WSML (1200
AM) 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 ...
located in
Graham, North Carolina. The station airs a
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
format branded as ''Maverick 95.1-94.3''.
History
WSML signed on December 2, 1967,
as a
daytimer operating at 1190 AM, owned by Smiles of Graham, Inc.
In its early years, the station had a
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 ...
format, but by 1970 it had become a
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
station.
This gave way to a
rock music
Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...
format by 1973,
and a blend of country and rock soon thereafter.
By 1975, WSML had integrated
beautiful music into the format and cut back its country music programming;
however, after a sale of the station to Acme Communications (no relation to
the current television station owner) in 1976, it reverted to a full-time country music format.
In 1981, the station was sold to Graycasting, Inc.
and became WWOK;
a year later, Evans Communications Corporation took over the station
and reinstated the WSML call sign.
By this time, the station had added
religious programming to its country music format;
religion had become its full-time format by 1987, after having been acquired by Gray Broadcasting Company (unrelated to
Gray Television) two years earlier.
WSML moved to 1200 AM in 1991, allowing the station to begin 24-hour operation.
By the 1990s, programming consisted of
gospel music
Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...
.
What had become Graycasting Media sold WSML to
Clear Channel Communications in 1998.
Clear Channel converted the station to 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, largely simulcasting sister station
WSJS from
Winston-Salem; this filled in a gap in WSJS' coverage of Greensboro and the eastern part of the
Piedmont Triad (especially at night). There was some separate programming — predominantly
NC State Wolfpack sports and Sunday morning programming.
After Clear Channel was forced to divest some of its stations in order to merge with AMFM Broadcasting, WSML and WSJS were sold in 2000 to
Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, which also purchased WMFR from AMFM.
(which Infinity became in 2005), in turn, sold the three stations to Curtis Media Group in 2007.
Curtis dropped the WSJS simulcast from WSML on July 15, 2010, replacing it with sports radio programming.
Effective February 11, 2019, Curtis Media Group sold WSML and translators W232DT and W236BQ to Alamance Media Partners, Inc. for $397,500.
Translators
References
External links
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{{Country Radio Stations in North Carolina
SML
Radio stations established in 1967
Country radio stations in the United States
1967 establishments in North Carolina
Alamance County, North Carolina