“Welcome to the Magic Valley!” It’s a phrase that’s been uttered thousands of times since WFWL began broadcasting in the fall of 1956. Here’s how the area got the nickname…
Mike and Ellen Freeland were driving around the area admiring the beauty and landscape, and listening to their new radio station. One of them remarked, “This looks like a Magic Valley.” Mike then called his brother, Jim, a young announcer on the station, and told him to start using the term on-air. It became such a namesake for the area, many businesses have incorporated the term “Magic Valley” into their names.
WFWL-AM 1220 went on the air in September 1956 from the Lockhart Motel on Highway 70 East in Camden, TN. At the time, there were only a few radio stations in the area and it was a big deal for a small town to have a radio station. The programming consisted of country, pop, and gospel music; and national, regional, and local news.
Freeland stressed that a radio station should always be a “reflection of its community” in terms of its format. In other words: the music, news, programs, and involvement in community events, should be dictated by the listeners rather than the owner’s personal preference. He pioneered things like Man at the Fair, Cancer Crusade Radio Auction, and the Treasure Hunt promotion that had listeners digging up the countryside searching for hidden treasures. Clues for the treasure hunt were broadcast daily. This was one of the most successful promotions.
Some of the individuals heard on WFWL included John Latham, Jim Freeland, John Lashlee, Will Luther, Ricky Fite, Gene Presson, Charlie Banks, Russell Gallimore, Ron Lane, Reid Bell, Charlie Baylor, Jim Hart, Terry Hudson, Bobby “Flash” Melton, Terry Hendrix, Randy Lane, and many others. John Latham was the engineer that built WFWL, and one of the station’s owners (the L in the call letters stood for Latham, while the F stood for Freeland).
WFWL had three groups of owners from 1956-1985. Mike Freeland and John Latham were the founders and own the station from 1956-1977, Ron Lane and two Union City absentee owners from 1977-1984, and Ray Smith and John Latham from 1985-1994. WFWL was then moved into the same building as WRJB at 117 Vicksburg Avenue. In 1994, a group consisting of Larry Melton, Stanley Melton, and Ron Lane, purchased both WRJB and WFWL. With this change, Ron Lane became general manager. John Latham continued to work in sales until his death a few years later. Ownership changed again in 2008 when the Community Broadcasting Company was acquired into the Media Group of Magic Valley Publishing of Camden, Tennessee.
WFWL improved its coverage and audio quality with the addition of an FM translator in 2012. This made it possible for WFWL’s AM signal to be simultaneously broadcast on 99.7 FM. WFWL became known as The Catfish 99.7 FM/1220 AM.
In the summer of 1976, a new radio station was born in Camden: WRJB Super 98. The 3,000-watt FM station went on the air featuring adult contemporary music 24-hours a day. WRJB was owned by Ray Smith and John Latham, with Latham managing the station. It quickly became one of the most popular stations in West Tennessee. WRJB featured live sports broadcasts of Tennessee Volunteers football and basketball, and local sports coverage of Camden and Hollow Rock-Bruceton sports. Live announcers manned the mic around the clock, including “Crazy” Larry Nunnery, Gary Powley, Darrell Lynn, Kyle Dewberry, Charlie Baylor, Will Luther, David Poehlein, Buddy Smothers, and Bobby “Flash” Melton just to name a few. WRJB also covered many news events like the train wreck and the chemical explosion in Waverly. John Latham did live reports for days from the scene.
WRJB obtained permission from the FCC in 2006 to increase power from 3,000 to 6,000 watts. The station was then required to change the frequency from 98.3 to 95.9.