WMGW
Encyclopedia
WMGW is an American radio station
, licensed to Meadville, Pennsylvania
, the seat of government for Crawford County
. WMGW operates at the assigned frequency of 1490 kHz with a fulltime power of 1,000 watts. WMGW is also the flagship station of the Allegheny News-Talk Sports Network, also owned by its licensee, Forever Broadcasting, LLC.
and the AP
audio network.
In the early 1970s, the stations were purchased by the Regional Broadcasters Group headquartered in Kingston, New York. The FM station's call letters were changed to WZPR as a tribute to Meadville's Talon Corporation which, nearly a century earlier, had become America's first manufacturer of "hookless fasteners" or zipper
s. While WMGW-AM's format remained the same, WZPR-FM was changed to Beautiful Music, and in 1978 changed to its current format, country.
WMGW was purchased by Great Circle Broadcasting in 1983, a division of the now-defunct Music Broadcasting Group. Approximately 5 years prior the purchase, the studios and offices of both stations had moved from their second floor location on Park Avenue to the Downtown Mall on Water Street in Meadville, allowing shoppers to see a glimpse of the stations at work. The station remains in this location today.
-based Forever Broadcasting, which had been looking to gain a foothold in Northwest Pennsylvania. Forever Broadcasting acquired both stations the following year for an undisclosed price.
(prior to December 2009, WOYL
in Oil City had also been a part of this network, in effect making it a quadcast; WOYL permanently ceased operations in July 2010). However, in morning drive, the trimulcast is broken down into a simulcast, with WMGW and WTIV airing a morning show independent of WFRA, which airs its own separate live morning show program with programming matter exclusive to its immediate local market. The full-time operations of the network and its respective stations originate out of the Downtown Mall location, but WFRA maintains a separate office and studio in WFRA's city of license in Franklin, Pennsylvania.
Keith Allen Austin hosts the morning show for WMGW and WTIV.
All stations are owned by Forever Broadcasting, LLC
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...
, licensed to Meadville, Pennsylvania
Meadville, Pennsylvania
Meadville is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city is generally considered part of the Pittsburgh Tri-State and is within 40 miles of Erie, Pennsylvania. It was the first permanent settlement in northwest Pennsylvania...
, the seat of government for Crawford County
Crawford County, Pennsylvania
Crawford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 88,765.Crawford County was created on March 12, 1800, from part of Allegheny County and named for Colonel William Crawford...
. WMGW operates at the assigned frequency of 1490 kHz with a fulltime power of 1,000 watts. WMGW is also the flagship station of the Allegheny News-Talk Sports Network, also owned by its licensee, Forever Broadcasting, LLC.
History
WMGW first went on the air back in 1947, as the very first radio station in all of Crawford County, founded by Meadville physician Dr. Harry C. Winslow. Dr. Winslow chose his daughter's initials (Mary Gene Winslow) for the station's call letters. Like many small-town radio stations of its time, WMGW broadcast for many years a format of local, world and national news, local and Pittsburgh sports, and adult contemporary music. WMGW was also complimented with an FM station bearing the same call letters for many years. World and national news was provided by ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
and the AP
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
audio network.
In the early 1970s, the stations were purchased by the Regional Broadcasters Group headquartered in Kingston, New York. The FM station's call letters were changed to WZPR as a tribute to Meadville's Talon Corporation which, nearly a century earlier, had become America's first manufacturer of "hookless fasteners" or zipper
Zipper
A zipper is a commonly used device for temporarily joining two edges of fabric...
s. While WMGW-AM's format remained the same, WZPR-FM was changed to Beautiful Music, and in 1978 changed to its current format, country.
WMGW was purchased by Great Circle Broadcasting in 1983, a division of the now-defunct Music Broadcasting Group. Approximately 5 years prior the purchase, the studios and offices of both stations had moved from their second floor location on Park Avenue to the Downtown Mall on Water Street in Meadville, allowing shoppers to see a glimpse of the stations at work. The station remains in this location today.
Sale to Forever Broadcasting
In 1999, Music Broadcasting began negotiations to sell WMGW and its FM sister, by this time called WZPR, to Altoona, PennsylvaniaAltoona, Pennsylvania
-History:A major railroad town, Altoona was founded by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1849 as the site for a shop complex. Altoona was incorporated as a borough on February 6, 1854, and as a city under legislation approved on April 3, 1867, and February 8, 1868...
-based Forever Broadcasting, which had been looking to gain a foothold in Northwest Pennsylvania. Forever Broadcasting acquired both stations the following year for an undisclosed price.
WMGW Today
WMGW switched to a format of all news, talk, and sports, and through a cooperative effort with three other acquired stations, formed the Allegheny News Talk Sports Network. The network consists of a "trimulcast" outside of morning drive, with all four stations sharing the same programming, which includes Pirates baseball, and the NFL on Westwood OneNFL on Westwood One
The NFL on Westwood One is the brand name given to weekly National Football League games carried on the radio over the Dial Global Radio Network...
(prior to December 2009, WOYL
WOYL
WOYL was an American radio station, licensed to the community of Oil City, Pennsylvania. WOYL operated at the assigned frequency of 1340 kHz and a fulltime output power of a thousand watts...
in Oil City had also been a part of this network, in effect making it a quadcast; WOYL permanently ceased operations in July 2010). However, in morning drive, the trimulcast is broken down into a simulcast, with WMGW and WTIV airing a morning show independent of WFRA, which airs its own separate live morning show program with programming matter exclusive to its immediate local market. The full-time operations of the network and its respective stations originate out of the Downtown Mall location, but WFRA maintains a separate office and studio in WFRA's city of license in Franklin, Pennsylvania.
Keith Allen Austin hosts the morning show for WMGW and WTIV.
Allegheny News Talk Sports Network Affiliate Stations
- WTIVWTIVWTIV is an American radio station, licensed to the community of Titusville, Pennsylvania. WTIV operates at the federally-assigned frequency of 1230 at a fulltime power of 1,000 Watts...
in Titusville - WFRAWFRAWFRA is an American radio station, licensed to Franklin, Pennsylvania; the seat of government for Venango County, Pennsylvania.WFRA broadcasts at the assigned frequency of 1450 at a fulltime power of a thousand watts...
in Franklin
All stations are owned by Forever Broadcasting, LLC