WTRC (AM)

The station was first licensed on July 28, 1922.[1] It was owned by the White Radio Laboratory (C. L. White) in Stockdale, Ohio, and given the sequentially assigned call letters WJAK.[4][1] In 1923 the station was briefly deleted, then relicensed to Reverend Clifford L. White (Church of Christ) in Greentown, Indiana.[1] The station operated at 1180 kHz at this time.[1] In 1926, the station moved to Kokomo, Indiana, and was owned by J. A. Keutz, who was also the owner and publisher of the Kokomo Tribune.[1] In 1928, its frequency was changed to 1310 kHz.[1] The station ran 50 watts at this time.[1] In 1929, the station moved again, to Marion, Indiana.[1]

In 1931 the station's license was assigned to The Truth Publishing Company, Inc., co-owned with The Elkhart Truth newspaper.[5][1] The station was subsequently moved to Elkhart, Indiana, where it has remained to this day.[1] On September 2, 1932, the call letters were changed to WTRC.[6] The call sign stands for Truth Radio Corporation.[7] Its daytime power was increased to 100 watts in 1933.[1] In 1936, its daytime power was increased to 250 watts and its nighttime power to 100 watts.[1] In 1939, its nighttime power was increased to 250 watts as well.[1] Its frequency was changed to 1340 kHz in March 1941, as a result of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement.[1]

Through the 1940s, WTRC was Elkhart's only radio station, carrying the programming of the NBC Radio Network.[8][9] In 1948, it added an FM station, WTRC-FM, originally at 100.7 MHz.[9] That station today is co-owned WBYT. In 1961, its daytime power was increased to 1,000 watts.[1]

WTRC aired a middle of the road (MOR) format in the 1970s and 1980s.[10][11][12][13] In the early 1970s, the station aired a MOR format during the day and a rock format at night.[14] By the early 1990s, the station was airing a full service-adult contemporary format.[15][16] In 1994, it shifted to an all talk format.[17] In 1996, the station adopted an adult standards format.[18] It was branded "The Heartbeat of Elkhart" during this period.[19]

In 2000, the station switched to a full service format, airing news-talk programming during the day and soft AC music at night.[20][21] By the end of 2002 talk programming had replaced all music on the station.[22] WTRC was branded "News Radio 1340" during this period.[22] Hosts included Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage, and The Dolans.[23]

In August 2009, WTRC switched to an oldies format as "Hippie Radio 1340".[24][25]

In 2010, the station switched back to a news/talk format, as part of a simulcast with 95.3 WTRC-FM, and was branded "Michiana's News Channel".[26][27] The station carried syndicated hosts such as Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Jason Lewis, and Lars Larson, as well as a local morning show.[28] On May 5, 2014, WTRC reduced its fulltime simulcast of WTRC-FM, focusing on Elkhart through a partnership with sister newspaper The Elkhart Truth, featuring a separate morning show.[29] However, the two stations continued to jointly broadcast most other programming.[29]

On February 17, 2017, WTRC fully ended its simulcast of WTRC-FM, and changed its format to adult standards, branded as "Frank 1340," honoring popular 1940s, 50s and 60s singer Frank Sinatra.[30][31] WTRC-FM continued its talk programming.