WSJS
Encyclopedia
WSJS is a radio station based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina, with a 2010 population of 229,617. Winston-Salem is the county seat and largest city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to...

 that broadcasts at 600 AM
AM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...

. It has a news/talk radio format and its slogan is "The Triad's News Radio", where "Triad" refers to the Piedmont Triad
Piedmont Triad
The Piedmont Triad, or Triad, is a north-central region of the U.S. state of North Carolina that consists of the area within and surrounding the three major cities of Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point. This close group or "triad" of cities lies in the Piedmont geographical region of the...

.

Programming

The station airs several nationally syndicated talk radio programs such as The Dennis Miller
Dennis Miller
Dennis Miller is an American stand-up comedian, political commentator, actor, sports commentator, and television and radio personality. He is known for his critical assessments laced with pop culture references...

 Show
, The Dave Ramsey
Dave Ramsey
David L. Ramsey III is an American financial author, radio host, television personality, and motivational speaker.Ramsey's syndicated radio program The Dave Ramsey Show is promoted with a tagline that "It's about your life and your money," and it is heard on over 450 radio stations throughout the...

 Show
, The Mark Levin
Mark Levin
Mark Reed Levin is a lawyer, author and the host of American syndicated radio show The Mark Levin Show. Levin served in the cabinet of President Ronald Reagan and was a chief of staff for Attorney General Edwin Meese...

 Show
and Dr. Joy Browne.

1920s–1960s

In 1929, entrepreneur and radio engineer Doug Lee began talking with Owen Moon, publisher of the two Winston-Salem newspapers, The Winston-Salem Journal and The Twin City Sentinel
Twin City Sentinel
The Twin-City Sentinel was the name of the afternoon newspaper published in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The Sentinel's masthead was dropped in 1985 when operations were absorbed into its sister paper, the morning Winston-Salem Journal....

. The call letters refer to the newspapers, "Winston-Salem Journal" plus "Sentinel".

WSJS signed on the air on April 17, 1930, Holy Thursday. Three days later, the station aired live coverage of the Easter Sunrise Service from God's Acre in Old Salem. That broadcast has continued every year since, and is believed to the be longest continuously aired special program in radio history.

WSJS was originally owned by the local newspapers, and the original studios were in the newspaper newsroom in downtown Winston-Salem. The transmitter was in that building also and the antenna was a long wire suspended from two towers (one on the Journal Building and the other on the roof of the Carolina Theater building).

In 1933, WSJS became a CBS Radio Network
CBS Radio Network
The CBS Radio Network provides news, sports and other programming to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by CBS Corporation, and operated by CBS Radio ....

 affiliate, moving to NBC Radio in 1940. Gordon Gray bought the newspapers and the radio station in 1937, and Harold Essex of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 became the manager. Together, they made WSJS as important to the area as the newspapers, increasing the station's power and moving WSJS from 1310 AM to 600 AM. An FM station, WMIT, was added near Mount Mitchell
Mount Mitchell
Mount Mitchell can refer to:* Mount Mitchell, the highest point in the eastern United States* Mount Mitchell , in Jasper National Park of Canada* Mount Mitchell * Mount Mitchell , in Queensland...

, and later WSJS-FM (which became WTQR
WTQR
WTQR is a country music station licensed to Winston-Salem, North Carolina and serves the Piedmont Triad region, including Greensboro and High Point. The Clear Channel Communications outlet broadcasts at 104.1 MHz with an ERP of 100 kW...

) began in Winston-Salem.

The station was co-located with WSJS-TV for a number of years. Radio and TV were sold when the FCC decided newspapers shouldn't own broadcast facilities. The stations were operated by Summit Cable until the FCC said cable operators should not own TV stations. The television facility was sold and it became WXII. WSJS moved to its present location at 5th and Summit.

Wally Williams hosted "Carolina in the Morning" from 1954 to 1979. The show included the "good word for the day" and a daily devotional
Prayer
Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...

. Williams had started as an announcer on the TV station, where he continued to do the weather. When he retired, Winston-Salem mayor Wayne Corpening declared May 31 "Wally Williams Day." Wayne Willard did the news during most of Williams' years on the station, and also served as the station's news director.

George Lee joined WSJS radio in 1968. (*George Lee Bowermaster) Among his characters were Blue the Bionic Dog and Magnolia Sweetbreath. when signing off he would tell people to drive carefully so "that the life you save may be mine. Myself, I would rather be a little late than be the late George Lee." He and Tom Chambers would tell punch lines to jokes on the air—just the punch lines, because the jokes themselves were dirty. Before WSJS, he was on WAIR
WPOL
WPOL is a radio station broadcasting a Gospel format. Licensed to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA, the station serves the Piedmont Triad area. The station is currently owned by Truth Broadcasting Corporation.-History:...

, and he was one of the "Good Guys" on WTOB
WTOB
WTOB, at 1380 AM, is one of several Spanish-language radio stations in the Greensboro-High Point-Winston Salem area. WWBG, at 1470 AM, airs the same programming...

.

1970s

In 1976 he became program director of WSJS and WTQR. (*George Brown was Program Director in 1979 and at least as late as 1982) Lee left radio in 1982 but his career included roles in several movies and TV shows, and he was the narrator of Beyond the Wheel, a program about NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

 on The Speed Channel.

In 1979, Glenn Scott moved from WXII to WSJS to replace Williams as morning host, a position he held for almost 30 years. For the last few years, he did the show from his home in Horse Shoe, near Hendersonville
Hendersonville, North Carolina
Hendersonville is a city in Henderson County, North Carolina, USA, southeast of Asheville. In 1900, 1,917 persons lived in Hendersonville; in 1910, 2,818; and in 1940, 5,381 people lived here. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,223, up fivefold in one century. It is the county...

, after moving closer to his children. He almost considered retiring but changed his mind when the station made arrangements for the remote broadcasts.

1980s

In 1982, former WTOB news Anchor Smith Patterson joined the station and in 1983 was made fulltime by then Station manager-Roger Stockton. Patterson then joined Glenn Scott on the morning show for the rest of Scott's tenure 1984–2007. Patterson is still with the station doing the morning news with JR Snider and also hosts the 5 a.m. Early Morning News With Smith Patterson.

In 1988, Bob Costner became WSJS news director, a position he would hold for nearly 20 years.

1990s

NewMarket Media Corp. sold WSJS and WTQR to Radio Equity Partners of Norwalk, Connecticut
Norwalk, Connecticut
Norwalk is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of the city is 85,603, making Norwalk sixth in population in Connecticut, and third in Fairfield County...

, in a deal completed in April 1994 and worth in excess of $100 million, as the Connecticut company expanded into the Southeast, looking for the best stations possible.

After more than 20 years, Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University is a private, coeducational university in the U.S. state of North Carolina, founded in 1834. The university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina, the state capital. The Reynolda Campus, the university's main campus, is...

 stopped airing its football and basketball games on WSJS, moving to the first of several stronger FM stations. Gene Overby, also WSJS sports director prior to his death in 1989, was play-by-play announcer for Wake Forest for 17 years.
Even before CBS dropped Gil Gross
Gil Gross
Gil Gross is an American radio personality. In addition to hosting a show on KGO AM in San Francisco, California on weekday afternoons since 2007, he is a news correspondent for the ABC Radio Networks.-Career:...

, WSJS replaced him with "ESPN
ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio is an American sports radio network. It was launched on January 1, 1992 under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN." ESPN Radio is located at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut...

 GameNight".

In August 1998, WSML
WSML
WSML is located in Graham, North Carolina and broadcasts at 1200 AM. The station is part of a sports trimulcast with WCOG from Greensboro and WMFR from High Point. The station is owned by Curtis Media Group. Studios are located in downtown Graham.-History:...

 in Graham, North Carolina
Graham, North Carolina
Graham is a city in Alamance County, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. The current population estimate is 14,533...

, formerly a gospel music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....

 station, began airing the same programming as WSJS most of the time, and legendary Greensboro DJ Dusty Dunn joined the stations. WSJS Program director Mike Fenley began a talk show on WSML which aired in the late morning, at the time WSJS was airing Dr. Laura
Laura Schlessinger
Laura Catherine Schlessinger is an American talk radio host, socially conservative commentator and author. Her radio program consists mainly of her responses to callers' requests for personal advice and has occasionally featured her short monologues on social and political topics...

. While WSJS aired Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...

, WSML had Paul Harvey
Paul Harvey
Paul Harvey Aurandt , better known as Paul Harvey, was an American radio broadcaster for the ABC Radio Networks. He broadcast News and Comment on weekday mornings and mid-days, and at noon on Saturdays, as well as his famous The Rest of the Story segments. His listening audience was estimated, at...

 and religious
Christian radio
Christian radio is a category of radio formats that focus on transmitting programming with a Christian message. In the United States, where it is more established, many such broadcasters play popular music of Christian influence, though many programs have talk or news programming covering...

 programming. WSJS aired UNC
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...

 football and basketball, while WSML carried N.C. State
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...

. Dunn left WSJS/WSML after a year because new station management wanted more of a focus on political talk.

WSML was the only area station airing the NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

 Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League , and play their home games at the 18,680-seat RBC Center...

 early in the 1998-99 season. WSJS had the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...

 and the NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

 Charlotte Hornets, but the NBA lockout
Lockout (industry)
A lockout is a work stoppage in which an employer prevents employees from working. This is different from a strike, in which employees refuse to work.- Causes :...

 gave WSJS a reason to add the team's games later in the season.

WSJS and WTQR were sold to Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...

 in 1997.

2000s

When Clear Channel merged with AMFM, WSJS was sold to CBS Radio
CBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...

 (then called Infinity) in 2000. The Infinity purchase meant WSJS dropped Paul Harvey and added Charles Osgood
Charles Osgood
Charles Osgood is a radio and television commentator in the United States. His daily program, The Osgood File, has been broadcast on the CBS Radio Network since 1971. He is also known for being the voice of the narrator of Horton Hears a Who!, an animated film released in 2008, based on the book...

 and The Dan Rather
Dan Rather
Daniel Irvin "Dan" Rather, Jr. is an American journalist and the former news anchor for the CBS Evening News. He is now managing editor and anchor of the television news magazine Dan Rather Reports on the cable channel HDNet. Rather was anchor of the CBS Evening News for 24 years, from March 9,...

 Report
, and that CBS newscasts replaced those from ABC Radio.

WSJS carried the Winston-Salem Warthogs
Winston-Salem Warthogs
The Winston-Salem Dash is a minor league baseball team in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA. They are a Class High-A team in the Carolina League and have been a farm team of the Chicago White Sox since 1997...

 minor league baseball
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...

 team for two seasons starting in 2003.

WSJS dropped Dr. Laura late in 2003, replacing her with Laura Ingraham
Laura Ingraham
Laura Anne Ingraham is an American radio host, author, and conservative political commentator. Her nationally syndicated talk show, The Laura Ingraham Show, airs throughout the United States on Talk Radio Network...

 in the late morning slot; Ingraham had been on WSJS late at night.

Beth Ann McBride was a producer and assistant continuity director in 2002 and 2003, and she became producer of the Don and Mike Show before returning to WSJS in December 2005 as program director and afternoon host, replacing Fenley.

On February 14, 2007, WSJS (along with its sister station WMFR
WMFR
WMFR is a radio station broadcasting a sports radio format. Licensed to High Point, North Carolina, USA, the station serves the Piedmont Triad area. The station is currently owned by Curtis Media Group and features programing from ESPN Radio.-History:WMFR signed on October 15, 1935 by the Lambeth...

 and simulcast partner WSML) was sold by CBS to Raleigh-based Curtis Media Group
Curtis Media Group
Curtis Media Group is a broadcast media company based in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. The company owns and operates several North Carolina radio stations and four radio networks.-AM:*WPTF 680 AM *WQDR 570 AM...

. This move marries WSJS with FM news/talk station WZTK, which covers both the Triad and Triangle (as well as southern Virginia and as far south as Fayetteville).

This was the beginning of big changes at WSJS during 2007. McBride left her jobs as program director and host of the afternoon show "The Ride with McBride" in order to "pursue other opportunities." News director Costner had already left the station for News 14 Carolina
News 14 Carolina
News 14 Carolina is a 24-hour cable news service offered in North Carolina, USA, by Time Warner Cable on its cable TV systems in the state. There are News 14 Carolina television channels in Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, and Wilmington each primarily with local news but some local programming...

 late in 2006. Ed Skurka, news director for Clear Channel's Greensboro-area stations, became WSJS/WMFR news anchor.

Also in 2007, Brian Freeman became news and programming director, as well as morning host, replacing Scott, who announced his retirement May 14. Freeman had worked six years in Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...

, and in Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...

, Baltimore, Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, and Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

. Smith Patterson and J. R. Snider remained a part of the show. Among Freeman's changes was the addition of high school football games from outside Forsyth County
Forsyth County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 306,067 people, 123,851 households, and 81,741 families residing in the county. The population density was 747 people per square mile . There were 133,093 housing units at an average density of 325 per square mile...

. Only one game during the 2007 season was between two forsyth teams, though some of the others were between a Forsyth team and an out-of-county team. But Freeman wanted WSJS to cover the entire area, and the station had always had listeners in Greensboro.

Freeman left WSJS in December 2009 for sister station WPTF in Raleigh, NC where he will take over duties as program director and morning show host.

Curtis Media Group announced that WSJS/WSML will no longer carry The Rush Limbaugh Show
The Rush Limbaugh Show
The Rush Limbaugh Show is an American talk radio show hosted by Rush Limbaugh on Premiere Radio Networks...

 after December 31.

The WSJS simulcast on WSML ended on July 15, 2010, after WSML began carrying a sports radio
Sports radio
Sports radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A popular format with an almost exclusively male demographic in most areas, sports radio is characterized by an often-boisterous on-air style and extensive debate and analysis by both hosts and...

 format in tandem with WMFR and WCOG.
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