WSOY (AM)


WSOY is a commercial AM radio station broadcasting a news talk format. Licensed to Decatur, Illinois, the station is owned by Neuhoff Corp., through licensee Neuhoff Media Decatur, LLC. Neuhoff owns four other local radio stations, WCZQ, WDZ, WDZQ and WSOY-FM. Studios and offices are located on North Water Street and the transmitter is near St. Louis Bridge Road, sharing the same tower as WDZ. WSOY operates at 1,000 watts, day and night.

History

The call letters "WSOY" refer to Decatur's nickname as "The Soy City," with soybeans a major agricultural crop in the region. The station is one of the oldest in Central Illinois, going on the air in 1925.
The station originally held the call sign WJBL and was owned by the William Gushard Dry Goods Company. Its studios and transmitter were in the Gushard Building at 301 N. Water St. The station originally operated at 1110 kHz, moving to 1410 kHz in 1927, and 1200 kHz in 1928. While broadcasting at 1200 kHz, the station shared time on the frequency with WJBC. In 1929, Commodore Broadcasting was formed and took ownership of WJBL, and the station's studios were moved to the Hotel Orlando. In 1934, the studios returned to the Gushard Building.
In 1937, the Herald & Review purchased a minority stake in the station, and on July 27, 1939 they purchased a controlling interest. On November 12, 1939, the station's call sign was changed to WSOY. Around the same time its frequency was changed to 1310 kHz, its power was increased from 100 watts to 250 watts, and the station began operating 24 hours a day. In 1941 its frequency was changed to 1340 kHz. In 1962, the station's daytime power was increased to 1,000 watts. In 1985, the station's nighttime power was increased to 1,000 watts. In 1986, the station was purchased by Trumper Communications, and in 1988 Pinnacle Broadcasting purchased the station, along with WSOY-FM, for $8,435,000.
For many years, the station aired an MOR format, with farm and news programming as well. In 1992, the station adopted a news talk format. In 2000, the station was sold to NextMedia Group. The station would later be sold to Archway Broadcasting in 2006, Tom Joyner in 2007, and Neuhoff Communications in 2008. In 2017, WSOY's programming began to be rebroadcast on a translator at 103.3 MHz.

Programming

WSOY airs both local programming and nationally syndicated shows. Weekdays begin at 5 a.m. with America in The Morning followed by an agricultural show, R.F.D. Illinois at 5:30. At 6 a.m., it's the long-running wake-up show Byers & Company with host Brian Byers. At 9 a.m., it's Brian Kilmeade, followed at 11 a.m. by Rush Limbaugh. Sean Hannity airs at 2 p.m. Mike Gallagher is broadcast at 6 p.m. followed by Jim Bohannon at 9 p.m. Overnight, WSOY carries Coast to Coast AM with George Noory.