broadcast profite

PROFITE
BROADCAST
28249ROYALROAD
cfsrruc,cA9138+3028
WTEM
Profile Preparedfor Skip McCloskey
WRC werethe call lettersassignedto a new broadcaststation,erectedin Aprilol 1923on the Riggs
NationalBankBuilding(Riggs-Thompkins
Building),14thStreetN. W. and ParkRoad,WashingtonD. C.
granteda licensein June1923
The RadioDivision,Bureauof Navigation,
of Commerce
U. S. Department
to the RadioCorporation
of Americato operateon 469 meters(equalto 640 kilocycles).Thatdialposition
grantedto anotherWashington
wassimultaneously
station,WCAP,whichwasinstalledbytheChesapeake
and PotomactelephoneCompany.
Thetwostationswererequiredto divideoperatinghourson the "Class
B" wavelength.
Two 1S0-foot
three-legged
steeltowers,175feetapart,wereplacedon the roofof WRC'sbankbuilding
quartersto supportits 4-wire"T"-typeflattopantenna,190feet in length. lts 500watttransmitter(capable
of 2,000wattoutput)wasinstalledin"theapparatus
room"adjacent
to WRC'sthirdfloorstudios.WRCmade
its 500 watt air debutAugust1, 1923,initiallysharingtime with WCAPon alternatingnights. RCAs
Washingtonheadquarters
werelocatedat thistimeat 1110Connecticut
Avenue.
Powerwas increasedto 1,000wattson April 24, 1925. On August1, 1926,WRGacquiredthe hours,
programs,
partnerWCAP,whichwasthendiscontinued
andtechnicalfacilitiesof itsformershare-time
as
a resultof an agreementreachedbetweenRCA,WRC'slicensee,and the subsidiaryof the American
Telephone
andTelegraph
Company,
wlrichownedWCAP.OnNovember
15,1926,WRCairedthe National
Broadcasting
Company'sinauguralprogram,whichoriginatedfromNew York City'sold Waldorf-Astoria
Hotelat 8:00p. m. thatevening.Powerwas reducedto 500wattsin early1927.An auxiliarystudiowas
openedin downtownWashington
in the NationalPressBuildingin June1927. Mainstudioscontinuedto
be at 330814thStreetN.W. OnAugust27, 1927,WRCbecamea fulltimeaffiliateof NBC'sRedNetwork.
As a resultof the nationwide
frequencyreallocations
orderedfor 3:00a. m.,Saturday,
November11,1928
by the FederalRadioCommission,
WRC shiftedto 950 kilocycles.StationManagerby 1929was Ralph
Edmunds.WRC movedits mainofficesand studiosto the NationalPressBuilding,14thand"F" StreetN.
W. (threeblocksfromtheWhiteHouse)in early1929.ltstransmitter,
110-foottowers,andantennasystem
remainedbehindat 14thand ParkRoad. In November1930,full interestin WRC'slicensee.the Radio
of America,was acquiredfromformerco-owners
Corporation
GeneralElectricandWestinghouse,
and on
March31, 1931, WRC'slicenseenamewaschangedto theNationalBroadcasting
Companylnc. WhenNBC
leasedWashington's
WMALin February1933to releaseNBCBlueNetworkprogramsin the District,WRC
begansharingstudioandofficespacein the NationalPressBuildingwithits newly-acquired
sisterstation.
powerremained
ln 1934,WRCdoubleditsdaytimepowerlevelto 1,000.ltsnighttime
at the500wattlevel.
Also in thatyear,KennethH. BerkeleybecameStationManagerof WRC andWMAL. By 1937,FrankM.
Russellwasnamedby NBCto headthatnetwork's
Washington
D. C. operations
as VicePresident.New
I
PaqeTwo:
WTEMProfile(continued)
studiosthreeblocksnorthof its presentNationalPressClubBuildinglocaleweresecuredand occupied
TheatreBuilding,at 14th
byWRCanditssisterstationWMALin Mayof 1937.Thestudios,intheTrans-Lux
July22,1937.Alsoin 1937,the FederalCommunications
N. W., werededicated
and New YorkAvenue
permitto increasedaypowerfrom1,000to 5,000wattsandraise
grantedWRCa construction
Commission
location.
nightpowerfrom500to 1,000wattswitha moveto a newtransmitting
sitewas closedandtechnicaloperations
EffectiveMarch15, 1938, WRC'sRiggsBuildingtransmitting
facility,a fewmilesto thenortheast.
(near
Maryland)
Hyattsville,
to itsnewChillumTownship
were relocated
powerwas boostedto 5,000watts
site
and
at
the
suburban
A 400-footTrusconverticalradiatorwaserected
to its new site on Ager Road,
moved
WOL
(Also
March,
Washington's
in
daysand 1,000wattsnights.
nighttimepoweroutput
to
increase
WRC
authorized
The
FCC
Chillum,adjacentto WRC'snewfacilities.)
theinstallationoftwonew250-footSchuler
lnlg40,nightpowerwasincreasedwith
to5,000wattsin1939.
operation.Theexisting400-foottowerremainedin use
directionalized
enablingnighttime-only
steeltowers,
of NBClnc.effectiveJuly17,1940.
President
appointed
Trammelwas
Niles
operation.
for non-directional
WRC shiftedfrom 950 to 980 kilocycleson Saturday,March29,1941,pursuantto the NARBATreaty
effectiveat 3:00a. m.on thatdate. 1941foundCarletonD. Smithnamedto the postof WRC
reallocations
Vice Presidentand General
whowas then namedExecutive
GeneralManager,replacingK. H. Berkeley,
Managerof WMALwhen NBC'sleaseof that stationexpiredin late 1941. While now underseparate
Mr. Smithwas
ownership,both stationsremainedin the Trans-LuxBuilding,but now a floor apart.
'1948when WilliamR.
transferredto NBC'snew WashingtonD. C. televisionstation,WNBW (TV) in
wasappointedto replacehimas WRC'sGeneralManager.EffectiveOctober7, 1949,Joseph
McAndrew
as General
Mr.McAndrew
of NBC. ln 1951, EugeneJestersucceeded
H.McgonnellwasnamedPresident
Managerof WRC.
Trans-LuxBuilding,724 14thStreetN.W., to new quartersin
fromWashington's
Studioswererelocated
studiosof WRC, WRC-FM,andWNBW (TV)
NBC'sWashington
theWardmanParkHotel,consolidating
therein 1952. Thatlocation'snamewas changedthroughacquisitiona yearlaterto the SheratonPark
Hotel. FrankWhiteservedas NBCPresidentfromJanuary2, 1953untilAugust7th of that year,when
SylvesterL. (Pat)Weaverassumedthat post. Alsoin 1953,CarletonD. Smithwas reappointedGeneral
Manager. In 1954,he was elevatedto Vice Presidentand GeneralManager. RobertSarnoffrose to
formerSalesDirector,becameStation
Presidentof NBC on December7, 1955. JosephGoodfellow,
WRC'sstudiosweremovedto a new
958,
May
22,1
Thursday,
late
1
957.
On
in
Managerof theNBCaffiliate
Washington.RobertE. Kintner
N.
W.,
Avenue
4001
Nebraska
at
building
4 miltiondollarstudio-office
1
1,
1958.
on
July
President
becameNBC
andGeneralManagerof WRC. Replacinghimas
roseto VicePresident
ln late1959,JosephGoodfellow
the stationwas in operation24 hours-a-day
mid-1964,
By
Harry
A.
Karr
Jr.
1960
was
in
Manager
Station
musicformat. FormerManagerKennethH. Berkeleydied at age 65 on
with a "middle-of-the-road"
WMALin 1954to moveto Floridato acquirean AM
13,1964. He resignedfromWashington's
September
stationthere.
On January1, 1966,Julian Goodmanwas appointedPresidentof WRC's licensee,the National
of NBC'sownedandoperated
Company.StephenB. Labunskiin 1967wasnamedPresident
Broadcasting
stations,which includedWRC and WRC-FM. HarryKarr Jr. rose to GeneralManagerin 1968,and
remainedin thatpostuntilhisdeathon May3, 1972.lnearlyJune,PeterV.O'ReillyjoinedWRCas itsnew
of WRC,which,in that
GeneralManager.ln October1972,BruceA. HoustonbecameGeneralManager
"Top
"MOR"
rock musicformat.
40"
musicformatto switchto a
Adult
month.droppedits long-standing
"Scoop"Russell,
years,
Frank
M.
areaVicePresidentand Directorof WRCfor many
FormerWashington
11,1972.Hewas77.
diedon November
WTEMProfile(continued)
PaqeThree:
HaroldL. Greenwasappointed
GeneralManagerofWRCin earlyJanuary1974.ln 1975,JackG.Thayer
was namedPresident
of NBC'sO & O stations.WRCbeganan around-the-clock
all newsformatJune18,
1975as an inauguralmemberstationof NBC'sNewsand Information
Service(NlS). lt then becamean
around-the-clock
all newsoutlet. lts NBC networkaffiliationwas retained. The AM station'sformer
"Contemporary
MusiC'format
was movedin toto to its FM sisterstation,WKYS (FM). NISWashington
headquarters
wereestablished
in theWRCstudiosinitiallybutin late1975movedto itsown quartersin the
NationalPressBuildingin downtown
Washington.GeneralManagerHaroldGreenresignedin March1976
to join KaiserBroadcasting.
Hisreplacement
at WRC in Aprilwas FrankScott.
NBC'sNISshutdowneffectiveMay29, 1977.lts Washington
affiliateelectedto retainits all newsformat,
butwithaddedtalksegments.FrankScottwasappointed
VicePresident
andGeneralManagerinearlyJune
1978. ByApril1979,the stationwas mostlyall talk. lts air sloganwas"TheVoiceOf Washington."Jerry
Nachman
succeeded
Mr.ScottasVicePresident
andGeneralManagerin lateOctober1981. Inearly1983,
WRCcompleteditsmoveintoanewl0,000squarefootwingoftheNBCBuildingat400l
NebraskaAvenue
N.W. ltsformerfacilities
in anotherwing
of thebuildingweretorndownin June. EffectiveMarch14,1983,
WRCjoinedNBC's"TalkNet"
for nighttime
talkprogramming.
lt remainedthe CapitolDistrict'sNBCRadio
Networkaffiliate.
WhenJerryNachmanwas "kickedupstairs"to becomeVice Presidentof Newsfor the NBCownedand
operatedstationsin lateApril 1983,his successoras WRC'sVice Presidentand GeneralManagerwas
(andformerWRCGeneralManager)
BartleyD.Walsh.RetiredNBCVicePresident
JosephW. Goodfellow
diedat his Floridahomeon August5, 1983.Hewas73. WRCchangedcalllettersto \A/WRCon March5,
1984.FormerVicePresident
andGeneralManagerCarltonDabneySmithdiedApril27,19B4
at 79. ln the
thirties,he was NBC'sPresidential
announcer.
1, 1984,WWRCwassoldby the NationalBroadcasting
On September
for 3.6milliondollarsto
Company
GreaterWashingtonRadioInc.(a subsidiaryof GreaterMediaInc.-- PetersA. Bordes,Chairman).FCC
approvaltookplaceJuly6th. InearlySeptember,
thestationreplacedits"News-TalK'format
witha nostalgia
"MOR"musicformat,dubbed"TheStationOf TheStars."lts newVicePresident
and GeneralManagerin
1984was TheodoreR. Dorf. By the end of the year,officesand studioswererelocatedto the landmark
"WorldBuilding,"
8121 GeorgiaAvenue,SilverSpring,Maryland.lt nowsharedspaceonthetopthreefloors
withco-ownedWGAY(FM). OnAugust3, 1987,its nostalgiamusicformatwasdroppedin favorof an "All
Talk"programming
format.Alsodroppedat thistimewas its "NBCTalkNet"liaison.
TheFCCgrantedWWRCpermission
March39, 1989to changefromdirectional
nightsonly(DA-N)to two
patterndirectional(DA-2)bothdaysandnights.
Thestation'slong{imeNBCnetworkaffiliationwasreplaced
with programming
fromthe ABC DirectionNetworkin 1990. ln that year,it beganMotorolaC-QUAMAM
stereooperation.The GreaterMediastations,includingWWRC,sufferedseveresmokedamagein their
"WorldBuilding"headquarters
on February23,1991.Studiosof WNTRon the7thfloorweredestroyedby
thefire. VicePresident
andGeneralManagerTedDorfretiredattheendof December
1991. In mid-January
1992,AlanGoodman
wasappointed
GeneralManagerof WWRC.Thestationbegancarriageof "TheLarry
KingShou/'fromthe MutualNetworkbeginningon July1,1992. DickRakovanwas namedto succeeded
Mr. Goodmanas GeneralManagerin lateNovember1992.
29, 1993,FCCpermission
OnSeptember
wasobtainedforWWRCto increasepowerfrom5,000to 50,000
wattsand makechangesin its antennasystem.ln late 1994,WWRCbegana new"HotTalk"format,as
"Stimulating
Talk Radio."lts affiliations
withtheABC DirectionNetworkandthe MutualNetworkendedat
thistime.BobLongwell
becameGeneralManagerinmid-January
1995.Majortechnical
improvements
were
carriedouton March9, 1995whendaytimepowerroseto 50,000watts(5,000wattscontinuedat night)and
WTEMProfile(continued)
PaoeFour:
WWRCswitchedto two pattern(dayand night)directionaloperation.lt continuedto use its three-tower
arrayon AgarRoad,Callum,Maryland.
WWRC replacedits affiliationwith NBC's"TalkNet"in mid-February
1996when it joinedthe ABC
Contemporary
Network.BennettZierreplaced
BobLongwellasGeneralManagerin lateJune1996.In late
1996,WWRC was sold by GreaterWashingtonRadio lnc. to group stationownerEvergreenMedia
for 22.5 milliondollars(the priceincludedWashington's
Corporation
WGAY(FM),a sisterFM station).
1997,WRCwasacquiredthrough
(Thomas
Effective
mergerbyChancellorMedia
SeptemberS,
Corporation
gainedFCC
O. Hicks,Chairman;
President).This 1.075billiondollarconsolidation
ScottK. Ginsburg,
sanctionSeptember
5th. CharlieOchsbecameWWRC'snewVicePresident
andGeneralManagerin late
December
1997.
EffectiveFebruary9, 1998,WWRC's"HotTalk"formatwas abandonedin favorof a "BusinessNews"
format,featuringfrequentBloombergBusinessRadiofeeds. When that format shiftedto another
Chancellor-owned
AM outletin Bethesdaon March9, 1998,WWRCchangedcall lettersto WTEMand
beganan"AllSports"format(as"TheTeam.")ltsABCContemporary
Networkaffiliation
wasdroppedat this
time. Newofficesandstudiosat Suite707,OneCentralPlaza,11300RockvillePike,Rockville,Maryland
wereinaugurated
in October1998. (ln 1999,its old 9thfloor"WorldBuilding"quarterswereoccupiedby
MegaCommunications'
clusterof Washington-area
AM stations).BennettZierwasnamedVicePresident
and GeneralManagerof WTEMin earlyJanuary1999. ln July 1999,the station'slicenseenamewas
changedto AMFM lnc. as the result of the mergerof ChancellorMedia Corporationand Capstar
Broadcasting
Partners,
whichtookplaceJuly 13th. Thecombinedfirm nowowned465 stationsin 105U.
S. markets.
In a stock transactionworth 23.5 billion dollars,AMFM Inc. was purchasedby Clear Channel
Communications
Inc.on August30,2000. This multi-station
transferobtainedFCCapprovalAugust
7th.
ln 2001, studiosweremovedfromRockville
to 8750Brookville
Road,SilverSpring,Maryland.Programming
fromESPNRadioSportswas addedin 2003.
Today,WTEM"TheTeam,"the District'soldestcontinuously
licensedAM broadcast
station,operates24
hoursa daywithan 'All SportsTalk"formaton 980kHz.with50,000wattsdaysand5,000wattsnights(two
patterndirectionalized)
fromstudiosat 8750Brookville
Road,SilverSpring,Marylandbutremainslicensed
to nearbyWashingtonD. C. A memberof ESPNRadioSports,the C-QUAMAM stereooutletis licensed
to groupstationownerClearChannelCommunications
Corporation.BennettZier is Vice Presidentand
GeneralManager.