HomeMy WebLinkAboutW vs K Call Letters Transcription, WTAW First 100 YearsProject HOLD
WTAW Interview
Tom Turbiville | WTAW Radio Host
Daniel Hayes | Transcriber
Transcript
00:00:01 Dick Bolin (DB)
College Station, Texas, April 24th, 1947-
00:00:04 Speaker 2
Now let's go to the bonfire signed where WTAW's Tom Turbi-?
00:00:07 Speaker 3
-WTAW election night coverage. All 8 voting centers in Brazos County have been counted-
[Unintelligible sports broadcaster and crowd of screaming fans]
00:00:14 Speaker 4
Today on WTAW, we're joining with businesses from across the Brazos Valley, to support our -
00:00:20 Speaker 5
16.20 WTAW.
00:00:22 Tom Turbiville (TT)
This is WTAW, the first 100 years. I'm Tom Turbiville. Among the many reasons WTAW is a
unique radio station is its call letters based on its location in Texas. Here's a quick W&K primer,
so hang with me. Generally, only AM radio stations located east of the Mississippi have call
letters starting with W, and those west of the Mississippi start with a K. I said generally, not
absolutely. Originally, the boundary extended north from the Texas-New Mexico border and
included the eastern borders of Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. So that meant that Texas and
10 other central corridor states between that border and the mighty Mississip(pi) were assigned
both call letters starting with W and K. Originally, about 170 W stations were licensed before
1923, and they got to keep those call letters. But today, WTAW is one of only 11 stations west of
the Big River that enjoy a W initial. In Texas, there's WBAP in Fort Worth, WOAI in San
Antonio, WDAY in Fargo, North Dakota, WJAP in Norfolk, Nebraska, WEW in St. Louis,
WNAX in Yankton, South Dakota, WKY in Oklahoma City, WHB in Kansas City, and two in
Iowa, WOI in Ames and WOC in Davenport. So, this is the unique WTAW, the first 100 years.