WFBX
Encyclopedia
WFBX is a radio station
broadcasting a Sports radio
format. Licensed to Spring Lake, North Carolina
, USA, it serves the Fayetteville area. The station is currently licensed to CRS Radio Holdings Inc..
, signed on WFBS on May 23, 1963, as the fifth radio station in Cumberland County, North Carolina
. The format was Top 40, and announcers included some of the best in the country because the U.S. Army
drafted them and sent them to Fort Bragg
. Because it had the clearest signal of any station on the base, and because it sounded as professional as a large-market station, WFBS became a major success.
From 1963 to the mid 1970s, the station was owned by Radio Smiles, a group owner of several AM radio stations in North Carolina
, including stations in Kinston (WISP), Graham WSML
, Raleigh (WRNC) and others.
The station’s original studios and offices were located on the second floor of the Professional Building in downtown Spring Lake. The tower/transmitter site was a former cow pasture on NC Highway 210, one mile north of Spring Lake.
.
Between 1966 and 1969, a fire originating in a dentist’s office in the Professional Building destroyed the station’s studios and offices. The station built the new WFBS Broadcast House studio and office building at the transmitter site and moved into it prior to 1969.
In early February, 1969, a fire started underneath the control room of the Broadcast House studio building. The fire spread very quickly, fueled by the plastic insulation of cables installed on the underside of the floor, as well as gasoline and a gasoline powered lawnmower stored nearby. The burning plastic rapidly filled the building with dense smoke.
Station personnel tried to save what they could, but the toxic smoke forced them to leave the building with almost nothing. The fire spread from the basement through the studios to the attic. It heavily damaging the back half of the building, collapsed parts of the floor and ceiling, and destroyed the control room, news studio, racks of equipment, and both production rooms. The offices were undamaged by fire, but received substantial smoke damage.
The station resumed broadcasting from a temporary studio in the transmitter building. The station offices were moved to a residential style mobile home temporarily located near the studio building while the building was repaired. Conditions were cramped. The bathtub of the mobile home was used as a makeshift filing cabinet.
In the mid 70's the station was purchased by Jerry Oakley, its long-time general manager.
In 1979, the station’s Saturday night 6 pm to midnight “Studio 1450” disco show garnered remarkably high Arbitron ratings, higher than any other time or any other day, even though the station operated at only 25% of its daytime power during most of the show. This happened because programming appealing to a black audience was unavailable in the Fayetteville radio market after sundown. The “Studio 1450” DJ realized this, and played music that was aimed at that audience, while calling it “disco” to satisfy the station’s program director, who intended for the station to be Top 40. Unfortunately, the program director caught on and canceled the show.
In 1979, the station was sold to William Britt, a North Carolina attorney.
In 1980, the station changed to a "soft soul" music format and was very successful for a short time For a period of time between 1980 and 1987, the station was programmed with the Z Rock
hardcore metal rock music format, and operated with call letters WRZK.
On June 27, 1988, the station was transferred to Evangel Christian School, Inc. Evangel Christian School changed the call letters to WCIE to match their FM station in Lakeland, Florida
, WCIE-FM (91.1). The letters stood for "Where Christ is Everything."
In September 1989 Evangel stopped providing WCIE with programming by satellite, so the station had to increase its original programming from five hours a week to all the time. WCIE was also non-commercial and did not even charge pastors for airing their messages; an annual "Share-a-Thon" provided the station with its funding.
For a period of time prior to October, 1991, the station "went dark" and did not transmit.
On January 18, 1996, the station was sold to W & V Broadcasting.
For nine months prior to February 14, 1999, W & V Broadcasting, owned by William and Vera Hollingsworth, worked to return WCIE to the air. According to general manager Tammie Hollingsworth, WCIE had been off the air two years when it came back as a black gospel station airing the same programming as co-owned WMFA
. The station made its return despite a break-in that resulted in the loss of thousands of dollars of equipment.
Late in 1998, WCIE went off the air again because the Highway 210 site was sold to a new owner who did not want the station's tower there. This required the transmitter/tower site to be moved about ¼ mile north to a new location.
Late in 1999, the station was sold to Colonial Radio Group, Inc., owner of WFAI
, and the planned format was "1450 The Sports Animal." In 2001, the plan was for sports talk began airing on both WCIE and WFAY, the station which had been WFAI. "ESPN
Radio 1450" finally began broadcasting at full power Jan. 1, 2002 after temporarily using 500 watts while various problems were solved. WFAI aired WCIE's programming at night. WCIE aired the area's only local sports-talk show, hosted by Allen Smothers.
Late in June 2002, WCIE became a Spanish language
station, the first in the area, with the name "Mexicana Musical 1450 AM," and WFAY took over the sports talk format. The new WCIE format would include Spanish Contemporary, tropical music
, banda
, ranchera
, tejano
, salsa
, and regional Mexican
.
Early in 2004, Roberto Vengoechea became the new general manager, and "La Nueva Radio Latina" included an increased focus on Latin and Caribbean
listeners, not just Mexicans. In addition to news and information, WCIE played tropical, salsa, merengue
and cumbia
music. One reason for the changes: the various ethnic groups on the area military bases. .
On May 1, 2006, WCIE became "ESPN 1450." WFAY airs the same programming. The two stations operate under a management agreement between DR Media LLC and C.R.S. Radio Holdings..
In 2000, the original WFBS call letters were adopted by an AM radio station on 1280 kHz in Berwick, Pennsylvania. The Berwick station bought the rights to the original WFBS Radio Smiles jingles from the early 1960s and changed their identity to WFBS, Radio Smiles, with a format of early 1960s music. The station now holds the call sign WBWX.
Scott Shannon
, New York radio programmer and DJ (also the announcer for the Sean Hannity
radio show) started his radio career at this station.
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...
broadcasting a Sports radio
Sports radio
Sports radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A popular format with an almost exclusively male demographic in most areas, sports radio is characterized by an often-boisterous on-air style and extensive debate and analysis by both hosts and...
format. Licensed to Spring Lake, North Carolina
Spring Lake, North Carolina
Spring Lake is a town in Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. The 2010 census recorded the population at 11,964 people.- History :...
, USA, it serves the Fayetteville area. The station is currently licensed to CRS Radio Holdings Inc..
History
Norman Suttles, a former manager of WFNCWFNC (AM)
WFNC is an AM radio station in Fayetteville, North Carolina broadcasting on frequency 640. The station has a conservative talk format and is under ownership of Cumulus Media.-History:...
, signed on WFBS on May 23, 1963, as the fifth radio station in Cumberland County, North Carolina
Cumberland County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 302,963 people, 107,358 households, and 77,619 families residing in the county. The population density was 464 people per square mile . There were 118,425 housing units at an average density of 181 per square mile...
. The format was Top 40, and announcers included some of the best in the country because the U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
drafted them and sent them to Fort Bragg
Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Fort Bragg is a major United States Army installation, in Cumberland and Hoke counties, North Carolina, U.S., mostly in Fayetteville but also partly in the town of Spring Lake. It was also a census-designated place in the 2010 census and had a population of 39,457. The fort is named for Confederate...
. Because it had the clearest signal of any station on the base, and because it sounded as professional as a large-market station, WFBS became a major success.
From 1963 to the mid 1970s, the station was owned by Radio Smiles, a group owner of several AM radio stations in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, including stations in Kinston (WISP), Graham WSML
WSML
WSML is located in Graham, North Carolina and broadcasts at 1200 AM. The station is part of a sports trimulcast with WCOG from Greensboro and WMFR from High Point. The station is owned by Curtis Media Group. Studios are located in downtown Graham.-History:...
, Raleigh (WRNC) and others.
The station’s original studios and offices were located on the second floor of the Professional Building in downtown Spring Lake. The tower/transmitter site was a former cow pasture on NC Highway 210, one mile north of Spring Lake.
.
Between 1966 and 1969, a fire originating in a dentist’s office in the Professional Building destroyed the station’s studios and offices. The station built the new WFBS Broadcast House studio and office building at the transmitter site and moved into it prior to 1969.
In early February, 1969, a fire started underneath the control room of the Broadcast House studio building. The fire spread very quickly, fueled by the plastic insulation of cables installed on the underside of the floor, as well as gasoline and a gasoline powered lawnmower stored nearby. The burning plastic rapidly filled the building with dense smoke.
Station personnel tried to save what they could, but the toxic smoke forced them to leave the building with almost nothing. The fire spread from the basement through the studios to the attic. It heavily damaging the back half of the building, collapsed parts of the floor and ceiling, and destroyed the control room, news studio, racks of equipment, and both production rooms. The offices were undamaged by fire, but received substantial smoke damage.
The station resumed broadcasting from a temporary studio in the transmitter building. The station offices were moved to a residential style mobile home temporarily located near the studio building while the building was repaired. Conditions were cramped. The bathtub of the mobile home was used as a makeshift filing cabinet.
In the mid 70's the station was purchased by Jerry Oakley, its long-time general manager.
In 1979, the station’s Saturday night 6 pm to midnight “Studio 1450” disco show garnered remarkably high Arbitron ratings, higher than any other time or any other day, even though the station operated at only 25% of its daytime power during most of the show. This happened because programming appealing to a black audience was unavailable in the Fayetteville radio market after sundown. The “Studio 1450” DJ realized this, and played music that was aimed at that audience, while calling it “disco” to satisfy the station’s program director, who intended for the station to be Top 40. Unfortunately, the program director caught on and canceled the show.
In 1979, the station was sold to William Britt, a North Carolina attorney.
In 1980, the station changed to a "soft soul" music format and was very successful for a short time For a period of time between 1980 and 1987, the station was programmed with the Z Rock
Z Rock
Z-Rock was a nationally syndicated radio network based out of Dallas, Texas, USA, in the mid-1980s through the mid-1990s that played heavy metal and hard rock music. The format was one of ABC Radio Network's 24-hour satellite formats...
hardcore metal rock music format, and operated with call letters WRZK.
On June 27, 1988, the station was transferred to Evangel Christian School, Inc. Evangel Christian School changed the call letters to WCIE to match their FM station in Lakeland, Florida
Lakeland, Florida
Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States, located approximately midway between Tampa and Orlando along Interstate 4. According to the 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, the city had a population of 94,406...
, WCIE-FM (91.1). The letters stood for "Where Christ is Everything."
In September 1989 Evangel stopped providing WCIE with programming by satellite, so the station had to increase its original programming from five hours a week to all the time. WCIE was also non-commercial and did not even charge pastors for airing their messages; an annual "Share-a-Thon" provided the station with its funding.
For a period of time prior to October, 1991, the station "went dark" and did not transmit.
On January 18, 1996, the station was sold to W & V Broadcasting.
For nine months prior to February 14, 1999, W & V Broadcasting, owned by William and Vera Hollingsworth, worked to return WCIE to the air. According to general manager Tammie Hollingsworth, WCIE had been off the air two years when it came back as a black gospel station airing the same programming as co-owned WMFA
WMFA
WMFA is a radio station broadcasting a Gospel format. Licensed to Raeford, North Carolina, USA. The station is currently licensed to W & V Broadcasting, which is 100% owned by William E. Hollingsworth of Raeford, NC and his wife Vera.-History:...
. The station made its return despite a break-in that resulted in the loss of thousands of dollars of equipment.
Late in 1998, WCIE went off the air again because the Highway 210 site was sold to a new owner who did not want the station's tower there. This required the transmitter/tower site to be moved about ¼ mile north to a new location.
Late in 1999, the station was sold to Colonial Radio Group, Inc., owner of WFAI
WFAY
WFAY is a radio station licensed to serve Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA. The station is owned by CRS Radio Holdings Inc. WFAY broadcasts a Sports radio format that serves the Fayetteville area.-History:WFAI signed on in 1947....
, and the planned format was "1450 The Sports Animal." In 2001, the plan was for sports talk began airing on both WCIE and WFAY, the station which had been WFAI. "ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
Radio 1450" finally began broadcasting at full power Jan. 1, 2002 after temporarily using 500 watts while various problems were solved. WFAI aired WCIE's programming at night. WCIE aired the area's only local sports-talk show, hosted by Allen Smothers.
Late in June 2002, WCIE became a Spanish language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
station, the first in the area, with the name "Mexicana Musical 1450 AM," and WFAY took over the sports talk format. The new WCIE format would include Spanish Contemporary, tropical music
Tropical music
Musica tropical or tropical music is a broad term for vocal and instrumental music with "tropical" flavor usually associated with the Afro-Caribbean music. It is part of an even broader category of Latin music. Usually it is an upbeat dance music, but also includes ballads. It features complex,...
, banda
Banda music
Banda is a brass-based form of traditional music. Bandas play a wide variety of songs, including rancheras, corridos, cumbias, baladas, and boleros. Bandas are most widely known for their rancheras, but they also play modern Mexican pop, rock, and cumbias...
, ranchera
Ranchera
Ranchera is a genre of the traditional music of Mexico originally sung by only one performer with a guitar. It dates to the years of the Mexican Revolution in the early 20th century. It later became closely associated with the mariachi groups which evolved in Jalisco. Ranchera today is also played...
, tejano
Tejano music
Tejano music or Tex-Mex music is the name given to various forms of folk and popular music originating among the Mexican-American populations of Central and Southern Texas...
, salsa
Salsa music
Salsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music...
, and regional Mexican
Regional Mexican
Regional Mexican is a radio format for music radio, typically defined to include Banda, Ranchera, Mariachi and Norteña. It is the most popular radio format targeting Hispanic Americans in the United States....
.
Early in 2004, Roberto Vengoechea became the new general manager, and "La Nueva Radio Latina" included an increased focus on Latin and Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
listeners, not just Mexicans. In addition to news and information, WCIE played tropical, salsa, merengue
Merengue music
Merengue is a type of music and dance from the Dominican Republic. It is popular in the Dominican Republic and all over Latin America. Its name is Spanish, taken from the name of the meringue, a dessert made from whipped egg whites and sugar...
and cumbia
Cumbia
Cumbia is a music genre popular across Latin America. The cumbia originated in the Caribbean coast of Colombia, where it is associated with an eponymous dance and has since spread as far as Mexico and Argentina...
music. One reason for the changes: the various ethnic groups on the area military bases. .
On May 1, 2006, WCIE became "ESPN 1450." WFAY airs the same programming. The two stations operate under a management agreement between DR Media LLC and C.R.S. Radio Holdings..
In 2000, the original WFBS call letters were adopted by an AM radio station on 1280 kHz in Berwick, Pennsylvania. The Berwick station bought the rights to the original WFBS Radio Smiles jingles from the early 1960s and changed their identity to WFBS, Radio Smiles, with a format of early 1960s music. The station now holds the call sign WBWX.
Scott Shannon
Scott Shannon
Michael Scott Shannon is a radio disc jockey, current co-host of the "Scott and Todd in the Morning" show on WPLJ, host of The True Oldies Channel, and the official voice of The Sean Hannity Show.-Early Radio Career:...
, New York radio programmer and DJ (also the announcer for the Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity is an American radio and television host, author, and conservative political commentator. He is the host of The Sean Hannity Show, a nationally syndicated talk radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks. Hannity also hosts a cable news show, Hannity,...
radio show) started his radio career at this station.
Ownership history
- 1963 – mid 1970s: Smiles Radio, Inc (Norman Suttles)
- Mid 1970s: Triad Communications (Jerry Oakley)
- Mid 1970s – December 5, 1979: Crest Communications (Jerry Oakley)
- December 5, 1979 – June 22, 1983: Crest Communications (William Britt)
- June 22, 1983 – December 30, 1986: Crest Communications (Bobby Moore)
- December 30, 1986 – June 27, 1988: Smiles Radio Inc. (Norman Suttles)
- June 27, 1988 – January 18, 1996: Evangel Christian School, Inc.
- January 18, 1996 - November 24, 1999: W & V Broadcasting
- November 24, 1999 - April 19, 2001: Colonial Radio Group
- April 19, 2001 – present: WCIE-AM, Inc.
Call sign history
- WFBS: May 22, 1963 - November 1, 1983
- WRZK: November 1, 1983 - June 22, 1987
- WPJS: June 22, 1987 - August 9, 1988
- WCIE: August 9, 1988 - May 29, 2008
- WFBX: May 29, 2008 - Present