WSB (AM)

WSB

City of license	Atlanta, Georgia
Broadcast area	Atlanta metro area (day) Southeast U.S. (night)
Branding	AM 750 and 95.5 FM News/Talk WSB
Slogan	"Atlanta's news, weather, and traffic station: Depend On It!"
Frequency	750 (kHz)
First air date	March 15, 1922
Format	News/Talk
Power	50,000 watts (day and night)
Class	A
Facility ID	73977
Transmitter coordinates	33°50′38″N 84°15′12″W
Callsign meaning	"Welcome South, Brother"
Former frequencies	1922-1936: 740 (kHz)
Affiliations	CBS Radio Georgia Bulldogs (IMG)
Owner	Cox Media Group
Sister stations	WALR-FM, WSBB-FM, WSB-FM, WSRV FM, WSB-TV
Webcast	Listen live
Website	wsbradio.com

WSB (750 AM) — branded AM 750 and 95.5 FM News/Talk WSB — is a commercial radio station licensed to Atlanta, Georgia broadcasting a news/talk format. The station transmits with 50,000 watts of nondirectional power day and night, enjoying clear-channel status on its broadcast frequency according to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and North American Radio Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA) signatories Canada and Mexico, enabling the station to be heard across a wide coverage area during nighttime hours (sometimes extending across the east coast and Midwest of the U.S.).

It uses the slogan "Atlanta's news, weather, traffic, and Georgia Bulldogs station." The station is owned by, and is the AM flagship station for Cox Radio. WSB AM is the sister station to WSBB-FM 95.5, WSB-FM (B98.5FM), WALR-FM (Kiss 104.1), WSRV FM, (97-1 the River), WSB-TV 39 (2.1/2.2), and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper in metro Atlanta, all owned by Cox.

Although WSB is licensed for using the technology, it is not currently broadcasting in HD Radio. The digital radio system has apparently been turned off due to listener complaints of RF interference. WSB programming has been simulcast on sister FM station WSBB-FM 95.5 since August 2010.

The AM transmitter and radiating tower are located northeast of the city just inside (west) of Interstate 285, where the Northlake Tower Festival shopping center now stands on the south side of LaVista Road, opposite the northeastern terminus of Briarcliff Road. The valuable land near the regional Northlake Mall was leased for the strip mall, in which every metal object used in the construction of the building had to be tied to an earth ground to prevent radio-frequency energy from energizing it like an antenna. These objects, including plumbing and ductwork, are technically part of the ground radial system. The radio tower itself is located in the middle of the parking lot, with stores to the east, west, and south.

History

The call-sign "WSB" carried an infamous history before it was assigned to a land-based broadcaster in Atlanta. In very early days of radio licensing, sea-based broadcasters were included in the call-sign assignment system. The first licensee of the call-sign "WSB" was the S.S. Francis H. Leggett. After foundering off the Oregon coast on September 18, 1914, taking a toll of two of the 67 lives aboard, the call "WSB" was reassigned to the Firewood, the name of which forms a grim coincidence with its fate: the ship burned off the coast of Peru on December 18, 1919, with 28 persons on board, all of whom were saved. Because superstitious seafarers objected to being issued a call "used by that ship which went down with all hands last month," "tainted" calls like "WSB" were quietly issued to unsinkable land stations.

Originally on 740 kHz until the 1936 FCC bandplan, WSB was the first radio station in the South, and its broadcast 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, just a few days prior to Journal-owned WGM AM 710 (eventually swapped to WGST AM 640). The station was only authorized to broadcast weather bulletins at first, receiving its full broadcast license later that year.

WSB smoothed the way for the radio spread of southern gospel, including through regular programming hosted by Charles Davis Tillman. The Shelby Star newspaper November 1985 issue wrote that the very talented Dan Hornsby, after the national disaster crash of the stock market, found himself working no longer for Columbia Records but for radio stations like WGST, WATL, & WCON along with being the first wake-up DJ for WSB radio in Atlanta. Lambdin Kay, the first general manager, called Hornsby "90% of the local talent on WSB".

In February 1924, Lambdin Kay called Art Gillham "The Whispering Pianist" while performing on WSB, a name he used in billing on Columbia Records, radio and theatre. Gillham returned to WSB in 1937 for regular programs. 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.

From 1925 to 1956, WSB radio, along with sisters WSB-FM 104.5 (now 98.5) and WSB-TV 8 (later 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 located in the Atlanta radio market, as well as WSB-TV, moved into "Digital White Columns" on the same property, the original one being demolished afterward.

WSB formerly broadcast in AM stereo using the Motorola C-QUAM system during the 1980s, a period when music could still be heard on the station. The on-air talent in this era included morning hosts Russ Spooner and Dick Hamby, playing "middle of the road" music, and Skip Caray presenting morning sportscasts. However, as WSB's format progressed to a full-time news/talk radio format by the late 1980s, the AM stereo system was turned off.

On August 16, 2010, WSB programming began to be simulcast on then-WBTS 95.5 FM, replacing the former rhythmic CHR format "95.5 The Beat." On October 1, 2010, WBTS-FM changed its call letters to WSBB. The move was made to adjust its call letters to parallel its AM sister, since it did not want to infringe on moving the heritage WSB-FM calls from 98.5 to 95.5.

Current programming

Weekly

This is the current schedule of WSB Radio as of December 13, 2011.

Radio Show	Time Slot
Atlanta's Morning News with Scott Slade	5 A.M. - 8:30 A.M.
The Neal Boortz Show	8:30 A.M. - 1 P.M.
Clark Howard	1 P.M. - 3 P.M.
The Sean Hannity Show	3 P.M. - 6 P.M.
Erick Erickson	6 P.M. - 9 P.M.
Clark Howard Extra	9 P.M. - 10 P.M.
The Dave Ramsey Show	10 P.M. - 1 A.M.
Andy Dean	1 A.M. - 4 A.M.
Re-Boortz	4 A.M. - 5 A.M.

Weekly programming history

Neal Boortz (political talk) and Clark Howard (consumer advice and travel), became so popular in the late 1990s that they received national syndication deals through Cox Radio. Neal Boortz and Clark Howard can now be heard on talk stations across the United States with WSB as their flagship station. Both Neal Boortz and Clark Howard's shows were originally on WGST in the 1980s and very early 1990s before going to WSB.

Before national 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 later ABC Radio. Hannity had replaced Boortz on WGST when Boortz left for WSB in 1992 (although Boortz did not appear on WSB until March 1993 because of a non-compete clause he had with WGST). In 2001, when Hannity's radio show first went national, WSB would air Hannity's show during overnight hours or on nights when there were no Atlanta Braves or Atlanta Hawks games. In early 2002, WSB began airing Hannity on a one-hour tape delay.

Other on-air news and features personalities include "Captain" Herb Emory (traffic weekdays / auto-racing show weekends), Scott Slade (morning news), Kirk Mellish (weather), Walter Reeves (gardening), O'Neill Williams (hunting and fishing), and Dave Baker (home improvement). The station voice is Jeff Davis.

2011 weekly program changes

On January 5, 2011 WSB decided to change its weekly line-up by cutting the syndicated Michael Savage Show which had been at the network since 1999 in the 10 PM to 1 AM time-slot. A week later he was picked up on rival station WGST from 9 PM to midnight for Atlanta listeners. For the remainder of January, Savage's time-slot had been replaced by RedState.com Conservative blogger and frequent Herman Cain substitute, Erick Erickson who broadcasts his show locally in Atlanta at WSB from 9 PM to midnight. Herman Cain's Show was cut by an hour and aired from 7 PM to 9 PM. Syndicated finance host Dave Ramsey took over from midnight to 3 AM. "Re-Boortz", a replay of the Neal Boortz Show from the previous morning was cut to two hours airing from 3 AM to 5 AM This remained WSB’s schedule for the remainder of January 2011.

The beginning of February 2011 saw changes to WSB's weekly line-up yet again, as the show hosted by Herman Cain ended, marking February 1, 2011 as Cain’s last live show on WSB. Cain was previously a candidate for the 2004 U.S. Senate election in Georgia as a Republican and CEO of Godfather's Pizza. WSB was Cain's flagship station as The Herman Cain Show was syndicated to several other stations in the southeastern U.S. by Cox Radio. On that February 1 show, Cain announced that he was leaving WSB, effective immediately, to focus on his presidential exploratory committee. He was actively running on the Republican ticket in the 2012 presidential election until suspending his campaign due to sexual harassment allegations.

With the departure of Herman Cain, Erick Erickson moved to Cain’s original time-slot from 7 PM to 10 PM. Dave Ramsey was bumped to the earlier 10 PM to 1 AM time-slot. Re-Boortz went back to its original overnight 1 AM to 5 AM slot.

Come September 2011, Andy Dean took the late night slot from 1 AM to 4 AM as he is now nationally syndicated. His show is recorded from 6 PM to 9 PM and played in the latter slot. Dean’s show was previously only locally broadcast in Atlanta on Sunday’s from 1 – 3 PM.

On Tuesday December 15, 2011, changes happened yet again. Clark Howard’s show was cut by an hour and is now aired from 1 PM to 3 PM. A 3rd best-of "extra" hour is played during the 9 PM hour. Sean Hannity is now broadcast live from 3 PM to 6 PM. His show was previously on a one-hour tape delay. Erick Erickson’s show is now an hour earlier from 6 PM to 9 PM.

Weekend programming

This is the current Saturday schedule of WSB Radio. Times of these shows with the asterisk fluctuate depending on UGA football or basketball.

Radio Show	Time Slot
O'Neill Outside	4 a.m. - 6 a.m.
Lawn and Garden	6 a.m. - 10 a.m.
Home Fix It Show	10 a.m. - noon
Mark Arum	noon - 1 p.m.*
The Car Show with Adam Goldfein	1 p.m. - 3 p.m.*
Bill Handel/Handel on the Law	3 p.m. - 9 p.m.*
Allen Hunt	9 p.m. - midnight*

This is the current Sunday schedule of WSB Radio. Times of these shows with the asterisk fluctuate depending on UGA basketball.

Radio Show	Time Slot
Bill Handel/Handel on the Law (replay)	midnight - 3 a.m.
Atlanta's Morning News Sunday with Scott Slade	5 a.m. - 6 a.m.
Perspectives/Religious Programming	6 a.m. - 8 a.m.
Atlanta's Morning News Sunday with Scott Slade	8 a.m. - 9 a.m.
Money Matters with Wes Moss	9 a.m. - 11 a.m.
Ilyce Glink	11 a.m. - 1 p.m.*
Andy Dean	1 p.m. - 3 p.m.*
Sean Hannity Weekend Encore	3 p.m. - 6 p.m.*
Allen Hunt	6 p.m. - 9 p.m.*
Kim Komando	9 p.m. - midnight*

In April 2006, WSB began airing The Allen Hunt Show hosted by Allen Hunt on just Sunday nights from 6 - 8 p.m. In March 2007, WSB expanded his show to two nights on the weekend. The first night is on Saturdays from 9 - 11 p.m. and then Sunday nights with an extra hour. In July 2007, The Allen Hunt Show was picked up on WSB sister stations WOKV (Jacksonville) and WHIO (Dayton). Three months later in October, they signed with Jones Radio Network to syndicate Hunt's Sunday night show and can currently be heard in 16 markets. Allen Hunt is not to be confused with the network studio producer for UGA Football and men's basketball broadcast which also broadcasts on WSB. That would be Alan Hunt which is in his 12th year at WSB and at the UGA Network.

In early March 2011, Rick and Bubba were cut by WSB on their Sunday schedule. As a result, Sean Hannity Weekend Encore from 1 – 4 PM was moved to 3 – 6 PM. Taking over the 1 – 3 PM slot is a new show featuring Andy Dean.

Sports programming

WSB AM serves as the Atlanta flagship radio station for the University of Georgia Bulldog Radio Network, carrying all UGA NCAA college football and NCAA college basketball games. WSB has also served as the flagship station for Atlanta Braves Major League Baseball, Atlanta Falcons NFL Football, and Atlanta Hawks NBA basketball. WSB carried Braves baseball coverage from 1966, when the Braves moved from Milwaukee, until 1991. In 1992, the Atlanta Braves game coverage moved to rival WGST until 1994. In 1995, the Braves coverage returned to WSB, the year the Braves won their only Atlanta World Series title to date. That same year the Atlanta Hawks game coverage was also picked up by the station. From 1995 until 2004, WSB was branded as the "Sports Voice of the South", carrying play-by-play game coverage of Braves baseball, Hawks basketball, and UGA football and basketball.

Former programming

Some other former WSB radio personalities that went on to nationally syndicated radio shows include Phil Hendrie (political commentary and satirist), and Mike Malloy (political talk).

News staff

Atlanta's Morning News 5:00-8:30

• Chris Camp, news director
• Scott Slade, Atlanta's Morning News host
• Bob Coxe, Atlanta's Morning News co-anchor
• Marcy Williams, Atlanta's Morning News co-anchor
• Kirk Mellish, meteorologist
• Tony Schiavone, sports/web content
• Jay Black, producer/web content

Triple Team Traffic

• Captain Herb Emory, Doug Turnbull, Mark Arum and Kim Mcrathy - mornings
• Captain Herb Emory, Kim Mcrathy,(Doug Turnbull,Andrew Spencer, Ashley Frasca, Andrew Hammond,)rotating afternoons
• Naki Frierson - sat. mornings
• Bob Kidd - fill in
• Greg McClure - overnights
• Dave Calhoun - weekend afternoons
• Ed Arnold - sat. midday

News Updates

• Sabrina Gibbons
• Chris Chandler
• Jennifer Griffies
• Mark Alewine
• Tim Bryant (news director at Fellow Athens Cox stations: WXKT, WGAU, WNGC, WPUP, WRFC, WGMG)
• Naki Frierson
• Andrew Spencer
• Charlie O'Brien
• Reg Griffin

Reporters

• Richard Sangster
• Pete Combs (also as an Atlanta correspondent for CBS Radio)
• Veronica Waters (does morning drive news on Cox sister WSB-FM)
• Jon Lewis
• Jay Black
• Sandra Parrish
• Jamie Dupree
• Amanda Moyer

External links

• Official website
• Query the FCC's AM station database for WSB
• Radio-Locator Information on WSB
• Query Arbitron's AM station database for WSB
• History of WSB Radio
• WSB adds FM simulcast
• RecNet query for WSB (AM)
• http://blogs.ajc.com/radio-tv-talk/2011/01/05/redstate-coms-erick-erickson-dave-ramsey-join-wsb-radio-micahel-savage-off/