WAEC (AM)

Last updated
WAEC
Broadcast area Atlanta metropolitan area
Frequency 860 kHz
Programming
Format Silent
History
First air date
 1948
Former call signs
WERD (1948-1978)
Technical information
Facility ID 22132
Class B
Power 5,000 watts day
2,500 watts critical hours
500 watts night
Transmitter coordinates
 33°43′46″N84°19′19″W / 33.729323°N 84.32201°W / 33.729323; -84.32201

WAEC (860 kHz) is an AM radio station in Atlanta, Georgia, The station is owned by Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc., through licensee Beasley Media Group, LLC,

Contents

Originally a 1,000-watt daytime-only station, in the mid-1980s WAEC increased power to 5,000 watts, then was licensed for a 24-hour signal with 500 watts during nighttime hours and 2,500 watts during critical hours. The station uses a non-directional antenna during daytime and critical hours, and a directional antenna system at night. The broadcast towers are located near the Flat Shoals Road exit of Interstate 20 in Atlanta.

History

WERD

WERD was the first radio station owned and operated by African Americans. The station was established in Atlanta, Georgia in 1948. Though WDIA in Memphis was on the air a year earlier carrying black-oriented programming, the station was not owned by African Americans.

Jesse B. Blayton Sr., an accountant, bank president, and Atlanta University professor, purchased WERD in 1949 for $50,000. He changed the station format to "black appeal" and hired his son Jesse Jr. as station manager. [1] "Jockey" Jack Gibson was hired soon after, and by 1951 was the most popular DJ in Atlanta. The station was housed in the Masonic building on Auburn Avenue, then one of the wealthiest black neighborhoods in the United States. Located in that same building was the headquarters of the new Southern Christian Leadership Conference, led by Martin Luther King Jr. [2] It has been said that Dr. King had his offices right under the radio station. A WERD staffer would let the microphone out the window to the first floor, and Dr. King would bring the microphone in his window and make a speech. [2]

Blayton sold the station in 1968, [3] and in 1969, its call sign was changed to WXAP.

WAEC

The station briefly changed to country music in the late 1970s under new owner, Mike Sears, before becoming WAEC on December 3, 1978. The first station to play contemporary Christian music in Atlanta, its new call letters stood for "Atlanta's Electric Church".

Don Stone was hired as general manager a year later and changed the slogan to "Love 86". Stone built the station to be one of the most successful Christian stations in the country, and created several publications for the station including the Atlanta Christian Business Directory and the Love 86 Express newspaper. Stone stayed at the station until 1994, when he departed to focus on publishing the Atlanta Christian Business Directory and The Love 86 Express, now Atlanta Christian Magazine.

Previous logo Love860 logo 150x85.png
Previous logo

Sears sold the station to Tampa-based Forus Communications in 1982, who sold the station 20 years later to Beasley Broadcasting.

On November 15, 2023, WAEC changed formats from christian talk to Spanish-language salsa music, branded as "Playa 860". [4]

In June 2024, WAEC went silent after their broadcast tower was sold to a developer. [5]

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Jesse B. Blayton (1897-1977) was a radio entrepreneur, civil rights activist, professor, accountant, and businessman. Blayton founded WERD (AM) in Atlanta, Georgia, which was the first radio station owned and programmed by African Americans. In 1995, he posthumously entered the National Radio Hall of Fame.

References

  1. ↑ "Blayton, Jesse B., Sr. (1879–1977) - The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed". 3 February 2009. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Prince Hall Masonic Building". The Historical Marker Database. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Jesse B. Blayton Jr., Headed Radio Station WERD for 20 Years," The Atlanta Constitution, November 8, 1986.
  4. ↑ "Beasley Launches Playa on AM in Atlanta and HD in Five Markets". radioinsight.com. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  5. ↑ "860 AM in Atlanta goes off the air, the former first Black-owned radio station in U.S." ajc.com. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
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