Following the closing of its $3.65 million multi-station purchase from Magnum Media, Civic Media has brought its Full Service Liberal Talk format to three more cities in Wisconsin.
Civic has flipped Oldies “1490 The Eagle” WLCX La Crosse (formerly WLXR) and Full Service Classic Hits 1400 WRJN/99.9 W260CV Racine and 98.1 W251BU Kenosha, while launching “93.5 The Tap” W228EP Eau Claire/WCFW-HD2 Chippewa Falls.
The stations will join the company’s nine other Talk stations across Wisconsin with a mix of their network programming and some local/regional shows.
The stations will all carry the statewide weekday programming that includes “UpNorthNews Radio” hosted by Pat Kreitlow from 6-8am, “As Goes Wisconsin” with Kristin Brey from 10am-12pm, “Town Call” hosted by William Walter and Luke Mathers from 12:15-1pm, “The Todd Allbaugh Show” from 1-3pm, “Matt Flynn-Direct” from 3-4pm, “The Devil’s Advocates” from 4-6pm, “The Maggie Daun Show” from 6-7pm, and “The Rick Smith Show” from 8-10pm.
WLCX will feature “The Stu Daniels Show” from 8-10am. “93.5 The Tap” will include a local hour hosted by Kreitlow, who was a long-time TV and radio news anchor in Eau Claire prior to becoming a Wisconsin state summer from 8-9am before joining the Stu Daniels show from 9-10am.
WRJN will air “The Earl Ingram Show” from 540 WSHA Waukesha/Milwaukee in the 8-10am slot. Former 1050 WLIP Kenosha morning host Lou Rugani will take over the 6-8am slot later this summer, while hosting his “Music of the Stars with Lou Rugani” on Sundays from 7am-12pm. Two WRJN staffers will move into new roles with Mike Clemens becoming Civic Media Sports Director and Stuart Wattles as station News Director. WRJN will also be sports heavy with play-by-play from the NFL’s Green Bay Packers, NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks, and University of Wisconsin football, men’s basketball, and some men’s hockey and women’s basketball. The station will add MLB’s Milwaukee Brewers in 2024.
Civic Media announces the launch of “93.5 The Tap”, a brand-new News/Talk/Sports formatted radio station.
93.5 The Tap is also the Valley’s first and only HD-FM talk station at WCFW 105.7 FM-HD2. The Tap covers the entire Valley with superior FM-HD and FM analog signals.
93.5 The Tap will feature former WI state senator and long-time Eau Claire TV and radio news anchor Pat Kreitlow. Kreitlow, a Lake Wissota resident, is the founding editor of UpNorthNews (an independent media site separate from Civic Media). Since last year, Kreitlow has hosted “UpNorthNews Radio,” currently heard weekdays 6-8 am across many Wisconsin markets on the Civic Media Network.
After the statewide show ends, Kreitlow will also host ”The Pat Kreitlow Show” from 8-9 am, focusing on news, people, events, and fun across the Chippewa Valley, only on 93.5 The Tap.
“It’s time to bring informative and compelling local news talk back to the Chippewa Valley,” said Kreitlow. “Talk radio got toxic around here a few years back when it lost its way and traded civil, local conversation for the celebration of conflict. It’s time to get back to our roots and give our community a more mainstream, shared voice once again.”
“I asked a media consultant once what they thought of Pat Kreitlow’s radio show. This guy gets paid to find fault. He said, ‘I wouldn’t change a thing.’ And we haven’t. Pat Kreitlow is a uniquely talented host”, said Mike Crute, President-COO of Civic Media.
“The Tap” 93.5 FM broadcasts locally from studios and business offices at 220 1/2 N. Bridge Street, in the heart of downtown Chippewa Falls.
Civic Media is a network of 18 Wisconsin radio stations in 12 distinct news/talk media markets, now including both La Crosse and Eau Claire.
Civic Media is a network of 18 radio stations across Wisconsin in 12 distinct news/talk media markets, now including Chippewa Falls.
93.5 The Tap Weekday Line-up
- 6-8 a.m. – “UpNorthNews Radio” with host Pat Kreitlow
- 8 a.m. – State and local news and sports-extended
- 8-9 a.m. – “The Pat Kreitlow Show”
- 9-10 a.m. – “The Stu Daniels Show”
- 10-noon – “As Goes Wisconsin” with Kristin Brey
- noon – State and local news, weather, and sports, extended
- 12:15-1 p.m. – “Town Call”, moderated by William Walter and Luke Mathers, a daily Wisconsin, Civic Media town hall from around the state.
- 1-3 p.m. – “The Todd Allbaugh Show”
- 3-4 p.m. – “Matt Flynn-Direct”
- 4-6 p.m. – “The Devil’s Advocates” with Crute and Dom
- 5 p.m. – State and local news and sports-extended
- 6-7 p.m. – “The Maggie Daun Show”
- 7-8 p.m. – Weekly rotating programs
- 8-10 p.m. – “The Rick Smith Show”
- 10-11 p.m. – “Native Roots Radio-I’m Awake”
Civic Media announces the relaunch of “The Eagle” 1490 AM as a News/Talk formatted radio station in La Crosse, Wisconsin focusing on community and state issues affecting the lives of folks in the Coulee Region.
“As the largest city on Wisconsin’s western border, La Crosse plays a vital role in the state’s economy, healthcare and education universe,” said Sage Weil, Civic Media CEO and Partner. “There’s a rich history here about the lives of working people. Companies like Heileman Old Style, now City Brewing Company, La Crosse Technology, Trane, and Gunderson Health System, and Franciscan Skemp Medical Center to more recent companies like Kwik Trip, have made La Crosse a huge economic and technology driver. We want to tell their stories.”
Civic Media is also excited about the opportunities to discuss, participate and promote the many fantastic community groups and events of the area. From The Pump House Regional Arts Center and The Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps to La Crosse Loggers Baseball and Irishfest, The Eagle 1490 will be there.
“But as an Eagles Alum, the event I’m probably most pumped for is Oktoberfest USA,” said Mike Crute, Civic Media President/COO and Partner.
The Eagle 1490 AM will feature a pair of UW-La Crosse graduates who roomed together in a Pine Street duplex in the early 1990’s. The Devil’s Advocates Radio Show, featuring Dominic Salvia and Crute, is a Wisconsin original, broadcasting since 2012.
“Dom and I, enjoyed ourselves, shall we say,” said Crute with a wry smile. “From tapping the first half-barrel on campus for Oktoberfest to partying on 3rd Street after Coon Creek, those experiences made me the man I am today. My 6.5 years on campus barely got me a degree in Mass Comm, but they taught me how to argue, and to utilize Google…the truth is out there,” Crute said.
“We never stopped arguing, not for over 30 years. But we do agree on a few things: funny is funny. And it’s never personal, only politics. So come have the conversations with us you’re not supposed to have at the dinner table,” Dom said.
The self-proclaimed “greatest radio show ever” will air 4-5 p.m. weekdays and offers a unique brand of news, analysis, and humor.
“The Eagle” 1490 AM will broadcast locally from studio and business offices at 600 4th Street, La Crosse, WI 54601.
Civic Media is a network of 18 radio stations across Wisconsin in 12 distinct news/talk media markets, now including both La Crosse and Eau Claire.
WLCX Weekday Line-up
- 6-8 a.m. – “UpNorthNews Radio” with host Pat Kreitlow
- 8 a.m. – State and local news and sports-extended
- 8-10 a.m. – “The Stu Daniels Show”
- 10-noon – “As Goes Wisconsin” with Kristin Brey
- noon – State and local news, weather, and sports, extended
- 12:15-1 p.m. – “Town Call”, moderated by William Walter and Luke Mathers, a daily Wisconsin, Civic Media town hall from around the state.
- 1-3 p.m. – “The Todd Allbaugh Show”
- 3-4 p.m. – “Matt Flynn-Direct”
- 4-6 p.m. – “The Devil’s Advocates” with Crute and Dom
- 5 p.m. – State and local news and sports-extended
- 6-7 p.m. – “The Maggie Daun Show”
- 7-8 p.m. – Weekly rotating programs
- 8-10 p.m. – “The Rick Smith Show”
- 10-11 p.m. – “Native Roots Radio-I’m Awake”
Civic Media celebrates the addition of WRJN 1400 AM, 99.9 FM Racine and 98.1 FM Kenosha to its family of radio stations. Starting today, the network will bring news, talk and lots of sports back to WRJN.
The station will be serving Racine, Kenosha, and south Milwaukee with the best in sports programming, including all of Wisconsin’s professional sports:
- The Green Bay Packers broadcasts will continue to air during the NFL season starting August 2023, including pregame and postgame shows that reach as far north as Milwaukee.
- The NBA season of the Milwaukee Bucks will air beginning October 2023 through a new partnership between the team’s radio network and Civic Media. In addition to Racine and Kenosha, the deal will also expand the Bucks Radio Network into several other Wisconsin markets.
- The refreshed WRJN programming will bring Major League Baseball back to the Racine and Kenosha neighborhood. Starting Spring 2024, every Milwaukee Brewers baseball game will air in both AM and FM signals, re-establishing a baseball tradition that was lost when the Braves left for Atlanta.
- WRJN will also become a Badger Radio Network Affiliate and air Wisconsin Badger football, men’s basketball and a limited schedule of men’s hockey and women’s basketball.
“We are incredibly proud and excited to be bringing the Packers, Bucks, Brewers and Badgers broadcasts, all on one radio station, to this part of our state,” said Mike Crute, Civic Media’s President and Chief Operating Officer.
To support this increased sports coverage, Civic Media has hired Mike Clemens from Magnum Media to an expanded role as Civic Media’s Sports Director.
Keeping with its stated mission of advancing listeners’ understanding of local, regional and state issues, the network will also be airing state and local news coverage at 8 a.m., 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays.
Stuart Wattles, also formerly from Magnum Media, joins Civic Media as News Director for WRJN. Wattles will report and anchor local news hourly.
And finally, Civic Media also announces that it is bringing back The Lou Rugani Show. Lou Rugani is a broadcaster with an illustrious 50+ year career. He will host his Racine/Kenosha-centric talk show, live from 6-8 a.m. Monday through Friday beginning later in the summer of 2023.
Lou Rugani will also be renewing his cult classic, The Music of the Stars with Lou Rugani, Sunday mornings 7 a.m. to noon.
“We celebrate the addition of the storied WRJN AM/FM to our network and look forward to bringing it back to its roots of serving, informing, and entertaining the local community in Racine and Kenosha,” said Sage Weil, CEO of Civic Media.
“Our network is also made stronger with the addition of three talented broadcast professionals like Mike Clemens, Stuart Wattles, and Lou Rugani to our team,” Weil said.
WRJN will continue to broadcast locally from its studio and business offices at 4201 Victory Ave., Racine, WI 53405.
Civic Media is a network of 18 radio stations across Wisconsin in 12 distinct news/talk media markets, now including Racine/Kenosha.
WRJN Weekday Line-up
- 6-8 a.m. “Lou Rugani Show”
- 8 a.m. – State and local news and sports-extended
- 8-10 a.m. – “The Earl Ingram Show”
- 10-noon – “As Goes Wisconsin” with Kristin Brey
- noon – State and local news, weather, and sports, extended
- 12:15-1 p.m. – “Town Call”, moderated by William Walter and Luke Mathers. A daily Wisconsin, Civic Media town hall from around the state.
- 1-3 p.m. – “The Todd Albaugh Show”
- 3-4 p.m. – “Matt Flynn-Direct”
- 4-6 p.m. – “The Devil’s Advocates” with Dom and Crute
- 5 p.m. – State and local news and sports-extended
- 6-7 p.m. – “The Maggie Daun Show”
- 7-8 p.m. – Weekly rotating programs
- 8-10 p.m. – “The Rick Smith Show”
- 10-11 p.m. – “Native Roots Radio-I’m Awake”
This story first appeared on radioinsight.com