WLOA
Encyclopedia
WLOA is a radio station
licensed to Farrell, Pennsylvania
. It serves the Sharon, Pennsylvania
and Youngstown, Ohio
areas. Though licensed to Farrell, WLOA transmits from a facility on South State Line Road in Masury, Ohio
. The Farrell city limit is across South State Line Road in Pennsylvania.
WLOA and WGRP
940 AM, along with WLVX
107.1 FM in Greenville, PA, are owned by Educational Media Foundation
.
EMF planned to spin-off both WLOA and WGRP to separate owners when they purchased all three stations; only intending to retain WEXC, now WLVX.
In June 2011, it was announced that Vilkie Communications intends to purchase WLOA and WGRP. .
area, doing business as Farrell-Sharon Broadcasting Company. Schafitz also started up WWIZ
in Lorain, Ohio
. He was involved in the launching of WXTV-TV
in Youngstown in 1955. 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 W 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.
WFAR applied for a power increase to 1,000 W on February 1, 1955. The FCC granted the power increase September 22, 1955. An application to operate 24 hours a day, transmitting 1,000 W daytime and 500 W nighttime 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.
The FCC granted the request on Sept. 24, 1958, and these operating parameters were implemented by 1961.
WFAR's license was almost denied renewal in the wake of findings that Schafitz transferred station control of WWIZ
in Lorain, Ohio to the Lorain Journal Company
without authorization from the FCC weeks before the station signed on, which was further complicated by Harry Horvitz (the chief owner of Journal Publishing) and his attempt to buy the station outright in 1961. The Lorain 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 Journal Publishing from holding a license. (Prior to the 1948 establishment of radio station WEOL
in Elyria, Ohio, The Journal had a near monopoly on news gathering in the city of Lorain).
Schafitz also owned WXTV-TV, a small independent television station based in Youngstown, Ohio. Unlike the other TV stations in the market at the time (WKBN-TV
, WFMJ-TV
and WYTV
), WXTV had no network affiliation, transmitted at a lower power, and had a very limited broadcast day (usually starting as late as 6:00 p.m. weeknights). 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. WXTV's channel allocation was reassigned to Alliance as an educational frequency and would eventually be occupied by WNEO
. The license for WWIZ was appealed before the Supreme Court
, and ultimately was revoked in late 1966. The station then operated under a temporary permit until being ordered off the air entirely on July 14, 1967, with the frequency turned over to a local ownership group, who relaunched it in December 1969 as WLRO (and is today known as WDLW
).
In 1976, WFAR was joined by WFAR-FM
, operating at 95.9, and signing 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.
Sanford A. Schafitz died of heart failure May 30, 1979 at the age of 53.
WFAR and its sister station, WFAR-FM, were sold to Broadcast Service Communications shortly thereafter for $603,750.
The station was immediately rechristened with the new call letters WGBU. The Top-40 and oldies format was dropped in favor of beautiful music, news and talk. The beautiful music was dropped by 1982; the news and talk format continued.
WFAR-FM was rechristened as WGBZ, adopting a rock format and aspiring to serve Youngstown, Ohio. 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.
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 WWGY
), and changed again to WPAO on March 3, 1997.
By 1997, WPAO and WICT would be 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 traded dial positions in October 1999, and Clear Channel sold off both WRTK and WPAO to D&E Communications in April 2001, headed by Dale Edwards, the owner of gospel station WABQ
in Cleveland
. Formats ranged from top 40 to oldies to easy listening music, with a number of religious formats along the way.
WPAO had a Christian format by 2002. In November of that year, D&E Broadcasting sold the station to Holy Family Communications, headed by James N. Wright for $350,000.
Holy Family Communications changed the call sign to WLOA on February 18, 2003, (to complement Holy Family Communications' other Catholic radio stations) and which took over operations on March 4, 2003, under the direction of Martha Coulter, station manager, making it the 60th Catholic radio station on the air in the United States.
WLOA was purchased by Glunt's Beacon Broadcasting on July 7, 2005 (which also acquired WRTK from D&E, reuniting both stations once again).
WLOA became part of a three-station oldies
format trimulcast (along with WGRP) that originated from Warren's WANR under the "Family Friendly Oldies" banner - but would break away to air assorted sports play-by-play. This lasted until December, 2006, when a sports format featuring Sporting News Radio
was installed on WLOA and WGRP. In April, 2008, WGRP briefly broke away from simulcasting WLOA, and began to air classic country music with WLOA rejoining WGRP a few months later in September 2008.
The station included local broadcasters such as Tony Horn in the morning, Johnny Rogers in afternoons, with a short stint by local talent Gregg Allen as "Porky" broadcasting "Porky’s Pen at 10."
In January 2010, Beacon Broadcasting owner and Warren steel supply magnate, Harold Glunt, died. Glunt's surviving son took over ownership of the stations, and he put all of Beacon Broadcasting's stations up for sale. Educational Media Foundation
announced its intention to purchase WLOA, WGRP and WEXC for a combined $225,000 on September 10, 2010; all three stations since changed formats to relay the national non-commercial K-LOVE
feed. On February 3, 2011, EMF filed for Special Temporary Authority (STA) to remain silent, and was granted this authority March 14, 2011.
WLOA was off-the-air starting January 15, 2011, but the station returned to the air by the end of April.
In June 2011, Vilkie Communications announced their intention to purchase both WLOA and WGRP from EMF for $50,000.
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 to Farrell, Pennsylvania
Farrell, Pennsylvania
Farrell is a city in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 6,050 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Youngstown–Warren–Boardman, OH-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
. It serves the Sharon, Pennsylvania
Sharon, Pennsylvania
Sharon is a city in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, in the United States, northwest of Pittsburgh. It is part of the Youngstown–Warren–Boardman, OH-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
and Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
areas. Though licensed to Farrell, WLOA transmits from a facility on South State Line Road in Masury, Ohio
Masury, Ohio
Masury is a census-designated place in Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,618 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Youngstown–Warren–Boardman, OH-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
. The Farrell city limit is across South State Line Road in Pennsylvania.
WLOA and WGRP
WGRP
WGRP is a licensed Class D AM radio station broadcasting from Greenville, Pennsylvania at 940 kHz. WGRP broadcasts full-time. However, it only sends out 2 watts in the nighttime hours, in order to protect a Canadian clear-channel which is reserved by international treaty.WGRP and WLOA, along with...
940 AM, along with WLVX
WLVX
WLVX is a radio station licensed to Greenville, Pennsylvania. It operates 24 hours per day, 7 days per week at 2100 watts.The station is owned by Educational Media Foundation, who officially received assignment of the licenses of WEXC, WLOA and WGRP from Beacon Broadcasting on December 23, 2010...
107.1 FM in Greenville, PA, are owned by Educational Media Foundation
Educational Media Foundation
Educational Media Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that operates the K-LOVE and Air 1 radio networks. EMF is based in Rocklin, California....
.
EMF planned to spin-off both WLOA and WGRP to separate owners when they purchased all three stations; only intending to retain WEXC, now WLVX.
In June 2011, it was announced that Vilkie Communications intends to purchase WLOA and WGRP. .
Beginnings as WFAR
The station first signed on the air as WFAR, a 500-watt daytime-only station, on October 3, 1954. The station was founded by Sanford A. Schafitz, a native of the YoungstownYoungstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
area, doing business as Farrell-Sharon Broadcasting Company. Schafitz also started up WWIZ
WDLW
WDLW — branded Kool Kat Oldies 1380AM — is a commercial radio station broadcasting in Lorain, Ohio. It studios are at co-owned WOBL's studio/transmitter site in Oberlin, and its transmitter is located in Sheffield Township...
in Lorain, Ohio
Lorain, Ohio
Lorain is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River, about 30 miles west of Cleveland....
. He was involved in the launching of WXTV-TV
WYTV
WYTV is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Mahoning Valley of Northeastern Ohio and Northwestern Pennsylvania that is licensed to Youngstown. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 36 from a transmitter on Shady Run Road in Boardman Township...
in Youngstown in 1955. 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
New Castle, Pennsylvania
New Castle is a city in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, United States, northwest of Pittsburgh and near the Pennsylvania-Ohio border just east of Youngstown, Ohio; in 1910, the total population was 36,280; in 1920, 44,938; and in 1940, 47,638. The population has fallen to 26,309 according to the...
, and Schafitz wanted to put a 500 W 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.
WFAR applied for a power increase to 1,000 W on February 1, 1955. The FCC granted the power increase September 22, 1955. An application to operate 24 hours a day, transmitting 1,000 W daytime and 500 W nighttime 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.
The FCC granted the request on Sept. 24, 1958, and these operating parameters were implemented by 1961.
WFAR's license was almost denied renewal in the wake of findings that Schafitz transferred station control of WWIZ
WDLW
WDLW — branded Kool Kat Oldies 1380AM — is a commercial radio station broadcasting in Lorain, Ohio. It studios are at co-owned WOBL's studio/transmitter site in Oberlin, and its transmitter is located in Sheffield Township...
in Lorain, Ohio to the Lorain Journal Company
Morning Journal
The Morning Journal is a daily newspaper based in Lorain, Ohio. Originally the Lorain Journal, it was an afternoon paper which was historically more popular in an industrial town like Lorain, but switched to morning publication in the 1980s....
without authorization from the FCC weeks before the station signed on, which was further complicated by Harry Horvitz (the chief owner of Journal Publishing) and his attempt to buy the station outright in 1961. The Lorain 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 Journal Publishing from holding a license. (Prior to the 1948 establishment of radio station WEOL
WEOL
WEOL — branded AM930 WEOL — is a commercial radio station licensed to Elyria, Ohio. The station serves both Elyria and Lorain, as well as the western portion of Greater Cleveland...
in Elyria, Ohio, The Journal had a near monopoly on news gathering in the city of Lorain).
Schafitz also owned WXTV-TV, a small independent television station based in Youngstown, Ohio. Unlike the other TV stations in the market at the time (WKBN-TV
WKBN-TV
WKBN-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for Youngstown, Ohio. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 41 from a transmitter at WKBN's studios on Sunset Boulevard in Boardman Township. Owned by New Vision Television, WKBN is sister to and shares studios with low-power...
, WFMJ-TV
WFMJ-TV
WFMJ-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Youngstown, Ohio. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 20 from a transmitter on Mabel Street in Youngstown. Owned by the Maag family, the station has studios on West Boardman Street in downtown Youngstown. WFMJ-TV is...
and WYTV
WYTV
WYTV is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Mahoning Valley of Northeastern Ohio and Northwestern Pennsylvania that is licensed to Youngstown. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 36 from a transmitter on Shady Run Road in Boardman Township...
), WXTV had no network affiliation, transmitted at a lower power, and had a very limited broadcast day (usually starting as late as 6:00 p.m. weeknights). 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. WXTV's channel allocation was reassigned to Alliance as an educational frequency and would eventually be occupied by WNEO
WNEO
WNEO and WEAO are Public Broadcasting Service member public television stations in northeastern Ohio, simulcasting together as Western Reserve PBS...
. The license for WWIZ was appealed before the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
, and ultimately was revoked in late 1966. The station then operated under a temporary permit until being ordered off the air entirely on July 14, 1967, with the frequency turned over to a local ownership group, who relaunched it in December 1969 as WLRO (and is today known as WDLW
WDLW
WDLW — branded Kool Kat Oldies 1380AM — is a commercial radio station broadcasting in Lorain, Ohio. It studios are at co-owned WOBL's studio/transmitter site in Oberlin, and its transmitter is located in Sheffield Township...
).
In 1976, WFAR was joined by WFAR-FM
WAKZ
WAKZ is a radio station licensed to Sharpsville, Pennsylvania, and serving Youngstown, Ohio. The station is owned by Clear Channel. It airs a Rhythmic music format, competing with WDJQ Q92, WHOT-FM "Hot 101", WHBC-FM "Mix 94.1", WRBP, "Jamz 101.9",and WENZ "Z 1079"...
, operating at 95.9, and signing 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.
Sanford A. Schafitz died of heart failure May 30, 1979 at the age of 53.
WFAR and its sister station, WFAR-FM, were sold to Broadcast Service Communications shortly thereafter for $603,750.
First Sale
WFAR was sold October 24, 1980 to Broadcast Service Communications, Inc., a company headed by Robert E. Kassi.The station was immediately rechristened with the new call letters WGBU. The Top-40 and oldies format was dropped in favor of beautiful music, news and talk. The beautiful music was dropped by 1982; the news and talk format continued.
WFAR-FM was rechristened as WGBZ, adopting a rock format and aspiring to serve Youngstown, Ohio. 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.
Second Sale
Upon National's acquisition, the call letters for both stations were changed. WGBU became WMGZ and WGBZ became WMGZ-FM. Both stations were an adult contemporary format, and they simulcasted one another full-time.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
Grove City, Pennsylvania
Grove City is a borough in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, approximately north of Pittsburgh. It is the home of Grove City College, a private conservative Christian liberal arts college; General Electric; Instron; USIS; George G. Howe Co.; and a number of small businesses. It is also the home to...
(today known as WWGY
WWGY
WWGY, branded as Froggy 95, is a country music formatted radio station in Grove City, Pennsylvania. It is not a simulcast affiliation with Froggy 100.3 in Meadville, Pennsylvania, but the two stations are owned by Forever Broadcasting, LLC. WWGY is a station in the Pittsburgh Steelers radio...
), and changed again to WPAO on March 3, 1997.
By 1997, WPAO and WICT would be absorbed, along with New Castle
New Castle, Pennsylvania
New Castle is a city in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, United States, northwest of Pittsburgh and near the Pennsylvania-Ohio border just east of Youngstown, Ohio; in 1910, the total population was 36,280; in 1920, 44,938; and in 1940, 47,638. The population has fallen to 26,309 according to the...
stations WKST
WKST (AM)
WKST is an AM radio station in New Castle, Pennsylvania, USA broadcasting at 1200 kHz with a news/talk format. It is currently owned by Forever Broadcasting, LLC of Altoona, Pennsylvania which also owns 12 other radio stations in Pennsylvania including WJST in New Castle and WWGY in Grove City. ...
1280-AM, WKST-FM
WPKL
WPKL is a Classic Hits-formatted radio station licensed to Uniontown, Pennsylvania at 99.3 FM. WPKL's programming is simulcast on WKPL in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania at 92.1 FM...
92.1-FM and WBZY
WJST
WJST is a radio station broadcasting a sports radio format as a Fox Sports Radio affiliate. Licensed to New Castle, Pennsylvania, USA, it serves the Pittsburgh area...
1200-AM, into the growing Jacor Communications cluster, which merged into Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
in May 1999. Along with Youngstown
Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
stations WRTK
WNIO
WNIO — branded 1390 WNIO — is an AM radio station in Youngstown, Ohio, USA broadcasting at 1390 kHz with an Sports talk radio format dubbed "The Sports Animal." WNIO also carries Ohio State University football and basketball, Cleveland Cavaliers basketball, and Pittsburgh Steelers...
1390-AM, WBBG
WBBG
WBBG is a commercial FM radio station in Youngstown, Ohio market broadcasting at 106.1 MHz with an oldies format. The station is licensed to Niles, Ohio, with programming similar to fellow Clear Channel stations WWSW-FM in Pittsburgh and WMJI in Cleveland....
93.3-FM, WNIO
WYCL
WRGV is a radio station licensed to serve the community of Pensacola, Florida, United States. The station is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications and the broadcast license is held by Clear Channel Broadcasting Licenses, Inc...
1540-AM, WNCD
WNCD
WNCD is a commercial radio station serving Youngstown, Ohio, owned by Clear Channel and broadcasting a mainstream rock format at 93.3 MHz. Its signal covers Youngstown, Warren, and New Castle, PA, and at times even reaches Erie and New Kensington, Pennsylvania. However, as one approaches Meadville...
106.1-FM, the aforementioned WTNX
WAKZ
WAKZ is a radio station licensed to Sharpsville, Pennsylvania, and serving Youngstown, Ohio. The station is owned by Clear Channel. It airs a Rhythmic music format, competing with WDJQ Q92, WHOT-FM "Hot 101", WHBC-FM "Mix 94.1", WRBP, "Jamz 101.9",and WENZ "Z 1079"...
, WKBN
WKBN (AM)
WKBN is an AM radio station in Youngstown, Ohio, USA broadcasting at 570 kHz with a talk radio format. The station also carries games for the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Indians, and Youngstown State Penguin football and basketball...
570-AM, WKBN
WMXY
WMXY is a radio station in Youngstown, Ohio, broadcasting a Hot Adult Contemporary music format. It is the Youngstown affiliate for Delilah in the evening.-History:...
98.9-FM, and WBTJ
WRBP
WRBP, branded as JAMZ 101.9, is a radio station in the Youngstown, Ohio market. Licensed to Hubbard, the station broadcasts an urban music format on 101.9 FM...
101.9-FM (operated with a LMA
Local marketing agreement
In U.S. and Canadian broadcasting, a local marketing agreement is an agreement in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another licensee...
from owner Stop 26/Riverbend), ten radio stations in both markets were now controlled by the same owner.
WNIO and WRTK traded dial positions in October 1999, and Clear Channel sold off both WRTK and WPAO to D&E Communications in April 2001, headed by Dale Edwards, the owner of gospel station WABQ
WABQ
WABQ — branded Talk 1460 — is a commercial progressive talk radio station licensed to Painesville, Ohio. Part of the Cleveland radio market, WABQ primarily serves the eastern half of Cuyahoga County, and the bulk of Lake County, as the reach of the station's transmitter is relatively...
in Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. Formats ranged from top 40 to oldies to easy listening music, with a number of religious formats along the way.
WPAO had a Christian format by 2002. In November of that year, D&E Broadcasting sold the station to Holy Family Communications, headed by James N. Wright for $350,000.
Holy Family Communications changed the call sign to WLOA on February 18, 2003, (to complement Holy Family Communications' other Catholic radio stations) and which took over operations on March 4, 2003, under the direction of Martha Coulter, station manager, making it the 60th Catholic radio station on the air in the United States.
WLOA became part of a three-station oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
format trimulcast (along with WGRP) that originated from Warren's WANR under the "Family Friendly Oldies" banner - but would break away to air assorted sports play-by-play. This lasted until December, 2006, when a sports format featuring Sporting News Radio
Sporting News Radio
Yahoo! Sports Radio, formerly Sporting News Radio is a United States sports radio network that broadcasts sports news, talk, scores, and highlights 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. On August 1, 2011, it was announced the network would change its name to Yahoo! Sports Radio, effective...
was installed on WLOA and WGRP. In April, 2008, WGRP briefly broke away from simulcasting WLOA, and began to air classic country music with WLOA rejoining WGRP a few months later in September 2008.
The station included local broadcasters such as Tony Horn in the morning, Johnny Rogers in afternoons, with a short stint by local talent Gregg Allen as "Porky" broadcasting "Porky’s Pen at 10."
In January 2010, Beacon Broadcasting owner and Warren steel supply magnate, Harold Glunt, died. Glunt's surviving son took over ownership of the stations, and he put all of Beacon Broadcasting's stations up for sale. Educational Media Foundation
Educational Media Foundation
Educational Media Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that operates the K-LOVE and Air 1 radio networks. EMF is based in Rocklin, California....
announced its intention to purchase WLOA, WGRP and WEXC for a combined $225,000 on September 10, 2010; all three stations since changed formats to relay the national non-commercial K-LOVE
K-LOVE
K-LOVE is a Contemporary Christian music radio programming service in the United States operated by the Educational Media Foundation. As of January 2011, K-LOVE's programming is carried on over 440 FM stations and translators in 45 states. K-LOVE claims an audience of 250,000 people each week via...
feed. On February 3, 2011, EMF filed for Special Temporary Authority (STA) to remain silent, and was granted this authority March 14, 2011.
WLOA was off-the-air starting January 15, 2011, but the station returned to the air by the end of April.
In June 2011, Vilkie Communications announced their intention to purchase both WLOA and WGRP from EMF for $50,000.
| WLOA transmitter site | Central main tower | Central and west towers | East tower |
|---|---|---|---|