Class B Frequency 590 kHz Owner Salem Media Group Branding Faith Talk 590 | Facility ID 8623 City of license Atlanta Area Atlanta metropolitan area Sister stations WNIV, WGKA, WAFS, WLTA | |
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Broadcast area Atlanta metropolitan area First air date August 1, 1937 (as WAGA) Power 12,000 watts daytime
4,500 watts nighttime Callsign meaning Walt Disney Walt Disney
(co-founder of The Walt Disney Company, former owner) Format Talk radio, Christian radio | ||
WDWD (590 AM) is a Christian talk station serving the metro Atlanta market. Its radio transmitter site, originally along North Druid Hills Road, is now located just north of Austell, Georgia, in west-northwest metro Atlanta. The station's signal is aimed by a four-tower directional antenna array from the Austell transmitter location towards Atlanta (and avoiding interference with WWLX). In 2009, the station upgraded daytime transmitter power from 5,000 to 12,000 watts, while the nighttime power remains at 4,500 watts. Also in 2009, the station started broadcasting in the AM HD Radio (hybrid digital) mode (which has been unavailable since 2013).
Contents
History
The station signed-on with original broadcast callsign WAGA (once the sister station of the current television station by that name) in 1937. By 1946, WAGA had moved from 1480 to 590 kHz. In 1959, the station changed to a top 40 music format and changed its call sign to WPLO which was in reference to the new ownership, Plough Broadcasting Company. Another format changed happened in 1966, when WPLO switched to a country music format. In 1987, the station changed callsigns to WKHX and adopted the "Kicks 590" slogan still used on WKHX-FM 101.5, and began simulcasting on its FM sister. WKHX used to broadcast in Kahn/Hazeltine AM stereo with a "real country" format, which began in October 1992. Then, in November 1996, the station adopted the Radio Disney format and the callsign WDWD.
In September 2009, the station was forced off-air for a week when it was submerged by nearby Noses Creek, which reached double its flood stage during the historic and record-breaking 2009 Atlanta floods. The station had been shut down prior to the flood, so that once the equipment was completely disassembled and thoroughly cleaned and dried, nearly all of it was salvaged since there had been no short circuiting from the water.
On August 13, 2014, Disney put WDWD and 22 other Radio Disney stations up for sale, in order to focus more on digital distribution of the Radio Disney network. Disney originally planned to temporarily shut down the station on September 26, 2014. However, it will remain on the air and continue carrying Radio Disney programming until it is sold.
On February 25, 2015, Radio Disney Atlanta filed to sell WDWD to South Texas Broadcasting, Inc., a subsidiary of the Salem Media Group. Salem bought the station for $2.75 million. The application to assign the station license was granted by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission on April 13, 2015, and the purchase was consummated on May 7, 2015.
Programming
Until May 2015, WDWD's programming consisted of a 24-hour simulcast of the Radio Disney network, which is a youth-friendly contemporary hit radio music format except at noon to 1:00 pm weekdays when the format changes to children's music. There are some minor locally originated exceptions that differ from the Radio Disney network simulcast. The top of the hour station announcement and some radio station special events announcements which run during commercial breaks are locally produced. There is one WDWD-originated, locally produced show per week which airs at 6:00 am on Sundays called "AM590 Kids Concerns", a public affairs program which runs for 25 to 30 minutes.
On March 10, 2015, Salem Media CEO Ed Atsinger revealed that Salem will move the WNIV/WLTA programming to WDWD after the completion of the sale.
On May 11, 2015 WDWD changed its format to Christian talk, branded as "Faith Talk 590".