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WNRP
File:WNRP logo.png
Broadcast areaPensacola, Florida
Frequency1620 kHz
BrandingNewsRadio 1620
Programming
FormatNews/Talk
AffiliationsFox News Radio, Fox Sports Radio, Seminole ISP Sports Network
Ownership
OwnerADX Communications of Escambia
History
First air date
December 17, 1949[1]
Former call signs
WPHG (1997-2002)
WPNS (2002-2003)
WBUB (2003-2004)[2]
Call sign meaning
News Radio Pensacola
Technical information
Facility ID87034
ClassB
Power10,000 watts day
1,000 watts night
Transmitter coordinates
30°26′12.00″N 87°13′13.00″W / 30.4366667°N 87.2202778°W / 30.4366667; -87.2202778
Links
WebcastListen Live
WebsiteNewsRadio1620.com

WNRP (1620 AM, "NewsRadio 1620") is a radio station licensed to Gulf Breeze, Florida, USA and serving the Pensacola area. The station is owned by ADX Communications of Escambia.

Programming

WNRP broadcasts a news/talk radio format to the greater Pensacola, Florida, area.[3] The station features hourly news programing from Fox News Radio around the clock and has local news twice an hour on weekdays from 6am to 9pm.

NewsRadio 1620 has live local talent including Andrew McKay, Rob Williams & Wendi Summers. The station features daily commentary from comedian, humorist, and political insider T. Bubba Bechtol in mornings and afternoons. Notable syndicated hosts include comedian Brian Kilmeade on mid-days, financial adviser Dave Ramsey on early afternoons, and Lars Larson.

NewsRadio 1620 also carries live sports including Pensacola Blue Wahoos the AA affiliate team of the Cincinnati Reds, Florida State University football and basketball, The station previously aired the games of the Pensacola Pelicans baseball team and of the Pensacola Ice Pilots hockey team until the ECHL terminated the team's franchise after the 2007-2008 season.[4]

History

The beginning

This station was first constructed at WATM in Atmore, Alabama, broadcasting with 250 watts of power on 1580 kHz.[5] The station, owned by the Southland Broadcasting Company, moved to 1590 kHz to accommodate a power increase to 1,000 watts in 1956.[6] Southland Broadcasting was owned by local broadcaster Tom Miniard and his wife Ernestine.[7] In 1959, the station upgraded to a 5,000 watt signal.[8] This frequency, signal power, and ownership would be maintained unchanged for another two decades.[1]

The station was sold in the early 1980s and changed callsigns to WSKR on May 5, 1986.[9] The "Kicker" changed callsigns again on December 7, 1987, this time to WIZD, and began simulcasting its FM sister station.[9]

Months later, the station was sold off to a religious group, the Maranatha Ministries Foundation, who had the FCC change the callsign to WGYJ on March 2, 1988.[9] The new callsign was said to stand for "We Give You Jesus".[10]

Expanded band

The Maranatha Ministries Foundation, licensee of WGYJ in Atmore, Alabama, applied for an expanded band frequency at 1620 kHz in June 1997 and this station received its original construction permit from the Federal Communications Commission on October 6, 1997.[11] The new station, with Atmore, Alabama, as its community of license, was assigned the call letters WPHG by the FCC on November 12, 1997.[2] The callsign was said to stand for "We Proclaim His Glory".[10][12] By February 1998, the station had begun broadcast operations while its license application was pending. With the expanded band station on the air, WGYJ handed in its broadcast license on September 11, 1998, and went off the air forever.[9]

In September 2000, Maranatha Ministries Foundation, Inc., reached an agreement to sell this station to ADX Communications of Escambia LLC. (WPHG-FM, the FM sister station, was sold to a different group at the same time.)[13] The deal was approved by the FCC on November 16, 2000, and the transaction was consummated on March 5, 2001.[14]

Move to Florida

In October 2000, with the sale pending, the permit holder petitioned the FCC to change the station's community of license to Gulf Breeze, Florida, so that it could better serve the more lucrative Pensacola, Florida, area. The FCC finally granted a construction permit for this move on July 10, 2002.[15] With the move approved, the station applied to the FCC for new call letters and on August 19, 2002, was assigned WPNS to reflect the new Pensacola orientation.[2] On March 21, 2003, the station switched callsigns to WBUB then again on July 27, 2004, to the current WNRP.[2]

After a move across state lines, an ownership change, several formats and callsign changes, and more than eight years, WNRP finally received its license to cover from the FCC on August 3, 2005.[16] In late 2005, Dave and Mary Hoxeng debuted "Classic Country AM1620" with live personalities including Pensacola native and Nashville legend Larry Butler.

WNRP today

In September 2007, NewsRadio 1620 was created with priorities of live talk and local talk as well as Fox Radio News twice an hour. NewsRadio 1620 is locally owned and operated. Its sister station is CatCountry 98.7 which is licensed to Pensacola, Florida.

Awards and honors

WATM aired a diverse format over the years before settling on a full-service country music in the 1970s. As a country station, WATM on-air personality Cindy Welch was nominated for a Country Music Association Award as "Small Market Broadcast Personality of the Year" in 1980.[17]

NewsRadio 1620 has won several national awards: Associated Press (AP) Radio News Awards (2010, 2012) and Edward R. Morrow Radio Awards (2010 (for coverage of the Billings murders), 2011 (for coverage of the Deepwater-Horizon oil spill), 2014 (for the floods of April 2013) NewsRadio 1620 was a finalist for the NAB Crystal Awards for Community Service in both 2010 and 2012.

Notable alumni

Longtime University of New Mexico sports broadcaster Mike Roberts began his broadcasting career at WATM on December 6, 1951.[18][19] Roberts' first stint at WATM ended in 1952 when he joined the United States Air Force.[18] After his tour of duty, Roberts returned to WATM in 1956 where he stayed until moving on for good in 1960.[18] Roberts, now a member of the Albuquerque Sports Hall of Fame, served as the radio voice of the New Mexico Lobos for more than four decades.[18][19] New Mexico governor Bill Richardson proclaimed May 8, 2008, as "Mike Roberts Appreciation Day" in honor of his "legendary broadcasting career".[19]

References

  1. ^ a b "Directory of Radio Stations in the United States and Canada". Broadcasting Yearbook 1979. Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1979. p. C-6.
  2. ^ a b c d "1620 Call Sign History". FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database.
  3. ^ "Station Information Profile". Arbitron.
  4. ^ "Pensacola Membership Terminated" (Press release). ECHL. June 23, 2008.
  5. ^ "Directory of AM, FM, and TV Stations of the United States". Broadcasting-Telecasting 1950 Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1950. p. 69.
  6. ^ "Directory of AM and FM Stations and Market Data for the United States". 1957 Broadcasting Yearbook-Marketbook. Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1957. p. 49.
  7. ^ "Politics, casino dominate 2008". The Atmore Advance. January 5, 2009.
  8. ^ "Directory of AM and FM Radio stations in the U.S.". 1961-1962 Broadcasting Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1962. p. B-4.
  9. ^ a b c d "1580/1590 Call Sign History". FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database.
  10. ^ a b "AM Technical Profile: WNRP". Alabama Broadcast Media Page. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
  11. ^ "Application Search Details (BP-19970611AF)". FCC Media Bureau. October 6, 1997.
  12. ^ Nelson, Bob (November 30, 2008). "Call Letter Origins". The Broadcast Archive. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
  13. ^ "FMs - 2000-09-11". Broadcasting & Cable. September 11, 2000.
  14. ^ "Application Search Details (BAP-20000928ABH)". FCC Media Bureau. March 5, 2001.
  15. ^ "Application Search Details (BMAP-20001019AAA)". FCC Media Bureau. July 10, 2002.
  16. ^ "Application Search Details (BL-20031205BUA)". FCC Media Bureau. August 3, 2005.
  17. ^ "Broadcast Awards Database: Cindy Welch". Country Music Association. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
  18. ^ a b c d Reed, Ollie Jr. (October 18, 2001). "The legend". The Albuquerque Tribune. He went to broadcasting school out of high school and landed his first real broadcasting job in December of 1951 at WATM-AM in Atmore, Ala., a small town 50 miles north of Pensacola, Fla.
  19. ^ a b c "Governor Bill Richardson Proclaims Today"Mike Roberts Appreciation Day"" (pdf) (Press release). State of New Mexico. May 8, 2008.
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