WDAK-AM

WDAK (540 AM, "Newsradio 540") is a radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format. Licensed to Columbus, Georgia, USA, the station serves the Columbus/Phenix City/Auburn area. The station is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications (as CC Licenses) and features programing from Westwood One, CNN Radio and Fox News Radio The station began broadcasting in 1940 on a frequency of 1340Kc with a power of 250 watts. Studios were located in the Martin Building in downtown Columbus. Co-Owned WDAK-TV began operation in 1953 on Channel 28. After the TV station was sold in 1958, WDAK was granted 5,000 watts day, 500 watts night on 540Khz with a new transmitter site and three towers located 5 miles west of Phenix City, Alabama. In April, 1967, WDAK moved to Wynnwood, an anti-bellum mansion at 1846 Buena Vista Road in Wynnton that was placed on the United States Interior Department list of historical sites in 1972. During this entire period, WDAK was owned by the Woodall Family of Columbus, programmed Top 40, and was known as Big Johnny Reb or "The Giant of the Valley." Signal and audience-wise, it was the dominant station in the Chattahoochee Valley for decades, with such personalities as Cuzzin Al, J. Edward Wilson and Curley Money household names with the local audience of the era. "I had several idols I looked up to when I was on the air right out of Jordan Vocational High School. Jimmy Deere, Bill Bowick, Dick Weiss, Don Edwards, Johnny Dart, Bob Carr, Dr. Jive (Ed Mendel), The Deuce (Rudy Rutherford) and others I can't think of at the moment. These men inspired me to do better. I had the pleasure of working with some of these personalities and it was a wonderful experience. I agree with one of your writers who said any of these guys could have easily been in major markets if they had wanted to. I even got to work with Cuzzin Al. I did the 6pm to midnight shift at WDAK and I loved radio so much I would stay up there all night long til Cuz would arrive, always late. He would say 'go on home boy' in his gruff manner. I always suspected he wasnt really gruff and I found out later that was the case... -Larry James, from Where Are They Now? website"

In the late 70's, the station first switched to country, then to various other formats and under different owners.