Radio station in Charlotte, North Carolina
WGSP
(1310
kHz
) is a
commercial
AM
radio station
in
Charlotte, North Carolina
, known as
Latina 102.3 y 107.5
. It is owned by Norsan Media and broadcasts a
Spanish
tropical
radio format
. Programming is
trimulcast
on
WGSP-FM
102.3
MHz
and
FM translator
W298CF
at 107.5 MHz.
By day, WGSP is powered at 5,000
watts
non-directional
. But to protect other stations on
1310 AM
, it greatly reduces power at night to 240 watts and switches to a
directional antenna
. The
radio studios
are on East Independence Boulevard in Charlotte. The
transmitter
is off Bellaire Drive, near West Brookshire Freeway (
North Carolina Highway 16
) in Charlotte.
[1]
FM Translator
[
edit
]
In addition to the main station on 1310
kHz
, WGSP programming is relayed to an
FM translator
.
History
[
edit
]
On August 23, 1958, the station
signed on
as WKTC as a
country music
station. It was a
daytimer
station, required to go off the air at night. WKTC
disc jockey
Johnny Jacobs demonstrated that a person could live in a
fallout shelter
for a long period of time (which people during the
Cold War
feared they would have to do), spending a week there and contacting the station by phone.
[2]
WKTC became Charlotte's first full-time
Christian radio
station in September 1970, with
gospel music
and "contemporary inspirational singing" as well as
syndicated
religious programming and news. Response was very positive. Program director Bill Hicks said a "Top 40" style format was being considered.
[3]
Around the same time, George H. Buck Jr. bought the station, which became WHVN.
[4]
As of 1980, about 65 percent of programming was "spoken word".
[5]
When the
1240
frequency became available early in the 80s, allowing 24-hour broadcasts, WHVN moved from 1310, which only allowed a daytime signal.
WGSP ("Great Sounds of the Past") returned to the air as one of Charlotte's first
oldies
stations, playing a wide variety of standard pop hits and "
beach music
." In 1985, with no other area stations playing
classic rock
this small AM station became one of the first in the country to shape a format around vintage rock and roll from the 1960s and 1970s. WGSP became the second most listened to AM station in the market. At its peak, the WGSP air staff included Program Director Paul Ingles, Rick Ballew, Fielding Spicer, David Appleford, Phil England and Darby James. After a couple of years of growth by WGSP, other FM stations in the region adopted the "Classic Rock" format and, with their better signals, WGSP lost audience and was sold to religious broadcasters.
WGSP became a
gospel
station
[6]
[7]
and this format continued until 2004, when the switch was made to the current format.
[8]
During 2006 and 2007, WGSP's programming aired on
WGSP-FM
, at 102.3 FM.
[9]
[10]
Programs included "La Voz del Immigrante" ("The Voice of the Immigrant").
[11]
WGSP has simulcast the La Tremenda Network with
WXNC
.
former logo
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Radio-Locator.com/WGSP
- ^
Washburn, Mark (2010-09-18).
"Johnny Jacobs turned up volume on local radio"
.
The Charlotte Observer
. Retrieved
2010-09-21
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
"He Foresees A Religious 'Top Forty',"
The Charlotte Observer
, February 10, 1971, p. 3B.
- ^
"Stations Put Christian Message On Airwaves Of Metrolina,"
The Charlotte Observer
, December 16, 1980.
- ^
Mark Wolf, "Radio Station WQCC To Shift To A Christian Music Format,"
The Charlotte Observer
, October 6, 1980, p. 5B.
- ^
Jeff Borden, "Religious Group to Buy WGSP,"
The Charlotte Observer
, March 6, 1986.
- ^
Deborah Hales, "'Last Waltz' to Be WGSP's Swan Song,"
The Charlotte Observer
, May 30, 1986.
- ^
Cristina Breen Bolling, "Spanish-Language Media Are Multiplying in Region - Radio, Newspapers Target Powerful Market,"
The Charlotte Observer
, June 19, 2004.
- ^
Franco Ordonez, "City's Top Spanish-Language Radio Station Leaping to FM - WGSP-AM Will Begin Simulcasting Today on WRML 102.3,"
The Charlotte Observer
, March 1, 2006.
- ^
Mark Washburn, "106.1 FM Will Shift to All-Spanish,"
The Charlotte Observer
, November 20, 2008.
- ^
Franco Ordonez, "The Local News en Espanol - Spanish-Language Media Growing to Meet Needs of Charlotte's Burgeoning Latino Community,
The Charlotte Observer
, December 29, 2005.
External links
[
edit
]