About 101.7 The Truth

A media platform that embraces Milwaukee’s Black community. A marketplace where authentic conversations can challenge and inspire everyone. Raw. Honest. True to what’s really going on in our communities.

A new station for a long-running dial

The frequency that today carries 101.7 The Truth has been on the Milwaukee airwaves since March 27, 1947, when AM 1510 first signed on as WAUX from studios on West Main Street in Waukesha. Over the next seven decades the dial carried adult contemporary, country, beautiful music, ESPN Radio (starting in 1994), ESPN Deportes, and a short-lived progressive-talk experiment branded “WRRD Resistance Radio.” Each era reflected the moment Milwaukee was in. None of them, though, were for Milwaukee’s Black community.

“There were voices that needed to be heard.”

That changed in the summer of 2020. In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, Good Karma Brands founder and CEO Craig Karmazin and vice president and market manager Steve Wexler were volunteering at a first responders’ event and got to talking about Black representation in Milwaukee media. The conversation became a plan.

On September 29, 2020, Good Karma announced that 1510 AM and the new FM translator on 101.7, broadcasting from the WITI tower in Shorewood and covering nearly all of Milwaukee County, would become a full-time Black talk station. It would be the first such station in the market in seven years, since WNOV had moved to a music format and WMCS (later WZTI) had flipped to oldies.

“At Good Karma Brands, we believe every voice matters. But as the events of this past year unfolded, we realized there were underrepresented voices that had so much to say and needed to be heard,” said Craig Karmazin.

“With the launch of 101.7 The Truth, we are making good on our promise to serve our community in a deeper and more meaningful way,” said Steve Wexler.

The quotes are drawn from the official announcement carried by Urban Milwaukee and the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association. In December 2020 the AM call sign changed from WRRD to WGKB, and on Monday, January 4, 2021, The Truth launched its full weekday lineup, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. live, repeated overnight.

The team that built it

The station’s first general manager was Cherie Harris, a veteran of WKKV, Radio Disney, and WITI-TV. Its first operations manager, and one of the people who built the platform from the ground up, was Kyle Wallace.

“We are going to put together a meeting place. A place for honest and real debate, as well as welcoming conversation, and a place for celebration,” said Cherie Harris.

“This isn’t a nationally-syndicated project. It’s home-grown,” said Kyle Wallace.

The launch slate brought together a deliberate mix of veteran broadcasters and community voices new to the microphone. Among the original on-air team: Tory Lowe, a well-known Milwaukee community advocate; Milwaukee Bucks in-game host Melanie Ricks; and Dr. Ken Harris, a retired Lieutenant from the Milwaukee Police Department and Assistant Dean of Professional Development at Concordia University Wisconsin.

A new chapter: Milwaukee Black Media Trust

On April 30, 2026, Civic Media announced the formation of the Milwaukee Black Media Trust, a community-ownership structure designed to preserve independent Black media in Milwaukee indefinitely. The Trust took over operations of The Milwaukee Courier (Wisconsin’s first Black-owned newspaper, founded in 1964) and 101.7 The Truth via a Local Marketing Agreement with an option to buy, meaning the Trust runs the station day-to-day, with the ability to acquire it from Good Karma Brands outright in the future. WNOV will join the Trust pending FCC approval.

The Trust’s structure prevents any individual or corporation from selling, consolidating, or redirecting these media institutions away from community control. A profit-sharing program that vests over five years gives employees a stake in the organization’s success. The Trust operates with full editorial and programming independence, and Civic Media provides administrative, technology, and sales support. Coverage of the announcement appeared in BizTimes, WTMJ, and WisPolitics.

“We are very excited about Milwaukee Black Media because it puts these important community media assets under the control of the community that they serve,” said Sage Weil, CEO of Civic Media.

“Good Karma Brands is proud to support a model that keeps these important media institutions rooted in the community,” said Craig Karmazin.

“Milwaukee’s Black community stands at an important crossroads, and the role of media in shaping our path forward has never been more critical,” said Dr. Robert “Biko” Baker, General Manager of Milwaukee Black Media.

Under the Trust, Dr. Robert “Biko” Baker serves as General Manager across the portfolio. Darren Deboe is Program Director. Doug Kelley leads sales. The founding trustees are Milwaukee Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs, Ascension Health senior marketing leader Tiffany Wynn, and Milwaukee Courier editor Roemel Brown (employee-representative trustee). The board is chaired by Milwaukee business owner Mark Wade, with John Torres (former owner of El Sol Broadcasting) and Chris Moreau (South Region President, Civic Media) as members.

The mission is unchanged: a media platform for and by Milwaukee’s Black community, only now owned by it.