The mystery of WWIZ/1380 in Lorain, Ohio: an otherwise forgotten station...

[nate81]

The more I think I know something, the less it's the case. Oddly enough, I found this out by looking at an obituary.

Take, for instance, the AM/1380 facility in Lorain. Today it is WDLW, it's calls standing for principle owners Doug & Lorie Wilbur, and came about from a short-lived LMA/simulcast with WELW/1330.

I've been able to date it as far back as WLRO in 1969. The calls flipped to WRKG in 1984, then WELL for a few days (literally) in 1997 before WDLW. Formats have included Top 40, Country, Gospel/Religious, Ethnic (via the WELW LMA), Hispanic, and Oldies. And that's as much as I've known about ol' 1380. Or so I thought.

I was looking at the Avon Lake Press (KCJB would know what I'm talking about and the obit section had a passage on a Mr. Bob Sellers of Sheffield Lake. He passed away back on August 12. The Elyria Chronicle too had this on their website:

Bob Sellers

Bottom line: it said that he "had a morning radio show on WWIZ AM/1380, on which he was known as 'Bob Jefferies' or 'B.J. the DJ,' derived from the on-air nickname given him by radio listeners.' Mr. Sellers was "well-known as a local disk jockey 'The Polka King' and was a talent manager in the 1960's." He operated a popular cocktail lounge in downtown Lorain at the same time; and operated "Destiny Records," the first record label in Northeast Ohio.

But the "WWIZ AM/1380" entry was really what caught my eye. I never had heard of such a station.

Googling "WWIZ Lorain", it did indeed exist. Purportedly, WWIZ signed on in 1958. But the memories aren't so pristine: WWIZ amd The Lorain Journal got into hot water with the FCC in the early 60's, as the following link shows:

http://www.jurisearch.com/newroot/caselink.asp?series=F.2d&citationno=351+F.2d+824

If I'm reading this correctly, The Lorain Journal tried to buy WWIZ shortly after signon, and had kept some of the stations' books and records in their possession. But they and WWIZ's owner, Sanford Schafitz, failed to properly notify the FCC beforehand.

Ironically enough, among the THREE cases against WWIZ, two of them had Elyria-Lorain Broadcasting - then, and now, the owner of WEOL/930 - as the intervenor for the FCC. Here, ELB/WEOL opposed WWIZ being taken over by the Journal.

Ten years earlier, ELB/WEOL sued the Journal for antitrust violations after the Journal instituted punitive rules against companies that wanted to advertise in both the Journal and WEOL. It reached the Supreme Court; WEOL won.

Ultimately, the FCC denied renewal of WWIZ's license. I don't know when WWIZ specifically went dark (1965?), but there was a gap before WLRO came into existence in 1969. If anyone could help clarify, that would be a big help. My perception of a station gets turned on its' ear.

Adding to the intrigue: the WWIZ calls are now in use - but at Cumulus' "Rock 104" FM/104.1 in Mercer, PA. The more I think about it, I'd like to see 1380 once again become WWIZ: "WIZ 1380," perhaps?

- nate81

______________
Nathan Obral
University Partership Representative: LCCC Student Senate, Elyria, Ohio

The Morning Love with Mark and Sarah - Fridays 9AM EDT on Duck Radio!

[JohnnyMorganWXJX]

http://www.jurisearch.> com/newroot/caselink.asp?series=F.2d&citationno=351+F.2d+824
>
>
> If I'm reading this correctly, The Lorain Journal tried to
> buy WWIZ shortly after signon, and had kept some of the
> stations' books and records in their possession. But they
> and WWIZ's owner, Sanford Schafitz, failed to properly
> notify the FCC beforehand.

Even before that--Lorain Journal tried to get the station assigned, via a complicated straw man transaction to get around the legal requirements which prevented Journal Publishing from holding a license (note: they wouldn't be controlling shareholder, but would be controlling operations nonetheless).
And they tried this while it was still a Construction Permit in 1958.

> Ironically enough, among the THREE cases against WWIZ, two
> of them had Elyria-Lorain Broadcasting - then, and now, the
> owner of WEOL/930 - as the intervenor for the FCC. Here,
> ELB/WEOL opposed WWIZ being taken over by the Journal.
>
> Ten years earlier, ELB/WEOL sued the Journal for antitrust
> violations after the Journal instituted punitive rules
> against companies that wanted to advertise in both the
> Journal and WEOL. It reached the Supreme Court; WEOL won.
>
> Ultimately, the FCC denied renewal of WWIZ's license. I
> don't know when WWIZ specifically went dark (1965?), but
> there was a gap before WLRO came into existence in 1969. If
> anyone could help clarify, that would be a big help. My
> perception of a station gets turned on its' ear.

You wanna do some research (or know someone who does), get the scoop on this Schafitz guy--he was signing on stations all over the place: Lorain, Youngstown, Farrell, Pa (WFAR, which is now WLOA--a Glunt Empire station).  What was this Schafitz's deal?  Why so many stations, in such a short period of time?  And how'd he have the money for them all?

Maybe that's why he lost the renewals and licenses--undercapitalized.  Just guessing.

[nate81]

http://www.jurisearch.com/newroot/caselink.asp?series=F.2d&citationno=351+F.2d+824

> > If I'm reading this correctly, The Lorain Journal tried to
> > buy WWIZ shortly after signon, and had kept some of the
> > stations' books and records in their possession. But they
> > and WWIZ's owner, Sanford Schafitz, failed to properly
> > notify the FCC beforehand.
>
> Even before that--Lorain Journal tried to get the station
> assigned, via a complicated straw man transaction to get
> around the legal requirements which prevented Journal
> Publishing from holding a license (note: they wouldn't be
> controlling shareholder, but would be controlling operations
> nonetheless).
> And they tried this while it was still a Construction Permit
> in 1958.
 
Which would, in turn, bring up another wrinkle: Elyria-Lorain Broadcasting is  by Lorain County Printing & Publishing - who also owns the Elyria Chronicle and Medina Gazette. (Listen to WNWV/107.3 late at night, and you will hear ads for both papers.) It's one of the last grandfathered radio/newspaper duopolies.

I'm not sure when ELB and LCP&P came together - it may have been right at the sign-on of both WEOL and then-WEOL/107.3 back in 1948. Probably not. But that would take both the "WEOL vs. Journal" Supreme Court case, and the "ELB vs. WWIZ" case as "Chronicle vs. Journal" cases.

To this day, the Journal won't advertise on WEOL. They will on WOBL and WDLW. I thought the Supreme Court case (detailed here by Robert Bork) was what did it. I may have been wrong.

> > Ultimately, the FCC denied renewal of WWIZ's license. I
> > don't know when WWIZ specifically went dark (1965?), but
> > there was a gap before WLRO came into existence in 1969. If
> > anyone could help clarify, that would be a big help. My
> > perception of a station gets turned on its' ear.
>
> You wanna do some research (or know someone who does), get
> the scoop on this Schafitz guy--he was signing on stations
> all over the place: Lorain, Youngstown, Farrell, Pa (WFAR,
> which is now WLOA--a Glunt Empire station).  What was this
> Schafitz's deal?  Why so many stations, in such a short
> period of time?  And how'd he have the money for them all?
>
> Maybe that's why he lost the renewals and
> licenses--undercapitalized.  Just guessing.

I was only able to locate a pic of Mr. Schafitz. He's a member of Purdue University's Wall of Fame.

As for WFAR, it lasted until 1986; then became WMGZ. Several other callsigns followed before WLOA. Aside from that I have very little.

Ironically, Mr. Schafitz looks like the predecessor to Harold Glunt - from what I've seen, anyway.

- nate81

______________
Nathan Obral
University Partership Representative: LCCC Student Senate, Elyria, Ohio

The Morning Love with Mark and Sarah - Fridays 9AM EDT on Duck Radio!

[OldAkronite]

I was totally unaware of 1380/Lorain's history before recent years.  Thanks for the updates!

> As for WFAR, it lasted until 1986; then became WMGZ. Several
> other callsigns followed before WLOA. Aside from that I have
> very little.

After WMGZ, 1470/Farrell PA continued to simulcast 95.9/Sharpsville PA as soft AC WOJY(AM) ("Joy 95.9").  It went off the air, and was resurrected in 1991 as automated oldies WRQQ "The Rock", shortly after its FM sister station came back on as country/rock "WAX-FM" (WAXF).  Someone writing this message may have been involved at the time

After Mr. Holtzclaw stiffed first, his employees, and then, various public utilities and agencies, the stations both went off the air.  95.9 came back under new ownership with satellite country ("The Bandit"), then CHR ("The Heat"), before its eventual return as "The Beat", and now, of course, it's CC's "KISS FM".

1470 returned eventually with satellite gospel as WPAO (Salem's "Solid Gospel" IIRC), then the EWTN-based Catholic programming it aired before becoming the flagship of the "Wexy 107" oldies format.  And while we're on the subject...
 
> Ironically, Mr. Schafitz looks like the predecessor to
> Harold Glunt - from what I've seen, anyway.

Remember, Glunt is supposedly eyeing stations as far afield as Columbus and Pittsburgh!

-OA

______________
Ohio Media Watch - http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com

[JohnnyMorganWXJX]

> > Ironically, Mr. Schafitz looks like the predecessor to
> > Harold Glunt - from what I've seen, anyway.
>
> Remember, Glunt is supposedly eyeing stations as far afield
> as Columbus and Pittsburgh!

Oh, come on.  Let's get settled down and operating in one market first before the grandiose takes over.

What can he afford in Pittsburgh?

[tpt]

Back to 1380.  Beliieve WWIZ was still on the air  well into the early sixties.

[JohnnyMorganWXJX]

> Back to 1380.  Beliieve WWIZ was still on the air  well into
> the early sixties.
>

I think Nate has the dates pinned down pretty good--the DC Circuit decision was in 1965, and the 1380 we all know and love didn't sign on until 1969.

Two options here--

1.  It was forcibly sold (per FCC), or Mr. S was forced to shutter it (also per FCC); or

2.  It stayed up and running through to 1969, with some low-to-radar programming (which is why no one remembers it).

[collegeDJ86]

> 1470 returned eventually with satellite gospel as WPAO
> (Salem's "Solid Gospel" IIRC), then the EWTN-based Catholic
> programming it aired before becoming the flagship of the
> "Wexy 107" oldies format.  And while we're on the subject...

I remember hearing Salem's "Today's Christian Music" satellite format on 1470 circa mid-90s I believe.  Not sure how long that lasted or what dates it ran from and to.  WPAO was the call letters for that format also.

[nate81]

> > Back to 1380.  Beliieve WWIZ was still on the air  well
> into
> > the early sixties.
> >
>
> I think Nate has the dates pinned down pretty good--the DC
> Circuit decision was in 1965, and the 1380 we all know and
> love didn't sign on until 1969.
>
> Two options here--
>
> 1.  It was forcibly sold (per FCC), or Mr. S was forced to
> shutter it (also per FCC); or
>
> 2.  It stayed up and running through to 1969, with some
> low-to-radar programming (which is why no one remembers it).
>

Here's my guess:

A press release issued by WDLW before their switch to "Kool Kat Oldies 1380AM" back in late 2002 ( read here ) implicity states that "WDLW, licensed to the city of Lorain, first began broadcasting in December 1969 as WLRO. In the 1980's, the call letters were changed to WRKG, and finally in 1998 to WDLW. Over the years, the formats have changed several times including "Top 40", "County", "Big Band", "Religious", "Ethnic", and most recently "Spanish".

There is no mention of WWIZ. I'd guess that the 1380 facility was completly silent from 1966 (or whenever) until late 1969. Option #2 is also possible, but then again, I'd have to have lived through that time. (I couldn't, I was born in 1981...)

One thing is very possible: WLRO almost assuredly used the WWIZ tower and (500 watts-day/57 watts-night) operating power. IMHO, 1380 has a very good signal for a late 60's shoehorn, as opposed to WELW or WOBL (the latter is so directional, it's shaped like Casper - the ghost, not the WAKS DJ

- nate81

______________
Nathan Obral
University Partership Representative: LCCC Student Senate, Elyria, Ohio

The Morning Love with Mark and Sarah - Fridays 9AM EDT on Duck Radio!

[JohnnyMorganWXJX]

> Here's my guess:
>
> A press release issued by WDLW before their switch to "Kool
> Kat Oldies 1380AM" back in late 2002 ( read here ) implicity
> states that "WDLW, licensed to the city of Lorain, first
> began broadcasting in December 1969 as WLRO. In the 1980's,
> the call letters were changed to WRKG, and finally in 1998
> to WDLW. Over the years, the formats have changed several
> times including "Top 40", "County", "Big Band", "Religious",
> "Ethnic", and most recently "Spanish".
>
> There is no mention of WWIZ. I'd guess that the 1380
> facility was completly silent from 1966 (or whenever) until
> late 1969. Option #2 is also possible, but then again, I'd
> have to have lived through that time. (I couldn't, I was
> born in 1981...)
>
> One thing is very possible: WLRO almost assuredly used the
> WWIZ tower and operating power. IMHO, 1380 has a very good
> signal for a late 60's shoehorn, as opposed to WELW or WOBL
> (the latter is so directional, it's shaped like Casper - the
> ghost, not the WAKS DJ
>
> - nate81
>

I don't know the history here (when did 1320 WOBL sign on?)--but I will note that 1380 is a NON-DIRECTIONAL full-timer, albeit with 500w days/57w nights.  But it isn't protecting anyone.  I wonder if the existing 1380 authorization from 1969 is on the same parameters as the 1958 authorization to Mr. S.  If so, I think that lends more support to my theory that 1380 has been continuous since 1958--turning in a license, or having it yanked without a new buyer would re-set the tables and a new applicant would have to re-engineer the coverage.

The fringe daytime signal of 1380 is barking in WNIO's back yard.

Meanwhile, WOBL is HEAVILY directional because it's about as bad a place as you can put an AM at that frequency:  protection across the lake to 1310 Detroit; 1320 Pittsburgh; 1340 Ashland; 1330 Youngstown (and a little bit to WELW, surely); and some protection to second adjacent 1300 Cleveland.

Yikes.

Just some more Friday speculation from your radio "History Decetives" Nate and JM!