WRTR

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title: "WRTR" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["radio-stations-in-alabama", "news-and-talk-radio-stations-in-the-united-states", "radio-stations-established-in-1966", "iheartmedia-radio-stations", "1966-establishments-in-alabama"] topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WRTR" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox radio station"]

Field	Value
name	WRTR
city	Brookwood, Alabama
country	US
area	Tuscaloosa metropolitan area
branding	Talk Radio 105.9
frequency
airdate
format	Conservative talk
erp	25,000 watts
haat	82 m
class	C3
facility_id	48645
coordinates
callsign_meaning	"Roll Tide Roll"
former_callsigns	WACT-FM (1966–1997)
former_frequencies	105.5 MHz (1966–2005)
affiliations	Fox News Radio
owner	iHeartMedia, Inc.
licensee	iHM Licenses, LLC
sister_stations	WACT, WTXT, WZBQ
webcast
website
licensing_authority	FCC
::

WRTR (105.9 FM, "Talk Radio 105.9") is a commercial radio station licensed to Brookwood, Alabama, United States, and serving the Tuscaloosa metropolitan area. Owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. via iHM Licenses, LLC., it features a conservative talk format. Studios are located on 11th Street in Downtown Tuscaloosa.

WRTR's transmitter is located on Hammer Avenue in Holt, Alabama.

History

The station signed on the air on June 1, 1966, as WACT-FM, the sister station to WACT 1420 AM. Its city of license was Tuscaloosa and it broadcast at 105.5 MHz. It was only powered at 1,500 watts, a fraction of its current output.

At first, WACT-FM mostly simulcast the AM station's country music format. It later started airing its own automated country sound. While WACT 1420 AM was a full-service country station, with news, sports and DJs, WACT-FM concentrated on more music and less chatter.

The station changed to the current WRTR on March 31, 1997. The call letters stand for "Roll Tide Roll", which refers to the Crimson Tide, the nickname for University of Alabama sports teams. WRTR played album rock and was known as "Tuscaloosa's Rock Station." In mornings, it carried The Bob and Tom Show, based in Indianapolis. Popular DJ Joe Elvis hosted afternoon drive time beginning in 2002. The Wild Bill Show was heard every weeknight.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/105.9_WRTR.png" caption="Former logo"] ::

In 2000, WRTR and WACT were acquired by San Antonio-based Clear Channel Communications, a forerunner to current owner iHeartMedia. On May 4, 2009, WRTR changed its format to all-talk, simulcasting WACT 1420. The two stations were branded as "Talk Radio 105.9". Then in October 2012, WACT 1420 flipped to comedy radio. That left WRTR 105.9 as an FM talk station, no longer simulcast with 1420 AM.

Programming

WRTR's schedule consists of nationally syndicated conservative talk shows, with a simulcast of Jeff Tyson's morning show from WERC-FM in Birmingham.

References

"WRTR Facility Record". United States [[Federal Communications Commission]], audio division.
"Station Information Profile". [[Arbitron]].
[https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1977/C%20Section%20Radio%20Broadcasting%20Yearbook%201977%20P-6.pdf ''Broadcasting Yearbook 1977'' page C-7. Retrieved March 6, 2025.]
[https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/2010/D-2010-BC-YB-7.pdf ''Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2010'' page D-42. Retrieved March 6, 2025.]
"Alabama Affiliates". Coast to Coast AM.
[https://talkradio1059.iheart.com/schedule/ TalkRadio1059.com/schedule]

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