WCWA

WCWA is a radio station licensed to and serving Toledo, Ohio. It is the second-oldest radio station in Toledo, and during AM radio's heyday it was a close second in popularity to WSPD-AM for many years.

History

The station signed on in 1938 as WTOL-AM, founded by former Toledo prosecutor Frazier Reams (whose family would continue to own the station all the way until 1996). Originally licensed for daytime operations only, WTOL was granted authority for around-the-clock operations in 1939 and affiliated with NBC's Blue network (later to become ABC) shortly thereafter. Programming on WTOL until the mid-1960s was a typical full-service hodgepodge of news, information, sports, ABC network programs and various types of music, including pop, country, jazz, and, by the early 1960s, some rock and roll. The station started broadcasting 24 hours a day in 1962 with the new format "Demand Radio 123". The format was very tightly controlled, and the announcers said very little, other than time and weather. there were scripted intros for songs. The playlist contained about 200 popular favorites of the 40s and 50s. The tight format wore out in less than two years. In 1964 WTOL became a personality driven full service facility, and played popular music, while avoiding "hard rock". You could hear the Beatles, and the Stones, but only songs like Yesterday, Michelle, and As Tears Go By. For many years, WTOL was a family of three broadcast stations which included TV-11 and FM-104.7. Channel 11 remains WTOL to this day and is the most popular television station in Toledo.