WAKR
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| City | Akron, Ohio |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Akron metro area |
| Branding | 1590 WAKR |
| Slogan | News! Talk! Sports! |
| Frequency | 1590 kHz |
| First air date | October 16, 1940 |
| Format | News/talk/sports |
| Power | 5,000 watts (daytime) 5,000 watts (nighttime) |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 43871 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 41°01′14.00″N 81°30′20.00″W / 41.0205556°N 81.5055556°W |
| Callsign meaning | AKRon |
| Affiliations |
Cleveland Browns Radio Network Cleveland Cavaliers Radio Network Cleveland Indians Radio Network Cumulus Media Networks Ohio State IMG Sports Network Wall Street Journal Radio Network |
| Owner |
Rubber City Radio Group, Inc. (Rubber City Radio Group, Inc.) |
| Sister stations | WONE-FM, WNWV, WQMX |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | wakr |
WAKR (1590 AM) – branded 1590 WAKR – is a commercial radio station licensed to Akron, Ohio, serving the Akron metro area. Locally owned by Rubber City Radio Group, Inc., the station broadcasts a mix of news, talk, and sports. WAKR is also the Akron affiliate for the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Cleveland Indians radio networks, as well as the Ohio State IMG Sports Network. The WAKR studios are located on West Market Street in Akron, while the station transmitter resides near the Firestone Country Club.
The station began broadcasting on October 16, 1940, founded by S. Bernard Berk and licensed to his family owned business Summit Radio Corp. It became the Blue Network and then the ABC Radio affiliate for Akron, broadcasting with 5,000 watts.
While crosstown rival WADC (now WARF) had the advantage of being a CBS affiliate with its popular network programs, WAKR built its reputation primarily through local programming, supplemented with an active news department. The local emphasis worked, and during WAKR's peak, in 1946 and 1947, Hooper ratings showed the station with as much as 60 percent of the Akron audience.
In 1945 Alan Freed joined WAKR and became a local favorite, playing hot jazz and pop recordings. Radio Editor for Akron Beacon Journal, followed Freed and his "Request Review" [1] nightly program of dance. When he left the station, the non-compete clause in his contract limited its ability to find work elsewhere, and he was forced to take the graveyard shift at Cleveland's WJW radio where he eventually made history playing the music he called "Rock and Roll."
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Wikipedia