View source for WHO (AM)

{{Short description|Clear-channel news/talk radio station in Des Moines, Iowa}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox radio station
| name                = WHO
| logo                = WHO NewsRadio 1040 logo.svg
| city                = [[Des Moines, Iowa]]
| country             = US
| area                = [[Des Moines metropolitan area]]
| frequency           = 1040 [[kHz]]
| branding            = NewsRadio 1040 WHO
| languages           = [[American English|English]]
| format              = [[News/talk]]
| affiliations        = {{ubl|[[Fox News Radio]]|[[Premiere Networks]]|[[Westwood One]]|[[University of Iowa|Hawkeyes Sports Radio Network]]}}
| owner               = [[iHeartMedia, Inc.]]
| licensee            = iHM Licenses, LLC
| sister_stations     = [[KCYZ]], [[KDRB]], [[KKDM]], [[KXNO-FM]], [[KXNO (AM)|KXNO]], [[KASI]]
| airdate             = {{start date and age|1924|4|10}}
| former_frequencies = {{ubl|570 kHz (1924–1927)<ref name=new>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.319510008420265&seq=325 "New Stations"], ''Radio Service Bulletin'', May 1, 1924, page 3.</ref>|560 kHz (1927–[[General Order 40|1928]])|1000 kHz (1928–[[North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement#March 29, 1941 implementation|1941]])}}<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.c021003683&view=1up&seq=240 "Revised list of broadcasting stations, by frequencies, effective 3 a. m., November 11, 1928, eastern standard time"], ''Second Annual Report of the Federal Radio Commission for the Year Ended June 30, 1928, Together With Supplemental Report for the Period From July 1, 1928, to September 30, 1928'', page 204.</ref>
| licensing_authority = [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]]
| facility_id         = 51331
| class               = A
| power               = 50,000 watts
| coordinates         = {{ubl|{{coord|41|39|10|N|93|21|1|W|type:landmark_region:US-IA|display=inline, title}} (main antenna)|{{coord|41|39|10|N|93|21|7|W|type:landmark_region:US-IA|name=WHO (auxiliary)}} (auxiliary antenna)}}
| repeaters           = {{Radio Relay|100.3|[[KDRB|KDRB-HD2]]|Des Moines}}
| webcast             = {{IHeartRadio|url=https://www.iheart.com/live/1040-who-925/}}
| website             = {{url|https://whoradio.iheart.com/}}
}}
'''WHO''' (1040 [[kHz]] "Newsradio 1040") is a commercial [[AM broadcasting|AM]] radio station in [[Des Moines, Iowa]], United States. The station is owned by [[iHeartMedia]] and carries a conservative [[news/talk]] [[radio format]], with studios on Grand Avenue in Des Moines.

WHO broadcasts with 50,000 watts, the maximum power permitted for AM stations in the United States. It uses a [[non-directional antenna]] from a [[transmitter]] site on 148th Street South in [[Mitchellville, Iowa]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?sr=Y&s=C&call=who&nav=home|title=WHO-AM 1040 kHz - Des Moines, IA|website=radio-locator.com}}</ref> WHO programming is also heard on the second [[HD Radio]] [[digital subchannel]] of co-owned [[KDRB]] (100.3 FM), and the station is Iowa's primary entry point station for the [[Emergency Alert System]].

WHO dates back to the early days of broadcasting and is a [[List of North American broadcast station classes|Class A]] [[clear-channel station]]. The station is one of only two 50,000-watt AM radio stations in Iowa. The other is [[KXEL]] in [[Waterloo, Iowa|Waterloo]]. However, WHO was originally a Class I-A, while KXEL was given Class I-B status, requiring a [[directional antenna]] at night, to avoid interfering with the other Class I-B station on 1540, [[ZNS-1]] in [[Nassau, Bahamas]]. Due to WHO's high power and Iowa's flat land (with excellent soil conductivity), it has an  unusually large daytime coverage area, equivalent to a full-power FM station. It provides at least secondary coverage to almost all of Iowa, as well as parts of [[Illinois]], [[Missouri]], [[Nebraska]], [[Kansas]], [[Wisconsin]], [[Minnesota]] and [[South Dakota]].  At night, it can be heard at night across much of North America with a good radio, but is strongest in the Central United States.

==Programming==
Weekdays on WHO begin with a three-hour news and information program, ''The WHO Morning Show''. Two local hosts have talk shows on weekdays, [[Jeff Angelo]] in late mornings and [[Simon Conway]] in afternoon [[drive time]]. The rest of the schedule is made up of [[radio syndication|nationally syndicated]] programs, mostly from co-owned [[Premiere Networks]]: ''[[The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show]], [[The Sean Hannity Show]], [[Lee Habeeb|Our American Stories with Lee Habeeb]], [[Coast to Coast AM]] with [[George Noory]]'' and ''[[America in the Morning]]'' with John Trout.

Saturdays begin with a local show, ''Saturday Morning Live'' with Dave Bohl. Syndicated weekend programs include ''[[The Kim Komando Show]], [[Armstrong & Getty]], [[Bill Cunningham (talk show host)|Sunday Nights with Bill Cunningham]], [[Michael L. Brown|The Weekend with Michael Brown]]'', and ''[[The Ramsey Show]] with [[Dave Ramsey]]''. Programs on investing, health, technology, pets and religion are also heard, some of which are paid [[brokered programming]]. Most hours begin with an update from [[Fox News Radio]].

===Sports===
WHO has been the longtime [[flagship station]] of [[University of Iowa#Athletics|University of Iowa sports]]. [[Jim Zabel]], who joined WHO in 1944,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.whoradio.com/pages/about/staff/index.html?feed=121651&article=371669 |title=Newsradio 1040 WHO |website=whoradio.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716023145/http://www.whoradio.com/pages/about/staff/index.html?feed=121651&article=371669 |archive-date=July 16, 2011}}</ref> was the [[play-by-play]] voice for [[University of Iowa#Football|Hawkeyes football]] and [[Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball|basketball]] games from 1949 to 1996. That is when the University of Iowa licensed exclusive rights to do radio play-by-play to Learfield Sports, which picked Gary Dolphin as the play-by-play announcer for Hawkeyes men's and [[University of Iowa#Women's basketball|women's basketball]].

===State Fair===
WHO broadcasts its local shows from the [[Iowa State Fair]] for the duration of that event.

==History==
===Early years===
WHO began broadcasting on April 10, 1924.<ref>[https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1977/C%20Section%20Radio%20Broadcasting%20Yearbook%201977%20P-6.pdf#page=76 "Iowa Radio: Des Moines] (WHO entry), ''Broadcasting Yearbook'' (1977 edition), page C-76.</ref> The station was originally owned by Bankers Life, which is now the [[Principal Financial Group]]. Since January 1923 most radio stations in Iowa have been assigned [[call sign]]s starting with "K", so WHO is unusual in starting with "W", normally reserved for stations located east of the [[Mississippi River]].<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015050612020&view=1up&seq=479 "'K' Calls Are Western"], ''The Wireless Age'', April 1923, page 25.</ref> WHO dates back to a period when new call signs generally were four letters, from a sequential list, but sometimes were only three letters long. Because its call letters were issued outside of the pattern normally employed at the time,<ref name=new/> there has been speculation that they might have been chosen to stand for "We Help Others"<ref>[https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Early-Radio/Call-Book-1925-Spring-a.pdf#page=18 "Telephone Broadcasting Stations for the United States"] (WHO entry), ''Citizens Radio Callbook'', Spring 1925, page 16.</ref> or the question "Who?". For many years, WHO has used an owl as its mascot, a play on its call letters, pronounced like an owl's call. 
	
[[File:WOC-WHO radio advertisement (1933).jpg|thumb|200px|Advertisement for consolidated WOC-WHO (1933)<ref>[https://archive.org/details/broadcasting04unse/page/n226/mode/1up "WOC-WHO"] (advertisement), ''Broadcasting'', April 1, 1933, page 21.</ref>]]
The original studios were on the top floor of the Liberty Building in downtown Des Moines.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=18905 |title=Liberty Building, Des Moines |publisher=SkyscraperPage.com |accessdate=May 2, 2022}}</ref> After the [[Federal Radio Commission|FRC]]'s [[General Order 40]] reallocated frequencies in 1928, WHO was assigned to 1000 kHz on a time-sharing basis with [[WOC (AM)|WOC]] in [[Davenport, Iowa|Davenport]].

In late 1929, the Central Broadcasting Company was formed with [[B. J. Palmer]] as chairman. This company purchased both WOC and WHO, which were then synchronized to simultaneously broadcast identical programs on their shared frequency, each using a 5 kilowatt transmitter. In April 1932, a 50&nbsp;kilowatt transmitter, located near [[Mitchellville, Iowa]] and close to Des Moines, went into service, and the separate transmitters were replaced by this single transmitter, with the two stations now combined under a dual identity as WOC-WHO.<ref>''Education's Own Stations'' (Palmer School of Chiropractic section) by S. E. Frost, Jr., 1937, page 316.</ref> (WOC was restored as a station separate from WHO in November 1934, when the Palmer School purchased station KICK in [[Carter Lake, Iowa]], which was moved to Davenport, and its call sign changed to WOC.)

Through most of its early years, WHO was a [[network affiliate]] of the [[NBC Red Network]], broadcasting comedies, dramas, game shows, soap operas, sports and [[big band]]s. WHO moved from 1000 AM to the current 1040 on March 29, 1941, as a result of the [[North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement]] (NARBA).

===WHO-FM and WHO-TV===
In 1948, WHO-FM (100.3) signed on the air. Originally WHO-FM [[simulcast]] most of the programming heard on 1040 AM. In 1967, WHO-FM switched to classical music and [[beautiful music]]. The FM station has changed formats and call letters several times since then and now broadcasts as [[KDRB]], "100.3 The Bus". In 1954, [[WHO-TV]] began broadcasting on channel 13. Because WHO radio was a long-time affiliate of NBC Radio, the TV station also affiliated with the NBC Television Network.

WHO was continuously owned by the Palmer family for more than 70 years, until [[Jacor|Jacor Broadcasting]] purchased the station in 1997. Jacor merged with Clear Channel Communications (now [[iHeartMedia]]) a year later. WHO and the other Clear Channel radio stations in Des Moines ([[KXNO-FM|KDRB]], [[KKDM]], [[KDRB|KLYF]], and [[KXNO (AM)|KXNO]]) continued to share a building with WHO-TV until moving into a new facility in 2005.

==Alumni==
[[Herb Plambeck]] was a farm reporter for many years from 1936 to 1976.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://findingaids.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/arch/rgrp/21-07-042.pdf |title=Herbert Plambeck (1908–2001) Papers, 1920-2001 |website=Iowa State University Special Collections Department |access-date=November 1, 2021}}</ref> Talk-show host [[Steve Deace]] started his broadcast career at WHO.<ref name="CalmesMedia">{{cite news |last1=Calmes |first1=Jackie |title=Steve Deace and the Power of Conservative Media |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/08/magazine/steve-deace-and-the-power-of-conservative-radio.html |access-date=November 5, 2018 |work=[[The New York Times Magazine]] |date=November 3, 2015}}</ref>

Until his death in 2013, [[Jim Zabel]] remained with WHO as co-host (with Jon Miller of ''HawkeyeNation'') of the ''Sound Off'' sports talk show that aired on Saturdays during Hawkeyes seasons, and as co-host of ''Two Guys Named Jim'' on Sunday nights with former [[Iowa State University]] football coach [[Jim Walden]].

===Ronald Reagan===
[[File:Ronald Reagan as a WHO Radio announcer in Des Moines, Iowa.jpg|thumb|210px|[[Ronald Reagan]] working for WHO in the mid-1930s]]
Future United States President [[Ronald Reagan]] worked as a sportscaster with WHO from 1932 to 1937.<ref>{{harvnb|Cannon|2003|pp=40, 52}}</ref> Among his duties were re-creations of [[Chicago Cubs]] [[Major League Baseball|baseball]] games. Reagan received details over a [[teleprinter]] for each play and would speak as if he were live from the stadium, improvising details such as facial expressions of players or the color of the sky. This practice was common prior to television.<ref>{{harvnb|Cannon|2003|p=43}}</reF>

Around 1935, Reagan became a host on a WHO news show featuring commentary by [[H. R. Gross]], who would later be elected to the [[United States House of Representatives]] for [[Iowa's 3rd congressional district]] in 1948. On that show, Reagan also interviewed such celebrities as [[Leslie Howard]] and [[Aimee Semple McPherson]].<ref>{{harvnb|Cannon|2003|p=46}}</reF><ref>{{cite web|url=https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/G000495|title=Gross, Harold Royce|work=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|publisher=U.S. Congress|accessdate=November 28, 2023}}</reF>

==References==
;Works cited
* {{cite book|last=Cannon|first=Lou|title=Governor Reagan: His Rise to Power|place=New York|publisher=PublicAffairs|year=2003|isbn=1-58648-030-8}}
* {{cite book|last=Stein|first=Jeff|title=Making Waves: The People and Places of Iowa Broadcasting|isbn=0-9718323-1-5|place=Cedar Rapids, Iowa|publisher=WDG Communications|year=2004}}
;Notes
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{Official website|https://whoradio.iheart.com/}}
{{AM station data|51331|WHO}}
* {{Cite web|url= https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=60463 |title= History Cards for WHO|publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]]}} ([[Wikipedia:WikiProject Radio Stations/History Cards|Guide to reading History Cards]])<!--Converted from {{FCC letter}}--> (covering 1927-1980)
* [https://www.desmoinesbroadcasting.com/who/who-main.html WHO radio historical artifacts] from DesMoinesBroadcasting.com
* [https://www.oldradio.com/archives/stations/ccs/whopix.htm WHO-Tour of Transmitter and History]

{{Des Moines radio}}
{{News/Talk Radio Stations in Iowa}}
{{Clear Channel AM}}
{{IHeartMedia}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1924 establishments in Iowa]]
[[Category:Clear-channel radio stations]]
[[Category:IHeartMedia radio stations]]
[[Category:News and talk radio stations in the United States]]
[[Category:Radio stations established in 1924]]
[[Category:Radio stations in Des Moines, Iowa|μWHO]]