WTLM (1520 AM) is a

urban gospel Urban/contemporary gospel is a modern subgenre of gospel music. Although the style developed gradually, early forms are generally dated to the 1970s, and the genre was well established by the end of the 1980s. The radio format is pitched prima ...

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 A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

Opelika, Alabama Opelika (pronounced ) is a city in and the county seat of Lee County in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of Opelika is ...

, United States. The station is owned by

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

–based

iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...

, through licensee iHM Licenses, LLC.

1520 AM The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 1520 kHz: 1520 AM is a United States clear-channel frequency. WWKB in Buffalo, New York, and KOKC in Oklahoma City share Class A status on 1520 AM. Argentina * LRI721 in Chascomús, B ...

is a United States

clear-channel A clear-channel station is an AM broadcasting, AM radio station in North America that has the highest protection from Interference (communication), interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. The syste ...

frequency, on which

WWKB WWKB (1520 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio, commercial Radio broadcasting, radio station in Buffalo, New York. It broadcasts a sports betting radio format and is owned and operated by Audacy, Inc. Most programming is from the co-owned B ...

and KOKC share Class A status.

Programming

WTLM broadcasts an

music format to the

Auburn Metropolitan Area The Auburn Metropolitan Area—officially the Auburn-Opelika, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area—is a metro area in east-central Alabama with a 2016 population of 158,991. It was the 19th fastest growing metro area in the United States be ...

which once featured programming from

Citadel Media Cumulus Media Networks was an American radio network owned and operated by Cumulus Media. From 2011 until its merger with Westwood One, it controlled many of the radio assets formerly belonging to the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), which w ...

. WTLM broadcasts

Auburn Tigers football The Auburn Tigers football program represents Auburn University in the sport of American college football. Auburn competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Western Division o ...

games. The entire lineup is made up of voice-tracked personalities which include Kim Harper-Johnson (M-F, 12-6am and Weekends, 12-6am and 12-6pm), Richard LaGrand (M-F, 6-10am), Tracy Bethea (M-F, 10am-3pm), Sonya Blakey (M-F, 3-7pm and ), Victor Sosa (M-F, 7pm-12am and Saturdays, 6am-12pm, and 6pm-12am )

History

Licensed to Faulkner Radio, Inc., WAOA signed on the air August 12, 1968, as a daytime-only station with 5,000

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 of power at 1520

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 ...

. Owner James H. Faulkner Sr. also owned several other Alabama radio stations as well as the newspapers ''Baldwin Times'' and ''Foley Onlooker'' in

Baldwin County, Alabama Baldwin County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Alabama, on the Gulf coast. It is one of only two counties in Alabama that border the Gulf of Mexico, along with Mobile County. As of the 2020 census, the populat ...

. WAOA signed on with a Middle-Of-The-Road music format which changed to Country/Western in summer 1969. This was maintained until the completion of the 1985 sale to Faulkner Radio. In November 1984, Fuller Broadcasting Company, Inc., made a deal to purchase WAOA and FM sister station WFRI (now

WKKR WKKR (97.7 FM) is a radio station licensed to Auburn, Alabama, United States. The station, established in 1968, is currently owned by San Antonio–based iHeartMedia, through licensee iHM Licenses, LLC. In 1988, WKKR became the first Alabama radi ...

) from Faulkner Radio, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on January 7, 1985, and the transaction was consummated on March 17, 1985. In February 1985, the AM station's format was flipped from

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

to "solid gold"

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 ...

. To match the new direction for the station, the callsign was changed to WZMG on March 1, 1985. On March 21, 1997, the station swapped callsigns with 910 kHz

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 ...

WTLM (now WZMG) and was assigned the current WTLM call letters by the FCC. In August 1998, Fuller Broadcasting Company, Inc., reached an agreement to sell this station to Root Communications License Company, L.P., as part of a five-station deal. The deal was approved by the FCC on October 5, 1998, and the transaction was consummated in December 1998. Gary Fuller, president and CEO of Fuller Broadcasting Company from 1985 until he sold the company in December 1998, was elected mayor of

, in August 2004. In March 2003, Root Communications Group LP (Daniel C. Savadove, CEO) subsidiary Root Communications License Company, L.P., reached an agreement to sell this station to Qantum Communications, Inc. (Frank Osborn, partner) subsidiary Qantum of Auburn License Company, LLC, as part of a 26 station deal valued at $82.2 million. The deal was approved by the FCC on April 30, 2003, and the transaction was consummated on July 2, 2003. At the time of the sale, WTLM aired a

nostalgia Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a learned formation of a Greek language, Greek compound, consisting of (''nóstos''), meaning "homecoming", ...

music format branded as "Timeless 1520". Later, the format was switched again, this time to a

sports radio Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often- boisterous on-ai ...

format serving the greater

. In June 2009, the format reverted to the "Timeless 1520" nostalgia music format. On May 15, 2014, Qantum Communications announced that it would sell its 29 stations, including WTLM, to Clear Channel Communications (now iHeartMedia), in a transaction connected to Clear Channel's sale of WALK AM- FM in

Patchogue, New York Patchogue (, ) is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Suffolk County, New York. The population was 11,798 at the time of the 2010 census. Patchogue is part of the Town (New York), town of Brookhaven, New York, Brookhaven, on ...

Connoisseur Media Connoisseur Media LLC is an American media company. It is based in Westport, Connecticut and led by Jeff Warshaw. Connoisseur operates radio stations and digital assets in markets across the U.S. cities of Billings, Fredrick, Maryland; Bay Shore, H ...

via Qantum. The transaction was consummated on September 9, 2014. On June 30, 2014 WTLM changed their format from oldies to classic country, branded as "Classic Kicker Country 1520". On June 12, 2020 WTLM changed their format from classic country to urban gospel, branded as "Hallelujah 1520 AM".

Awards and honors

In 1988, then-WZMG and sister station

became the first stations in Alabama to earn the

National Association of Broadcasters The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is a trade association and lobby group representing the interests of commercial and non-commercial over-the-air radio and television broadcasters in the United States. The NAB represents more than ...

Crystal Radio Award for excellence in community service. Established in 1987, the NAB Crystal Radio Awards recognize broadcasters for outstanding commitment to

community service Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community without any form of compensation. Community service can be distinct from volunteering, since it is not always performed ...

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References

External links

Hallelujah 1520 AM Facebook
{{Daytime-only radio stations in Alabama TLM Gospel radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1968 Lee County, Alabama IHeartMedia radio stations 1968 establishments in Alabama TLM TLM