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WFIR

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WFIR
Broadcast areaRoanoke Valley
Frequency960 kHz
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 sign meaning
First In Roanoke
Technical information[4]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID31138
ClassB
Power
  • 10,000 watts (day)
  • 5,000 watts (night)
Transmitter coordinates
37°18′9″N 80°2′25″W / 37.30250°N 80.04028°W / 37.30250; -80.04028 (day) 37°15′19″N 79°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 (960 AM, "WFIR 960 AM 94.5 FM 107.3 FM") is a commercial radio station licensed to Roanoke, Virginia, and serving the Roanoke Valley.[1] It airs a news/talk radio format and 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 two FM translators: W297BC 107.3 MHz, off Catawba Valley Drive in Roanoke,[8] and W233CK 94.5 MHz in Troutville.[9]

The WFIR transmitter site is off Brandon Avenue SW.[10] The station broadcasts with 10,000 watts non-directional by day.[11] But at night, to avoid interfering with other stations on AM 960, it reduces power to 5,000 watts and uses a directional antenna.[12]

Programming

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Local news and talk programs air in weekday morning and afternoon drive times, with syndicated shows heard the rest of day, including The Glenn Beck Program, The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, The Sean Hannity Show, The Ramsey Show with Dave Ramsey, The Mark Levin Show, Ground Zero with Clyde Lewis and Coast to Coast AM with George Noory. Weekends feature shows on money, religion, technology, law, guns, home repair and gardening. Syndicated weekend programs include The Kim Komando Show, Rich DeMuro on Tech, Somewhere in Time with Art Bell, Tom Gresham's Gun Talk and Bill Handel on the Law.[13] World and national news from ABC News Radio is heard at the beginning of most hours.

History

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WDBJ

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WFIR is the second oldest radio station in Virginia, preceded by only WNIS in 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 live banjo player.[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 Roanoke affiliate of CBS Radio—a link that would last for more than 70 years. The station was sold to The Roanoke Times newspaper 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 the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement or NARBA, the station moved to its current dial position at AM 960. During the 1940s, 50s and 60s, WDBJ mixed bluegrass music and country music with adult standards and middle of the road popular 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 the Times, merged with Landmark Communications in 1969. As a condition of the merger, Times-World sold ts broadcasting properties. Channel 7 kept the historic WDBJ call 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 by Jim Gibbons, the former play-by-play announcer for the Washington Redskins football team. Gibbons added more news and sports programming. In 1979, WFIR began carrying the syndicated Larry King Show overnight, and later, family financial adviser Bruce Williams in the evening. Through the 1980s, WFIR aired a full service adult contemporary format, keeping WFIR among the top ten radio stations in the Roanoke-Lynchburg media market ratings, 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 60 m (197 ft) D LMS
W297BC 107.3 FM Roanoke, Virginia 5146 125 219 m (719 ft) D LMS

References

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  1. ^ a b "Arbitron Station Information Profiles". Nielsen Audio/Nielsen Holdings. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  2. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 2010 (PDF). ProQuest, LLC/Reed Publishing (Nederland), B.V. 2010. p. D-570. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  3. ^ "WDBJ - Roanoke's First Radio Station". Roanoke Radio. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  4. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WFIR". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  5. ^ "WFIR Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  6. ^ "AM Query Results. WFIR". fcc.org. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  7. ^ Roanoke Times business 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. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  13. ^ "Program Schedule".
  14. ^ "New Stations", Radio Service Bulletin, June 2, 1924, page 3.
  15. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 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 Yearbook 1977 page B-136, retrieved 1-11-17
  24. ^ Radio & Records Ratings 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. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
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