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// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did WLAL say to its date? "You're all I listen to

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

WLAL
Frequency104.9 MHz
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
May 14, 1948 (1948-05-14)
Last air date
December 1, 1949 (1949-12-01)
Technical information
ERP1,000 watts[1]
HAAT108.2 meters (355 ft)[2]
Transmitter coordinates
41°28′36.765″N 81°47′54.535″W / 41.47687917°N 81.79848194°W / 41.47687917; -81.79848194

WLAL was a radio station licensed to Lakewood, Ohio, United States, that was one of the earliest FM stations in Cleveland, operating at 104.9 FM. Controlled by businessman and Cleveland Browns founding owner Arthur B. McBride, the station broadcast from May 1948 to December 1949, folding due to the early commercial struggles of the FM band. WLAL's studios and transmitter were located in Lakewood.

The station was established by McBride under his taxicab business United Garage and Service Corp., which had a monopoly in Cleveland, Akron and Canton; McBride also had ownership interests in a wire news service for horse racing and sizable real estate holdings in both Cleveland and Florida.[3][4][5][6] Through United Garage, McBride filed for a construction permit for an FM station licensed to Lakewood; by January 1947, United Garage also purchased WINK radio in Fort Myers, Florida, with McBride associate Daniel Sherby holding a minority stake.[7] United Garage sought the FM permit alongside Radio Lakewood, Inc. until both combined their bids, with McBride having 81 percent ownership.[8] The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued the permit to United Garage on November 1, 1947,[9] which followed twelve permits for FM stations being jointly granted by the FCC months earlier.[10]

Taking the WLAL call sign, United Garage sought to operate it as a Lakewood station, with studios and transmitter on Madison Avenue in Lakewood on property McBride already owned.[11] The transmitter required approval from the Civil Aeronautics Administration and the Civilian Production Administration due to Lakewood being within a six-mile (9.7 km) radius of Cleveland Airport.[7] The station planned a May 1948 sign-on by that March, with Lloyd Chatterton, former director of the Cleveland Police's radio system,[2] as station manager; Chatterton promised to carry youth-oriented programming, cover local events and have a potential alliance with the Lakewood Schools.[1] WLAL successfully took to the air on May 14, 1948, with an opening ceremony and address by Lakewood mayor Amos Kauffman.[12][13]

Cleveland Press radio critic Stan Anderson reported that during testing phases, the station was receivable throughout much of Cleveland including the East Side.[14] WLAL had a full-service radio format of community programs and recorded music, with an on- and off-air staff of 13 people, broadcasting from 8 a.m. to midnight every day.[2] This programming was characteristic of early independent FM stations that had no network affiliation.[15] Owing to McBride's ownership of the Cleveland Browns, WLAL simulcast WGAR's Browns radio coverage with Bob Neal and Bill Mayer beginning with the 1948 season[16] and continuing through the 1949 season.[17] Its 355-foot (108 m) tower had beacons visible to boaters off the Lake Erie shoreline.[2]

United Garage announced WLAL would suspend operations on December 1, 1949, pending FCC approval.[18][19] Chatterton cited financial reasons for the closure, telling the Press, "we have been forced reluctantly Into the conclusion that such an operation is economically unsound".[20] The shutdown portended difficulties for standalone FM stations; by March 1950, Scripps-Howard folded WEWS-FM[21] and National Association of Broadcasters president Justin Miller predicted other FM stations, particularly in smaller markets, were likely to cease operation.[22] WBOE and WCUO-FM remained as standalone FM stations, calling into question the viability of FM in the radio industry. Plain Dealer critic George E. Condon surmised that FM simply came into existence at the wrong time and was overtaken with the arrival of television.[23] WEWS-FM's demise itself was largely attributed to the success of WEWS-TV, which came on the air at the same time.[21]

The former studio building was put up for sale[24] and purchased in December 1950 by the Society for Crippled Children as a treatment facility.[11] The 104.9 FM frequency would not be reused in the Cleveland market until 1975, when WZLE in Lorain, Ohio, signed on.[25]

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 Stephan, Robert S. (March 6, 1948). "Lakewood FM Station to Be Serving West Side in May". The Plain Dealer. p. 7. Retrieved July 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Condon, George E. (May 18, 1949). "Lakewood Station, WLAL-FM, Marks First Birthday This Month With Satisfying Audience". The Plain Dealer. p. 24. Retrieved July 28, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ Allen, Forrest (June 17, 1947). "Fabulous Mickey". The Cleveland Press. p. 15. Retrieved July 28, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ Allen, Forrest (June 18, 1947). "Fabulous Mickey: "Nobody Gets Rich on a Salary," So Mickey Made a Change". The Cleveland Press. p. 17. Retrieved July 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ Allen, Forrest (June 19, 1947). "Fabulous Mickey: Splits Profit of $69,000 With Police Capt. Fleming on Sale of Apartments". The Cleveland Press. p. 21. Retrieved July 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ Allen, Forrest (June 20, 1947). "Fabulous Mickey: McBride Denies Link With McGinty Interests". The Cleveland Press. p. 9. Retrieved July 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. 1 2 "Newest M'Bride Venture is Radio: Taxi Operator and Sherby Buy Florida Station". The Plain Dealer. January 8, 1947. p. 12. Retrieved July 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Widder, Milton (October 21, 1947). "Sights and Sounds: Cleveland Orchestra to Make Recordings Before Petrillo Ban". The Cleveland Press. p. 21. Retrieved July 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "McBride Given FM Permit in Lakewood". The Cleveland Press. November 1, 1947. p. 3. Retrieved July 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "FCC OK's Eleven FM Stations Here: Grants include Radio Outlets in Akron and Elyria". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland, Ohio. July 1, 1947. p. 6. Retrieved November 25, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. 1 2 "WLAL Property Sold by M'Bride". The Plain Dealer. December 14, 1950. p. 25. Retrieved July 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ Anderson, Stanley (May 14, 1948). "WEWS to Telecast 14 Matches From Arena Boxing Show Tonight". The Cleveland Press. p. 22. Retrieved July 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ Stephan, Robert S. (May 14, 1948). "Fans Still Fume on Phones as Games Stay Off AM Air". The Plain Dealer. p. 28. Retrieved July 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ Anderson, Stan (May 12, 1948). "WGAR and WJR to Get Top NBC Official as General Manager". The Cleveland Press. p. 26. Retrieved July 25, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ Anderson, Stan (July 29, 1949). "Answering Some Questions Concerning Outlook for FM". The Cleveland Press. p. 26. Retrieved July 28, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ Stephan, Robert S. (September 3, 1948). "WGAR to Broadcast Browns' Opener in Stadium Tonight". The Plain Dealer. p. 13. Retrieved July 28, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ "These Are on Your Radio for Today". The Plain Dealer. October 30, 1949. p. 29D. Retrieved July 28, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ Condon, George E. (November 30, 1949). "Lakewood's Station WLAL to Quit Broadcasts as Soon as FCC Gives Permission". The Plain Dealer. p. 25. Retrieved July 26, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ Offineer, Bee (December 1, 1949). "Drama, Quiz Shows Debut Tonight: Kay Kyser Brings 'College' To TV". The Akron Beacon Journal. p. 26. Retrieved July 26, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ Anderson, Stan (November 30, 1949). "McBride's FM Station WLAL to Close Up Shop by Week End". The Cleveland Press. p. 30. Retrieved July 26, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. 1 2 Anderson, Stan (March 25, 1950). "WEWS-FM Bows Out Tonight, Victim of Television Progress". The Cleveland Press. p. 7. Retrieved July 26, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ↑ Condon, George E. (December 1, 1949). "Two-Day Concentration of Christmas Music Does Not Please All... Translating Air Safety". The Plain Dealer. p. 28. Retrieved July 26, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ↑ Condon, George E. (April 4, 1950). "Frequency Modulation Seems on Downgrade for Many Economic Reasons". The Plain Dealer. p. 12. Retrieved July 26, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ↑ "FOR INVESTORS". The Plain Dealer (Want ad). April 9, 1950. p. 14B. Retrieved July 28, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ↑ "New FM station starts in Sheffield". The Chronicle-Telegram. Elyria, Ohio. July 26, 1975. p. 16. Archived from the original on March 29, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2022 – via NewspaperArchive.
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