View source for WFLA (AM)

{{Short description|Radio station in Tampa, Florida}}
{{for|the short-lived Boca Raton station of 1927|WFLA (Boca Raton, Florida)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=November 2009}}
{{Infobox radio station
| name               = WFLA
| logo               = WFLA AM logo.png
| logo_size          =
| city               = [[Tampa, Florida]]
| area               = Tampa-[[St. Petersburg, Florida|St. Petersburg]]-[[Clearwater, Florida|Clearwater]] and [[Sarasota]]-[[Bradenton, Florida]]
| branding           = ''Newsradio WFLA''
| frequency          = {{ubl|970 [[kHz]]|25.87 [[MHz]] ([[Shortwave]])}}
| translator         = [[#Translators|See § Translators]]
| repeater           = {{Radio Relay|97.9|[[WXTB|WXTB-HD2]]|Clearwater}}
| airdate            = {{start date and age|1925}}
| format             = [[Conservative talk radio]]
| language           = English
| power              = {{ubl|25,000 watts day|11,000 watts night|100 watts (KPM360 - [[Shortwave]])}}
| class              = B
| licensing_authority = [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]]
| facility_id        = 29729
| coordinates        = {{nowrap|{{Coord|28|01|14|N|82|36|34|W}}}}
| callsign_meaning   = {{ubl|pre-[[ZIP code]] era [[List of U.S. state abbreviations|abbreviation]] for Florida|-or-|"Florida's Local Affiliate"}}
| former_callsigns   = {{ubl|WGHB (1925–1927)|WFHH (1927)|WFLA (1927)|WFLA-WSUN (1927–1937)}}
| former_frequencies = {{ubl|1130 kHz (1925–1927)|590 kHz (1927–1929)|620 kHz (1929–1941)|940 kHz (1941)}}
| affiliations       = {{ubl|[[Fox News Radio]]|[[NBC News Radio]]|[[Compass Media Networks]]|[[Premiere Networks]]}}
| owner              = [[iHeartMedia, Inc.]]
| licensee           = iHM Licenses, LLC
| sister_stations    = [[WDAE]], [[WFLZ-FM]], [[WFUS]], [[WHNZ]], [[WMTX]], [[WRUB (FM)|WRUB]], [[WXTB]]
| webcast            = [https://www.iheart.com/live/newsradio-970-wfla-2823/ Listen Live]
| website            = {{URL|wflanews.iheart.com}}
}}
'''WFLA''' (970 [[Hertz|kHz]]) is a [[commercial radio|commercial]] [[AM radio|AM]] radio station in [[Tampa, Florida]], and serving the [[Tampa Bay Area|Tampa Bay]] [[media market]]. The station airs a [[talk radio|news/talk]] [[radio format|format]] and is owned and operated by [[iHeartMedia, Inc.]]  The station's studios and offices are located on Gandy Boulevard in South Tampa.<ref>[https://wflanews.iheart.com/contact/ WFLAnews.iheart.com/contact]</ref>
WFLA broadcasts by day at 25,000 watts, reducing power to 11,000 watts at night.  (For most of its history, from the 1940s to the early 2000s, it ran at 5,000 watts.)  It uses a [[directional antenna]] at all times.  The main [[transmitter]] site is off Montague Street in [[Town 'n' Country, Florida]].<ref>[https://radio-locator.com/info/WFLA-AM Radio-Locator.com/WFLA-AM]</ref>  Programming is also heard on two [[FM translator]]s, 94.5 [[Hertz|MHz]] in [[Gulfport, Florida|Gulfport]] and 99.1 in [[Bayonet Point]].
==Programming==
Weekdays on WFLA begin with a local morning show, ''AM Tampa Bay'', hosted by Aaron Jacobson, Katie Butchino and Natalie Aquilia.<ref>{{cite web |title=About AM Tampa Bay |url=https://wflanews.iheart.com/featured/am-tampa-bay/about/ |website=WFLA News}}</ref>  From 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., ''The Ryan Gorman Show'' airs, hosted by Ryan Gorman, who used to host ''PM Tampa Bay''.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Ryan Gorman |url=https://www.ryanegorman.com/about |website=RyanGorman.com}}</ref> The rest of the schedule features mostly [[radio syndication|nationally syndicated]] [[Premiere Networks]] talk shows including ''[[The Glenn Beck Radio Program]], [[The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show]], [[The Sean Hannity Show]], [[The Jesse Kelly Show]], [[Lee Habeeb|Our American Stories with Lee Habeeb]]'' and ''[[Coast to Coast AM]] with [[George Noory]]''.
Weekends feature shows on money, health, law, boating and fishing.  Some weekend shows are paid [[brokered programming]].  On weekends, WFLA carries ''[[Bill Cunningham (talk show host)|Sunday Nights with Bill Cunningham]], [[Armstrong & Getty]], [[Ben Ferguson|The Ben Ferguson Show]]'' and ''[[This Morning, America's First News with Gordon Deal]]''.
WFLA provides local newscasts on both weekdays and weekends. Evening and overnight newscasts are pre-recorded. National and world news is provided by [[Fox News Radio]] and [[NBC News Radio]].  WFLA provides news coverage for other iHeartMedia stations in the Tampa Bay market, and is a hub for the Florida News Network.
WFLA occasionally serves as an overflow outlet for sports programming from co-owned [[sports radio]] station 620 [[WDAE]].
===Other stations carrying the WFLA brand===
Another Clear Channel radio station in [[Tallahassee]] took the [[call sign]] [[WFLA-FM]]. Its sister station in the [[Orlando, Florida|Orlando]] area, [[WFLF (AM)]], uses "WFLA" as its branding. Both WFLA-FM and WFLF carries many of the same [[radio syndication|nationally syndicated]] programming as WFLA, but all three stations have their own local shows and news.
[[WFLF-FM]] also previously carried the WFLA brand and programming in [[Panama City, Florida|Panama City]] until September 2021; since then, the WFLA brand has been carried by two FM translators in the area.
==History==
In 1925, the station first [[sign-on|signed on]] as WGHB in [[Clearwater, Florida|Clearwater]].<ref>RadioYears.com</ref> In 1927, its [[call sign]] changed to WFHH, and later that year to WFLA at 1130 [[kHz]].
===WSUN jointly licensed with WFLA as WFLA-WSUN===
WSUN was first authorized in October 1927, joining WFLA at 590&nbsp;kHz, with this station now assigned a dual call sign of WFLA-WSUN, under shared ownership by the Clearwater and St. Petersburg Chambers of Commerce.<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3221818&view=1up&seq=423 "Alterations and corrections"], ''Radio Service Bulletin'', October 31, 1927, page 9. "WFLA (CLEARWATER, Fla.) — Additional call signal WSUN assigned for St. Petersburg, Fla.; owner of station, Clearwater Chamber of Commerce and St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce; wl., 508.2, fy. kc., 590; power, 750."</ref> WSUN made its debut broadcast on November 1,<ref>[https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1972/B%20Radio%20YB%201972%20All-10.pdf#page=44 "Directory of AM and FM Radio Stations in the U.S.: Florida: St. Petersburg"], ''Broadcasting Yearbook'' (1972 edition), page B-46.</ref> using the slogan "Why Stay Up North".
In 1927 WFLA-WSUN moved to 580&nbsp;kHz,<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3221818&view=1up&seq=443 "Alterations and corrections"], ''Radio Service Bulletin'', November 30, 1927, page 9.</ref> then to 900&nbsp;kHz the next year.<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3221818&view=1up&seq=750 "Alterations and corrections"], ''Radio Service Bulletin'', November 30, 1928, page 12.</ref> In 1929, radio frequencies for stations in Florida were reallocated, and WFLA-WSUN moved to 620&nbsp;kHz.<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3221819&view=1up&seq=46 "Alterations and corrections"], ''Radio Service Bulletin'', November 30, 1929, page 10.</ref>
The station's transmitter site was originally on the north side of the Courtney Campbell Causeway near Clearwater.
===First directional antenna in the United States===
WFLA-WSUN's move to 620&nbsp;kHz resulted in a nighttime interference complaint from another station on that frequency, [[WTMJ (AM)|WTMJ]] in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. WFLA-WSUN was ordered to reduce powers from 1,000 watts night and 2,500 watts day to 250 watts night and 500 watts day.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/broadcasting13unse/page/n407/mode/1up "WFLA-WSUN Experiment May Affect Technique of Regional Radio Stations], ''Broadcasting'', April 1, 1932, page 10.</ref>
Station manager Walter Tison began an investigation into whether there was a way that WFLA-WSUN could increase its nighttime power to a more acceptable level. Working with
T. A. M. Craven, a British engineer, Raymond M. Wilmotte, was engaged in 1932 to construct a then-theoretical antenna system that would reduce the signal sent toward Milwaukee. The idea that a directional antenna would resolve the issue was somewhat controversial, with some doubters stating that fluctuations in the ionosphere would cause issues, while others believed that instead of going directly to Milwaukee, the WFLA-WSUN signal was actually travelling west through the Gulf of Mexico, then turning north through the Mississippi valley.<ref name=Wilmotte>[https://broadcastengineering.info/download/file.php?id=883&sid=42dd192c83787a9f61c6f4ecafd76a84 "History of the Directional Antenna in the Standard Broadcast Band for Purpose of Protecting Service Area of Distant Stations"] by Raymond M. Wilmotte, ''IRE Transactions on Broadcast Transmission Systems'', (Volume: PGBTS-7, Issue: 1), February 1957, pages: 51-55.</ref>
The directional antenna installation, the first in the United States, consisting of two 200 foot (61 m) towers, was successful.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/broadcasting13unse/page/n620/mode/1up "A Directional Antenna of Importance"] by T. A. M. Craven, ''Broadcasting'', July 1, 1932, pages 13, 26.</ref> As an example of its effectiveness, engineer Wilmotte noted that at one point a telegram was sent from regulators in Washington asking why WFLA-WSUN was off the air, because an inspector located in Atlanta was not receiving the station when it employed the directional antenna.<ref name=Wilmotte/>
===WFLA and WSUN switch to separate licenses===
WFLA and WSUN were [[network affiliate|affiliate]]s of the [[NBC Red Network]], carrying dramas, comedies, news, sports, soap operas, game shows and [[big band]] broadcasts during the "[[Golden Age of Radio]]".<ref>[https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1935/Stations-by-State-Broadcasting%20Yearbook%201935%20Complete.pdf Information] from the [[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting Yearbook]] 1935 page 28</ref>
In 1937, the joint ownership of WFLA-WSUN was severed, with the two stations continuing to operate on 620&nbsp;kHz using a common transmitter, but separately licensed on a time-sharing basis. WFLA was allocated full-time use of Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and shared hours on Sundays.
===WFLA becomes full-time station after frequency change===
In 1940, The Tribune Company was given permission to construct a full-time station on 940&nbsp;kHz. Because this was technically a new station, this authorization was initially given the call sign of WKGA.<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112106764944&view=1up&seq=85 "Actions of the Commission: Applications Granted"], ''FCC Public Notice'', January 22, 1941, page 1.</ref> However, the authorization included shutting down WFLA on 620&nbsp;kHz, so when operations began on 940&nbsp;kHz, the historic WFLA call sign was transferred to the new frequency.<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112106764944&view=1up&seq=87 "Miscellaneous"], ''Actions of the Commission'', January 22, 1941, page 3.</ref> WFLA's owner also owned ''[[The Tampa Tribune]]''.<ref>[https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1943/Radio%20-%20%20Broadcasting%20Yearbook%201943%20BW.pdf Broadcasting Yearbook 1943 page 84]</ref>  The studios and offices were in the Seminole Building. WSUN stayed on 620&nbsp;kHz, licensed to St. Petersburg (now [[WDAE]]).
From 1945 to 1949, WFLA carried a [[southern gospel]] show, which featured legendary bass singer [[J. D. Sumner]] and The Sunny South Quartet.  WFLA and WSUN were owned by the Clearwater and [[St. Petersburg, Florida|St. Petersburg]] Chambers of Congress.<ref>https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1935/1935-BCarbook {{Dead link|date=February 2022}}</ref>
An advertisement in the 1950 edition of ''[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting Yearbook]]'' said that WFLA-AM-FM were the "most listened to" stations in "the heart of Florida's most heavily populated trade area".<ref>[https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1950/RADIO%20&%20TV%20ALL%20YB%201950%20B&W-11.pdf Broadcasting Yearbook 1950 page 115]</ref>
===FM and TV===
WFLA added an FM station in 1948, WFLA-FM (now [[WFLZ]]).  In its early years, WFLA-FM largely [[simulcast]] its AM [[sister station]].  In the mid-to-late 1960s, it switched from [[Top 40]] to [[beautiful music]]. A television station also went on the air in 1955, [[WFLA-TV]], which is now owned by the [[Nexstar Media Group]].  Because WFLA-AM-FM carried NBC programming, WFLA-TV also joined the [[NBC|NBC Television Network]].
[[Image:970 WFLA Mobile News Unit.jpg|250px|right|thumb|News unit with a previous logo]]
Once network programming had shifted from radio to television, WFLA began a [[full-service radio|full service]] [[middle of the road (music)|middle of the road]] format of popular adult music, news, and sports.  It later tried [[Top 40]] and [[Adult Contemporary music]].  In the 1980s, listeners shifted to FM to hear music, so WFLA increased the news and talk programming. In 1982, WFLA hired street reporter Sam Cardinale from WPLP to make the move toward news-oriented programming. Cardinale won multiple AP and UPI awards for the station for news coverage before joining [[WTVT]].  In 1986, WFLA made the full transition to all-talk. It has been the market leader in this format ever since, and usually is among the top five stations in the market, according to Arbitron ratings.
===Changes in ownership===
[[Media General]] acquired the Tribune Company in the 1970s.  This meant one company controlled, in Tampa, a newspaper, TV station, AM station and FM station. However, the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) were discouraging one owner from controlling so much media in one market.  In the 1980s, federal regulations forced Media General to divest the radio stations because of its other holdings. The radio stations were sold to Blair Broadcasting in late 1982. Sconnix Communications of [[Charleston, South Carolina]], bought WFLA and what was then WPDS from Blair Broadcasting in 1987.  Blair was divesting all of its English-language broadcasting properties to concentrate on its Spanish-language TV network, [[Telemundo]].  Jacor Communications purchased WFLA from Sconnix in 1988.  In 1989, the station moved from Jackson Street in downtown Tampa to its present location at 4002 W. Gandy Blvd., in south Tampa.   [[Clear Channel Communications]], purchased Jacor in 1999, which included WFLA and WFLZ.  Clear Channel was the forerunner of today's [[iHeartMedia]].
==Past personalities==
WFLA gave national hosts [[Glenn Beck]] and [[Lionel (radio)|Lionel]] their starts in talk radio.  For many years, [[Todd Schnitt]] hosted the nationally syndicated ''Schnitt Show'' at WFLA.  Other prominent alumni, from the days when the station concentrated on local programming, include [[Bob Lassiter]], [[Jay Marvin]], Dick Norman, Jack Ellery and Freddy Mertz. Other former hosts include Al Gardner, Mark Larsen, Daniel Ruth, Mark Beiro, Paul Gonzalez and Mel Berman.
Over the years, AM Tampa Bay has had three female co-hosts; Sharon Taylor, who was let go after ten years, Allyson Turner, who left less than a year after she was hired, and Corey Dylan, who was promoted to her own show at sister station [[WMTX]] after four years on WFLA. Longtime news anchors and reporters Steve Hall and Sharon Parker were released in a 2019 iHeart round of layoffs.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/185455/staff-cuts-hit-iheartmedia-news-departments |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190409005912/https://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/185455/staff-cuts-hit-iheartmedia-news-departments |archive-date=April 9, 2019 |title=Staff Cuts Hit iHeartMedia News Departments {{!}} AllAccess.com}}</ref>  In March 2023, longtime AM Tampa Bay host [[Jack Harris (broadcaster)|Jack Harris]] was released from the station.<ref>[https://www.insideradio.com/people_moves/jack-harris/article_71646fc4-ce65-11ed-bd8a-4ff7f650024e.html InsideRadio.com "People Moves: Jack Harris" March 29, 2023]</ref>  Harris had been with WFLA off and on since 1970.
==Translators==
{{RadioTranslators
| callsign = [[WXTB|WXTB-HD2]]
| width =
| call1 = W256CT
| freq1 = 99.1
| city1 = Bayonet Point, Florida
| fid1 = 151584
| watts1 = 250
| haat1 = 420
| class1 = D
| call2 = W233AV
| freq2 = 94.5
| city2 = Gulfport, Florida
| fid2 = 146121
| watts2 = 250
| haat2 = 184
| class2 = D
}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*{{Official website|wflanews.iheart.com}}
{{AM station data|29729|WFLA}}
*{{FCC letter|letterid=52612|callsign=WFLA|hcards=yes}} (covering 1940 until 1979 for operation on 940 and 970&nbsp;kHz as WKGA/WFLA)
{{Tampa Bay Radio}}
{{News/Talk Radio Stations in Florida}}
{{iHeartMedia}}
[[Category:Hillsborough County, Florida]]
[[Category:Radio stations in the Tampa Bay area|FLA (AM)]]
[[Category:News and talk radio stations in the United States]]
[[Category:Radio stations established in 1925]]
[[Category:IHeartMedia radio stations]]
[[Category:1925 establishments in Florida]]
[[Category:Shortwave radio stations in the United States]]