WJBY
Encyclopedia
WJBY is a radio station
licensed
to serve Rainbow City, Alabama
, USA. It operates at 930 kilohertz, with a daytime power of 5,000 watt
s non-directional, and 500 watts directional at night. Established in 1951, the station is currently owned by Jeff Beck and the broadcast license
is held by Gadsden Radio Media, LLC.
format to the greater Gadsden, Alabama
, area. In July 2007 when the station changed formats, they launched a live and local morning show. The show maintained the same host but changed co-hosts several times before the show was taken off the air in November 2008.
The 930 frequency came to Gadsden when local druggist "Doc" Cary Graham put WETO on the air in 1950. WETO operated with 1,000 watts daytime only. In 1963 Gadsden radio veteran Charlie "B" Boman bought the station from Mr. Graham, and began a series of upgrades, both to the station and its image. From its original location in the rear of "Doc's" drug store, Boman moved to the Life of Alabama Insurance building on the main street of town, and installed all new equipment. Boman had begun his radio career at the original WJBY, and found those call letters to be available, so the heritage call returned to the air at the 930 spot on the dial, late in 1963. Boman also raised the power to 5,000 watts, while still a daytime station. In the late 1970s Boman sold WJBY to Hinton Mitchem and Gordon Henderson, who added the night time signal and erected four new towers.
In 2011, the station was sold to Jeff Beck.
WGAD
in Gadsden had its call sign moved from 1350 AM to 930 AM. In October 2010, the stations began the process to regain their original (prior to 2007) call letters. The station on 930 AM went dark
on October 10, 2010, and regained the "WJBY" call sign on January 19, 2011. WJBY resumed normal broadcast operations on September 12, 2011.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
licensed
City of license
A city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting, is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator....
to serve Rainbow City, Alabama
Rainbow City, Alabama
Rainbow City is a city in Etowah County, Alabama, United States. It is part of the Gadsden Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Rainbow City is located at .According to the U.S...
, USA. It operates at 930 kilohertz, with a daytime power of 5,000 watt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
s non-directional, and 500 watts directional at night. Established in 1951, the station is currently owned by Jeff Beck and the broadcast license
Broadcast license
A broadcast license or broadcast license is a specific type of spectrum license that grants the licensee the privilege to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes. The licenses are generally straddled with additional restrictions that...
is held by Gadsden Radio Media, LLC.
Programming
WJBY broadcasts a southern gospelSouthern Gospel
Southern Gospel music—at one time also known as "quartet music"—is music whose lyrics are written to express either personal or a communal faith regarding biblical teachings and Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music...
format to the greater Gadsden, Alabama
Gadsden, Alabama
The city of Gadsden is the county seat of Etowah County in the U.S. state of Alabama, and it is located about 65 miles northeast of Birmingham, Alabama. It is the primary city of the Gadsden Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of 103,459. Gadsden is closely associated with the...
, area. In July 2007 when the station changed formats, they launched a live and local morning show. The show maintained the same host but changed co-hosts several times before the show was taken off the air in November 2008.
History
The call letters WJBY actually date back to the 1926 when a station in Gadsden operated (eventually) at a frequency of 1240 kilohertz. That station went dark around 1950.The 930 frequency came to Gadsden when local druggist "Doc" Cary Graham put WETO on the air in 1950. WETO operated with 1,000 watts daytime only. In 1963 Gadsden radio veteran Charlie "B" Boman bought the station from Mr. Graham, and began a series of upgrades, both to the station and its image. From its original location in the rear of "Doc's" drug store, Boman moved to the Life of Alabama Insurance building on the main street of town, and installed all new equipment. Boman had begun his radio career at the original WJBY, and found those call letters to be available, so the heritage call returned to the air at the 930 spot on the dial, late in 1963. Boman also raised the power to 5,000 watts, while still a daytime station. In the late 1970s Boman sold WJBY to Hinton Mitchem and Gordon Henderson, who added the night time signal and erected four new towers.
In 2011, the station was sold to Jeff Beck.
Frequency swap
On October 4, 2007, the WJBY call sign was moved from 930 AM to 1350 AM while sister stationSister station
In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio and/or television stations operated by the same ownership....
WGAD
WGAD
WGAD is an American radio station licensed to serve Gadsden, Alabama, USA. The station, established in 1947, is operated by Gadsden Radio Media Inc. and the broadcast license is held by The DR Group LLC. An FCC-approved sale to Gadsden Radio Media Inc. is pending formal...
in Gadsden had its call sign moved from 1350 AM to 930 AM. In October 2010, the stations began the process to regain their original (prior to 2007) call letters. The station on 930 AM went dark
Dark (broadcasting)
In the broadcasting industry, dark is a term used to describe a radio station or television station that has gone off-the-air for an indefinite period of time, or as defined by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission , a "silent" station...
on October 10, 2010, and regained the "WJBY" call sign on January 19, 2011. WJBY resumed normal broadcast operations on September 12, 2011.