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WMRI (860 AM) 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 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 ...
format. Licensed to Marion, Indiana, United States, the station serves the Muncie-Marion area. The station is currently owned by Hoosier AM/FM, LLC and features programming from Infinity Sports Network.
History
WMRI went on the air in 1955; it was initially owned by Chronicle Publishing Company but was soon sold. WMRI later spawned an FM station at 106.9 MHz (the present day WXXC). From 1970 to 2006, the station was known as WGOM (for "Giant of Music", inspired by locally born James Dean's final movie ''Giant
In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''wiktionary:gigas, gigas'', cognate wiktionary:giga-, giga-) are beings of humanoid appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''gia ...
''), with a Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...
format before automating in the late 1970s. Rich Coolman, Stan Weil and Dave Gross "The Mad Doctor" (now at WLDE in Ft. Wayne) were some of WGOM's on-air personalities. At the time of the 1970 call letter switch, the station's Program Director was Ken Roberts, and on-air talent included Ed Shannon (Steve Brimmer), Craig Weston (Robert Skaff), Chuck Anthony (Doug Fredlund) and Mel Ballinger as News Director. The station's call letter change was accompanied by a new ID/jingle package from the renowned PAMS agency in Dallas, Texas, emulating the sound of WLS Chicago and other "top-40" era stations. Station Manager was Louis Disinger.
Having transformed the AM station, Roberts departed for Ontario, California
Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County, California, United States, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, it lies ...
in late 1971, with Jonathan Morgan (Jim Arnold) arriving from Tucson, Arizona (KHUT) as the new Program Director. In this period, WMRI-FM continued its automated music service with pre-programmed tapes. The following year, Arnold, Brimmer, and Ballinger all departed for Tucson albeit to different stations; Arnold and Ballinger went to KCUB, and Brimmer went to KIKX.
WGOM's Top 40 format competed with Muncie's WERK (then at 990 AM) and the former WHUT (now WGNR/1470 AM in Anderson) throughout the 1970s. Subsequent formats since the WGOM days included adult standards and Southern Gospel prior to the current sports format; the WMRI callsign was reinstated in 2006.
References
External links
Sports radio stations in the United States MRI Radio stations established in 1970 1970 establishments in Indiana {{Indiana-radio-station-stub