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WLOA

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WLOA
Broadcast areaSharon, Pennsylvania, Hermitage, Pennsylvania, Youngstown, Ohio
Frequency1470 kHz
BrandingLOUD 102.3
Programming
FormatRhythmic contemporary
AffiliationsCompass Media Networks
Ownership
Owner
  • Over/Under LLC
  • (O/U Radio, Inc.)
History
First air date
October 3, 1954; 70 years ago (1954-10-03)
Former call signs
WFAR (1954–80)
WGBU (1980–82)
WMGZ (1982–89)
WOJY (1989–91)
WRQQ (1991–96)
WICT (1996–97)
WPAO (1997–2003)
Call sign meaning
Our Lady Of the Angels; artifact of former Catholic format
or
LOud; station branding
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID47569
ClassB
Power1,000 watts day
500 watts night
Transmitter coordinates
41°11′58″N 80°31′22″W / 41.19944°N 80.52278°W / 41.19944; -80.52278
Translator(s)102.3 W272EI (Youngstown)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen Live
Websiteloud1023.com

WLOA (1470 AM) is a commercial rhythmic contemporary radio station licensed to Farrell, Pennsylvania. Owned by Over/Under, LLC, the station serves both the Sharon, Pennsylvania, and Youngstown, Ohio markets. WLOA also simulcasts over Youngstown translator W272EI (102.3 FM). The WLOA studios are located in the city of Meadville, while the transmitter for WLOA resides off of South State Line Road in Masury, Ohio; W272EI's transmitter is located off of Mabel Street in Youngstown's Lansingville neighborhood. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WLOA is available online.

History

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Early years

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The station first signed on the air as WFAR, a 500-watt daytime-only station, on October 3, 1954.[2][3] The station was founded by Sanford A. Schafitz, a native of the Youngstown area, doing business as Farrell-Sharon Broadcasting Company. Before WFAR went on the air, a dispute occurred between Greater New Castle Broadcasting Corporation and Schafitz. Greater New Castle Broadcasting Corporation wanted to put a 1,000 watt daytime-only station on 1460 kHz in New Castle, Pennsylvania, and Schafitz wanted to put a 500 watt daytime only station on 1470 kHz. The FCC ruled in favor of Schafitz on September 4, 1953, and he put the station on the air shortly thereafter.[4][5]

WFAR applied for a power increase to 1,000 watts daytime on February 1, 1955, granted by the FCC on September 22, 1955.[6][7] An application to operate 24 hours a day, transmitting 1,000 watts daytime and 500 watts at night using a three-tower directional antenna system, was filed on April 10, 1957; WFAR also sought to change transmission locations to South State Line Road in Masury, Ohio, its current location.[8] The FCC granted the request on September 24, 1958,[9] and these operating parameters were implemented by 1961.[10] Around this time, Schafitz also started up WWIZ in Lorain, Ohio in 1958 and was involved in the launching of WXTV in Youngstown, despite the latter having authority to sign on as early as 1955, WXTV didn't formally launch until 1960.[11][12][13][14]

WFAR's license was almost denied renewal in the wake of findings that Schafitz transferred station control of WWIZ to The Journal of Lorain without authorization from the FCC weeks before the station signed on,[15][16] which was further complicated by Harry Horvitz (the chief owner of Journal Publishing) and his attempt to buy the station outright in 1961.[17] The Journal was a party that actually tried to get the station assigned in the first place via a complicated straw-man transaction designed to circumvent the legal requirements which prevented the newspaper from holding a license. (Prior to the 1948 establishment of the radio station WEOL in Elyria, Ohio, The Journal had a near monopoly on news gathering in the city of Lorain.[18]) The Journal paid a total of $56,000 for all the authorized nonvoting and voting preferred stock in WWIZ, a transaction later cited by the FCC as a means to finance WXTV's construction.[19]

The licenses for WFAR, WXTV and WWIZ were designated for hearing by the FCC in March 1962[20] as part of a review of all of Schafitz's holdings;[21] days after the designation was announced, WXTV failed to sign on due to "technical difficulties" and never resumed broadcasting.[22] WXTV was denied a license renewal, and a license to cover a construction permit to move to channel 45 because Schafitz failed to disclose that Guy W. Gully, who was 50% owner of WXTV, was indicted for a felony.

On March 25, 1964, the FCC issued the decision to deny the license renewals of WWIZ and WXTV and ordered them off the air by June 1. However, the FCC allowed the license for WFAR to be renewed.[23][24][25] WXTV's channel allocation was reassigned to Alliance as an educational frequency and was eventually occupied by WNEO.[26] The license for WWIZ was appealed before the Supreme Court, and ultimately was revoked in late 1966. WWIZ then operated under a temporary permit until being ordered off the air entirely on July 14, 1967,[27][28] with a replacement station being launched on December 4, 1969 as WLRO (and today known as WDLW).

In 1976, WFAR was joined by WFAR-FM, operating at 95.9, and signing on on December 28 of that year. Both stations shared the same call letters despite WFAR-FM's city of license as nearby Sharpsville, and having its own independent programming.

Schafitz died in May 1979.[29] WFAR and its sister station, WFAR-FM, were sold on October 24, 1980 to Broadcast Service Communications, Inc., a company headed by Robert E. Kassi, for $603,750.[30][31] WFAR was immediately rechristened with the new call letters WGBU, with the Top-40 and oldies format being dropped in favor of beautiful music, news and talk, eventually adopting a full-time news and talk format by 1982.[32][33] WFAR-FM was rechristened as WGBZ, adopting a rock format and aspiring to serve Youngstown.

The changes did little to make the stations prosper, and they were sold to National Communications System, Inc., a company headed by Jerome Bresson, on June 4, 1982, for $700,000;[34][35] WGBU became WMGZ and WGBZ became WMGZ-FM, and both stations started simulcasting an adult contemporary format full-time.[36]

From then on, the station underwent a number of callsign changes — to WOJY in 1989; to WRQQ on March 18, 1991. The station became WICT on March 29, 1996, sharing a callsign with another new sister station, WICT-FM "95.1 The Cat" in Grove City (today known as WYLE), and changed again to WPAO on March 3, 1997.[37]

By 1997, WPAO and WICT were absorbed, along with New Castle stations WKST 1280-AM, WKST-FM 92.1-FM and WBZY 1200-AM, into the growing Jacor Communications cluster, which merged into Clear Channel Communications in May 1999. Along with Youngstown stations WRTK 1390-AM, WBBG 93.3-FM, WNIO 1540-AM, WNCD 106.1-FM, the aforementioned WTNX, WKBN 570-AM, WKBN 98.9-FM, and WBTJ 101.9-FM (operated with a LMA from owner Stop 26/Riverbend), ten radio stations in both markets were now controlled by the same owner.

WNIO and WRTK swapped callsigns in October 1999, and Clear Channel sold both WRTK and WPAO to D&E Communications in April 2001, headed by Dale Edwards, who eventually would also purchase WABQ (1540 AM) in Cleveland;[38] records show that WPAO had a Christian format at this time. In November 2002, D&E Broadcasting sold the station to Holy Family Communications, headed by James N. Wright, for $350,000.[39][40][41] Holy Family Communications took over operations on February 10, 2003,[42] and changed the call sign to WLOA that February 18, to complement the other radio stations in the group.[37]

Recent years

[edit]

Beacon Broadcasting, headed by Warren steel supply magnate Harold Glunt, purchased WLOA on July 7, 2005 for $295,000.[43] The Catholic programming was dropped and replaced with a classic hits format previously heard on WEXC in Greenville prior to its acquisition by Beacon,[44] it eventually was simulcast on both WGRP, also in Greenville, and WANR in Warren. This lasted until December 2006, when a sports format featuring Sporting News Radio was installed on WLOA and WGRP.[45] In April 2008, WGRP briefly broke away from simulcasting WLOA, and began to broadcast classic country, with WLOA rejoining WGRP a few months later in September 2008.

Harold Glunt died in January 2010; his son took over ownership of the stations, and put all of them up for sale.[46] Educational Media Foundation acquired WLOA, WGRP and WEXC for a combined $225,000 on September 10, 2010; all three stations changed formats to relay the national non-commercial K-LOVE feed.[47] WLOA was then taken off-the-air on January 15, 2011, with a Special Temporary Authority (STA) to remain silent being filed that February 3, being granted this authority on March 14, 2011.[48] EMF would then sell off WLOA and WGRP on July 25, 2011 to Vilkie Communications, headed by WMVL owner Joe Vilkie, for $50,000.[49][50] Vilkie Communications assumed control of both stations on December 15, 2011.[51]

On June 1, 2016, Williamsport Broadcasting Inc. entered into a Local Marketing Agreement with Vilkie Communications Inc. with the intention to purchase WLOA.

In March 2019, WLOA was sold to a new broadcaster, Over/Under LLC, who then moved the station closer into the Youngstown market.[52]

FM translator

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On April 15, 2019 at 5:00 p.m., WLOA signed on an FM translator, W272EI, broadcasting at 102.3 MHz and licensed to Youngstown. WLOA concurrently switched formats to rhythmic contemporary, branded as "LOUD 102.3". The flip brought the rhythmic format back to the region after nearly 20 years and filled an urban contemporary void in the Youngstown market after WRBP's flip to K-Love in 2013.[53]

Broadcast translator for WLOA
Callsign Frequency City of license Facility ID ERP HAAT Class Transmitter coordinates
W272EI 102.3 MHz Youngstown 202961 99 watts 0 meters D 41°04′49.00″N 80°38′24.00″W / 41.0802778°N 80.6400000°W / 41.0802778; -80.6400000

Former logos

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“Classic Country 1470/940” “Sunny AM 1470”

Transmitter site

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WLOA transmitter site at 1620 South Stateline Road in Masury, Ohio
WLOA transmitter site Central main tower Central and west towers East tower
WLOA transmitter site at 1620 South Stateline Road in Masury, Ohio WLOA central main tower WLOA central and west towers WLOA east tower.

References

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  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WLOA". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ "Power output for original license" (PDF). Broadcasting. November 1, 1954. p. 101. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  3. ^ "WFAR first air date" (PDF). 1961-62 Broadcasting Yearbook. pp. B–141. Retrieved July 25, 2011.
  4. ^ "FCC Hearing: Greater New Castle Broadcasting Corp. and Sanford A. Schafitz" (PDF). Broadcasting. February 12, 1951. p. 75. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  5. ^ "FCC rules in favor of Schafitz" (PDF). Broadcasting. September 14, 1953. p. 135. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  6. ^ "Power increase application filed" (PDF). Broadcasting. February 14, 1955. p. 107. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  7. ^ "Power increase granted" (PDF). Broadcasting. October 3, 1955. p. 106. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  8. ^ "Application for 24 hour operation filed" (PDF). Broadcasting. April 22, 1957. p. 126. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  9. ^ "24 hour operation granted" (PDF). Broadcasting. September 29, 1958. p. 98. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  10. ^ "WFAR operating parameters" (PDF). Broadcasting Yearbook. 1961–62. pp. B–141. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
  11. ^ "WXTV(TV) calls issued" (PDF). Broadcasting. November 28, 1955. p. 98. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  12. ^ Silika, Adrian (November 15, 1960). "Information Shows Lift Quality of Sunday's TV". The Vindicator. p. 17. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  13. ^ "Cleveland Classic Media: WXTV-Channel 45-A valiant effort". 2007-11-09.
  14. ^ "Cleveland Classic Media: Update-WXTV channel 45 Youngstown". 2007-11-14.
  15. ^ "Journal Purchases Radio Station Stock". The Chronicle-Telegram. February 27, 1959. p. 17. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  16. ^ "FCC told to deny WWIZ & WLOA license renewal" (PDF). Broadcasting. January 28, 1963. p. 58. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  17. ^ "Newspaper Asks Radio Purchase OK". The Chronicle-Telegram. June 20, 1961. p. 13. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  18. ^ "Lorain Journal v. United States, 342 U.S. 143 (1951)". FindLaw.com. p. 13. Retrieved 2011-02-03. The court below describes the position of the Journal, since 1933, as "a commanding and an overpowering one. It has a daily circulation in Lorain of over 13,000 copies and it reaches ninety-nine per cent of the families in the city." 92 F. Supp. at 796. Lorain is an industrial city on Lake Erie with a population of about 52,000 occupying 11,325 dwelling units. The Sunday News, appearing only on Sundays, is the only other newspaper published there.
  19. ^ "FCC told to deny WWIZ & WLOA license renewal" (PDF). Broadcasting Magazine. January 28, 1963. p. 58. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  20. ^ "Radio Stockholder to Face ICC (sic) Quiz". The Chronicle-Telegram. March 3, 1962. p. 15. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  21. ^ "Two FCC hearings set on misrepresentation" (PDF). Broadcasting. February 26, 1962. p. 9. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  22. ^ "Channel 45 Goes Off Air; Faces Hearing Before FCC". The Vindicator. March 1, 1962. pp. 1, 2. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  23. ^ "FCC kills WWIZ, WXTV (TV)" (PDF). Broadcasting. April 6, 1964. p. 92. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  24. ^ "WWIZ, WXTV(TV) ordered off air" (PDF). Broadcasting. April 27, 1964. p. 64. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  25. ^ "Date of WWIZ, WXTV(TV) & WFAR renewal decision" (PDF). Broadcasting. April 6, 1964. p. 174. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  26. ^ "2 ETV's for 3 schools asked" (PDF). Broadcasting. May 24, 1971. p. 36. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  27. ^ "WWIZ has 30 days to leave air". The Chronicle-Telegram. June 15, 1967. p. 29. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  28. ^ "Station WWIZ leaves air". The Chronicle-Telegram. Associated Press. July 15, 1967. p. 12. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  29. ^ "Schafitz dies" (PDF). Broadcasting. June 25, 1979. p. 95. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  30. ^ "WFAR sold" (PDF). Broadcasting. November 10, 1980. p. 93. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  31. ^ "WFAR (WGBU(AM)) acquisition date by Broadcast Service Communications, Inc" (PDF). Broadcasting Cable Yearbook. 1981. pp. C–104. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
  32. ^ "WFAR format before sale" (PDF). Broadcasting Yearbook. 1980. pp. C–192. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
  33. ^ "WGBU(AM) format by 1982" (PDF). Broadcasting Cablecasting Yearbook. 1982. pp. C–207. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
  34. ^ "WGBU (WMGZ(AM)) and WGBZ (WMGZ-FM) acquisition date" (PDF). Broadcasting Cablecasting Yearbook. 1985. pp. B–235. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
  35. ^ "WGBU & WGBZ sold to National Communications System, Inc" (PDF). Broadcasting. April 26, 1982. p. 71. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  36. ^ "WMGZ(AM) and WMGZ-FM format by 1985" (PDF). Broadcasting Cablecasting Yearbook. 1985. pp. B–235. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
  37. ^ a b "WLOA Call Sign History". Federal Communications Commission.
  38. ^ "Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting & Cable. April 4, 2001. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  39. ^ "Holy Family Communications purchases WPAO". Broadcasting & Cable. November 10, 2002. Retrieved February 4, 2011.
  40. ^ "'PAO pow wow or PAO pay-off? Youngstown orphan finds a master". Radio Business Report Daily ePaper. November 6, 2002. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  41. ^ Fybush, Scott (November 18, 2002). "North East RadioWatch: November 18, 2002". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  42. ^ Carnegie, Jim (February 10, 2003). "Media, Markets & Money: Achieving closure: Two deals done". Radio Business Report. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  43. ^ Fybush, Scott (July 11, 2005). "Sweeney Out At WZLX". NorthEast Radio Watch by Scott Fybush. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  44. ^ Fybush, Scott (December 26, 2005). "2005 Year in Review". NorthEast Radio Watch by Scott Fybush. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  45. ^ Fybush, Scott (December 25, 2006). "2006: The Year in Review". NorthEast Radio Watch by Scott Fybush. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  46. ^ Marcucci, Carl (February 27, 2010). "Beacon Broadcasting stations for sale following owner's death". Radio & Television Business Report. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  47. ^ "EMF picks up a radio threesome in western Pennsylvania". Radio & Television Business Report. October 4, 2010. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  48. ^ "Special Temporary Authority to remain silent". Retrieved March 31, 2011.
  49. ^ "Local FM adds a pair of AMs in Western PA". Radio & Television Business Report. July 25, 2011. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  50. ^ "Transactions: 8-8-11". Radio & Television Business Report. August 5, 2011. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  51. ^ "Assignment of License Application (pertains to both WLOA and WGRP)". Retrieved March 7, 2012.
  52. ^ Jacobson, Adam (January 8, 2019). "A Former EMF AM Trades Hands". Radio & Television Business Report. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  53. ^ “YOUNGSTOWN GETS LOUD WITH HIP-HOP FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2013” from Radio Insight (April 15, 2019)
*Sanford A. Schafitz biography
[edit]
FM translator
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