WBBA To Celebrate 60 Years on FM in August

PITTSFIELD — On August 1, WBBA will celebrate a milestone few local broadcasters can claim — 60 years on the FM dial. The FM signal signed on in 1966, nearly 12 years after WBBA’s original 1580 AM station first began serving the Twin Pikes and Two Rivers Region in 1954. Today, WBBA proudly holds the distinction of being the longest-serving local radio voice in the region, with no other station matching its continuous legacy of service to Pike County and surrounding communities.

The station’s roots trace back to the Moyer brothers, whose original ownership lasted less than a year before WBBA was acquired by the Meyer family’s Pike County Broadcasting Company. Under their stewardship, the station became a community fixture through the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Larry Hanna guided WBBA through much of the 1980s, followed in the 1990s by legendary St. Louis radio personality Gary “Records” Brown, known across the St. Louis market for his work on stations including KADI, KGLD, and KLOU. Even while working full-time in St. Louis radio, Brown maintained ownership of WBBA until his passing.

For many local listeners, WBBA’s identity was closely tied to longtime operators David Fuhler and Jack Hull. Their era of stewardship ended after a falling out that ultimately left Pike County without local radio service. Ownership shifted to Farmers National Bank in Griggsville and later to Doug Smith’s GBI Communications. Smith himself had no ambitions of becoming a broadcaster, instead entrusting the operation to outside management. During that period, local programming disappeared in favor of satellite-delivered rock music, and a failed purchase attempt by another broadcaster led to WBBA going dark entirely for nine months.

That silence ended in March of 2025 when efforts began to bring the station back to life. After months of troubleshooting transmitter issues, missing components critical to the operation were eventually located — reportedly sitting in a bank vault for reasons still not entirely clear. Once the parts were recovered, work accelerated rapidly to restore WBBA to the airwaves.

Current operator Mike Batchelor says the relaunch came with lessons learned. He initially partnered with longtime friend Jim Fishback to revive the station, but admits early decisions missed the mark for local audiences. Music choices and overall direction did not connect with community expectations, leading to a split in direction as Batchelor remained behind to reshape WBBA into a more locally focused station once again.

Now, pending final FCC approval, Batchelor’s company is preparing to officially purchase WBBA from Doug Smith under what he describes as an accommodating agreement designed to keep local radio alive in Pike County. Batchelor credited Smith, Eagle Valley Bank, afternoon host Jim Jacques, and the WBBA staff for believing in the station’s future during a difficult rebuilding process.

As WBBA approaches its 60th anniversary on FM, Batchelor says the station’s mission remains the same as it was generations ago — serving the Twin Pikes and Two Rivers Region with local news, sports, weather, information, and community connection while continuing to move the station forward into its next chapter.