City Montgomery, Alabama Translator(s) W257DS 99.3 FM Format Southern Gospel | Frequency 800 kHz First air date July 26, 1946 | |
Slogan "Montgomery's Gospel Station" | ||
WMGY (800 AM) is a radio station licensed to serve Montgomery, Alabama, USA. The station, which began broadcasting in 1946, is owned by Terry L. Barber.
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WMGY broadcasts a Southern Gospel music format to the Montgomery metropolitan area. The station features programming from Salem Communications.
History
This AM station began operations on July 26, 1946, as a daytime-only broadcaster using the callsign WMGY with 1,000 watts of power on 800 kHz under the ownership of the Dixie Broadcasting Company. In November 1958, WMGY was acquired by Radio Montgomery, Inc., as part of the C. A. McClure Stations Group.
In the late 1970s, the station's license was transferred to George H. Buck, Jr., and the longtime country and western music format was replaced with Southern Gospel and religious radio programming. The station has maintained this format for more than 30 years and calls itself "the oldest Christian music station in Montgomery". In March 1982, owner George H. Buck, Jr., reached an agreement to transfer the license for this station to WMGY Radio, Inc. The deal was approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on April 23, 1982. Terry L. Barber purchased WMGY in a transaction that was consummated on April 30, 2015, at a purchase price of $60,000.
In addition to its local broadcasts, WMGY began streaming its programming over the internet in 2007.
As of August 2016, this station is now being heard on W257DS 99.3 FM, in Montgomery.
Former on-air staff
Sammy Stephens, who was given his first job at WMGY by Rad Dodson, became a celebrity for his "It's just like a mini-mall" rap advertisements for Flea Market Montgomery. Stephens got his start in broadcasting as the "Candyman," his on-air persona for WMGY and WXVI radio stations.
Billy Nobles was named Favorite DJ Medium Market by the Singing News Fan Awards in 1988, 1989, and 1993.