WTBC-FM (100.3
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 ...
) 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 ...
licensed to
Chicago, Illinois
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, with a music format focused on a "
gold
Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
" format of
contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...
music from between 1990 and 2015. The station is currently owned by
Hubbard Broadcasting
Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc. is an American television and radio broadcasting corporation based in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was founded by Stanley E. Hubbard.
The corporation has broadcast outlets scattered across Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri ...
,
Its studios are located at
One Prudential Plaza, with transmitter facilities atop the
John Hancock Center downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...
.
The station has had multiple owners since coming on the air in 1948, but has usually carried lighter music depending on industry trends, never veering too far towards any type of
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
or
rap format and specifically programmed to appeal to office listeners.
History
Beautiful music era
The station began broadcasting in 1948 as WFMF, owned by
Field Enterprises
Field Enterprises, Inc. was a private holding company that operated from the 1940s to the 1980s, founded by Marshall Field III and others, whose main assets were the '' Chicago Sun'' and '' Parade'' magazine. For various periods of time, Field En ...
.
[Field Music Service Via FM Bucks Muzak]
, ''Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''. December 31, 1949. p. 6. Retrieved September 21, 2018. WFMF aired a
beautiful music format, and its programming was used for over the air background music in stores, including Field's
own department stores.
[O'Connor, Richard. (2009). ]
A Brief History of Beautiful Music Radio
', Percy Faith Pages. Retrieved September 21, 2018. The station's studios and transmitter were originally located at the
Carbide & Carbon Building.
In 1957, WFMF was sold to Maurice, Lois, Jerome, and Lucille Rosenfield, for $125,000.
By the mid-1950s, it had the fifth most listeners of any Chicago station during evening hours.
In 1955, the FCC attempted to force stations airing "functional music" to confine such programming to
subcarriers.
[Functional Music, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission, Functional Music, Inc. v. United States of America, Federal Communications Commission, 274 F.2d 543 (D.C. Cir. 1959)]
, . Argued June 10, 1958. Decided November 7, 1958. Filed October 12, 1959. Court Listener. Retrieved September 22, 2018.[FCC-to-FM Ops: 'You Must Stop Simplex Music']
, ''Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''. October 13, 1958. pp. 14, 18. Retrieved September 22, 2018.[FCC to Appeal Court Functional Music Okay]
, ''Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''. November 24, 1958. p. 13. Retrieved September 22, 2018. WFMF's owners successfully challenged this FCC rule in court, with the station's large listenership among the general public being cited by the
United States Court of Appeals in their 1958 ruling.
In 1959, WFMF became the first beautiful music FM station to be listed in a
Hooper Ratings book.
In 1966, the station was sold to Century Broadcasting for $450,000.
In 1970, its transmitter was moved to the
John Hancock Center, while its studios were moved there the following year.
In May 1974, the station's call sign were changed to WLOO, with the "L" often written in lower case to resemble a "1" to reflect its "FM-100" branding.
The station continued to air a beautiful music format;
mostly instrumental renditions of pop songs along with some soft vocalists. In the late 1970s, it was the second most listened to station in Chicago. During this time, a version of its format known as the "FM 100 Plan" was syndicated by Darrell Peters to over 100 other stations across the country.
Through the 1980s, WLOO continued airing an
easy listening
Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...
format, albeit with more vocals by
adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
artists and fewer by standards artists.
Chicago Radio Guide
'. Vol. 1, No. 1. May 1985. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
WXEZ-FM
In 1988, the call sign changed to WXEZ-FM, standing for "Extra Easy".
Chicagoland Radio Waves
', MediaTies. Summer 1988. Retrieved September 22, 2018. The station evolved to a
soft adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
format, playing more vocals and fewer instrumentals.
[WXEZ FM 100.3]
, ''Radio Chicago'', Winter 1990. p. 61. Retrieved September 22, 2018. The station was simulcast on
WXEZ AM 820.
Its owner, Century Broadcasting, lost an age discrimination suit that was filed by announcers who they had fired and replaced with younger announcers when the station became WXEZ.
WPNT-FM
On November 16, 1990, the station's call sign were changed to WPNT-FM, branded as "100.3 The Point", and it began airing a
hot adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
format, playing hits of the 1980s and current product.
[WPNT FM 100.3]
, ''Radio Chicago'', Winter 1991. p. 59. Retrieved September 23, 2018. The station was initially simulcast on
820 AM (which itself took the WPNT calls), but in early January 1991, its AM sister was taken off the air while its owner sold off that station and its transmitter site was re-located.
In 1994,
Steve Cochran began hosting morning drive. In 1996, Fred Winston replaced Cochran as morning host.
[Feder, Robert.]
New 'Windy 100' format blows out Winston & Co.
, ''Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
''. October 6, 1997. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
In spring 1997, WPNT was sold to Evergreen Media for $73 million in a transaction brokered by Bob Heymann and Jack Minkow. At this time, the station was branded "Chicago's 100.3" with the slogan "The Radio Station That Picks You Up & Makes You Feel Good", airing a hot AC format, including 1980s and 1990s hits, along with currents.
When Evergreen acquired WPNT, Chancellor and Evergreen were in the process of completing their merger. The newly formed Chancellor would own too many stations in the Chicago market per FCC ownership limits.
[Jones, Tim.]
Evergreen Switching Stations
, ''Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
''. April 11, 1997. Retrieved September 23, 2018. As a result,
WLUP and WPNT were sold to
Bonneville International, which already owned hot AC station
WTMX.
WNND-FM
As WPNT would provide in-house competition to the higher-rated
WTMX, on October 6, 1997, WPNT adopted a differentiating adult contemporary format of its own as "Windy 100".
That month, the station's call letters were changed to WNND to match the new moniker.
The first song on "Windy" was "
Forever Young" by
Rod Stewart
Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...
. On December 10, 2002, the station rebranded as "100.3 WNND" and shifted to an
80s/
90s hits format. WNND also carried the nighttime request and dedication show "Love Notes", hosted by John Symons.
WILV
On November 5, 2004, at 7a.m., the station adopted a
rhythmic AC/
rhythmic oldies format as "100.3 Love FM", and its call sign was changed to WILV. In 2006,
Tommy Edwards joined "Love FM" as afternoon host, moving to mornings in 2007. Edwards would later host weekends before leaving for 104.3
WJMK in 2011.
In 2008, the station again became known as "Chicago's 100.3" and it aired an adult contemporary format.
[Venta, Lance.]
WILV Rewound No More
, Radio Insight. December 1, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
On June 7, 2010, at 1p.m., WILV became "Rewind 100.3", airing a 1980s based
classic hits format, along with some music from 1970s and 1990s.
Bonneville announced the sale of WILV, as well as 16 other stations, to
Hubbard Broadcasting
Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc. is an American television and radio broadcasting corporation based in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was founded by Stanley E. Hubbard.
The corporation has broadcast outlets scattered across Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri ...
on January 19, 2011.
The sale was completed on April 29, 2011.
On December 1, 2013, WILV rebranded back to the "Chicago's 100.3" moniker.
WSHE-FM
On March 2, 2015, the station rebranded as "SHE 100.3", and changed their call sign from WILV to WSHE-FM, retaining the same fulltime air staff. By coincidence, Hubbard also holds the same set of calls on the other side of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
for
KSHE, a heritage
classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...
station in
St. Louis.
On July 29, 2022, at 10a.m., WSHE shifted their playlist to emphasize
90's and
2000s music as "The NEW 100.3...SHE Loves the 90s and 2000s".
WTBC-FM
On May 2, 2024, WSHE-FM's branding became "Throwback 100.3" with the addition of early 2010s music to the playlist; the station otherwise remains unchanged in either pre-2015 playlists and on-air staff.
WSHE Goes Millennial Hits as Throwback 100.3
/ref> The station's calls were changed to WTBC-FM on June 6 to reflect its slogan, with the WSHE calls warehoused on the former WWFD in the Washington, D.C. area.
The station's current, weekday airstaff included Brooke & Jeffrey (mornings), Randi West (middays), Rick Hall (afternoons) and Ginger Jordan (evenings).
References
External links
*
*
{{Hubbard Broadcasting Corporation
1948 establishments in Illinois
Hubbard Broadcasting
Radio stations established in 1948
TBC-FM