Branding "Classic Hits 13AM" First air date December 27, 1954 | Frequency 1300 AM kHz | |
City Morgantown, West Virginia Broadcast area Morgantown, West Virginia
Monongalia County, West Virginia Slogan "The Greatest Hits of All Time" | ||
WCLG (1300 AM) is an oldies and classic hits-formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Morgantown, West Virginia, serving Morgantown and Monongalia County, West Virginia. WCLG is owned and operated by Bowers Broadcasting Corporation.
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Launched on December 27, 1954, WCLG broadcast a "music-news" format. The station was originally intended to be a part of a statewide network of stations. Over the years, the station was subject to an equal-time rule complaint and was awarded for its coverage of the Farmington Number 9 mine disaster. Many different formats were heard on WCLG during the 1970s and 1980s, with its current format launched in 1991. WCLG carries Cumulus Media Networks' satellite-fed Classic Hits network.
A planned 2013 sale of WCLG (and its sister-station WCLG-FM) was halted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) due to a complaint that the company buying the stations, AJG Corporation, has close connections with another local broadcaster, West Virginia Radio Corporation.
Pre-broadcast
Martinsburg, West Virginia, businessman C. Leslie Golliday filed the initial application for the station with the FCC on September 1, 1954. In the application, Golliday estimated construction costs at $13,608, with a first year operation cost of $36,000. Golliday estimated an initial revenue of $60,000.
WCLG began testing equipment during the week of December 19, 1954, and filed its construction permit application two days later. WCLG broadcast for the first time on December 27, 1954. The station initially had a "music-news" format, using the Associated Press news service.
In its early days, WCLG was a daytime-only broadcaster, with a power of 500 watts. Owner C. Leslie Golliday used his initials for the station's call sign. Golliday, who also owned Martinsburg's WEPM, envisioned a network of stations across the state of West Virginia.
WCLG was officially granted its broadcast license by the FCC on January 18, 1955. Throughout its existence, WCLG's studios have been at 343 High Street in Morgantown.
History since launch
On March 10, 1955, WCLG filed an application to increase its power to 1,000 watts, proposing to continue daytime-only broadcasts. The application was granted on September 28, 1955. In 1958, future owner Garry L. Bowers joined the station as an announcer. WCLG was bought by Freed Broadcasting Corporation for $67,000 on December 19, 1959.
In May 1960, Stanley R. Cox, a candidate in the Republican primary election for the House of Representatives, filed a equal-time rule complaint against WCLG. Cox objected that the station gave his opponent, Sheriff Charles Whiston, a five-minute long segment called "Sheriff's Office Calling". In the show "arrests and other activities of interest are recited"; it ended with a 30-second "thought for the day". Cox had been refused equal-time by the station "on the ground that the program is a public service feature." The FCC upheld the complaint, deciding the content of the program was "determined by Sheriff Whiston and not by the station" and that remarks made by the sheriff were of an editorial nature. Whiston would go on to win the primary over Cox by about 300 votes.
The station's coverage of the explosion at the Farmington Number 9 mine, which killed 78, earned the station an the Associated Press Radio-Television Association (APRTA) in early 1969. The station earned another APRTA award for "Outstanding News Coverage" the following year.
Sister station WCLG-FM began broadcasting on September 28, 1974. Also during 1974, WCLG began a Top 40 format. Another change in format took place in 1978, with middle of the road (MOR) music taking the place of Top 40. WCLG became part of the NBC Radio Network on October 2, 1978. In 1979, Bowers became the station's general manager.
WCLG applied for another broadcasting power increase on November 4, 1980, to 2,500 watts, but remained a daytime-only station. The station added oldies to its MOR music format in 1983.
In 1985, WCLG switched formats to a soft adult contemporary playlist. On March 15 of that year, Freed Broadcasting Corporation sold WCLG-FM and sister station WCLG to Bowers Broadcasting Corporation, owned by Garry Bowers, for $715,000.
The station changed formats again in 1988, this time to classic hits. Two years later, WCLG began broadcasting during the nighttime with 44 watts of power, enough to cover the city of Morgantown. Another format change took place in 1991, when the station switched to golden oldies using the "Pure Gold" format from Satellite Music Network (now Cumulus Media Networks).
Bowers Broadcasting Corporation owner Garry L. Bowers died on December 24, 2011. On September 25, 2013, control of the company was transferred to Bowers' widow, Linda K. Bowers.
Sale
On September 26, 2013, Linda Bowers entered into an agreement to sell WCLG and sister station WCLG-FM to AJG Corporation, for $1.8 million. Bowers also entered into a time brokerage agreement, allowing AJG to operate the station prior to the close of the sale.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rescinded the transfer-of-ownership application on October 21, 2013, after an objection by Joe Potter, Senior Vice President of IMG Sports. Potter contended there were "very close connections and operational control" between AJG Corporation and West Virginia Radio Corporation and AJG's purchase of WCLG-AM/FM would "possibly in violation of FCC regulations." The co-directors of West Virginia Radio Corporation, John and David Raese, operate AJG Corporation as a trust for their descendents.
Potter's complaint went on to say that "IMG was close to finalizing a contract to air WVU sports" but was "prevented by the terms of AJG's purchase agreement", which barred Bowers Broadcasting Corporation from "'entering into any contract or agreement' without the consent of AJG".
West Virginia Radio Corporation previously held the rights to West Virginia University sports before losing them to IMG Sports. West Virginia Radio Corporation filed a lawsuit against West Virginia University and IMG Sports to retain the broadcast rights, which it lost in late August 2013.
Notable former staff
Jim Slade, a Morgantown native, was hired as news director when the station launched in 1954. Slade was later heard on WOWO and WIND, covering the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy on the latter station. He is best known, though, for his reporting on the Mutual Broadcasting System and at ABC News, where he covered space-related stories.
Country music radio and stage performer Charlie Arnett hosted the "Old Trading Post" program on WCLG in 1959. Arnett's later career took him to the CBS Radio program "Renfro Valley Folks" and to Tampa, Florida, station WDAE.
Eugene Cottilli started as sports director at WCLG, before becoming the press secretary to Senator Howard Metzenbaum of Ohio. As of 2013, Cottilli is the Congressional Media Liaison for the United States Department of Commerce.
Programming
As of 2014, WCLG carries programming from Cumulus Media Networks' satellite-fed Classic Hits network. Every Sunday morning, WCLG broadcasts services live from Star City's St. Mary Roman Catholic Church at 8:30 a.m. and Morgantown's Spruce Street United Methodist Church at 10:45 a.m. The station also carries the Living the Country Life show, the radio companion to the Living the Country Life magazine.