WHSL (107.7 FM, "Hot 107.7") is a

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 ...

licensed to Lisman, Alabama, and serving the

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some a ...

radio market. Owned by Augustus Foundation, Inc., WHSL has a transmitter at its studios on Pushmataha Road in Butler. When on the air, WHSL broadcasts an

urban adult contemporary Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music on ...

music format to the greater

Meridian, Mississippi Meridian is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, seventh largest city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 41,148 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census and an estimated population in 2018 of 36,347. It is the count ...

area. It is the only locally programmed radio station in the area.

History

K. Darryl Jackson received the original

construction permit Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building perm ...

for a new FM station from 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) on March 5,

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

. The new station was assigned the call letters WPRN-FM by the FCC on June 9, 1997. WPRN-FM received its license to cover from the FCC on January 9, 2003. In August 1999, K. Darryl Jackson applied to the FCC to transfer the broadcast license for WPRN-FM to Butler Broadcasting Corporation. The deal was approved by the FCC on November 5, 1999, and the transaction was consummated on November 30, 1999. Butler Broadcasting Corporation is 100%-owned by Darryl Jackson. WPRN previously broadcast the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

-oriented

God's Country Radio Network God's Country Radio Network was a Religious broadcasting radio network in the United States which launched in 2008. The majority of stations that the network aired on were owned by the non-profit organization Educational Media Foundation, though ...

as "God's Country 107" prior to the network's closure in November 2010. On February 27, 2012, the station changed its call sign to WHSL. The station was donated to Joshua Coyle's Leap of Faith, LLC effective August 3, 2012. On an unknown date, the station went silent. WHSL returned to the air as of June 3, 2014. Effective December 15, 2014, Leap of Faith sold WHSL to WHSL, LLC, at a purchase price of $10,000. In the spring of 2017, WHSL changed their format from country to urban adult contemporary, branded as "Hot 107.7". Effective July 2, 2019, WHSL, LLC donated the station's license to Augustus Foundation Inc. in a transaction valued at $42,000.

Former on-air staff

Myrtle Todd, grandmother of country music recording artist

Ty Herndon Boyd Tyrone Herndon (born May 2, 1962), known professionally as Ty Herndon, is an American country music singer and songwriter. His music career began in the 1980s as a member of the Tennessee River Boys, a predecessor to the country band Diamon ...

, hosted a radio show on WPRN-FM and the now-defunct AM

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 ...

WPRN (1330 AM,

Butler, Alabama Butler is a town in and the county seat of Choctaw County, Alabama, United States. The population was 1,894 at the 2010 census. History When Choctaw County was formed in 1847, Butler was created as the county seat. The town was located and se ...

) for more than 40 years. She played mostly

Gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

and discussed community events. Herndon's mother, Peggy, also once hosted a show along with his aunts Lilly and Benny as "The Todd Sisters". Herndon was born in

, but grew just across the state line in

, where the AM station was licensed. The AM sister station's license was officially cancelled by the Federal Communications Commission on October 6, 2003. The FM station, established in 1997, carried Myrtle Todd's show through at least late-2006.

References

External links

* {{Urban Radio Stations in Alabama HSL Radio stations established in 1997 1997 establishments in Alabama Urban adult contemporary radio stations in the United States Choctaw County, Alabama