
WORL-AM
660
Altamonte Springs
Original Call Letters: WGNZ (Construction
Permit)
Originally Licensed: 1984
Original City of License: Titusville
Original Frequency: 650
Origin of Call Letters:
Original Power: 10,000
watts daytime
Original Location:
Original Format: Business
Network Affiliation(s): Money
Watch Radio Network
Owner(s): 1984-Floyco,
Inc (Carl
J. Auel)
-James
Crystal Orlando, Inc.
2003-JCE Licenses,
L.L.C.
2006-Salem
Communications Corp (Station
swap-value set in excess of $6 million)
2008-SCA
License Corporation (Subsidiary of
Salem Communications)
History Of Call
Letters and Formats: WGNZ-1984-silent
WGOR-1986-silent
WORL-1986-Business
WORL-2003-Sports
Talk "WORL 660
The Fan"
WORL-2005-News/Business/Talk
WORL-AM
History
Thanks to Marc
Tyll for this history of WORL.
Although never on the air, originally Floyco,
Inc., owned by Carl J. Auel, was granted a construction permit for WORL
as
WGNZ sometime around 1985. Auel had several AM construction
permits from around Florida including WWLO-AM 1430 Gainesville and WLVJ-AM
640 Royal Palm Beach (West Palm Beach). The original frequency was 650khz
and was assigned to Titusville, Florida. The original authorized power was10kw
daytime only operating with an East-West directional pattern. There was no
night time authorization due to WSM Nashville being located less than 750
miles from Central Florida and operating on the same frequency. WSM is
the dominate clear channel station for night operation on 650khz. Within a year
of Auel receiving the construction permit for 650khz, he filed an application
with the FCC to change the city of license to Christmas, Florida as that
community's first service. A call letter change to WORL was applied for
and granted as well since the original WORL-AM
1270 had dropped those heritage calls in favor of becoming business
radio WHBS. The application to change the city of license to Christmas
was granted, but the station never went on the air on 650khz. Sometime in the
late 80s Auel petitioned the FCC to change the frequency to its currently dial
position of 660khz with a reduced daytime power of 1kw and the additional of
night service, also with 1kw, operating with an East-West directional day
and night pattern using three towers. Auel had also specified in his application
to once again change the city of license, this time to Altamonte Springs as its
first service. The application was denied, but upon a refiling the application
was granted Auel sold the construction permit to James Crystal Enterprises,
Inc. (JCE, Inc.) in the late 1990s. JCE placed WORL on the air
in 1999 as an all news stations using AP 24-hour audio news programming. Soon
after the format became sports before becoming a financial news and business
talk radio format. In early 2006, JCE traded WORL with Salem
Communications for Salem's KNIT-AM 1480 Dallas, Texas. Salem switched
WORL to mainstream news talk and paired the station with its newly
acquired Christian teaching and talk formatted WTLN-AM
950 Orlando and WHIM-AM
1520 Apopka.
12-13-06 From Brian; "... the WORL
calls were first used on 950 in Boston until sometime in the 70's
(see WORL-AM 1270) when the Boston station
switched to WRYT. After the WORL calls were assigned to 660 in
Florida, the Boston station tried to get them back, but 660 would not let them
go. The Boston station settled for WROL, which are the calls used to this
day.
Names In WORL History
Carl
J. Auel-1984-President-Floyco,
Inc
Gary Cohl-2003-Sports Director-former WFTV channel 9 sports anchor
Kevin
Baldinger-2004 Biography-"Legends
on Sports & Other Stuff"-hosted by Kevin
and former Major League All-Star pitcher Sam
McDowell. The show focuses on interviews with legendary athletes
discussing their playing careers and modern day issues in sports.
Ron Bison-2005-Mornings
Darren Ryder-2006-General manager of
WORL-AM, WTLN-AM 950 and WHIM-AM
1520
Nyda
Bittmann-Neville-2006-"The Magnolia"-Friday from 11am
until noon
Dennis
Miller-2007-10AM-Noon-Syndicated
John
Trybulec-2001-2006-General Manager/Sales Manager
Roger Franklin Williams
O.K.
Walters-2007-"Central Florida Sports Tonight"-Wednesdays,
Thursdays and Fridays from 5PM to 6PM
Ruth Ackerman-2007-host of "Gardening
Smart"-9AM Saturdays
What's
New Biographies
In Memory Sounds
Misc. Links
Chronology What's News?