A Sault, Mich. radio station is dropping its all-sports format in favour of a mix of news, sports and conservative talk radio.
WKNW is a Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. radio station owned by Sovereign Communications and can be found at 1400 on the AM dial.
Since it was acquired in 2010 from Northern Star Broadcasting, the station has been a broadcast affiliate for ESPN Sports Radio, says Keith Neve, Sovereign’s chief operating officer. Prior to that change it had been home to conservative political shows like The Glenn Beck Program, The Rush Limbaugh Show, and The Sean Hannity Show.
Neve said a lot of the appeal of our being an ESPN affiliate came from the nationally syndicated morning show Mike and Mike in the Morning, hosted by Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic.
In 2017 the morning show duo split up.
”Since Mike Golic retired and Greeny moved to a different part of ESPN, they have been going through a number of changes and haven’t really been able to find the right combination and we found that it just wasn’t as attractive for our listeners anymore,” said Neve.
A decision was made to return the station to its talk radio roots, which took effect on Jan. 3.
“In today’s politically-charged society there tends to be more interest in the issue of the day than there is to sports, so we basically returned to how the station historically was a decade ago,” said Neve. “It’s converting back to what 1400 was years ago, which is a mix of news, talk and sports.”
Listeners will now hear The Steve Gruber Show in the 6 to 9 a.m. morning slot. Gruber’s show is broadcast by Michigan Talk Network and will be more relevant to a lot of Michiganders than the nationally syndicated Mike and Mike Show was.
After the weekday morning slot, the talk programming continues until 6 p.m., when the station switches to sports until the following morning.
“We have been very selective on the shows that we carry,” said Neve. “Wendy Bell is an up-and-comer in the conservative talk world. Next in the line up is Clay Travis and Buck Sexton who are the replacements for Rush Limbaugh in his time slot and then Glen Beck, who used to be our morning standard on 1400 returns in the afternoon and then we hook up with Fox Sports overnight.”
Neve said he expects many Canadians will tune in to the new format.
“Canadian listeners have always followed the issues presented on these talk stations. With the proximity of the U.S. border and the influence of U.S. politics on them, it bodes well,” he said.
One example is The Steve Gruber Show.
“One of his most common topics you will hear continuously is Line 5, which impacts us all,” said Neve of Gruber’s show. “It is a Canadian company and it’s crucial for the delivery of petroleum and natural gas to Canadian provinces. It’s pretty important for you guys.”
WKNW is one of 17 radio stations operating in the Upper Peninsula by Sovereign Communications.