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Anniversaries

J

jovialjay

Several Georgia stations are crossing the half-century mark this year, with a handful of others observing even older, milestone birthdays:


50

WCLA/Claxton - July 20th
WRWH/Cleveland - September 27th
WXLI/Dublin - March 16th
WGML/Hinesville - December 9th
WUUS (originally WRIP)/Rossville - November 11th
WPLV (originally WBMK)/West Point - August 12th


60

WRFC/Athens - May 1st
WAEC (originally WERD)/Atlanta - September 30th
WNIV (originally WGLS/Decatur)/Atlanta - March 8th
WQXI/Atlanta - April 26th
WIBB/Macon - November 5th
WTWA/Thomson - January 11th


70

WGAU/Athens - May 1st


75

WKEU/Griffin - October 10th
WGPC/Albany - June 30th


80

WRCG (originally WRBL)/Columbus - May 10th
 
Jay, what did WRBL stand for originaly? I think it was the owner's initials but can't remember right off hand. I can't believe that WGPC has been on the air this long.
 
kyscott said:
what did WRBL stand for originaly? I think it was the owner's initials but can't remember right off hand. I can't believe that WGPC has been on the air this long.
Click to expand...

It ws at one time used to stand for Rebel. Their mascot was the Little Rebel. This led Mr. Woodall Sr. to call his stations Big Johnny Reb.
This would make for an interesting thread about call letters. Who can forget We Move the Merchandise in Moultrie and Where Words Give Service in Tifton.
 
ricksegers said:
kyscott said:
what did WRBL stand for originaly? I think it was the owner's initials but can't remember right off hand. I can't believe that WGPC has been on the air this long.
Click to expand...

It was at one time used to stand for Rebel. Their mascot was the Little Rebel.
Click to expand...

They used the word "WeeReBeL" with a drawing of a little kid in a confederate uniform.
 
When I think of WRBL, I always think of Ridley Bell and his outdoor show that aired on Saturday afternoons. As a nine year old kid, I used to think that cabin was really cool. Until I realized that the news set probably sat right next to it. What happened to TV like that? My first visit to a television studio was when I was 10 and my sister was on Date with Del. My first visit to a radio station was when I was 8 and my mother took me over to WCEH to buy ad time for my dad who was running for Clerk of Superior Court in Dooly County. I would later in life, go on to work at both those stations.


My favorites are Watch Mercer Attain Zenith and We Sometimes Air Video and We Can't We're Broke! ;D
 
Re: Anniversaries/Call Letters

A friend of mine used to work at WRBL in the late 80's. He swore it stood for We're Really Bad Looking or We're from both the studio and from the network thus giving them a washed out look. In fact WTVM had low chroma at that time, too. Somebody didn't like nice robust chroma. Nice tower though at 1749 feet!

Another great set were from WCWB Macon - Why Compete, We're Beat.
 
Re: Anniversaries/Call Letters

daryll said:
A friend of mine used to work at WRBL in the late 80's. He swore it stood for We're Really Bad Looking or We're from both the studio and from the network thus giving them a washed out look. In fact WTVM had low chroma at that time, too. Somebody didn't like nice robust chroma. Nice tower though at 1749 feet!

Another great set were from WCWB Macon - Why Compete, We're Beat.
Click to expand...

That's one from WCWB I have never heard. The few TV stations I have chief at, I would always set the chroma a little hot. Not outside the box on the vector or anything, but at the top edges of the boxes. Made us look a little more vivid than the others.
 
This would make for an interesting thread about call letters. Who can forget We Move the Merchandise in Moultrie and Where Words Give Service in Tifton.

Who knows where facts get blurred, then becoming legend. As for WMTM, no better authority than Doug Turner told me that the calls actually came from the last names of the three founding owners...Mills, Turner and Mills, with the Mills brothers later buying WKTG (WLOR)/Thomasville and WBGR (WLOP)/Jesup, selling out to Turner in Moultrie. As for WWGS...don't know that I'd ever heard that slogan, but I do seem to recall someone telling me that the calls were chosen to incorporate the initials of the original owner, Walter Graham. Here are some others...won't swear to the absolute factualness, but, if not truth, the legend is nonetheless worthy:

WMGA/Moultrie = Watching Moultrie Grow Agriculturally

WWNS/Statesboro = Welcome Where Nature Smiles

WTOC/Savannah = Welcome To Our City

WVOP/Vidalia = Voice Of Personality

WLOP/Jesup = Welcome to the Land Of Progress

WLOR/Thomasville = Wonderful Land Of Roses

WFPM/Fort Valley = World's Finest Peach Market

WDMG/Douglas = Downing Musgrove (politician associated with E.D. Rivers)

WMGR/Bainbridge = Marvin Griffin Radio (Newspaper owner [Bainbridge Post-Searchlight], former governor and E.D. Rivers associate)

There are more, but that'll do for now. Anyone have others to share with the class?
 
WCOH/Newnan = Welcome City Of Homes
Heard it straight from the founder's mouth (via recording, of course) on our 60th anniversary special back in December. Newnan's slogan is "City of Homes"
 
ricksegers said:
kyscott said:
what did WRBL stand for originaly? I think it was the owner's initials but can't remember right off hand. I can't believe that WGPC has been on the air this long.
Click to expand...

It ws at one time used to stand for Rebel. Their mascot was the Little Rebel. This led Mr. Woodall Sr. to call his stations Big Johnny Reb.
Click to expand...

The official story is that it stood for "Radio Bill Lewis". But "ReBeL" seems to be the natural significance. I wonder if the official story is true.
 
WJCL-FM, Savannah - J C Lewis
WJAD, Albany (formerly Bainbridge) - John A. Dowdy
WGOP. Albany (now WJYZ, formerly WJAZ) - Wonderful God of Power
 
WGEC (original call of 103.9, now WTYB): Welcome to Greater Effingham County.

WNMT (Operated on 1520 for years by the late Chris Watkins; started out on "the beautifal banks of the Dundee," a drainage canal in Garden City and later displaced by a highway project): Weather, News, Music & Talk.

WEAS (900, now WJLG, Savannah): We Entertain All Savannah.

WMCD: Named in honor of the late Worth McDougal.
 
WNMT (Operated on 1520 for years by the late Chris Watkins; started out on "the beautifal banks of the Dundee," a drainage canal in Garden City and later displaced by a highway project): Weather, News, Music & Talk.

WEAS (900, now WJLG, Savannah): We Entertain All Savannah.

WMCD: Named in honor of the late Worth McDougal.


Sorry to get out my red pencil, but there are a couple of errors here, and I want to correct them.

First, WNMT, according to Chris, stood for Weather News Music Time, although he'd jokingly say that the calls stood for for either We Need Money Too, or Women Need Men Too. Also, the location was "on the banks of the beautiful Dundee".

WEAS, owned by Dee Rivers, were the original call letters on 1010 in Decatur, and stood for Emory and Agnes Scott, the then men's and women's colleges located in Decatur. The Savannah station was originally WJIV. When Dee changed the Atlanta calls to WGUN, he moved the WEAS calls to Savannah, in order to preserve them.

And, WMCD was not so named to honor "the late" Worth McDougald...WMCD went on the air in 1967, many years before Dr. Worth passed away. WMCD was selected to identify the McDougald family, three of which were active in broadcasting...Worth, Don and Mike.
 
Sonny Dixon (WTOC-TV) has joked that some elementary children he's spoken to will explain that WTOC actually stands for Watch The Other Channel! :)
 
I'm sure Jay, Art or somebody can answer this but I have often wondered if there was any significance to WMES in Ashburn and WSIZ in Ocilla?
 
Now that you mention it, your are correct about WNMT! My 50-year-old memory slips from time to time.

One of the long-time staffers at WEAS told me that the call stood for "We Entertain All Savannah." Perhaps the translation was grafted onto the call after it was brought to Savannah.

Dr. McDougal's brother told me personally that WMCD was named after his brother back in 1980-something; Dr. Mac was still very much alive at he time and acting as the co-ordinator of the Peabody Awards. Mike McDougal was acting as a broker of sorts when WGEC was put up for sale. I was working there at the time, and Mr. McDougal was in and out of the station a quite a bit; he was always very friendly and would take the time to chat with a beginner in the business whenever he had a few minutes to spare.

All of this being so, I still defer to you on this. I'm simply sharing what I had been told, and you probably (read that: definitely!) know the subject cold. ;)
 
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