WBLF

Infobox Radio station
name = WBLF


city = Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
area = State College, Pennsylvania
branding = WBLF 970 AM
slogan =
airdate = August 1, 1958
frequency = 970 kHz
format = News/Talk
power = 1,000 W daytime
61 W nighttime
erp =
class =
callsign_meaning = BeLleFonte or Betty Lou Finnegan [http://www.smecc.org/call_sign_letter__meaning.htm]
former_callsigns =
owner = Magnum Broadcasting, Inc.
webcast =
website =
affiliations = Air America Radio

WBLF is a news radio station licensed to Bellefonte, Pennsylvania serving State College, Pennsylvania. It is currently owned by Magnum Broadcasting, Inc. WBLF was founded by Cary H. Simpson on August 1, 1958, and operates at the federally-assigned frequency of 970 kilohertz with a maximum power output of 1,000 watts daytime, 61 watts at night.

Early History

WBLF was one of the original nine stations built by the Allegheny Mountain Network in Tyrone, Pennsylvania. Though many believe that the WBLF call letters stand for its city of license, it's speculated that Simpson named the station after his wife, the former Betty Lou Finnegan, who was part owner of the AMN until her death in 1997.

Recent History

For many years prior to the summer of 2005, WBLF simulcast programming on State College's WRSC. This allowed residents in Northern Centre County to receive WRSC's programming, especially in the evening and at night. In March, 2005, then owner Dame Broadcasting sold its radio stations in the State College market (including WBLF) to 2510 Licenses, LLC. During this change in ownership, the simulcast was discontinued, and WBLF aired placeholder programming. In June, 2005, WBLF was sold by 2510 to Magnum Broadcasting, Inc., a local operator and owner of four other Pennsylvania radio stations, including the fast-growing JOE-FM.

Relaunch

In October, 2005, WBLF relaunched as a separate talk station, the first station in the State College market in direct competition with long-established talk station WRSC. As part of the launch, WBLF hired former WRSC broadcaster Jeff "Ironhead" Byers, who had just returned to State College following a brief period in Punxsutawney at WPXZ. Byers performed a morning show alongside veteran Centre County media figure Tor Michaels, who had also worked at WRSC in the past. Byers and Michaels were joined by broadcasting newcomers Jennifer MacIsaac and Todd Brown. The original WBLF weekday lineup included original local affairs programming in the morning with MacIsaac, Michaels and Byers, Rush Limbaugh and Thom Hartmann in the afternoon, original local sports programming with Brown in the late afternoon, and Phil Hendrie in the evening. During not otherwise scheduled programming (overnights and often on the weekend), WBLF aired the Fox Sports Radio feed. National news is provided at the top and bottom of the hour by Fox News Radio.

Current Status

The programming schedule was revamped slightly in late March, 2007. It now includes "Centre County This Morning," a live, local morning news and information program with Jerry Fisher and Dave Shannon, and a live, local afternoon newstalk/commentary show, which is sometimes preempted for coverage of local sporting events.

Programming

On Monday, June 16, 2008, WBLF inaugurated "In The Zone" "with Ironhead", a new live local sports talk show hosted by Jeff Byers.

While WBLF's main competitor WRSC features a nearly entire lineup of conservative hosts such as Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage and Mark Levin, WBLF has a somewhat more balanced lineup, airing local liberal talker Wes Richards as well as the Thom Hartmann show from the Air America Radio network and Alan Colmes of Fox in addition to conservatives Dennis Miller and Rush Limbaugh.

External References

* [http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?call=WBLF&sr=Y&s=C Radio Locator Info on WBLF]
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