 | |
| Broadcast area | Atlanta metropolitan area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 1690kHz |
| Branding | Freedom 1690 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Conservative talk |
| Affiliations | Genesis Communications Network Townhall News Westwood One Alabama Crimson Tide Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | January 9, 1998; 27 years ago (1998-01-09) (as WAXD) |
Former call signs | WAXD (1998–2000) WSWK (2000–2004) WWAA (2004–2006) |
Call sign meaning | Call letters originallyestablished in Cumming, Georgia (not affiliated withMajor League Baseball) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 87118 |
| Class | B |
| Power | 10,000watts day 1,000 watts night |
Transmitter coordinates | 33°48′34″N84°21′14″W / 33.809444°N 84.353889°W /33.809444; -84.353889 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | wmlb1690.com |
WMLB (1690AM "Freedom 1690") is anexpanded bandradio stationlicensed toAvondale Estates, Georgia, and serving theMetro Atlantaradio market. The station broadcasts with 10,000watts daytime and 1,000 watts at night.
WMLB originated as the expanded band "twin" of an existing station on the standard AM band. On March 17, 1997, theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that 88 stations had been given permission to move to newly available "Expanded Band" transmitting frequencies, ranging from 1610 to 1700 kHz, with WBIT in Adel, Georgia authorized to move from 1470 to 1690 kHz.[2]
A construction permit for the expanded band station was assigned the call WAXD on January 9, 1998.[3] The call letters were changed to WSWK on November 1, 2000, and in 2003 the station originally signed on fromAdel in south Georgia with atourist information format, identifying as "Wild Adventures Radio" andsimulcastingWDDQ (92.1 FM) with the same format.[4]
The station moved to the Atlanta radio market in 2004, when the community-of-license changed toAvondale Estates.[5] When the station was moved to the Atlanta area, its transmitter was co-located with stationWATB's, and WSWK's signal wasdiplexed onto one of WATB's antennas.[5] Later in 2004, the station's transmitter was moved to a new dedicated facility off ofCheshire Bridge Road in Atlanta with a new single-tower antenna.[5]
The station debuted in the Atlanta market with acountry music format.[6] By September 2004, it had changed formats to become atalk radio station: it joinedAir America Radio, a network featuringprogressive talk shows.[7] The format change came with a change to the WWAA callsign.[5]
An FCC policy stated that both an original station and its expanded band counterpart could operate simultaneously for up to five years, after which owners would have to turn in one of the two licenses, depending on whether they preferred the new assignment or elected to remain on the original frequency.[2] It was ultimately decided to transfer full operations to the expanded band station, and on February 18, 2005, the license for original station, WBIT on 1470 kHz in Adel, was cancelled.[8]
In June 2006, JW Broadcasting, owners of station WMLB on 1160 AM, purchased WWAA,[7] and transferred theWMLB call sign[5] and its eclectic format to 1690 kHz. The new format includedclassical andfolk music,jazz,show tunes,comedy bits,classic country music and somerock and roll. Several original programs included "Reflections on Flash Fiction", hosted by Professors Marshall Duke and Walter Reed ofEmory University, and Sidewalk Radio, hosted by local entrepreneur and real estate agent Gene Kansas. One Air America program,The Al Franken Show, remained untilFranken's last show in February 2007. (The previous WMLB on 1160 AM became talk radioWCFO, "News Talk 1160", which was bought by aCatholic radio organization in 2018.)[9]
In early February 2013, WMLB moved its transmitter location a few hundred feet away across Cheshire Bridge in Atlanta. This transmitter is co-located withWNIV andWAFS, with all three stations sharing the same single vertical broadcast antenna tower. The single broadcasting antenna tower, which WMLB used exclusively from 2006 until 2013, was dismantled.
WMLB went silent in the early morning of May 14, 2018 (sometime between 12:10 a.m. and 1:10 a.m. EDT), after the studio lease ended. However, JW Broadcasting continued to own the broadcast tower, and the online streaming continued to play music, hourly updates fromCBS Radio News andstation identifications until May 15.[10]
By mid-2020, WMLB resumed broadcasting, playing oldies music and old interviews. On March 1, 2021, the station changed formats from oldies to conservative talk, branded as "Freedom 1690".[11]
