WWCR is a

shortwave Shortwave radio is radio transmission using radio frequencies in the shortwave bands (SW). There is no official definition of the band range, but it always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (app ...

radio station located in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, in the United States. WWCR uses four 100 kW transmitters to broadcast on about a dozen frequencies. WWCR mainly leases out its four transmitters to religious organizations and speakers. It served as the shortwave home of

Genesis Communications Network The Genesis Communications Network, often referred to as GCN, was a radio network that operated from 1998 to 2024, owned by Ted Anderson. The network, at its peak, produced 45 shows, distributed on more than 780 radio stations nationwide. The net ...

's programs. However, it does air a few hours of original programming per week. F.W. Robbert Broadcasting also owns the AM (

mediumwave Medium wave (MW) is a part of the medium frequency (MF) radio band used mainly for AM broadcasting, AM radio broadcasting. The spectrum provides about 120 channels with more limited sound quality than FM stations on the FM broadcast band. Duri ...

) stations

WNQM WNQM (1300 AM), is a radio station located in Nashville, Tennessee, owned by F. W. Robbert Broadcasting. It airs a Christian radio format calling itself "Nashville Quality Ministries". By day, WNQM is powered at non-directional, the highest ...

in Nashville,

WMQM WMQM is an American Christian radio station in Lakeland, Tennessee. Its broadcast market is Memphis, broadcasting with 50,000 watts day and 35 watts night on 1600 AM. WMQM is a sister station to shortwave radio station WWCR. WMQM is owned and ...

and

WLRM WLRM (1380 AM) is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Millington, Tennessee, United States. The station was established in 1962 as "WGMM", originally licensed only for limited daytime-only operation. Upgraded to 24-ho ...

in Memphis,

WITA WITA (1490 AM, "Inspiration 1490") is a Christian radio station located in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, owned by F.W. Robbert Broadcasting Inc. History WFCT, Inc., obtained a construction permit to build a new radio station in Founta ...

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

, and

WVOG WVOG (600 kHz, "Gospel 600") is an AM radio station in New Orleans, Louisiana. The station, whose call letters stand for "The Voice of God", is owned by F.W. Robbert Broadcasting Co., Inc. and operates at with 1,000 watts by day and 31 watts ni ...

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. Some of WWCR's programming is also broadcast on these local stations.

History

Originally known as "World Wide Country Radio", WWCR began broadcasting a

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

format but quickly switched to a standard

evangelical Christian Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

format, also selling leased airtime. Because of the station's policy of leasing airtime, and loose standards, WWCR acquired an early reputation for carrying an eclectic mix of political and entertainment programming in addition to the religious programs. WWCR continues to carry a daily hour of country music as a callback to its original format. The majority of the political commentary on the station is of a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

or ultra-conservative nature with extensive discussion on

conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...

. A December 1997 broadcast by Ted Gunderson over WWCR later became the subject of a court case. In that case, lawyers for

Art Bell Arthur William Bell III (June 17, 1945 – April 13, 2018) was an American broadcaster and author. He was the founder and the original host of the paranormal-themed radio program '' Coast to Coast AM'', which is syndicated on hundreds ...

claimed that the broadcast had implied he had been charged with

child molestation Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...

. A defamation lawsuit against the station was settled in October 2000 and Art Bell claimed that WWCR had apologized for the incident. Ted Gunderson disputes that any apology was ever made and asserts that the case was entirely baseless.

Transmitters

All four WWCR transmitters operate 24/7, shifting frequencies throughout the day, each with 100 kilowatts of broadcast power. All frequencies in

megahertz 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 ...

, directions in (parentheses). ;WWCR-1 (46° NE): Off air ;WWCR-2 (85° E): 12.160 day, 7.49 morning, 9.35 evening, 5.935 night ;WWCR-3 (40° NE): 13.845 day, 4.84 night ;WWCR-4 (90° E): 9.98 day, 7.52 evening, 5.89 night 7.49 is shared with WBCQ, which holds rights to the frequency from noon to midnight.

Programming

Transmitter 4 is almost entirely leased out to the Overcomer Ministry and the estate of R. G. Stair. The University Network run by the estate of Gene Scott also operates a 16-hour daily schedule split across transmitters 2 and 3. The remainder of WWCR's schedule is devoted mostly to religious

brokered programming Brokered programming (also known as time-buy and blocktime) is a form of broadcast content in which the show's producer pays a radio or television station for air time, rather than exchanging programming for pay or the opportunity to play spot com ...

. A limited amount of political talk remains on the channel, less so since

dropped its programming from WWCR ahead of its May 2024 shutdown; remaining hosts of secular programs include

Hal Turner Harold Charles "Hal" Turner (born March 15, 1962) is an American political commentator and convicted felon from North Bergen, New Jersey, North Bergen, New Jersey. Turner's viewpoints typically encompass Holocaust denial and white supremacy, ...

, John Jurasek and

Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, author, television personality, radio host and philanthropist. He sold nearly 50 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and has acted in many films. Boone ...

.WWCR Program Guide
retrieved April 23, 2024

References

External links

WWCR Shortwave
official site

Current program schedule

FCC information for WWCR
(not up-to-date) {{US Shortwave Radio WCR WCR Shortwave radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1989 1989 establishments in Tennessee Conservative media in the United States

History

Transmitters

Programming

See also

References

External links