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WCOA
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[[Image:WCOA-stamp.JPG|thumb|right|A reception verification stamp from WCOA's early days]]
'''WCOA''' is the oldest radio station in Pensacola and one of the oldest in Florida. It broadcasts on the '''AM 1370''' frequency. The call letters stand for "Wonderful City of Advantages."
The station was founded by the [[City of Pensacola]] under Mayor [[J. Harvey Bayliss]], and [[Pensacola City Clerk|City Clerk]] [[John E. Frenkel, Sr.]] was appointed to manage operations. The station went on the air at 8:30 AM PM on [[February 3]], [[1926]]. The first broadcast featured a song written for the station, "[[Down Pensacola Way]]," with Frenkel providing the vocals. Operations were temporarily disrupted by the [[1926 hurricane]], but were quickly restored. Frenkel became the station's main voice for years, styling himself "the Breezy Boy from the Gulf."
WCOA was purchased by [[John C. Pace]] in the early 1930s, and operations were moved to the top floor of the [[San Carlos Hotel]].
WCOA-FM, the first FM broadcast in the Pensacola area, was launched on [[March 3]], [[1947]].<ref>"Pensacola Hears FM." ''Boxoffice'', March 22, 1947.</ref> The station is currently owned by [[Cumulus Broadcasting]]. It switched to an all-talk format in [[1991]] and carries a number of nationally syndicated talk shows, including [[Wikipedia:Rush Limbaugh|Rush Limbaugh]], [[Wikipedia:Sean Hannity|Sean Hannity]] and [[Wikipedia:Michael Savage|Michael Savage]]. Its own call-in talk show, "[[Pensacola Speaks]]," was founded in [[1960]] and is one of the oldest in the nation. [[Luke McCoy]] was the host of this show and has been hosted since the early 1990s, but held his final program on by [[May 18]], [[2007Luke McCoy]]. Pensacola Speaks ended in 2008 and was replaced by nationally syndicated programs.
As the designated [[Wikipedia:Emergency Alert System|Emergency Alert System]] radio station for the area, WCOA is equipped to operate even after a hurricane. [[Hurricane Erin|Hurricanes Erin]] and [[Hurricane Opal|Opal]] in [[1995]] first tested this capability.
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://wcoapensacola.com/default.asp?pid=4443 WCOA - About Us]
*[http://www.stjohnshistoriccemetery.com/pensacolas_heritages/government.htm#j_h_bayliss J. Harvey Bayliss biography]
*[https://www.google.com/books/edition/TOWERS_IN_THE_SAND/gcLxDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 Colee, Donn R., Jr. ''Towers in the Sand: The History of Florida Broadcasting,'' 2016]
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[[Category:Radio AM radio stations]]