Green Bay Broadcast Station History:

April 1925 - Green Bay/ Brown County's first radio station, WHBY goes on the air.  Started by the Norbertine Fathers.

July 1935 - The Norbertine's purchase the WTAQ station (originally in Eau Claire started in 1922) and move it to De Pere to obtain a higher power station license. WHBY is moved to Appleton.  By 1949 the WTAQ call letters are changed to WBAY-AM.

May 1947 - Ben Laird founds Green Bay Broadcasting and starts WDUZ-AM.

August 1947 WJPG-AM 810 AM Started by the Journal Press Gazette (Green Bay Newspaper Company) at the same time as their FM.  It changes to 1440 AM in Dec 1951.

August 1947 - Green Bay's first FM station WJPG goes on the air. (14,400 watts, 325 ft tower)  Started by the Journal Press Gazette (Green Bay Newspaper Company).  101.1 FM  Elmo Reed is the Chief Engineer.  It goes defunct by 1954, as it's too early for FM yet.

March 1953 - WBAY-TV, Green Bay's first TV station.  Started by the Norbertine Fathers.

November 1954 - Neenah Menasha Broadcasting Company begins broadcasting as Channel 5 on Scray's hill leasing the tower of the former WJPG-FM.  Harry Hill is the Chief Engineer.  It started as WNAM-TV ch 42 in Chilton.

August 1959 - WLUK-TV Channel 11 moves from Marinette to Green Bay.  (Started as WMBV-TV in 1954)

December 1960 - WBAY FM (101.1 MHz)  is the first successful FM radio station again started by the Norbertine Fathers.

August. 7, 1967 - Packers quarterback Bart Starr helps a Green Bay radio station unveil its new call letters. WJPG, then still owned by the Press-Gazette, becomes WNFL.

September 1972 - WPNE public television comes to life.  It started as WHKW in Chilton (same location as WNAM-TV)

August 1974 - WGBW, UWGB's student run radio station begins broadcasting.  The transmitter is atop the library.  In 1993 the transmitter is moved to Scray's hill.  In 1996 the station is sold.

September 1975 - The Norbertine Fathers sell all radio assets due a pending FCC requirements concerning the number of media outlets owned by one entity.  WBAY-FM became WIXX, WBAY-AM, became WGEE in 1975.  WHBY was sold to Telegraph-Herald Inc (Robert Woodward, vice president).  They sold WBAY-AM and WBAY-FM station to Midwest Communications/Duke Wright.  WBAY-TV, was sold to Nationwide Communications (which operated the station until 1993, when it was sold to Young Broadcasting .)

February 1976 - Green Bay Premontre High School's low power station, WGBP is started by Clayton Toonen, it ends in 1990 when Premontre becomes Notre Dame.

January 1980 - WLRE-TV Channel 26, Green Bay's 5th TV station, goes on the air.  By 1985 it became WGBA

September 1981 - WDUZ founder Ben Laird passes away.  He founded WDUZ in 1947 though the Green Bay Broadcasting Company.  The station was originally located downtown in the Nicolet Building. They added a FM station in 1967.

March 5, 1984 - WXGZ-TV 32 signed on.  February 10, 1992 is goes dark due to bankruptcy. Lyle Evans found the station a new owner and the station signed back on in June 1994 as WACY.

Oct 1984, WJLW, 95.9 MHz started by Jack Le Duc (American Communications Company), tower at I-43 and Mason St.  Power bump from 3,000 watts to 25,000 in 1992.  Sold to Woodward in 1995 and becomes WKSZ (Kiss-FM), Le Duc acquires 106.7.

December 1984 - WDUZ's tower insulator cracks and prompts an evacuation of the immediate area.

March 1994, Passing of Cletus J. Collom who built Green Bay's first radio station WHBY. He also founded Weltronics Company, a resistive welding controls pioneer.  He developed the Magnaflux process and the first walkie-talkie for the U.S. Army.

March 2006 - Passing of Lyle Evans who started Green Bay's first UHF TV station in December 1980.

December 2014 - Passing of Elmo W. Reed the engineer behind Green Bay' first FM station WJPG-FM.

 

1938: https://archive.org/stream/radioannual193800radi#page/394/mode/2up

1949: https://archive.org/stream/radioannualtelev00radi#page/678/mode/2up

1951: https://archive.org/stream/radioannualtel00radi#page/702/mode/2up

1952: https://archive.org/stream/radioannualte00radi#page/694/mode/2up

1954: https://archive.org/stream/radioannual00radi#page/648/mode/2up
1955: https://archive.org/stream/radioannua00radi#page/662/mode/2up (TV)
1956: https://archive.org/stream/radioannu00radi#page/662/mode/2up (TV)
1957: https://archive.org/stream/radioann00radi#page/658/mode/2up (TV)
1958: https://archive.org/stream/radioan00radi#page/660/mode/2up (TV)
1959: https://archive.org/stream/radioa00radi#page/662/mode/2up (TV)
1960: https://archive.org/stream/radio00radi#page/606/mode/2up (TV)
1961: https://archive.org/stream/radi00radi#page/608/mode/2up (TV)

1964: https://archive.org/stream/r00radi#page/432/mode/2up (TV)

1970: https://archive.org/details/1970BroadcastYearbook/page/n421 (TV)
1970 Radio: http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1970/B%20Radio%20All%20BC%20YB%201970%20All-3.pdf (page 221)
1970 TV: http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1970/A%20Television%20BC%20YB%201970%20All-3.pdf (page 70)

1975: https://archive.org/details/1975BroadcastYearbook/page/n459 (TV)


1975 Radio: http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1975/C%201975%20Radio.pdf (page 212)
1975 TV: http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1975/B%201975%20TV.pdf (page 141)

1980: https://archive.org/details/1980BroadcastYearbook/page/n531  (TV)
1980 Radio: http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1980/C%20Radio%20Broadcasting%20Yearbook%201980.pdf (page 254)
1980 TV: http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1980/B%20Television%20Broadcasting%20Yearbook%201980.pdf (page 138)

			WBAY-TV			WFRV-TV			WLUK-TV
1955 Owned-Op by:	Norbertine Fathers		
1955 Gen Mgr		Haydn R. Evans		
1955 Chief Eng		Wallace Stangel		
			
			
1956 Owned-Op by:	Norbertine Fathers	Valley Telecasting Co.	
1956 Gen Mgr		Haydn R. Evans		Don C. Wirth	
1956 Chief Eng		Wallace Stone		
			
			
1957 Owned-Op by:	Norbertine Fathers	Valley Telecasting Co.	
1957 Gen Mgr		Haydn R. Evans		Soren M. Munkhof	
1957 Chief Eng		Wallace Stone		Harry Hill	
			
			
1958 Owned-Op by:	Norbertine Fathers	Valley Telecasting Co.	
1958 Gen Mgr		Haydn R. Evans		Soren M. Munkhof	
1958 Chief Eng		Wallace Stone		Harry Hill	
			
			
1960 Owned-Op by:	Norbertine Fathers	Valley Telecasting Co.	M&M Broadcasting Co Inc.
1960 Gen Mgr		Haydn R. Evans		Soren M. Munkhof	J.D. Mackin
1960 Chief Eng		Wallace Stone		Harry Hill		Al S. Alexander
			
			
1961 Owned-Op by:	Norbertine Fathers	WAVE Inc.		M&M Broadcasting Co Inc.
1961 Gen Mgr		Haydn R. Evans		Jack Gennaro		Raymoud W. Grandle
1961 Chief Eng		Wallace Stangel		Harry Hill		Al S. Alexander