WTMC-AM 1500
Ocala
 
Original call Letters: WTMC
Originally Licensed: 1939
Original Frequency: 1500 Moved to 1290 in 1954
Original City of License: Ocala
Origin of Call Letters: Welcome To Marion County
Original Power: 100 watts unlimited
Original Format: Variety

Owner(s): 1939-David T. Allsop
                1948-The Ocala Star Banner
                1954-Ocala Broadcasting Co., Inc. 
                1968-Osceola Broadcasting Company, Inc. (co-owned with WORL-AM 1270 and WORJ-FM 107.7 Orlando)
                1973-Hunter-Arnette Broadcasting Company, Inc.
                1980-WTMC Radio Broadcasting
                1984-Kingdom of the Sun Broadcasting
                1987-First Radio of Ocala
                1989-Sunstar Telecom/SE Agrinet
                1993-Paxson Communications
                1994-News and Travel Network
                1999-Vector Communications

History Of Call Letters and Formats: WTMC-1939-Variety
                                                         WTMC-1954-MOR
                                                         WTMC-1972-Adult Contemporary
                                                         WTMC-1975-Top 40  “Best Music Radio”
                                                         WTMC-1979-Top 40/Rock   "The Music Connection"
                                                         WTMC-1982-Free Form
                                                         WTMC-1984-Adult Standards  "The Station You Grew Up With"
                                                         WTMC-1984 Adult Contemporary  "Paradise 1290"
                                                         WTMC-1992-Travel Radio
                                                         WTMC-1997-CNN Headline News  "CNN News 1290"
                                 WCFI-1999-AP News Radio  "News Radio 1290"
                                                         WCFI-2003-CNN Headline News
                                                         WCFI-2004-News Talk


History Of WTMC  
Thanks to Marc Tyll for this history of WTMC.
Ocala’s oldest and most respected radio station WTMC commenced regular broadcast service during the Summer of 1939. During those early years there was no other radio service for miles from Ocala. The next closest radio station was 
WRUF-AM 850 Gainesville, 30-miles North of Ocala. WRUF had signed on the air eleven years sooner during the Summer of 1928 from the University of Florida campus. The original WTMC call letter combination stood for Welcome To Marion County. Originally, Ocala’s first radio station broadcast with a modest 100 watts on 1500KC and could be heard as far away as Palatka, Gainesville, Leesburg and Daytona Beach. The WTMC broadcast day began at 7AM with a variety  of local programming, ending at 9PM seven days a week. 
Former Marion County Clerk of the Circuit Court Nick Nicholson was the first morning personality on the new WTMC. It was common to hear Nicholson each morning ring his trademark cow bell exclaiming “…. it‘s time to wake up you scallywags….”. Nicholson’s morning show originated from the original WTMC studio, office and transmitter site which was located on Old Anthony Road (now Northeast 8Th Avenue),  about a mile North of Ocklawaha Avenue (now East Silver Springs Boulevard). The original 1939 radio building still stands today at the Northeast corner of Tuscawilla Park - Ocala’s oldest recreation center - bearing its original wood framed, white painted exterior which now serves as the Senior Services  Building, a part of the City of Ocala Parks and Recreation Department. WTMC remained Ocala’s ONLY radio station for 14-years until Ocala's second radio station, WMOP-AM 900, began broadcast service in 1953. 
Although unconfirmed, WTMC’s original owner was David T. Allsop who also served as station manager. Many believe Allsop was actually a front man for the true station owner though Allsop claimed ownership for many years after his departure in 1948. WTMC was later sold to Ocala’s only newspaper - the Ocala Star-Banner. Long time Star-Banner publisher R. N. “Bert” Dosh assumed WTMC’s station management duties but soon promoted WTMC’s sales manager, Hal Davis, to station manager. Davis had been affiliated with WTMC from the beginning and was on a first name basis with  the local merchants. Before joining the station, Davis had been very much involved with boxing as a fight promoter. 
WTMC had been affiliated with the NBC Blue Network, later switching to the NBC Red Network. When NBC split the two networks into the NBC and ABC Radio Networks, WTMC remained an NBC affiliate, airing the network news programming for many years. Other programming remained local as the station became more heavily local news and recorded music oriented. Musically WTMC had an MOR format, playing mostly big bands and other popular tunes of the era. Nick Nicholson left his full-time morning show to campaign for the office of Marion County Clerk of the Circuit Court, an election he won and an office he held from 1952 until 1979. Although Nicholson’s new full time job was now Clerk of the  Court, Nicholson remained with WTMC during the football season on a part-time basis as a high school football color commentator. Nicholson added his own style and personality each Friday night while News Director Bill Mansfield called the Play-By-Play action from Ocala‘s famous Booster Stadium. By 1954 WTMC applied for a power increase to 1,000 watts full-time. The request was granted, but the Federal Communications Commission stipulated WTMC move from its original 1500KC frequency to 1290KC.

Names In WTMC History 
David T. Allsop-Original owner
R. N. “Bert” Dosh-Ocala Star-Banner publisher

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