- WTVN
Infobox Radio Station
name = WTVN
area =Columbus, Ohio
branding = News Talk 610 WTVN
slogan =
airdate =April 29 ,1922 (as WBAV 640-AM)
frequency = 610 (kHz)
format = News/Talk
power = 5,000watt s
class = B
affiliations =Fox News Radio WBNS-TV
owner =Clear Channel Communications
website = [http://www.wtvn.com WTVN.com]
callsign_meaning = The Voice of NewsWTVN is a full-service
AM radio station inColumbus, Ohio located at 610 kHz. It has news, talk, and sports programs, is the dominant AM station in the Columbus market and is consistently rated either #1 or #2 (toWNCI 's #1) byArbitron . WTVN is currently owned byClear Channel Communications .Although WTVN only uses 5
kW of power during the day, the station can be heard as far away as Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and Cleveland. At night, the signal is directionalized to protect co-channel stations in Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Miami, etc. The extra power is radiated over central Columbus -- however outlying suburbs in the direction of the nulls will experience a degraded signal.There were plans to improve WTVN's signal by adding a new antenna array and increasing power to 50 kW, but these plans fell through when zoning problems could not be resolved. Ultimately, WTVN tried to claim the right to build new towers as a "public utility" but lost in court on
May 12 2002 [ [http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2002/05/13/daily29.html WTVN loses bid to relocate towers - Business First of Columbus: ] ] .At one time, when WTVN still aired music programming, the station broadcast using
C-QUAM AM Stereo. The stereo equipment was installed in 1988 but it was not until 1992 that the station operated in full stereo. Analog stereo transmissions ended many years ago. WTVN began broadcasting inHD-Radio inJune 2005 .The former WTVN-TV now operates as
WSYX . The former WTVN-FM now operates asWLVQ . Neither is owned by Clear Channel.History
WTVN originally started as WBAV 640Fact|date=August 2008 on
April 29 ,1922 . The call letters were later changed to WAIU, which stood for American Insurance Union. The call letters were again changed in the late 1930s, this time to WHKC (to go with those of then commonly owned station WHK inCleveland ). IN THE MIDDLE-1940'S, WHKC (still at 640 kHz) swapped frequencies with WHKK in Akron which was operating at 610 kHz, forming 610 WHKC. THIS ALLOWED WHKC TO GO TO FULL-TIME OPERATION. (PREVIOUS OPERATION ON 640 KC WAS LIMITED TO SANFRANCISCO SUNSET BECAUSE OF THE SUPERIOR PROPPAGATION AT LOW AM FREQUENCIES.) The station adopted its current call letters in the EARLY 1950s.Trivia
American Insurance Union owned the AIU Building (now the
LeVeque Tower ) in Columbus, which at the time was the tallest building in the city. Various radio facilities were located at the top of the skyscraper. American Insurance Union later became part of Nationwide Insurance, owner ofNationwide Communications - former parent company ofWNCI , which is a current sister station to WTVN.Despite being only 5kW, the flat terrain of Northern Ohio and Southern Michigan makes it possible for WTVN to be heard as far as the metro Detroit area, which is approximately 200 miles north of Columbus.
Programming
WTVN features highly successful stars of
talk radio in the U.S.,with conservative syndicated talk hostsRush Limbaugh andSean Hannity . The local talk radio hosts areBob Conners in the early morning,Joel Riley in the late morning, andJohn Corby in the afternoon. The format of the local shows usually consists of simple day-to-day "topics" in which listeners are encouraged to call to discuss their viewpoints or experiences.The station also airs other syndicated programming, including
Mark Levin , Mike McConnell and "Coast to Coast AM " withGeorge Noory .Notes and Asides
*On days when Ohio State is hosting a football game, WTVN usually airs the "Hineygate Party" at Holiday Inn on the Lane about three to four hours before the game starts. It was formerly hosted by Mark "Munch" Bishop, the former sports director and evening host at WTVN (who at the time was with Cleveland sister stations
WMMS andWMJI ), who would return to Columbus to host his "Munch on Sports" show before Ohio State games. It has been discontinued when Munch left Clear Channel Cleveland to become the afternoon host at crosstown sports stationWKNR .
*Rush Limbaugh has aired on WTVN since December 1993 when his show moved from WCOL-AM, but was on a one-hour delay (to accommodate WTVN's long-running noon newshour) until January 2006.
*WTVN airedDr. Laura beginning in 1994, but she was replaced withGlenn Beck shortly after 9/11. Beck was replaced by local host Joel Riley stating 1/9/07.
*On the Glenn Beck Program of January 2, 2007, Beck openly discussed contractual issues with WTVN, citing longstanding disagreements with a former WTVN program director, an unwillingness to meet WTVN's monetary demands, and an unwillingness to move to sister stationWTPG . He complained that the latter station's small audience base and move to a new "right wing" lineup would be inconsistent with his show's objectives. The opening page of his web site, [http://www.glennbeck.com glennbeck.com] , simultaneously displayed a message to "Fans from Columbus, OH." The message, in part, read: "As you may have heard, the Glenn Beck Program will be removed from 610 WTVN AM. Since 2004, the Glenn Beck Program has ranked amongst the top three shows in our time period in Columbus." [Accessed on January 2, 2007, from [http://www.glennbeck.com http://www.glennbeck.com] ]
*Sterling Scheissler hosted the show following John Corby untilOctober 2004 , at which time his contract ended and was not renewed.
*"The Steve "Boom Boom" Cannon "Late-Night Radio Rampage" left the airwaves onNovember 4 ,2005 .
*Curt Boster quit in early January 2006.
*11/30/06 pink slips went to news editor George Zonders, production director Scott Kahler, and midday producer Lindsay Guhl.
*Glenn Beck was picked up byWTDA 103.9 on 1/8/07.Fact|date=October 2007
*The station also replaced Pat Pagano and the meteorologists atMetro Weather Service with weather talent from WBNS (Channel 10). [Tim Feran, "Station's Format Turns Right," "The Columbus Dispatch", Life section, p. 6B, Saturday, December 23, 2006] , [Tim Feran, "Channel 10 to do Radio Weather," "The Columbus Dispatch," Features section, 7B, Friday, December 22, 2006] Metro Weather, based out ofValley Stream , New York, provided weather reports 24 hours, including Pagano during Bob Conners' morning show. Despite his remote location, Pagano interacted with Connors frequently, often sharing experiences from family dinners and opinions on various "reality" TV shows. Pagano and Metro Weather now provide on-air weather forecasts in Columbus forWODB 107.9 FM. [ [http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2007/01/17/20070117-E1-04.html WODB shelters forecaster after storm] , Ann Fisher, "Columbus Dispatch", Wednesday, January 17, 2007]References
External links
* [http://www.wtvn.com Official website]
*AMQ|WTVN
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