WHOW

This station began broadcast operations in August 1947 as a 1,000 watt daytime-only radio station broadcasting at 1520 kHz as WHOW.{{cite book |title=Broadcasting-Telecasting 1948 Yearbook |year=1948 |page=112 |chapter=Directory of Standard Broadcasting Stations of the United States |publisher=Broadcasting Publications, Inc. |location=Washington, D.C.}} The station, licensed to serve the community of Clinton, Illinois, was owned by Dr. Keith Rhea, H.E. Rhea, Rex K. Rhea, Tom Dinsmore, and Frank Moots doing business as the Cornbelt Broadcasting Company.

WHOW licensee Cornbelt Broadcasting Company was acquired by James R. "Ray" Livesay in September 1950.{{cite book |title=Broadcasting-Telecasting 1951 Yearbook |year=1951 |page=130 |chapter=Directory of AM, FM, and TV Stations of the United States |publisher=Broadcasting Publications, Inc. |location=Washington, D.C.}} The station was able to increase its daytime signal to 5,000 watts in 1962.{{cite web |publisher=WHOW |title=WHOW 1947-1972: Our 25th Year |url=http://www.peorianetwork.com/whow/1972/page2.htm |year=1972 |page=2}} On April 19, 1972, the station's studios were moved from the downtown square to an office building at its tower site, four miles (6 km) south of Clinton, built to resemble a "big red barn".{{cite news |work=Herald & Review |title=WHOW-AM plans party to celebrate 60 years |page=D7 |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DH&p_theme=dh&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=120481E6EECFD360&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |date=April 25, 2008 |quote=WHOW signed on in August 1947 from studios on the Clinton square, with its tower and transmitter 4 miles south of Clinton.}}{{cite news |work=Bloomington Pantagraph |title=WHOW celebrates 60 years |date=April 24, 2008 |quote=When Randy Miller purchased Clinton Radio Station WHOW six months ago, he knew the station had a long and rich history.... In 1972 they moved to what is known as the "big red barn," about four miles south of Clinton.}} (The station and its FM sister station still operate from this facility.) Inspired by the April 1987 opening of the Clinton Nuclear Generating Station, WHOW changed its motto to "WHOW, your radio active station" in 1989.{{cite news |work=Bloomington Pantagraph |title=Ex-mayor's encore rebuffs Warhol |date=April 17, 1989 |quote=In Clinton, though, WHOW radio may have outdone them all. The station's new slogan is influenced by Illinois Power Co.'s nuclear plant just eight miles away. "WHOW," goes the motto. "Your radio active station."}}

File:Whow.jpg

Livesay founded the Daytime Broadcasters Association in 1955 and served as its president until 1982.{{cite news |work=Chicago Tribune |title=Radio pioneer James R. Livesay |date=May 19, 1995 |first=Ilaina |last=Jonas |page=10}} The National Association of Broadcasters presented the National Radio Award to Livesay in 1989 citing his "lifelong contributions to the industry". Ray Livesay died in May 1995.{{cite news |work=Herald & Review |title=Pioneer radio voice will be missed |date=May 26, 1995 |first=David |last=Burke |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DH&p_theme=dh&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=1038CA5D1814B0D5&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |quote=That voice, I discovered, was that of Ray Livesay, owner and general manager of the WLBH stations as well as WHOW AM and FM in Clinton.}} Livesay's son, James R. "Jim" Livesay II, took over operation of WHOW and WHOW-FM after his death. Alonzon Newnum, the chief engineer for WHOW for more than four decades, died in late November 1999.{{cite news |work=Bloomington Pantagraph |title=Deaths: Alonzo M. Newnum |date=November 25, 1999 |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BL&p_theme=bl&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB1471B129367D8&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |quote=He had a broadcasting degree from Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Ind., and was a chief radio engineer for WHOW in Clinton for 41 years.}}

In June 2002, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture to Cornbelt Broadcasting for its failure to maintain an operational Emergency Alert System decoder, post an antenna structure registration number, and enclose its AM antenna structure within effective locked fences or other enclosures."{{cite web |publisher=Federal Communications Commission |title=Forfeiture Order (File No. EB-02-CG-104) |url=http://www.fcc.gov/eb/Orders/2002/DA-02-2914A1.html |date=October 31, 2002}} Cornbelt Broadcasting did not file a response and on October 31, 2002, the FCC issued a forfeiture notice that ordered the WHOW and WHOW-FM licensee to pay a fine of $17,000 for "willfully and repeatedly violating" FCC regulations.{{cite news |work=Bloomington Pantagraph |title=Area radio station fined |date=November 2, 2002 |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BL&p_theme=bl&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F72B55CA072EC2D&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |quote=Radio station WHOW owners have been fined $17,000 by the Federal Communications Commission for operational violations. FCC officials sent an order Thursday to James R. Livesay, owner of Cornbelt Broadcasting Co. Cornbelt serves as the licensee of WHOW AM-FM Radio near Clinton.}}

In response, WHOW and WHOW-FM went off the air on November 1, 2002,{{cite news |work=Bloomington Pantagraph |title=Radio station stops broadcasts |date=November 5, 2002 |quote=Area listeners reported silent airwaves during the weekend, a silence that extended through Monday.... It's not known whether the shutdown is permanent.}} and notified the FCC that they had gone "silent" on November 5, 2002.{{cite web |publisher=FCC Media Bureau |title=Application Search Details (BLSTA-20021204ABE) |url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=620652 |date=November 4, 2003}} At the time of the shutdown, the financially struggling stations had a combined 8 to 10 part-time employees and had maintained an "irregular broadcast schedule" in the months leading up to the shutdown.{{cite news |work=Herald & Review |title=Radio stations still closed |date=November 6, 2002 |page=A10 |quote=Radio stations WHOW-AM and WHOW-FM remain off the air after shutting down late Friday morning. A handwritten sign on the padlocked door at the station reads "Office hours." The lettering for "8 a.m.-6 p.m." is crossed out, and a handwritten addition says: "Permanently closed forever." The station, which has had an irregular broadcast schedule in recent months, was founded in 1947.... Jim Livesay has run the station since the 1995 death of his father, Ray.}} Within days, the station's office hours sign had the normal "8 a.m.-6 p.m." crossed out and "Permanently closed forever" written in its place.

In January 2003, however, the stations resumed at least intermittent broadcasting with WHOW concentrating on news, sports, and farm updates with the FM station changed to light rock music.{{cite news |work=Herald & Review |title=The times may change, but classic humor remains |date=January 16, 2003 |first=Tim |last=Cain |page=2 |quote=When FM upgrades are completed, the station will split signals. The FM format will be light rock, and AM will feature farm information, news and sports.}} Normal broadcast operation was restored in early November 2003 with personnel borrowed from other Cornbelt Broadcasting radio stations and recorded programming.{{cite news |work=Bloomington Pantagraph |title=Clinton radio station back on the air |date=November 8, 2003 |quote=The owner of a Clinton radio station plans to restore WHOW AM/FM to its former self soon.}} The stations were being prepared for a sale, then in the negotiation stage, to a group led by real estate developer and Illinois state senator Bill Brady.{{cite news |work=Bloomington Pantagraph |title=Sen. Bill Brady considering buying station |date=November 16, 2003 |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BL&p_theme=bl&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0FF1DBD203BD2A0D&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |quote=State Sen. Bill Brady confirmed last week that he's inching closer to purchasing radio station WHOW AM/FM in Clinton.}}

After more than five decades of ownership by the Livesay family, Cornbelt Broadcasting Company (James R. Livesay II, president) reached an agreement in late November 2003 to transfer the broadcast license for this station to WHOW Radio, LLC (led by Bill Brady) along with FM sister station WHOW-FM for a reported combined sale price of $300,000.{{cite news |work=Broadcasting & Cable |title=Changing Hands - 2004-01-26 |url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/152102-Changing_Hands.php |date=January 25, 2004}}{{cite news |work=Bloomington Pantagraph |title=Brady group buys Clinton station |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BL&p_theme=bl&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0FF96530181DCB05&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |date=December 4, 2003 |quote=A local investment group led by Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, has agreed to purchase Clinton radio station WHOW for an undisclosed amount.}} The deal was approved by the FCC on January 26, 2004, and the transaction was consummated on February 9, 2004.{{cite web |publisher=FCC Media Bureau |title=Application Search Details (BAL-20031204AEM) |url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=708077 |date=February 9, 2004}}

At the time of the sale, both stations were "dark" for reported financial reasons. In September 2004, with both stations back on the air, WHOW adopted a news/talk format while shifting all sports programming to its FM sister station which itself switched to a 24-hour all-sports radio format.{{cite news |work=Herald & Review |title=WHOW focuses programming for each station; AM side newstalk while FM switches to sports |first=Tim |last=Cain |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DH&p_theme=dh&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=104FCC95AFF6E2D1&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |date=September 8, 2004}} WHOW increased live, local programming and focused more on subject of specific local interest, especially farm and agricultural issues.{{cite news |work=Bloomington Pantagraph |title=Clinton radio station to increase local coverage |date=September 4, 2004 |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BL&p_theme=bl&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=105064E2D2D72818&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |quote=More local news and local talk will come to listeners of WHOW in Clinton beginning Wednesday.}}

An ice storm, part of the Early Winter 2006 North American Storm Complex, struck the Central Illinois region on November 30, 2006.{{cite news |work=Herald & Review |title=Eight days and counting: Ameren says most power should be fixed today, but those still waiting feel frustration |first=Mike |last=Frazier |url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-28869976_ITM |date=December 9, 2006 |quote=WHOW radio stations at the edge of Clinton have AM programming back on the air at reduced power, and FM was expected to be restored Friday.}} On December 1, the broadcast tower shared by WHOW and its FM counterpart collapsed under the weight of the accumulated ice.{{cite news |work=Bloomington Pantagraph |title=Storm collapses tower, strands country star |date=December 2, 2006 |quote=The 400-foot tower for WHOW Radio south of Clinton collapsed as a result of ice, general manager Troy Hill said.}}{{cite news |title=Making Moves: Friday Afternoon |url=http://www.radio-info.com/news/making-moves-friday-afternoon |work=Radio-Info.com |date=February 22, 2008 |quote=In Clinton, Illinois, WHOW-FM (95.9) is back at full power after an ice storm toppled their 325-foot antenna 14 months ago.}}{{cite web |work=The History of AM 1520 WHOW Radio - Clinton, Illinois |title=WHOW Tower after Ice Storm - December 2, 2006 |url=http://www.peorianetwork.com/whow/ice/index.html |access-date=March 22, 2009}} WHOW was able to return to the air at reduced power a few days later using a long wire antenna while the FM station resumed broadcasting from a makeshift {{convert|60|ft|m|adj=on}} tower on December 8.{{cite news |work=Small Market Radio Newsletter |title=Radio Resurrection on the Prairie |first=Bob |last=Doll |url=http://www.smallmarketradio.com/subsonly/issues/20080918.pdf |page=8}} The station received special temporary authority from the FCC in January 2007 to operate in this manner until a new, permanent tower could be constructed.{{cite web |publisher=FCC Media Bureau |url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=1169591 |title=Application Search Details (BSTA-20070116AED) |date=January 25, 2007}}

The extensive damage and the station combo's struggling finances led the WHOW Radio, LLC, partners to sell the two stations to local media group owner Randy Miller. In October 2007, WHOW Radio, LLC, announced an agreement to sell WHOW to Kaskaskia Broadcasting, Inc. (Randy Miller, president) as part of a two-station deal along with FM sister station WHOW-FM for a reported $400,000.{{cite news |work=Broadcasting & Cable |title=Deals - 2007-11-17 |url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/111256-Deals.php |date=November 18, 2007}} Kaskaskia Broadcasting, Inc., is part of the Miller Media Group. The deal was approved by the FCC on December 7, 2007, and the transaction was consummated on January 4, 2008.{{cite web |publisher=FCC Media Bureau |title=Application Search Details (BAL-20071025ABE) |url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=1214987 |date=January 4, 2008}} At the time of the sale, WHOW broadcast a news/talk format.

WHOW, still broadcasting from a temporary antenna while the new tower was being erected, received an extension of its special temporary authorization on January 17, 2008.{{cite web |title=Application Search Details (BESTA-20070725AJS) |url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=1196000 |publisher=FCC Media Bureau |date=January 17, 2008}} Both the AM and FM stations returned to full power operation on February 25, 2008.

WHOW today is one of Illinois' most prominent agriculture radio stations, broadcasting over 6 hours a day of ag programming weekdays and {{frac|1|1|2}} hours on Saturdays. The station has its own local farm broadcaster, Jared White. WHOW also does a live and local morning show with three local interview shows a day, from 6 to 10{{nbsp}}am. WHOW broadcasts Clinton High School sports, as well as Eastern Illinois University football.

WHOW is streamed on smartphones thru tunein.com.

John Hartford, then known by his birth name of John Harford, worked at WHOW for from 1961 to 1963 before moving to Nashville to pursue a career in country music.{{cite news |work=Herald & Review |title=John Hartford stays tuned in |date=November 18, 1994 |first=David |last=Burke |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DH&p_theme=dh&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=104DF1B86E0B6BA0&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |page=C3 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.peorianetwork.com/whow/1972/page3.htm |publisher=WHOW |title=WHOW 1947-1972: Our 25th Year |year=1972 |page=3}} Hartford would go on to write "Gentle on My Mind", a song made famous by Glen Campbell, and record more than 30 albums of newgrass and traditional bluegrass music.{{cite news|first=Craig |last=Havighurst |work=The Tennessean |title=Musician, songwriter Hartford dies at 63 |url=http://www.johnhartford.com/memorial1.html |date=June 5, 2001 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020825072349/http://www.johnhartford.com/memorial1.html |archive-date=August 25, 2002 }}

Brian Leonard began his career at WHOW in 1979 and worked at the stations until 1980. He moved to California, where he co-hosted a live comedy/music show on KSTS-TV, San Jose, and then began a long stand-up comedy career, appearing on numerous TV shows. He was also a writer and performer on BBC Radio and appeared in several movies and TV shows.

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.dewittdailynews.com/program.html WHOW official website]
• [http://www.randyradio.com/corp/ Miller Media Group]
• [http://www.peorianetwork.com/whow/ The History of AM 1520 WHOW Radio - Clinton, Illinois]

{{AM station data|13900|WHOW}}

• {{FCC-LMS-Facility|149362|W222BG}}
• {{FCC-LMS-Facility|200238|W293DJ}}

{{News/Talk Radio Stations in Illinois}}

{{Daytime-only radio stations in Illinois}}

HOW

Category:News and talk radio stations in the United States

Category:Radio stations established in 1947

Category:DeWitt County, Illinois

Category:1947 establishments in Illinois

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