WIND
Broadcast areaChicago metropolitan area
Frequency560 kHz
BrandingAM 560 The Answer
Programming
FormatConservative talk
AffiliationsFox News Radio
Salem Radio Network
Townhall News
Premiere Networks
Northern Illinois Huskies (NCAA Division I)
Ownership
Owner
WYLL
History
First air date
August 16, 1927 (1927-08-16)[1]
Former call signs
WJKS (1927-1933)[2]
Call sign meaning
W - INDiana (originally licensed to Gary, Indiana)[3]
The WINDy City
Technical information[4]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID67068
ClassB
Power5,000 watts
Transmitter coordinates
41°33′54″N 87°25′11″W / 41.56500°N 87.41972°W / 41.56500; -87.41972
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen Live
Website560theanswer.com

WIND (560 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Chicago, Illinois, and broadcasting a conservative talk radio format. It is owned by the Salem Media Group with studios on NW Point Boulevard in Elk Grove Village.

WIND transmits with 5,000 watts, using a directional antenna with a four-tower array, in Griffith, Indiana, near the Little Calumet River. Due to its location near the bottom of the AM dial, transmitter power, and the surrounding region's flat land, WIND's daytime signal covers much of Northeast Illinois, Northwest Indiana and Southeastern Wisconsin.[5] Its nighttime pattern concentrates its signal in the Chicago and Milwaukee areas.[6]

Programming

WIND carries the Salem Radio Network line up of hosts, including Dennis Prager, Hugh Hewitt, Mike Gallagher, Sebastian Gorka, Jay Sekulow and Charlie Kirk.[7] From Premiere Networks, WIND also carries The Sean Hannity Show. WIND airs two local shows on weekdays, Chicago's Morning Answer with Amy Jacobson and Dan Proft, and Shaun Thompson in afternoons. Most hours begin with an update from Townhall News.

Much of the weekend is devoted to specialty talk shows on money, health and real estate, some of which is paid brokered programming.[8][9] WIND is the flagship station for Carl Amari and Lisa Wolf's nationally syndicated nostalgia & showbiz program "Hollywood 360" which airs Saturday evenings.[10] "Beyond The Beltway" with Bruce DuMont is also heard on Sunday evenings. Northern Illinois Huskies football games air in the fall.

History

Early history

The station began broadcasting on August 16, 1927, holding the call sign WJKS, and was originally licensed to Gary, Indiana.[2][11][1] It initially operated at 1290 kHz, and shared time with WSBC.[2][11] Its studio and transmitter were located in the Gay Mill Ballroom, in Gary's Miller Beach neighborhood.[1][2] The station was owned by the ballroom's owners, Thomas Johnson and Frances Kennedy.[1] In 1928, its frequency was changed to 1360 kHz, where it shared time with WGES.[2] Ralph Atlass purchased a 50% stake in the station in 1931.[12][1] In 1932, WJKS's studios were moved to the Gary State Bank Building.[2]

The station moved to its present 560 kHz frequency in 1933, after Chicago stations WIBO and WPCC, which had been operating at 560 kHz, were shut down.[2][13] The station began full-time operations, and ran 1,000 watts.[2] Its call sign was changed to WIND the same year.[2] In 1934, the station's daytime power was increased to 2,500 watts and in 1935 its daytime power was increased to 5,000 watts.[2] Its nighttime power was increased to 5,000 watts in 1941.[2]

From the 1930s until 1985, WIND played "The Whiffenpoof Song" every night at 2 a.m.[14]

In the fall of 1937, the station was one of several Chicago radio stations to donate airtime to Chicago Public Schools for a pioneering program in which the school district provided elementary school students with distance education amid a polio outbreak-related school closure.[15]

In 1944, WIND's studios were moved to Chicago's Carbide & Carbon Building, and in 1947 its studios were moved to the South tower of the Wrigley Building.[2]

In 1946, Ralph Atlass sold his stake in WIND to newspaper publisher John S. Knight for $800,000.[16] Atlass remained station manager of WIND.[16]

Eddie Hubbard began hosting a popular music program called the ABC Club in 1945.[17][18] By the late 1940s, much of the station's schedule was devoted to contemporary music.[18][19][20] WIND was Chicago's leading hit music station in the 1950s.[21][20]

Howard Miller was WIND's program director from 1945 to 1949.[1][22][23] In 1950, Miller started a longtime run as Chicago's top rated morning DJ.[22][23][24] Miller would remain Chicago's top rated radio personality until leaving the station in 1968.[22][23] Other WIND personalities during its music years included Jim Lounsbury,[25] Linn Burton,[14] Jay Trompeter,[26] Bernie Allen,[27] Lee Rogers,[28] Dick Williamson,[29] Perry Marshall,[30] Bruce Lee,[31] Kassidy,[32] Joel Sebastian,[33] Robert W. Morgan,[34] Chuck Benson and Kurt Russell,[35] Ron Britain,[36] Bob Del Giorno,[37] and Connie Szerszen.[38]

From 1945 to 1957, WIND held the exclusive local rights to broadcast Chicago Cubs baseball.[39] Sportscasters on WIND during this period included Bert Wilson, Milo Hamilton, and Jack Quinlan.[40]

In 1956, the station was sold to Westinghouse Broadcasting for $5.3 million, which at the time was a record amount for a radio station.[2][41][42] At the time of the purchase, WIND had no news department, though the station subscribed to wire services.[43] Westinghouse established a news department at the station, and it aired 5 minute newscasts every hour.[44][45][46] Earl Finckle was the station's meteorologist for a period.[47]

In the 1960s, WIND shifted to a middle of the road, pop contemporary/pop standards format.[48][49][50][45][46] In 1967, the station began adding some harder tracks to its playlist.[51][52] Phil Nolan became general manager of WIND in 1969.[53]

In 1971, WIND evolved into an oldies-heavy adult contemporary format, playing hits from 1955 to present day.[36][54] In addition to the music played on the station, WIND aired Contact, a nighttime talk show hosted by Dave Baum.[36][54][38] Larry "The Legend" Johnson hosted overnights.[54][55] Ed Schwartz served as a substitute host for Johnson, before replacing him as overnight host in 1973.[38][55] Schwartz had previously held several behind-the-scenes positions at WIND.[55] Schwartz continued as overnight host on WIND until 1981, when he moved to 720 WGN.[55]

In 1973, WIND won the George Foster Peabody Award for their series "From 18th Street: Destination Peking."[56]

First talk era

In September 1978, WIND switched to a news/talk format.[57] Local personalities included Clark Weber, Eddie Schwartz, Dave Baum, Steve King, and Jimmy Piersall.[58][59][60][61][62] Syndicated personalities heard on WIND included British-American talk show host Michael Jackson and Dr. Toni Grant.[61] The Larry King Show was heard overnight.[61][63]

Spanish era

In 1985, Westinghouse announced that they would sell WIND to Tichenor Radio for $6.85 million.[64] On December 12, 1985, at 1:03 p.m., on the same day of the closing of the sale to Tichenor, WIND officially signed off the air by playing "The Whiffenpoof Song" and "The Star-Spangled Banner".[14] Soon thereafter, WIND signed back on the air, with a Spanish language format.[65] The station aired Mexican mariachi and ranchera music and was branded "La Tremenda".[66][3][67] By the late 1990s, the station was airing a Spanish talk/romantica format.[68][69] In 1997, Tichenor Media merged with Heftel Broadcasting to form the Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation, which merged with Univision Communications in 2004.[70] In October 2003, the station's talk programming moved to AM 1200 WRTO, and it began airing a Spanish adult contemporary format.[71]

Second talk era

In 2004, Univision Radio announced a multi-station swap with Salem Communications.[72][73] This resulted in Salem acquiring WIND, while Univision Radio received 106.7 WZFS (now WPPN).[72][73]

On November 1, 2004, WIND once again became an English-language talk station.[74][75] Its original line-up included Bill Bennett, Laura Ingraham, Dennis Prager, Michael Medved, Michael Savage, Hugh Hewitt, and Mike Gallagher.[74][75]

In July 2005, WIND entered into an agreement with the University of Illinois to carry Fighting Illini football and men's basketball games, as well as the coaches shows, through the Illini Sports Radio Network.[76] Those broadcasts continued through the 2013 football season, with the Illini moving back to their longtime Chicago affiliate, WSCR.[76] WIND was formerly the alternate station of the Chicago Blackhawks and the Northwestern Wildcats in the case of scheduling conflicts at their flagship, WGN.[77]

On January 21, 2013, WIND rebranded as AM 560 The Answer, to follow suit with other Salem Communications-owned stations.[78]

In 2014, WIND became the Chicago radio home for Northern Illinois Huskies football.[77]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ghrist, John R. (1996). Valley Voices: A Radio History. Crossroads Communications. p. 211-220.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 History Cards for WIND, fcc.gov. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  3. 1 2 Chicagoland Radio Waves, MediaTies. Summer 1988/Spring-Summer 1989. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WIND". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  5. ↑ "Predicted Daytime Coverage Area for WIND 560 AM", radio-locator.com. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  6. ↑ "Predicted Nighttime* Coverage Area for WIND 560 AM", radio-locator.com. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  7. ↑ "Program Guide: Tuesday, WIND. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  8. ↑ "Program Guide: Saturday, WIND. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Program Guide: Sunday, WIND. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  10. ↑ Gire, Dann. "S. Barrington man builds career on radio's Golden Age", Daily Herald. September 11, 2012. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  11. 1 2 Annual Report of the Federal Radio Commission to the Congress of the United States for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1927. Federal Radio Commission. United States Government Printing Office. 1927. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  12. ↑ "Deaths", Broadcasting. June 25, 1979. p. 95. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  13. ↑ "WIBO and WPCC Off Air But New Hearing Looming", Broadcasting. June 15, 1933. p. 14. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  14. 1 2 3 Smith, Wes. "A Chicago Voice Breaks With WIND Sign-Off", Chicago Tribune. December 13, 1985. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
  15. ↑ Strauss, Valerie; Hines, Michael. "Perspective | In Chicago, schools closed during a 1937 polio epidemic and kids learned from home — over the radio". Washington Post. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  16. 1 2 "Knight Buys 42% WIND Stock From R. L. Atlass for $800,000", Broadcasting. February 4, 1946. pp. 17, 74. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  17. ↑ "Vox Jox", Billboard. May 6, 1950. p. 28. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  18. 1 2 "Disk Jockey Hooper Ratings", Billboard. Special Disk Jockey Supplement. October 2, 1948. p. 74. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  19. ↑ "Radio-TV Programs for Today" (PDF). Chicago Tribune. October 19, 1949. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  20. 1 2 Weber, Clark (2008). Clark Weber's Rock and Roll Radio: The Fun Years 1955-1975. Chicago's Books Press. p. 37.
  21. ↑ WIND Top 21. WIND. October 12, 1957. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  22. 1 2 3 "Chicago's Top DJ: 18th Year at WIND", Billboard. April 11, 1964. pp. 12, 82. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  23. 1 2 3 "DJ Miller Denies WIND's Charge", Billboard. May 18, 1968. p. 26. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  24. ↑ "Howard Power". Time. 31 January 1969. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  25. ↑ "Vox Jox", Billboard. June 3, 1950. p. 24. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  26. ↑ "Chicago DJ's Promote 65th Anniversary", Billboard. May 16, 1953. p. 72. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
  27. ↑ Kates, Joan Giangrasse. "Bernie Allen, former WLS radio host, dies at 86", Chicago Tribune. December 1, 2015. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  28. ↑ "Segue", Billboard. December 14, 1963. p. 35. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  29. ↑ "Radio Response Rating", Billboard. October 31, 1964. p. 34. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  30. ↑ Faggen, Gil. "Vox Jox", Billboard. March 16, 1963. p. 70. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  31. ↑ "Radio Response Rating", Billboard. March 14, 1964. p. 16. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
  32. ↑ "Arnold—Visiting DJ", Billboard. August 14, 1965. p. 55. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  33. ↑ "Retailing Panel", Billboard. October 30, 1961. p. 42. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  34. ↑ Shannon, Bob. "Robert W. Morgan - Part Two", All Access Music Group. August 14, 2007. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  35. ↑ Hall, Claude. "Vox Jox", Billboard. July 20, 1968. p. 20. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  36. 1 2 3 Paige, Earl. "At WIND, It's Music, Talk of Today", Billboard. March 6, 1971. pp. 34, 36. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
  37. ↑ "From the Music Capitals of the World", Billboard. May 20, 1972. p. 43. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
  38. 1 2 3 WIND's Top 56 of 74. WIND. 1974. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
  39. ↑ Shea, Stuart (2015). Calling the Game: Baseball Broadcasting from 1920 to the Present. SABR, Inc. p. 51. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  40. ↑ Nidetz, Steve. "Hamilton's Trail to Coopertown", Chicago Tribune. August 2, 1992. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  41. ↑ "$16 Million Station Sales Signed or Brewing in Week", Broadcasting. August 27, 1956. p. 27. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  42. ↑ "WIND Control Shifts to WBC in Record $5.3 Million Deal", Broadcasting. December 24, 1956. p. 62. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  43. ↑ Labor Arbitration Reports. Volume 40. The Bureau of National Affairs, 1963. p. 60.
  44. ↑ "Stations By Format", Billboard. October 31, 1964. p. 34. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  45. 1 2 "Stations By Format", Billboard. October 16, 1965. p. 62. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  46. 1 2 "Stations By Format", Billboard. November 19, 1966. p. 38. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  47. ↑ Lazare, Lewis. "Weather forecaster for Cubs", Chicago Sun-Times. July 6, 2009. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  48. ↑ Biro, Nick. "Chicago Radio: Kings Remain Assumptive; Heirs Presumptive", Billboard. March 28, 1964. p. 12. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  49. ↑ "Stations By Format", Billboard. March 14, 1964. p. 16. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  50. ↑ Biro, Nick. "'Eve of Destruction' Has Its Day", Billboard. August 21, 1965. p. 12. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  51. ↑ "WCFL Is Looking to Be No. 1", Billboard. September 30, 1967. p. 34. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
  52. ↑ "From the Music Capitals of the World", Billboard. May 27, 1967. p. 14. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
  53. ↑ Hall, Claude. "Vox Jox", Billboard. August 9, 1969. p. 58. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  54. 1 2 3 Paige, Earl. "Moomey's 'Absolute Hits' Formula", Billboard. January 1, 1972. p. 10. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
  55. 1 2 3 4 Dahl, Bill. "Eddie Schwartz", Radio Chicago. Spring 1991. p. 32-33. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
  56. ↑ "Winners – 1970s". Peabody Awards. Archived from the original on October 31, 2012. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  57. ↑ Herbeck, Ray, Jr. "WIND Going Talk, So Other Chicago Stations Eye Audience", Billboard. July 29, 1978. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  58. ↑ "Stations, everywhere: a listeners' guide to the AM and FM bands", Chicago Tribune Magazine. March 4, 1979. p. 34. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  59. ↑ "Photo News", Billboard. February 19, 1983. p. 57. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  60. ↑ Bornstein, Rollye. "Photo News", Billboard. November 17, 1984. p. 15. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  61. 1 2 3 Chicago Radio Guide. Vol. 1, No. 1. May 1985. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  62. ↑ Myslenski, Skip. "Piersall at Bat Again, Swinging at His Old Foes", Chicago Tribune. March 17, 1985. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  63. ↑ McCormick, Moria. "Larry King Gets Contemporary Boost", Billboard. January 25, 1986. p. 18. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  64. ↑ Terry, Clifford. "As WIND Shifts Gears, Baum Ponders His Route", Chicago Tribune. November 13, 1985. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  65. ↑ "Riding Gain on Radio", Broadcasting & Cable. December 23, 1985. p. 68. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  66. ↑ Montana, Constanza. "Staying in Tune With Hispanics", Chicago Tribune. July 17, 1989. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  67. ↑ The M Street Radio Directory. 1995 Edition. p. 190. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  68. ↑ "Format Changes & Updates", The M Street Journal. Vol. 16 No. 3. January 20, 1999. p. 2. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  69. ↑ Unmacht, Robert (2000). The M Street Radio Directory. Ninth Edition. p. 223. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  70. ↑ "Hispanic radio industry pioneer dies", Associated Press. New York Daily News. January 5, 2009. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  71. ↑ Feder, Robert. "Univision Radio stations to shift talk, add music", Chicago Sun-Times. October 16, 2003. p. 61.
  72. 1 2 "Univision Radio and Salem Communications to Exchange Radio Assets", Business Wire. October 4, 2004. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  73. 1 2 "Univision Radio and Salem Communications to exchange assets", Dallas Business Journal. October 5, 2004. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  74. 1 2 Feder, Robert (October 26, 2004). "WIND changes direction as news/talk alternative". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on October 28, 2004. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  75. 1 2 "WIND changes direction as news/talk alternative", Radio & Records. November 5, 2004. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  76. 1 2 "Fighting Illini Basketball & Football Broadcasts Returning To WSCR-AM", Chicagoland Radio and Media. April 17, 2013. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  77. 1 2 Ecker, Danny. "NIU football jumps down the radio dial to WIND-AM", Crain's Chicago Business. August 11, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  78. ↑ "Format Changes". Your Midwest Media. 21 January 2013. Archived from the original on 17 March 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
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