WERC-AM
WERC-AM debuted in Birmingham in 1972 when Mooney Broadcasting bought WBRC-AM and the inactive WBRC-FM station from Taft Broadcasting. At the time, WBRC-AM was playing a "middle of the road" music format. The new owners of the radio stations changed the call letters, re-christening the AM station as 96-ERC, and launching an all-out assault on the market’s leading Top 40 station, WSGN-AM.
For much of the 1970’s WERC and WSGN were the two most listened-to stations in Birmingham. The beginning of WERC’s demise as a Top 40 powerhouse came in 1977, when its FM sister station was re-launched as Top 40 WKXX ("Kicks 106"). By 1980, WERC-AM modified its format to adult contemporary music and was known as News Plus 960. "Calling All Sports", an afternoon drive sports call-in show hosted by future University of Alabama football announcer Eli Gold was launched in 1981.
Competing unsuccessfully against WSGN and WAPI-AM in the adult contemporary segment, WERC dropped music altogether in 1982 and adopted its present news-talk format. The departure of Gold left Paul Finebaum's sports call in show as the station's bell cow, until early 2007 when Finebaum signed a contract with WJOX-FM. On February 26 of that year Kenny Stabler and Chris Stewart launched their "Ultimate Sports Show" on WERC.
References
- WERC. (January 22, 2007). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 19:01, February 27, 2007.
- Stabler takes over Finebaum's old slot on WERC, 2/27/07, The Birmingham News.
External links
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