WCTC
Encyclopedia
WCTC is an American radio station
broadcasting a syndicated and live talk radio
format. Licensed to New Brunswick, New Jersey
, the station serves the Middlesex area. The station is currently owned by Greater Media
(through The Sentinel Publishing Co.).
The station broadcasts in C-QUAM
AM stereo
. It is the chief radio broadcaster for Rutgers University
athletic events and Somerset Patriots
independent league baseball
games. WCTC is also the primary source for winter school closing announcements. WCTC's former Talk
format continues during the weekday morning show featuring longtime radio personality Jack Ellery. WCTC also features special interest shows on the weekends.
WCTC derives its callsign
from the Chanticleer
, a flamboyant fighting rooster from the medieval fable Reynard the Fox (Le Roman de Renart). It is also used by Geoffrey Chaucer
in the Canterbury Tales which was the Rutgers mascot from 1925 to 1955. The station is currently owned by Greater Media
, Inc. Its sister station is WMGQ
-FM, another Greater Media property.
/Talk
station featuring programming from ABC Radio and Premiere Radio Networks
. As of July 2, 2008, WCTC went back to its roots broadcasting an oldies music format.
On February 28, 2011 WCTC changed their format to talk.
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...
broadcasting a syndicated and live talk radio
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
format. Licensed to New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, USA. It is the county seat and the home of Rutgers University. The city is located on the Northeast Corridor rail line, southwest of Manhattan, on the southern bank of the Raritan River. At the 2010 United States Census, the population of...
, the station serves the Middlesex area. The station is currently 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...
(through The Sentinel Publishing Co.).
The station broadcasts in C-QUAM
C-QUAM
C-QUAM is the method of AM stereo broadcasting used in Canada, the United States and most other countries. It was invented in 1977 by Norman Parker, Francis Hilbert, and Yoshio Sakaie, and published in an IEEE journal....
AM stereo
AM stereo
AM stereo is a term given to a series of mutually incompatible techniques for wireless radio broadcasting stereo audio in the AM band in a manner that is compatible with standard AM receivers...
. It is the chief radio broadcaster for Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
athletic events and Somerset Patriots
Somerset Patriots
The Somerset Patriots are an American professional baseball team based in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey. They are a member of the Freedom Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball...
independent league baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
games. WCTC is also the primary source for winter school closing announcements. WCTC's former Talk
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
format continues during the weekday morning show featuring longtime radio personality Jack Ellery. WCTC also features special interest shows on the weekends.
WCTC derives its callsign
Call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In North America they are used as names for broadcasting stations...
from the Chanticleer
Chanticleer
- Fiction :*A rooster appearing in fables about Reynard The Fox**The Nun's Priest's Tale, a version of Chanticleer and the Fox told in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales**By metonymy, any rooster**A character in the movie Rock-a-Doodle played by Glen Campbell...
, a flamboyant fighting rooster from the medieval fable Reynard the Fox (Le Roman de Renart). It is also used by Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer , known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey...
in the Canterbury Tales which was the Rutgers mascot from 1925 to 1955. The station is currently 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...
, Inc. Its sister station is WMGQ
WMGQ
WMGQ, known on-air as Magic 98.3, is a radio station broadcasting from Somerset, New Jersey and licensed in New Brunswick . It is located at 98.3 FM. The station can be heard in Monmouth, Middlesex, Somerset, Mercer, Union, and Hunterdon counties...
-FM, another Greater Media property.
History
WCTC got its start in 1946 broadcasting an unknown format. From the 1960s to the 1980s, it was broadcasting a Top 40 music format. It later broadcasted a Full Service format featuring local news, talk, sports, and MOR adult pop music. In 1992, WCTC changed its format to a full-time NewsAll-news radio
All-news radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcast of news.All-news radio is available in both local and syndicated forms, and is carried in some form on both major US satellite radio networks...
/Talk
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
station featuring programming from ABC Radio and Premiere Radio Networks
Premiere Radio Networks
Premiere Networks is an American radio network. It is the largest syndication company in the United States based on popularity of programming...
. As of July 2, 2008, WCTC went back to its roots broadcasting an oldies music format.
On February 28, 2011 WCTC changed their format to talk.
Former on-air staff
- Bob Aaronson
- Bernard Spigner
- Dan Flatt
- Jim Florio
- Gary R'Nel
- Joe Spicuzzo
- Ted Efaw
- Dick Farrel
- Ralph Saviano
- Liz Maita
- Bruce Williams, a well-known syndicated radio personality. He began his broadcast career at WCTC.
- Noted newsmen Herb Kaplow, Dave MarashDave MarashDavid Marash, known as Dave Marash is an American television journalist.Marash garnered considerable attention when he joined Al Jazeera English in January 2006 as the network's Washington, D.C. anchor, thus becoming the de facto American face of the new English language station. Two years later,...
and Harvey Hauptman began their careers at the station. - Joseph Dembo, eventual GM at WCBSWCBS (AM)WCBS , often referred to as "WCBS Newsradio 880" , is a radio station in New York City. Owned by CBS Radio, the station broadcasts on a clear channel and is the flagship station of the CBS Radio Network...
in New York began his management rise at WCTC. - Gordon DealGordon DealGordon Deal is an American talk radio host for The Wall Street Journal This Morning radio program. Prior to working at The Wall Street Journal, Gordon worked at both WINS-AM and WCBS-AM in New York City as a writer and reporter. He also served as New York City bureau chief for Metro Networks where...
host of Wall Street Journal This Morning once served as a News Anchor at the station. - Jennifer Kushinka a news anchor for the Dow Jones Money Report was once a News Anchor at WCTC.
- Brian Rickman a former board operator and producer at WCTC is now the head of Programming for URBan Radio BroadcastingUrban Radio BroadcastingURBan Radio Broadcasting, LLC, is an American media company that specializes in radio stations. The markets where they own radio stations include Toledo, Ohio, Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Tupelo, Mississippi, Columbus, Mississippi, Meridian, Mississippi, and Alexandria, Louisiana...
. - Dean Hunter, formerly of WMGM (FM)WMGM (FM)WMGM is a radio station based in Atlantic City, New Jersey playing mainstream rock. WMGM serves most of southern New Jersey from Toms River to Cape May.-History:103.7 first signed on June 14, 1961 as WOSJ, later as WMGM...
, was the PD for WCTC during the late 1970s.