| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Madison metropolitan area |
| Frequency | 1310kHz |
| Branding | News/Talk 1310 WIBA |
| Programming | |
| Format | News/Talk |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | April 2, 1925; 100 years ago (1925-04-02) |
Call sign meaning | "Wisconsin and Badger Broadcasting" (former owner) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 17384 |
| Class | B |
| Power | 5,000 watts |
Transmitter coordinates | 42°59′58″N89°25′47″W / 42.99944°N 89.42972°W /42.99944; -89.42972 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (viaiHeartRadio) |
| Website | wiba |
WIBA (1310kHz) is a commercialAM radio station licensed toMadison, Wisconsin. Owned byiHeartMedia, the station airs anews/talk format, under the slogan "Madison's News/Talk Station".[citation needed]
WIBA operates at 5,000 watts around the clock. By day, the station isnon-directional, at night it uses adirectional antenna to protect other stations on1310 AM. The station's studios, offices andtransmitter are located off South Fish Hatchery Road at Lacy Road inFitchburg, Wisconsin.
Weekdays begin with a local news and interview show,Madison in the Morning with Robin Colbert andShawn Prebil. In 2023, veteran sportscaster Doug Russell was added to handle sports reports at :15 and :45 past the hour. In middays, local host Vicki McKenna is heard, with one hour of her show shared withsister stationWISN1130 AM inMilwaukee. In afternoons, WISN's Dan O'Donnell Show is also simulcast on WIBA. The rest of the weekday schedule issyndicated programs, mostly from co-ownedPremiere Networks:The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show,The Sean Hannity Show,The Mark Levin Show,Coast to Coast AM withGeorge Noory andThis Morning, America's First News with Gordon Deal.[2]
Weekends feature shows on money, health, and technology. They includeThe Ramsey Show withDave Ramsey,The Kim Komando Show, Jill Schlesinger on Money,Armstrong & Getty,Somewhere in Time with Art Bell,Sunday Night with Bill Cunningham andMarkley, Van Camp & Robbins, as well as repeats of weekday shows. Some paidbrokered programming also airs. Most hours begin with an update fromFox News Radio.[3]
WIBA serves as theflagship station for theWisconsin Badgers radio network.[4] It is also the Madison outlet forGreen Bay Packersfootball broadcasts.[5]
WIBA is one of the oldest radio stations inWisconsin, first licensed on March 24, 1925, to the Capital Times Studio.[6] The WIBA call sign was issued from a sequential list of available call letters. Itsigned on the air on April 2, 1925. WIBA was owned by theCapital Times newspaper, with studios at 111 King Street. It eventually became anNBC Red Networkaffiliate, carrying NBC's dramas, comedies, news, and sports during the "Golden Age of Radio".[7]
Willard Waterman, who later gained fame playing the title role onThe Great Gildersleeve, was a member of a quartet at WIBA in his early years in radio. In 1963, he recalled: "[W]e sang musical interludes between programs."[8]
Johnny Olson, known for his announcing work withGoodson-Todman game shows, had his first radio job at WIBA.[9]
Following the establishment of theFederal Radio Commission (FRC), stations were initially issued a series of temporary authorizations starting on May 3, 1927.[10] In addition, they were informed that if they wanted to continue operating, they needed to file a formal license application by January 15, 1928, as the first step in determining whether they met the new "public interest, convenience, or necessity" standard.[11]
On May 25, 1928, the FRC issuedGeneral Order 32, which notified 164 stations, including WIBA, that: "From an examination of your application for future license it does not find that public interest, convenience, or necessity would be served by granting it."[12] However, the station successfully convinced the commission that it should remain licensed.[13]
On November 11, 1928, the FRC made a major reallocation of station transmitting frequencies, as part of a reorganization resulting from its implementation ofGeneral Order 40. WIBA was assigned to 1210 kHz.[14]
On October 8, 1935, theFederal Communications Commission authorized WIBA to increase its power to 5,000 watts (daytime) and 1,000 watts (nights).[15] On March 29, 1941, the station moved from 1280 kHz to 1310 kHz, as part of the implementation of theNorth American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA).
In 1969, it added an FM sister station,WIBA-FM at 101.5. In its early years, 101.5 FM would mostlysimulcast AM 1310. It began its own programming in the mid-1970s with afree formprogressive rock format.[citation needed]
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In the 1950s, as network programming moved from radio to television, WIBA began amiddle of the road format, with popular adult music, as well as news and sports.[17] As music listening moved from to the FM dial from AM in the 1980s, WIBA added more talk shows, including evening syndicated programs fromNBC Talknet. By the 1990s, it had eliminated music and was a talk radio station.[citation needed]
Throughout WIBA's history, it has been the home of Wisconsin Badgers play by play. The station also carries the Green Bay Packers. It had been the Madison station for theMilwaukee Brewers Radio Network but gave up that affiliation. LocallyWOZN1670 AM now carries Brewers games.[citation needed]
In 2000, WIBA-AM-FM were acquired by Capstar Communications.[18] That company was later folded intoClear Channel Communications. And in 2014, Clear Channel changed its name to the current iHeartMedia, Inc. Also in 2014, WIBA laid off late-morning local host Mitch Henck. It was attributed to a company-wide plan to reduce staff as a cost-cutting move.[19]
article about WIBA's 14th birthday (Wisconsin Historical Society))