WSIR-AM 1490 Winter Haven

WSIR History

WSIR is the second oldest station in Polk County. Put on the air in 1947 by Larry Rollins, Dach Brandstetter, and Frederick Allman. They formed Citrus Belt Broadcasters, Inc., and were granted a license in November of 1946. The studios were located on Third Street S.E. in Winter Haven in a building which would later be the home of Tyler Jewelers. The transmitter and tower were placed on the southwest shore of Lake Howard. In the first year of operation WSIR became an affiliate of the Mutual Broadcasting System. WSIR was very community oriented, as were most small local stations of the time, and they helped with over-the-air appeals for blood donors before area blood banks came into existence. WSIR also broadcast editorials on a regular basis and won many Associated Press Awards. WSIR revived plans to build a permanent football stadium for Winter Haven High School. 1954 saw construction of a new building at the transmitter site on Lake Howard Drive to house its offices and studios. And the FCC granted a power increase to 500 watts. In 1998, Florida's Entertainment & Information Network began as an effort by Anscombe Broadcasting Group to return WSIR, to the air as a Winter Haven-based news station. In 1987,WSIR continued its search for a buyer. In 1986, the station filed for protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code. Located about halfway

between Orlando and Tampa, WSIR had felt the effect of the larger cities' FM stations, which had strong signals that easily covered Winter Haven. ''The owners of the station now just want to get out of the broadcasting business,'' said Roger Zinszer, the station's manager. The owners, WHFAssociates of Buffalo, N.Y., had purchased the station about two years ago, Zinszer said. The bankruptcy filing listed secured and unsecured debt of more than $354,000 and assets of nearly $495,000, according to a court clerk in Buffalo.
In 1998, Anscombe Broadcasting Group returned WSIR-AM 1490, to the air as a Winter Haven-based news station. Programming included Doug Stephan's "Good Day U.S.A.", Debbie Nigro's "The Working Mom" and other shows featuring current events, social issues, entertainment, sports, gardening, fishing, hunting, golf, and personal, financial and medical advice. Sunday religious broadcasts are in English, Spanish and French.

Owner(s):	1947-Citrus Belt Broadcasters, Inc.
	1956-Hundred Lakes Broadcasting
	1960-Larry Rollins, Mr.& Mrs. Arnold Silvert
	1973-Cypress Central Communications
	1983-Leopold Broadcasting Company
	1984-WHF Associates ($500,000)
	1987-CFL Ltd.
	1990-Histed Media Group ($230,000)
	1998-Anscombe Broadcasting Group, LTD

History Of Call Letters and Formats:	WSIR-1947-Block Programming “The Information Station”
	WSIR-1960-Pop
	WSIR-1985-Big Bands/Nostalgia
	WSIR-1992-Contemporary Hits
	WSIR-1993-Spanish
	WSIR-1998-News
	WSIR-2001-Gospel "Mighty Gospel 1490" "Rejoice 1490"
	WSIR-2004-Gospel/Rhythm and Blues
	WSIR-2006-Gospel/Urban "Family Radio 1490"

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Network Affiliation:	Mutual Broadcasting System
	Associated Press
	Florida News Network