Simmons Media Group, owner of Fox Sports Stations 1490 AM, is switching to an urban gospel format.
In December 22, 2004 Simmons Media Group of Salt Lake City, Utah, owners of 1380 AM, KSLG, purchased Radio Station WESL 1490 AM in East St Louis from Robert Riggins for a reported $1.15 million. WESL was the only black-owned station in the metro region to program urban contemporary, gospel and blues artists. The station played a central role in bringing the region some of the nation’s finest personalities and programs. In the early years the stations call letters were WTMV, WBBR, and WAMV before changing to WESL in the early 1960’s.
Rod ‘Dr. Jockenstein’ King, Jim Gates, Curtis ‘Soul-Boogie Man’ Brown, ‘Sweet’ Charlie Smith, Edie ‘Bee’ Anderson, Decater Agnew, Bill ‘Fox Chaser;’ Moore, Bernie Hayes, Michael Tyrone Key, ‘Big Time’ Frank Davis, Doug Eason, E. Rodney Jones, Yvonne Daniels, Cheryl Winston were some of the many announcer that worked at WESL at one time or another.
Chuck Spearman will be the operations manager for the station, and the call letters will be changed to WFFX on 1490 AM. The switch set to begin Sunday, September 7th.
“I think St. Louis has a unique opportunity to fill a very critical void in radio, no matter what changes take place with satellite radio or other forms of broadcasting,” Spearman said regarding the format changes. “People enjoy radio when it’s localized and serving the community and really want to know what’s going on at the church up the street; they want to call in and request their favorite song; they want to call the DJ and express their ‘feelings’.”
Spearman says that the plan is to offer a variety of genres that fall within gospel music and are operating under the goal of full time gospel programming by mid to late October.
“As we grow the station we will be looking at some new and old faces in radio as “personalities” to help with the imaging of the station,” Spearman said. “There are some powerful preaching ministries that will be spotted and programmed also, such as the new Horizon Community Church with Pastor Ranaldor Foggs of East St. Louis, and The Church or Empowerment with Bishop Wilfert Lee.”
Spearman is working to keep the community involved in the conversion process of the station. He is welcoming anyone with programming suggestions or ideas to send them to him at chuckspearman1@aol.com.