Airstaff turnover, conflicts with management and increased competition from other rock stations led to a format change to Top 40 in 1973, country music in 1974 and again to easy listening as WKSW in 1975.

[4] The FCC decided in WGAR's favor that June, but the commission's proposed power output and height above average terrain (HAAT) was significantly less than what the station had requested,[5] thus putting the application through another set of oral arguments.

[11] Having upgraded to stereo the year before, WGAR-FM was renamed WNCR on May 4;[3] the callsign being a direct reference to "Nationwide Communications Radio" similar to co-owned WNCI in Columbus.

[16] One month later, Jack G. Thayer was hired as WGAR's general manager, and along with program director John Lund, initiated an adult contemporary format on the AM station headlined by Don Imus.

[19] If you remember Glenn Miller and Gabriel Heatter, you really ought to tune in and turn on with the likes of Kyle, who sings, and Billy Bass, who introduces the news with the phrase: 'And now WNCR lays the hard stuff on you.'

[22] Bass had prior on-air experience with the first iteration of progressive rock on WMMS in 1968 and had attained considerable success as WIXY's overnight host despite knowing little about the Top 40 format.

"[24] Even with no managerial experience, Bass has been credited for building WNCR into a credible progressive rock station that he called "People Radio", centered around community involvement.

"[23] Bill Barrett, radio critic for the Cleveland Press, began a multi-part review of WNCR in late April 1971 by replying to a reader asking him what kind of station it was with, "dadburned if I know!

"[20] Barrett critiqued the station's use of "musical crudities" in songs played that included "the ultimate four-letter word" along with editorial-heavy newscasts being "a sort of little theater of news" analogous to the conservative-leaning Paul Harvey on WGAR.

[23] WNCR continued the format with the remaining airstaff and moved their studios to the Stouffer Building in Playhouse Square,[3] but rumors persisted of internal conflicts between management over the station's musical direction.

[38] Gorman retrospectively stated that WMMS "dodged a bullet" with this switch, as Nationwide had declined to move WGAR's highly rated contemporary format over to the FM dial.

[39] Despite positive ratings that Radio & Records columnist Biff Collie referred to as "husky", Nationwide announced WNCR would drop the country format on June 1, 1975, dismissing all airstaff in what was termed a "power struggle in the corporate structure".

[3] "FM-100" featured a minimum of on-air talk and no backselling of songs played, but Schulke would later add a local airstaff in 1979—including veteran middle of the road (MOR) host Ted Lux for mornings—in an experiment to boost ratings.

[68] WGAR-FM remained in the Broadview Heights studios for the next few months until a new studio/office facility at the Crown Centre in Independence could be completed, resulting in what one WKNR executive called a claustrophobic "mom-and-pop setup" between the two.

When WGAR-FM won the 1995 CMA Award for "Station of the Year", Kevin C. Johnson of the Akron Beacon Journal noted the call letters were "perhaps already associated with greatness", invoking the names of Don Imus, John Lanigan and Jack Paar.

[78] Throughout the mid-1990s, WGAR boasted an airstaff of Mantel and Erin Weber in mornings, Chuck Collier and Wright middays, John Arthur afternoons, Mike Ivers evenings and Jim Szymanski overnights.

[79] Replacement program director Clay Hunnicutt implemented several changes, including station promos now having a "smart-alecky" tone, and reduced on-air chatter from "leisurely stories".

[89] All six stations moved to a new combined facility at the former Centerior Energy headquarters in Independence, including WGAR's 40 employees;[90] a 2002 newspaper story called the new studio arrangement "a food court of radio, with McDonald's, Burger King and Taco Bell".

Ed Richards was dismissed along with five other on-air hosts throughout the Cleveland cluster in February 2001, while Danny Wright was among eight staffers fired on November 1, 2001, both attributed to the early 2000s recession.

[94] Following Bain Capital's 2008 private equity buyout of Clear Channel, Maloney was dismissed in January 2009, followed by program director Brian Jennings (who replaced Stevens in 2007)[95] in March 2009 as part of broader downsizing efforts; an internal "Premium Choice" voice-tracking network was implemented within the company's stations, which WGAR utilizes to this day.

The biggest loss to the station occurred when Chuck Collier died of a heart attack on September 22, 2011,[103] having become synonymous with WGAR through his lengthy tenure of 39 years and 13 different program directors.

[108] The station also carries The Bobby Bones Show in morning drive, Wayne D and Tay evenings, and After MidNite with Granger Smith overnight, all through Premiere Networks.