WSB (AM)

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WSB
Broadcast area	Atlanta, Georgia
Branding	NewsTalk 750
First air date	March 15, 1922
Frequency	750 kHz (analog) 97.1 MHz HD2 (digital)
Format	News/Talk
ERP	50,000 watts
Class	Class A AM Station
Callsign meaning	Welcome South Brother
Owner	Cox Radio
Website	wsbradio.com

WSB AM ("NewsTalk 750") is a Cox Radio AM radio station located in Atlanta, Georgia with a frequency of 750 kHz. It uses the slogan "News/Talk750 WSB, Atlanta's news, weather and traffic station." It is owned by, and is the flagship AM station of Cox Radio. The station is the sister property of WSB-FM (B98.5FM), WALR-FM (KISS 104.1FM), WBTS-FM (95.5 The Beat), and WSRV-FM, (97.1 The River), WSB-TV and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper. WSB-AM is a clear channel.

Although WSB itself is licensed, it is not currently broadcasting in HD Radio, WSB programming can be heard in HD radio on sister station 97.1 WSRV's HD-2 channel.

Contents 1 History 2 Currently 3 See also 4 External links

[edit] History

WSB was the first radio station in the South, and the callsign stands for "Welcome South Brother." Founded by the Atlanta Journal newspaper (once a competitor of the Atlanta Constitution, now merged), the station began broadcasting on March 15, 1922. The station was only authorized to broadcast weather bulletins at first, receiving its full license later that year. In 1927, WSB became an NBC radio affiliate; in fact, the trademark three-tone NBC chimes were first played in the WSB studios. In 1939, the Journal newspaper and WSB radio station were sold to James Middleton Cox, the founder of what would become Cox Enterprises.

Wright Bryan, a WSB news reporter as well as managing editor of the Atlanta Journal, was also a stringer for NBC during World War II. He was the first war correspondent to broadcast an eyewitness account of the D-Day invasion from London in the early hours of June 6, 1944.

Elmo Ellis, who programmed WSB in the 1950s and 1960s, is remembered fondly as an innovator among Southern broadcasters. He provided the on-air editorials for the station, and in the 1960s, consistently supported civil rights.

[edit] Currently

Two WSB talk-show hosts, "The Talkmaster" Neal Boortz and Clark Howard (consumer advice and travel), became so popular in the late 1990s that they received national syndication deals through Cox. Boortz and Howard can now be heard on talk stations across the U.S. Other on-air news and features personalities include Captain Herb Emory (traffic), Scott Slade (morning news), Kirk Mellish (weather), Walter Reeves (gardening), and Mike Kavanagh (financial).

Chris Krok presently hosts KROKTALK, airing in the 10 p.m.-2 a.m. slot. Born and raised in the Chicago area, Krok hosted radio and TV shows in Austin, Madison, Wis., Jefferson City, Mo., and Minneapolis before coming to WSB in February 2006.

In April of 2006, WSB began airing The Allen Hunt Show on Sunday nights from 6 - 8 pm. The Allen Hunt Show has a motto that "it is not about what is right or left, but what is right and wrong." The show aims to be where real life and faith come together and bridge the gap between Sean Hannity (Conservative Talk Radio) and James Dobson (Christian programming, typically on Christian stations). According to a May of 2005 Gallup poll, 85% of Americans feel their faith is important or somewhat important to their life and the Allen Hunt Show brings faith into public discussion.

WSB also airs a show hosted by Hermain Cain, the former president of Godfather's Pizza as well as the former president of the National Restaurant Association. Cain's show is syndicated to several other stations in the southeastern United States.

In addition to the local programs, WSB carries syndicated shows by Sean Hannity, Kim Komando (computing), Michael Savage, and Bill Handel (law).

Before syndication, Sean Hannity appeared locally on rival WGST in Atlanta and developed a strong local following before being hired by the Fox News Channel, and then ABC Radio. As WGST is a Clear Channel owned-and-operated station, it, of course, did not pick up his syndicated show, running its own network and local programming. Instead, WSB picked up the show, and although it airs on a one-hour delay, Hannity's show on WSB now beats WGST in the Arbitron ratings by a 5:1 ratio. Both Neal Boortz's and Clark Howard's shows were also on WGST as well in the 1980s and very early 1990s.

In a situation mirroring Hannity, now-syndicated host Phil Hendrie (now retired) was an evening host on WSB before moving to then-sister station KFI (which was sold to Clear Channel in 2000) and eventually signing a syndicated deal with Premiere Radio Networks. Because Clear Channel handled Premiere's syndication, Hendrie's show was picked up by WGST.

A third now-syndicated host and former colleague of Hendrie's, Mike Malloy, began his radio career at WSB in the early 1990s. The station did not picked up the local rights to Malloy's syndicated program that was distributed by the Air America Radio network until August 2006, despite that it was being produced in nearby Decatur, Ga..

From 1925 to 1956, WSB radio, along with sisters WSB-FM and WSB-TV (Channel 8, later Channel 2), operated out of the top floor of the Atlanta Biltmore Hotel in lower Midtown. Afterward, the WSB stations broadcast from a Colonial-style mansion specially built for broadcasting, informally known as White Columns, also located in Midtown, where Peachtree Street crosses West Peachtree Street near Ansley Park. In 1998, all of the Cox radio stations and WSB-TV moved into "Digital White Columns" on the same property.

WSB Radio serves as the Atlanta flagship station for the University of Georgia Bulldog Radio Network, carrying all Georgia Football and Basketball games.

The night time signal can be heard as far away as Cincinnati, Detroit and Long Island.

[edit] See also

• WSB-TV
• WSB-FM

[edit] External links

• Official site
• History of WSB Radio
• Tribute to WSB programmer Elmo Ellis
• The Allen Hunt Show

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