According to FCC regulations, legal station identification consists of the station's call letters followed by the location of the station. Nothing can be placed between the call letters and the city of license, with the exception of the name of the licensee and/or the station's frequency or channel number. Station identification regulations (Section 73.12.01) are found in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 47, Part 73, Subpart H­ "Rules Applicable to All Broadcast Stations."

     Current policy assigns call letters east of the Mississippi River with a beginning Wand those west of the Mississippi with a K. All modern call signs consist of the appropriate beginning letter plus three additional letters, and they can have a suffix, such as -AM or -FM, to denote the actual type of radio station. At one time, the FCC would not release objectionable call letter combinations; even the "mild" SEX combination was withheld. However, during the deregulatory 1980s, the FCC became less concerned about this and deferred to the courts in disputes regarding call signs that might be objectionable or too similar to other station's.

     In the late 1990s the procedures regarding the designation of call letters were altered when the FCC replaced the existing manual system with an on-line system for electronic submission of requests for new or modified call signs. Through the FCC's website (www.fcc.gov), stations can determine the availability of call letters, request specific call letters or modify an existing call sign, and determine and submit the appropriate fees.

Historical Origins

     The concept of radio station identification has its roots in the maritime industry, for which an International Code of Signals noted in the 18 50s that signal flags, which included letters, were to be used to identify vessels. As radio, or rather wireless, developed in the late 1890s and early 1900s, telegraph operators used informal, one- or two-letter call signs as a condensed way to identify their stations. The 1906 Berlin International Wireless Telegraph Convention attempted to formalize a system of three-letter call signs, but at the time there was little cooperation. Individual wireless operators or wireless companies merely chose their own identification, which often consisted of one or two letters or a combination of letters and numbers with little consideration for duplicate calls.

     The 1912 London International Radiotelegraphic Convention continued to formalize a system of station identification that was the beginning of the K and W series assigned to U.S. ships; other letters were assigned to vessels from other nations. The Radio Act of 1912. gave responsibility for licensing of U.S. ships and shore radio stations to the Bureau of Navigation in the Department of Commerce. Call signs were designated as a three-letter random sequence, with K calls for the west and W calls for the east. What would become early "radio stations" actually fell under the status of Amateur and Special Land Stations, which had a different call-sign system. Nine Radio Inspection Districts were established, and call letters were assigned with the District Number plus two alphabetic letters, such as 6XE, 9XM, or 8MK.

     As more and more stations went on the air, the international agreements of 1912. were employed for all stations, and many pioneer radio stations were assigned three-letter K or W call letters. The dividing line for K and W stations was originally the eastern state boundaries of New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana; however, this was moved to the Mississippi River in early 192.3. Existing stations were allowed to keep their previously assigned call letters. Because of this change and a few quirky assignments, some pioneer stations do not follow the current KIW demarcation, notably KDKA in Pittsburgh, KYW in Philadelphia, and WOW in Omaha. The move to four-letter call signs took place in the early 192.os as the number of radio stations coming on the air escalated rapidly and additional call letters were needed.

Call Letters Used to Promote Station Image

     Although early call letter combinations were merely random assignments, many modern call signs have been carefully chosen and have a specific context for the particular station. In fact, many stations trademark their call signs. In addition to being the legal identification for a radio station, call letters have become an important artistic or imaging statement used to help market the station. From WAAA (Winston-Salem, North Carolina) to KZZZ (Bullhead City, Arizona), stations have tried to dream up memorable call signs. Even a casual examination of radio call letters will reveal several categories that these station identifiers fall into.

     Many stations use their call letters to recognize a current or past station owner or licensee. KABC (Los Angeles) and WCBS (New York) denote the network organization associated with each station. Chicago's WGN stands for "World's Greatest Newspaper," which in turn refers to The Chicago Tribune and the station owner, the Tribune Company. KLBJ (AM) and (FM) licensee, The LBJS Broadcasting Company in Austin, Texas, recognizes owner and former first lady Lady Bird Johnson.

     Besides the station licensee, a station's format offers a logi­cal reason to request a certain set of call letters. For example, WINS (New York) stands for the basic programming elements of "information, news, and sports." Just as WJZZ (Roswell, Georgia; Smooth Jazz) and WHTZ (Newark, New Jersey; Top 40/Hits) readily describe music formats, WFAN (New York) is the monogram for an all-sports station. WGOD (Charlotte Amalie, Virgin Islands) makes it pretty clear it's a religious station; however, you need to know that WBFC (Stanton, Ken­ tucky) stands for "We Broadcast For Christ." And if you really just don't want to bother with a format description, you could be like WGR (Buffalo, New York) and be the "World's Greatest Radio" station.

     From dogs (WDOG, Allendale, South Carolina) and cats (KCAT, Pine Bluff, Arkansas) to frogs (WFRG, Utica, New York) and pigs (KPIG, Freedom, California), station call letters that denote animals are quite common. Even less ordinary beasts make an appearance with WFOX (Gainesville, Georgia); Chandler, Arizona's camel, KMLE; and KEGL, the Eagle, in Fort Worth, Texas. Animal-based call signs are not only memorable, but they make it easy for the station to add an appropriate mascot to their marketing efforts. Even the lowly WORM (Savannah, Tennessee) is accounted for, and the human species isn't left out either, with KMAN (Manhattan, Kansas); KBOY (Medford, Oregon), and WGRL (Noblesville, Indiana).

     A station's location-either its city of license or its frequency-has been a prevalent theme for clever call letters. WARE-found in Ware, Massachusetts-is the only current set of call letters that is exactly the same as the city of license. For a number of years WACO in Waco, Texas, was another, but radio station WACO is now KKTK (although there is still a WACO-FM in Waco). Stations in cities of more than four letters have had to settle for using just the first few letters, so we find WPRO in Providence, Rhode Island; WORC in Worcester, Massachusetts; KSTP in St. Paul, Minnesota; and KSL in Salt Lake City, Utah. AM stations using frequency-based call signs, especially at the upper end of the band, include WTOP (Washington, D.C.) near the "top" of the dial at 1500 and WXVI in Montgomery, Alabama, at 1600. KIO! (San Francisco) is found at 101.3 FM, and near the end of the FM band at 106.5 is KEND in Roswell, New Mexico.

     Many radio stations request call letters that help define a characteristic of the locale where the station is found. Pioneer station WSB in Atlanta stands for "Welcome South, Brother." KABL refers to San Francisco's cable car; KSPD to Boise, Idaho's potato or "spud"; and in what better market than Detroit would you find station WCAR? Cow country territory gives us KATL (Miles City, Montana), WCOW (Sparta, Wisconsin), and KMOO (Mineola, Texas). You could also do a weather forecast with call signs-from WSUN (Tampa, Florida) and WSNO (Barre, Vermont) to KICY (Nome, Alaska) and KFOG (San Francisco). There's also WWET (Valdosta, Georgia), KORY (Alamo Heights, Texas), and WIND (Chicago).

     Finally, there is another group of call signs that are colorful because the sound or spelling of the letter combination is memorable. For example, there is a WHAK (Rogers City, Michi­ gan), a WHAM (Rochester, New York), and a WOMP (Bellaire, Ohio), as well as a KRAK (Hesperia, California), a KICK (Palmyra, Missouri), and a KPOW (Powell Wyoming). Broadcast journalists will be pleased to learn there is a WHO (Des Moines, Iowa), a WHAT (Philadelphia), a WHEN (Syracuse, New York), a WHER (Heidelberg, Mississippi), and a WHYY (Philadelphia).

     Maybe all this call letter image information is making you think WOW (Omaha) and WWEE (McMinnville, Tennessee), but there are many more creative call signs yet to be devised. With a K or W combined with three other alphabetic letters, there are over 3 5,ooo unique call letter combinations possible, which is almost three times as many as there are current radio stations.