Wikipedia
WRGA AM 1470 and W254CF FM 98.7 ( "News Talk 98.7 and AM 1470 ") is a radio station broadcasting a news talk information format. Licensed to serve Rome, Georgia, USA, the station serves Floyd and adjacent counties of northwest Georgia and a sliver of northeast Alabama. The station is currently owned by Rome Radio Partners, LLC and features programing from ABC Radio and CNN Radio.
Prior to spring 2009, WRGA was owned by McDougald Broadcasting, and was run by Southern Broadcasting Company, which is the owner-operator of WSRM FM 93.5, WQTU FM 102.3, WTSH FM 107.1, and WGJK AM 1360, from its studios on John Davenport Drive in Rome.
From spring 2004 to July 9, 2009, WRGA simulcast a substantially stronger and better quality signal on WSRM-FM. Until spring 2009, WSRM's radio tower was located in Coosa, Georgia; however after the ownership change the tower was moved to Mount Alto in Rome, and the carrier frequency was changed from 95.3 to 93.5 FM. The result was a substantial increase in the size of WSRM's coverage area, which led to issues which resulted in Rome Radio Partners having to end the five-year-old FM simulcast. WSRM's format was changed on July 9, 2009, to "Life FM", an " eclectic blend of Christian and secular adult contemporary" music.
WRGA operates under the tagline "Rome's NewsTalk". In addition to running radio network programming from ABC Radio and CNN Radio, WRGA carries Neal Boortz, Clark Howard, and Sean Hannity during their daily program schedule. WRGA also carries Georgia Bulldogs football play-by-play. For state news coverage, WRGA carries hourly reports from the Georgia News Network.
Locally produced programming on WRGA includes Hometown Radio Headlines, hosted by John Druckenmiller. "Druck" typically works four topics per morning, 7-9am, one per half-hour segment, and has local newsmakers as guests in-studio or by phone. Each segment is brief, a maximum of about 12 minutes with a 60-second commercial break, because the program has hard boundaries to coincide with news and feature breaks. Other locally produced programming includes Talk of the Town (9am to 10am weekdays), hosted by Nelle Reagan.
WRGA is the only station in Rome with a full-time news team including Andrew Carter and Kim Jarrett. Local news reports can be heard at four minutes past the hour 24/7; extended news reports air at 6:04am, 6:33am, 7:04am, 7:33am, 8:04am, 8:33am, 12:04pm, and 12:33pm weekdays. Spot news coverage is provided as situations necessitate. Election coverage live from the Floyd County Courthouse is provided beginning at 7 pm any day the polls are open.
As of March 1, 2014, WRGA also simulcasts on a broadcast translator at 98.7, with broadcast callsign W254CF. This change was partly to extend the coverage area at night, when skywave RF interference reduces the AM station's broadcast range. (Previously this was prohibited by the FCC, with translators reserved only for FM stations to cover gaps caused by terrain, a change which blocks frequencies that community LPFM stations could otherwise use locally.) The addition of the FM signal was soon followed by a rebranding as "News Talk 98.7 and AM 1470, WRGA". The station has also been using the tag line "Local News Now" more heavily in 2014.