WBOB (600

kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that on ...

) is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

. The station airs a

talk Talk may refer to: Communication * Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people * Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people * Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct ...

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...

and is owned by Chesapeake-Portsmouth Broadcasting Corporation. Weekdays begin with a local news and information show, followed by mostly syndicated programming, including shows from

Mark Levin Mark Reed Levin (; born September 21, 1957) is an American lawyer, author, and radio personality. He is the host of syndicated radio show Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and rad ...

, Mike Gallagher,

Dennis Prager Dennis Mark Prager (; born August 2, 1948) is an American conservative radio talk show host and writer. He is the host of the nationally syndicated radio talk show ''The Dennis Prager Show''. In 2009, he co-founded PragerU, which creates five-m ...

Jay Sekulow Jay Alan Sekulow (; born June 10, 1956) is an American lawyer, radio, television talk show host and politically conservative media personality. He has been chief counsel of the American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ) since 1991. As a member of Pr ...

and

Red Eye Radio ''Red Eye Radio'' is a talk radio program currently hosted by Eric Harley and Gary McNamara. The program is syndicated nationwide by Westwood One, and originates from WBAP in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The show traces its history through ...

. Most hours begin with

Townhall Townhall is an American politically conservative website, print magazine and radio news service. Previously published by The Heritage Foundation, it is now owned and operated by Salem Communications. The website features more than 80 columns (bo ...

News. Some hours are paid

brokered programming Brokered programming (also known as time-buy and blocktime) is a form of broadcast content in which the show's producer pays a radio or television station for air time, rather than exchanging programming for pay or the opportunity to play spot comm ...

. The station calls itself "Talkradio AM 600 & FM 101.1 WBOB". By day, WBOB is powered at 50,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...

s, the maximum power permitted for commercial AM stations 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 jurisdiction ...

(FCC). But at night, to protect other stations on

AM 600 The following radio stations Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broad ...

, it reduces power to 9,700 watts. A

directional antenna A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna which radiates or receives greater power in specific directions allowing increased performance and reduced interference from unwanted sources. Directional antennas provide increased performance ...

, located off Lenox Avenue in Jacksonville, is used at all times. Listeners in Jacksonville and adjacent communities can also hear WBOB on FM

translator station A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tran ...

W266CX at 101.1 in

Fruit Cove, Florida Fruit Cove is a census-designated place (CDP) in St. Johns County, Florida, United States. The population was 16,077 at the 2000 census. It is located in the community of St. Johns. Geography Fruit Cove is located at (30.101153, -81.618318). ...

History

Early years

On December 9, 1933, the station

signed on Signing may refer to: * Using sign language * Signature A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on do ...

as WMBR, at 1270

kilocycle The cycle per second is a once-common English name for the unit of frequency now known as the hertz (Hz). The plural form was typically used, often written cycles per second, cycles/second, c.p.s., c/s, or, ambiguously, just cycles (Cy./Cyc.). The ...

s. It was owned by the Florida Broadcasting Company and transmitted using 100 watts. In the 1940s, WMBR moved first to 1400 kHz and transmitting with 250 watts, then move to 1460 kHz and increased its power to 5,000 watts. WMBR was a

CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadc ...

Network affiliate In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or a ...

, and carried its schedule of dramas, comedies, news, sports,

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...

s and

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...

broadcasts during the

Golden Age of Radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment, entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcastin ...

. In 1948, it added an FM station, WMBR-FM (now

WEJZ WEJZ (96.1 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Jacksonville, Florida. It is owned by Renda Broadcasting and airs a mainstream adult contemporary radio format. WEJZ is the Jacksonville affiliate for the syndicated Delilah and John T ...

), and in 1949, it put a TV station on the air, WMBR-TV (now

WJXT WJXT (channel 4) is an independent television station in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It is owned by Graham Media Group alongside CW affiliate WCWJ (channel 17). Both stations share studios at 4 Broadcast Place on the south bank of th ...

). WMBR-TV was the first TV station in Jacksonville and carried programming from all the major networks initially. Meanwhile, in 1942, another AM station went on the air in Jacksonville, WJDC at 1270 kHz. It was owned by the Jacksonville Broadcasting Company and was powered at 5,000 watts. In a few years, it had moved to 600 kHz. It changed its

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 assigne ...

to WPDQ and was an

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

affiliate. Henderson Belk, a North Carolina businessman, purchased WPDQ in 1964 from

Brush-Moore Newspapers Brush-Moore Newspapers, Inc. was a United States newspaper group based in Ohio which had its origins in 1923 and was sold to Thomson Newspapers in 1967 for $72 million, the largest ever newspaper transaction at that time.WPDQ Jacksonville sold for $750,000
''Broadcasting'', Volume 66, pp. 9, 96 (May 18, 1964)

Moving to AM 600

In the 1960s and early 1970s, WPDQ carried a

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

format, while WMBR stayed with its

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'' * F ...

middle of the road (MOR) format. In 1975, after Belk sold the station to Robert Rounsaville of Atlanta,Jacksonville stations undergo four-way juggle
''Television/Radio Age'', Volume 23, p.11 (1975) the two stations made a switch. WMBR took the better frequency at 600 kHz, describing its format as "Bright MOR Personality." WPDQ moved higher up the dial to WMBR's old frequency, 1460 kHz, continuing its Top 40 format. In 1977, AM 600 switched its call letters to WSNY, calling itself "Sunny 60," although the format remained the same. Then, in 1980, the call letters were changed to WAIV, and began

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...

ing Top 40 programming from its FM

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

WAIV-FM, known as “The Big Wave.”

From Country to Talk

Pop Country became the new format in 1981 with a call letter change to WOKV, known as "OK 60 The Unrock." Music continued on WOKV through the 1980s, with various adjustments from pop country to

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...

. In 1986, the station was bought by

EZ Communications EZ Communications, Inc. was a corporation with its headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia. In the 1970s, the small company was one of the pioneers of the easy listening on the FM broadcasting radio spectrum with 2 stations in Manassas and Richmond. W ...

.Broadcasting Yearbook 1990 page B-67
/ref> AM 600 would then flip to a

news/talk 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, and was Jacksonville's original home of the syndicated

Rush Limbaugh Show ''The Rush Limbaugh Show'' is an American conservative talk radio show hosted by Rush Limbaugh. Since its nationally syndicated premiere in 1988, ''The Rush Limbaugh Show'' became the highest-rated talk radio show in the United States. At its ...

. In 1994, Prism Radio Partners acquired the former WAPE, "The Big Ape." WAPE had Jacksonville's best AM signal, transmitting with 50,000 watts by day non-directional, and 10,000 watts at night with a directional signal. The WOKV callsign and news/talk programming was moved to 690 AM; the WPDQ callsign was again returned to AM 600, and flipped to an adult standards format.

Sports and Radio Disney

In 1996, WPDQ flipped to sports talk as "The Ball"; concurrent with the flip, WPDQ changed call letters to WBWL. Cox Radio purchased the station in 1999, and in April 2002, WBWL was sold to

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

, and became Jacksonville's affiliate for

Radio Disney Radio Disney was an American radio network operated by the Disney Radio Networks unit of Disney Branded Television within the Disney General Entertainment Content, headquartered in Burbank, California. The network broadcast music programming ...

on August 1 of that year.

WBOB Talk

Children's radio Children's radio is a radio format aimed primarily at preteen children. Examples include the now defunct Radio Disney network of radio stations, Kids Place Live satellite radio channel and in the UK Fun Kids. Stations See also *List of childre ...

programming lasted until October 1, 2010, when Radio Disney sold WBWL to Chesapeake-Portsmouth Broadcasting Corporation. The call letters were changed to WBOB, and the format flipped to

conservative talk Conservative talk radio is a talk radio format in the United States and other countries devoted to expressing conservative viewpoints of issues, as opposed to progressive talk radio. The definition of conservative talk is generally broad enough ...

, featuring Bill Bennett's Morning in America,

Laura Ingraham Laura Anne Ingraham (born June 19, 1963) is an American conservative television host. Gale Biography In Context. She has been the host of ''The Ingraham Angle'' on Fox News Channel since October 2017, and is the editor-in-chief of LifeZette. ...

and

Glenn Beck Glenn Lee Beck (born February 10, 1964) is an American conservative political commentator, radio host, entrepreneur, and television producer. He is the CEO, founder, and owner of Mercury Radio Arts, the parent company of his television and rad ...

, along with a variety of local news and talk programming. WBOB-AM logo

As of the 2014 season, WBOB broadcasts games from the

Jacksonville Sharks The Jacksonville Sharks are a professional indoor football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, playing their home games at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Beginning in 2017, the Sharks began play as charter members of the National Arena Leag ...

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

. Also in the mid-2010s, WBOB got a power boost, going from 5,000 watts day and night, to 50,000 watts in the daytime and 9,700 watts at night.

References

External links

FCC History Cards for WBOB
* * {{Jacksonville Radio

BOB Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: Places * Mount Bob, New York, United States *Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname ...

Radio stations established in 1933 1933 establishments in Florida Former subsidiaries of The Walt Disney Company News and talk radio stations in the United States