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WBT (AM)
Encyclopedia
WBT is a radio station
in Charlotte, North Carolina
, broadcasting on the AM dial
at 1110 kHz. A 50,000-watt clear-channel station, it can be heard across most of the eastern half of North America
at night. It simulcasts on WBT-FM, at 99.3 MHz in Chester, South Carolina
. It is owned by Greater Media
. The station's studios are located just west of uptown Charlotte
, while its transmitter is located in the southern part of the city.
s and offers podcast
s of its local shows on its official website. It airs news, weather, and traffic reports each half hour. Like most talk stations, WBT's lineup leans toward the conservative side.
On weekdays, the station offers a four-hour morning drive-time newscast with co-hosts Al Gardner and Stacey Simms, local hosts Keith Larson, Vince Coakley and John Hancock, as well as the syndicated Rush Limbaugh
, Neal Boortz
and Jason Lewis
(which are tape delayed), and The Mutual Fund Show with Adam Bold
and Coast to Coast AM
with George Noory
programs.
Charlotte's Morning News with Al Gardner and Stacey Simms
The Keith Larson
Show
The Rush Limbaugh Show
The Vince Coakley Show
The John Hancock Show
The Jason Lewis
Show
The Neal Boortz
Show
Coast To Coast AM
with George Noory
From 2009 until March 31, 2011, Pete Kaliner hosted a local program in the 9-midnight slot, but was fired in a cost-cutting move by Greater Media
. Boortz's syndicated show was heard on tape delay from 9pm-1 am; however, this was a temporary move as nationally syndicated host and former WBT personality Jason Lewis began to be heard on the station from 9-midnight (on a three hour delay from his live broadcast) beginning in May 2011.
Nearly two months after Kaliner's departure, Servatius was fired after the station chose not to renew her contract; Doug Kellett and Wayne Powers filled the 3-6pm slot on an interim basis while the station searched for a replacement. On June 22, 2011, former WSOC-TV
lead anchor Vince Coakley, who had done fill-in work at WBT before, was named Servatius' replacement in the 3-6pm timeslot.
. It also was the Panthers' radio flagship from the team's 1995 inception until 1999. It was the flagship of the Charlotte Hornets from the team's debut in 1988 until the team moved to New Orleans in 2002. It was also the Charlotte home of the University of North Carolina
Tar Heels
from 1977 to 1991 and again from 1995 to 2006. During the Hornets' early years, whenever the Tar Heels played on the same night as the Hornets, WBT often aired the Tar Heels while bumping the Hornets to WWSN/WLNK
. From 1991 to 1995, it was the Charlotte-area home of the Duke Blue Devils
.
, Jason Lewis
and H.A. Thompson.
Don Russell is the station's longest-tenured personality, having worked at the station on six separate occasions since the 1970s. He currently hosts the weekend version of Charlotte's Morning News.
WSB
in Atlanta was the first station in the Southeast to actually broadcast, a month before WBT. However, the Commerce Department only authorized WSB to broadcast weather reports until it received its license a few months after WBT. (Gluck was later a partner in competitor WSOC, and was the first president of WSOC-TV
when it launched in 1957.)
In 1925, the original owners sold WBT to Charlotte Buick
dealer C.C. Coddington, who promoted both the radio station and his auto dealership with the slogan "Watch Buicks Travel." Coddington built a transmitter at a farm property he owned on Nations Ford Road in south Charlotte, where it remains today. He sold WBT to the two-year-old CBS network in 1929. A series of power increases brought the station to its current 50,000 watts. New Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) regulations forced CBS to sell the station to Jefferson Standard Life Insurance Company, forerunner of Jefferson-Pilot, in 1945, though it remained a CBS affiliate. Jefferson Standard signed on Charlotte's first television station, WBTV
, as well as two FM stations. One operated for five years ending in the early 1950s. The other eventually became WLNK
.
In 1925, Freeman Gosden
and Charlie Correll
started a comedy show carried by WBT that was a forerunner to Amos and Andy. Russ Hodges
, later famous as the radio voice of the New York/San Francisco Giants
, was sports editor of WBT for a time in the late 1930s, leaving in 1941 for Washington, D.C.
For much of its history, WBT aired a variety of programming including news, sports, soap operas, and musical programs such as "Arthur Smith and the Crackerjacks." Smith, best known for writing the song that became the Deliverance
theme "Dueling Banjos
", went to work at WBT at age 20 at the invitation of station manager Charles Crutchfield. He played guitar and fiddle for musical programs on WBT before getting his own show. Crutchfield believed that Charlotte, not Nashville, could have ended up being the country music
capital because of the station's early "Briarhoppers" and "Carolina Hayride" shows, which may have inspired The Grand Ole Opry.
Grady Cole was WBT morning host for 32 years, replaced in 1961 by Ty Boyd, who hosted the morning show until 1973, playing such artists as Duke Ellington
, Peggy Lee
and Petula Clark
. Then he moved to WBTV. He returned to WBT in 2008 to co-host the morning show while its regular hosts took time off.
WBT was the number one station in Charlotte for many years; among its employees were Charles Kuralt
and Nelson Benton. But by 1970, WBT was down to number nine, and national advertising representative Blair Radio Network wanted ratings to improve. Jefferson Standard did not like the idea of change, but Blair enlisted Mel Goldberg to research what programming Charlotte needed. Even Crutchfield gave in, and WBT let go 28 staffers and spent $200,000 on changes that included new studios. The station dropped CBS for NBC
. It also canceled many programs that advertisers supported but which didn't attract enough listeners.
On March 15, 1971, WBT switched to adult contemporary music during the day; Rob Hunter and H. A. Thompson were new DJs. Bob Lacey
started at WBT in 1972 with a nighttime talk show "Lacey Listens". Two years later, WBT had reached number one again, reaching the highest Arbitron
numbers on record to this day. WBT won Billboard
adult contemporary station of the year in 1976 and 1978. In 1979, "Hello Henry" Boggan began his nighttime talk show.
Talk programming continued to increase on WBT through the 1980s, mostly at night. Larry King
moved from WSOC
and stayed on WBT until 1987, when WBT decided its NBC
affiliation needed to take priority over Mutual Broadcasting System
requirements. Bruce Williams' NBC show Talknet replaced King. WBT expanded "Hello Henry" and its "Sports Huddle" program.
For their entire 14 years in Charlotte, starting with the inaugural 1988-89 season, WBT aired the games of the NBA Hornets.
WBT made changes to its format on December 10, 1990, hoping to attract more women. The station dropped James K. Flynn, Thompson and Tom Desio, generating numerous protests. Don Russell had hosted "Russell & Flynn" in the morning; the show was renamed "Russell & Friends." John Hancock became midday host, and WBTV personalities Mike and Barbara McKay began an afternoon program. Boggan, whose show had run in the afternoon, returned to his evening slot, replacing Desio, but was sometimes pre-empted by sports programs. WBT also switched its network affiliation from NBC to CBS
on December 21
WBT was not the first Charlotte-area station to air Rush Limbaugh. WADA
in Shelby
, WSIC in Statesville
and WHKY in Hickory
preceded WBT. But on September 3, 1991, WBT dropped the McKays to become the 400th station to air the conservative talk show host.
WBT aired games of the NFL Carolina Panthers
from the 1995 inaugural season until 1999, returning as the team's flagship station in 2005.
Lincoln Financial Group bought Jefferson-Pilot in 2006. The merged company retained Jefferson-Pilot's broadcasting division, renaming it Lincoln Financial Media
. In January 2008, Lincoln Financial sold WBT-AM-FM and WLNK
to Greater Media
of Braintree, Massachusetts
. It sold its three television stations, including WBTV, to Raycom Media
--thus breaking up Charlotte's last heritage radio/television cluster. Greater Media had long wanted to expand into the fast-growing Charlotte market; its owner had wanted to buy WBT after hearing its signal at night on Cape Cod
.
Also in 2006, WBT lost the North Carolina Tar Heels
to WFNZ
. Sales director Steve Sklenar said the games pre-empted John Hancock's show and, during the ACC Tournament, Rush Limbaugh
. WBT wanted the games, Sklenar said, but the pre-emptions cost the station a lot of advertising revenue. The Tar Heels had aired on WBT from 1977 to 1991, and returned to the station in 1995. According to Cullie Tarleton, who ran the station at that time, putting the Tar Heels on WBT was largely the idea of longtime coach Dean Smith
, who wanted to tell recruits from New England
that their parents would be able to listen to the games.
(called Blaw-Knox Tower
s), make up three of only eight still operational in the United States. In the morning hours of September 22, 1989, Hurricane Hugo
slammed into Charlotte. The storm severely damaged two of WBT's towers and nearly killed station engineer Bob White. The FCC approved WBT to operate on a full-power non-directional pattern for the next year while the two damaged towers were rebuilt.
Despite its clear-channel status, WBT's signal is spotty at best in some parts of the Charlotte metropolitan area
at night (particularly the western portion) because it must adjust its coverage at sundown to protect co-located KFAB in Omaha, Nebraska
. Even though WBT must direct its signal north-south as a result, its nighttime signal still reaches parts of 22 states (including much of the country east of the Mississippi River
) as well as portions of Ontario
and Quebec
. It can also be heard in some Caribbean
islands. During the day, it provides grade B coverage as far as the fringes of the Columbia
, Upstate and Piedmont Triad
areas. Under the right conditions, it can be heard as far east as Fayetteville, North Carolina
.
To improve its nighttime coverage in the Charlotte area, WBT first tried a synchronous booster signal in Shelby
. Finally, in 1995, then-owner Jefferson-Pilot bought WBZK-FM
(which signed on August 30, 1969 and was once called WDZK) in Chester to provide a better signal to the western part of the market at night. WBZK's calls became WBT-FM. The transmitter is located 40 miles southwest of Charlotte. WBT-FM almost always simulcasts its AM sister, although the two have occasionally carried different programming.
For many years, WBT boasted that it could be heard "from Maine
to Miami" at night.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
in Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
, broadcasting on the AM dial
AM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
at 1110 kHz. A 50,000-watt clear-channel station, it can be heard across most of the eastern half of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
at night. It simulcasts on WBT-FM, at 99.3 MHz in Chester, South Carolina
Chester, South Carolina
Chester is a small city in Chester County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 6,476 at the 2000 census and a center urban cluster population of 11,140...
. It is owned by Greater Media
Greater Media
Greater Media, Inc., known as Greater Media, is an American media company that specializes in radio stations. The markets where they own radio stations include Boston, Detroit, Philadelphia, Charlotte, and the state of New Jersey...
. The station's studios are located just west of uptown Charlotte
Charlotte center city
Charlotte center city is the central area of Charlotte, North Carolina. The headquarters for the Fortune 500 companies Bank of America and Duke Energy are located here, as well as the headquarters for East Coast operations for Wells Fargo.Museums, sporting venues, shops, hotels, restaurants, and...
, while its transmitter is located in the southern part of the city.
Programming
The station relies mostly on locally produced talk showTalk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
s and offers podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
s of its local shows on its official website. It airs news, weather, and traffic reports each half hour. Like most talk stations, WBT's lineup leans toward the conservative side.
On weekdays, the station offers a four-hour morning drive-time newscast with co-hosts Al Gardner and Stacey Simms, local hosts Keith Larson, Vince Coakley and John Hancock, as well as the syndicated Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
, Neal Boortz
Neal Boortz
Neal A. Boortz, Jr. is an American Libertarian radio host, author, and political commentator. His nationally syndicated talk show, The Neal Boortz Show, airs throughout the United States on Dial Global . It is ranked seventh in overall listeners, with 4.25+ million per week...
and Jason Lewis
Jason Lewis (radio host)
Jason Lewis is an American radio talk show host and political commentator. His show is currently syndicated nationally on the Genesis Communications Network. His radio show was previously broadcast locally for 10 years on KSTP in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area of Minnesota, until Lewis...
(which are tape delayed), and The Mutual Fund Show with Adam Bold
Adam Bold
Adam Bold is an American author and businessman. He is the founder and minority shareholder of The Mutual Fund Store, and host of The Mutual Fund Show, a national weekly talk radio show focused on actively managed mutual fund investments...
and Coast to Coast AM
Coast to Coast AM
Coast to Coast AM is a North American late-night syndicated radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics, but most frequently ones that relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was created by Art Bell and is distributed by Premiere Radio Networks. The program currently...
with George Noory
George Noory
George Ralph Noory is a Lebanese-American radio talk show host.As of 2010, he is the weekday host of the late-night radio talk show Coast to Coast AM. He is heard across the United States and Canada on many AM and FM stations as well as on XM Satellite Radio. His show is one of the most listened...
programs.
Weekday News Talk (effective June 27, 2011)
- 5:00-9:00 am
Charlotte's Morning News with Al Gardner and Stacey Simms
- with John Stokes (news), Chuck Roads (traffic) and Jim Szoke (sports)
- 9am-noon
The Keith Larson
Keith Larson
Keith Larson is an American radio host and conservative, political commentator. His talk show, The Keith Larson Show, airs 9 a.m. to noon each weekday on WBT AM/FM in Charlotte.-Early life/professional career:Larson was born in Chicago, Illinois...
Show
- Noon-3pm
The Rush Limbaugh Show
The Rush Limbaugh Show
The Rush Limbaugh Show is an American talk radio show hosted by Rush Limbaugh on Premiere Radio Networks...
- 3-6pm
The Vince Coakley Show
- 6-9pm
The John Hancock Show
- 9pm-midnight
The Jason Lewis
Jason Lewis (radio host)
Jason Lewis is an American radio talk show host and political commentator. His show is currently syndicated nationally on the Genesis Communications Network. His radio show was previously broadcast locally for 10 years on KSTP in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area of Minnesota, until Lewis...
Show
- Midnight-1am
The Neal Boortz
Neal Boortz
Neal A. Boortz, Jr. is an American Libertarian radio host, author, and political commentator. His nationally syndicated talk show, The Neal Boortz Show, airs throughout the United States on Dial Global . It is ranked seventh in overall listeners, with 4.25+ million per week...
Show
- 1am-5am
Coast To Coast AM
Coast to Coast AM
Coast to Coast AM is a North American late-night syndicated radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics, but most frequently ones that relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was created by Art Bell and is distributed by Premiere Radio Networks. The program currently...
with George Noory
George Noory
George Ralph Noory is a Lebanese-American radio talk show host.As of 2010, he is the weekday host of the late-night radio talk show Coast to Coast AM. He is heard across the United States and Canada on many AM and FM stations as well as on XM Satellite Radio. His show is one of the most listened...
From 2009 until March 31, 2011, Pete Kaliner hosted a local program in the 9-midnight slot, but was fired in a cost-cutting move by Greater Media
Greater Media
Greater Media, Inc., known as Greater Media, is an American media company that specializes in radio stations. The markets where they own radio stations include Boston, Detroit, Philadelphia, Charlotte, and the state of New Jersey...
. Boortz's syndicated show was heard on tape delay from 9pm-1 am; however, this was a temporary move as nationally syndicated host and former WBT personality Jason Lewis began to be heard on the station from 9-midnight (on a three hour delay from his live broadcast) beginning in May 2011.
Nearly two months after Kaliner's departure, Servatius was fired after the station chose not to renew her contract; Doug Kellett and Wayne Powers filled the 3-6pm slot on an interim basis while the station searched for a replacement. On June 22, 2011, former WSOC-TV
WSOC-TV
WSOC-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is owned by Cox Enterprises. The station's studio is located at North Tryon and 23rd Streets, just north of Uptown Charlotte, and is shared with sister station WAXN-TV . The transmitter is located just outside...
lead anchor Vince Coakley, who had done fill-in work at WBT before, was named Servatius' replacement in the 3-6pm timeslot.
Sports
Since 2005, WBT has been the flagship station of the Carolina PanthersCarolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
. It also was the Panthers' radio flagship from the team's 1995 inception until 1999. It was the flagship of the Charlotte Hornets from the team's debut in 1988 until the team moved to New Orleans in 2002. It was also the Charlotte home of the University of North Carolina
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
Tar Heels
North Carolina Tar Heels
The North Carolina Tar Heels are the athletic teams for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the Tar Heel State...
from 1977 to 1991 and again from 1995 to 2006. During the Hornets' early years, whenever the Tar Heels played on the same night as the Hornets, WBT often aired the Tar Heels while bumping the Hornets to WWSN/WLNK
WLNK
WLNK, known on the air as "107.9 The Link", is a 100,000 watt radio station in Charlotte, North Carolina. It broadcasts at 107.9 MHz, primarily serving the Charlotte metropolitan area...
. From 1991 to 1995, it was the Charlotte-area home of the Duke Blue Devils
Duke Blue Devils
Duke University's 26 varsity sports teams, known as the Blue Devils, compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The name comes from the French "les Diables Bleus" or "the Blue Devils," which was the nickname given during World War I to the Chasseurs Alpins, the French Alpine light infantry...
.
Past programming
Past hosts include "Hello" Henry Boggan, Ty Boyd, Grady Cole, Mike Collins, "Rockin'" Ray Gooding, Bob LaceyThe Bob and Sheri Show
The Bob and Sheri Show is a syndicated U.S. radio program hosted by Bob Lacey and Sheri Lynch at radio station WLNK in Charlotte, North Carolina...
, Jason Lewis
Jason Lewis (radio host)
Jason Lewis is an American radio talk show host and political commentator. His show is currently syndicated nationally on the Genesis Communications Network. His radio show was previously broadcast locally for 10 years on KSTP in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area of Minnesota, until Lewis...
and H.A. Thompson.
Don Russell is the station's longest-tenured personality, having worked at the station on six separate occasions since the 1970s. He currently hosts the weekend version of Charlotte's Morning News.
History
The station dates to December 1920, when Fred Laxton, Earle Gluck and Fred Bunker set up an amateur radio station in Laxton's home. Four months later, the station received an experimental license as 4XD. The trio decided to go commercial in 1922, and incorporated as the Southern Radio Corporation. On April 10, the station signed on as the first fully licensed radio station south of Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
WSB
WSB (AM)
WSB — branded AM 750 and 95.5 FM News/Talk WSB — is a commercial radio station licensed to Atlanta, Georgia broadcasting a news/talk format. The station transmits with 50,000 watts of nondirectional power day and night, enjoying clear-channel status on its broadcast frequency according to the U.S...
in Atlanta was the first station in the Southeast to actually broadcast, a month before WBT. However, the Commerce Department only authorized WSB to broadcast weather reports until it received its license a few months after WBT. (Gluck was later a partner in competitor WSOC, and was the first president of WSOC-TV
WSOC-TV
WSOC-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is owned by Cox Enterprises. The station's studio is located at North Tryon and 23rd Streets, just north of Uptown Charlotte, and is shared with sister station WAXN-TV . The transmitter is located just outside...
when it launched in 1957.)
In 1925, the original owners sold WBT to Charlotte Buick
Buick
Buick is a premium brand of General Motors . Buick models are sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Taiwan, and Israel, with China being its largest market. Buick holds the distinction as the oldest active American make...
dealer C.C. Coddington, who promoted both the radio station and his auto dealership with the slogan "Watch Buicks Travel." Coddington built a transmitter at a farm property he owned on Nations Ford Road in south Charlotte, where it remains today. He sold WBT to the two-year-old CBS network in 1929. A series of power increases brought the station to its current 50,000 watts. New Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) regulations forced CBS to sell the station to Jefferson Standard Life Insurance Company, forerunner of Jefferson-Pilot, in 1945, though it remained a CBS affiliate. Jefferson Standard signed on Charlotte's first television station, WBTV
WBTV
WBTV, channel 3 , is the CBS affiliate in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is one of two flagship stations of Raycom Media. WBTV's studios are located off Morehead Street just west of Uptown Charlotte, and its transmitter is located in north-central Gaston County, North Carolina...
, as well as two FM stations. One operated for five years ending in the early 1950s. The other eventually became WLNK
WLNK
WLNK, known on the air as "107.9 The Link", is a 100,000 watt radio station in Charlotte, North Carolina. It broadcasts at 107.9 MHz, primarily serving the Charlotte metropolitan area...
.
In 1925, Freeman Gosden
Freeman Gosden
Freeman Fisher "Gozzie" Gosden was an American radio comedian, and pioneer in the development of the situation comedy form. He is best known for his work in the Amos 'n' Andy series.-Biography:...
and Charlie Correll
Charles Correll
Charles James Correll was an American radio comedian, best known for his work on the Amos 'n' Andy show with Freeman S. Gosden. Correll voiced the central character of Andy Brown, along with various supporting characters. Before teaming up with Gosden, Correll worked as a stenographer and a...
started a comedy show carried by WBT that was a forerunner to Amos and Andy. Russ Hodges
Russ Hodges
Russell Patrick Hodges was an American broadcaster who did play-by-play for several baseball teams, most notably the New York and San Francisco Giants.-Early career:...
, later famous as the radio voice of the New York/San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
, was sports editor of WBT for a time in the late 1930s, leaving in 1941 for Washington, D.C.
For much of its history, WBT aired a variety of programming including news, sports, soap operas, and musical programs such as "Arthur Smith and the Crackerjacks." Smith, best known for writing the song that became the Deliverance
Deliverance
Deliverance is a 1972 American thriller film produced and directed by John Boorman. Principal cast members include Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ronny Cox and Ned Beatty in his film debut. The film is based on a 1970 novel of the same name by American author James Dickey, who has a small role in the...
theme "Dueling Banjos
Dueling Banjos
"Dueling Banjos" is an instrumental composition by Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith. The song was composed in 1955 by Smith as a banjo instrumental he called "Feudin' Banjos", which contained riffs from "Yankee Doodle". Smith recorded it playing a four-string plectrum banjo and accompanied by...
", went to work at WBT at age 20 at the invitation of station manager Charles Crutchfield. He played guitar and fiddle for musical programs on WBT before getting his own show. Crutchfield believed that Charlotte, not Nashville, could have ended up being the country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
capital because of the station's early "Briarhoppers" and "Carolina Hayride" shows, which may have inspired The Grand Ole Opry.
Grady Cole was WBT morning host for 32 years, replaced in 1961 by Ty Boyd, who hosted the morning show until 1973, playing such artists as Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
, Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...
and Petula Clark
Petula Clark
Petula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
. Then he moved to WBTV. He returned to WBT in 2008 to co-host the morning show while its regular hosts took time off.
WBT was the number one station in Charlotte for many years; among its employees were Charles Kuralt
Charles Kuralt
Charles Kuralt was an American journalist. He was most widely known for his long career with CBS, first for his "On the Road" segments on The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite, and later as the first anchor of CBS News Sunday Morning, a position he held for fifteen years.Kuralt's "On the Road"...
and Nelson Benton. But by 1970, WBT was down to number nine, and national advertising representative Blair Radio Network wanted ratings to improve. Jefferson Standard did not like the idea of change, but Blair enlisted Mel Goldberg to research what programming Charlotte needed. Even Crutchfield gave in, and WBT let go 28 staffers and spent $200,000 on changes that included new studios. The station dropped CBS for NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
. It also canceled many programs that advertisers supported but which didn't attract enough listeners.
On March 15, 1971, WBT switched to adult contemporary music during the day; Rob Hunter and H. A. Thompson were new DJs. Bob Lacey
Bob Lacey
Robert Joseph Lacey, Jr. is a former professional baseball pitcher. He played all or part of seven seasons in Major League Baseball for the Oakland Athletics, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, California Angels, and San Francisco Giants....
started at WBT in 1972 with a nighttime talk show "Lacey Listens". Two years later, WBT had reached number one again, reaching the highest Arbitron
Arbitron
Arbitron is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio audiences. It was founded as American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging with L.A. based Coffin, Cooper and Clay in the early 1950s...
numbers on record to this day. WBT won Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
adult contemporary station of the year in 1976 and 1978. In 1979, "Hello Henry" Boggan began his nighttime talk show.
Talk programming continued to increase on WBT through the 1980s, mostly at night. Larry King
Larry King
Lawrence Harvey "Larry" King is an American television and radio host whose work has been recognized with awards including two Peabodys and ten Cable ACE Awards....
moved from WSOC
WYFQ
WYFQ at 93.5 FM and 930 AM are two stations broadcasting the Bible Broadcasting Network in the Charlotte, North Carolina area. The AM station operates with a power of 5,000 watts daytime and 1,000 watts nighttime. A directional antenna system is used during the station's nighttime hours...
and stayed on WBT until 1987, when WBT decided its NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliation needed to take priority over Mutual Broadcasting System
Mutual Broadcasting System
The Mutual Broadcasting System was an American radio network, in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the golden age of U.S. radio drama, MBS was best known as the original network home of The Lone Ranger and The Adventures of Superman and as the long-time radio residence of The Shadow...
requirements. Bruce Williams' NBC show Talknet replaced King. WBT expanded "Hello Henry" and its "Sports Huddle" program.
For their entire 14 years in Charlotte, starting with the inaugural 1988-89 season, WBT aired the games of the NBA Hornets.
WBT made changes to its format on December 10, 1990, hoping to attract more women. The station dropped James K. Flynn, Thompson and Tom Desio, generating numerous protests. Don Russell had hosted "Russell & Flynn" in the morning; the show was renamed "Russell & Friends." John Hancock became midday host, and WBTV personalities Mike and Barbara McKay began an afternoon program. Boggan, whose show had run in the afternoon, returned to his evening slot, replacing Desio, but was sometimes pre-empted by sports programs. WBT also switched its network affiliation from NBC to CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
on December 21
WBT was not the first Charlotte-area station to air Rush Limbaugh. WADA
WOHS
WZGV-AM "ESPN 730" is a Sports talk radio station, affiliated with ESPN Radio. Licensed to Cramerton, North Carolina and owned by HRN Broadcasting, the station broadcasts to the Charlotte, North Carolina area.-History of WOHS:...
in Shelby
Shelby, North Carolina
Shelby is a city in Cleveland County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 19,477 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Cleveland County.-Geography:Shelby is located at ....
, WSIC in Statesville
Statesville, North Carolina
Statesville is a city located in Iredell County, North Carolina, United States and was named an All-America City in 1997 and 2009. The population was 24,633 at the 2010 census...
and WHKY in Hickory
Hickory, North Carolina
Hickory is a city in Catawba County, North Carolina. Hickory has the 162nd largest urban area in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 341,851, making it the 4th largest metropolitan area in North Carolina. The city's population was 37,222...
preceded WBT. But on September 3, 1991, WBT dropped the McKays to become the 400th station to air the conservative talk show host.
WBT aired games of the NFL Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
from the 1995 inaugural season until 1999, returning as the team's flagship station in 2005.
Lincoln Financial Group bought Jefferson-Pilot in 2006. The merged company retained Jefferson-Pilot's broadcasting division, renaming it Lincoln Financial Media
Lincoln Financial Media
Lincoln Financial Media is a subsidiary of Lincoln National Corporation that owns radio stations in the United States.-History:In April 2006, Lincoln Financial acquired Jefferson-Pilot's television and radio operations, which were renamed Lincoln Financial Media. The group owns 14 radio stations in...
. In January 2008, Lincoln Financial sold WBT-AM-FM and WLNK
WLNK
WLNK, known on the air as "107.9 The Link", is a 100,000 watt radio station in Charlotte, North Carolina. It broadcasts at 107.9 MHz, primarily serving the Charlotte metropolitan area...
to Greater Media
Greater Media
Greater Media, Inc., known as Greater Media, is an American media company that specializes in radio stations. The markets where they own radio stations include Boston, Detroit, Philadelphia, Charlotte, and the state of New Jersey...
of Braintree, Massachusetts
Braintree, Massachusetts
The Town of Braintree is a suburban city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Although officially known as a town, Braintree adopted a municipal charter, effective 2008, with a mayor-council form of government and is considered a city under Massachusetts law. The population was 35,744...
. It sold its three television stations, including WBTV, to Raycom Media
Raycom Media
- History :Although Raycom Media dates its birth to 1996, the core of the company was formed in 1992 when Atlanta native Bert Ellis formed Ellis Communications. He eventually controlled 13 television stations and two radio stations....
--thus breaking up Charlotte's last heritage radio/television cluster. Greater Media had long wanted to expand into the fast-growing Charlotte market; its owner had wanted to buy WBT after hearing its signal at night on Cape Cod
Cape Cod
Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...
.
Also in 2006, WBT lost the North Carolina Tar Heels
North Carolina Tar Heels
The North Carolina Tar Heels are the athletic teams for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the Tar Heel State...
to WFNZ
WFNZ
WFNZ "610 AM The Fan" is a Sports Talk format radio station in Charlotte, North Carolina.-History:WFNZ signed on in 1941 as WAYS . For much of the 1960s through early 1980s, it was Charlotte's top-rated Top 40 station under the moniker "61 Big Ways." The morning show was aired on both WAYS and...
. Sales director Steve Sklenar said the games pre-empted John Hancock's show and, during the ACC Tournament, Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
. WBT wanted the games, Sklenar said, but the pre-emptions cost the station a lot of advertising revenue. The Tar Heels had aired on WBT from 1977 to 1991, and returned to the station in 1995. According to Cullie Tarleton, who ran the station at that time, putting the Tar Heels on WBT was largely the idea of longtime coach Dean Smith
Dean Smith
Dean Edwards Smith is a retired American head coach of men's college basketball. Originally from Emporia, Kansas, Smith has been called a “coaching legend” by the Basketball Hall of Fame. Smith is best known for his successful 36-year coaching tenure at the University of North Carolina at Chapel...
, who wanted to tell recruits from New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
that their parents would be able to listen to the games.
Broadcasting
WBT's unusual diamond-shaped antennasRadio masts and towers
Radio masts and towers are, typically, tall structures designed to support antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. They are among the tallest man-made structures...
(called Blaw-Knox Tower
Blaw-Knox Tower
The Blaw-Knox company was a manufacturer of steel structures and construction equipment based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company is today best known for its radio towers, most of which were constructed during the 1930s in the United States...
s), make up three of only eight still operational in the United States. In the morning hours of September 22, 1989, Hurricane Hugo
Hurricane Hugo
Hurricane Hugo was a classical, destructive and rare Cape Verde-type hurricane which struck the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe, Montserrat, St. Croix, Puerto Rico and the USA mainland in South Carolina as a Category 4 hurricane during September of the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season...
slammed into Charlotte. The storm severely damaged two of WBT's towers and nearly killed station engineer Bob White. The FCC approved WBT to operate on a full-power non-directional pattern for the next year while the two damaged towers were rebuilt.
Despite its clear-channel status, WBT's signal is spotty at best in some parts of the Charlotte metropolitan area
Charlotte metropolitan area
The Charlotte metropolitan area is a metropolitan area/region of North and South Carolina within and surrounding the city of Charlotte...
at night (particularly the western portion) because it must adjust its coverage at sundown to protect co-located KFAB in Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
. Even though WBT must direct its signal north-south as a result, its nighttime signal still reaches parts of 22 states (including much of the country east of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
) as well as portions of Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
and Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. It can also be heard in some Caribbean
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
islands. During the day, it provides grade B coverage as far as the fringes of the Columbia
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
, Upstate and Piedmont Triad
Piedmont Triad
The Piedmont Triad, or Triad, is a north-central region of the U.S. state of North Carolina that consists of the area within and surrounding the three major cities of Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point. This close group or "triad" of cities lies in the Piedmont geographical region of the...
areas. Under the right conditions, it can be heard as far east as Fayetteville, North Carolina
Fayetteville, North Carolina
Fayetteville is a city located in Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is the county seat of Cumberland County, and is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a U.S. Army post located northwest of the city....
.
To improve its nighttime coverage in the Charlotte area, WBT first tried a synchronous booster signal in Shelby
Shelby, North Carolina
Shelby is a city in Cleveland County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 19,477 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Cleveland County.-Geography:Shelby is located at ....
. Finally, in 1995, then-owner Jefferson-Pilot bought WBZK-FM
WBZK
WBZK is an American radio station licensed by the FCC to serve the community of York, South Carolina. The station license is currently owned by 980 AM, Inc.WBZK airs various forms of religious programming, consisting largely of talk shows...
(which signed on August 30, 1969 and was once called WDZK) in Chester to provide a better signal to the western part of the market at night. WBZK's calls became WBT-FM. The transmitter is located 40 miles southwest of Charlotte. WBT-FM almost always simulcasts its AM sister, although the two have occasionally carried different programming.
For many years, WBT boasted that it could be heard "from Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
to Miami" at night.