WCOG (AM)

WCOG went on the air on May 22, 1948.{{cite book|title=Broadcasting Yearbook 1981|year=1981|page=C-169|url=http://www.davidgleason.com/Archive%20BC-YB/1981/Cb%20Facilities%20of%20Radio%201981%20N-Z.pdf|access-date=March 9, 2010}} Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the station had a top 40 format. Dusty Dunn, Bob Dayton, Scott Derringer, John "Johnny C" Coffman and other DJs played a mix of music that might have included Led Zeppelin, Otis Redding, The Drifters and Janis Joplin."Triad Radio Is No Fan of Limp Bizkit," Greensboro News & Record, December 7, 2000. Al Troxler "ruled the airwaves" from above Sky Castle Drive-In on High Point Road.{{cite news|url=https://www.greensboro.com/entertainment/music/billy-crash-craddock-to-perform-at-high-point-theatre-in/article_1e648649-a267-5444-8cfd-8ca95895d0eb.html|title=Billy "Crash" Craddock to perform at High Point Theatre in High Point|last=Britt|first=Grant|work=News & Record|date=April 18, 2019|access-date=May 9, 2019}}

While attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Rick Dees worked for WCOG in 1969, and 1970, when the station was owned by Thoms Broadcasting based in Asheville, North Carolina. Dees left WCOG and worked at WTOB in Winston-Salem and WKIX in Raleigh, when those stations were owned by Southern Broadcasting.{{cite news|title=NAB Award Winner—Rick Dees|work=Radio Journal|date=April 2007|issue=Special NAB Convention Issue|access-date=March 24, 2009|url=http://ftp.media.radcity.net/ZMST/NAB/RJNAB07.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326011335/http://ftp.media.radcity.net/ZMST/NAB/RJNAB07.pdf|archive-date=March 26, 2009|url-status=dead}}

By 1981, WCOG was a country music station. On March 18, 1985, the station changed its call sign to WGLD, and its format to beautiful music.{{Citation needed|date=June 2010}} A few years later, WGLD changed to satellite-delivered oldies;Bradley Johnson, "Aiming for an Audience," Greensboro News & Record, July 20, 1987. in 1989, this gave way to an adult standards format provided by the AM Only service. In 1994, the call letters changed to WWWB, and the format to talk radio, WWWB later simulcast WMFR. In 1996{{Citation needed|date=July 2008}} the station changed again to WTCK, "The Ticket", and a sports talk format. The WMFR simulcast returned two years later, after WKEW dropped its talk format for Radio Disney.Jeri Rowe, "WTCK to Drop Sports-Talk Format," Greensboro News & Record, July 30, 1998.

In 1999, Truth Broadcasting changed the format to Christian talk and teaching and returned to using the callsign WCOG. The new format included Billy Graham, Franklin Graham, Charles Stanley and James Dobson. WTOB aired the same programming."'Missionary' Finds His Field on Triad AM Radio," Greensboro News & Record, July 8, 1999.

Image:WCOG Radio Disney 1320.png

On October 2, 2000, WCOG began telling listeners to switch to WTRU."Station Owners Ponder Format Options," Greensboro News & Record, October 5, 2000. Late in 2000, the announcement came that Truth Broadcasting would move the Radio Disney affiliation from WKEW to WCOG."Dillon Fence Reunites for N.C. Performances," Greensboro News & Record, December 21, 2000.

The Walt Disney Company bought WCOG in 2005, which meant more community involvement and visibility for the station.{{cite news|url=http://triad.dbusinessnews.com/shownews.php?newsid=37748&type_news=latest|title=The Walt Disney Company Takes Ownership of Local Radio Disney WCOG AM 1320|work=dBusiness News|date=July 29, 2005|access-date=March 4, 2010}} Disney subsequently decided to sell its smaller-market Radio Disney stations, and took WCOG and five other stations off the air on January 22, 2010.{{cite news|url=http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/69932/radio-disney-takes-six-stations-silent|title=Radio Disney Takes Six Stations Silent|date=January 28, 2010|work=All Access|access-date=March 9, 2010}}{{cite web|url=https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1354770&Service=AM&Form_id=910&Facility_id=74203|title=Notification of Suspension of Operations / Request for Silent STA|last=Zucker|first=John W|date=January 26, 2010|work=CDBS Public Access|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|access-date=March 9, 2010}} A sale to Curtis Media Group was announced on March 9,{{cite news|url=http://www.radio-info.com/news/curtis-media-buys-greensboro-radio-disney-affiliate-wcog-1320|title=Curtis Media buys Greensboro 'Radio Disney' affiliate WCOG (1320)|date=March 9, 2010|work=Radio-Info.com|access-date=March 9, 2010}} upon taking over, Curtis relaunched the station July 15, with a return to sports talk.{{cite news|title= Curtis Forms Triad Sports Network|url=http://www.radioink.com/Article.asp?id=1875838&spid=24698|access-date=July 19, 2010|newspaper=Radio Ink|date=July 14, 2010}}

In March 2021, WCOG was purchased by Winston-Salem-Greensboro Broadcasting Company, LLC, and converted back to music. It became its own locally owned station in June 2021, broadcasting oldies. Local news, and CBS News Radio and local information has returned to WCOG. WCOG added an FM translator at 105.3 in December 2021, call sign W287GD licensed to Greensboro, North Carolina.

{{RadioTranslators

| call1 = W287GD

| freq1 = 105.3

| watts1 = 250

| class1 = D

| city1 = Greensboro, North Carolina

| fid1 = 203184

| coord1 = {{Coord|36|9|1|N|79|54|46|W|region:US-NC_type:landmark|name=W287GD}}

}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{AM station data|74203|WCOG}}

• {{Cite web|url=https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=51386 |title=History Cards for WCOG|publisher=Federal Communications Commission}} (Guide to reading History Cards)

;FM translator

• {{FCC-LMS-Facility|203184|W287GD}}
• {{FXL|W287GD}}

{{Piedmont Triad Radio}}

{{Oldies Radio Stations in North Carolina}}

Category:1948 establishments in North Carolina

Category:Mass media in Greensboro, North Carolina

Category:Oldies radio stations in the United States

Category:Radio stations established in 1948

COG (AM)