WSB (AM)
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{{Infobox Radio Station | name = WSB | image = Image:WSBlogo.png | area = Atlanta, Georgia | branding = NewsTalk 750 | slogan = | airdate = March 15, 1922 | frequency = 750 kHz | format = News/Talk | erp = 50,000 watts | class = Class A AM Station | callsign_meaning = Welcome South, Brother | owner = Cox Radio | website = wsbradio.com |}} WSB AM ("NewsTalk 750") is a clear channel AM radio station in the city of Atlanta, Georgia with a frequency of 750 kHz. It is commonly thought of as Atlanta's "news/talk, weather, traffic, and Dawgs station." It is owned by, and is the flagship AM station of Cox Radio.
WSB was the first radio station in the South, and the callsign means "Welcome South, Brother." The station was founded by the Atlanta Journal. It began broadcast on March 15, 1922. In 1927, WSB became a NBC radio affiliate. WSB was the origin of the trademark three-tone NBC chimes. In 1939 the newspaper and radio station were sold to James Middleton Cox, the founder of what would become Cox Enterprises.
Wright Bryan, a WSB news reporter as well as managing editor of the Atlanta Journal, was also a stringer for NBC during World War II. He was the first war correspondent to broadcast an eyewitness account of the D-Day invasion from London in the early hours of June 6, 1944.
Elmo Ellis, who programmed WSB in the fifties and sixties, is remembered fondly as an innovator among Southern broadcasters. He did on-air editorials for the station and in the 1960s consistently supported civil rights.
WSB personalities "The Talkmaster" Neal Boortz and Clark Howard (consumer advice and travel) are syndicated nationally. Other on-air personalities include Capt. Herb Emory (traffic), Scott Slade (morning news), Kirk Mellish (weather), Walter Reeves (gardening), and Mike Kavanagh (financial).
Syndicated shows by Sean Hannity, Kim Komando (computing), Michael Savage, and Bill Handel (law) are carried on WSB.
Chris Krok does 10p-2a. Born and raised in the Chicago area, Krok hosted radio and TV shows in Austin, Madison, Jefferson City, and Minneapolis before taking over nights in Atlanta.
Before syndication, Sean Hannity did his talk show locally on rival WGST in Atlanta and developed a local following before being hired by ABC Radio. As WGST is a Clear Channel O&O station, they did not pick up his syndicated show, favouring their own network and local programming, WSB picked up the show, and although it airs on a one-hour delay, Sean's show on WSB now beats WGST's show by a 5:1 ratio. Similarly, now-syndicated host Phil Hendrie was a morning host on WSB before eventually moving and getting syndicated by Premiere Radio, and because syndication was controlled by Clear Channel, his show was picked up WGST. (However, Michael Savage, while being a Clear Channel property, is not carried by WGST, as it would be pre-empted frequently by Atlanta Braves coverage for over half of the season by WGST, which became the Braves' flagship station in 2005 and changed its moniker.) A third now-syndicated host, Mike Malloy, began his radio career at WSB in the early '90s; the station has not picked up the local rights to Malloy's syndicated program, now distributed by the Air America Radio network, despite its being produced in nearby Decatur, Georgia (the program is curently aired on WWAA instead).