Civic Media has taken four AM stations and three FM translators off the air and cut several positions.
The stations that have gone silent include WLAK/1260 (Amery), WBZH/910 (Hayward), WLCX/1490 (La Crosse), and WZBU/1520 (New Holstein), along with W298DK/107.5 (Amery), W245CT/96.9 (Hayward), and W243ER/96.5 (New Holstein).
FCC filings indicate they left the air Friday, June 26.
Each filing says the stations are being taken silent while Civic “works through revenue and financial issues in the market, adding that “every effort is being made to get (the stations) back on the air as soon as possible.”
Federal law allows radio stations to remain off the air for up to a year.
At the same time, Civic has parted ways with several on-air talent. Laura McKenna and Jay Roberts confirmed that they were let go.
Meanwhile, “Nite Lite with Pete Schwaba and Greg Bach,” which had run from 5 to 7 p.m., aired its last episode on June 12.
WBZH, WLCX, and WZBU had carried Civic’s Progressive Talk lineup while WLAK had relayed “St. Croix Country” from Civic’s WSCM/95.7 (Baldwin). WLAK had carried the Progressive Talk lineup until switching to Country last December.
Civic Media formed in 2022 and has quickly grown to 32 full-power stations and 23 FM translators in three states. It is the largest group owner of AM radio stations in Wisconsin.
The company had initially launched its Progressive Talk lineup on many of the AM stations and their associated FM translators, but stations in Green Bay, Racine, Richland Center, and Wisconsin Rapids have since flipped to Oldies. The Progressive Talk format continues on stations in Eau Claire, Madison, Milwaukee, Oshkosh, and Wausau.