WCFI History
Thanks to Marc Tyll for this history of WCFI.
By 1954 WTMC-AM 1290 applied for a power increase to 1,000 watts full-time. The request was granted, but the FCC stipulated WTMC move from its original 1500KC frequency to 1290KC.
Once again, the station experienced financial problems, and in 1999 Jones shut down WTMC and placed it for sale. The station was eventually sold to Newburg, New York based Vector Communications Company, Inc., owned by Robert J. Maines, Jr.. Maines had vowed to return WTMC to the air as a very heavily community oriented radio station catering to the needs of the local area. Vector filed an application and was granted a construction permit to increase WTMC’s daytime power to 10,000 watts directional, but remaining at 1,000 watts directional at night. The main studio and offices were re-located to the Sheffield Plaza on Southwest College Road. The heritage WTMC call letters, which had been in Ocala and associated with the 1290 KHz frequency (originally on 1500 Kc) for over 60-years, were replaced with WCFI. The heritage WTMC call letters were picked up by the Delaware Department of Transportation when those call letters went to the former WAMS-AM 1380 Wilmington. The new WCFI returned to the air, programming AP News around the clock, and became known as "News Radio 1290". Mornings consisted of local news between 6 and 9 hosted by news director Al Lee. Lee had been news anchor for WTMC in the past and was also a former news director for WMOP. Lee also had been a reporter for the Ocala Star-Banner, Ocala’s local daily newspaper. After a few months at the WCFI news desk, Lee retired from radio, returning to the Star-Banner as a part time reporter. Former WSKY-FM 97.3 Ocala reporter Tom Duff was hired to replace Lee, taking over the three hour morning news duties as news director. "News Radio 1290" continued to program 24-hour news and information for five more years, first as an AP (Associated Press) affiliate, later returning to CNN Headline News. 
In 2003, the station began to add more local programming when the Bobby D Show made its debut, airing weekday mornings from 10AM until Noon. Bobby discussed many local issues and had a large following among area listeners. During the 2004 Presidential Campaign, Bobby interviewed Libertarian Presidential candidate Michael Badnarik live during Badnarik’s campaign stop in Ocala. 
In early 2004, WCFI began adding country music to the news-talk mix, but the music didn’t last very long, nor the station, due to storm damage the station sustained at the transmitter site following the 2004 hurricane season. WCFI went off the air for the final time in August 2004, never to return to the air again. The three transmitting towers, which had been constructed in the 1950s, had sustained considerable damage and were unsafe to remain in place. As a safety precaution, the towers were dismantled and the damaged transmitter building was also demolished. 

On Feb. 20, 2008 the frequency was deleted by the FCC. Read Marc Tyll's tribute here In Memory

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