WATO (AM)
Encyclopedia
WATO was a radio station
in Oak Ridge
, Tennessee
. The call letters were chosen for the first three letters in "Atomic City" as Oak Ridge was known at the time of the Manhattan Project
. WATO is licensed to broadcast at 5 kW during daytime hours and 500 watts at night. It is currently broadcasting at 1 kW during daylight hours and 125 watts at night from a temporary site while it looks for a new permanent home.
The station commenced broadcasting in February 1948. under the authority of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. It was the first radio station to be established on a U.S. military reservation. Initially it broadcast on 1490 kHz, but it moved to 1290 kHz on January 24, 1959, when the original owners bought out WOKE.
Broadcasts of Oak Ridge High School
football
games were a staple of its programming from 1948 through 2007. The station broadcast a total of 678 consecutive high school games.
The format was easy listening
oldies
at one time.
The station went off the air in March 2008 when one of its three 200 feet (61 m) transmission towers fell during a storm. Its owner, Horne Radio, determined that it would be financially infeasible to return the station to the air. In October 2008 Horne announced that it would sell WATO's transmission site and would surrender the station's broadcasting license to the Federal Communications Commission
. On February 19, 2009 the Federal Communications Commission
granted an application to temporarily move the transmitter site, with reduced power, to a site 5 miles west of the original transmitter site, broadcasting from a tower formerly used by WORI which is now silent. There is also an application on file for a change of ownership.
Ann and Larry Walden of Lenoir City, Tennessee, purchased WATO and brought it back on the air August 26, 2009; the new format included a talk show, Oak Ridge High School sports, music, and more. Lipstick Lingo, hosted by Martha Woodward, also aired on WATO Radio.
On the first week of April 2010, WATO again ceased broadcasting, this time due to the owners of the land and its transmitting equipment selling off the property to a hotel developer. Because of economic conditions, the owners of WATO could not afford to buy its own property or equipment. The owners have placed its license up for sale.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
in Oak Ridge
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson and Roane counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of Knoxville. Oak Ridge's population was 27,387 at the 2000 census...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. The call letters were chosen for the first three letters in "Atomic City" as Oak Ridge was known at the time of the Manhattan Project
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
. WATO is licensed to broadcast at 5 kW during daytime hours and 500 watts at night. It is currently broadcasting at 1 kW during daylight hours and 125 watts at night from a temporary site while it looks for a new permanent home.
The station commenced broadcasting in February 1948. under the authority of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. It was the first radio station to be established on a U.S. military reservation. Initially it broadcast on 1490 kHz, but it moved to 1290 kHz on January 24, 1959, when the original owners bought out WOKE.
Broadcasts of Oak Ridge High School
Oak Ridge High School (Oak Ridge, Tennessee)
Oak Ridge High School is the public high school for Oak Ridge, Tennessee, enrolling grades 9 through 12. It was established in 1943 to educate the children of Manhattan Project workers. It currently has about 1500 students.-Founding and first location:...
football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
games were a staple of its programming from 1948 through 2007. The station broadcast a total of 678 consecutive high school games.
The format was easy listening
Easy listening
Easy listening is a broad style of popular music and radio format that emerged in the 1950s, evolving out of big band music, and related to MOR music as played on many AM radio stations. It encompasses the exotica, beautiful music, light music, lounge music, ambient music, and space age pop genres...
oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
at one time.
The station went off the air in March 2008 when one of its three 200 feet (61 m) transmission towers fell during a storm. Its owner, Horne Radio, determined that it would be financially infeasible to return the station to the air. In October 2008 Horne announced that it would sell WATO's transmission site and would surrender the station's broadcasting license to the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
. On February 19, 2009 the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
granted an application to temporarily move the transmitter site, with reduced power, to a site 5 miles west of the original transmitter site, broadcasting from a tower formerly used by WORI which is now silent. There is also an application on file for a change of ownership.
Ann and Larry Walden of Lenoir City, Tennessee, purchased WATO and brought it back on the air August 26, 2009; the new format included a talk show, Oak Ridge High School sports, music, and more. Lipstick Lingo, hosted by Martha Woodward, also aired on WATO Radio.
On the first week of April 2010, WATO again ceased broadcasting, this time due to the owners of the land and its transmitting equipment selling off the property to a hotel developer. Because of economic conditions, the owners of WATO could not afford to buy its own property or equipment. The owners have placed its license up for sale.