WFIR

Local news and talk programs air in weekday morning and afternoon drive times, with syndicated shows heard the rest of day, including The Glenn Beck Program, The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, The Sean Hannity Show, The Ramsey Show with Dave Ramsey, The Mark Levin Show, Ground Zero with Clyde Lewis and Coast to Coast AM with George Noory. Weekends feature shows on money, religion, technology, law, guns, home repair and gardening. Syndicated weekend programs include The Kim Komando Show, Rich DeMuro on Tech, Somewhere in Time with Art Bell, Tom Gresham's Gun Talk and Bill Handel on the Law.{{Cite web|url=http://wfirnews.com/program-schedule|title=Program Schedule}} World and national news from ABC News Radio is heard at the beginning of most hours.

File:WDBJ (1948).gif

WFIR is the second oldest radio station in Virginia, preceded by only WNIS in Norfolk, which was first licensed September 21, 1923. WFIR was first licensed, as WDBJ, on May 5, 1924, to the Richardson-Wayland Electrical Corporation at 106 Church Avenue, transmitting on 1310 kHz.[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.319510008420265&seq=345 "New Stations"], Radio Service Bulletin, June 2, 1924, page 3. On June 20, 1924, WDBJ officially went on the air.Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 page C-222, retrieved 1-11-17 The studios were in the back of the company's store. The first program was a live banjo player.{{Cite web|url=http://wfirnews.com/about-wfir/wfir-history-part1-the-mic-is-on1924-1931|title=WFIR History Part1: The Mic is On(1924 - 1931)}} The original call sign was randomly assigned from roster of available call letters.

This company already had some limited broadcasting experience. Employee Frank E. Maddox had begun experimenting with radio broadcasts in Roanoke with amateur radio station 3BIY.The leading "3" in the 3BIY call sign specified that the station was located in the third radio district. The fact that the letter "B" was in the range of A to W meant that it was licensed as a standard amateur station. A March 16, 1922 advertisement for Richardson-Wayland referred to the 3BIY broadcasts, stating that "Saturday nights we give a concert to which all are cordially invited".Richardson-Wayland Electrical Corp., (advertisement), Roanoke Times, March 16, 1922, page 14. However, in early 1922 the Department of Commerce, regulators of radio at this time, issued regulations that prohibited amateur radio stations from making broadcasts.[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435066705633&seq=218 "Miscellaneous: Broadcasting"], Radio Service Bulletin, February 1, 1922, pages 8-9. A couple years later, Richardson-Wayland asked Maddox to establish a commercial radio station. The company sold radio receivers, but because people in the Roanoke area had no local stations to listen to, they could only pick up distant signals after sunset.

In 1926, WDBJ moved to new studios at The American Theater on Jefferson Street and Campbell Avenue in Roanoke. In 1929, WDBJ began broadcasting at 930 kHz at 500 watts power, and also became the Roanoke affiliate of CBS Radio—a link that would last for more than 70 years. The station was sold to The Roanoke Times newspaper in 1931.{{Cite web|url=http://wfirnews.com/about-wfir/wfir-history-part2-the-golden-years-1931-1945|title = WFIR History Part2: The Golden Years(1931 - 1945)}} Power increased to 1000 watts in 1934. In 1939, Chief Engineer J.W. Robertson increased the power to 5000 watts.[https://archive.org/details/broadcasting17unse/page/n997/mode/1up "Studio Notes"], Broadcasting, November 15, 1939, page 74. In 1941, under the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement or NARBA, the station moved to its current dial position at AM 960. During the 1940s, 50s and 60s, WDBJ mixed bluegrass music and country music with adult standards and middle of the road popular tunes, while also carrying CBS Network dramas, comedies and sports.{{Cite web|url=http://wfirnews.com/about-wfir/wfir-history-part3-war-peace-1945-1969|title=WFIR History Part3: War & Peace (1945 - 1969)}} In October 1955, WDBJ-TV (channel 7) signed on the airBroadcasting Yearbook 1977 page B-136, retrieved 1-11-17 as Roanoke's CBS television affiliate.

Times-World Corporation, owner of the Times, merged with Landmark Communications in 1969. As a condition of the merger, Times-World sold ts broadcasting properties. Channel 7 kept the historic WDBJ call letters, with AM 960 becoming WFIR, standing for First in Roanoke, reflecting its status as the first broadcasting operation in the Roanoke Valley. In 1979, WFIR was purchased by Jim Gibbons, the former play-by-play announcer for the Washington Redskins football team. Gibbons added more news and sports programming. In 1979, WFIR began carrying the syndicated Larry King Show overnight, and later, family financial adviser Bruce Williams in the evening. Through the 1980s, WFIR aired a full service adult contemporary format, keeping WFIR among the top ten radio stations in the Roanoke-Lynchburg media market ratings, despite the shift to FM radio listening.Radio & Records Ratings Report,, Fall 1987, page 180, retrieved 1-11-17 In 1987, the station added Rush Limbaugh to its midday schedule, one of his first affiliates.

In 1989 WFIR became a full-time News/Talk radio station. In 2000, it was bought by Mel Wheeler, Inc., which owns eight radio stations in the Roanoke-Lynchburg market. In 2001, WFIR switched from CBS Radio News to ABC News Radio hourly newscasts in order to be able to air Paul Harvey news which was dropped from WROV several years earlier.{{Cite web|url=http://wfirnews.com/about-wfir/wfir-history-part5-depend-on-it-1989-present|title=WFIR History Part5: Depend on it! (1989 - Present)}}

In addition to the main station, WFIR is relayed by two FM translators to widen its broadcast area.

{{RadioTranslators

| call1 = W233CK

| freq1 = 94.5

| fid1 = 144940

| watts1 = 200

| haat1 = 60

| class1 = D

| city1 = Troutville, Virginia

| call2 = W297BC

| freq2 = 107.3

| fid2 = 5146

| watts2 = 125

| haat2 = 219

| class2 = D

| city2 = Roanoke, Virginia

| notes2 =

}}

{{reflist|30em|refs=

{{cite book|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/2010/D4-2010-BC-YB-7.pdf|title=Broadcasting Yearbook 2010|date=2010|access-date=July 16, 2015|publisher=ProQuest, LLC/Reed Publishing (Nederland), B.V.|page=D-570}}

{{cite web|url=http://www1.arbitron.com/sip/displaySip.do?surveyID=SP15&band=am&callLetter=WFIR|title=Arbitron Station Information Profiles|access-date=July 16, 2015|work=Nielsen Audio/Nielsen Holdings}}

{{cite web|url=http://www.roanokeradio.com/WDBJ/|title=WDBJ - Roanoke's First Radio Station|access-date=August 28, 2015|work=Roanoke Radio}}

{{cite web|url=http://transition.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/amq?call=WFIR|title=WFIR Facility Record|access-date=July 16, 2015|work=Federal Communications Commission, audio division}}

{{cite web|url=http://transition.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/fmq?call=W297BC|title=W297BC Facility Record|access-date=July 16, 2015|work=Federal Communications Commission, audio division}}

}}

• [https://www.wfirnews.com/ 960 AM and FM 107.3 WFIR Online]

{{AM station data|31138|WFIR}}

• [https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=52615 FCC History Cards for WFIR] (covering 1927–1981 as WDBJ / WFIR)
• {{FCC-LMS-Facility|144940|W233CK}}
• {{FXL|W233CK}}
• {{FCC-LMS-Facility|5146|W297BC}}
• {{FXL|W297BC}}

{{Roanoke-Lynchburg Radio}}

{{News/Talk Radio Stations in Virginia}}

Category:1924 establishments in Virginia

Category:News and talk radio stations in the United States

Category:Radio stations established in 1924

FIR