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About WLIK The radio industry was just a babe compared to other media such as magazines and newspapers. It was in 1954, hardly 30 years old as an industry, when a Lenoir City lumberman, Arthur Wilkerson, requested a grant from the Federal Communciations Commission to build a radio station in Newport and Cocke County. Radio was still regarded as a novelty by many people. Something that was an interesting sideline to another business. Wilkerson was one of the early pioneers of radio in East Tennessee. WLIK was his third radio venture after putting WLIL on the air in Lenoir City, his hometown and WAEW in Crossville. WLIK began broadcasting in April 1954. The first announcer "on the air" was Ray Shirley, a local Church of Christ preacher. WLIK is unique in that radio is a volatile and changing industry, and WLIK has been under the same ownership since its inception in 1954 and has had only two managers. First, the late Ira B. Crisp from 1954 through 1962 and Dwight Wilkerson from 1963 to the present. WLIK began broadcasting as a 1000 watt radio station. It suffered the misfortune of a fire in 1958 and shortly thereafter went to 5000 watts. With the advent of television in the '50's, many predicted the demise of radio, but the industry as a whole endured and the people of Cocke County supported their new radio station. New technology of the '60's brought new life to radio and as the community grew, WLIK felt the need to offer added services. In 1968, WLIK moved its transmitter site to Rock City and began full time operations. With the full time facilities, WLIK has been able to offer live coverage of high school sports, University of Tennessee Sports, election returns, and other services in addition to the regular fare of music, entertainment and news. WLIK's offices and studios are still located, with its imposing tower, on the hill at the intersection of the Knoxville and Morristown highways, which was originally purchased from George Sweeten. WLIK presently operates full time with a daytime power of 5000 watts at 1270 kilohertz. WLIK has four full time employees and one part time employee. WLIK reflects the growth, progress and strength of Newport and Cocke County and is proud to be able to build on that heritage and work with all segments of our community. Contact
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