WIST (AM)
Encyclopedia
WIST is a combo news/sports talk station based in New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...

. The locally owned & operated station (WTIX, Inc, owned by George H. Buck) is an affiliate of Fox Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio, abbreviated FSR, is an international radio network consisting of sports talk programming. The network is a service of Premiere Networks...

 and broadcasts at 690 kHz with a power level of 10,000 watt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...

s daytime and 5,000 watts nighttime.

The facilities of the station, previously called WTIX, were severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...

 in late August 2005. The station had the target date to resume broadcasting on 1 December, and in November requested the new letters. A sports talk station
WOLH
WOLH is a radio station currently airing a talk/sports format known as "The Source". Licensed to Florence, South Carolina, USA, the station serves the Florence area. The station is currently owned by Miller Communications, inc...

 in Florence, South Carolina
Florence, South Carolina
-Municipal government and politics:The City of Florence has a council-manager form of government. The mayor and city council are elected every four years, with no term limits...

 later claimed the WTIX call letters, which are now used by a Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina, with a 2010 population of 229,617. Winston-Salem is the county seat and largest city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to...

 station.

History

WTIX-AM, who was originally at 1450
WBYU
WBYU is the New Orleans, Louisiana affiliate of Radio Disney and is owned by the American Broadcasting Company's Radio Disney Group. The station broadcasts at 1450 kHz with 1 kW-Unlimited power.-History:...

 until 1958, was a very successful Top 40 powerhouse throughout the 1960s and 1970s owned by Todd Storz
Todd Storz
Robert Todd Storz is credited with being the father of the Top 40 radio format, which Gordon McLendon then went on to perfect with great commercial success during the 1950s and 1960s.-Biography:...

's Mid-Continent Broadcasting Company. In 1954 WTIX was the first radio station to air a Top 40 radio show. The program director who developed the format was William L. Armstrong
William L. Armstrong
William Lester "Bill" Armstrong is an American businessman and politician. He is member of the Republican party and was a United States Representative and Senator from Colorado. Armstrong was born in Fremont, Nebraska...

 who later served as a U. S. Senator from Colorado. Generations of New Orleanians were familiar with their signature call jingle "WTIX, We Love You," and the station was referred to as, "Fun-Lovin' WTIX, The Mighty 690!" Famed jockeys on The Mighty 690 during its heyday included The Real Robert Mitchell, Russell Glen "Buzz" Bennett, Ted Green, Deane Johnson, Marc Sommers, "Skinny" Tom Cheney, J. Andrew Michaels, Todd Bauer, Kathy Fischman, Larry Hamilton, Michael Green, Chuck Kirr, "Hot" Rod Glenn, Marty Maxwell, Terry Young, Bobby Reno, "King" Bob Walker, Marty "With the Party" Maxwell, "TK" Terry Knight, Ed Clancy and Don Anthony. (Hot Rod, Reno, Knight and Walker would later DJ for WTIX-FM
WTIX-FM
WTIX-FM is an oldies outlet serving the New Orleans area. The station is owned by Michael A. "Michael In The Morning" Costello and operates at 94.3 MHz with an ERP of 100 kW...

.)

In the mid-1980s (which saw WTIX-AM's decline due to FM radio fast becoming the norm), they shifted to a hybrid Talk/Oldies format, which would last until April 1988, when they began to slowly phase out the Oldies format in favor of All-Talk. The exception to the talk format was 4 hours each Sunday, which owner George Buck reserves for two of his passions, playing 2 hours of dixieland jazz
Dixieland Jazz
Dixieland Jazz was a Canadian music television series which aired on CBC Television in 1954.-Premise:The series host was Trump Davidson, a cornet player. He also hosted a radio music series on CBC's Trans-Canada Network.-Scheduling:...

 and swing music, followed by two hours rebroadcasting transcriptions of old time radio shows, which Buck himself announced from a studio in his French Quarter
French Quarter
The French Quarter, also known as Vieux Carré, is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. When New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city was originally centered on the French Quarter, or the Vieux Carré as it was known then...

 home via a line to the station's main studio.

Previous notable WTIX talk radio hosts include Ron Hunter
Ron Hunter
Ron Hunter is an American college basketball coach and the current head men's basketball coach of the Georgia State Panthers.-Coaching career:...

, Robert Namer, and long time radio personality Keith Rush.

At one time, in the 1980s, there was a weekly call-in talk show hosted by former professional wrestler Buck "Yellow Belly" Robley. The topics were about professional wrestling.

After 21 years as an All-Talk station, The Mighty 690 reverted to its musical roots by adopting an America's Greatest Music format on January 1, 2009, though it still retained a Talk Block from Noon to 6:00 pm, Eric Asher (noon-3:00p.m.) and Kaare Johnson (3:00p.m.-6:00p.m.) (according to the official WIST website). WIST announced on December 28, 2009 that they were abandoning the America's Greatest Music format and bringing in Fox Sports Radio to go along with its local talk block that is now 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. WIST is also now the flagship for all Tulane athletics play-by-play.

External links


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