WCCM (1490 kHz) is an AM radio station broadcasting a Spanish CHR format. Licensed to Haverhill, Massachusetts, United States, the station is owned by Costa-Eagle Radio Ventures Limited Partnership, a partnership between Pat Costa and his chief investor, The Eagle-Tribune. WCCM also operates on two translator stations, W255DA (98.9 FM) in Salem, New Hampshire and W279DH (103.7 FM) in Haverhill. History The original WHAV WCCM's story began during World War II in the offices of The Haverhill Gazette, a daily newspaper serving what was, in the middle of the century, a shoe-manufacturing center north of Boston. The Gazette, as early as 1944, planned an FM radio station, but had to wait for the end of wartime controls on new construction. John T. Russ announced on April 14, 1945, in the newspaper that "The Gazette long ago recognized the need of a Haverhill radio station and has long been in agreement with your premise that a newspaper is the logical proprietor of a broadcasting service, especially because the dissemination of news is the primary task of both press and radio." He defined WHAV’s mission during the inaugural March 16, 1947, broadcast:WHAV is going to be your station — a station for the people of Haverhill and the people in our surrounding towns. What concerns you directly, your lives and businesses, your community betterment will always get first priority on the WHAV airwaves. Early obstacles In its application to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), The Gazette sought authority to construct a tower on Ayer's Hill, the highest point of land in Haverhill. The station would transmit at a frequency of 46.5 MHz (a frequency then assigned to FM) and use a 1,000-watt Western Electric (AT&T) transmitter. At that time, Western Electric operated a manufacturing facility in the city. Russ predicted the station would cost $30,000 to $50,000, operate eight hours per day at the start and employ 11 people. One of the first delays in moving the station forward was a debate over the location of the tower. The Gazette indicated its selection of Ayer’s Hill was second to Silver Hill, a more centrally located city-owned parcel. Mayor Glynn and some alderman were willing to sell or lease the Silver Hill site, but others held out for using the site as a war memorial. J.R. Poppele, chief engineer of WOR, New York, conducted the original survey of sites. The Gazette ultimately bought