WHIO was Cox Radio's first station started by company founder Ohio Governor James M. Cox in the Dayton Daily News building downtown, on Ludlow Street. It signed on the air on February 9, 1935. To create a new radio service in Dayton, Cox had to purchase WLBW in Oil City, Pennsylvania, from the Petroleum Telephone Company. Cox shut down that operation and moved the radio station to Dayton. The station first broadcast at a power of 1,000 watts on 1260 kHz, which had been the frequency of WLBW. With the enactment of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement in 1941, WHIO moved to its current frequency at 1290 kHz. 90% of all AM stationsin America were forced to change frequencies.
NBC and CBS
At its founding, WHIO was an NBC Red Networkaffiliate, also taking some shows from the NBC Blue Network. But in the 1940s, WHIO switched to the CBS Radio Network. During the "Golden Age of Radio," WHIO carried NBC and later CBS's schedule of dramas, comedies, news, sports, soap operas, game shows and big band broadcasts. Then, as network programming moved from radio to television, WHIO switched to a full servicemiddle of the road format of popular music, news and sports.
WHIO-FM and TV
In 1946, Cox Radio added an FM station, 99.1 WHIO-FM. At first, WHIO-FM simulcast the AM station. But in the 1960s, it began airing a beautiful music format. And in 1989, it became WHKO with a country music format. In 1949, Cox added a TV station, WHIO-TV on Channel 13. Because WHIO had been an CBS affiliate, WHIO-TV also began airing CBS Television programs.
Noted Personalities
WHIO's long history in the market included Lou Emm. Emm was a popular host of variety shows, live remote broadcasts and station promotions. He started at WHIO in the early 1940s and retired in 1992. When Emm died a few years later, all Dayton radio stations paused for a moment of silence. Phil Donahue started at WHIO as the host of the weekday talk show "Conversation Piece" in the 1960s before his move to television and competitor Channel 2 WLWD in 1967. His show became nationally syndicated beginning in 1970. During this era, Winston Hoehner was news director at WHIO for 25 years and was a member of the OhioAssociated PressBroadcast JournalismHall of Fame. He died in 1990. WHIO was the originating station of a regional news network in the 1960s and '70s which was aired late afternoons on stations in surrounding communities throughout the Miami Valley as "The DP&L News Network". A similar network aired in the 1990s during this same time frame as "The Newscenter 7 Radio Network."
FM Simulcast
On October 30, 2006, Cox Radio pulled the plug on the all-1980 hits format on WDPT "95.7 The Point." The station switched to a simulcast of WHIO's News/Talk format. 95.7 WHIO-FM has an effective radiated power of 50,000 watts and covers much of south central Ohio, also reaching into Eastern Indiana. The simulcast gives listeners the choice of hearing WHIO on either FM or AM.
30th Anniversary
The following comes from a station history written on January 14, 1965. It was discovered inside a box of reel to reel tape at the station in 2007, written on the letterhead of the Miami Valley Broadcasting Corporation Any updated information inside this history was added by the editor:
