First air date June 9, 1935 Facility ID 39493 City of license Harrisonburg Branding 92.1 FM and 550 AM WSVA | Class B Frequency 550 kHz Area Shenandoah Valley | |
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Broadcast area Central Shenandoah Valley Power 5,000 Watts daytime
1,000 Watts nighttime Callsign meaning We Serve Virginia Agriculture
W Shenandoah VAlley Format Talk radio, Sports radio, All-news radio Owner M_ Belmont VerStandig, Inc. Slogan Read it Tomorrow, See it Tonight or Hear it Now! | ||
Dennis phillips wsva radio
WSVA is a News/Talk/Sports formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Harrisonburg, Virginia, serving the Central Shenandoah Valley. WSVA is owned and operated by Saga Communications, through licensee Tidewater Communications, LLC.
Contents
Dennis phillips wsva radio news
History
WSVA went on the air on June 9, 1935 with 500 watts of power. It was the first radio station to broadcast in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. Although it appears that the call letters stand for Shenandoah VAlley, they actually stand for We Serve Virginia Agriculture." The station was affiliated with NBC, and offered news, agricultural programs, music and other items of local interest. Bluegrass singer Mac Wiseman worked at the station as a news reader and disc jockey in the 1940s.
WSVA was originally owned by Frederick L. Allman. In 1946, it produced the Valley's first FM station, WSVA-FM (now WQPO), and in 1953 it added a television station, WSVA-TV (now WHSV-TV). Allman sold his stations to a partnership of Transcontinent Television and former NBC executive Hamilton Shea in 1956, earning a significant return on his investment of 21 years earlier. In 1959, the Washington Evening Star, owner of WMAL AM-FM-TV in Washington, D.C., bought Transcontinent's share of the stations, as well as 1% of Shea's stake. Michigan businessman James Gilmore bought the WSVA stations in 1965. Gilmore sold off channel 3 in 1976, but held onto the radio stations until 1987, when he sold them to VerStandig. John David Verstandig owned WSVA-AM as well as WQPO-FM, WTGD-FM, WJDV-FM, and WHBG-AM. In 2009 the station moved into a new building located on the same property to the old one at 1820 Heritage Center Way, Harrisonburg, VA 22801.
On January 1, 2015, WSVA began simulcasting its programming on FM translator W221CF, broadcasting at 92.1 FM.
The sale of Verstandig Broadcasting of Harrisonburg to Saga Communications was closed on July 31, 2015, at a purchase price of $9.64 million.
Programming
The WSVA morning show, known as "Early Mornings" airs from 5:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. and features hosts Jim Britt, Frank Wilt and Jennifer Armstrong along with news reported by Karl Magenhofer.
Dave Ramsey airs between 10 and 12 a.m
The News at Noon airs between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. and features a mix of news, sports and features with a number of agriculture features.
Clark Howard airs between 1 and 3 p.m.
Mike Schikman host "The Mike Schikman Show" between 3 and 6 p.m. featuring various guests including authors, political pundits, sports announcers and experts from different fields.
WSVA broadcast local sports programs including high school football, basketball and baseball along with James Madison University football and basketball broadcast.
Translator
In addition to the main station, WSVA is relayed by an FM translator to widen its broadcast area.