WMT (AM)

WMT
City	Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Branding	600 WMT
Frequency	600 kHz
First air date	July 30, 1922 (1922-07-30)
Format	News/talk/sports
Power	5,000 watts
Class	B (regional)
Facility ID	73593
Transmitter coordinates	42°3′40.00″N 91°32′42.00″W / 42.0611111°N 91.5450000°W / 42.0611111; -91.5450000 (WMT)
Callsign meaning	Waterloo Morning Tribune (now-defunct newspaper that once owned the station)
Former callsigns	WJAM (1922–1928)
Affiliations	Fox News Radio Westwood One Premiere Networks Iowa Hawkeyes Radio Network
Owner	iHeartMedia, Inc. (Citicasters Licenses, Inc.)
Sister stations	KKRQ, KKSY-FM, KMJM, KOSY-FM, KXIC
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	600.wmtradio.com

WMT (600 AM) is a news/talk radio station broadcasting in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in the United States. It is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc.. The station's signal reaches most of Iowa and portions of neighboring states during daylight hours. WMT broadcasts on a Regional AM broadcast frequency, according to the Federal Communications Commission.

Beginning January 2, 2012, WMT began simulcasting on KWMG (95.7 FM) in Anamosa, Iowa; this simulcast ended on August 18, 2014.^[1]

WMT is licensed to broadcast a digital hybrid HD signal.^[2] It is not currently carrying HD however.

History

WMT was founded by Douglas "Tex" Perham as WJAM on July 30, 1922. In 1928, Harry Shaw purchased WJAM and moved the station from Cedar Rapids to Waterloo, renaming it WMT (for the now-defunct Waterloo Morning Tribune newspaper that he owned). Shaw sold the station to the Cowles family, owners of the Des Moines Register, in October 1934. WMT moved back to Cedar Rapids the next year, occupying the studios of the defunct KWCR radio after KWCR's frequency was taken over by KSO in Des Moines, another Cowles station. (WMT continued to operate a secondary studio in Waterloo until 1947.) The Cowleses sold WMT to Delaware-based American Broadcasting Stations in 1944.

WMT-TV, the first television station in Cedar Rapids, signed on at channel 2 on September 30, 1953. On February 27, 1963, WMT-FM (now KKSY-FM) debuted at 96.5 MHz with the same song, "Don't Send Me Posies When It's Shoesies That I Need," that was played on the AM station's inaugural broadcast 41 years earlier.

Ownership of the WMT stations was passed on to Orion Broadcasting of Louisville, Kentucky, in 1968. In 1981, Cosmos Broadcasting of Greenville, South Carolina, purchased WMT-AM and FM; they had also planned to purchase WMT-TV, but the television station was sold to Guy Gannett Communications (who renamed it KGAN) because of ownership restrictions at the time. (WMT and KGAN continue to broadcast from the same building on Collins Road, known as "Broadcast Park"; however, WMT now gets its weather reports from KWWL-TV.)

Former WMT logo

An ownership group that included former Iowa governor Robert D. Ray and sportscaster Forrest "Frosty" Mitchell purchased WMT on October 1, 1986. On January 1, 1996, Palmer Communications (owners of WHO radio in Des Moines) acquired WMT; WHO and WMT were later sold to Jacor Broadcasting, which was eventually acquired by current owner Clear Channel Communications.

WMT logo when simulcasting on 95.7 FM

Personalities and programming

Current local talk shows on WMT (as of Summer 2015) include "The Morning Show" with Doug Wagner and Andy Petersen, "The Simon Conway Show," and "Ask The Expert." Other programming includes "Drive-Time 380" with Justin Roberts and Dan Egger. Randy Lee is the Program Director for the station, and serves as a substitute host for programming.

A long running weekend show is The Open Line, where listeners have shared recipes since 1963. Current hosts for that program are Doug Wagner and Kristina Kelley. WMT also simulcasts The Big Show with Bob Quinn, Doug Cooper and Andy Petersen with sister station WHO. Syndicated talk show hosts include Rush Limbaugh, Dave Ramsey, Jim Bohannon, George Noory's Coast to Coast AM, and The Kim Komando Show.

WMT has also been a longtime home for Iowa Hawkeyes football and basketball games. Play-by-play announcers over the years included Lawson "Tait" Cummins (a former sportswriter with The Gazette), Ron Gonder, Frosty Mitchell, and Gary Dolphin, who has handled the play-by-play duties since Learfield Communications was granted the exclusive broadcast rights to Hawkeye sports in 1997.

Saturday programming features "The Iowa Lawn and Garden Show," hosted by Doug Wagner, with guests alternating between Peck's Flower and Garden and Culver's Greenhouse and Landscaping. Another long running program on Saturday morning is "Buy, Sell and Trade," is hosted by Doug Wagner and Kristina Kelley. Local automobile dealership owner, Jay Cassill, hosts the "My Car Geek Hour" along with Doug Wagner. Sunday programming is highlighted with two programs featuring adult standards and other popular music prior to (generally) 1970. Those programs are "Leo Greco's Variety Time," hosted by Frank Balvanz, which makes liberal use of requests from listeners.

References

↑ "Northpine.com". http://www.northpine.com/broadcast/index.html. January 2, 2012. External link in |work= (help); |access-date= requires |url= (help)
↑ http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/sta_det.pl?Facility_id=73593

Kueter, Dale (1995-06-17). "Owners of WHO Gain 2nd High-Profile Station". The Gazette. p. 1A. (Retrieved on 2006-08-01 via Newsbank.)
Stein, Jeff (2004). Making Waves: The People and Places of Iowa Broadcasting. Cedar Rapids, Iowa: WDG Communications. ISBN 0-9718323-1-5.

External links

Official website

Query the FCC's AM station database for WMT

Radio-Locator Information on WMT

Query Nielsen Audio's AM station database for WMT

Radio stations in the Cedar Rapids–Iowa City market

By AM frequency	600 800 860 910 1040 1360 1380 1450 1540 1600 1630

By FM frequency	88.3 89.1 89.7 90.9 91.7 92.3 93.1 94.1 95.7 96.5 98.1 99.1 99.7 100.7 101.9 102.9 104.5 105.7 106.1 107.1 107.9

NOAA Weather Radio frequency	162.45 162.475

By callsign	KBEA-FM KCCK-FM KCII KCII-FM KCJJ KDAT KFMW KGYM KHAK KJY64 KKHQ-FM KKRQ KKSY-FM KMJM KMRY KNWS-FM KOKZ KOSY-FM KRNA KRQN KRUI-FM KSKB KSUI KUNI KWPC KXEL KXGM KXIC KZIA WHO WMT WSUI WXL61

Nearby radio markets Burlington Dubuque Des Moines–Ames Fort Dodge Ottumwa Quad Cities Waterloo–Cedar Falls See also List of radio stations in Iowa

Radio stations in the Burlington, Iowa market

By FM frequency	88.1 89.9 90.7 92.1 93.5 95.3 96.3 97.3 98.3 100.1 101.7 103.1 105.5 107.3 107.7

By AM frequency	990 1130 1150 1360 1490

NOAA Weather Radio frequency	162.525

By callsign	K214BC K299AU KAIP KAYP KBKB KBKB-FM KBUR KCDM KCPS KDMG KGRS KKMI KHDK KILJ KILJ-FM KOKX-FM KRNQ WCAZ WKAI WQKQ WXN83

Nearby radio markets Cedar Rapids–Iowa City Ottumwa Peoria Quad Cities Quincy-Hannibal-Keokuk Springfield See also List of radio stations in Iowa

iHeartMedia

Corporate officers	Bob Pittman (Chairman/CEO)

Board of directors	Lowry Mays Irving Azoff B. J. "Red" McCombs J. C. Watts John H. Williams

Radio stations	List of radio stations owned by iHeartMedia

Radio networks	Fox News Radio Fox Sports Radio NBC News Radio Premiere Networks Premium Choice Total Traffic and Weather Network

Miscellaneous	Clear Channel Outdoor Clear Channel UK iHeartRadio List of programming syndicated by iHeartMedia Mediabase Radio Computing Services

News/Talk radio stations in the state of Iowa

Stations	KBIZ – Ottumwa KCFI – Cedar Falls KDTH – Dubuque KFJB – Marshalltown KGLO – Mason City KICD – Spencer KILR – Estherville KSCJ – Sioux City KSDE-LP – De Soto KWBG – Boone KXEL – Waterloo KXIC – Iowa City WDBQ – Dubuque WHO – Des Moines WMT – Cedar Rapids WOC – Davenport

See also adult contemporary classic hits college country news/talk NPR oldies religious rock sports top 40 urban other radio stations in Iowa

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