WSCR

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For other uses, see WSCR (disambiguation).
WSCR
670 The Score WSCR.jpg
CityChicago, Illinois
Broadcast areaChicago market
Branding670 The Score
SloganChicago Sports Radio
Frequency670 kHz (HD Radio)
Repeater(s)104.3 WBMX-HD2 (Chicago)
First air dateApril 12, 1922; 98 years ago (1922-04-12)[1]
FormatSports talk
Power50,000 watts
ClassA
Facility ID25445
Transmitter coordinates41°56′3″N 88°4′24″W / 41.93417°N 88.07333°W / 41.93417; -88.07333 (main)
41°56′7″N 88°4′27″W / 41.93528°N 88.07417°W / 41.93528; -88.07417 (auxiliary)
Call sign meaning"SCoRe"
Former call signsWGU (1922)
WMAQ (1922–2000)
AffiliationsCBS Sports Radio
Westwood One
Chicago Bulls
Chicago Cubs Radio Network
OwnerEntercom
(Entercom License, LLC)
Sister stationsWBBM, WBBM-FM, WBMX, WCFS-FM, WUSN, WXRT
WebcastListen Live
Website670thescore.radio.com

WSCR (670 kHz, 670 The Score) is a commercial sports talk radio station licensed to Chicago, Illinois, and owned by Entercom. WSCR is currently the flagship station for the Chicago Cubs Radio Network and the Chicago Bulls, and is also the Chicago home for Illinois Fighting Illini football and men's basketball. It began broadcasting April 12, 1922 as WGU, and held the call sign WMAQ from October 1922 to August 2000. It is the oldest surviving broadcast outlet in Chicago.

WSCR uses HD Radio on its AM signal 24 hours a day.[2][note 1] The station's programming is also available to listeners with an HD Radio receiver via a simulcast on the HD2 subchannel of sister station WBMX. Its transmitter is located just off Army Trail Road in Bloomingdale, and its studios are located at Two Prudential Plaza in the Loop. Due to the station's transmitter power and low frequency, WSCR provides at least secondary coverage to most of Illinois, much of southern Wisconsin (with Milwaukee getting a city-grade signal) and almost half of Indiana. At night, it can be heard in most of the central and eastern states.

History[edit]

1920s[edit]

WMAQ came to life as WGU on April 12, 1922.[1][3] The station was formed as a joint venture between The Fair Department Store and the Chicago Daily News, with the station's first transmitter atop the department store.[1][4][5] At the time, the station was broadcasting on 833 kilocycles with a transmitter power of about 100 watts.[3] There are questions as to whether anyone actually was able to hear the station's initial half-hour broadcast, as technical problems forced the station to shut down the following day and it remained off the air while a new ordered transmitter was awaited. One of the problems with reception of the station was the interference of other tall buildings in the area and the fact that it had only about 100 watts of power.[1][6][7]

The City of Chicago also operated its own radio station with similar call letters, WBU; it shared a frequency with Westinghouse's KYW, which began in Chicago the year before.[8][9][10] In an attempt to avoid confusion with the city's station, Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover inaugurated a new antenna and transmitter of 500 watts and assigned the station the call letters WMAQ. (The station's longtime motto was "We Must Answer Questions," was derived from this call sign.) WMAQ's call letters were first broadcast October 2, 1922 on a clear channel frequency of 750 kc.[11][3][12]

WMAQ transmitter towers atop La Salle Hotel, where the studios were also located–1925.

Early 1923 records show there were 20 radio stations on the air in Chicago alone. Most of these smaller radio stations faded out because of money issues. The Chicago stations that are or had been on the dial for many years had a business or organization behind them which was willing and able to weather the early times when having a radio station did not mean making a profit.[13] WMAQ had the financial backing of the Chicago Daily News, but it also had a very capable general manager, Judith Waller, who was in charge of the station until it was purchased by NBC. At that point Waller became the director of public affairs programming for NBC's central division, holding that title until her retirement in 1957.[14][15][16][17][18]

By early 1923, the Daily News was convinced enough in the power of radio to buy out the Fair Store's 51% interest in the station.[1][3][19] The Daily News moved the station and its transmitter to the tallest building in Chicago at the time—the La Salle Hotel on West Washington street in the West Loop.[20][21][22][5] With a new location and new frequency of 670 kilohertz, WMAQ went on the air July 2, 1923. The new frequency however, was not clear channel. WMAQ had to share it with another local station, WQJ, which was jointly owned by the Calumet Baking Powder Company and the Rainbo Gardens Ballroom on North Clark Street.[23] Rainbo was one of the country's top ballrooms and Calumet's broadcasts brought the company much publicity.[24] The Daily News was not able to buy out WQJ until 1927 to make the 670 frequency a clear channel one.[3][25][26]

Within four weeks after its move, WMAQ obtained the exclusive Chicago rights from American Telephone & Telegraph to broadcast President Warren Harding's address from San Francisco;[5] it also had them for his memorial services on August 10, 1923. At the time, it was AT&T's policy to sell the exclusive broadcasting rights for an event to one radio station per city. Shortly before the special event, AT&T would send wires to all radio stations, informing them of what was to take place; the first radio station to respond to the telegram was then granted the exclusive broadcast rights in their respective city.[27] WMAQ would later broadcast both the 1924 Republican and Democratic conventions by this same arrangement.[28][29]

By 1924, the station took an active interest in broadcasting sporting events, broadcasting the 1924 World Series and convincing William Wrigley to air all Chicago Cubs home games from Wrigley Field in 1925, making the station the first broadcaster of them.[28] Hal Totten who was also a Daily News sportswriter, was WMAQ's first sportscaster.[30][31] Beginning in the fall of 1925, football games from the University of Chicago were also broadcast. WMAQ was the first to broadcast an intercollegate football game in the United States.[28][29][32]

The former home of WMAQ and the Chicago Daily News.

WMAQ became an affiliate of the National Broadcasting Company in January 1927.[5] In September 1927, it severed its ties with NBC and joined the new Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) as a charter affiliate.[26] It was one of the 16 stations that aired the first CBS network program on September 18, 1927.[26] There was now a need for a new transmitter and a site for it outside of the city, so the station's coverage area could be enlarged. In 1928, the new station transmitter was constructed in Elmhurst.[33][34][5] It was also time to move the studios from the La Salle Hotel; new studios were constructed at the Daily News Building, which was then at 400 West Madison (today 2 North Riverside Plaza).[35][36][37] A new radio show called Amos 'n' Andy also aired for the first time on WMAQ on March 19, 1928.[38] The actors were no strangers to Chicago radio as their program originally aired on WGN as Sam 'n' Henry; their first appearance on Chicago radio is said to have been on WLS in the late 1920s.[39][40][41] Charles Correll and Freeman Gosden broke with WGN over syndication rights; General Manager Judith Waller saw the potential of the radio show and granted these rights to the duo as part of their contract.[42] Because WGN owned the rights to the characters of Sam and Henry, Gosden and Correll made some revisions to their act and renamed the characters for their new program Amos and Andy.[41] Since WMAQ was affiliated with CBS at the time, Waller made determined tries to convince the network to make Amos 'n' Andy a network program, but there was no interest. NBC brought the program to its Blue Network in the fall of 1929, paying the duo a record $100,000 for the right to broadcast the program.[41][43]

1930s[edit]

By 1930, the Daily News began working with television broadcasting; a published announcement of March 30, 1930 indicated the equipment would be installed and operable within two months. The video signal was to be sent by the shortwave station W9XAP, while the audio would be broadcast on the normal WMAQ radio frequency.[44][45] WMAQ did not receive an experimental license from the Federal Radio Commission to operate station W9XAP until September 2, 1930.[46][47] The first broadcast of the station actually occurred shortly before this was granted, on August 27, 1930. Only those with special receivers-primarily radio stores who had received them from the Daily News-could see the video portion of the broadcast. The station distributed 200 receivers in the city and suburbs.[48][49][50] Those at the dealerships saw and heard Bill Hay, the announcer for Amos 'n' Andy, present a variety-show broadcast from the Daily News Building.[48][51][52] The man behind this and other early Chicago television broadcasts was Ulises Armand Sanabria, who 2 years before used the WCFL Navy Pier transmitter to provide the video and radio station WIBO for the audio portions of the broadcast.[48][53] Both the technical limitations and economic climate of the times brought an end to the station's broadcasts in August 1933.[54] It was the beginning of WMAQ-TV, which would not return until after World War II.[55]

The Merchandise Mart: WMAQ was here for the years it was owned by NBC.

On November 1, 1931, the Daily News sold WMAQ to the National Broadcasting Company;[5] the arrangement originally began as NBC becoming a partner in the station with the Daily News.[56] In May of the next year, NBC moved the station from the Daily News Building to the Merchandise Mart, where it had newly completed a broadcasting center in 1930.[37][57][5] WMAQ remained there until a 1989 move to the NBC Tower.[58][4] It became a member of the NBC Red Network, later known as the NBC Radio Network, and remained affiliated with NBC well into the 1990s, even after the station was sold to Westinghouse Broadcasting.

On September 15, 1935, WMAQ once again changed transmitter sites—this time to one in Bloomingdale, and its power was increased from 5,000 watts to 50,000 watts.[5][37][59] Clear channels were reassigned in 1934, with Illinois losing a frequency and Pennsylvania gaining it. Preserving its clear channel frequency for KYW meant Westinghouse would need to move the station from Chicago so Westinghouse moved KYW east to Philadelphia in late 1934, leaving an unneeded transmitter building and site behind, which is the location of the present WMAQ transmitter.[60][61][62][63] Its daytime signal provided secondary coverage to most of Illinois, including Peoria and Springfield. It also provided a strong signal to much of southern Wisconsin (with Milwaukee getting a city-grade signal) and almost half of Indiana. At night, it reached most of the eastern three-fourths of North America.

Fibber McGee and Molly from Chicago, 1937.

WMAQ carried original local and network programming. Marian and Jim Jordan started at WLS in 1927 with The Smith Family.[39][64] They came to WMAQ, doing a local show called Smackout and later would move on to form Fibber McGee and Molly, which was produced at WMAQ from 1935 to 1939, when the show moved to California.[65][66][67][68] During its first months on the air, Fibber McGee and Molly was distributed over NBC's Blue Network, which meant that in Chicago the program was produced at WMAQ but heard over WLS, one of three NBC Blue Network affiliates in Chicago at the time. Amos 'n' Andy was also a popular program that continued being broadcast from Chicago until 1938, when the program moved to Hollywood. Both of these shows moved production to the new NBC West Coast Radio City.[69][70]

Edgar Bergen was initially turned down for a radio spot at WMAQ as the station manager felt ventriliquism would not work on radio. Bergen received an offer from Rudy Vallee to become a part of his radio show in late 1936; by May 1937, Bergen and Charlie McCarthy had their own show on the NBC Red Network.[71][72]

Radio from "the Mart" centered around the many studios on the 19th floor; only one studio, Studio F, was on the 20th.[73][74][75] Like its Radio City Rockefeller Center counterpart, there were NBC pages (Bob Sirott was one of them in the late 1960s) and a host of staff announcers. In 1947, Hugh Downs (Today Show and 20/20), Garry Moore (1915–1993) and Durward Kirby (1912–2000) were on the WMAQ staff, as was Mike Wallace, later of 60 Minutes fame.[72][76][77][78] Dave Garroway (1913–1982) also arrived on the NBC airwaves via WMAQ with his 1160 Club playing big band and jazz in the 1940s.[79][80] Garroway was also responsible for organizing a series of local jazz concerts and establishing a Chicago lounge "Jazz Circuit" in 1947 which revived interest in the music genre.[81][82] In 1948 and 1949, Garroway was voted the nation's top Disk Jockey by his peers in Billboard's annual poll.[83][84]

1940s[edit]

WSCR's transmitter building in Bloomingdale Township

As television made waves around the nation, radio stations like WMAQ shifted to recorded music. For many years due to union constraints, all music broadcast on the network was live; stations had to maintain full-time orchestras on their payrolls.[85][86] The organ music which was a part of many of the radio "soap operas" was provided by union musicians. When turntables entered studio control rooms, the musicians were replaced by the turntable operator or "record turner".[87] It was the job of the turntable operator (a member of the American Federation of Musicians), to play any recorded music.[88] The Musician's Union received jurisdiction over the turntables because it was reasoned that each turntable was responsible for five "live" musicians losing their employment.[89] Not until the late 1960s did the union turntable operator leave the control rooms of NBC, Chicago.[90][91]

For those who had aspirations of becoming broadcasters, WMAQ was a good place to get started in the medium, even if the job was not on the air. The station encouraged its young employees with dreams of working at a microphone by assisting with tuition for college broadcasting courses and holding workshops at the station where those with stars in their eyes were given the chance to display their skills in a "real world" setting. Herb Kent, a Chicago radio pioneer, first came to work in the mailroom at WMAQ as a young high school graduate in the late 1940s. He credits WMAQ and Hugh Downs, who was then a WMAQ staff announcer, with providing him with the tools and encouragement he needed.[92][93][94] After getting some announcing experience, Kent returned to WMAQ, this time on the air as a radio actor.[95]

Over the years 1948–1966, the WMAQ Radio live studios in the Merchandise Mart were converted to TV studios for use by the new TV station. In the mid-1930s the popularity of the radio soap operas which were born in Chicago, made it necessary for NBC to construct six more radio studios on the 19th floor; WMAQ Radio moved to these smaller studios.[74][96][97] Though the Blue Network was sold to American Broadcasting System in 1943, it continued leasing Merchandise Mart space from NBC until its move to the Civic Opera House in 1952. This freed up more space for WMAQ.[91]

The station was a leader in the use of helicopters for traffic reports. In 1948, it used a two-man crew in the air to report traffic on the July 4 weekend. The traffic team covered the Chicago area by air, landing to phone in their reports, which were put on the air.[98][99]

In 1949, the station suffered what could have been a crippling blow; the collapse of its main antenna at the Bloomingdale transmitter site. WMAQ was able to be on the air, but not at its normal 50,000 watt power. While the main antenna was out of service, NBC found a solution with some history to it to get WMAQ back broadcasting at full power. RCA had a tower in storage in one of its New Jersey facilities that was used as part of its 1939 New York World's Fair exhibit. The tower, which originally came from NBC's WTAM in Cleveland, was shipped to Chicago and became the acting main antenna; it stands today at Bloomingdale.[60][63] The station launched a new main antenna tower at Bloomingdale in 1951, which was considered to be one of the tallest structures in the US at the time.[100]

1950s and 1960s[edit]

In 1950, The Chez Show originated from the Chez Paree nightclub on North Fairbanks in Chicago's Streeterville neighborhood. It was one of Chicago's top night spots, as celebrities of all genres could be found there, either as performers or as patrons.[101] The original hosts of this weekday late-night interview program were Mike Wallace and his wife, Buff Cobb.[102][103] In 1951, Jack Eigen (1913-1983) took over as host of the program, a position he held for most of the next 20 years.[104][105][106] After the Chez Paree closed in the spring of 1960 and never re-opened, the program became The Jack Eigen Show and the interviews continued from WMAQ's Studio G, where there was room enough for a small audience, and from Chicago's Sherman House hotel; their College Inn was another popular local venue for entertainment and entertainers.[96][107][108][109][110][111]

Beginning in 1956, the overnight hours were the domain of Holmes "Daddy-O" Daylie (1920–2003), who brought his sense of humor, way with words and musical knowledge to WMAQ as he played cool jazz through the night.[112] "Daddy-O" was the first African-American hosting a regularly scheduled radio show on a Chicago network owned and operated radio station.[113] It was WMAQ's Dave Garroway who discovered him tending bar in 1947 and suggested he train for work in radio; by 1948, "Daddy-O" was on the air on Chicago's WAIT.[114][115] When Garroway discovered Daylie, he was the host of the 1160 Club overnight on WMAQ, also playing jazz.[116]

Other performers who would go on to make their mark on local broadcasting got their "break" at WMAQ too. One of them was Ned Locke (1919-1992), who hosted a Saturday children's radio show, Uncle Ned's Flying Squadron, on the station in 1950. His radio work led to his being asked to substitute for the host of a popular weekday children's program on WMAQ-TV. He went on to WGN-TV, where he continued to participate in local children's television. Ned Locke is known best to Chicagoans as "Ringmaster Ned"; he assumed that role on the very successful and popular Chicago version of Bozo's Circus in 1961.[117]

During the 1950s and 1960s, they played adult popular music by artists such as Frank Sinatra and Perry Como. A 1964 campaign asking listeners to vote for Elvis Presley or Chubby Checker was just a publicity stunt, but it was enough to start rumors in the broadcasting and record industries that the station would move to a Top-40 format.[110][118]

In 1964, WNBQ TV changed its call letters to match WMAQ radio as the stations emphasized the common NBC ownership.[119]

When Floyd Brown joined the staff in 1965, his photo wound up on the cover of the RCA Employee magazine next to one of Bill Cosby, who was starring in I Spy on NBC-TV; Floyd was the first African-American hired as a network announcer. A radio veteran, having been involved at the start of Gordon McLendon's WYNR, his smooth voice, his upbeat personality, and his ability to discuss everything from Big Bands to Beatles to Chicago Bears, informed and entertained WMAQ listeners when he became a regular program host.[120][121][122]

1970s[edit]

During the early 1970s, WMAQ's formats were music or talk, using the on-air name "67-Q". Although the station never shifted completely to Top 40, by the early 1970s, WMAQ's playlist could be considered something of a Hot Adult Contemporary.[123] One of the first "sports-talk" programs, Sound off on Sports, with Pat Sheridan (1920–2005), also debuted during this time.[124][125][126] Many of the on-air personalities during this time period were well known to listeners from previous radio stations. Clark Weber, Jim Stagg (1935–2007), Joel Sebastian (1986), "World Famous" Tom Murphy, and Howard Miller (1994), all spent some time working at WMAQ and previously at WCFL.[127][128][129][130][131][132] A 1975 format change to country music saw WMAQ taking on WJJD; the entire WMAQ air staff was replaced.[133][134][135] Jim Hill (1929-2005), long-time staff announcer and radio host, moved into the WMAQ-TV announcer's booth where he remained until retiring.[136][137] The first song played under the new format was "Your Cheatin' Heart" by Hank Williams, Sr. The station's fortunes were helped in no small part by the famous "WMAQ is Gonna Make Me Rich!" cash giveaway promotion,[138] which was eventually used on other NBC-owned radio outlets. WMAQ also served as the flagship station for Chicago White Sox broadcasts throughout the 1970s and 1980s, as well as the Chicago Blackhawks. This was the era of the "Good Morning Guys", including Cassidy, Lee Sherwood, Bob Tracy, Jerry Taft, and Tim Weigel.

1980s[edit]

NBC Tower, where WMAQ moved in 1989. WSCR also broadcast here before moving to Two Prudential Plaza.

By 1986 a mix of talk and music was bringing on a change. Music listening was shifting to FM and WMAQ saw a transition to a short lived news/talk format. After 57 years, NBC sold all of their radio stations following RCA's merger with General Electric. NBC sold WMAQ to Group W in 1988. This was Westinghouse's third stint at station ownership in the Chicago market, having founded KYW before relocating that station to Philadelphia in 1934, and later with WIND from 1955 to 1985. Group W switched WMAQ to an all-news format of the "give us 22 minutes" variety, patterned after its successful all-news outlets in Philadelphia, New York and Los Angeles.[139] Long-time WMAQ morning news anchor Pat Cassidy (now with WBBM) was on the air when the switch was made to all-news. The news staff included two veteran WMAQ reporters–Bill Cameron and Bob Roberts– holdover anchor Nancy Benson, Jay Congdon, Christopher Michael, Lisa Meyer, Larry Langford, (son of the late Chicago Ald. Anna Langford and now the media voice of the Chicago Fire Department) Dave Berner, Mike Doyle, Jim Gudas, Cisco Cotto, John Dempsey, Chris Robling, Mike Krauser, Corrie Wynns and a freelance crime reporter, Doug Cummings. Chicago news veteran (WCFL, WIND) Jim Frank (1940–2007) was hired as the news director, following a stint at WIOD-AM in Miami.[140] Other news directors included Bonnie Buck (daughter of late sports broadcaster Jack Buck) and Krauser, who took the same position at rival WBBM after Viacom shuttered WMAQ and fired the staff. WMAQ was among the first Chicago AM stations to use Motorola C-Quam AM stereo even though its format was all-news.

The station moved to the new NBC Tower in 1990 with the television station despite their being owned by different companies, as studios for them had been designed by NBC before the sale.[4]

1990s[edit]

WMAQ eventually added more long-form news programming and some assorted call-in shows in the late 1990s. The highest rated long form show was Cameron and Langford – a nightly talk show with City Hall reporter Bill Cameron and WMAQ police beat reporter Larry Langford who grew up covering crime and politics in the 1960s. The two had a good mix of conservative versus liberal views and city versus suburbs. An early harbinger of its future format was the evening WMAQ Sports Huddle which premiered in 1993 and competed with all-sports WSCR, WMVP and WGN's Sports Central program.[141]

Westinghouse merged with CBS in 1995, making WMAQ a sister station to its all-news rival, WBBM.

The end of WMAQ[edit]

Viacom merged with CBS in spring of 2000, and the purchase put the merged company over FCC limits on ownership in Chicago.[142][143] Viacom also owned all-news WBBM, and decided to operate only one all-news station in Chicago, opting to end WMAQ's format and concentrate on WBBM, while moving The Score to 670 and selling the 1160 to Salem Communications (that station is now WYLL).[143][144][145]

On August 1, 2000, after 78 years, WMAQ signed off for the last time with a live sign-off message from nighttime police beat reporter Larry Langford. Following the live sign-off, the traditional NBC chimes were played for the last time with a late 50s-mid 60s historic ID that, although somewhat inaccurate with the current network association and sister station, was appropriate as it spoke, "This is NBC, the National Broadcasting Company. WMAQ and WMAQ-FM, NBC in Chicago," at 6 am CDT. An announcer then said the official last words: "The final broadcast, the end of Radio 670, WMAQ, Chicago." After the NBC chimes were played one more time, and one last jingle for WMAQ was heard, "The Score" moved to 670, and the era for the station that was "First In Chicago" came to an end.[146][147]

WSCR[edit]

WSCR's main and auxiliary towers

The Score began on January 2, 1992, broadcasting on 820 kHz.[148] This station, now WCPT, ran 5,000-watts and broadcast during daytime hours only.[148] The Score moved to 1160 on April 7, 1997.[149]

On August 1, 2000, The Score moved to its current frequency of 670AM, a 50,000-watt clear-channel signal that had long been the home of WMAQ, Chicago's oldest radio station.[143] The Score's programming was simulcast on 670 and 1160 for two weeks, after which 670's call sign was changed to WSCR.[150][151]

WSCR's studios were then located at 4949 W. Belmont Ave. on the northwest side of Chicago, in the building where sister station WXRT had long been located.[152] In 2001, its studios moved to the NBC Tower.[152][153]

From 2001 to 2008, the station was the flagship for Chicago Blackhawks hockey, until their move to WGN. WSCR was also the radio home for the Chicago White Sox baseball team from 2006 to 2015, until their departure to WLS at the conclusion of the 2015 season.[154]

In 2010, the station's studios were moved to Two Prudential Plaza, home to several other Entercom stations.[153]

The Chicago Cubs made WSCR the flagship of their radio network following the White Sox' departure to WLS. When the Cubs left WGN for CBS Radio following the 2014 season, the Cubs were heard on WBBM (780 AM). A clause in the Cubs' deal with CBS allowed a one-time move to WSCR in the event that the White Sox left the station.[155] The move was officially announced on November 11, 2015.[156] The Cubs' first year on WSCR paid immediate dividends, as the team won the 2016 World Series, its first world championship in 108 years, and the first since the birth of radio and modern communications.

On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with Entercom.[157] The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and was consummated on the 17th.[158][159]

On January 31, 2018, Entercom announced that WSCR would become the new flagship station for the Chicago Bulls on February 3, 2018 after Cumulus Media nullified their contract with the team to carry games on WLS after they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[160][161]

Programming[edit]

The station is the exclusive Chicago radio outlet for Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball and football along with Chicago Cubs baseball. WSCR also carries other live sports programming from CBS Sports Radio and Westwood One, including Monday Night Football.

The Score's long-time listeners, callers, and e-mailers are known as "Score Heads," and often use colorful monikers.[162][163] The station has also done remote broadcasts from various locations.[162]

Twice an hour, there are minute-long "Score Board Updates" by reporters with game results and highlighted stories of the day. The Chicago Wolves sponsor the studio the updates are done in. Many producers are on-air contributors and fill in when other hosts have days off. Other reporters include Julie DiCaro, Zach Zaidman, David Schuster, Nick Shepkowski, and Jay Zawaski. Weekends outside of play-by-play constitute of local shows by Mike Esposito, Steve Rosenbloom and Mark Grote (Rosenbloom and Grote host a show known as the Wake & Bake show).

Starting in 2005, WSCR started airing Sporting News Radio overnights. It also began airing the Dan Patrick show on a delayed basis in 2007. Now overnights are covered by Les Grobstein. WSCR also airs CBS Sports Radio on its website whenever it airs the NFL on Westwood One or the Cubs, which do not allow live streaming.

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Some AM stations use HD Radio only during daytime hours, per Barry McLarnon's AM IBOC page (see references below).

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e "1922-Year Radio's Population Soared" (PDF). Broadcasting. May 14, 1962. p. 114. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  2. ^ McLarnon, Barry (2016-04-18). "AM IBOC Stations on the Air". Retrieved 2016-06-24.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Special Report" (PDF). Broadcasting. May 14, 1962. p. 126. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c Childers, Scott. "A Look Back at the Q". Childers, Scott. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h "NBC 25th Anniversary Edition", Billboard. December 1, 1951. pp. 52, 54. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  6. ^ Gootee, Tom. "Tom Gootee's History of WMAQ-Chapter 3". Gootee, Tom. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
  7. ^ "The Fair". Jazz Age Chicago. Archived from the original on May 15, 2011. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
  8. ^ "May 1, 1922 Broadcast Station List-WBU". U.S. Department of Commerce. Retrieved March 5, 2018. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  9. ^ Gootee, Tom. "Tom Gootee's History of WMAQ-Chapter 2". Gootee, Tom. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
  10. ^ Robinson, Anna, Garfinkel, Steve, Eckstein, Elizabeth (2000). "Emergence of Radio in the 1920s and its Cultural Significance". University of Virginia. Retrieved July 30, 2010.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ WMAQ Radio (February 15, 1932). WMAQ ad (PDF). Broadcasting. p. 31. Retrieved March 6, 2014.(PDF)
  12. ^ Gootee, Tom. "Tom Gootee's History of WMAQ-Chapter 4". Gootee, Tom. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
  13. ^ "Encyclopedia of Chicago-Broadcasting". Encyclopedia of Chicago History. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  14. ^ "Encyclopedia of Chicago-Judith Waller". Encyclopedia of Chicago History. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  15. ^ Samuels, Rich. "Meet Judith Waller". Samuels, Rich. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  16. ^ "Judith Waller interview-from the NBC Employees' Newsletter-April 1947-part 1". National Broadcasting Company. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  17. ^ "Judith Waller interview-from the NBC Employees' Newsletter-April 1947-part 2". National Broadcasting Company. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  18. ^ Wagner, Gwen (March 1926). Every Station Is The Best In The World (PDF). Radio Age. p. 32. Retrieved March 6, 2014.(PDF)
  19. ^ Hedges, William S. "How WMAQ Came into Existence-25th anniversary article". National Broadcasting Company. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
  20. ^ "Early WMAQ-antenna atop the La Salle hotel". Samuels, Rich. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
  21. ^ "Early WMAQ-photo of one of the La Salle hotel studios". Samuels. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
  22. ^ "LaSalle Hotel". Jazz Age Chicago. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
  23. ^ "Rainbo Gardens". Jazz Age Chicago. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
  24. ^ Gootee, Tom. "Tom Gootee's History of WMAQ-Chapter 6". Gootee, Tom. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
  25. ^ "Daily News Leases WQJ". The Decatur Daily Review. February 17, 1927. p. 14. Retrieved November 5, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  26. ^ a b c Gootee, Tom. "Tom Gootee's History of WMAQ-Chapter 11". Gootee, Tom. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
  27. ^ Gootee, Tom. "Tom Gootee's History of WMAQ-Chapter 7". Gootee, Tom. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
  28. ^ a b c National Broadcasting Company (April 2, 1962). 40 (40th anniversary of WMAQ) (PDF). Broadcasting. p. 75. Retrieved March 4, 2014.(PDF)
  29. ^ a b Gootee, Tom. "Tom Gootee's History of WMAQ-Chapter 8". Gootee, Tom. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
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External links[edit]

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