WCIL (1020 A.M.) is a

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

broadcasting a

news talk Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, interviews w ...

format as a simulcast of

WJPF WJPF (1340 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format. Licensed to Herrin, Illinois, United States, the station serves the Marion-Carbondale area. The station is currently owned by Max Media, licensed to MRR License LLC ...

. Licensed to

Carbondale, Illinois Carbondale is a city in Jackson County, Illinois, United States, within the Southern Illinois region informally known as "Little Egypt". As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 25,083, making it the most po ...

, United States, the station serves the Marion-Carbondale area. The station is owned by

Max Media Max Media is a company that owns radio stations throughout the United States. It is based in Virginia Beach, Virginia. History Max Media was founded in 2001. Prior to this, some of the company's management had run the TVX Broadcast Group from 1 ...

History

WCIL (AM) signed on the air in 1946 as a daytime-only station with personalities such as Jim Bowen, Bluegrass Roy and others in a second floor studio at about 215 W. Main St. in Carbondal

At that time, to get the AM license, they were pressured by the FCC to also sign on an FM station. They kept the FM on the air for about a year and then signed it off the air since, at the time, nobody listened to FM. Later, WCIL moved the studios to a house at a location that is now the parking lot for the First United Methodist Church in Carbondale. In 1964 WCIL moved again, this time to new studios at 211 W. Main in Carbondale, right across the street from the church. Paul F. McRoy, the station's owner, foresaw the potential of FM and reapplied for an FM license. The license was approved and WCIL-FM signed on in 1968 and allowed broadcasting after local sunset when WCIL was required to sign off. WCIL simulcast programming during this tim

The format was easy listening music and news. A year or so before CIL-FM was born, Top 40 music was played after 10p.m.. The FCC required AM/FM simulcasts to split programming. So, plans were made to split WCIL AM and FM. The AM and FM split programming and became separate stations on August 16, 1976. McRoy would go on to sell WCIL-AM-FM to Dennis Lyle, now the President of the Illinois Broadcasters Association. Later, in 1997, Lyle sold the stations to the Zimmer Radio Group. Soon after the sale, WCIL became a daytime-only simulcast of

news/talk Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, interviews ...

station

. In 2004,

Zimmer Radio Group Zimmer is a Germanic word meaning ''room'' and also a surname. It may refer to: People * Zimmer (surname), people with the surname * Zimmer massacre, the 1812 massacre of the Zimmer family in Ohio Places * 3064 Zimmer, asteroid named after Louis ...

sold their stations in southern Illinois (including WCIL), along with Cape Girardeau,

Poplar Bluff Poplar Bluff is a city in Butler County in southeastern Missouri, United States. It is the county seat of Butler County and is known as "The Gateway to the Ozarks" among other names. The population was 16,225 at the 2020 census. The Poplar Bluf ...

and

Sikeston Sikeston () is a city located both in southern Scott County, Missouri, Scott County and northern New Madrid County, Missouri, New Madrid County, in the state of Missouri, United States. It is situated just north of the "Missouri Bootheel", althou ...

, Missouri to Mississippi River Radio, a subsidiary of Max Media, LLC.

Programming

WCIL is a daytime-only station simulcasting

/1340-Herrin, Illinois.

F.M. translator

Ownership

In December 2003, Mississippi River Radio, acting as Max Media LLC (John Trinder, president/COO), reached an agreement to purchase WCIL, WCIL-FM,

WOOZ-FM WOOZ-FM (99.9 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Harrisburg, Illinois Harrisburg () is a city in and the county seat of Saline County, Illinois, United States. It is located about southwest of Evansvil ...

WUEZ WUEZ (95.1 FM, "95.1 Steve FM") is a radio station broadcasting an adult hits format. Licensed to Carterville, Illinois Carterville is a city in Williamson County, Illinois, United States. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 5, ...

WXLT WXLT (103.5 FM, "ESPN Southern Illinois") is a radio station licensed to serve Christopher, Illinois, United States. The station is owned by Max Media and licensed to MRR License LLC. It airs a sports format. History WXLT was first assigned ...

KCGQ-FM KCGQ-FM (99.3 FM) is a radio station broadcasting an active rock format. Licensed to Gordonville, Missouri, United States, the station is currently owned by Max Media and licensed to MRR License LLC and features programming from ABC Radio and P ...

KEZS-FM KEZS-FM (102.9 MHz, "K103") is a country music-formatted radio station broadcasting from Cape Girardeau, Missouri, reaching portions of southern Illinois, Southeast Missouri, northeast Arkansas, the Missouri Bootheel, Western Kentucky, and the n ...

KGIR KGIR (1220 AM, "ESPN 1220/1470") is a radio station licensed to serve Cape Girardeau, Missouri, United States. The station is owned by Max Media and licensed to MRR License LLC. It airs a sports format in conjunction with KMAL and featuring pr ...

, KGKS, KJEZ,

KKLR-FM KKLR-FM (94.5 FM broadcasting, FM, "Clear 94") is a radio station city of license, licensed to serve Poplar Bluff, Missouri. The station is owned by Max Media. It airs a country music format. KKLR serves Poplar Bluff, southeast Missouri and extre ...

, KLSC, KMAL,

KSIM KSIM (1400 AM broadcasting, AM) is a radio station city of license, licensed to serve Sikeston, Missouri, United States. The station is owned by Max Media and licensed to MRR License LLC. It airs a News radio, news/Talk radio, talk format. KSIM s ...

, KWOC, and

KZIM KZIM (960 AM) is a radio station licensed to serve Cape Girardeau, Missouri, United States. The station is owned by Max Media and licensed to MRR License LLC. It airs a news and talk format. KZIM features radio programming such as the syndicat ...

from the Zimmer Radio Group (James L. Zimmer, owner). The reported value of this 17 station transaction was $43 million.

References

External links

History of WCIL
*http://siualumni.com/s/664/index.aspx?sid=664&gid=1&pgid=15&cid=292&newsid=50 {{Daytime-only radio stations in Illinois Radio stations in Illinois, CIL (AM) News and talk radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1946 1946 establishments in Illinois Max Media radio stations CIL (AM)