WVOC

Infobox Radio Station
name = WVOC| city = Columbia, South Carolina
airdate = July 10th, 1930
frequency = "560" (kHz)| area = South Carolina
format = News/Talk
sister_stations = WCOS, WCOS-FM, WLTY, WNOK, WVOC, WXBT
owner = Clear Channel Communications
power = 5,000 watts | branding = "Newsradio 560 WVOC"
class = B
website = http://www.wvoc.com
callsign_meaning = "W"e're the "V"oice "O"f "C"olumbia

WVOC-AM (560 kHz) is an AM radio station in Columbia, South Carolina in the United States. The station’s callsign denotes the "Voice Of Columbia."

The station dates from 1930 when it was launched with the call letters WIS ("Wonderful Iodine State"), the last station in the US to receive an original three letter callsign. The station changed to its current designation in 1986 and is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications.

WVOC has a talk radio format with syndicated shows, mostly from parent Clear Channel's Premiere networks, including Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Glenn Beck, Matt Drudge, and Coast-to-Coast AM. They also feature Kim Komando and the statewide-syndicated Sports Talk show in evenings.

The show's top local personalities are Gary David (morning drive), Christopher Thompson (sports anchor), and Keven Cohen (afternoon drive).

Since the sale to Clear Channel in 2000, the company has actively changed the station's affiliation. Until 2001, it had been affiliated with Westwood One and CBS Radio, but jumped to ABC Radio after signing a deal for Paul Harvey. In 2005, as part of a corporate-wide change, the station switched to Fox.

From 1954 until 2002, the station was the "Home of the Gamecocks," carrying University of South Carolina "Fighting Gamecocks" athletics, but, on June 27, 2002, Host Communications and the university decided to leave the station in favor of rival Citadel Broadcasting Company stations including WISW (WIS Radio) in Columbia. The decision was made based on the power of the radio stations. The move has now placed University of South Carolina athletics on Citadel's FM signals which rival the coverages of other Southeastern Conference schools.

In 2007, WVOC was the flagship radio station of the May 15 simulcast of the Fox News Republican Presidential Debate.

History

WIS radio signed on July 10, 1930http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=63874&nav=menu36_24_2, Retrieved on 2008/04/22.] . The call letters are still used by WIS-TV, the local NBC affiliate, and were derived from the South Carolina nickname "Wonderful Iodine State." Before iodized salt, a high level of iodine in the state's soil gave the state's residents "a low incidence of goiters." [http://www.raycommedia.com/stations/WIS.htm, Retrieved on 2008/04/22.] On January 23, 1930, WIS was the last broadcast station to be assigned three letters instead of four (not including FM and TV stations that used co-owned stations' letters, or previously used letters that had been given up) [http://earlyradiohistory.us/3myst.htm, Retrieved on 2008/04/22.] .

On November 14, 1949, a two-story studio on Bull Street was completed. Construction of WIS-TV was authorized January 29, 1953, and the station signed on November 7.

References

See also

*List of radio stations in South Carolina

External links

* [http://www.wvoc.com/main.html WVOC The Voice of Columbia Homepage]
* [http://www.fybush.com/site-030522.html Radio and Television Towers and Studios in Columbia, SC]