WTRC (AM)

WTRC (1340 kHz "Frank 1340") is a commercial radio station licensed to Elkhart, Indiana, and serving the South Bend metropolitan area. It is owned by Federated Media and airs a soft oldies and adult standards radio format. It is one of Indiana's oldest radio stations, on the air since 1922.

WTRC
CityElkhart, Indiana
Broadcast areaSouth Bend metropolitan area
Frequency1340 kHz
BrandingFrank 1340
SloganYour Music. Your Memories.
Programming
FormatSoft Oldies - Adult Standards
AffiliationsWestwood One's "America's Best Music"
Fox News Radio
Ownership
OwnerFederated Media
(Pathfinder Communications Corporation)
WTRC-FM, WAOR, WBYT, WNIL, WRBR-FM
History
First air date
July 28, 1922 (as WJAK)[1]
Former call signs
WJAK (1922-1932)
Call sign meaning
Truth Radio Corporation (former owner)
Technical information
Facility ID51728
ClassC
Power1,000 watts
Transmitter coordinates
41°40′28.00″N 85°56′51.00″W
Translator(s)101.9 W270DK (Elkhart)
Links
WebcastListen live
WebsiteFrank1340.com

WTRC carries Westwood One's "America's Best Music" syndicated music service and is a Fox News Radio affiliate.

The transmitter is on Indiana Road near the Elkhart River in Elkhart.[2] WTRC also can be heard on a 250 watt FM translator station, W270DK on 101.9 MHz.[3]

History

WJAK

The station was first licensed on July 28, 1922.[1] It was owned by the White Radio Laboratory (C. L. White) in Stockdale, Ohio, and given the sequentially assigned call letters WJAK.[4][1] In 1923 the station was briefly deleted, then relicensed to Reverend Clifford L. White (Church of Christ) in Greentown, Indiana.[1] The station operated at 1180 kHz at this time.[1] In 1926, the station moved to Kokomo, Indiana, and was owned by J. A. Keutz, who was also the owner and publisher of the Kokomo Tribune.[1] In 1928, its frequency was changed to 1310 kHz.[1] The station ran 50 watts at this time.[1] In 1929, the station moved again, to Marion, Indiana.[1]

WTRC

In 1931 the station's license was assigned to The Truth Publishing Company, Inc., co-owned with The Elkhart Truth newspaper.[5][1] The station was subsequently moved to Elkhart, Indiana, where it has remained to this day.[1] On September 2, 1932, the call letters were changed to WTRC.[6] The call sign stands for Truth Radio Corporation.[7] Its daytime power was increased to 100 watts in 1933.[1] In 1936, its daytime power was increased to 250 watts and its nighttime power to 100 watts.[1] In 1939, its nighttime power was increased to 250 watts as well.[1] Its frequency was changed to 1340 kHz in March 1941, as a result of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement.[1]

Through the 1940s, WTRC was Elkhart's only radio station, carrying the programming of the NBC Radio Network.[8][9] In 1948, it added an FM station, WTRC-FM, originally at 100.7 MHz.[9] That station today is co-owned WBYT. In 1961, its daytime power was increased to 1,000 watts.[1]

WTRC aired a middle of the road (MOR) format in the 1970s and 1980s.[10][11][12][13] In the early 1970s, the station aired a MOR format during the day and a rock format at night.[14] By the early 1990s, the station was airing a full service-adult contemporary format.[15][16] In 1994, it shifted to an all talk format.[17] In 1996, the station adopted an adult standards format.[18] It was branded "The Heartbeat of Elkhart" during this period.[19]

In 2000, the station switched to a full service format, airing news-talk programming during the day and soft AC music at night.[20][21] By the end of 2002 talk programming had replaced all music on the station.[22] WTRC was branded "News Radio 1340" during this period.[22] Hosts included Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage, and The Dolans.[23]

In August 2009, WTRC switched to an oldies format as "Hippie Radio 1340".[24][25]

In 2010, the station switched back to a news/talk format, as part of a simulcast with 95.3 WTRC-FM, and was branded "Michiana's News Channel".[26][27] The station carried syndicated hosts such as Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Jason Lewis, and Lars Larson, as well as a local morning show.[28] On May 5, 2014, WTRC reduced its fulltime simulcast of WTRC-FM, focusing on Elkhart through a partnership with sister newspaper The Elkhart Truth, featuring a separate morning show.[29] However, the two stations continued to jointly broadcast most other programming.[29]

On February 17, 2017, WTRC fully ended its simulcast of WTRC-FM, and changed its format to adult standards, branded as "Frank 1340," honoring popular 1940s, 50s and 60s singer Frank Sinatra.[30][31] WTRC-FM continued its talk programming.

Translator

In December 2018, Frank 1340 began simulcasting on FM translator station W270DK 101.9 MHz.

Call signFrequency
(MHz)		City of licenseFacility
ID		ERP
(W)		Height
(m (ft))		FCC info
W270DK101.9Elkhart, Indiana201230250106 m (348 ft)FCC

References
  1. History Cards for WTRC, fcc.gov. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  2. AM Query Results: WTRC, fcc.gov. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  3. FM Query Results: W270DK, fcc.gov. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  4. "New Stations", Radio Service Bulletin, August 1922, page 2.
  5. The Radio Index. No. 53. November 1931. pp. 12, 13, 27. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  6. "Alterations and Corrections: Broadcasting Stations", Radio Service Bulletin, August 31, 1932, page 22.
  7. "NewsRadio 1340/Elkhart Features Bell Aquaculture President Michael Miller At Company Launch", Press Release. PRWeb. March 27, 2008. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  8. 1947 Yearbook Number. Broadcasting — Telecasting. 1947. p. 110. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  9. 1950 Yearbook Number. Broadcasting — Telecasting. 1950. p. 138. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  10. 1974 Broadcasting Yearbook, Broadcasting, 1974. p. B-70. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  11. Broadcasting Yearbook 1979, Broadcasting, 1979. p. C-72. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  12. Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1982, Broadcasting/Cablecasting, 1982. p. C-78. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  13. Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1989, Broadcasting & Cable, 1989. p. B-100. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  14. Hall, Claude. "Vox Jox", Billboard. February 26, 1972. p. 21. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  15. The Broadcasting Yearbook 1991, Broadcasting & Cable, 1991. p. B-110. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  16. Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1993, Broadcasting & Cable, 1993. p. B-119. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  17. "Format Changes & Updates", The M Street Journal. Vol. 11, No. 22. June 1, 1994. p. 1. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  18. "Format Changes & Updates", The M Street Journal. Vol. 13, No. 42. October 16, 1996. p. 1. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  19. "Welcome to The Heartbeat of Elkhart WTRC Radio". WTRC. Archived from the original on January 25, 1999. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  20. "Format Changes & Updates", The M Street Journal. Vol. 17, No. 18. May 3, 2000. p. 1. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  21. "WTRC Program Guide Radio". WTRC. Archived from the original on February 19, 2001. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  22. "WTRC Program Guide Radio". WTRC. Archived from the original on December 9, 2002. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  23. "WTRC Program Guide Radio". WTRC. Archived from the original on June 3, 2003. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  24. Magallanes, Jodi (August 15, 2009). "WTRC tunes in to music". The Elkhart Truth. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  25. "Hippie Radio 1340". WTRC. Archived from the original on September 7, 2009. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  26. Devine, Cathy (2010). The Radio Book. Nineteenth Edition. p. 224. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  27. "Michiana's News Channel". 95.3 MNC. Archived from the original on May 17, 2010. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  28. "Program Schedule". 95.3 MNC. Archived from the original on May 16, 2010. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  29. King, Marshall V. (April 29, 2014). "Coming soon: Truth Radio 1340 is launching on Monday". The Elkhart Truth. Archived from the original on May 15, 2014. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  30. "Frank Brings Standards to Elkhart", Radio Insight. February 21, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  31. Zimmey, Jon. "New music format premieres on WTRC-1340 AM", WTRC-FM. February 17, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
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