1301 Ohio Street - Terre Haute, IN  47807
812-234-9770 - info@radioworksforme.com

WSDM's predecessor station has been broadcasting since 1959. From 1959 to 1972 it was called WITE, and was on 1380 khz, with a 3-tower directional pattern. In 1972 when WSDM-FM was built, the owners changed the existing AM station to a non-direction pattern by moving to 1130 khz, losing nighttime authorization. The day signal on 1130 is much better than it was on 1380, covering a radius of about 60 miles from our Brazil, Indiana tower site. The AM station, now called WSDX,  has 500 watts during daylight hours, with 20 watts from sunset to sunrise.  Even with the low power settings, WSDX covers a radius of about 10 miles! Call letters changed from WITE to WWCM,  to WBZL in 1985, to WSDM in 1991, and to WSDX in March of 2000. Presently it is the Brazil side of ESPN Sports Radio.

WSDM-FM went on the air with 3000 watts at 97.7 mhz in 1972. The original call letters were WWCM-FM. The station’s format changed from country to rock in 1979, and the call letters changed to WBDJ.

The owners went bankrupt in 1983, and both WBDJ and WWCM (AM) went off the air for about two years.

In 1985 the station was purchased by Mark Lange and Bruce Smith from Vincennes, and put back on the air as WBZL-AM, playing country music, and WSDM-FM, playing soft adult contemporary. Although they enjoyed early success, the station again experienced financial difficulties, and WSDM-FM began simulcasting with the AM, playing country music. The owners took advantage of an opportunity to double the power of the FM to 6000 watts in April of 1989 and then another opportunity to sell the station to  Crossroads Communications in late July, 1990.

Crossroads at first kept the country format on WBZL (AM), but on October 31, 1990 at 6:00pm changed the FM format, keeping the call letters and slogan “Wisdom 98,” to oldies rock and roll, utilizing ABC’s Pure Gold format which is delivered via satellite from Dallas.

In the spring of 1991, WBZL changed it’s call sign to WSDM, and changed its format to news/talk, utilizing CNN Headline News as a base format. Although the stations share the same name, they were programmed separately. The advertising, however, was sold by one sales staff, and the stations were marketed as a “forced combo.”

On Nov. 20, 1996, Crossroads agreed to purchase WJSH AM 1300 in Terre Haute. WJSH was in bankruptcy and off the air at the time.

On Nov. 22, 1996,  the "Great WSDM Fire" took place destroying the facilities of WSDM AM and FM! A young man named Joseph George broke into the station early that morning and set it ablaze. He was caught immediately, and was sentenced to serve 18 year in April of 1997. WSDM's staff immediately moved into the WJSH facility in Terre Haute, and had WSDM-FM on the air on Thanksgiving day, Nov. 29...only 6 days after the fire. WJSH returned to the air, simulcasting WSDM-FM on January 6. WSDM AM 1130 returned to the air on April 15 with a talk format, but on July 4th changed its format to "Solid Gospel," reflecting the desires and musical tastes of many living in the Brazil area where the WSDM AM tower is located. In mid August, 1997, WSDM opened a news studio at 9 N. Walnut Street in downtown Brazil to meet the FCC's main studio requirement, and  to better serve the citizenry of Brazil, WSDM's city of license. In March, the main office of WSDM/WJSH moved to 1215 Wabash Avenue in Terre Haute.  In September of 1998 the FCC recinded its main studio rule, and the Brazil studio was closed, with the news room moved to Terre Haute.

In June, 1998, Crossroads Communications completed the purchase of WAXI-FM in Rockville, IN from Covered Bridge Broadcasting.  A new studio was immediately installed and renovations to the WAXI transmitter were made.

During the Summer of 2000, Crossroads vacated the 2nd floor studios at 1215 Wabash, moving to their present location at 1301 Ohio Street.  This had been the studio site of WBOW Radio during the 1960s through 1990.  The WAXI studio was moved to 13th and Ohio as well.

In March of 2000, the AM radio in Brazil changed its call letters from WSDM to WSDX, and the AM station in Terre Haute from WJSH to WSJX.  Both stations were simulcasting the Solid Gospel format, but dropped it in favor of all-sports, anchored by the Sporting News Network, but soon changed to ESPN.  They were marketed is "The X."  A couple of years later, The X was dropped, in favor of simply ESPN Sports Radio, and the call letters WSJX were dropped in favor of the heritage call sign, WBOW, which became available in the FCC database in 2002.  (The original WBOW went on the air in 1927 at 1230AM, but moved down the dial in the early '90s to 640.  The station went off the air in 1999 or 2000 due to FCC action against the owner, Mike Rice.)

In 2003, Crossroads purchased 50,000 watt WLEZ (102.7) from Bomar Broadcasting.  In June of 03, call letters were changed to WBOW-FM, with an adult-contemporary format.

In May of 2005 owner-manager Mike Petersen stepped out of station management, but continued on as President of the board, and a Senior Account Executive.   Doug Edge became the general manager.  However Doug stepped down in April of 2009, putting Mike Petersen back in the GM's chair.

On October 31, 2005 WSDM changed its frequency to 92.7, swapping the 97.7 frequency to the Spencer radio station.  The Oldies format was shifted to what was adult standards WAXI, and a new format was started on WSDM called "The Crock," an energetic blend of hot country and classic rock.

We will have to do some research to complete the early days of 102.7 in Terre Haute, so check this page later if you are interested.

A Class B FM (50kw) was originally put on the air in Terre Haute in 1961.  It's companion AM was on 1300, which is still on the air as WBOW AM.  In and prior to 1991, the station was called WPFR-FM, and its companion was AM 1300, WPFR.  The format was contemporary hit radio, and it was one of the top rated stations in the Terre Haute market.  A poor economy and questionable management practices forced the company that owned WPFR into bankruptcy, and both stations left the air in 1991.

In 1992, Ronn Mott and banker Terry Tevlin purchased AM 1300 and renamed the station WJSH.  They later sold it to an individual from Connecticut, who also mismanaged the station and it went off the air in early 1996.

Bomar Broadcasting of Marion, IN purchased the license for 102.7 in 1992.  Since the original tower and transmitter had been dismantled, Bomar built a new 700 foot tower southwest of Terre Haute, put in a new transmitter and the station went on the air as WLEZ in Sept. of 1993.  The format was "beautiful music," which is a very soft music format based mainly on instrumentals.  The station was programmed from a studio in Marion, IN via a T1 digital line.  Bomar also had other stations in Indiana using the same programming.

Since this type of programming had generally run out of favor with most advertisers, WLEZ changed its music format to soft adult contemporary in 1997.  Most programming continued to originate in Marion (WMRI), but some, and eventually all,  originated from the Jones Radio Network in Denver, CO.

On May 12, 2003, Crossroads completed the purchase of 102.7, WLEZ from Bomar and currently originating programming from studio at 1301 Ohio in Terre Haute, although the Jones Network was still be utilized.  RJ Westerman kicked off our new morning show (6-10am) on July 4, 2003.  On September 1, 2003, the call letters changed to WBOW-FM, or Lite Rock B-1027, reflecting the heritage call signs in Terre Haute since 1927.  The night sensation "Delilah" also started on 9/1, as well as Dave Wingert's Dave 'til Dawn show, midnight to 6am.

Soon after Crossroads changed the call letters to the historic WBOW-FM, the station dropped the Jones network and programmed its own adult contemporary format. 

What is now WBOW went on the air in 1958 in Terre Haute as WMFT.  Call letters changed to WAAC, WPFR-AM,  WJSH, and in 2002 to WBOW.  We are able to put Terre Haute's heritage call letters on AM 1300 after the "old" WBOW (under different ownership) went off the air and gave up the call letters.   At one time the station, coupled with now-defunct WPFR-FM, was owned by the country group, The Oak Ridge Boys.

When WPFR AM/FM went bankrupt and "dark" in 1990, the station was indeed off the air for almost a year.  But Ronn Mott, who had been program director and morning personality at WBOW AM coupled his radio expertise with Terry Tevlin, marketing director at Terre Haute First National Bank, and the two purchased the station and returned it to the airwaves as a "stand-alone" AM with a locally produced nostalgia music format.  Studios were built on the 5th floor of the Tribune Star Building in downtown Terre Haute.  From 1992-94 WJSH has the highest ratings of any AM station in the market.  So in 1994 Mott and Tevlin sold the station to an independent owner who moved from Connecticut to Terre Haute to operate the station.  The new owner immediately automated the station and changed format to ABC's "Real Country."

The new owner, being unfamiliar with Terre Haute, and with stand-alone AM's having a tougher and tougher time, was unable to make a profit, and abandoned the station in early 1996, leaving a string of creditors behind.  Tevlin and Mott succeeded, with the help of the bank, in  getting the station back, but in mid 1996 Tevlin approached WSDM-FM owner/manager, Mike Petersen, about purchasing the station.  Petersen and his partner, Dan Lacy, agreed on a price and the deal was made.  Papers were signed just two days before the tragic fire at WSDM's studios in November, 1996.

WJSH was returned to the air on January 6, 1997, simulcasting the WSDM-FM format.  Fortunately, the previous owner, who had by now gone bankrupt, had installed a new BE500 solid state transmitter at WJSH, and the good news...it was paid for!  This made going back on the air a simple matter.  For about 5 months, the simulcast was accomplished with a simple car radio at the WJSH transmitter site tuned to 97.7.  But a studio-transmitter link was built for WJSH in the then-new headquarters at 1215 Wabash Ave., and it went into use in May of 1997.  While the Solid Gospel format began on WSDM AM on July 4 of 1997, the simulcast of WSDM-FM to WJSH did not end until February 1, 1998, when WSDM-AM began simulcasting to WJSH.  Our two AM stations  simulcast the Solid Gospel format until February 29, 2000, when they changed to All Sports.  All stations in our group were moved to 1301 Ohio Street in July, 2002.

The Spencer Family of Parke County originally applied for the broadcast license that is now WAXI, in 1976.  While in the process of getting ready to put the station on the air, tragedy struck.  Three men from Crawfordsville invaded the Spencer Home near Hollandsburg on Sunday evening February 14th, 1977, killing the Spencer's three boys and injuring Mrs. Spencer.  It has come to be known as the Hollandsburg Massacre.

The Spencers bravely went ahead with the station.  It went on the air July 25, 1977.  August 1, 1983, WAXI was sold to Bob and Sharon Rouse of Terre Haute.  Rouse was a well known radio operator in the Wabash Valley.  They managed the station until 1985 when Rouse hired Bill Cook as station manager.  Bill promptly hired his new wife Kandee, whom he had met at WJNZ (now WREB) in Greencastle, and subsequently married.  The Cooks ran the station under its current format relatively unchanged until 1998, when the Rouses decided to sell the property to Crossroads Communications of Terre Haute. 

While WAXI is run primarily from the Terre Haute office and studio, WAXI still operates as the primary local station for Parke and Vermillion Counties, while serving the greater Terre Haute market with it's 60s-70s Oldies music format, Cubs Baseball, Indiana University Sports, and local high school sports.  In the fall of 2005, WAXI changed it's adult standards format to Oldies Rock and Roll and adopted the slogan, "Gold 104.9."

The main studio for WAXI was moved at the end of October, 2002, to our main facility at 1301 Ohio Street in Terre Haute.  The studio is linked to the transmitter via microwave.

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Last modified: 04/03/10