WGCL (1370 kHz) is a commercial AM

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 ...

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in Monroe County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. The population was 79,168 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-most populous city in Indiana and ...

, serving Monroe County. The station is owned by Sarkes Tarzian, Inc. along with

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

WTTS 92.3 FM. WGCL broadcasts a

talk radio 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, Interview (jo ...

format with programming from CBS Sports Radio in the evening. The radio studios and offices are on West 7th Street in Bloomington. By day, WGCL is powered at 5,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s. But to avoid interference to other stations on

1370 AM The following radio broadcasting, radio stations broadcast on AM broadcasting, AM frequency 1370 kHz: 1370 AM is a regional broadcast frequency, on which Class B and D stations broadcast. Argentina * LRA 54 in Ingeniero Jacobacci, Rio Negro ...

, at night it reduces power to 500 watts. It uses a

directional antenna A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna that radiates or receives greater radio wave power in specific directions. Directional antennas can radiate radio waves in beams, when greater concentration of radiation in a certain directio ...

at all times. Programming is also heard on 250 watt

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 ...

W254DP at 98.7

MHz 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 u ...

Programming

On weekdays, WGCL airs a mix of local and nationally syndicated talk shows. In morning drive time, Kent Sterling is heard. In PM drive, another local show, "Glass in the Afternoon" airs. And Tony Katz is carried in early afternoons from WIBC

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

. Syndicated weekday shows include '' The Ramsey Show with Dave Ramsey, This Morning, America's First News with Gordon Deal'' and '' Coast to Coast AM with George Noory''. Evenings feature programming from the CBS Sports Radio Network. In the fall,

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

is heard on Friday evenings. On weekends, syndicated programs include '' The Kim Komando Show, The Hugh Hewitt Show, Bill Handel on the Law'' and '' At Home with Gary Sullivan.'' WGCL carries live sports including the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

and Cincinnati Reds. Most hours begin with an update from Fox News Radio, followed by local news and weather.

History

On , the station first signed on the air. It has always been owned by Sarkes Tarzian, Inc. The station's original

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

was WTTS, powered at 1,000

s by day, 500 watts at night. It was Bloomington's third AM radio station, the others being WSUA 1010 (1946–50) and WTOM 1490 (1947–51). From the 1950s until 1984, WTTS was a full-service, middle of the road (MOR) station, playing popular adult music, news and sports. It was a

network affiliate In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or a ...

of ABC Radio prior to that network's 1967 split, and the ABC Entertainment Network after that. In November 1949, Sarkes Tarzian put television station WTTV Channel 4 on the air. Tarzian owned it until 1978. In 1960,

WTTV-FM 92.3 went on the air, simulcasting 1370 WTTS until 1967, when it switched to a separate format. WTTS changed its call letters to WGTC on July 9, 1984, flipping to a full-service,

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

format. On November 17, 1988, the station changed its call sign to the current WGCL. It ended music programming, moving to a

format.

FM translator

WGCL added an FM translator, originally at 96.1 MHz, W241CD. It later switched its translator simulcast to 98.7 MHz, W254DP.

References

External links

FCC History Cards for WGCL
* * {{Sarkes Tarzian 1949 establishments in Indiana News and talk radio stations in the United States GCL (AM) Sports radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1949 Sarkes Tarzian