WCPN
Owned by Ideastream Public Media, the station serves the western portion of Greater Cleveland and parts of surrounding Northeast Ohio.
Lake Erie Broadcasting, a group headed by Harold E. "Gene" Sens[4] (vice president/general manager for Sandusky's WLEC and a staffer for that station since 1960)[5] filed paperwork with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on December 6, 1969.
[6] Lorain Community Broadcasting, owners of WLRO (1380 AM), filed a competing application at the same time,[7] prompting an FCC comparative hearing on April 14, 1971.
[13] Public service fare even included a Sunday night discussion show devoted to senior citizens, one of the first of its kind in the country.
[19][20] The stunt lasted for 50 days; WOBL owner Harry Wilbur fired Miller afterwards, while the FCC investigated him for possible improprieties with soliciting money on-air.
[22] By that July, area sportscaster Jim Allen Popiel moved his daily high school sports show from WLRO to WZLE.
Norfleet Jones, an area minister and syndicated radio host;[29] his group intended to build a station before learning Sens was interested in selling WZLE.
[29] WZLE's lineup featured a mixture of middle-of-the-road Christian music along with national preachers including Dr. James Dobson, Dr. Charles Swindoll and Marlin Maddoux.
[34] Victory Radio purchased WRKG (the former WLRO) from a group headed by real estate developer Jon R. Veard the following year.
Overnights featured gospel-oriented hip hop first hosted by born-again Christian "Brother Lou" Acosta[45] and later by community volunteer Jerome G. "J The Gospel Kid" Williams.
[48] Len Howser added Patty Sutter and Palmer as co-hosts for a full-service morning show, using it as a way to introduce the Christian contemporary format to listeners.
[39] Rumors emerged in 1997 that Salem Communications, a Christian-based broadcast chain which had purchased both WHK and WCCD in the region, showed interest in acquiring WZLE.
[51] Still, rumors persisted of a format change, possibly to country music, while Howser said, "... they (Jacor) gave me the reins to treat the station as my own and told me to use good judgement.
[54] One displaced listener recounted shock tuning her car radio to WZLE along with her children and hearing Prince's "Erotic City", telling the Morning Journal, "I feel cheated, ripped off and heartbroken...
[53] A contest conducted shortly after the switch went awry when 200 Cedar Point tickets promised to winners went missing; as multiple office keys at the Antlers facilities were unaccounted for, sabotage among former employees was implied.
[56] WZLE's format change took place several days after WENZ relaunched as "KISS 107.9" with a mainstream urban format,[52] but Clear Channel filed a cease and desist letter against WENZ owner Radio One as Clear Channel claimed ownership of the "KISS-FM" brand as a trademark in Ohio,[57] a charge Radio One's chief operating officer disputed.
[59] While "KISS 104.9" was originally fully automated (and, along with WENZ, was described by Plain Dealer critic Tom Feran as "little more than cyberstations programmed from out of town"),[58] an airstaff was gradually assembled.
[71] Radio Seaway's original plans were to use the 1420 AM facility as an outright simulcast of WCLV-FM, addressing the 104.9 FM license's technical limitations.
[79] The move of WCLV's format and call letters to 104.9 FM came at the expense of listeners in Summit County, particularly in Akron and Kent, that were unable to reliably pick up the new signal.
One disappointed listener from Cuyahoga Falls told the Akron Beacon Journal, "I love WCLV, I just feel like the announcers are members of my family.
"[80] Conrad, who emceed a Cleveland Orchestra concert at Blossom Music Center shortly after the switch, ended up addressing the new signal's shortcomings and said, "we made some sacrifices for the perpetuation of the format".
[81] WKSU, which continued to feature a combined public radio and classical format, began advertising towards affected listeners particularly in areas where WCLV-FM's signal was the weakest, but otherwise considered WCLV a "kindred spirit".
[80] WCLV's ratings dropped by 20 percent the year following the switch, but advertising revenue remained stable even with challenges related to the September 11 attacks.
[87] In an interview with the Springfield State Journal-Register, Gerber described WCLV as a mixture of old and new technology, noting, "we still have turntables... we still have reel-to-reel tape, we still have single-edge razor blades lying around the control room.
"[88] Gerber's arrival accentuated an airstaff with significant continuity: music director John Simna had been with WCLV since 1973 and midday host Mark Satola since 1977.
[89] Bill O'Connell was named as the second program director in station history in 1998, succeeding Conrad,[90] then became afternoon host in May 2001[87] following Tony Bianchi's retirement from WCLV after 37 years on air.
While Concert Hall was discontinued in 2003,[97] Symphony at Seven remains on the schedule to the present day, with KeyBank (through predecessors Society Bank and Cleveland Trust) serving as the program's sole sponsor throughout its entire history.
