WPFR is a Christian radio station licensed to Terre Haute, Indiana, broadcasting on 1480 kHz AM. The station is owned by American Hope Communications.

History

The station began broadcasting January 6, 1948, and originally held the call letters WTHI. The station ran 1,000 watts 24 hours a day. In 1970, the station's daytime power was increased to 5,000 watts. WTHI AM 1480, along with

WTHI-FM WTHI-FM (99.9 MHz; "HI-99") is a radio station running a country music format in Terre Haute, Indiana. The station's studios and broadcast tower are located along Ohio Street in downtown Terre Haute. The station is owned by Midwest Communication ...

, and

WTHI-TV WTHI-TV (channel 10) is a television station in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States, affiliated with CBS, Fox, MyNetworkTV and The CW Plus. Owned by Allen Media Broadcasting, the station has studios on 8th and Ohio Streets in downtown Terre Hau ...

were long owned by

Tony Hulman Anton "Tony" Hulman Jr. (February 11, 1901 – October 27, 1977) was an American businessman from Terre Haute, Indiana, who bought the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1945 and brought racing back to the famous race course after a four-year hiatu ...

, and remained in his family's hands until 1998, when all three stations were sold to

Emmis Communications Emmis Communications is an American media conglomerate based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Emmis, based on the Hebrew word for Truth (Emet) was founded by Jeff Smulyan in 1980. Emmis has owned many radio stations, including KPWR and WQHT, which h ...

.Fybush, Scott.
Terre Haute, Indiana (Part I)
, fybush.com. June 2, 2006. Retrieved October 21, 2018. WTHI aired a

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

format from the mid-1960s until January 1974, when the station adopted a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

format. By 1983, the station had adopted a MOR format.
Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1983
', Broadcasting/Cablecasting, 1983. p. B-85. Retrieved October 21, 2018. By 1988, the station had begun airing an

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as ...

format.
Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1988
', Broadcasting/Cablecasting, 1988. p. B-100. Retrieved October 21, 2018. By 1991, the station had returned to airing a country music format, simulcasting 99.9

. The station adopted 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 in 1992. As a news-talk station, WTHI was Terre Haute's home for prominent national personalities such as

Rush Limbaugh Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( ; January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021) was an American conservative political commentator who was the host of '' The Rush Limbaugh Show'', which first aired in 1984 and was nationally syndicated on AM and FM r ...

and

Paul Harvey Paul Harvey Aurandt (September 4, 1918 – February 28, 2009) was an American radio broadcaster for ABC News Radio. He broadcast ''News and Comment'' on mornings and mid-days on weekdays and at noon on Saturdays and also his famous '' The Rest ...

, as well as ''

The Bob & Tom Show ''The Bob & Tom Show'' is a syndicated US radio program established by Bob Kevoian and Tom Griswold at radio station WFBQ in Indianapolis, Indiana, March 7, 1983, and syndicated nationally since January 6, 1995. Originally syndicated by Premier ...

''. The station also carried ''The Mike Pence Show'', a statewide talk show which Pence hosted prior to his election to congress. In 2000, the station was donated to Word Power, Inc., and its call sign was changed to WPFR, with the station adopting a Christian format.
Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2001
',

Broadcasting & Cable ''Broadcasting & Cable'' (or ''Broadcasting+Cable'') is a weekly telecommunications industry trade magazine published by Future US. Previous names included ''Broadcasting-Telecasting'', ''Broadcasting and Broadcast Advertising'', and ''Broadcas ...

, 2001. p. D-159. Retrieved October 21, 2018. The station was taken off the air in March 2020. In 2021, it was sold to American Hope Communications, along with WKZI, WLHW,

WPFR-FM WPFR-FM is a Christian radio station licensed to Clinton, Indiana Clinton is a city in Clinton Township, Vermillion County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 4,893 at the 2010 census. History The city was established in 182 ...

, and three translators, for $179,000.Hoosier Group Spun To Hopeful New Owner
, ''Radio & Television Business Report''. April 2, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2022.

References

External links

{{Religious Radio Stations in Indiana PFR PFR PFR Moody Radio affiliate stations Radio stations established in 1948 1948 establishments in Indiana