WGRD-FM

Infobox Radio station
name = WGRD-FM


city = Grand Rapids, Michigan
area =
branding = "97-9 GRD"
slogan = "Grand Rapids' Rock Alternative"
airdate =
frequency = 97.9 MHz
format = Modern Rock
erp = 13,000 watts
haat =
class = B
callsign_meaning = Grand Rapids
former_callsigns = WXTO
owner = Regent Communications
sister_stations = WFGR, WLHT-FM, WNWZ, WTRV
webcast =
website = http://www.wgrd.com/
affiliations =

WGRD-FM (97.9 FM) is a modern rock music formatted radio station in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The station is owned by Regent Communications.

The station is the flagship station of The Free Beer and Hot Wings Show, a comedy/talk program, on weekday mornings. It consists of four members: Gregg "Free Beer" Daniels, Chris "Hot Wings" Michels, Eric (Zeitunian) Zane, and Joe "Producer Joe" Gassmann, Jr. The show is now syndicated in 16 markets throughout the eastern United States. [http://www.freebeerandhotwings.com/affiliates.asp - Affiliate list]

WGRD-FM began as WXTO. The station was co-owned by Aquinas College, but the owners of Top 40 music stations WGRD-AM 1410 in Grand Rapids and WTRU-AM 1600 Muskegon took full control of the station in 1971 and changed its call letters to WGRD-FM. The station's transmitter would remain on the Aquinas College campus until 1974.

WGRD-AM 1410 (which had had a Top 40 music format in place since 1959) was struggling in the ratings at the time against pop-rock competitors WLAV-AM 1340 and WZZM-FM 95.7 (now WLHT). WGRD thus moved its struggling Top 40 format onto its new FM station, making the stereo FM station the primary frequency while having the AM continue to simulcast. The revamped WGRD quickly became the dominant Top 40 station in the market and continued to be for over two decades. By 1994, however, the station had lost significant market share to WSNX, and WGRD switched that year from CHR to the then-emerging and rapidly growing modern rock format, which it has had ever since.

The original WGRD, AM 1410, is now WNWZ with a Regional Mexican format. The call letters "GRD" stood for "Grand Rapids Daytime," since WGRD-AM was licensed to air only during daytime hours.

WGRD's target demographic is men ages 18-34 and a secondary of Men 25-54 (Arbitron demographics). Its main competitor in the Grand Rapids market is Citadel Broadcasting' active rock station WKLQ.

Programming

*On weekday mornings, WGRD airs The Free Beer and Hot Wings Show from 5 AM to 10 AM.
*On weekdays at 5 PM, DJ Spud hosts the "Work Release" request hour, where GRD takes requests from listeners.
*On weekdays at 9 PM, WGRD does "Nineties at Nine" where they play songs from the '90s for an hour.

Sources

* [http://www.michiguide.com/dials/rad-g/wgrd.html Michiguide.com - WGRD-FM History]

References

External links

* [http://www.wgrd.com/ WGRD Homepage]
*FMQ|WGRD-FM
*FML|WGRD
*FMARB|WGRD