 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Roanoke Valley |
| Frequency | 960kHz |
| Branding | 960 AM 94.5 FM 107.3 FM WFIR |
| Programming | |
| Format | News/talk[1] |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Mel Wheeler, Inc. |
| WPLI,WPLY,WSLC-FM,WSLQ,WVBB,WVBE-FM,WXLK,WZZU | |
| History | |
First air date | June 20, 1924; 101 years ago (1924-06-20)[2] |
Former call signs | WDBJ (1924–1969)[3] |
Former frequencies |
|
Call sign meaning | First in Roanoke |
| Technical information[4] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 31138 |
| Class | B |
| Power |
|
Transmitter coordinates | |
| Translators |
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| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | www |
WFIR (960AM, "WFIR 960 AM 94.5 FM 107.3 FM") is acommercial radio stationlicensed toRoanoke, Virginia, and serving theRoanoke Valley.[1] It airs anews/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 twoFM translators:W297BC 107.3MHz, off Catawba Valley Drive in Roanoke,[8] and W233CK 94.5 MHz inTroutville.[9]
WFIR'stransmitter site is off Brandon Avenue SW. The station broadcasts with 10,000 wattsnon-directional by day.[10] At night, to avoid interfering with other stations onAM 960, it reduces power to 5,000 watts and uses adirectional antenna.[11]
Local news and talk programs air in weekday morning and afternoondrive times, withsyndicated shows heard the rest of day, includingThe Glenn Beck Program,The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show,The Sean Hannity Show,The Ramsey Show withDave Ramsey,The Mark Levin Show, Ground Zero with Clyde Lewis andCoast to Coast AM withGeorge 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 Talk andBill Handel on the Law.[12]
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WFIR is the second oldest radio station inVirginia, preceded by onlyWNIS 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 livebanjo 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 Roanokeaffiliate ofCBS Radio—a link that would last for more than 70 years. The station was sold toThe 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 theNorth American Regional Broadcasting Agreement or NARBA, the station moved to its current dial position at AM 960. During the 1940s, 50s and 60s, WDBJ mixedbluegrass music andcountry music withadult standards andmiddle of the road popular tunes, while also carrying CBS Network dramas, comedies and sports.[22] In October 1955,WDBJ-TV (channel 7) signed on the air[23] as Roanoke's CBS television affiliate.
Times-World Corporation, owner of theTimes, merged withLandmark Communications in 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 Redskinsfootball team. Gibbons added more news and sports programming. In 1979, WFIR began carrying thesyndicatedLarry King Show overnight, and later, family financial adviserBruce Williams in the evening. Through the 1980s, WFIR aired afull serviceadult contemporary format, keeping WFIR among the top ten radio stations in the Roanoke-Lynchburgmedia 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 to be able to air Paul Harvey news which was dropped from WROV several years earlier.[25]
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 |