WKNW (1400 AM) is a news/talk

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

serving

Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Sault Ste. Marie ( ') is the only city in, and county seat of, Chippewa County, Michigan, Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. With a population of 13,337 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the second-most populated ...

and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The station is the only dedicated privately owned news/talk station in the market, save for its tenure as an

ESPN Radio ESPN Radio, which is alternately platform-agnostically branded as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN". ...

affiliate from 2010-2022. According to past editions of the ''Broadcasting Yearbook'', the station went on the air as WKNW in August 1990, after briefly holding the callsigns WBPW and WDHP before launch. The station was popularly known as ''KNOW AM'' in the 1990s, which alluded to its news/talk format, and also served as an antonym (in name and frequency) to sister station

WYSS Wyss () is an Alemannic German, Alemannic form of the German surname Weiss (surname), Weiß used predominantly in Switzerland. It comes from Middle High German ''wīz'' (white, blonde) and Old High German ''wîs'' (wise, clever, experienced, knows ...

' ''Yes FM'' branding. Originally owned by Algoma Broadcasting, WNKW operated as a news/talk station with live

Fox Sports Radio Fox Sports Radio is an American sports radio network. Based in Los Angeles, California, the network is operated and managed by Premiere Networks in a content partnership with Fox Corporation's Fox Sports division and iHeartMedia, parent company ...

coverage from its inception throughout later ownership changes to Marathon Media in 1998, and Northern Star Broadcasting in 2002. The station is currently owned by Sovereign Communications, who acquired the station in 201

As of 2010, the station was the Sault Ste. Marie/Newberry market's affiliate for the

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

Sprint Cup, and aired such talk programming as First Light and

iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...

conservative political shows like ''The Glenn Beck Program'', '' The Rush Limbaugh Show'', and '' The Sean Hannity Show''. Following the ownership change, WKNW became a full ESPN Radio affiliate, with prior ESPN programming that aired on existing Sovereign AM station WSOO moving to WKNW, and some WKNW talk programs going the other way, notably including '' Coast to Coast AM'' and ''The Handyman Show with Glenn Haege'', while Pickford FM affiliate WMKD eventually took over NASCAR rights. On January 5, 2022, WKNW changed their format back to news/talk, branded as "News Talk 1400". WKNW currently broadcasts conservative news-leaning talk radio programs like ''The Glenn Beck Program'', ''

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show ''The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show'' is an American radio program hosted by former Fox Sports Radio personality Clay Travis and former '' America Now/The Buck Sexton Show'' host Buck Sexton. It is broadcast on over 400 talk radio stations n ...

'', '' Wendy Bell Radio'', and ''Steve Gruber'' in their daytime schedule. Sports remains in WKNW's schedule via programs from

in their nighttime rotation. Live sports on WKNW include Detroit Pistons and Lake Superior State Lakers basketball games, as well as

Soo Eagles The Soo Eagles are an American junior ice hockey team from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan that plays in the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL). In 2012, the Eagles bought the North American Hockey League franchise rights of the Traverse C ...

hockey games, and the local sports talk program ''The Game Sports Show'', all of which having aired on the station while still affiliated with ESPN.

References

Sources

Michiguide.com - WKNW History

Previous logo

(Former logo under the "Talk Radio 1400" branding)

External links

KNW-AM News and talk radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1990 Conservative talk radio {{michigan-radio-station-stub