WLIK 1270 AM

A radio station licensed to Newport, Tennessee, operating with a classic hits and oldies format on both 1270 AM and 97.9 FM. The station serves Cocke County with community-oriented news and information programming, and carries high school sports and University of Tennessee athletics. Founded in April 1954 with 1,000 watts by Arthur Wilkerson of Lenoir City, Tennessee, WLIK is one of the longer-running radio stations in the region. Ray Shirley served as its first on-air announcer. The station expanded to 5,000 watts in 1955. A fire in 1958, reportedly caused by a roof-mounted neon sign, seriously damaged the office, studios, and transmission facilities, though the station quickly resumed operations in a rebuilt concrete block structure. In 1968 the transmitter was relocated to Rock City, and the station began full-time broadcasting using a three-tower directional antenna array that allows 500-watt operation after sunset. Ira B. Crisp managed the station from 1954 to 1962, after which Dwight Wilkerson, son of the founder, assumed leadership and continues as president. The station began simulcasting its AM programming on 97.9 FM in 2016. Among its long-running programming staples is Swap & Shop, an interactive daily segment airing on weekday mornings and at midday, as well as Saturday mornings, in which listeners call in to buy, sell, swap, or trade items. The station also airs a Bulletin Board segment twice hourly covering community announcements from churches, schools, civic organizations, and government agencies. Religious programming occupies a substantial block on Sundays.