WEUR (1490 AM) is a time-brokered radio station licensed to Oak Park, Illinois, United States. The station serves the Chicago metropolitan area, and is owned by Daniela Wojcik, through licensee CSWWII, LLC.[5]
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| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Chicago metropolitan area |
| Frequency | 1490 kHz |
| Branding | 1490 AM Radio Chicago |
| Programming | |
| Format | Polish-language talk and other ethnic programming |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | October 7, 1950[1] |
Former call signs | |
Call sign meaning | Europe |
| Technical information[4] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 1093 |
| Class | C |
| Power | 1,000 watts unlimited |
Transmitter coordinates | 41°52′52.11″N 87°47′38.21″W / 41.8811417°N 87.7939472°W |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | radiochicago1490am |
Programming
editThe majority of the station's programming is Polish language news, talk, and sports.[6] They feature polka music on the weekends with the long running Eddie Blazonczyk Polka Show hosted by Tish Blazonczyk,[7]
WEUR is the home of the Hagerty Family Irish Program, the longest running Irish program in the United States.[6] This program has been on the station every Saturday morning since 1951.[8]
History
edit
The station began broadcasting October 7, 1950.[1] The station's call sign was originally WEBS, but before going on the air the call sign was changed to WOPA to reflect the location of its studios.[2] The studios and antenna were in the former Oak Park Arms Hotel, now a retirement community.[2]
Pervis Spann began his radio career on WOPA in 1959.[9][10]
In 1984, the station's call sign was changed to WBMX.[3]
In January 1987, the station was sold to the Polish National Alliance for $2 million, and its call sign was changed to WPNA on May 1, 1987.[11][3] WPNA was the home of the long-running Chet Gulinski Show, which featured polka music and was quite popular in Chicago's Eastern European communities.[12][13]
On May 25, 2022, the Polish National Alliance announced the sale of WPNA to Daniela Wojcik's CSWWII, LLC for $725,000.[14] The sale was consummated on August 1, 2022. Alliance Communications, which still owns 103.1 WPNA-FM, retained the rights to the WPNA call sign and intellectual property.[15] The station changed its call sign to WEUR on August 31, 2022.
References
edit- ^ a b 1971 Broadcasting Yearbook, Broadcasting, 1971. p. B-66. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
- ^ a b c d History Cards for WOPA (WEUR), fcc.gov. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
- ^ a b c d Call Sign History, fcc.gov. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WEUR". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "WEUR Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved November 9, 2009.
- ^ a b "About Us", WPNA. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
- ^ "Eddie Blazonczyk Polka Show", WPNA. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
- ^ Curry, Cathy. "Chicago's First Family of Irish Radio", Irish American News, Chicago, May 2011. Retrieved on October 23, 2014.
- ^ "Pervis Spann", The Blues Foundation. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
- ^ Whiteis, David. "Not So Smooth Operator", Chicago Reader. January 18, 2001. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
- ^ "Changing Hands", Broadcasting. February 9, 1987. p. 118. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
- ^ "Chet Gulinski, Host of Radio Polka Show", Chicago Tribune. August 14, 1999. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
- ^ "WPNA AM 1490", Radio Chicago. Fall 1989. p. 25. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
- ^ Jacobson, Adam "Alliance Agrees To Sale of Chicago AM Serving Polish Community", "www.rbr.com", May 25, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
- ^ "Station Sales Week Of 5/27", "www.radioinsight.com", July 27, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
External links
edit- Official website
- Hagerty Family Irish Program Website
- International Polka Association Website
- Facility details for Facility ID 1093 (WEUR) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- WEUR in Nielsen Audio's AM station database