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WAPG-AM
1480
Arcadia
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Original Call Letters: WAPG |
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Originally Licensed: Sep 3, 1955 |
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Original City of License: Arcadia |
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Original Frequency: 1480 |
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Origin of Call Letters: Location: Arcadia-Punta Gorda |
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Original Power: 1,000 watts |
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Original Location: 201 W. Asbury Street |
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Original Format: Religious |
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Keystone Broadcasting System |
| UPI | |
| FRN | |
| CBS | |
| CNN | |
Owner(s): |
1955-Arcadia-Punta Gorda Broadcasting Company |
| 1959-Arcadia-Punta Gorda Broadcasting Co. Inc. | |
| 1981-Dakos Broadcasting, Inc. | |
| 1989-Gulf Dunes Broadcasting, Inc ($250,000 with WXKT-FM 98.3) | |
| 1993-Dakos Broadcasting, Inc. | |
| 1996-Hall Communications ($1.75 million with WXKT-FM 98.3) | |
| 1998-Heartland Broadcasting Co. ($150,000) | |
| 2003-Integrity Radio of Florida LLC ($225,000) | |
| 2006-La Raza 1480, Inc. | |
| 2015-Fiorini Broadcasting, LLC ($325,000) | |
| 2015-Integrity Radio of Florida ($325,000) |
History Of Call Letters and Formats: |
WAPG-1955-Religious "Arcadia Praising God'' |
| WAPG-1975-Free Form | |
| WAPG-1977-Top 40 | |
| WAPG-1982-Country Western | |
| WAPG-1989-Classic Hits | |
| WOKD-1990-Country Western | |
| WKGF-1993-Contemporary Christian "We're Keeping God First" | |
| WKGF-1996-News/Talk | |
| WZTK-1998-Talk | |
| WFLN-2003-News/Talk |
WAPG History |
| WAPG-AM 1480 Arcadia – WAPG (Arcadia-Punta Gorda) was originally a one kilowatt daytimer licensed to Arcadia in DeSoto County, and put on the air in 1955 by Arcadia-Punta Gorda Broadcasting Company (H.F. McGee, president). Other owners included Arcadia-Punta Gorda Broadcasting Co. Inc. (H.D. Ryals, President-1959), Dakos Broadcasting, Inc. (William Dakos, President-1981), and Gulf Dunes Broadcasting, Inc. (Dennis Hedlund, President-1989). During its 35 years on the air, WAPG’s formats included country, Top 40, and religion. The station became WOKD in 1989. |
IRKED DISC JOCKEY TAKES JOB, SHOVES IT Sun-Sentinel - Tuesday, April 1, 1986 Author: The Associated Press A country music disc jockey who said he was "fed up," locked himself in his studio and played Take This Job and Shove It at varying speeds until police escorted him out. Charlie Bee began playing the Johnny Paycheck hit just after 5 p.m. Monday and attracted about 250 curious listeners to the WAPG-AM and WOKD-FM (98.3) studios before he left after 7:30 p.m., said station spokeswoman Dixie Dakos. Ignoring the pleas of management and friends, Bee played the song over and over, barricaded inside the control booth. Among the complaints he aired were that he had had to work on Friday, his 49th birthday. "The little people are important," Bee told listeners. Eventually, the sound of pounding on the booth door was heard over the strains of the song, followed by another comment from Bee: "This is my show and they're not going to tell me what to do." He was relieved by disc jockey Bill Madison, who dedicated the song to him and played it one last time. "I was fed up," Bee told The Associated Press in a phone call from the studio after the incident ended. He refused to give details. Ms. Dakos said Bee mentioned his birthday several times Friday. Neither she nor Bee knew whether he would be fired. STUNT TAKES POLICE BEYOND THE LINE OF DUTY THE SEATTLE TIMES - Wednesday, April 2, 1986 Author: COMPILED FROM NEWS SERVICES A country-music disc jockey in Arcadia, Fla., who said he was ``fed up'' and had locked himself in his studio played ``Take This Job and Shove It'' at varying speeds until police escorted him out. But it was all a publicity stunt and the station had asked police ahead of time to cooperate by pretending to take the DJ away as if he were under arrest, police said yesterday. Charlie Bee began playing the Johnny Paycheck hit just after 5 p.m. Monday and attracted about 250 curious listeners to the WAPG-AM and WOKD-FM studios before police escorted him out at about 7:30 p.m., station spokeswoman Dixie Dakos said. On the air, Bee pretended to ignore the pleas of management and friends while he played the song over and over, claiming to be barricaded inside the control booth. Among the complaints he aired was one that he had had to work Friday, his 49th birthday. The sound of pounding on a door was heard over the air as Bee declared, ``This is my show and they're not going to tell me what to do.'' Police Capt. Jimmy Norris admitted Dakos had enlisted the police in the stunt. ``I think we went a little too far in cooperating, and we won't be doing this again,'' Norris said. |
Names In WAPG History |
| H.F. McGee-1955-Owner/President-Arcadia-Punta Gorda Broadcasting Company |
| Martin J. Begley, Jr.-1955-General Manager/Program Director/Chief Engineer-Punta Gorda Broadcasting Company |
| G. Kelley Lyons-1955-Commercial Manager/Farm Director-Punta Gorda Broadcasting Company |
| Philip Hull-1955-Sports Director-Punta Gorda Broadcasting Company |
| Adella Robertson-1955-Women's Director-Punta Gorda Broadcasting Company |
| Jack Chambers-1955-Promotions Manager/News Director-Arcadia-Punta Gorda Broadcasting Company |
| Jim Derrick-1956-General Manager-Arcadia-Punta Gorda Broadcasting Company |
| Charles Bruce-1956-Sports Director-Arcadia-Punta Gorda Broadcasting Company |
| Paul Howell-1957-General Manager/Chief Engineer-Arcadia-Punta Gorda Broadcasting Company |
| H.D. Ryals-1959-President-Arcadia-Punta Gorda Broadcasting Company, Inc. |
| W.W, Benton-1959-1965-General Manager/1975-President-Arcadia-Punta Gorda Broadcasting Company, Inc. |
| Bert G. Erickson-1959-Commercial Manager/Program Director/Promotion Director-Punta Gorda Broadcasting Company, Inc./1974-News Director -Arcadia -Punta Gorda Broadcasting Co. Inc. |
| Richard Cobb-1959-Farm Director-Arcadia-Punta Gorda Broadcasting Co. Inc. |
| Mary B. Anderson-1959-Women’s Director-Punta Gorda Broadcasting Co. Inc. |
 Murray Benton-1963-1974-"Furry Murray with the kissable noggin"-General Manager/Music Director/Promotions Manager/Chief Engineer-Arcadia-Punta Gorda Broadcasting Co. Inc. |
 Larry Flegle-1964-Arcadia-Punta Gorda Broadcasting Co. Inc. Biography In Memory |
| Frank G. “Skip” West-1964-1965-Arcadia-Punta Gorda Broadcasting Co. Inc. |
| Tim Taylor-1970-1971-Arcadia-Punta Gorda Broadcasting Co. Inc. |
| Ruth Benton-1974-Program Director/Sales Manager-Arcadia-Punta Gorda Broadcasting Co. Inc. |
| Bert Erickson-1974-News Director-Arcadia-Punta Gorda Broadcasting Co. Inc. |
| Jim Vaughn-1975-Sales Manager-Arcadia-Punta Gorda Broadcasting Co. Inc. |
| Charlie Bee (Charles Burkhart)-1975-1986-Music Director-Arcadia-Punta Gorda Broadcasting Co. Inc. In Memory |
| Helen Toll-1977-Sales Manager-Arcadia-Punta Gorda Broadcasting Co. Inc. |
| Dennis Hedlund-1993-President-Dakos Broadcasting |
| Dixie Dakos-1993-General Manager-Dakos Broadcasting, Inc. |
| Karl August-1993-Program Director-Dakos Broadcasting, Inc. |
| Dr. William N. Dakos-1993-President-Dakos Broadcasting, Inc. |
 Steve Kennedy Biography |
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| Haywood Mercer |
| Louella Whidden Hollingsworth |
| Jerald Newberry |
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| Gene Thompson |
| Bob Cannon |
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