KWUL (AM)

KWUL
Simulcasts KWUL-FM Elsberry
Broadcast areaGreater St. Louis
Frequency920 kHz
BrandingK-Wulf
Programming
FormatAmericana
Ownership
Owner
  • Louis Eckelkamp
  • (East Central Broadcasting, LLC)
KRTE-FM, KRTK, KVMO, KWUL-FM, KXEN
History
First air date
December 1, 1961; 63 years ago (1961-12-01)
Former call signs
WGNU (1961–2023)
Call sign meaning
"K-Wulf"
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID49042
ClassB
Power450 watts day
500 watts night
Transmitter coordinates
38°45′33.2″N 90°3′0.4″W / 38.759222°N 90.050111°W / 38.759222; -90.050111 (KWUL (center of 4 tower array)) (NAD 83)
Translator(s)101.5 K268CT (St. Louis)
Links
Public license information
Websitekwulf.com

KWUL (920 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to St. Louis, Missouri, and serving the Greater St. Louis media market. The station is owned by Louis Eckelkamp, through licensee East Central Broadcasting, LLC. KWUL 920 and its sister station, KWUL-FM 101.7 in Elsberry, simulcast an Americana radio format. The studios and offices are on Hampton Avenue in St. Louis.

KWUL is a Class B station. It transmits with 450 watts by day and 500 watts at night. Its transmitter is near the Interstate 255/Illinois Route 255/Interstate 270 interchange, off Chain of Rocks Road in Edwardsville, Illinois.[2] Programming is also heard on FM translator K268CT, 101.5 MHz in St. Louis.

History

Talk, Top 40, Country

The station first signed on the air on December 1, 1951; 73 years ago (1951-12-01). Its original call sign was WGNU and its city of license was Granite City, Illinois.[3] Founded by Chuck Norman and owned by him for the rest of his life, it was held in trust after his 2004 death. Under Norman's ownership, the station featured a wide-ranging local talk radio format. Norman also signed on FM sister station WGNU-FM (now 106.5 WARH) on November 24, 1965.

For a time, WGNU had a Top 40 format, then changed to country music. It later tried talk shows aimed at the African-American community.[4][5]

Gospel, Sports and Urban Talk

WGNU was sold to Radio Property Ventures, owners of KXEN, on September 26, 2007. WGNU switched to an urban gospel format.[6][4]

Former KFNS host Tim McKernan and his company, InsideSTL Enterprises, bought the weekday air time on WGNU, and the station switched its weekday programming to sports radio talk on August 1, 2013. The weekday schedule consisted of 11 hours of local shows, as well as programming from CBS Sports Radio. The Urban Talk format continued to air on weekends.[7] This lease agreement ended in September 2016, when insideSTL Enterprises took over the operations of KFNS and moved its programming onto that station.

Controversy

The station briefly made national headlines. Former St. Louis Cardinals player Jack Clark, who cohosted "The King and the Ripper" with longtime St. Louis radio personality Kevin "the King" Slaten, claimed Los Angeles Angels slugger Albert Pujols had used performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) while Pujols was with the Cardinals. Clark had been the Cardinals' hitting coach during the early part of Pujols' 12-year tenure in St. Louis. Clark had said that he talked to Pujols' former personal trainer and said that "I know for a fact he was" using PEDs.[8]

Pujols responded by threatening Clark and WGNU with a defamation lawsuit, and vehemently denied that he had ever used PEDs. The trainer added that he hadn't even talked to Clark in over ten years. InsideSTL cut ties with Clark and Slaten after only seven shows.[8][9][10] It also issued an apology to Pujols.[11]

Sports betting

In 2018, the station's community of license was changed from Granite City to St. Louis, Missouri.[12]

On October 12, 2021, WGNU changed its format from brokered programming to sports gambling, branded as "The Game". It used programming from the VSiN Sports Betting Network, based in Las Vegas.[13]

Americana

In early 2023, it switched to a simulcast of sister station 101.7 KWUL-FM in Elsberry, Missouri. The stations are running a mix of Southern-influenced classic rock and Americana music.

On March 27, 2023, the station changed its call sign to KWUL. Effective May 8, 2023, Radio Property Ventures sold KWUL, KXEN, and translator K264CY to Louis Eckelkamp's East Central Broadcasting for $210,000.

References

  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KWUL". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ "KWUL-AM Radio Station Coverage Map".
  3. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 page C-63
  4. ^ a b Hinman, Kristen (April 27, 2005). "The old Chuckaroo". Riverfront Times. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
  5. ^ "St. Louis Media History Foundation - Welcome".
  6. ^ Garrison, Chad (September 27, 2007). "WGNU Sale Finalized; Station to Go Gospel". STLog. Village Voice Media. Retrieved November 7, 2007.
  7. ^ "WGNU St. Louis to Flip to Sports".
  8. ^ a b "MLB Baseball - News, Scores, Stats, Standings, and Rumors - Major League Baseball".
  9. ^ "Jack Clark fired after Pujols says he'll sue". August 9, 2013.
  10. ^ [1]
  11. ^ "Albert Pujols sues Jack Clark". October 4, 2013.
  12. ^ "Radio Broadcasting Services; AM or FM Proposals To Change The Community of License" Federal Register, May 11, 2018 (federalregister.gov)
  13. ^ Sports Betting The Game Debuts In St. Louis Radioinsight - October 12, 2021