WACT (1420
AM, "96.9 My FM") is a
radio station
Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting 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 rad ...
licensed
A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit).
A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...
to serve
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal Plain, Gulf Coastal and Piedmont (United States), Piedm ...
, United States. The station, founded in
1958
Events
January
* January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being.
* January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
* January 4
** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...
, is currently owned by
iHeartMedia, Inc. and the license is held by iHM Licenses, LLC.
Programming
WACT broadcasts an
adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
format.
WACT also broadcasts games of the
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...
, from that
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
team's region-wide
radio network
There are two types of radio network currently in use around the world: the one-to-many (simplex communication) broadcast network commonly used for public information and mass media, mass-media entertainment, and the two-way radio (Duplex (teleco ...
.
Notable former weekday programs included a local morning show hosted by Steve Shannon and Leah Brandon as well as a regional afternoon talk show hosted by Dominick Brascia. Syndicated programming on WACT once included shows hosted by
Rick and Bubba
''The Rick and Bubba Show'' was an American comedy radio show based in Birmingham, Alabama. Nationally syndicated and produced at WZZK-FM, the show was live every weekday for five hours and was hosted by Rick Burgess and Bill "Bubba" Bussey.
...
,
Michael Savage
Michael Alan Weiner (born March 31, 1942) known by his professional name Michael Savage, is an American author, political commentator, activist, and former radio host. Savage is best known as the host of '' The Savage Nation'', a nationally ...
,
Clark Howard
Clark Brian Howard (born June 20, 1955) is an American author and radio/podcast host, focused primarily on personal finance, consumer protection, and related topics. He has hosted ''The Clark Howard Show,'' which began in 1989 and has lasted ov ...
, and
Phil Hendrie
Philip Stephen Hendrie is an American radio personality and actor. He is widely known for his voiceover talent throughout the radio and film industry. He came to prominence in the 1990s hosting '' The Phil Hendrie Show'', a radio talk show where h ...
.
On April 5, 2018, MYFM started airing nationally syndicated, ''
The Kidd Kraddick Morning Show
''The Kidd Kraddick Morning Show'' (formerly ''Kidd Kraddick in the Morning'') is an American ensemble morning radio show that originates from Dallas, Texas. The show is heard weekday mornings on flagship station, KHKS, and on dozens of othe ...
''.
History
WACT signed on the air in 1958 as an AM only, but in 1964 added 105.5 WACT FM. Clyde Price founded the stations under New South Radio, Inc. He owned and worked on-air WACT until his retirement in 1993. He was relieved as morning man by his oldest son Wally Price, who has been a personality in Tuscaloosa radio since the early 1970s. Price began his career at WKUL in Cullman, AL. He graduated from the University of Alabama School of Communication in 1952. WACT AM/FM was family-owned for forty years.
Known as WACT for 50 years from September 1958 to September 2008, the station was assigned the call letters WENN by the
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...
on September 18, 2008.
The station aired a
sports
Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...
format as "1420 The Tusk".
The WACT callsign was restored on February 25, 2009.
This change accompanied a change to a news/talk format and rebranding as "News Radio 1420".
On October 29, 2012 WACT changed their format to comedy, branded as "Comedy 1420".
On August 11, 2014 WACT changed their format to urban gospel, branded as "Hallelujah 1420".
In March 2015 WACT changed their format to adult contemporary, branded as "96.9 My FM" (simulcast on FM translator W245BR 96.9 FM Tuscaloosa).
References
External links
*
*
{{IHeartMedia
ACT
Radio stations established in 1958
Tuscaloosa County, Alabama
1958 establishments in Alabama
IHeartMedia radio stations
Mainstream adult contemporary radio stations in the United States