WTOH

WTOH (98.9 FM, "The Answer") is a conservative talk radio station serving the Greater Columbus area, currently owned by the Salem Media Group and licensed to Upper Arlington, Ohio. The station's studios are shared with sister station WRFD (880 AM) and are located in North Columbus; WTOH's transmitter is northwest of downtown.

WTOH
CityUpper Arlington, Ohio
Broadcast areaColumbus, Ohio
Frequency98.9 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding98.9 The Answer
SloganNews. Opinion. Passion.
Programming
FormatConservative Talk
HD2: Contemporary Christian "95.9 The Fish"
AffiliationsCleveland Browns Radio Network
Ownership
OwnerSalem Media Group
(Salem Media of Ohio, Inc.)
Sister stationsWRFD
History
First air date1989
Former call signsWXMX (1989-1991)
WRVF (1991-1994)
WLLD (1994-1997)
WZAZ-FM (1997-1998)
WXMG (1998-2011)
WJKR (2011-2013)
Call sign meaningW Talk OHio
Technical information
Facility ID73972
ClassA
ERP2,600 watts
HAAT154 meters (505 ft)
Transmitter coordinates39°58′16.0″N 83°01′40.0″W
Translator(s)95.9 W240CX (Columbus, relays HD2)
Links
WebcastListen live
Listen live (via Radio.com)
Listen live (HD2)
Website989theanswer.com
thefishcolumbus.com (HD2)

History

98.9 MHz in Columbus began in 1989 as adult contemporary WXMX "The Mix" by Twin Rivers Communications owned by Michael and Mary Mahaffey. In 1991 the station was purchased by Alan Gray's Tri-City Radio and changed to modern country music as WRVF "98.9 The River." In 1994 the station was sold to Carl Hirsch who re-imaged it as "Wild Country, The New 98.9" (under the WLLD calls) and again later as the decidedly less aggressive "Country 98-9". The station briefly stunted in late 1996 by simulcasting audio from 98.9 MHz on both 105.7 MHz and 107.1 MHz in a short-lived attempt to "surround" country competitor WCOL. Then-owner Jacor Communications programmed the station as the alternative rock "Channel Z" (under the WZAZ-FM calls) prior to an acquisition by Blue Chip Broadcasting (and subsequently Radio One). After "Channel Z" was relocated to 105.7 FM and Blue Chip's acquisition, the station flipped to urban oldies as "Magic 98.9", WXMG, in 1998, which later evolved to Urban AC in 2001, retaining the "Magic" moniker.

At 12:00pm on September 16, 2011, "Magic 98.9" moved to sister station WJYD, displacing the urban gospel format ("Joy 106.3"). 98.9 then flipped to variety hits, branded as "98-9 Jack FM." The first song on "Jack FM" was "Cum on Feel the Noize" by Quiet Riot. On September 23, 2011, WXMG changed their call letters to WJKR (at the same time, the WXMG calls moved to WJYD). The station was one of three non-urban radio stations owned by Radio One (the others being all-news KROI/Houston and Top 40 WNOU/Indianapolis), until the company sold it on October 23, 2012, to Salem Communications.[1]

On November 1, 2012, at approximately 12:01 am, "Jack FM" signed off after playing "It's The End Of The World As We Know It" by R.E.M.. Salem Communications took over after a few seconds of dead air with a speech from Ronald Reagan, with the official launch of "98.9 The Answer" at 6 that morning.

On February 15, 2013, WJKR changed their call letters to WTOH.

The "Jack FM" format and WJKR callsign returned to Columbus on July 24, 2013 when WMNI-FM flipped from a simulcast of then sister station News/Talk WMNI (who flipped to adult standards 6 days earlier) back to Adult Hits as "103.9 Jack FM". The station had originally carried the format as WTDA "103.9 Ted FM" from 2005-2007.

HD Radio
95.9 The Fish's logo

WTOH also broadcasts in HD Radio. Its HD-2 subchannel airs a Christian contemporary format and is branded "95.9 The Fish". Its HD-2 subchannel is simulcast on 95.9 MHz, through translator W240CX.

Call signFrequency
(MHz)		City of licenseERP
(W)		Height
(m (ft))		ClassFCC info
W240CX95.9Columbus, Ohio99209 m (686 ft)DFCC
gollark: Death.
gollark: Milk regular shower when?
gollark: 7.π.005
gollark: I have a system which constantly sprays pure milk into my eyes to protect me from pepper spray, personally.
gollark: Wouldn't it be easier to just make *regular* poisons?

References
  1. Radio-One Sells 98.9 WJKR Columbus To Salem from Radio Insight (October 23, 2012)
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