WCRW

WCRW (1190 kHz) is an AM radio station licensed to Leesburg, Virginia, and serving the Washington metropolitan area.[1] WCRW airs a Mandarin language talk and news radio format and is owned by Potomac Radio Group, Inc.[4] It is leased full-time by Chinese government-owned China Radio International, a designated "foreign mission" in the U.S.[5][6][7]

For stations that have previously used this call sign, see WCRW (disambiguation).
WCRW
CityLeesburg, Virginia
Broadcast areaWashington metropolitan area
Frequency1190 AM kHz
BrandingChina Radio International
Programming
FormatChinese News/Talk[1]
AffiliationsChina Radio International
Ownership
OwnerPotomac Radio Group, Inc.
History
First air date
March 6, 1958[2]
Former call signs
WAGE (1958-2011)[3]
Former frequencies
1290 kHz (1958–1995)
1200 kHz (1995–2011)
Call sign meaning
W China Radio Washington
Technical information
Facility ID54876
ClassB
Power50,000 watts daytime
1,200 watts nighttime
Transmitter coordinates
39°2′28.0″N 77°26′42.0″W
Links
WebcastWCRW Webstream
Websitewww.wcrw1190.com

WCRW by day is powered at 50,000 watts, the maximum for AM radio stations in the United States. But 1190 AM is a Mexican and United States clear-channel frequency reserved for Class A XEWK in Zapopan (Guadalajara), Mexico and KEX in Portland, Oregon. It also must protect Class B WLIB New York City and WOWO Fort Wayne, Indiana. So WCRW greatly reduces power at night to 1,200 watts. It uses a three-tower array directional antenna at all times.[8] The transmitter is off Loudoun County Parkway in Ashburn, Virginia.

History

In 1958, the station first went on the air as WAGE, on 1290 kHz.[9] The station was founded by Richard Field Lewis Jr., who also founded WINC in Winchester and WFVA in Fredericksburg. The original studio and transmitter site was a field behind Loudoun County High School in Leesburg. To this day, the street on which the studio stood is named Wage Drive.[10]

An anecdotal story claims that CBS newscaster and Leesburg resident Arthur Godfrey was the original owner, and the call sign stood for Arthur Godfrey Enterprises.[11] In fact, the construction permit was owned by Lewis and passed to his widow upon his death in 1957. The callsign was reassigned from what is now WHEN in Syracuse, New York and was almost certainly sequential as it had no known meaning in either city.[12] Once built, the station was sold first to William T. Stubblefield and again in 1962 to a group headed by James and Valeria Symington.[13][14]

In 1995, WAGE moved to 1200 kHz, allowing the use of a stronger full-time signal.[9]

WAGE was sold to WUST owner New World Radio Group, through its subsidiary Potomac Radio, Inc., in 2005. Local programming ended in 2007.[10]

On October 29, 2008, WAGE received a permit from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to move to 1190 kHz and increase its power to 50,000 watts. If the move had occurred, it would have caused Annapolis-based WBIS, currently on 1190 kHz, to shut down.[4] While the station covered local news throughout its history, the music format changed over the years, going from classical music, to easy listening music, to country, to light rock and pop.[9]

Logo used until August 2009.

On August 2, 2009, WAGE fell silent due to "tough economic conditions" and an ongoing attempt to move the station to AM 1190 and up the power to 50,000 watts.[15] On April 21, 2010, the FCC approved WAGE's application to increase its daytime power to 50,000 watts and its nighttime power to 1,300 watts from different antenna sites, along with the frequency shift to 1190 kHz. The station was also forced to move out of Leesburg as the existing transmitter site was not large enough to accommodate the required towers.[16][10]

WCRW returned to the air on April 11, 2011, with programming from China Radio International (CRI), the Chinese state broadcaster.[17] On November 2, 2015, it was reported that the FCC would investigate allegations that WCRW is controlled by CRI.[18][19] At the same time, the United States Department of Justice announced an investigation to determine whether CRI was in compliance with legal obligations under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.[18] Reuters reported that 60 percent of the station's airtime is leased by a subsidiary of CRI.[20]

WCRW was granted 1.2 kW of night power in 2017, upgrading from class D to class B in the process. The station received permission to begin test operations at night on May 4, 2018.[21]

New World Radio Group sold WCRW to the unrelated Potomac Radio Group, Inc., partially owned by Marquee Broadcasting owners Brian and Patricia Lane, in September 2018.[22] The sale was consummated on January 2, 2019, at a price of $750,000.

References
  1. "Arbitron Station Information Profiles". Nielsen Audio/Nielsen Holdings. Archived from the original on July 9, 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  2. Broadcasting Yearbook 2010 (PDF). ProQuest, LLC/Reed Publishing (Nederland), B.V. 2010. p. D-566. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  3. "Call Sign History". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Archived from the original on July 9, 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  4. "WCRW Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  5. McKelvey, Tara (2019-01-15). "The churchgoing patriot who spied for China". BBC News. Retrieved 2019-11-02.
  6. Feng, Zhaoyin; McKelvey, Tara (2019-10-11). "An invisible battle between China and US". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2019-10-28. Retrieved 2019-11-02.
  7. Jakes, Lara; Myers, Steven Lee (2020-02-18). "U.S. Designates China's Official Media as Operatives of the Communist State". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2020-03-24. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
  8. Radio-Locator.com/WCRW
  9. Cheney, Catherine (August 13, 2009). "Loudoun's Radio Station Signs Off". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  10. Hager, Hannah (25 May 2010). "WAGE Radio, once dark, may soon see the light". Loudoun Times-Mirror.
  11. White, Thomas. "Washington, D.C. AM Station History". Archived from the original on 2018-07-17. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
  12. "From Hogs to Hurricanes, WAGE Stays Tuned to the County". Washington Post. 3 March 2002. Archived from the original on 6 November 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  13. "WCRW History Grid". FCCData. Archived from the original on 2018-05-30. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
  14. "Changing hands" (PDF). Broadcasting. April 2, 1962. p. 131.
  15. "Leesburg's WAGE Suspends Operations". August 2, 2009. Archived from the original on February 15, 2012. Retrieved August 2, 2009.
  16. "WAGE Gets Approval For New Nighttime Signal". April 22, 2010. Archived from the original on September 21, 2012. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  17. Hager, Hannah (April 13, 2011). "WAGE orients itself to Asian market". Loudoun Times Mirror. Archived from the original on April 16, 2011. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
  18. "FCC, Justice Department investigate covert Chinese radio network". Reuters. 2015-11-02. Archived from the original on 2020-07-06. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
  19. FCC, Federal Communications Commission -. "EDOCS Search « EDOCS « FCC". apps.fcc.gov. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  20. "Special Report: Exposed - Beijing's covert global radio network". 2 November 2015. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2017 – via Reuters.
  21. "WCRW Facility Data". FCCData. Archived from the original on 2018-05-30. Retrieved 2018-05-29.
  22. "D.C. AM Pair Sold". All Access. 19 September 2018. Archived from the original on 5 November 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
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