WRQK-FM

Infobox Radio Station
name = WRQK-FM


area = Canton, Ohio
branding = Rock 1069
slogan = It Just Rocks!
airdate = 1949
frequency = 106.9 (MHz) HD Radio
format = Active Rock
erp = 27,500 watts
class = B
owner = Cumulus Media (operated by Clear Channel pending sale approval)
website = [http://www.wrqk.com/ wrqk.com]
[http://www.akroncantonrocks.com/ AkronCantonRocks.com]
callsign_meaning = W Roc(Q)K |

WRQK-FM is a commercial FM radio station in Canton, Ohio, USA, broadcasting at 106.9 MHz with an active rock format.

It is operated by Clear Channel Communications, with sister stations WHLO, WARF, WKDD and WHOF, at the Clear Channel Akron/Canton complex in Jackson Township, Ohio. Clear Channel is in the process of purchasing WRQK from previous owner Cumulus Media.

The station was founded circa 1949 as WAND-FM and was the sister station of WAND AM 900, now WCER. The stations became WCNS and WCNS-FM in the early 1960s, and then WNYN and WNYN-FM in the late 1960s.

Both stations were purchased in 1965 by Don Keyes, who had made his mark as a national programmer for legendary station owner Gordon McLendon. In 1971, he sold the FM station to Susquehanna Radio Corporation, the owners of WHLO (AM) Akron, and it became WHLQ.

Susquehanna sold the station in 1978 to the owners of WINW, who applied to change the FM call letters to WHOF (for the "Hall of Fame" city of Canton) but were rebuffed by the owners of WTOF, another local FM station. (Coincidentally, WRQK now has a new Clear Channel sister station using the WHOF call letters.) 106.9 adopted an automated Top 40 format and became WOOS-FM on June 1, 1979.

WOOS-FM changed its call sign to WRQK on August 3, 1985, taking on an album oriented rock music format. For a while, the station called itself "Goodrock 107," an apparent play on the name of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in nearby Akron. It formally changed from WRQK to WRQK-FM on February 14, 1989, when AM station WINW changed its call sign to WRQK. The AM station changed back to WINW six months later, but the FM call sign has remained WRQK-FM.

In late 2000, the station was sold by Jim Embrescia's Canton/Akron Radio, Inc. to Cumulus Broadcasting. Then, on August 8, 2006, it was announced that WRQK would be sold to Clear Channel Communications, pairing WRQK with former partner WHLO-AM, as well as WARF, WKDD-FM, and WHOF-FM. Clear Channel took over operations of WRQK on January 15, 2007, pending FCC approval of its purchase of the station from Cumulus.

In March 2007, WRQK changed its branding from ROCK 107 to ROCK 106.9 (possibly to avoid confusion with WMMS, a rock station in Cleveland, with similar-sounding frequency 100.7). It also changed its slogan from "Canton's Rock Station" to "It Just Rocks!"; additionally, it changed its logo.

Current Line-Up
12am-5am: Chad Bishop
5am-10am: The Bob and Tom Show
10am-3pm: Fishead
3pm-7pm: Nick Andrews
7pm-12am: Meagan

External links

*FMQ|WRQK-FM
* [http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?call=WRQK&sr=Y&s=C WRQK on Radio-Locator.com]