Radio station in Vicksburg, Mississippi WQBC * Vicksburg, Mississippi Broadcast area| Jackson, Mississippi Metropolitan Area Frequency| 1420 kHz Programming Format| Defunct Ownership Owner| * Michael M. Davis[1] * (Costar Broadcast Group Inc.) History First air date | February 18, 1928[2] Last air date | January 12, 2019[3] Call sign meaning | We Quote Better Cotton Technical information Facility ID| 60000 Class| B Power| 1,000 watts day 500 watts night Transmitter coordinates | 32°20′44.00″N 90°52′2.00″W / 32.3455556°N 90.8672222°W / 32.3455556; -90.8672222Coordinates: 32°20′44.00″N 90°52′2.00″W / 32.3455556°N 90.8672222°W / 32.3455556; -90.8672222 WQBC was an AM broadcasting station licensed on 1420 kHz at Vicksburg, Mississippi. It was licensed on October 24, 1927, and made the claim of being the oldest operating radio station is Mississippi and one of the few remaining stations that still had their original call signs.[2] Its license was surrendered September 28, 2020, after having been off the air since January 12, 2019.[3] Well-known alumni of WQBC included Blues extraordinaire Willie Dixon, and his Jubilee Singers, Adrian Cronauer, the inspiration for Good Morning, Vietnam; and Woodie Assaf, longest-serving weatherman in the United States, who began his broadcasting career at WQBC in the 1940s, before moving to 620 WJDX (AM) in Jackson, Mississippi and serving at its sister station WLBT TV 3 from sign-on in December 1953.[2][4][unreliable source?] ## History[edit] The station was built and first operated by engineer I.R. Jones, and was originally licensed for Utica, Mississippi. In 1931, it was bought by the Cashman family, owners of the Vicksburg Evening Post, and moved to Vicksburg. When Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules banned cross ownership of newspapers and broadcast stations in the same area, WQBC was sold to a Mr. Frank Hollifield, then to a Mrs. Elizabeth Owens. Mr. Bill Stanford bought the station in 1987.[2] The station was later owned by Michael Corley.[2] WQBC was last owned by Costar Broadcast Group a Chicago IL based multi-media communications firm. The company's President is Michael M. Davis a native son of Lorman, Mississippi - the site of Alcorn State University, the first African-American land grant institution in the United States. The station lost the lease on its tower site and went silent on March 12, 2010[5] while the sale to Michael M. Davis was pending.[1] It received an extension to remain silent on November 18, 2010, pending studies for a new construction permit.[6][needs update] On January 12, 2019, WQBC went silent. Its license was surrendered September 28, 2020 and cancelled by the FCC on September 29, 2020.[3] ## References[edit] 1. ^ a b Davis, Michael M. (April 30, 2010). "FCC 314: Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License (File No. BAL-20100301AAA)". Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved January 25, 2011. 2. ^ a b c d e "About Us". Vicksburg, Mississippi: WQBC. Retrieved January 25, 2011. 3. ^ a b c Surrender of License, fcc.gov. September 28, 2019. Retrieved October 5, 2020. 4. ^ Kelly, Johnny (November 15, 2009). "Woodie Assaf, longest serving TV weatherman in the nation is dead at the age of 92". Examiner.com.[unreliable source?] 5. ^ Davis, Mike (March 12, 2010). "Notification of Suspension of Operations / Request for Silent STA (File No. BLSTA-20100312AAD)". Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved January 25, 2011. 6. ^ "Application Search Details: BLESTA-20100909ABL". Federal Communications Commission. November 18, 2010. Retrieved January 25, 2011. * v * t * e Radio stations in Vicksburg, Mississippi (Warren County) By AM frequency| * 1490 By FM frequency| * 89.3 * 91.7 * 92.7 * 96.7 * 97.5 * 98.7 * 101.3 * 104.5 * 105.5 * 106.7 | LPFM| * 98.9 * 100.3 | Translator| * 107.7 Digital Radio| * 91.7-1 By callsign| * KLSM * KOGQ-LP * KSBU * KTJZ * KWCL-FM * W299CC * WATU * WBBV * WJKK * WPRL * WSTZ-FM * WVBG * WVBG-FM * WVMK-LP Defunct| * WQBC (1420 AM) * WDON-LP (102.3 FM) Nearby radio markets Greenville-Greenwood Jackson McComb-Brookhaven Monroe Natchez See also List of radio stations in Louisiana List of radio stations in Mississippi This article about a radio station in Mississippi is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. | * v * t * e *[v]: View this template *[t]: Discuss this template *[e]: Edit this template