A Class B AM with a signal stretching from Windsor, Ontario to the cities of Lansing and Flint is getting a bit of an owner adjustment.
It’s the lone filing at the FCC for Thursday, Feb. 15, making it another quiet day for RBR+TVBR’s TRANSACTIONS TODAY.
At 1600 kHz, WAAM-AM 1600 in Ann Arbor, Mich., has a directional 5kw signal beaming from four towers. It is primarily an Ann Arbor station, although it reaches much of Dearborn and metropolitan Detroit.
WAAM is a conservative Talk station with shows from such hosts as Alex Jones and Glenn Beck.
It is owned by Coolarity A2 LLC, which until now has been 100% owned by Linda H. Hughes.
In a Form 315 filing made with the Commission on Thursday, Hughes now seeks to give half of the voting and equity in Coolarity A2 to her husband, Theron E. Hughes— a.k.a. local host “Thayrone.”
WAAM has a rich history in Michigan. In the 1960s, it aired an MOR format during daylight hours and a Top 40 format at night. In September 1968, a fire engulfed the WAAM studios, forcing the station to reduce its power from 5kw to 250 watts until 1973; until 1969 broadcasts were done from a trailer in the WAAM parking lot.
In 1970, then-owner Frank Babcock died, placing the station in a trust. In May 1972, the trust sold WAAM, leading it to switch to a 24/7 Top 40 format. In 1975 it became an affiliate of American Top 40. One year later, “Super WAAM” was gone thanks to another ownership change, and a Full Service format was put in place.
Various changes since 1976 included a run as a Satellite Music Network Star Station affiliate, and a switch to Adult Standards.
Hughes purchased WAAM in March 2011; she had been WAAM’s GM since 2008.
