WCCS
American radio station
WCCS (1160 AM) is a commercially licensed American radio station in Homer City, Pennsylvania, about 50 miles northeast of Pittsburgh and 25 miles northwest of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. WCCS broadcasts with a maximum daytime power output of 10,000 watts and 1,000 watts at night. The station operates with a four-tower directional antenna pattern and programs a daily format of news/talk, sports talk, and local news/sports reports.
History
Beginnings: A new AM in an FM world
WCCS was the brainchild of founders Mark Harley and Ray Goss, both of whom had served as general managers at radio stations in the area that were owned by Progressive Publishing, which also published the Clearfield Progress newspaper.
Goss left WDAD and WQMU in 1981 after being general manager for 15 years. Harley had also left WMAJ and WXLR after 11 years as general manager. Not long after they parted ways with their old stations, Harley called Goss and asked him about getting together to put a new station on the air.
"Mark told me 'what do you think about us putting a station on of our own?'," said Goss in an interview. "My response was 'with what?' Then he asked me how much equity I had in my house and if my wife was still working, and after thinking about it some more, I thought 'why not'." Harley, also a certified public accountant by education, complemented Goss' sales and marketing experience to make for a well-balanced partnership.
As WRID AM 1520
The pair first considered obtaining a license in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, about 20 miles from Goss' home base in Indiana.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “WCCS” is american radio station. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through WCCS, American and radio, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “american radio station” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 13, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7947674. Authority coordinates are 40.572, -79.170. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1160, 1981 and 1520.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “WCCS”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow WCCS primary sources, WCCS archive and WCCS research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “WCCS”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “WCCS” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.