Those who tuned to radio station WCCR, AM 1260, at 3 p.m. on May 11, 2015, heard ?Praised be Jesus Christ now and forever!,? followed by praying of the Divine Mercy Chaplet. With that sign-on, the station became Cleveland?s Catholic radio station, and the 300th domestic affiliate of the EWTN Global Catholic Radio Network.
Known as ?AM 1260 The Rock,? the station is owned by the nonprofit St. Peter The Rock Media. It offers 24-hour, seven-day-per-week broadcast of EWTN programming, as well as some local content. Two years into its mission, The Rock continues to grow and attracts a large audience, estimated at 2 million potential listeners.
?It was meant to be,? said Dick Russ, a longtime former broadcast journalist who helped launch the station and serves on its board of directors. ?If this were not a proven way to evangelize and spread the Gospel, to bring people to Christ, we wouldn?t be doing it. It is absolutely one of the most effective ways to spread the message.?
All the pieces fell into place, said Jerry Monroe, an attorney and president of The Rock?s board of directors. ?We formed a nonprofit corporation and a board. We were even able to get the call letters, WCCR (Cleveland Catholic Radio), and the corresponding phone number.? He said Radio Disney sold them the FCC license in May 2015, some office furniture and other items to help the station get started. St. Gabriel Radio Inc., which operates Catholic station AM 820 in Columbus, also provided support.
Bernadette Boguski, who joined The Rock as its first executive director in late December 2016,
