Editing WWTC (section)

==History==

===WRHM and WTCN===
WWTC is one of the oldest radio stations in the Twin Cities.  On August 10, 1925, it [[sign-on|signed on]] as WRHM (for "Rosedale Hospital") at 4429 Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis.<ref>[https://transition.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/amq?list=0&facid=9676 WWTC's page on the FCC's AM Query site. FCC states that WWTC's first license was issued on August 10, 1925. Retrieved February 7, 2017. ]</ref><ref>[https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-338282A1.pdf Radio Service Bulletin #101; dated September 1, 1925. WRHM appears on Page 7. Retrieved February 7, 2017.]</ref> It shared time for a few months with [[KFAN (AM)|WDGY]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geocities.com/aaron_white/history.html|title=history|date=November 20, 2004|access-date=May 2, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041120002256/http://www.geocities.com/aaron_white/history.html|archive-date=November 20, 2004}}</ref> at both 1140 AM and 1150 AM.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oldradio.com/archives/dial/1927.txt|title=Department Of Commerce station listings from June 30, 1927. Retrieved November 22, 2008; verified February 7, 2017.|publisher=Oldradio.com|access-date=May 2, 2017}}</ref>

Also that year, the transmitter was moved from the hospital to [[Fridley, Minnesota|Fridley]].  In 1929, WRHM became a [[network affiliate]] of the [[CBS Radio News|CBS Radio]].  It switched to [[NBC]]'s [[Blue Network]] on January 1, 1937.<ref>[http://www.radiotapes.com/documents/WTCN125012-27-1936.pdf WTCN's 1937 switch to NBC; The St. Paul Pioneer Press; December 27, 1936; archived at Radiotapes.com. Retrieved February 7, 2017.]</ref> The Rosedale Hospital Company sold the station to the Minnesota Broadcasting Company in 1930.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oldradio.com/archives/dial/1930.txt|title=Federal Radio Commission station listings from June 30, 1930. Oldradio.com. Retrieved November 22, 2008; verified February 7, 2017.|access-date=May 2, 2017}}</ref>

The studio relocated from the hospital to the new Wesley Temple Building at 115 East Grant Street in Minneapolis.<ref>
[http://radiotapes.com/images/WTCN-1935_000.jpg 1935 WTCN correspondence showing station address. Retrieved February 7, 2017.] from Radiotapes.com</ref>  WRHM was purchased in September 1934 by Twin Cities Newspapers, a partnership between the [[St. Paul Pioneer Press]] and the [[Minneapolis Tribune]], and the [[call sign]] was changed to WTCN at that time.  The station remained an NBC Blue Network affiliate through the network's selloff, becoming an [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] affiliate in 1945 when NBC Blue formally became ABC. The station kept the ABC affiliation until December 31, 1962.

WTCN began broadcasting from a new transmitter and tower in Roseville at the intersection of North Snelling Avenue and Minnesota Highway 36 during 1935, a site that was used until 1962 when the station's transmission facilities were moved to the other side of the expanding Twin Cities metro in St. Louis Park, at a point south of what is now Interstate 394 and west of Minnesota Highway 100, using four towers.  WTCN moved from 1250 AM to 1280 AM in March 1941 as required by the [[North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement]] (NARBA) under which most American, Canadian and Mexican AM radio stations changed frequencies.

===Forays into FM===
The station had an experimental [[frequency modulation|FM]] transmitter by 1939.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oldradio.com/archives/dial/1939fm.htm|title=1939 "FM"|website=www.oldradio.com|access-date=May 2, 2017}}</ref>  W9XTC at 26.05&nbsp;MHz operated for several years, but by 1944, was only being activated intermittently.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://members.aol.com/jeff560/am9.html|title=AM Broadcasting History - Various Articles|date=March 28, 2007|access-date=May 2, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070328131002/http://members.aol.com/jeff560/am9.html|archive-date=March 28, 2007}}</ref>  Local stations [[KSTP (AM)|KSTP]] and [[WCCO (AM)|WCCO]] also experimented with FM broadcasts around this time.

Once the modern FM band was established, WTCN attempted again to broadcast on [[KTCZ|WTCN-FM]] 97.1 from 1947 to 1954. However, few people owned FM receivers in that era and the FM license was surrendered in 1954.

===Expansion into television===
On July 1, 1949, Twin Cities Newspapers expanded to television broadcasting with the launch of [[WCCO-TV|WTCN-TV]] on channel 4, becoming the second modern television station in the state after [[KSTP-TV]] launched a year earlier.  The original studios were in the Radio City Theater building at 9th Street and LaSalle Avenue. WTCN followed its TV sister to Radio City in September 1949.  WTCN-FM also moved to the Radio City location around the same time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://collections.mnhs.org/visualresources/image.cfm?imageid=151085 |title=Image - Visual Resources Database |publisher=Collections.mnhs.org |date=February 23, 1950 |access-date=May 26, 2012}}</ref> However, WTCN-TV channel 4 was short-lived.

Twin Cities Newspapers decided to sell WTCN-AM-FM and purchase a majority share of WCCO Radio from [[CBS]] three years later.  The TV station's call letters were changed to match the newly acquired radio station on August 17, 1952.  A new company, [[Midwest Radio and Television]], was formed as a holding company for the WCCO stations; it was later spun off to the Murphy and McNally families.  WCCO-TV is currently owned by CBS directly.  This TV station has always had a primary CBS affiliation, an affiliation that has remained consistent to this day (although it aired ABC programming as a secondary affiliation in its early years). WCCO-TV remained at the 9th Street location until 1983, when it moved to Nicollet Mall at 11th Street.

WTCN was at the same time sold to the Minnesota Television Service Corporation headed by St. Paul businessman Robert Butler, a former ambassador to Cuba and Australia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kare11.com/about|title=About|last=TEGNA|website=KARE|access-date=May 2, 2017}}</ref> The company quickly applied for a new license for channel 11, but had to negotiate for the frequency with the owner of [[KMNV|WMIN (1400 AM)]], which also applied for the channel.  The two stations, WTCN and WMIN, arranged to share the channel, alternating every two hours.  This became the area's third TV station on September 1, 1953, and the WTCN-TV call sign remained with it until 1985 when it became known as WUSA.  Channel 11 was merged and sold to the H.M. Bitner Group in 1955, and eventually was owned by [[Metromedia]] for many years. [[Tegna, Inc.]] is the current licensee of [[KARE (TV)|KARE]].

This second incarnation of WTCN-TV was ABC's first full-time television network affiliate in the Twin Cities, but in April 1961, it lost ABC affiliation to then-independent [[KMSP-TV|KMSP]] (now a [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] [[Owned-and-operated television stations in the United States|owned and operated station]]).  For the next 18 years, channel 11 operated without a network affiliation as an [[Independent station (North America)|independent TV]] outlet until it picked up the [[NBC]] affiliation in March 1979 during a market-wide affiliate switch.  Prior to the TV station's current studio location in Golden Valley, its original studios were in the [[Calhoun Beach Club|Calhoun Beach Hotel]] on Lake Street at Dean Boulevard, where the radio station had moved in 1952 following a three-year occupancy downtown with its former TV sister, WTCN-TV (channel 4).

WTCN Radio and TV were sold to Time-Life Broadcast in 1957, and in 1964, the siblings were separated with the TV going to Chris-Craft Industries (which would later own KMSP) while the radio stations were purchased by Buckley-Jaeger.  The call letters were changed to WWTC-AM-FM on October 1. This change was made due to an FCC rule in place at the time that prohibited stations in the same market, but with different ownership, from having the same fundamental call signs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radiotapes.com/images/WWTC-64_000.jpg|title=1964 WTCN correspondence showing station address/call letter change date/recent ownership change data. Retrieved from radiotapes.com February 7, 2017.|access-date=May 2, 2017}}</ref>  In early 1965, the radio station relocated to downtown Minneapolis in the Builders Exchange Building at 609 2nd Avenue South, to studios formerly occupied by WDGY.  In 1970, WWTC began broadcasting 24 hours a day and played soft popular music.

==="Golden Rock"===
Over the years, WWTC had a number of formats, including the distinction of being the Twin Cities' first [[all-news radio]] station (using NBC's News and Information Service), beginning in June 1975. In 1979, WWTC switched to a [[full service radio|full service]] [[adult contemporary]] format called the "Splendid Blend", which evolved to an [[oldies]] format known as the "Golden Rock."  The oldies sound achieved the station's highest ratings in years. With a number of quirky DJs such as "Ugly Del" Roberts, Mick "King Kracker" Wagner, and Steve "Boogie" Bowman, the station managed to win an audience.
[[File:WWTC Billboard.jpg|thumb|WWTC billboard in 1982]]
In 1981, WWTC relocated seven blocks south, back to the Wesley Temple Building on East Grant Street, where it occupied the entire top floor until 1986.

===Various format changes, then a return to oldies===
The "Golden Rock" format fizzled after a few years, and the station went through a long string of format changes. On November 12, 1984, WWTC adopted a unique locally oriented [[urban contemporary]]/[[alternative rock]] hybrid format that was called "Metro Music." "Metro Music" ended in September 1985 and, following a month of top-40/Adult Contemporary music, an "all-weather" format made its debut. The automated format was unsuccessful for a few reasons, one of which was WCCO Radio's news/weather dominance, especially during extreme conditions. And WWTC's weather format was sometimes heard playing inaccurate information, such as the day's forecast for sunny weather while a storm was overtaking the area. "Weather Radio 1280" was blown out after 10 months.

"Sunny 1280" was next, a 16-month run as [[adult standards]] using new call letters, KSNE (effective June 20, 1986).  In November 1987, the station became known as "The Breeze", taking a satellite feed of an early and more diverse form of what is now known as "[[smooth jazz]]" from a service run by the former owner of [[KQQL|KTWN 108]]. On May 27, 1988, the station switched back to the legacy WWTC call letters and a second run with the 'Golden Rock' format.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1980s/1988/RR-1988-06-03.pdf#page=4|pages=4 |title=KSNE Switches Back To Golden Rock WWTC|publisher=Radio & Records|access-date=September 11, 2023|date=June 3, 1988}}</ref> During this period, it operated from 215 South 11th Street, in a building in which [[KMNB|WCCO-FM]] (now KMNB) was located for many years.

===Children's Broadcasting and Radio AAHS===
WWTC was sold by the Short family to Christopher Dahl in 1990, and launched on May 12 as the flagship of ''[[Radio AAHS]]'', a new radio network which aired [[children's music]] and programming for kids. The station moved its studios to a former bank at Excelsior Boulevard and Minnesota Highway 100 in St. Louis Park. In 1994, WWTC's new parent company under Dahl's ownership, Children's Broadcasting Corporation, would acquire religious station [[KDIZ (AM)|KYCR]], which soon relocated to the WWTC facility. While Radio AAHS would bring some success to WWTC, it would soon face competition from [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]]. Disney had been a marketing partner with AAHS; it launched its own network, [[Radio Disney]], on November 18, 1996. ABC-owned station [[KYCR (AM)|KQRS]] was Radio Disney's Minneapolis affiliate and one of four charter network stations.

Finding it difficult to compete with Radio Disney, Dahl sued Disney for breaching its agreement with the network, and Radio AAHS ceased operations on January 31, 1998. In 2002, the former Children's Broadcasting owners (who now operate Intelefilm) won their court case against Disney and were awarded $9.5 million. Payments totaling $12.4 million, including $2.6&nbsp;million in interest, were finally made in 2004.<ref>[{{cite news |date=April 26, 2004 |url=http://twincities.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2004/04/26/daily7.html |title=Radio Aahs receives $12 million payment from ABC, Disney. |work=The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal}}]</ref>

Following the demise of Radio AAHS, Children's Broadcasting enlisted longtime area programmer, DJ and unlicensed broadcaster Alan Freed to provide interim programming every night for its 10 stations until the stations could be sold. WWTC played random music and syndicated programs during the day. Freed, in addition to having worked at WWTC twice before during its "Golden Rock" and "Metro Music" periods, had set up a [[pirate radio]] station in downtown [[Minneapolis]] in 1996, broadcasting [[electronic dance music]] from his apartment on 97.7 FM. [[Beat Radio]] gained a positive response from the public, but was shut down by the FCC after operating at 20 watts for a few months. "Beat Radio" aired across Children's Broadcasting's stations beginning in February 1998 between the shutdown of Radio AAHS and the sale of the CBC stations in late October 1998 to a company planning to run a syndicated service called "Catholic Family Radio." When CFR went bankrupt in 2000, that company sold its stations, including WWTC and sister KYCR, to [[Salem Communications]].

==="The Patriot"===
[[File:AM1280 The Patriot van in Minneapolis.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Vehicle at a Tea Party Express rally in 2010]]
Following the purchase by Salem, WWTC began simulcasting new sister station [[KKMS (AM)|KKMS]], until its new co-located studios in [[Eagan, Minnesota|Eagan]] were ready.  On March 19, 2001, Salem branded WWTC as "The Patriot" with a [[talk radio|talk]] format, broadcasting Salem's national stable of conservative hosts, including [[Dennis Prager]], [[Hugh Hewitt]],<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080212170259/http://www.citypages.com/databank/23/1107/article10161.asp?page=5 Red, White, and Green.] ''City Pages'' by Mike Mosedale. Retrieved January 18, 2004; verified February 7, 2017.</ref> [[Larry Elder]], [[Sebastian Gorka]], [[Mark Levin]], and [[Eric Metaxas]].  The Patriot's locally-focused programs include the long-running Northern Alliance Radio Network, which airs on Saturday and Sunday afternoons and focuses on Minnesota news and related politics.

Salem also ran "The Patriot II" on sister station [[KDIZ (AM)|KYCR]] in [[Golden Valley, Minnesota|Golden Valley]].  KYCR's program schedule was initially almost the same as WWTC, with the addition of [[Bill O'Reilly (commentator)|Bill O'Reilly]]'s midday show, and mostly aired repeats of shows already on WWTC.  In 2007, KYCR changed to a separate talk format as "AM 1570: The New Talk of the Twin Cities", and would later shift to a business news format as "Business 1570, Twin Cities Business Radio." In December 2015, KYCR flipped to a health-oriented talk format known as "Wellness Radio 1570". KYCR swapped call letters with KDIZ the same year, with KYCR taking on the business news and talk format.