WMEL-AM
920
Melbourne
Original call Letters: WMEG
Originally Licensed: Jan
4, 1956
Original City of
License: Melbourne/Eau Gallie
Origination of Call Letters: Location;
Melbourne/Eau
Gallie
Power: 5,000
watts day/1,000 watts night
Original location: Eau
Gallie/Melbourne
Original Format: Full
Service
Network Affiliation(s): ABC
Owner(s): 1956-
1978-
1993-Twin Towers
Broadcasting ($350,00)
2007-Divine Mercy Communications Inc ($650,000)
History Of Call Letters and Formats: WMEG-1956-Full
Service
WMEL-
-MOR
WMEL-
-Rock
WMEL-1993-News/Talk
WMEL-2007-Catholic
(ETWN Programming)
Historical Note:
The cities of Eau Gallie and Melbourne
would consolidate as "Melbourne" in 1969.
History of WMEL
Mr. John Harper,
Owner/President of WMEL was kind enough
to supply us with the history. From Mr. Harpers email; "...WMEL
Radio signed on the air New Years Day 1956. It actually started with the call
letters of WMEG (for Melbourne/Eau Gallie) WMEG is the second
oldest station in Brevard County. The station was a full service station in
those days airing music programs during its day time operation. In the mid 60's
the station changed call letters and became WMEL
Radio. WMEL Radio was a rock and roll station and
enjoyed a great reputation in the Space Coast as a station not only for music,
but for news as well. The station earned an even bigger reputation by covering
all of the Mercury and Apollo Space Rocket Launches from Cape Canaveral
(later to become the Kennedy Space Center). WMEL
continued through the seventies and eighties as a middle of the road station
with a strong commitment to news. At one point the station employed eight people
in its news staff alone. In the mid 80's and early 90's the station was owned by
a company out of Elyria-Lorain, Ohio but found itself in difficult times due to
the strong FM penetration into the market from Orlando. On October 31, 1991 the
station signed off the air and went "dark" while awaiting a new owner
to come and save the station. In April of 1993 John Harper bought the
station and put it back on the air in August of 1993. John Harper's
background was talk radio and he quickly filled a void in the market for local
and national talk radio programming. WMEL Radio has
enjoyed great success as a full service talk/news and sports radio station
serving the space and treasure coasts since John put the station back on the air
in the early 90's. WMEL Radio now airs a combination
of local and national talk shows, local news and even sports making it truly a
"local" station in the Space and Treasure Coasts. WMEL
call itself the "Talk To Me Station" which is talking to
you!
In December of 2007 WMEL was purchased
by Divine
Mercy Communications Inc, headed by CEO/Treasurer Norman Benz.
This is the first station for them.
WMEL
Personalities
Ernie
Legge
Mr. Legge died Thursday, Dec.
8, 2005, at William Childs Hospice House, Palm Bay, Fla.
He was born May 28, 1927, in Chicago and moved with his family to Melbourne,
Fla., in 1936. He was a 1945 graduate of Melbourne High School. He served
briefly with the Navy before attending the University of Florida from 1946-47.
He was a graduate from broadcasting school in California before returning to
Melbourne and working at WMMB. In the early 1950s, he was a radio and
television broadcaster in Orlando, Fla., and the first newscaster for WLOF-TV
(now WFTV) in 1958. Following his return to Melbourne, Fla., he worked
with WMEL as the space program reporter for many
years, retiring in 1999 as the national regional sales manager.
Bob Clifton (Bob Alfano)-1979
Mark Pence-overnights/Public service director
Ed Dean and Brent Mack-produced
a live, political "Weekend Show". In 1998, the show added Gerald
Lostutter (a.k.a. "The Lost Man") and switched to WAMT-AM
1060
Mike Murillo Biography
Kevin Baldinger-Sports
Biography
Larry Kessler-operations
manager 
WMEL production
room
What's
New Biographies
In Memory Sounds
Misc. Links
Chronology What's News?
WMEL Production room
What's New Biographies In Memory Sounds Misc. Links Chronology What's News?