WAKR
Radio station in Akron, Ohio / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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WAKR (1590 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Akron, Ohio, and known as "Soft Hits 93.5 FM". Locally owned and operated by Rubber City Radio Group, Inc., the station primarily services the Akron metropolitan area, including both Summit County and Portage County.
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Broadcast area | Akron metro area |
Frequency | 1590 kHz |
Branding | Soft Hits 93.5 FM |
Programming | |
Language(s) | American English |
Format | |
Affiliations | CBS News Radio |
Ownership | |
Owner | Rubber City Radio Group, Inc. |
History | |
First air date | October 16, 1940 (83 years ago) (1940-10-16) |
Former frequencies | 1530 kHz (1940–41) |
Call sign meaning | "Akron" |
Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 43871 |
Class | B |
Power | 5,000 watts |
Transmitter coordinates | 41°01′14″N 81°30′20″W |
Translator(s) | 93.5 W228EL (Akron) |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Webcast |
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Website | wakr |
The station's current format, launched on January 24, 2020 (2020-01-24),[2] features soft adult contemporary music and program features that are characteristic of full-service radio. In addition to carrying local news reports and top-of-the-hour newscasts from CBS News Radio, WAKR is the Akron radio market affiliate for the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Cleveland Guardians radio networks, as well as the Ohio State Sports Network. Prior formats on WAKR have included talk radio (in three distinct iterations), oldies and adult standards.
Signed on by S. Bernard Berk on October 16, 1940 (1940-10-16), WAKR was neither the first radio station to have been built in Akron, nor the oldest surviving station,[lower-alpha 1] but has had the most measured historical impact of any broadcast outlet in the city, especially during its first 50 years of operation.[4] During its creative and ratings pinnacle in the 1940s and 1950s, WAKR employed a succession of announcers who would find greater success elsewhere, with Alan Freed, Scott Muni and Art Fleming being the most famous of alumni.[5][6][7] WAKR's sustained success yielded both FM adjunct WAKR-FM (97.5) in 1947 and TV outlet WAKR-TV (channel 49, later 23) in 1953, and culminated as the flagship of "Group One Broadcasting", a nine-station chain with broadcast outlets in Akron, Dayton, Dallas and Denver.[8] The station remained in the hands of the Berk family until a series of ownership transfers starting in 1986 resulted in the Rubber City Radio Group purchasing it and WONE-FM (the former WAKR-FM) in 1993;[9] Rubber City has operated both stations in tandem with WQMX into the present day.
WAKR's studios are located in Akron's Wallhaven neighborhood, while the station transmitter is located in the city's southeast side.[10] In addition to a standard analog transmission, WAKR's programming is relayed over low-power Akron translator W228EL (93.5 FM) and is available online.