Radio isn't what it used to be. Honestly, walk into any studio today and you’ll likely find a computer running a playlist while a skeleton crew monitors the signal from a different time zone. But Cleveland remembers a time when the airwaves felt alive, specifically the frequency at WERE 1490 AM Cleveland. This wasn't just a spot on the dial. It was a chaotic, beautiful, and sometimes controversial mirror of the North Coast.
If you grew up in Northeast Ohio, you know the vibe.
The station started way back in 1949. Back then, it was the powerhouse. It sat at 1300 AM, but the shuffle of the radio spectrum is a messy business. By the time we get to the modern era, 1490 AM became the home of talk, community, and some of the most eccentric personalities to ever grace a microphone. People still talk about the "People Power" era. It was gritty. It was real.
The Glory Days of WERE 1490 AM Cleveland
You can't talk about this station without mentioning the legends. Think about Gary Dee. The man was a lightning rod. He pioneered the "confrontational talk" style long before it became a tired trope on cable news. He’d berate callers, challenge the status quo, and basically kept the entire city glued to their transistors just to see what he’d say next. It was appointment listening in a way that podcasts just can't replicate.
The station changed hands more times than a hot potato.
In the early days, it was owned by Cleveland Broadcasting Inc. Eventually, it fell under the umbrella of Radio One (now Urban One), which shifted the focus significantly. This wasn't just a corporate strategy move; it was a cultural pivot. The station became a vital heartbeat for the African American community in Cleveland. We're talking about a space where local issues—real ones, like housing, local elections, and community safety—actually got airtime.
Radio One recognized that Cleveland was a city of neighborhoods. 1490 AM became the town square.
Why the 1490 Frequency Matters
Physics is a funny thing. The 1490 frequency is part of what they call the "Graveyard Channels." That sounds morbid, doesn't it? In technical terms, it means it's a Class C station. These stations are limited to 1,000 watts. Compare that to the 50,000-watt blowtorches like WTAM 1100, and you realize WERE was fighting an uphill battle from day one.
Because the signal was weak, the content had to be strong.
✨ Don't miss: Why ASAP Rocky F kin Problems Still Runs the Club Over a Decade Later
You couldn't hear 1490 clearly in the far reaches of the suburbs or out in the cornfields of Amish country. You heard it in the city. You heard it in the barber shops on the East Side and the kitchens in the inner ring. That signal limitation actually created a sense of exclusivity. If you were listening to WERE 1490 AM Cleveland, you were part of the "in" crowd. You were a Clevelander.
The Shift to News and Community Talk
Eventually, the station moved toward a more structured "News/Talk" format. This is where it gets interesting. While other stations were pivoting to national syndication—playing the same three guys from New York or LA all day—WERE tried to keep it local.
They brought in voices like Ronnie Duncan and others who actually knew where Euclid Avenue was.
But staying local is expensive. It’s much cheaper to buy a satellite feed than to pay a local producer, a board op, and a host who actually does prep work. This tension between "community service" and "bottom-line profit" defines the history of 1490 AM. It’s a story we see across the entire media landscape, but it hits harder when it's your own backyard.
Think about the 2000s. The digital revolution was starting to eat radio’s lunch.
Suddenly, you didn't need a 1,000-watt transmitter to reach people; you needed a MySpace page or a blog. But for the older generation in Cleveland, the radio was the internet before the internet existed. It was where you went to argue. It was where you went to grieve when a local figure passed away. 1490 was the original social media platform for the 216.
The Identity Crisis of 1490 AM
There was a period where the station tried to be everything to everyone. It flipped formats. It toyed with gospel. It experimented with different talk lineups. This kind of "stunting" or frequent changing is usually a sign of a station trying to find its footing in a changing demographic.
The truth? Cleveland was changing.
🔗 Read more: Ashley My 600 Pound Life Now: What Really Happened to the Show’s Most Memorable Ashleys
The population was shifting, the economy was struggling, and the way people consumed news was fractured. 1490 AM found itself caught in the middle. It was too small to compete with the corporate giants but too big to ignore the costs of operation.
The Transition to New Management and Beyond
In the mid-2000s, things got real. Radio One eventually swapped the "WERE" call letters around. If you’re a radio nerd, you know this gets confusing. The "WERE" identity moved to 1300 AM for a while, while 1490 took on new identities, including WJMO.
Wait. Let’s back up.
WJMO is another legendary set of call letters in Cleveland. For years, 1490 AM was WJMO, the "Jammin' Oldies" or urban contemporary spot. When Radio One did the "Great Frequency Swap," it felt like a game of musical chairs where the music was actually the history of the city.
Today, if you tune into 1490 AM in Cleveland, you aren't hearing Gary Dee. You’re hearing something entirely different. The station is currently owned by Radio One and carries a gospel format under the WJMO call letters, often branded as "Praise 94.5" (referencing its FM translator).
It’s still serving the community, but the fire of the "People Power" talk era has mostly faded into the archives of the Cleveland Public Library.
Lessons from the Airwaves
What can we actually learn from the saga of WERE 1490 AM Cleveland?
First, localism is a double-edged sword. People claim they want local content, but they don't always support the advertisers that pay for it. Second, frequency is destiny. Being stuck on a "Graveyard Channel" means you have to work five times as hard to get half the audience.
💡 You might also like: Album Hopes and Fears: Why We Obsess Over Music That Doesn't Exist Yet
Finally, radio is about personality.
People didn't tune into 1490 because they loved the audio quality. They tuned in because they felt a connection to the person behind the glass. In an era of AI-generated voices and curated Spotify playlists, that human connection is what we're actually losing.
How to Explore Cleveland Radio History Yourself
If you’re a history buff or just someone who misses the old days of Cleveland talk radio, you don't have to just rely on memory. There are ways to dig into this.
- The Cleveland Press Collection: Head over to Cleveland State University’s archives. They have an incredible amount of documentation on the golden age of local media.
- Radio Heritage Foundation: This is a goldmine for old schedules, signal maps, and photos of the old transmitters.
- YouTube Archives: Believe it or not, there are hobbyists who recorded hours of Gary Dee and other 1490 personalities. Just searching for "WERE 1490 Cleveland aircheck" will bring up some hauntingly nostalgic audio.
Moving Forward with Local Media
If you want to keep local voices alive in the 216, stop just complaining about how "radio sucks now." Start supporting the small outlets that still exist. Whether it’s a community LPFM (Low Power FM) station or a local podcast that actually covers City Hall, these are the modern successors to the spirit of 1490 AM.
The frequency at 1490 might be "Praise" now, but the legacy of the "People's Station" is something that still resonates in the brick and mortar of Cleveland.
To really understand the impact of local broadcasting, your best bet is to visit the Western Reserve Historical Society. They have exhibits that occasionally feature the evolution of communication in the region. Understanding the past—specifically how a small, 1,000-watt station could stir up an entire city—is the only way to ensure we don't lose our local voice entirely in the future.
Check out the local community boards or the Cleveland Broadcasters Hall of Fame online to see the list of inductees who got their start or made their mark at 1490. You’ll see names that shaped the way the city thinks. Support local journalism, subscribe to Cleveland-based newsletters, and keep the conversation going. That is the only way to honor the "People Power" legacy.