WIBW-FM (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 ...

) 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 ...

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeastern Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2020 cen ...

. It is owned by

Alpha Media Alpha Media LLC is a radio broadcasting company based in Portland, Oregon, and led by Bob Proffitt. The group does business under the Alpha Media name. It was formed from the merger of Alpha Broadcasting, L&L Broadcasting, and Main Line Broadc ...

and airs a

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

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, ...

. The

studio A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal. Types Art The studio of any artist, esp ...

s and offices are on SW Executive Drive in Topeka. The

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 ...

is off Windy Hill Road in Maple Hill. WIBW-FM broadcasts at 100,000

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. The station serves as the primary

Emergency Alert System The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is a Emergency population warning, national warning system in the United States designed to allow authorized officials to broadcast emergency alerts and warning messages to the public via Cable television, cable ...

station for the state of Kansas along with

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 ...

KTPK KTPK (106.9 FM broadcasting, FM) is a radio station broadcasting a classic country format and is branded as "Country 106.9". The station is located in Topeka, Kansas, where it is licensed. The station is owned by Alpha Media. History KTPK si ...

. WIBW-FM, along with co-owned WIBW and one-time sister station

WIBW-TV WIBW-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Topeka, Kansas, United States, affiliated with CBS and MyNetworkTV. Owned by Gray Media, the station maintains studios on Commerce Place (next to the interchange of Interstate 70 in Kansas, I-70, I ...

, are unusual in having

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 ...

s beginning with a "W", while all other stations in Kansas have "K" call signs. The reason is that the AM station was originally established in

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

in 1925, a state in W territory. WIBW kept its call letters when it moved to Topeka, which it has kept to this day. In addition, 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 ...

allows co-owned FM and TV stations to share the same call sign, even if the call letters do not conform to current policy for that state.

History

Rock and Top 40 days

On September 1, 1961, WIBW-FM

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 at 97.3 MHz. It was owned by the Topeka Broadcasting Association, a subsidiary of Stauffer Publications. The company also owned WIBW (580 AM) and

, along with a daily newspaper, ''

The Topeka Capital-Journal ''The Topeka Capital-Journal'' is a daily newspaper in Topeka, Kansas, owned by Gannett. History The paper was formed following numerous name changes and mergers, including the merger of ''The Topeka Daily Capital'' and ''The Topeka State Jou ...

''. At first, WIBW-FM

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) ...

the AM station, though in the late 1960s, the FCC was encouraging AM-FM radio stations to offer different programming. WIBW-FM switched to an

album rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM broadcasting, FM radio format created in the United States in the late 1960s that focuses on the full repertoire of Rock music, rock albums and is currently associated ...

format known as "Rock 97 and "The Rock of Kansas". Over time, the rock hits format moved in the direction of

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 ...

, promoted as "97fm". The FM studio was across the hall from the control room which managed both the AM station and the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

radio network when WIBW held the baseball team's broadcast rights.WIBW-FM History
/ref>

Country music

In 1990, WIBW-FM flipped to country music. The station became known for a bright red remote truck which looked like a

boombox A boombox is a transistorized portable music player featuring one or two cassette tape players/recorders and AM/FM radio, generally with a carrying handle. Beginning in the mid-1990s, a CD player was often included. Sound is delivered thro ...

. The WIBW-AM-FM-TV studios for decades were located at 5600 SW 6th in West Topeka. That building received heavy damage from a fire on January 5, 2012.WIBW stations old building receives heavy damage from January 2012 Fire
/ref> Until 2002, WIBW-FM was located at 97.3 MHz. The station moved its frequency to 94.5 MHz to make way for a new move-in station in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

St. Jude's Hospital and other events

Each year, WIBW-FM holds a

radiothon A telethon (a portmanteau of "television" and "marathon") is a televised fundraising event that lasts many hours or days, the purpose of which is to raise money for a charitable, political or other cause. Most telethons feature heavy solicitatio ...

where all proceeds go to

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is a pediatric treatment and research hospital headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded by entertainer Danny Thomas in 1962, it is a 501(c)(3) designated nonprofit medical corporation which focuses on chi ...

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

. It is usually run on a Thursday and Friday in February, from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., at a

Hy-Vee Hy-Vee, Inc. (), is an employee-owned chain of supermarkets in the Midwestern and Southern United States, with more than 280 locations in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin, with stores planned in ...

supermarket at 29th and Wanamaker in Topeka. DJs do there programs from the store. Interviews are conducted with "ambassador families" during the broadcast, telling how they benefited from the St. Jude's Hospital. WIBW-FM also sponsors the annual

Country Stampede Music Festival The Country Stampede Music Festival in Kansas is an outdoor country music and camping festival held at Azura Amphitheater in Bonner Springs, Kansas. The festival has been held annually in Kansas since 1996 in country music, 1996, usually on the las ...

, where all proceeds go to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Notes

References

External links

* {{coord, 39.0261, N, 95.9172, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title μ Country radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1961 Alpha Media radio stations 1961 establishments in Kansas