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WFLA (970
kHz 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 uni ...
) 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 ...
AM
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 ...
in
Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...
, and serving the
Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater i ...
media market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television station, television and radio broadcasting, ra ...
. The station airs 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. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, interviews ...
format and is owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. The station's studios and offices are on Gandy Boulevard in South Tampa. WFLA broadcasts by day at 25,000 watts, reducing power to 11,000 watts at night. (For most of its history, from the 1940s to the early 2000s, it ran at 5,000 watts.) It uses a
directional antenna A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna that radiates or receives greater radio wave power in specific directions. Directional antennas can radiate radio waves in beams, when greater concentration of radiation in a certain directio ...
at all times. The main
transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...
site is off Montague Street in Town 'n' Country, Florida. Programming is also heard on two
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 ...
s, 94.5
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 ...
in Gulfport and 99.1 in Bayonet Point.


Programming

Weekdays on WFLA begin with a local morning program, ''The Ryan Gorman Show'' with co-host Dana McKay. The rest of the schedule features mostly nationally syndicated
Premiere Networks Premiere Networks, Inc. (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an American media company, a subsidiary of iHeartMedia, for which it currently serves as its main original radio content distribution and production arm. It is th ...
talk shows including ''
The Glenn Beck Radio Program ''The Glenn Beck Radio Program'' is an American conservative talk radio show, hosted by commentator Glenn Beck on over 400 radio stations across America, his company's own TheBlaze Radio Network, with a live television simulcast weekdays on The ...
, The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show,
The Sean Hannity Show ''The Sean Hannity Show'' is a conservative talk radio show hosted by Sean Hannity. The program is broadcast live every weekday, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET. The show is produced in the New York City studios of radio station WOR and is transmitt ...
, The Jesse Kelly Show, Our American Stories with Lee Habeeb'' and ''
Coast to Coast AM ''Coast to Coast AM'' is an American late-night radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics. Most frequently the topics relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was hosted by creator Art Bell from its inception in 198 ...
with
George Noory George Ralph Noory (born June 4, 1950) is an American talk radio, radio talk show host. Since January 2003, Noory has been the weekday host of the late-night radio talk show ''Coast to Coast AM''. The program is radio syndication, syndicated to ...
''. Weekends feature shows on money, health, boating and fishing. Some weekend shows are paid
brokered programming Brokered programming (also known as time-buy and blocktime) is a form of broadcast content in which the show's producer pays a radio or television station for air time, rather than exchanging programming for pay or the opportunity to play spot com ...
. On weekends, WFLA carries '' Sunday Nights with Bill Cunningham, Armstrong & Getty, The Ben Ferguson Show'' and '' This Morning, America's First News with Gordon Deal''. WFLA occasionally serves as an overflow outlet for sports programming from co-owned
sports radio Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sport, sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often-low comed ...
station 620
WDAE WDAE (620 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to St. Petersburg, Florida and serving the Tampa Bay area. It is owned by iHeartMedia and airs a sports radio format. WDAE is one of the oldest radio stations in Florida still broadcasti ...
. WFLA provides local newscasts on both weekdays and weekends. Evening and overnight newscasts are pre-recorded. National and world news is provided by
Fox News Radio Fox News Radio is an American radio network owned by Fox News. It is syndicated to over 500 AM and FM radio stations across the United States. It also supplies programming for three channels on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. History In 2003, ...
. WFLA provides news coverage for other iHeartMedia stations in the Tampa Bay market, and is a hub for the Florida News Network.


Other stations carrying the WFLA brand

Another Clear Channel radio station in
Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2024, the est ...
took the
call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...
WFLA-FM WFLA-FM (100.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Midway, Florida, and serving the Tallahassee metropolitan area. It broadcasts a news/talk format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The studios and offices are on John Knox Road ...
. Its sister station in the
Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...
area,
WFLF (AM) WFLF (540 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Pine Hills, Florida, and serving Greater Orlando. It is owned by iHeartMedia and airs a news/talk format. The studios and offices are in the iHeart Orlando complex in Maitland. The ...
, uses "WFLA" as its branding. Both WFLA-FM and WFLF carries many of the same nationally syndicated programming as WFLA, but all three stations have their own local shows and news. WFLF-FM also previously carried the WFLA brand and programming in
Panama City Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific Ocean, Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, i ...
until September 2021; since then, the WFLA brand has been carried by two FM translators in the area.


History

In 1925, the station first
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 ...
as WGHB in Clearwater. In 1927, its
call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...
changed to WFHH, and later that year to WFLA at 1130
kHz 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 uni ...
.


WSUN jointly licensed with WFLA as WFLA-WSUN

WSUN was first authorized in October 1927, joining WFLA at 590 kHz, with this station now assigned a dual call sign of WFLA-WSUN, under shared ownership by the Clearwater and St. Petersburg Chambers of Commerce. WSUN made its debut broadcast on November 1, using the slogan "Why Stay Up North". In 1927 WFLA-WSUN moved to 580 kHz, then to 900 kHz the next year. In 1929, radio frequencies for stations in Florida were reallocated, and WFLA-WSUN moved to 620 kHz. The station's transmitter site was originally on the north side of the Courtney Campbell Causeway near Clearwater.


First directional antenna in the United States

WFLA-WSUN's move to 620 kHz resulted in a nighttime interference complaint from another station on that frequency, WTMJ in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. WFLA-WSUN was ordered to reduce powers from 1,000 watts night and 2,500 watts day to 250 watts night and 500 watts day. Station manager Walter Tison began an investigation into whether there was a way that WFLA-WSUN could increase its nighttime power to a more acceptable level. Working with T. A. M. Craven, a British engineer, Raymond M. Wilmotte, was engaged in 1932 to construct a then-theoretical antenna system that would reduce the signal sent toward Milwaukee. The idea that a directional antenna would resolve the issue was somewhat controversial, with some doubters stating that fluctuations in the ionosphere would cause issues, while others believed that instead of going directly to Milwaukee, the WFLA-WSUN signal was actually travelling west through the Gulf of Mexico, then turning north through the Mississippi valley."History of the Directional Antenna in the Standard Broadcast Band for Purpose of Protecting Service Area of Distant Stations"
by Raymond M. Wilmotte, ''IRE Transactions on Broadcast Transmission Systems'', (Volume: PGBTS-7, Issue: 1), February 1957, pages: 51-55.
The directional antenna installation, the first in the United States, consisting of two 200 foot (61 m) towers, was successful. As an example of its effectiveness, engineer Wilmotte noted that at one point a telegram was sent from regulators in Washington asking why WFLA-WSUN was off the air, because an inspector located in Atlanta was not receiving the station when it employed the directional antenna.


WFLA and WSUN switch to separate licenses

WFLA and WSUN were
affiliate Affiliation or affiliate may refer to: * Affiliate (commerce), a legal form of entity relationship used in Business Law * Affiliation (family law), a legal form of family relationship * Affiliate marketing * Affiliate network or affiliation platfo ...
s of the
NBC Red Network The National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (also known as the NBC Red Network from 1927 to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in continuous operation from 1926 through 1999. Along with the NBC Blue Network, it wa ...
, carrying dramas, comedies, news, sports, soap operas, game shows and
big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...
broadcasts during the "
Golden Age of Radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the earl ...
". In 1937, the joint ownership of WFLA-WSUN was severed, with the two stations continuing to operate on 620 kHz using a common transmitter, but separately licensed on a time-sharing basis. WFLA was allocated full-time use of Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and shared hours on Sundays.


WFLA becomes full-time station after frequency change

In 1940, The Tribune Company was given permission to construct a full-time station on 940 kHz. Because this was technically a new station, this authorization was initially given the call sign of WKGA. However, the authorization included shutting down WFLA on 620 kHz, so when operations began on 940 kHz, the historic WFLA call sign was transferred to the new frequency. WFLA's owner also owned ''
The Tampa Tribune ''The Tampa Tribune'' was a daily newspaper published in Tampa, Florida. Along with the competing ''Tampa Bay Times'', the ''Tampa Tribune'' was one of two major newspapers published in the Tampa Bay area. The newspaper also published a ''St. P ...
''. The studios and offices were in the Seminole Building. WSUN stayed on 620 kHz, licensed to St. Petersburg (now
WDAE WDAE (620 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to St. Petersburg, Florida and serving the Tampa Bay area. It is owned by iHeartMedia and airs a sports radio format. WDAE is one of the oldest radio stations in Florida still broadcasti ...
). From 1945 to 1949, WFLA carried a southern gospel show, which featured legendary bass singer J. D. Sumner and The Sunny South Quartet. WFLA and WSUN were owned by the Clearwater and
St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...
Chambers of Congress. An advertisement in the 1950 edition of ''
Broadcasting Yearbook ''Broadcasting & Cable'' (''B&C'', or ''Broadcasting+Cable'') was a telecommunications industry monthly trade magazine and, later, news website published by Future US. Founded in 1931 as ''Broadcasting'', subsequent mergers, acquisitions and in ...
'' said that WFLA-AM-FM were the "most listened to" stations in "the heart of Florida's most heavily populated trade area".


FM and TV

WFLA added an FM station in 1948, WFLA-FM (now
WFLZ WFLZ-FM (93.3 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Tampa, Florida. It airs a contemporary hit radio (CHR/Top 40) format and is owned and operated by iHeartMedia. The station's studios and offices are located on Gandy Boulevard in South Tampa. ...
). In its early years, WFLA-FM largely
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) ...
its AM
sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...
. In the mid-to-late 1960s, it switched from
Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently 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. "To ...
to beautiful music. A television station also went on the air in 1955,
WFLA-TV WFLA-TV (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Tampa, Florida, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for the Tampa Bay area. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg–licensed The CW, C ...
, which is now owned by the
Nexstar Media Group Nexstar Media Group, Inc. is an American publicly traded media company with headquarters in Irving, Texas, Midtown Manhattan, and Chicago. The company is the largest television station owner in the United States, owning 197 television station ...
. Because WFLA-AM-FM carried NBC programming, WFLA-TV also joined the NBC Television Network. Once network programming had shifted from radio to television, WFLA began a full service middle of the road format of popular adult music, news, and sports. It later tried
Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently 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. "To ...
and
Adult Contemporary music 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, sou ...
. In the 1980s, listeners shifted to FM to hear music, so WFLA increased the news and talk programming. In 1982, WFLA hired street reporter Sam Cardinale from WPLP to make the move toward news-oriented programming. Cardinale won multiple AP and UPI awards for the station for news coverage before joining
WTVT WTVT (channel 13) is a television station licensed to Tampa, Florida, United States, serving as the Fox network outlet for the Tampa Bay area. Owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division, WTVT maintains studios on Ken ...
. In 1986, WFLA made the full transition to all-talk. It has been the market leader in this format ever since, and usually is among the top five stations in the market, according to Arbitron ratings.


Changes in ownership

Media General Media General, Inc. was an American media company based in Richmond, Virginia. The company's origins can be traced back to 1887 when Richmond attorney Joseph Bryan acquired ''The Richmond Daily Times'', which later became ''The Richmond Times-D ...
acquired the Tribune Company in the 1970s. This meant one company controlled, in Tampa, a newspaper, TV station, AM station and FM station. However, 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 ...
(FCC) were discouraging one owner from controlling so much media in one market. In the 1980s, federal regulations forced Media General to divest the radio stations because of its other holdings. The radio stations were sold to Blair Broadcasting in late 1982. Sconnix Communications of
Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...
, bought WFLA and what was then WPDS from Blair Broadcasting in 1987. Blair was divesting all of its English-language broadcasting properties to concentrate on its Spanish-language TV network,
Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It provides content ...
. Jacor Communications purchased WFLA from Sconnix in 1988. In 1989, the station moved from Jackson Street in downtown Tampa to its present location at 4002 W. Gandy Blvd., in south Tampa.
Clear Channel Communications iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc., formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc., a company founded by ...
, purchased Jacor in 1999, which included WFLA and WFLZ. Clear Channel was the forerunner of today's
iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc., formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc., a company founded by ...
.


Past personalities

WFLA gave national hosts
Glenn Beck Glenn Lee Beck (born February 10, 1964) is an American conservative political commentator, radio host, entrepreneur, and television producer. He is the CEO, founder, and owner of Mercury Radio Arts, the parent company of his television and rad ...
and Lionel their starts in talk radio. For many years, Todd Schnitt hosted the nationally syndicated ''Schnitt Show'' at WFLA. Other prominent alumni, from the days when the station concentrated on local programming, include Bob Lassiter, Jay Marvin, Dick Norman, Jack Ellery and Freddy Mertz. Other former hosts include Al Gardner, Mark Larsen, Daniel Ruth, Mark Beiro, Paul Gonzalez and Mel Berman. Over the years, AM Tampa Bay has had three female co-hosts; Sharon Taylor, who was let go after ten years, Allyson Turner, who left less than a year after she was hired, and Corey Dylan, who was promoted to her own show at sister station WMTX after four years on WFLA. Longtime news anchors and reporters Steve Hall and Sharon Parker were released in a 2019 iHeart round of layoffs. In March 2023, longtime AM Tampa Bay host Jack Harris was released from the station.InsideRadio.com "People Moves: Jack Harris" March 29, 2023
/ref> Harris had been with WFLA off and on since 1970.


Translators


References


External links

* * ( Guide to reading History Cards) (covering 1940 until 1979 for operation on 940 and 970 kHz as WKGA/WFLA) {{iHeartMedia Hillsborough County, Florida FLA (AM) News and talk radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1925 IHeartMedia radio stations 1925 establishments in Florida Shortwave radio stations in the United States