WHOW
Encyclopedia
WHOW is a radio station
licensed
to serve Clinton, Illinois
, USA. The station, established in 1947, is currently owned by the Miller Media Group and the broadcast license
is held by Kaskaskia Broadcasting, Inc.
/talk radio
format branded as "The Big 1520". The station airs local news and public affairs programs, agricultural news, and a tradio
program called "RFD Trading Post". WHOW places special emphasis on serving the farm community of Central Illinois
with a weekday morning farm show, live and local agriculture talk shows, a syndicated noon farm show, "The Horse Show", and frequent market reports.
Weekday syndicated programming includes talk show
s hosted by Dennis Miller
, Phil Valentine
, and Jim Bohannon
. Weekend programing includes afternoon blocks of classic country
music.
daytime-only radio station broadcasting at 1520 kHz as WHOW. 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 changed its motto to "WHOW, your radio active station" in 1989.
Livesay founded the Daytime Broadcasters Association in 1955 and served as its president until 1982. 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. 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.
(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." 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.
In response, WHOW and WHOW-FM went off the air on November 1, 2002, and notified the FCC that they had gone "silent" on November 5, 2002. 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. 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. Normal broadcast operation was restored in early November 2003 with personnel borrowed from other Cornbelt Broadcasting radio stations and recorded programming. The stations were being prepared for a sale, then in the negotiation stage, to a group led by led by real estate developer and Illinois state senator
Bill Brady
.
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. The deal was approved by the FCC on January 26, 2004, and the transaction was consummated on 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. WHOW increased live, local programming and focused more on subject of specific local interest, especially farm and agricultural issues.
, part of the Early Winter 2006 North American Storm Complex
, struck the Central Illinois
region on November 30, 2006. On December 1, the broadcast tower shared by WHOW and its FM counterpart collapsed under the weight of the accumulated ice. 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 60 feet (18.3 m) tower on December 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.
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. 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. 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. Both the AM and FM stations returned to full power operation on February 25, 2008.
, 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
. 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
.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
licensed
City of license
A city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting, is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator....
to serve Clinton, Illinois
Clinton, Illinois
Clinton is the largest city in DeWitt County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,225 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of DeWitt County.The city and the county are named for DeWitt Clinton, governor of New York, 1817-1823...
, USA. The station, established in 1947, is currently owned by the Miller Media Group and the broadcast license
Broadcast license
A broadcast license or broadcast license is a specific type of spectrum license that grants the licensee the privilege to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes. The licenses are generally straddled with additional restrictions that...
is held by Kaskaskia Broadcasting, Inc.
Programming
WHOW broadcasts a newsNews Radio
News Radio can refer to:* NewsRadio, the NBC sitcom which aired from 1995–1999.* News radio, the all-news or news/talk radio format....
/talk radio
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
format branded as "The Big 1520". The station airs local news and public affairs programs, agricultural news, and a tradio
Tradio
Tradio is the name given to a type of talk radio show format where listeners call in to buy or sell items. The concept of is analogous to classified ads in local newspapers....
program called "RFD Trading Post". WHOW places special emphasis on serving the farm community of Central Illinois
Central Illinois
Central Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois that consists of the entire central section of the state, divided in thirds from north to south. It is an area of mostly flat prairie. The western section was originally part of the Military Tract of 1812 and forms the distinctive western...
with a weekday morning farm show, live and local agriculture talk shows, a syndicated noon farm show, "The Horse Show", and frequent market reports.
Weekday syndicated programming includes talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
s hosted by Dennis Miller
Dennis Miller
Dennis Miller is an American stand-up comedian, political commentator, actor, sports commentator, and television and radio personality. He is known for his critical assessments laced with pop culture references...
, Phil Valentine
Phil Valentine
Phil Valentine is a conservative talk radio show host in Nashville, Tennessee. He broadcasts daily on , a Cumulus Media Station, from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. Central Time. His producer and sidekick, Johnny B. Valentine, is probably best known in Tennessee for leading protests against a state...
, and Jim Bohannon
Jim Bohannon
James E. "Jim" Bohannon is an American broadcaster who has worked in both television and radio.During the 1980s he was a fill-in for Larry King when King had his popular nighttime national radio program. He also does much work with the Smithsonian Associates...
. Weekend programing includes afternoon blocks of classic country
Classic country
Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country hits from past decades.This genre generally follows one of two formats: those specializing in hits from the 1920s through the early 1970s, and focus primarily on innovators and artists from country music's Golden...
music.
Early years
This station began broadcast operations in August 1947 as a 1,000 wattWatt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
daytime-only radio station broadcasting at 1520 kHz as WHOW. The station, licensed to serve the community of Clinton, Illinois
Clinton, Illinois
Clinton is the largest city in DeWitt County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,225 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of DeWitt County.The city and the county are named for DeWitt Clinton, governor of New York, 1817-1823...
, was owned by Dr. Keith Rhea, H.E. Rhea, Rex K. Rhea, Tom Dinsmore, and Frank Moots doing business as the Cornbelt Broadcasting Company.
Livesay era
WHOW licensee Cornbelt Broadcasting Company was acquired by James R. "Ray" Livesay in September 1950. The station was able to increase its daytime signal to 5,000 watts in 1962. 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". (The station and its FM sister station still operate from this facility.) Inspired by the April 1987 opening of the Clinton Nuclear Generating StationClinton Nuclear Generating Station
The Clinton Power Station is located near Clinton, Illinois, USA. The nuclear power station has a General Electric boiling water reactor on a site with an adjacent cooling reservoir, Clinton Lake. Due to inflation and cost overruns, Clinton's final construction cost exceeded $2.6 billion...
, WHOW changed its motto to "WHOW, your radio active station" in 1989.
Livesay founded the Daytime Broadcasters Association in 1955 and served as its president until 1982. The National Association of Broadcasters
National Association of Broadcasters
The National Association of Broadcasters is a trade association, workers union, and lobby group representing the interests of for-profit, over-the-air radio and television broadcasters in the United States...
presented the National Radio Award to Livesay in 1989 citing his "lifelong contributions to the industry". Ray Livesay died in May 1995. 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.
Gone silent
In June 2002, the Federal Communications CommissionFederal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(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." 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.
In response, WHOW and WHOW-FM went off the air on November 1, 2002, and notified the FCC that they had gone "silent" on November 5, 2002. 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. 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. Normal broadcast operation was restored in early November 2003 with personnel borrowed from other Cornbelt Broadcasting radio stations and recorded programming. The stations were being prepared for a sale, then in the negotiation stage, to a group led by led by real estate developer and Illinois state senator
Illinois Senate
The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the state of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. The Illinois Senate is made up of 59 senators elected from...
Bill Brady
Bill Brady (politician)
William E. "Bill" Brady, Jr. is a Republican member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 44th Legislative District since his appointment in May 2002. He previously served in the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 88th District from 1993 to 2000.-Early life, education and...
.
New ownership
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 licenseBroadcast license
A broadcast license or broadcast license is a specific type of spectrum license that grants the licensee the privilege to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes. The licenses are generally straddled with additional restrictions that...
for this station to WHOW Radio, LLC (led by Bill Brady) along with FM sister station
Sister station
In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio and/or television stations operated by the same ownership....
WHOW-FM
WEZC
WEZC is a radio station licensed to serve Clinton, Illinois, USA. The station, established in 1975 as WHOW-FM, is currently owned the Miller Media Group and the broadcast license is held by Kaskaskia Broadcasting, Inc.-Programming:...
for a reported combined sale price of $300,000. The deal was approved by the FCC on January 26, 2004, and the transaction was consummated on 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
Sports radio
Sports radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A popular format with an almost exclusively male demographic in most areas, sports radio is characterized by an often-boisterous on-air style and extensive debate and analysis by both hosts and...
format. WHOW increased live, local programming and focused more on subject of specific local interest, especially farm and agricultural issues.
Tower collapse
An ice stormIce storm
An ice storm is a type of winter storm characterized by freezing rain, also known as a glaze event or in some parts of the United States as a silver thaw. The U.S. National Weather Service defines an ice storm as a storm which results in the accumulation of at least of ice on exposed surfaces...
, part of the Early Winter 2006 North American Storm Complex
Early Winter 2006 North American Storm Complex
The Early Winter 2006 North American Storm Complex was a severe winter weather event in the last week of November 2006 and continuing into December 1...
, struck the Central Illinois
Central Illinois
Central Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois that consists of the entire central section of the state, divided in thirds from north to south. It is an area of mostly flat prairie. The western section was originally part of the Military Tract of 1812 and forms the distinctive western...
region on November 30, 2006. On December 1, the broadcast tower shared by WHOW and its FM counterpart collapsed under the weight of the accumulated ice. WHOW was able to return to the air at reduced power a few days later using a long wire antenna
Antenna (radio)
An antenna is an electrical device which converts electric currents into radio waves, and vice versa. It is usually used with a radio transmitter or radio receiver...
while the FM station resumed broadcasting from a makeshift 60 feet (18.3 m) tower on December 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.
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. 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. 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. Both the AM and FM stations returned to full power operation on February 25, 2008.
Former on-air staff
John HartfordJohn Hartford
John Cowan Hartford was an American folk, country and bluegrass composer and musician known for his mastery of the fiddle and banjo, as well as for his witty lyrics, unique vocal style, and extensive knowledge of Mississippi River lore...
, 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
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
. Hartford would go on to write "Gentle on My Mind", a song made famous by Glen Campbell
Glen Campbell
Glen Travis Campbell is an American country music singer, guitarist, television host and occasional actor. He is best known for a series of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as for hosting a variety show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television.During his 50 years in show...
, and record more than 30 albums of newgrass and traditional bluegrass music
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
.