasing
WMAQ-AM 670 fromNBC in 1987.In 1985 WIND became a Spanish
adult contemporary music station, includingSpanish-language news andtalk show s. WIND evolved into Spanish news and talk by 1990, but eventually brought back music. In 1998 Tichenor merged with Heftel Broadcasting (whichClear Channel Communications had acquired controlling interest in 1996) to form Hispanic Broadcasting, in which Clear Channel retained a minority stake. Five years later, when Hispanic Broadcasting merged withUnivision , Clear Channel relinquished its minority stake in the company, which was renamedUnivision Radio .In 2004 Univision Radio swapped stations with Salem. Univision Radio wanted to move their music format to an FM station, while Salem wanted a major AM station as an outlet for its syndicated
talk radio programming. This resulted in Salem owning WIND while Univision Radio gotWPPN 106.7. WIND once again became anEnglish-language talk station.Effective
July 1 ,2005 , WIND entered into a three-year agreement with the University of Illinois to carry Fighting Illini football and men's basketball games, as well as the coaches shows, through the Illini Sports Radio Network.External links
* [http://www.560wind.com WIND]
*amq|WIND
*aml|WIND
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