WFOY (1240 AM) is a

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...

broadcasting a

News/talk Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

format. Licensed to St. Augustine, Florida, United States, the station is currently owned by Local Matters Broadcasting. The station is repeated in St. Augustine on translator W271CJ (102.1 FM).

History

Considered to be the oldest radio station in St. Augustine, WFOY signed on at 15:45 on Thursday, February 11, 1937 on 1210 kHz at a power of 100 watts, despite claims that the station started July 7, 1936 (more likely the 1936 date is when the construction permit was issued). WFOY was originally owned by the operators of the Fountain of Youth park, where the station remained until March 12, 2003 (although the park and radio station parted owners). With the

NARBA The North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA, es, Convenio Regional Norteamericano de Radiodifusión) refers to a series of international treaties that defined technical standards for AM band (mediumwave) radio stations. These agreem ...

shift of 1941, WFOY shifted from 1210 to 1240 kHz (the new home of all stations formerly on 1210). Over the years WFOY gained power increases to 250 watts (first in the daytime only, then continuously) and then 1,000 watts (again, daytime only at first, then continuously). When WFOY vacated its property to move to the WAOC building, it had to reduce power to 580 watts to avoid interfering with

WIYD WIYD (1260 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a Classic Country radio format. It is licensed to Palatka, Florida, and is currently owned by Natkim Radio, LLC. It features programming from Westwood One. The FCC The Federal Communications C ...

/1260 in Palatka and other stations on or around 1240. In August 1965, WFOY added FM service on 97.7 MHz, which was primarily a simulcast of WFOY. With Shull Broadcasting taking possession of WFOY & WFOY-FM in April 1984, the FM became WUVU "View 97.7 FM" with a rock format. WUVU was sold in 1992 when it increased power to 50 kW and shifted frequency to 97.9 MHz. Today, this station is

WKSL WKSL (97.9 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Neptune Beach, Florida, broadcasting to the Jacksonville metropolitan area. The station is owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. WKSL airs a Top 40/CHR radio format. WKSL carrie ...

"97.9 KISS FM" and is owned by iHeartMedia. FM service returned to the site in 1993 when

Flagler College Flagler College is a private liberal arts college in St. Augustine, Florida. It was founded in 1968 and offers 33 undergraduate majors and one master's program. It also has a campus in Tallahassee. History Founded in 1968, the campus comprises ...

's WFCF/88.5 began broadcasting. Shull Broadcasting bought competing AM station

WAOC WAOC (1420 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a Christian talk and teaching format. Licensed to St. Augustine, Florida, United States, the station serves the Jacksonville area. The station is currently owned Good Tidings Trust, Inc. FM tran ...

/1420 in 2002 and sold off WFOY's property at 1 Radio Road in St. Augustine to developers. WFOY moved its studios and transmitter to the WAOC building at 567 Lewis Point Road Extension from where WAOC, WAYL and WSJF transmit. WFCF moved to its own property where it was able to increase power to 10 kW (Class C3) up from the previously authorized 6 kW (full Class A). On July 1, 2006, the station began streaming on the Internet. Also in 2006, an article appeared in the St. Augustine Record about Shull Broadcasting's sale of the station (along with WAOC) to Florida-based Phillips Broadcasting, a minority-owned broadcasting company owned by Kristine Phillips. On August 5, 2021, Phillips Broadcasting filed an application with the FCC to assign its authorization to operate WFOY and W271CJ to Local Matters Broadcasting. One week later, on August 12, 2021, Phillips Broadcasting owner Kristine Phillips died after a long illness. On December 2, 2021, radio industry publication AllAccess.com reported that Phillips Broadcasting closed on the sale of WFOY and W271CJ to Local Matters Broadcasting for $1,000.

Famous alumni

Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...

(his sermons were aired on the station around 1938). *

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

(disc jockey/studio musician in the 1940s).

Programming

WFOY had been an affiliate of CBS Radio from 1940 to 2006 and rejoined the network in 2012. Today it broadcasts a news/talk format including

Dave Ramsey David Lawrence Ramsey III (born September 3, 1960) is an American personal finance personality, radio show host, author, and businessman. An evangelical Christian, he hosts the nationally syndicated radio program ''The Ramsey Show''. Ramsey has ...

Dan Bongino Daniel John Bongino (born December 4, 1974) is an American conservative political commentator, radio show host, and author. He served as a New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer from 1995 to 1999 and as a Secret Service agent from 1999 ...

Chris Plante Chris Plante (born December 12, 1959) is a syndicated radio talk show host, based at WMAL Radio in Washington D.C., and heard on the Westwood One Network. He is also a frequent guest on both Fox News and Fox Business. Chris Plante is the s ...

Gordon Deal Gordon Deal is an American talk radio host for the nationally syndicated wake-up show '' This Morning, America's First News with Gordon Deal'', previously called ''The Wall Street Journal This Morning''. Prior to working at ''The Wall Street Jour ...

and other talk programming. WFOY is the radio home of the St. Augustine High School Yellow Jackets football team. WFOY is an affiliate of the radio network of the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

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References

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