WIXI (1360 AM) 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 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 ...

to serve the community of

Jasper, Alabama Jasper is a city in and the county seat of Walker County, Alabama, United States. Its population was 14,352 as of the 2010 census. Named in honor of Sergeant William Jasper, an American Revolutionary War hero, Jasper was settled around 1815 and ...

, United States. The station, established in 1946 as WWWB, is currently owned and operated by Gary Richardson, through licensee Richardson Broadcasting Corporation.

Programming

WIXI airs a mix of

Rhythmic Oldies Rhythmic oldies is a radio format that concentrates on the rhythmic, R&B, disco, or dance genres of music. Playlists can span from the 1960s through the 2000s and, depending on market conditions, may be designed for African-American or Hispanic a ...

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

Talk radio 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 ...

and

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

to the greater

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, area.

History

As WWWB

This station began licensed broadcasting with 250

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 on 1240

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 ...

on November 2, 1946, as WWWB. Under the ownership of Bankhead Broadcasting Company, Inc., WWWB was the first radio station licensed to

. The station's call letters were chosen to match the initials of Bankhead Broadcasting Company owner W.W. Bankhead. In 1955, the station got a

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 ...

from the FCC that allowed then to move to the current 1360 kHz broadcast frequency and increase signal power to 1,000 watts. In 1975, the station moved its studios to a house at 409 Ninth Avenue in Jasper that had been owned by auto dealer George Vines during the 1950s. According to station personnel, Vines' ghost haunted the station for most of the three decades it occupied the house. In March 1986, Tri-W Broadcasting, Inc., reached an agreement to sell WWWB, to SIS Sound, Inc. The deal was approved 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 ...

on June 4, 1986, and the transaction was consummated on October 28, 1986.

As WZPQ

The station, previously known as WWWB, was assigned new call letters WZPQ by the FCC on October 10,

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

. On November 15, 1997, William A. Grant Jr., the owner of WZPQ license holder SIS Sound, Inc., died. In March 1998, control of the company passed involuntarily to his sons William A. Grant III and Walter B. Grant. The transfer of control was approved by the FCC on May 21, 1998, and the transaction was consummated on the same day. In July 1999, SIS Sound, Inc., reached an agreement to sell WZPQ to James T. Lee for a reported sale price of $100,000. The deal was approved by the FCC on August 24, 1999, and the transaction was consummated on September 1, 1999.

As WIXI

The station was assigned the current WIXI call letters by the FCC on June 6,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

. In October 2006, James T. Lee reached an agreement to sell WIXI to Walker Broadcasting Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on November 14, 2006, and the transaction was consummated on December 1, 2006. In June 2008, Walker Broadcasting Inc. reached an agreement to transfer WIXI back to James T. Lee in exchange for the forgiveness of an unspecified debt. The deal was approved by the FCC on July 28, 2008, and the transaction was consummated on September 3, 2008. On September 9, 2008, James T. Lee reached an agreement to sell WIXI to Snavely Broadcasting Company LLC (David Snavely, managing member) for a reported $199,500. The deal was approved by the FCC on October 27, 2008, and consummation of the transaction occurred December 9, 2008.

Power increase

In January 2010, acting on engineering data filed with the FCC, WIXI increased its daytime power to 12,000 watts. It began using the slogan, "Walker County's Most Powerful Radio Station." WIXI carried locally produced shows, "The People's Viewpoint," a politically oriented talk show, and "Talking Walker County," a Jasper-area current and civic variety show. These programs were produced by Bishop Media. The station acquired broadcast rights for the Auburn Tigers in 2010, and was the flagship station for the local Cordova Blue Devils. The station was sold from Snavely Broadcasting to Rivera Broadcasting in November 2012, and dropped its longtime

Classic Country Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country and western music hits from past decades. Repertoire The radio format specializes in hits from the 1950s through the early 1980s, and focus primarily on innov ...

format for its current programming in January 2013. The station was again sold, this time to Gary Richardson's Richardson Broadcasting Corporation, in exchange for

WAYE WAYE (1220 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a Regional Mexican format. Licensed to Birmingham, Alabama, United States, the station serves the Birmingham market. The station is currently owned by Dulce and Maria Rivera, through licensee Rive ...

; Rivera Broadcasting also included $275,000 in the transaction, which was consummated on April 11, 2014. After the sale was approved, the format changed from Regional Mexican to a mix of Rhythmic Oldies, Blues, Talk and Gospel.

External links

References

{{Birmingham Radio IXI Regional Mexican radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1946 Walker County, Alabama 1946 establishments in Alabama Rhythmic oldies radio stations in the United States