WCHS (580

kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base uni ...

) is a

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the te ...

talk Talk may refer to: Communication * Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people * Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people * Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct ...

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

formatted

broadcast Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...

radio station licensed to

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in West Virginia, most populous city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Kanawha County, West Virginia, Kanawha County and ...

, serving

Southern West Virginia Southern West Virginia is a culturally and geographically distinct region in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Southern West Virginia has coal mining heritage and Southern affinity, including being part of the Bible Belt. The region is also close ...

and Southwestern West Virginia. WCHS is owned and operated by

WVRC Media WVRC Media is a media corporation comprising radio stations and two radio networks based in the state of West Virginia. The company was known as the West Virginia Radio Corporation prior to a December 2021 rebranding. The company is controlle ...

. WCHS is the Primary Entry Point

Emergency Alert System The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is a Emergency population warning, national warning system in the United States designed to allow authorized officials to broadcast emergency alerts and warning messages to the public via Cable television, cable ...

station for West Virginia.

History

WCHS signed on September 15, 1927, as WOBU, operating at 1120 kilohertz with 50 watts of power; it moved to 580 kilohertz the following year. The station was founded by Walter Fredericks, owner of the Charleston Radio Supply Company, who launched WOBU to sell more radios; he would sell the station in 1930. The call sign was changed to WCHS in 1933; by 1940, it was operating at its current power of 5,000 watts. One popular program on the station was ''The Old Farm Hour''. Country musicians Bill Cox and the Kessinger Brothers were among the performers on the show. WCHS was acquired by the West Virginia Radio Corporation in 1992, and its format was changed from

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

to its current talk radio format; the oldies format would move to WKAZ-FM (107.3).

FM translators

In addition to the main station broadcasting at 580

, WCHS is relayed by two

FM translator A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater ( two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tr ...

s which are used to widen its broadcast area.

Programming

WCHS is the

flagship station In broadcasting, a flagship (also known as a flagship station or key station) is the broadcast station which originates a television network, or a particular radio or television program that plays a key role in the branding of and consumer loyal ...

of the statewide

West Virginia MetroNews West Virginia MetroNews is a radio network heard on many radio stations throughout the U.S. state, State of West Virginia. The network is owned by the West Virginia Radio Corporation. West Virginia MetroNews offers a mix of News radio, news and ...

network. Programming heard on WCHS consists of local and national news, talk and sports programs. The station's weekday morning schedule begins with the nationally syndicated "

America in the Morning ''America in The Morning'' is a news program airing on numerous talk radio stations, syndicated by Westwood One, a subsidiary of Cumulus Media. The one-hour live program airs weekdays at 5:00 a.m. Eastern Time and is hosted by John Tro ...

". "The Morning News" hosted by West Virginia MetroNews anchors Chris Lawrence and Shauna Johnson follows. A locally produced "Ask The Expert" then airs, followed by "MetroNews Talkline" hosted by Hoppy Kercheval. The weekday afternoon lineup beings with the nationally syndicated Rush Limbaugh Show. "MetroNews Hotline" and "MetroNews Sportsline", hosted by Dave Weekley and Tony Caridi respectively, round out the afternoon. Various sports programs air in the evenings, with Dave Ramsey Show and "The Jim Bohannon Show" rounding out the night.

Red Eye Radio ''Red Eye Radio'' is a talk radio program currently hosted by Eric Harley and Gary McNamara. The program is syndicated nationwide by Westwood One, and originates from WBAP in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The show traces its history throug ...

is heard during the overnight hours. The weekend lineup includes nationally syndicated shows from

John Batchelor John Calvin Batchelor (born April 29, 1948) is an American author and the host of ''Eye on the World'' on the CBS Audio Network. His flagship station is WOR in New York City. The show is a hard-news-analysis radio program on current events, wo ...

and

Kim Komando Kimberly Ann Komando (born July 1, 1967) is an American radio personality and the host of two daily radio shows and one weekend radio show about consumer technology. On her weekly call-in show, she provides advice about technology gadgets, websi ...

. "West Virginia Outdoors" and "Sunday Sportsline", hosted by Chris Lawrence and Travis Jones respectively, are also heard. "The Don Nehlen and Bob Pruett Show" also airs on WCHS. The program is hosted by former

West Virginia Mountaineers The West Virginia Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia. The school is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. The Mountaineers have been a membe ...

football head coach

Don Nehlen Donald Eugene Nehlen (born January 1, 1936) is an American former college football player and coach. He was head football coach at Bowling Green State University (1968–1976) and at West Virginia University (1980–2000). Nehlen retired in 2001 ...

and former

Marshall University Marshall University is a public university, public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States, chief justice of the Uni ...

football head coach

Bob Pruett Robert Lewis Pruett (born June 20, 1943) is a former American college football coach. He served as the head football coach Marshall University for nine seasons, from 1996 to 2004. During his tenure at Marshall, the Marshall Thundering Herd foot ...

. Various programs, produced by West Virginia MetroNews, cover high school sports either live or with highlights during the week. The "MetroNews High School Scoreboard" airs highlights of games already played or to-be-played around the state. "High School Sportsline" is a mid-week call-in show, hosted by Garrett Cullen, exclusively about

high school sports Amateur sports are sports in which participants engage largely or entirely without remuneration. The distinction is made between amateur sporting participants and professional sporting participants, who are paid for the time they spend competing a ...

. "High School Game Night" is a live Friday evening program which features continuous score updates, interviews, and analysis. WCHS is also an affiliate of the

Cincinnati Reds Radio Network The Cincinnati Reds Radio Network is an American radio network composed of 69 radio stations which carry English-language coverage of the Cincinnati Reds, a professional baseball team in Major League Baseball (MLB). Cincinnati station WLW (700&n ...

Awards

A 1942

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

for Outstanding Public Service by a Regional Station for "The Home Front," a twice-weekly feature. A 2007 National Edward R. Murrow Award, in the category of "Continuing Coverage", for their reporting on the Sago Mine disaster in Sago, West Virginia. The station was presented with two 2011 Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards. The first, in the category of "Breaking News Coverage", was given for the station's coverage of the

Upper Big Branch Mine disaster The Upper Big Branch Mine disaster occurred on April 5, 2010, roughly underground in Raleigh County, West Virginia at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch coal mine located in Montcoal. 29 out of 31 at the site were killed. The coal dust explosion ...

in Montcoal, West Virginia. The second, in the category of "Audio News Documentary", was for "The Life of U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd". In 2011, the station was presented with a National Edward R. Murrow Award, for their Upper Big Branch Mine disaster coverage. WCHS, along with four other stations, were nominated for the 2011 Marconi Radio Award for "News/Talk Station of the Year" by the

National Association of Broadcasters The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is a Industry trade group, trade association and lobbying, lobby group representing the interests of commercial and non-commercial over-the-air radio and television broadcasting, broadcasters in th ...

. WSB in Atlanta, however, won the award. In 2014, WCHS anchors and reports Chris Lawrence, Fred Persinger, Jeff Jenkins, Shauna Johnson, and Hoppy Kercheval were presented with various awards at that year's West Virginia Broadcasters Association "Excellence in Broadcasting Awards". In 2015, the station was again presented with two Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards, one for "Overall Excellence" and the other for "Best Newscast".

References

External links

96.5 FM 580 AM WCHS Online
* * * * {{West Virginia Radio Corporation 1927 establishments in West Virginia News and talk radio stations in the United States Sports radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1927 CHS CHS