100 WAPI - Birmingham's Talk FM

In April, Alabama Power Company was granted a license for a radio station.  WSY was located at 1921 Powell Avenue, and operated with 500 Watts of power.

September was the beginning of WMAV located on the campus of Alabama Polytechnic Institute (Auburn University).  The studio was located in Broun Hall, and the antenna was located on an old 100 foot tower donated by Miller Reese Hutchinson, who had been associated for many years with Thomas A. Edison.

Alabama Power Company, being unsucessful with their operation of WSY, donated the station to Alabama Polytechnic Instute.  The facilities were dismantled, shipped to Auburn and combined with those of WMAV.  A power increase was authorized in June, a new transmitter was installed in September, and the call letters were changed to WAPI.

WAPI operations in Auburn

WAPI was moved into new facilities in Auburn.  Two new self-supporting steel towers were erected with a one-wire "T" type antenna.

This year also saw America's first nationwide network established.  The National Broadcasting Company was born on November 15th.  WEAF in New York was the key station of the network.  They had 19 affiliated stations using more than 3,500 circuit miles of special telephone wire.

WAPI towers located in Auburn

Congress established the Federal Radio Commission during this year.  The Columbia Broadcasting System was started and became the second nationwide radio network.

WAPI was assigned five different frequencies during the year and the allotted hours of broadcasting were changed almost as frequently.

This was the year that saw WAPI move from Auburn to Birmingham.

 
Several factors were involved in the decision to transfer the station.  Funds were difficult to acquire to cover the rising costs involved, talent resources were limited, and NBC was not interested in adding the station to their network, because Auburn was too far from any city of size to provide a large listening audience.  With the approval of the school officials and an arrangement with the City of Birmingham to pay half the operating costs, the two towers were moved to Birmingham and the other equipment was sold.

The worst stock market crash since "Black Friday" occurred in October, and major changes were in store for WAPI.

President George Denny of the University of Alabama approached the FRC seeking a license for a radio station in Tuscaloosa.  Realizing that conflicting forces in Alabama would hamper the future growth of WAPI, P.O. Davis and the Director of Extension at Auburn approached Dr. Denny on working together.  After several conferences that included the President of Alabama College for Women (University of Montevallo), a decision was reached to split the ownership of WAPI between the three institutions. . .39% each for Alabama Polytechnic Institute and the University of Alabama, and 22% for Alabama College for Women.

Power was increased to 5,000 Watts, the station became affiliated with NBC, thereby becoming the first network station in Alabama.  WAPI went on the air from their new studios on the 14th floor of the Protective Live Building, Downtown Birmingham with a big splash on December 31st.  Over 900 calls and telegrams were received during the program from 21 states.  Within the first week, more than 3,000 notices of reception arrived at the station.

 Western Electric 5,000 Watt Transmitter
 installed in Birmingham (Building still in use
 today).

Financial gloom continued to spread, but the depression was not destined to supress radio.  This entertainment medium that was free to both rich and poor alike in the privacy of their homes.  Those who purchased many of their household goods on credit, gave up the car and furniture, but kept up the payments on their radio.  Radio had become part of their lives which they could not part.

The City of Birmingham served notice that because of the state of the economy, they would not be able to pay half the operating costs of the station much longer.  WAPI was authorized to accept paid local commercial programs.

The City of Birmingham withdrew its financial support from the WAPI operations, the State of Alabama was able only to pay part of the state appropriations to educational institutions, and WAPI could not meet their payroll.

WAPI had been requesting a power increase to 50,000 Watts since 1929.  The station presented its case in an FRC hearing.  A lawyer was required.  The station did not have one, so the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce gave the station $100.00 to engage the firm of Oscar W. Underwood Jr.  The Commission finally granted a permit for an increase to half the requested power, 25,000 Watts.  This effectively made the question moot, because there was no such transmitter on the market.  In order to increase to 25,000 Watts, the station would be forced to buy a 50,000 Watt transmitter.  There was no money available for the purchase, and the permit expired.

The economic circumstances of the time forced the schools to make  a decision to lease WAPI to private individuals.  The first agreement was made with a local realtor, W.O. Pape.  The WAPI Broadcasting Company was formed.

In 1933, Mr. Pape sold his interest to Bascomb H. Hopson, and the company name was changed to the WAPI Broadcasting Corporation.

The station operated during this period sharing air time with KVOO in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

On August 1, operation of WAPI was transferred to Ed Norton and Thad Holt.  The franchise was leased to The Voice of Alabama, and was in effect for fifteen years.

One the terms of agreement on the new lease was the increase of WAPI's power to 50,000 Watts.  Ed Norton borrowed $50,000. from Birmingham Trust National Bank to apply toward the new construction.  Then, he and Thad Holt met in Atlanta with the Vice-President of CBS to see if the Network would be interested in purchasing part of the station's lease to give CBS access to higher power in Birmingham.  The deal was recommended to William S. Paley, President and largest CBS stockholder.  Mr Norton met with Mr. Paley in New York, and a two-page letter of committal was drawn up and signed.  CBS was to buy a 45% interest in WAPI.  This solved the financial problem of equipment expenses necessary for the power increase.

WAPI continued to operate on 1140 and share time with KVOO in Tusla.  One of the first moves by Norton and Holt were to have a CBS engineer design, with the help of Victor J. Andrew, a directional antenna system.

The main difficulty over the years had been potential interference with other stations broadcasting on the same frequency.  So, the basic principle was to set up two towers at certain points in order not to broadcast so strongly in certain directions.  This would protect the signal of other stations on the same frequency.  This directional antenna was granted to WAPI on an experimental basis.  A station engineer, who had been with Admiral Byrd in the Atlantic, was sent to a motel outside Memphis to test the signals of WAPI and KVOO to determine that there was no interference with the stations in Los Angeles and Nova Scotia on the same frequency.

The NARBA Treaty affected the dial positions of most North American stations.  WAPI was relicensed to operate on 1170 with KVOO, and required to reduce power to 1,000 Watts at night.  Then, WAPI utilized a Special Temporary Authority granted by the FCC in 1940 to change frequency to 1070.  This was the result of a request to have their own dial position and the ability to broadcast on a fulltime basis.

In the quest for 50,000 Watts, Norton and Holt, with the help of CBS, located a used 50,000 Watt transmitter at WBT in Charlotte, but their plans were crushed when the U.S. Goverment seized all unused transmitters for war use and the FCC ruled out any expansion of power.  The transmitter WAPI was going to purchase ended up in North Africa with the U.S. Army.

Many major events took place to alter the history of the world and WAPI.

The Korean war was raging. . .General Eisenhower became President . . .Russia and the United States put men into space . . . Auburn and Alabama both won National Championships . . .There were 156,000,000 radio receivers in working order in the United States.

During this time WAPI was granted permission to increase power to 10,000 Watts (1952).  The Birmingham News Company sold WSGN radio and in 1953 acquired WAPI, WAFM and WAFM-TV.  The studios were moved from the Protective Life Building to new and larger facilities atop Red Mountain.  In 1954, WAPI switched affiliations back from CBS to NBC.

When the S. I. Newhouse newspaper interests purchased the Birmingham News, in 1956, they also acquired the WAPI radio and television stations.  After almost 30 years, the FCC finally approved the increase of day power to 50,000 Watts in 1958.  In 1960, the licensee name was changed from the Alabama Broadcasting System, Inc. to Newhouse Broadcasting Corporation.

In 1961, WAPI's long standing lease was terminated.  Full ownership of the station was acquired by the Newhouse Broadcasting Corporation from the three Universities for
$ 340,000.

In 1980, FCC mandated breakup of broadcasting and newspaper conglomerates resulted in WAPI-TV being sold.  WAPI AM & FM were moved to new facilities at 2146 Highland Avenue South.  With the addition of new studios, transmitters and related equipment, WAPI advanced even further in its ability to perform news, sports and entertainment programming with the utmost degree of professionalism.