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WATO (1290 AM) was a radio station in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The call letters were chosen for the first three letters in "Atomic City" as Oak Ridge was known at the time of the Manhattan Project. WATO was licensed to broadcast at 5 kW during daytime hours and 500 watts at night. It broadcast at 1 kW during daylight hours and 125 watts at night from a temporary site while lookingfor a new permanent home.

History

The station commenced broadcasting, as WOKE, February 1, 1948. under the authority of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. It was the first radio station to be established on a U.S. military reservation. Initially it broadcast on 1490 kHz, but it moved to 1290 kHz on January 24, 1959, when the original owners bought out WOKE.

Broadcasts of Oak Ridge High School football games were a staple of its programming from 1948 through 2007. The station broadcast a total of 678 consecutive high school games.

The format was easy listening oldies at one time.

The station went off the air in March 2008 when one of its three 200-foot (61 m) transmission towers fell during a storm. Its owner, Horne Radio, determined that it would be financially infeasible to return the station to the air. In October 2008 Horne announced that it would sell WATO's transmission site and would surrender the station's broadcasting license to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). On February 19, 2009, the FCC granted an application to temporarily move the transmitter site, with reduced power, to a site 5 miles west of the original transmitter site, broadcasting from a tower formerly used by WORI which is now silent. There is also an application on file for a change of ownership.

Ann and Larry Walden of Lenoir City, Tennessee, purchased WATO and brought it back on the air August 26, 2009; the new format included a talk show, Oak Ridge High School sports, music, and more. Lipstick Lingo, hosted by Martha Woodward, also aired on WATO Radio.

In the first week of April 2010, WATO again ceased broadcasting, this time due to the owners of the land and its transmitting equipment selling off the property to a hotel developer. Because of economic conditions, the owners of WATO could not afford to buy its own property or equipment. The owners placed its license up for sale, however, on April 2, 2012, the license was cancelled at the licensee's request.

References

1. ^ Mike Blackerby, No more airing it out; After 60 years, station signs off on Oak Ridge football Archived October 22, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Knoxville News Sentinel, October 16, 2008
2. "Restore the Voice of the Secret City". Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved April 28, 2009.
3. Federal Communications Commission database, accessed February 18, 2009
4. ‹ The template below (FCC letter) is being considered for deletion. See templates for discussion to help reach a consensus. ›

   FCC STA letter

5. "Radio Comes to Oak Ridge" (PDF). Broadcasting. February 16, 1948. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
6. Senator Bill Frist, Tribute to WATO Radio, Congressional Record, January 27, 2008
7. e-DXN, retrieved on April 28, 2009
8. After 60 years, Oak Ridge sports loses radio signal Archived December 2, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, The Oak Ridger, July 24, 2008
9. Radio formats Archived April 18, 2002, at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved on March 5, 2009.
10. "Photos from 2008". Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved April 28, 2009.
11. STA
12. License transfer application
13. Work in progress Archived February 27, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved on September 6, 2009.
14. WATO soon back on the sir Archived November 26, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved on September 6, 2009.
15. WATO back on (includes video) Archived April 27, 2024, at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved on September 6, 2009.
16. Tune in to WATO Radio Archived February 27, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved on September 6, 2009.
17. "Knoxville News-Sentinel: "Oak Ridge's only radio station WATO off air again", April 8, 2010". Archived from the original on April 12, 2010. Retrieved April 10, 2010.
18. "Federal Communications Commission Broadcast Actions report, April 5, 2012" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on May 24, 2014. Retrieved April 5, 2012.

External links

• FCC Station Search Details: DWATO (Facility ID: 71100)
• FCC History Cards for WATO (covering 1950-1979 as WOKE / WATO)

• Oak Ridge, Tennessee
• Radio stations in Knoxville, Tennessee
• Defunct radio stations in the United States
• Radio stations disestablished in 2010
• Radio stations established in 1948
• 1948 establishments in Tennessee
• 2010 disestablishments in Tennessee
• Defunct mass media in Tennessee