WALR-FM

WALR-FM is an urban adult contemporary-formatted radio station based in Atlanta, Georgia, owned by Cox Media Group. WALR-FM is licensed to Greenville and broadcasts on a class C0 100-kilowatt signal on the 104.1 megahertz (MHz) frequency. Its radio transmitter was originally located in LaGrange, Georgia, but is now located in Greenville, Georgia, also the location for a construction permit for a broadcast translator of sister station WSB-TV). In late 2004, after WALR switched to the new tower, it also began broadcasting in IBOC digital radio, using the HD Radio system from iBiquity. The station runs an digital subchannel (or "HD-2") of "adult hip-hop" music. It is the Atlanta affiliate for The Tom Joyner Morning Show.

History

Up until the mid 1980s, the FM station licensed to 104.1 in La Grange, Georgia (well southwest of Atlanta) broadcast Al Ham's syndicated "Music Of Your Life" nostalgia format with the WJYF call letters. It was a simulcast partner with WJYI AM 1080 (now Korean language WFTD AM). In the mid-1980s, the station became urban contemporary-formatted, WEKS, "Urban Kiss 104". In 1989, WEKS changed to a country music station WYAI (Y-104), simulcasting with WYAY FM (Y-106) on the other side of Atlanta, when it was acquired by NewCity Communications. In 1994, the simulcast ended and it switched to a contemporary jazz format, as WJZF "Jazz Flavors 104.1". The station that would later migrate to this frequency began in the mid-1990s as "Kiss 104.7", an urban contemporary station that was licensed to serve Athens, Georgia. (This new "Kiss" on 104.7 was a resurrection of the previous incarnation from WEKS 104.1 mentioned above, although this was an Atlanta rimshot to the east.)

On August 30, 2000, "Kiss 104.7" migrated from the 104.7 frequency to the 104.1 frequency , when Cox and Salem Communications swapped properties. The former WALR-FM at 104.7 became "104.7 the Fish" WFSH-FM and the 104.1 frequency became hot urban AC "Kiss 104.1", taking the WALR callsign with it too. On February 21, 2003, "Kiss 104.1" gravitated its hot urban AC format to an urban oldies format to protect its sister station WFOX (now WSRV) when that station experimented with a hot urban format consisting of R&B, hip hop and rap from the 1980s to present. Also with this format modification the longtime slogan changed from "Atlanta's R&B Station" to "Atlanta's Old School R&B Station" to signify the new format.

WALR-FM became the last remaining urban station owned by Cox Radio in Atlanta when sister station WBTS flipped from rhythmic contemporary to news-talk as a simulcast of WSB-AM on August 16, 2010. Another station was WFOX-FM (now classic hits as WSRV), which was urban contemporary 97-1 Jamz until 2006. Even so, WALR did not return its format back to urban AC until June 2011. At that time, it added more contemporary R&B music after spending eight years being a classic and gold-records oriented R&B and soul-based musical programming station. This allowed for the station to restrengthen itself as a competitive radio force in Atlanta, especially against longtime rival WVEE and direct format rival WAMJ/WUMJ. The station's logo and slogan was modified as well from "Atlanta's Old School R&B Station" to "Atlanta's R&B," plus the branding was shortened to simply "Kiss 104" omitting the point 1 reference. ^[1]

References

External links

• Kiss 104.1, Atlanta's Old School R&B Station
• Query the FCC's FM station database for WALR
• Radio-Locator information on WALR
• Query Arbitron's FM station database for WALR