WDDO (1240 AM)

WDDO was an AM radio station in Macon, Georgia, United States. It broadcast from 1940 to 2016 and was last owned by Cumulus Media and programmed with a gospel music format.

WBML went on the air at 1420 kHz in October 1940, moving to 1240 kHz less than a year later. It was one of Macon's heritage radio stations, switching to country music in 1976. A swap between WBML and WDDO, then at 900 kHz, in 1978 brought that station's Black-oriented programming to the 1240 frequency, where it could broadcast at night. The station went off the air for good in January 2016 after thieves stole copper wire from its transmitter facility.

History

WBML: Early years

The Middle Georgia Broadcasting Company applied to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on April 22, 1940, to build a new radio station in Macon using 250 watts on 1420 kHz. The company was owned by two oil company executives, Ernest D. Black and E. G. McKenzie, and E. M. Lowe, and an officer in the H. E. Lowe Electric Company. Earlier than the proprietors expected, the FCC approved the application on May 21, conditioning the application on identification of suitable studio and transmitter sites, and granted the final permit on August 9 for the station to maintain its transmitter at 8th and Mulberry streets and its studio in Macon's First National Bank Building.

WBML—the letters representing the stockholders—made its first broadcast on October 15, 1940, a brief opening program at noon, then signed off until 6 p.m. in memory of Henry E. Lowe, who was to have opened the station and served as its manager but instead died of a brief illness two days prior; the funeral service was held at 11 a.m. that morning. It was an outlet of the Mutual Broadcasting System, with Blue Network programs added in 1943; many Blue shows had not been previously heard in Macon. On March 29, 1941, the station moved to 1240 kHz as part of NARBA