WWRC

Infobox Radio Station
name = WWRC


city = Washington, D.C.
area = Metropolitan Washington, D.C. area
branding = "Obama 1260"
slogan =
airdate = November 11, 1928
frequency = 1260 kHz
format = Progressive Talk
power = 5,000 watts
erp =
class = B
facility_id = 8681
owner = Red Zebra Broadcasting
licensee = Red Zebra Broadcasting Licensee, LLC
former_callsigns = WGAY (1999-2001),
WWDC (1950-1999)
WOL (1928-1950)
sister_stations = WTEM, WTNT, WXTR
webcast = [http://www.progressivetalk1260.com/cc-common/streaming_new/ Listen Live]
website = [http://www.progressivetalk1260.com/ www.progressivetalk1260.com]
callsign_meaning = W Washington Radio Corporation of America, founders of the current WTEM

WWRC is a radio station broadcasting on 1260 kHz in the mediumwave AM band. Its studios and transmitters are located in Washington, D.C., and it serves the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. WWRC has a transmitter power of 5,000 watts and is under ownership of Red Zebra, which purchased 3 of their Washington D.C.-area radio stations, including WWRC from Clear Channel Communications on July 1, 2008. Its callsign is a four-letter version of the famous WRC callsign in Washington.

History

The station was the original home of WOL, and signed on in 1928. A station/callsign swap with WWDC (1450 AM) on February 20, 1950 landed the WWDC call letters on 1260 kHz for the rest of the century. During the 1960s, radio personalities such as Jimmy Dean and Fred Fiske had programs on this station. The format was middle-of-the-road. It staked out a place in radio and music history by being the first station in the U.S. to air the Beatles' "I Want To Hold Your Hand" in December 1963, effectively kickstarting "Beatlemania" in America.

During the 1970s, WWDC was a moderately popular Top 40 station. In 1980, the station began simulcast of sister FM Rock station WWDC-FM ("DC101"). A few years later, it broke off the simulcast and became an Adult Standards station.

WWDC changed call letters to WGAY in 1999, following the dropping of the long-time beautiful music format that was WGAY-FM (which became WJMO-FM; today WIHT) WGAY kept its adult standards format nonetheless until Clear Channel Communications bought the station with the AMFM merger in 2000. In 2001, the WGAY format was dropped and the business news format and WWRC callsign was moved from 570 AM to 1260 AM. Even still, there were difficulties finding a format for the station that was different from the other Clear Channel stations in the Washington metropolitan area.

Until 2005, the station carried the buisness talk format, a full-time audio relay of CNN Headline News, and sports talk programming (as a supplement to sister station WTEM), then switched to progressive talk and became an Air America Radio affiliate. In December 2006, the Washington Post reported that the listenership for WWRC's liberal talk format was so low as to be "tiny" and "imperceptible." [cite news|title=Air America, in the Throes of Victory? |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/08/AR2006120800295.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns ]

WWRC airs Washington Redskins & Notre Dame football games as an affiliate station. WWRC also carries select American University men's basketball games and other sports broadcasts dislodged from WTEM and WTNT by schedule conflicts.

As of September 15, 2008, WWRC is branded as "Obama 1260" while mainaining its progressive talk format, plus news coverage from CNN and CNBC. The temporary branding is expected to last throughout the 2008 Presidential Election. [ [http://www.radio-info.com/news/index.php?date=2008-09-15 Radio-Info.com News for September 13, 2008] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.progressivetalk1260.com Official site]
*AMQ|WWRC
*AML|WWRC
*AMARB|WWRC