WGEM signed on January 1, 1948; its debut was hampered by an ice storm that forced the stationoff the air just twenty minutes into its first broadcast. The station was owned by Quincy Broadcasting Company, which was purchased by a partnership of transmitter manufacturer Parker Gates and Quincy Newspapers a few months later. Gates had previously attempted to enter station ownership by applying for a new station, WFAR, which was never built; meanwhile, WGEM was Quincy Newspapers' second broadcast property, as the company had launched FM radio station WQDI on August 1, 1947. Quincy Newspapers would assume full ownership of the station in 1950, after Gates chose to sell his stake in Quincy Broadcasting to focus exclusively on manufacturing. The station became an affiliate of the ABC Radio Network on October 1, 1948. By 1976, when WGEM-FM broke away from its simulcast and became a country music station, WGEM had a middle-of-the-road format; that year, the station became one of the first AM stereo stations. It shifted to adult contemporary in 1980; in the early 1990s, the station again changed formats, this time to talk radio. During the Great Flood of 1993, WGEM provided comprehensive coverage, temporarily suspending its normal programming to provide updates on bridge closures, flood stages, and levee status. In 2002, WGEM began to shift its format: its news/talk programming was moved to WGEM-FM, and the AM station adopted its current sports radio format; it had carried ESPN Radio at night under the previous format. However, much of WGEM-FM's primarily news-oriented local programming, as well as Paul Harvey and NBC Nightly News, continued to be simulcast on the AM station for several years thereafter; this was finally largely phased out in 2005.
Programming
WGEM's schedule is primarily sourced from ESPN Radio; it does air a local morning program, WGEM SportsCenter, and as a result only carries the first two hours of Mike and Mike in the Morning. Other local programming, generally relating to local sports is carried during their seasons. WGEM also carries Chicago Cubs baseball and Chicago Bulls basketball.
