WWWH (1230 AM) was a 1,000-watt radio station licensed to serve the

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, villag ...

Haleyville, Alabama Haleyville is a city in Winston and Marion counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. It incorporated on February 28, 1889. Most of the city is located in Winston County, with a small portion of the western limits entering Marion County. Haleyville ...

, United States. The station, established in 1949 as WJBB, was owned by AMS Radio, LLC. It last broadcast a news/

talk radio 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. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

format to

Winston Winston may refer to: Places Antarctica * Winston Glacier Australia * Winston, Queensland, a suburb of the City of Mount Isa United Kingdom * Winston, County Durham, England, a village * Winston, Suffolk, England, a village and civil pa ...

Marion Marion may refer to: People *Marion (given name) * Marion (surname) *Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion" *Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992) Places Antarctica * Mari ...

and

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral di ...

counties.

History

This station was assigned

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 assig ...

WJBB in 1949 by the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisd ...

(FCC) and began operating with just 250 watts of power. From 1951 though November 2011, the station was owned by the Slatton family. John Lewis Slatton was the president of The Haleyville Broadcasting Company, Inc., and general manager of WJBB (1230 AM) and its sister station WJBB-FM (92.7) until his death in 2008. In 1986, Slatton was named ABA Broadcaster of the Year by the Alabama Broadcasters Association for his work with WJBB-AM/FM. Slatton's son, Terry Slatton, managed the station in later years. In October 2011, The Haleyville Broadcasting Company, Inc., reached an agreement to transfer the

broadcast license A broadcast license is a type of spectrum license granting the licensee permission to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes. The licenses generally include restrictions, which vary ...

s for WJBB and WJBB-FM to AMS Radio, LLC, for a combined price of $90,000. The new company was owned by Timothy and Emily A. Smyder of

Marietta, Georgia Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth largest ...

. The FCC approved the deal on November 29, 2011, and formal consummation of the transaction took place the next day. The new owners had the stations'

call signs 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 assign ...

changed to WWWH and WWWH-FM, respectively, on December 7, 2011. Through December 31, 2011, this station aired a

full service Full service or Full Service may refer to: * Full-service radio, a wide range of programming * Full Service Network, a communications company Entertainment * "Full Service", a song by the New Kids on the Block from their album ''The Block'' * Fu ...

"Good News Radio" format branded as "The Light". This included

southern gospel Southern gospel music is a genre of Christian music. Its name comes from its origins in the southeastern United States. Its lyrics are written to express either personal or a communal faith regarding biblical teachings and Christian life, a ...

music, live and local disc jockeys, plus local news, farm reports, community bulletins, political coverage, and other northwest Alabama happenings and events. The station aired Haleyville High School varsity football plus varsity boys and girls basketball live. The station was an affiliate of the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...

college sports network. The station flipped from full-service southern gospel to news/talk on January 1, 2012. Weekday "NewsTalk 1230" programming included "3WH Mornings" with a mix of news and information, business news from the

MarketWatch MarketWatch is a website that provides financial information, business news, analysis, and stock market data. Along with ''The Wall Street Journal'' and '' Barron's'', it is a subsidiary of Dow Jones & Company, a property of News Corp. His ...

radio network, plus talk shows hosted by

Dennis Miller Dennis Michael Miller (born November 3, 1953) is an American talk show host, political commentator, sports commentator, actor, and comedian. He was a cast member of ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1985 to 1991, and he subsequently hosted a strin ...

Michael Smerconish Michael Andrew Smerconish ( ; born March 15, 1962) is an American radio host and television presenter, political commentator, newspaper columnist, author, and lawyer. He broadcasts ''The Michael Smerconish Program'' weekdays at 9:00 a.m. ET ...

, and

Jim Bohannon James Everett Bohannon (January 7, 1944 – November 12, 2022) was an American broadcaster who worked in both television and radio. He is best known for hosting the nationally syndicated late night radio talk show ''The Jim Bohannon Show'' origi ...

. On February 1, 2015, WWWH went silent. On July 27, 2015, WWWH turned in its license to the FCC; the FCC cancelled the license and deleted the WWWH call sign on August 4, 2015.

References

External links

Facility details for Facility ID 25850 (WWWH)
in the FCC Licensing and Management System
FCC History Cards for WWWH
(covering 1948-1980 as WJBB) WWH Radio stations established in 1949 1949 establishments in Alabama Defunct radio stations in the United States Radio stations disestablished in 2015 2015 disestablishments in Alabama WWH {{Alabama-radio-station-stub