WCSR is a community service radio station located in Hillsdale, Michigan. It operates on the frequencies of 1340 kHz at 500 watts in the daytime and 250 watts at night & 92.1 MHz at 6,000 watts ERP.
History
WCSR began in 1955 as WBSE, a 100-watt AM station with studios on the corner of Howell Street and McCollum Street in downtown Hillsdale. In 1962 the station moved to their current location on West Street and upgraded their power to 500 watts as well as changing their call letters to the current WCSR. In 1974, the station licensed WCSR-FM 92.1, a 6,000-watt station. The two stations were simulcast, and they continue that practice today.
Current ownership/management
WCSR is operated by general manager and morning host Mike Flynn, news director Russ Martin, general sales manager Gary Floyd, program director and afternoon host Bob Flynn, and office/traffic manager Juli Morgan.
Format
WCSR's programming is varied, and is best described as the format once known as "full service". Much of the day's airtime is devoted to local news and discussions relating to it, including full local newscasts at the top of each hour, the late morning news program "News and Views of Hillsdale" and "The Early Evening News Report" in the evening, along with several morning newscasts devoted specifically to various cities, villages and communities around the area. Adding to the news lineup, national and world news updates from the Associated Pressradio network air around the clock. WCSR is well known for their public interest programs, including the previously mentioned "News and Views of Hillsdale," the latter portion of which is an interview segment with a selected government official or public figure in the community. Other notable programs include the daily broadcasts of the Michigan Farm Radio Network, the "Pet Rescue" animal lost and found program and "The County Extension Report," which is a service of the Michigan State UniversityHillsdale County Extension Office. The day's local-intensive programming is generally ended with the "Sell and Swap Shop," a local trading and selling program where listeners can submit three items to sell, purchase or trade each night. On Sundays, a variety of religious programming can also be heard. The station is also home of Hillsdale College Charger and Hillsdale High School Hornet athletics, mainly football and men's basketball, and is a member of the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Lions and Motor Racing Network radio networks. The station also airs a variety of sporting events from Hillsdale County's several local public and private schools, often splitting the simulcast between the AM and FM stations in order to broadcast two games at the same time. The music the station plays is mostly Adult Contemporary in nature, though Oldies music is also heard throughout the day, and Sunday mornings are home to the long-time local favorite "Big Band Sunday" music block. During evening and weekend dayparts, the station airs Dial Global's adult-contemporary format via satellite. WCSR programming was also heard in Hillsdale on translator W258AO at 99.5 FM between 2008 and 2009. That translator was eventually sold and moved to another location, ending the 99.5 simulcast. On March 5, 2020 WCSR 1340 AM/W258DE split from its simulcast with WCSR-FM and changed their format to country, branded as "99.5 The Dale".
