WDZ started in 1921 from a Tuscola, Ill., grain elevator, broadcasting a mix of grain reports and music. Ā
In its early history, WDZ used a remote broadcasting vehicle known as the āWDZ White Relay Truck.ā It contained a 100-watt transmitter to relay broadcasts from the region.
In an article on DailyYonder.com, Timothy Collins writes:
My father, Neil Collins, worked in radio before and after World War II. He did public relations broadcast work for the National Association of School Administrators, which included rural areas, and for the National Poultry Congress. These contracts eventually led him to a short stint as program director for WDZ, then in Tuscola, Illinois, in 1939. The station, which first went on the air in 1921, later called itself āthe buckle of the corn belt.ā
If I understand correctly, Dad, then age 23, got into trouble for keeping the daytime-only station on the air into the evening to broadcast news of Hitlerās invasion of Poland in September, 1939. In mid-September, his brash memorandum to WDZās management documented broken promises and poor working conditions. He also explained āI found it impossible to learn agriculture rapidly enough to become of service to the station. This position ā¦ required a man conversant with all phases of agriculture, as the station is located in the smallest community in the United States having a radio transmitter. It appealed entirely to the farmer, and I was educated in city methods of operation.ā As to his departure, Dad wrote, āThe severing ā¦ was by mutual consent.ā
WDZ moved to Decatur in 1949. In recent years, WDZ aired an urban adult contemporary format branded as āMagic 1050.ā It switched to the current sports format in 2008. Neuhoff Corporation owns WDZ.
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