WFHK (1430 AM, "94.1 The River") is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

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 to

Pell City, Alabama Pell City is a city in and one of the county seats of St. Clair County, Alabama, United States, the other seat being Ashville, Alabama, Ashville. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 12,939. At the 2010 census, the c ...

, and airs 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 ...

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...

. It is owned by Stocks Broadcasting, Inc., with studios on Cogswell Avenue (

U.S. Route 78 U.S. Route 78 (US 78) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that runs for from Swifton, Arkansas, to Charleston, South Carolina. From Byhalia, Mississippi to Graysville, Alabama, US 78 runs concurrently with Inte ...

) in Pell City. WFHK is a

daytimer A clear-channel station is a North American AM radio station that has the highest level of protection from interference from other stations, particularly from nighttime skywave signals. This classification exists to ensure the viability of cross ...

radio station. By day, it is powered at 5,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s using a

non-directional antenna In radio communication, an omnidirectional antenna is a class of antenna which radiates equal radio power in all directions perpendicular to an axis (azimuthal directions), with power varying with angle to the axis (elevation angle), declining t ...

. But to protect other stations on

1430 AM The following radio broadcasting, radio stations broadcast on AM broadcasting, AM frequency 1430 kHz: 1430 AM is a regional broadcast frequency, as classified by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission and the Canadian Radio-television and ...

from interference, it must go off the air at night. Programming is heard around the clock on 250-watt

FM translator A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater ( two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tr ...

W231CW at 94.1

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

. The primary coverage area of the AM signal includes St. Clair, Talladega and Shelby Counties. With a good radio, the AM station can be heard in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

Programming

WFHK plays AC hits of the 1970s, 80s, 90s and 2000s. The morning show is hosted by long-time radio partners John Simpson and Adam Stocks. Stocks is also the owner of Stocks Broadcasting, Inc. The two have been together on WFHK since 2000. John Simpson is on in middays, Adam Stocks covers afternoon

drive time Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this c ...

and Jeremy Gossett is heard in the evening. On Saturday, Jennifer Jones hosts a 30-minute " Swap Shop" where callers buy, sell, trade and announce yard sales. Swap Shop has been running on WFHK since 1956. Birmingham radio veteran and television voice over talent Jim Lucas is on air the rest of the day. On Sundays, WFHK airs the 1980s edition of ''

Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 ''Rick Dees Weekly Top 40'' (sometimes known as ''The Weekly Top 40'') is an internationally syndicated radio program created and hosted by American radio personality Rick Dees. It is currently heard on over 200 radio stations worldwide. It is ...

'', a popular countdown show.

History

Early years

The station was granted its original

construction permit Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to bu ...

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 November 2, 1955. WFHK

signed on A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio broadcasting, radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonw ...

the air on . In February 1999, St. Clair Broadcasting System, Inc. (Betty Williamson, president) reached an agreement to sell WFHK to Williamson Broadcasting, Inc. (Douglas Williamson, president). The station sold for a reported $10,000. The deal was approved by the FCC on April 14, 1999, and the transaction was consummated on May 14, 1999.

Stocks Broadcasting

In January 2001, Williamson Broadcasting, Inc., reached an agreement to sell WFHK to Stocks Broadcasting, Inc. The station sold for a reported $275,000. The deal was approved by the FCC on February 27, 2001, and the transaction was consummated on March 1, 2001. Stocks Broadcasting owner Adam Stocks was elected mayor of Pell City in 2004. On February 11, 2015, WFHK began

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...

ing on FM translator W231CW. Using the FM dial position, it changed its moniker to "94.1 FM The River".

Awards and honors

In October 2001, WFHK was named Small Business of the Year for 2001 by the Greater Pell City Chamber of Commerce.

References

External links

WFHK official website94.1 The River Facebook
* * {{Daytime-only radio stations in Alabama FHK Mainstream adult contemporary radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1956 St. Clair County, Alabama 1956 establishments in Alabama FHK