WAYS (FM)

WAYS-FM was a radio station in Macon, Georgia, United States.

History

Initially the station used the frequency 99.1 MHz and was known as FM 99.

Albert Sanders and Bill Powell were the early leaders. Sanders headed up WMAZ-TV, and Powell managed WMAZ-AM and -FM. WMAZ-FM's call letters were later changed to WAYS-FM. Powell also hosted the morning show for years, before moving to WMAZ Channel 13 as Senior Weather Forecaster in 1982. The same year, Bill Elder, an early protégé of Powell, became the morning-drive DJ at FM 99. Other popular personalities were Hamp Swain, Ben Sandifer, Oscar Leverette (who later moved to WPEZ), Kenny Burgamy (former host of The Kenny B and Jami G Show on WMAC-AM 940), Wade Ryan (later known as Hank Brigmond on WPEZ, former manager of Hawkinsville's WRPG 103.9 and currently Local Sales Manager for Albany, GA CBS Affiliate WSWG), Mark "In the Dark" McCoy, Dee Shannon (who later worked for WDEN), Steve Cain, Mary Therese (who later anchored Channel 13's Eyewitness News at 5), and Scott Tyler.

In the mid-'80s FM 99 became known as 99 WAYS, "Your Hit Music Station." Top 40 was the winning format. In the early '90s 99 WAYS ditched Top 40 in favor of golden oldies and became Oldies 99.1 WAYS. Therese stayed a few more years, and Elder remained the station's driving force until his departure in 2000. The following year Oldies 99.1 went off the air for a few months before switching frequencies with WDEN-FM 105.3, which played the more popular format of country music. For about five years WAYS was known as Big Ways 105 before it began operating as a low-power station at the frequency of 1500 AM under the ownership of Cumulus Media.

On Columbus Day in 2006, after months of low ratings, WAYS said farewell and went off the air. Now another oldies station occupies the dial, and today B95.1 is the Macon area's resident Top 40 station.

References

Edgar Online. (2007, March) Cumulus Media Inc. Report.
Elder, Bill. (2007, May) Bill Elder Voiceovers.
Womack, Amy Leigh. (2007, May) Kenny B takes position at Atlantic Southern Bank. The Macon Telegraph.

Radio stations in the Macon, Georgia market

By AM frequency	900 940 980 1150 1280 1350 1400 1500 1670

By FM frequency	88.9 89.7 90.5 91.3 92.3 93.7 95.1 96.5 97.9 99.1 99.9 100.1 100.9 101.7 102.1 102.5 103.9 105.5 106.3 107.1 107.5

NOAA Weather Radio frequency	162.4 162.475

By callsign	KXI77 WAYS WBKG WBML WDDO WDEN-FM WFXM WIBB-FM WIHB WIHB-FM WJTG WLXF WLZN WMAC WMGB WMUM-FM WNEX WNEX-FM WNNG-FM WPEZ WPLA WPWB WQBZ WQMJ WQXZ WRBV WRWR WWWD WXK71 WXKO WYPZ WZCH

Defunct	WDDO (1240 AM)

Georgia radio markets Albany Atlanta Augusta Brunswick Columbus Macon Savannah Valdosta Other Georgia radio regions Rome Thomasville/Bainbridge Waycross See also List of radio stations in Georgia

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