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WFIR

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WFIR
Broadcast areaRoanoke Valley
Frequency960kHz
Branding960 AM 94.5 FM 107.3 FM WFIR
Programming
FormatNews–talk[1]
Affiliations
Ownership
OwnerMel Wheeler, Inc.
WPLI,WPLY,WSLC-FM,WSLQ,WVBB,WVBE-FM,WXLK,WZZU
History
First air date
June 20, 1924;100 years ago(1924-06-20)[2]
Former call signs
WDBJ (1924–1969)[3]
Former frequencies
  • 1310 kHz (1924–1927)
  • 1300 kHz (1927–1928)
  • 930 kHz (1928–1941)
Call signmeaning
First In Roanoke
Technical information[4]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID31138
ClassB
Power
  • 10,000watts(day)
  • 5,000 watts (night)
Transmitter coordinates
37°18′9″N80°2′25″W/ 37.30250°N 80.04028°W/37.30250; -80.04028(day)37°15′19″N79°57′34″W/ 37.25528°N 79.95944°W/37.25528; -79.95944(night)
Translator(s)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen Live
Websitewfirnews.com

WFIR(960AM,"WFIR 960 AM 94.5 FM 107.3 FM" ) is acommercialradio stationlicensedtoRoanoke, Virginia,and serving theRoanoke Valley.[1]It airs anews/talkradio formatand is owned and operated by Mel Wheeler, Inc.[5][6]WFIR's studios and offices are on Electric Road in Roanoke.[7]Programming is also heard on twoFM translators: W297BC 107.3MHz,off Catawba Valley Drive in Roanoke,[8]and W233CK 94.5 MHz inTroutville.[9]

The WFIRtransmittersite is off Brandon Avenue SW.[10]The station broadcasts with 10,000wattsnon-directionalby day.[11]But at night, to avoid interfering with other stations onAM 960,it reduces power to 5,000 watts and uses adirectional antenna.[12]

Programming

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Local news and talk programs air in weekday morning and afternoondrive times,withsyndicatedshows heard the rest of day, includingThe Glenn Beck Program,The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show,The Sean Hannity Show,The Ramsey ShowwithDave Ramsey,The Mark Levin Show,Ground Zero with Clyde LewisandCoast to Coast AMwithGeorge Noory.Weekends feature shows on money, religion, technology, law, guns, home repair and gardening. Syndicated weekend programs includeThe Kim Komando Show,Rich DeMuro on Tech,Somewhere in Time with Art Bell,Tom Gresham's Gun TalkandBill Handel on the Law.[13]World and national news fromABC News Radiois heard at the beginning of most hours.

History

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WDBJ

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WFIR is the second oldest radio station inVirginia,preceded by onlyWNISin Norfolk, which was first licensed September 21, 1923. WFIR was first licensed, as WDBJ, on May 5, 1924, to the Richardson-Wayland Electrical Corporation at 106 Church Avenue, transmitting on 1310 kHz.[14]On June 20, 1924, WDBJ officially went on the air.[15]The studios were in the back of the company's store. The first program was a livebanjoplayer.[16]The original call sign was randomly assigned from roster of available call letters.

This company already had some limited broadcasting experience. Employee Frank E. Maddox had begun experimenting with radio broadcasts in Roanoke with amateur radio station 3BIY.[17]A March 16, 1922 advertisement for Richardson-Wayland referred to the 3BIY broadcasts, stating that "Saturday nights we give a concert to which all are cordially invited".[18]However, in early 1922 the Department of Commerce, regulators of radio at this time, issued regulations that prohibited amateur radio stations from making broadcasts.[19]A couple years later, Richardson-Wayland asked Maddox to establish a commercial radio station. The company sold radio receivers, but because people in the Roanoke area had no local stations to listen to, they could only pick up distant signals after sunset.

In 1926, WDBJ moved to new studios at The American Theater on Jefferson Street and Campbell Avenue in Roanoke. In 1929, WDBJ began broadcasting at 930 kHz at 500 watts power, and also became the RoanokeaffiliateofCBS Radio—a link that would last for more than 70 years. The station was sold toThe Roanoke Timesnewspaper in 1931.[20]Power increased to 1000 watts in 1934. In 1939, Chief Engineer J.W. Robertson increased the power to 5000 watts.[21]In 1941, under theNorth American Regional Broadcasting Agreementor NARBA, the station moved to its current dial position at AM 960. During the 1940s, 50s and 60s, WDBJ mixedbluegrass musicandcountry musicwithadult standardsandmiddle of the roadpopular tunes, while also carrying CBS Network dramas, comedies and sports.[22]In October 1955,WDBJ-TV signed on the air[23]as Roanoke's CBS television affiliate.

WFIR

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Times-World Corporation, owner of theTimes,merged withLandmark Communicationsin 1969. As a condition of the merger, Times-World sold ts broadcasting properties. Channel 7 kept the historic WDBJcall letters,with AM 960 becoming WFIR, standing for First in Roanoke, reflecting its status as the first broadcasting operation in the Roanoke Valley. In 1979, WFIR was purchased byJim Gibbons,the former play-by-play announcer for theWashington Redskinsfootballteam. Gibbons added more news and sports programming. In 1979, WFIR began carrying thesyndicatedLarry KingShow overnight, and later, family financial adviserBruce Williamsin the evening. Through the 1980s, WFIR aired afull serviceadult contemporaryformat, keeping WFIR among the top ten radio stations in the Roanoke-Lynchburgmedia marketratings, despite the shift to FM radio listening.[24]In 1987, the station added Rush Limbaugh to its midday schedule, one of his first affiliates.

In 1989 WFIR became a full-time News/Talk radio station. In 2000, it was bought by Mel Wheeler, Inc., which owns eight radio stations in the Roanoke-Lynchburg market. In 2001, WFIR switched from CBS Radio News to ABC News Radio hourly newscasts in order to be able to air Paul Harvey news which was dropped from WROV several years earlier.[25]

Translators

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In addition to the main station, WFIR is relayed by two FM translators to widen its broadcast area.[26]

Call sign Frequency City of license FID ERP(W) HAAT Class FCC info
W233CK 94.5 FM Troutville, Virginia 144940 200 60m(197ft) D LMS
W297BC 107.3 FM Roanoke, Virginia 5146 125 219 m (719 ft) D LMS

References

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  1. ^ab"Arbitron Station Information Profiles".Nielsen Audio/Nielsen Holdings.RetrievedJuly 16,2015.
  2. ^Broadcasting Yearbook 2010(PDF).ProQuest, LLC/Reed Publishing (Nederland), B.V. 2010. p. D-570.RetrievedJuly 16,2015.
  3. ^"WDBJ - Roanoke's First Radio Station".Roanoke Radio.RetrievedAugust 28,2015.
  4. ^"Facility Technical Data for WFIR".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
  5. ^"WFIR Facility Record".Federal Communications Commission,audio division.RetrievedJuly 16,2015.
  6. ^"AM Query Results. WFIR".fcc.org.Retrieved30 September2023.
  7. ^Roanoke Timesbusiness listings, Retrieved January 11, 2017
  8. ^"W297BC-FM Radio Station Coverage Map".
  9. ^Radio-Locator.com/W233CK
  10. ^"WFIR-AM Radio Station Coverage Map".
  11. ^"FCCInfo Facility Search Results".
  12. ^"WFIR".fcc.org.Retrieved30 September2023.
  13. ^"Program Schedule".
  14. ^"New Stations",Radio Service Bulletin,June 2, 1924, page 3.
  15. ^Broadcasting Yearbook1977 page C-222, retrieved 1-11-17
  16. ^"WFIR History Part1: The Mic is On(1924 - 1931)".
  17. ^The leading "3" in the 3BIY call sign specified that the station was located in the third radio district. The fact that the letter "B" was in the range of A to W meant that it was licensed as a standard amateur station.
  18. ^Richardson-Wayland Electrical Corp., (advertisement),Roanoke Times,March 16, 1922, page 14.
  19. ^"Miscellaneous: Broadcasting",Radio Service Bulletin,February 1, 1922, pages 8-9.
  20. ^"WFIR History Part2: The Golden Years(1931 - 1945)".
  21. ^"Studio Notes",Broadcasting,November 15, 1939, page 74.
  22. ^"WFIR History Part3: War & Peace (1945 - 1969)".
  23. ^Broadcasting Yearbook1977 page B-136, retrieved 1-11-17
  24. ^Radio & RecordsRatings Report,, Fall 1987, page 180, retrieved 1-11-17
  25. ^"WFIR History Part5: Depend on it! (1989 - Present)".
  26. ^"W297BC Facility Record".Federal Communications Commission,audio division.RetrievedJuly 16,2015.
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