WDBO-AM  580    Part 2 
Orlando 

Original Call Letters: WDBO

Originally Licensed: May 19,1924 

Original City of License: Winter Park (Rollins College) 

Original Frequency: 1250, moved to 1040 in 1927, moved to 620 in 1928, moved to 1120 in 1929 then to 580 in 1932

Origin of Call Letters: Slogan; Way Down By Orlando 

Original Power: 50 Watts

Original Location: Rollins College, Winter Park

Original Format: Concert programming and college lectures


Network Affiliation(s):

CBS
NBC Talknet
ABC
CNN

Owner(s):

1924-Rollins College
1926-Orlando Broadcasting
1929-Central Florida Broadcasting Station, Inc. (563 N. Orange Ave., Orlando) 
1957-Cherry Broadcasting Station of Providence, Rhode Island (later acquired by the Outlet Co)
1963-The Outlet Company ($6 million)
1982-Katz Broadcasting (Purchased WDBO AM/FM for $9.5 million)
1986-New City Communications (New City would purchase Katz in 1986)
1997-Cox Broadcasting (Cox acquires New City in 1997)

History Of Call Letters and Formats:

WDBO-1924-Variety  “Way Down By Orlando”
WDBO-1957-Pop
WDBO-1985-News/Talk   "News & Weather Leader"

mildred_beery-wdbo-1930's_1.jpg (532622 bytes)

mildred_beery-wdbo-1930's_2.jpg (307437 bytes)
Dick Ravenhill 1960's WDBO.jpg (61609 bytes)From Dick Camnitz; 
"Here's a later 60s shot of 
Dick Ravenhill
 on the air in the WDBO Ivanhoe studio.
Ya gotta love those big Altec mics."




        photo courtesy of Dick Camnitz
    WDBO 12-1982.jpg (51276 bytes)
         WDBO
studio in 1982 when the studios 
                     were on Lake Ivanhoe  
                           photo courtesy Dave Edwards


                 wdbo plate.jpg (50204 bytes)         wdbo2 plate.jpg (49996 bytes)
                                                                                               WDBO license plates courtesy of Dave Edwards

                                                                                                 WDBO Bumper stickers

                                                  
          
                                                1990                                                                       1992
                               
                                                 1995                                                                      1996
                                                                              Courtesy of Chris Trenkmann


WDBO Personalities

Charles "Batch" Batchelder

Lionel Nelson

Dorothy Morton Parks-gave 15-minute piano recitals

Walter Kimble-Performed 15-minute organ recitals   In Memory   



Ben Aycrigg
-1944-Central Florida Broadcasting Station, Inc.

Herb Oscar Anderson-1948-Central Florida Broadcasting Station, Inc. 
Courtesy of Ronny Allen Show

Bill Taylor-1960-1972-Mornings/Program Director-The Outlet Company

Bill Stamper-1964-1991-Sports Director/1989 winner of the Green Eyeshade Award for Sports Reporting-The Outlet Company


Perry Moore-1970-1984-Outlet Company/Katz Broadcasting  Biography In Memory
Photo courtesy Dave Edwards
 



John Martin-1970-1972-News Director-Outlet Company Biography


Jim Turner
-1972-Afternoon drive/1985-Mornings-Outlet Company/Katz Broadcasting/New City Communications /Cox Broadcasting Biography


Pete
Simonson-1972-1978 and 1995-1996
 
Here's Pete in 1976  



Dennis Moore-1976-1980-News-Outlet Company

Bob Brown-1976-1980-First airborne traffic reporter for WDBO. From 1952 to 1957, he did the Skipper Bob Show on WDBO-TV. Bob was a member of the Blue Angels Flight Team from 1964 to 1967. 



Clive Thomas
-1976-1980 Biography



Officer Jim Bishop
-1978-2009-Traffic Reporter Biography



Bud Brewer
-
1978-1979-Host of "WDBO's Nightline"  Biography

Mark Holmes-1978-Intern 

Harry Cup-1979-1981-Host of "WDBO's Nightline" 7PM-11PM-Harry was a self-described moderate and attracted 8,000 people to Tinker Field on April 19, 1980 for his "Stand up for America" rally in support of the hostages being held in Iran by Ayatollah Khomeini.  Biography  In Memory
 
Harry's 1980 recording of "Sick American"                        



Col. Richard Bouchard
-1979-1993 Biography   In Memory
Carson Rennie-1981-1982 Host of "WDBO's Nightline"



Morton Downey, Jr.-1982-1983-Host of "WDBO's Nightline"  Biography

 
         The WDBO traffic plane 

Tom Blair-1982-News-Tom passed Jan. 10, 2007 at the age of 68.  In Memory
Tom Blair reporting on traffic



Tom McCarthy-1983-Afternoons Biography


Mark Hellinger
-1983-1998
-Mark worked with Jim Turner, Perry Moore, Bill Stamper, Tom McCarthy and
Morton Downey Jr.

Rod Grant (aka Shadow)-1983-1985-Production Director/Afternoons

Wayne Weinberg-1984-1994-Morning news co-anchor. Wayne also hosted "Ask Disney", a one-hour show airing  live each Saturday morning from Disney-MGM Studios. Wayne's co-host was Walt Disney World Ambassador Kim Hursh Biography

Bill Patti-1985-1990-9AM-11AM-Program Director/Operations Manager


Marsha Taylor
-1985-Midday Anchor/Street Reporter/ 1988-News Director


Bruce Hamilton-1987-1992-9AM-Noon. Left  WDBO in 1992 for a TV spot in Philadelphia. Also was a news anchor for WESH TV 2 in Orlando. Now at Jacksonville's WJXT-TV.

Dan Shaffer-1987-1992-Biography  -The original Good Samaritan van driver/Producer/Music Director/Traffic Reporter /Hosted an overnight show while Saturday night/Sunday morning/Bruce Hamilton’s midday show producer

Eileen Byrne-1998-7PM-9PM-Mon-Fri



Woody Wooden
-1988-1997
-News



Jeff Slater
-1989-1997-Producer and co-host with Jim Turner  Biography

Scott Anez- 1991-present-Sports Director
Scott joined Jim Turner  in 1991 as the Sports Director. Scott's a native to the Central Florida area and earned his broadcasting degree from the University of Central Florida. Scott lives in Orlando with his wife and daughter Christine.



Chris Trenkmann
-1992-1997
Biography


Bob Nyles-1993-2003-host and producer of  several "Ask the Experts" talk shows on WDBO each Saturday morning from 6AM-Noon.  Biography

Steve Morris-1994 (Jun)-1994 (Aug)



Gina Jordan
-1995-
2008 Biography


Scott Hasick
Scott and Casey-1997-1998-Afternoon Drive-May of 1997 to February of 1998


Casey Bartholomew
Scott and Casey-1997-1998-
Afternoon Drive-May of 1997 to February of 1998



Leonard Birdsong
-2000
-Sundays-Noon-2PM

Jack Nelson-2000-"Dollars and Cents"

Kelly Golden-2004-Kelly came to WDBO from Charleston, South Carolina. In her seven-year news career, Kelly has won several state, regional and national awards including an Edward R. Murrow Award. Kelly was named "Radio News Reporter of the Year" in 2003 by the South Carolina Broadcasters Association. 



Joe Ruble-2005-News


Heather Jackson-2005-Overnight News Anchor/Board Operator/Producer of the Andrea Shea King Show
On September 13th 2008, Heather married Bob Hazen  and became Heather Hazen. In December Heather moved up to mid-day producer.



Elizabeth Arenas
-2006-2008
-News



Diana Bosch
-2006-News



Drew Petrimoulx
-2007
-
Weekend News Anchor/Webmaster

Rozzie Franco-2007-Weekend News Anchor Biography
2007-Within three months, Rozzie moves up to become part of the morning news team as a reporter/producer.
2008-Rozzie leaves WDBO for WFLF-AM 540

Zach Stein-2008-News


Carole Nelson Biography

Tom Marshall-Original Host of "WDBO's Nightline" In Memory

Bob Raymond-News

Bob Glascoff-News

Pat Flannagan-Host of "WDBO's Nightline"

Mike Burger-mid day host (see WHOO-AM 990) Besides hosting the mid-days at WDBO. In 1988, TV station WDBO (channel 6) needed someone to take over the weekend weathercasts. Mike always had an interest in weather took the weekend spot. Mike moved to Dallas where he worked for seven years. Mike then returned to Orlando for four years, He returned to Central Florida from Houston in 1996 to replace retiring newscaster Ben Aycrigg. After four years, Mike returned to Dallas-Fort Worth and has been there ever since.

Mike_Miller.jpg (7423 bytes)

Mike Miller
-Host of "WDBO's Nightline"  Biography
  2005-Mike became the Director of External Affairs for the Jacksonville Transportation Authority

Earl Finkle-Weather  In Memory



Dave Wahl
-Reporter/Anchor

Ron Hill
-News Reporter 



Grace Rabold
(Carter)
-Host of "Grace Under Fire"  Biography

Reagan Smith-Host of "WDBO's Nightline"  Biography     

Tom Barry-Host of "WDBO's Nightline"  



Bob Johnson-Weekend newscaster



Rebecca Randall-evening anchor Biography

Rob Newton

Donna Kelley

Tom Fallin-News Director

Tracy Dent-Orlando's first radio sports talk show host. "Sports Line with Tracy Dent" debuted in the late 1960s. There was no method of screening calls back then, just a seven-second delay button. Tracy interviewed such guests as Mickey Mantle, Richard Petty, Jack Nicklaus and Johnny Unitas. In 1977, while at WDBO he helped start an independent running-shoe store that consultants told him could not possibly succeed. By the time Dent sold his share of the Track Shack in 1983, the Orlando store was a full-blown success, and continues to thrive celebrating 30 years in Orlando. Dent hit the big time in 1979 when he was named evening sports anchor at WDBO-TV Channel 6.  TV took up much more of his time than radio so in 1983, choosing family over fame, Dent retired from broadcasting.



Scott Harris
-News



Bob Hazen-News



Dick Batchelor-Political Consultant 


Kirk Healy


Jamie Dupree
-News

     WDBO
towers and transmitter building
          click photo for full sized view



Marva Hinton
-News  



Nikki Pierce
-News
2008-After a stint at WFLF-AM 540, Nikki returns to WDBO  



Tico Perez-Political consultant Host of "Talkin' with Tico"  

Roger Mann

Donna Howell-News

David Brandau-News

Lee Hall-News Director

Dave Matthews


Eric Brown
-Airborne traffic reporter 

Jack Boston-Accuweather

Steve Craig (Steve Biddle) 



Dutch Shaffer-
Interesting story about his part in the "takeover" of  WDBO-FM 92.3

George McNeilly-News/Sports Reporter



Wayne Trout-News Director for 7 years Biography   In Memory    

Keith Altiero-News Anchor-Keith died Dec 19. 2004 after a two-year  fight with cancer. He was 51. In 2001 he won five awards for his work from the Florida Associated Press and a regional Edward R. Murrow Award for his political reporting.  Biography    In Memory



"Blue Collar" Bob Rose   

Bill Gephart In Memory   
Here's Bill as well as the late Tom Blair

Bill Thompson-News In Memory



Mike
Synan-Afternoon Reporter/Political Reporter

Frank Samandari-Afternoon Reporter-Frank began his news career reporting and producing TV News in Northeastern Vermont. Frank then moved to Southern Ohio, where he was Assistant News Director for six radio stations in the region, followed by a stint as Public Information Officer in San Diego, California, before his final move to Orlando.

Jeff Marshall -Afternoon Anchor        


Michelle Wright
-Reporter/Anchor for both WDBO-AM and WCFB-FM 94.5 "Star 94.5" now at CNN Radio in Atlanta

Mike Murillo -Weekend Anchor-Mike started his radio career at age fifteen, working at WMEL-AM 920 in 1998. Mike became operations manager by age eighteen. In 2002 he hosted "Underground Radio", a weekly talk show. He also produced many of WMEL's local talk shows. Mike serves as producer of the "Andrea Shea King Show" on Sundays, as well as a part time reporter and weekend news anchor on WDBO. Mike is pursuing his degree at UCF.   Biography                



Andrea Shea King-Sunday Nights at 9 PM 

Bill Frangus  

Jim Hession

Dave Carter

Ellen McFarlane-Consumer reporter 

Jim Barroll



Sal Tee
’s Solid Gold Reunion (see WHHL-AM 1190

Bill Berry

Al Spry-Reporter/Producer  Biography  
Levi May-Associate Program Director/Afternoon Producer/Board Operator

                courtesy of Mark Logas

Mike Mundrick-Evening Producer/Board Operator

Jack Kelly-Evening News Anchor 
Natasha Vukelic

Madalyn Woods-News Reporter (Former BET TV Reporter)                               

Tiffany Griffith

Beth Perrell-Public Affairs Director/Host of "Retrospect"

Marcie Elliot-Traffic Reporter

Ron Bison-Traffic Reporter

Glenn Victor-Traffic Reporter

Dave Lopez- Afternoon Traffic Reporter

Andrew Giles-Fill-In Associate Producer for Jim Turner       

John Fusco- Neal Boortz Show Producer

Bobby Mitchell-Nighttime Producer

Larry Gibson

Dave Matthews

Kevin Baldinger-Traffic Biography

Dana James



Mark Williams
 
Biography

Monica Stein

Jamie Jamison-Host of "WDBO's Nightline" 

John Weyrick

Amy Chodroff-Mid-day News Anchor

                                     580 WDBO Weekday Talent Ad (Jeff Slater).jpg (982902 bytes)                580 WDBO Orlando Magic Calendar.jpg (1115710 bytes)

                                                          
courtesy of Mark Logas             click photo for full sized view

 




                 
1985 WDBO News Team
Front Row (left to right): Rebecca Randall, Bill Stamper, Donna Howell.
Back Row (left to right): David Brandau, George McNeilly, Lee Hall (News Director), Jim Barroll, Wayne Weinberg.








Other Names In WDBO History

Arnold "Doc" Schoen, Jr.-1959-VP/General Manager at WDBO AM/FM/TV (Channel 6)

Violet Osborn-Bookkeeper/Secretary

Joseph Sinclair-1963-Chairman of the Board-Outlet Company

David Shurtleff-1963-Vice President-Broadcast Division

Carl Hallberg-1963-Vice President/General Manager/Commercial Manager-Outlet Company

Bill Taylor-1963-Program Director-Outlet Company

Fred Bradshaw-1963-News Director-Outlet Company

Chalmers Stromberg-1963-Chief Engineer-Outlet Company

Robert Barager-1969-Nightly Newscaster/Sales

Tom Kennington-1979-1983



Kipper McGee
-2001-Program Director

Glen Lewis-Program director

Steve Holbrook-Program Director/Operations Manager

David Bernstein-Program Director/Operations Manager

Tom Doyle-Manager

George Crossley-Sales

Steve Fluker-Chief of Engineering-Cox Radio/Orlando 

Susan Larkin-Vice President/General Manager

Paul Duckworth -Program Director

Bill Hendrich-General Manager
Tom Interrante-General Sales Manager
Steve Avellone-National Sales Manager
Rich Mastroberte-Promotions Director


Other Programs Carried by WDBO

Arthur Godfrey  from the CBS Radio Network  
1945-46-Mon-Fri 9:15 AM 1949-50-Mon-Fri 10:15 AM

1946-48-Mon-Fri 9:15 AM & 11 AM 1950-58-Mon-Fri  10:00 AM

Godfrey's Last Program

1958-60--Mon-Fri 9:05 AM 1960-64-Mon-Fri 10:05 AM   
1948-49-Mon-Fri 10:30 AM 1964-72-Mon-Fri 10:00 AM


Paul Harvey

In Memory

Gene  Burns-Syndicated program from WOR-New York Biography



Ray Durkee
's "Sunday at the Memories"
 
In Memory

Larry King-Mutual

Bill O'Reilly-2002-"The O'Reilly Factor"

Rush Limbaugh-syndicated

"Have Gun Will Travel"-broadcast 106 episodes on CBS between 1958 and 1960. It was one of the last radio dramas featuring continuing characters. John Dehner played Paladin. Many episodes were adapted from the TV programs while others were written specifically for the radio version. 
Have Gun Will Travel opening

Tom Snyder and Elliott Forrest-1995-"The Late Late Radio Show"-2AM-5AM


The Outlet Company History
The Outlet Company, was a department store started in 1894 by Joseph and Leon Samuels, located in Providence, Rhode Island. The Outlet Department Store sold clothing and accessories at a discount. In 1963 Outlet would acquire the Cherry Broadcasting Company and WDBO. In November of 1980 the department store, which had grown to occupy an entire city block in downtown Providence, was sold. Outlet Communications was now solely involved in commercial broadcasting.

                                                     Sounds of WDBO
               Thanks to Chris Trenkmann for the sound files. The voices are Tom McCarthy and James Earl Jones.
                                                                 
These are circa 1992-1993

Paul Harvey stager WDBO Newsradio 580 Bottom of the Hour ID  WDBO Newsradio 580
Tom McCarthy Tom McCarthy Tom McCarthy     James Earl Jones


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