WWWL

Infobox Radio Station
name = WWWL


city = New Orleans, Louisiana
branding = ESPN 1350
slogan =
airdate = 1925
frequency = 1350 (kHz)
format = Sports
power = 5 kilowatts
class = B
former_callsigns = WSMB (1925-2006)
owner = Entercom Communications
website = [http://www.espn1350.net/ espn1350.net/]
callsign_meaning = W W W L (sister station)

WWWL is a talk radio outlet based in New Orleans, Louisiana, historically with the call letters WSMB. The Entercom station rebroadcasts programming (called WWL On Demand) from sister station WWL- talk shows hosted by local personalities including Garland Robinette and John "Spud" McConnell. The only original weekday programs currently airing on the station are a daily three-hour show hosted by food critic Tom Fitzmorris and some weekend programming, including a two-hour Saturday morning Garden Show hosted by Dan Gill and local-origination paid programming. Mr. Fitzmorris's Food Show itself is repeated several times a day. WWWL broadcasts at 1350 kHz with 5 kW-Unlimited power.

The station's studios adjacent to the Louisiana Superdome were destroyed in August 2005 by Hurricane Katrina. Its frequency, as well as all other operational Entercom and Clear Channel frequencies, was used to simulcast the programing produced by the United Radio Broadcasters of New Orleans with the staff of sister station WWL. Normal programming was resumed on December 19, 2005.

As of June 30, 2008; WWWL is to become a full time ESPN Radio affiliate. [ [http://www.radio-info.com/news/index.php?date=2008-06-25 Radio-Info.com News for June 25, 2008] ]

History

WSMB was founded in 1925 as New Orleans' first professional radio station, a joint commercial venture by the local Saenger Theatre and the Maison Blanche Department store. Programming provided by the Saenger allowed Maison Blanche to sell radios (national networks would not provide programming for years to come). The studios were located on the thirteenth floor of the Maison Blanche Building on Canal Street, a few blocks from the theater for most of its history. WSMB was a very successful news/talk outlet in the 1960s and 1970s. But by the 1980s its ratings had dropped. In 1988 it was auctioned off and by the 1990s it became the sister station to WWL-AM, first under the ownership of Sinclair Broadcast Group, and then Entercom. Since that time WSMB has broadcast a number of sporting events that were bumped from WWL due to scheduling conflicts, including basketball and football from LSU and Tulane University. The station was the radio home of the defunct New Orleans Brass minor league hockey team and has sometimes been a local radio outlet for national broadcasts of NFL football.

WSMB's only notable format detours were between 1999 and 2001 when it flipped to all-sports-talk. Programming at that time included syndicated shows from ESPN Radio and an afternoon show hosted by local sports commentator Kaare Johnson. Other local personalities heard on the station included noted sports trainer Mackie Shilstone. A period where programming consisted of on-air psychologists, and most recently (until November 2006) carrying a progressive talk radio format as an affiliate of Air America Radio. The Food Show with Tom Fitzmorris remained on the air through all these format changes. It is the longest-running talk show of any kind in New Orleans, airing daily since July 18, 1988.

The WSMB call letters were relinquished in November 2006 when the programming was switched to repeats of shows originated on WWL, becoming "WWWL- WWL On Demand." The WSMB call sign was picked up in a "warehousing" move by another Entercom station located in Memphis, TN.

References

External links

* [http://www.radioink.com/HeadlineEntry.asp?hid=135812&pt=todaysnews Article on WWWL's format flip]
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