• Source: WISR

WISR (680 AM) is a commercial radio station that is licensed to Butler, Pennsylvania. The station was the first to go on the air in Butler County, doing so on September 26, 1941. The station was the last to be granted a broadcast license before the FCC halted the licensing of any additional stations until after World War II.
It has always broadcast on AM 680 with a maximum power output of 250 Watts, non-directional. WISR had operated as a daytime-only station until it was granted limited nighttime power in the late 1980s.
The station has a construction permit for an FM translator (W298CW) that would allow it to operate at 107.5 MHz. The permit was granted January 25, 2018. The FM translator officially signed on air September 28, 2021, making WISR available on both the AM and FM bands, and was licensed effective October 15, 2021.
After more than two decades of ownership under the Butler County Radio Network, WISR was sold to Pittsburgh Radio Partners on September 2, 2022. After less than two months, St. Barnabas Broadcasting announced that it would acquire WISR and its affiliate stations from Pittsburgh Radio Partners. The purchase was consummated on February 14, 2023, at a price of $2.55 million.




History






= First in Butler County: a family affair

=
WISR was the brainchild of local businessman David Rosenblum, who felt that the community could use a local radio station to promote its community and events. Naming the station after his father, Isaac Samuel Rosenblum, David Rosenblum managed the station and sold airtime, with his wife Georgia keeping the books. The couple continued to operate the radio station until their deaths during the early 1950s. It was at that time that the Rosenblums' son Joel, assumed the operations of WISR.
Joel Rosenblum's brother Ray later owned and managed a station of his own some 25 miles to the east, known as AM 1380 WACB (now WKFO) Kittanning.
WISR, like most other small-town stations, offered a mixture of both programs and music. One popular program was a buy-sell-trade program, "The Phone Party," that was hosted by advertising sales representative Guy Travaglio, who left the station in the 1990s to pursue a career in politics. Midday on-air personality Pat Parker took over the show.
Another popular program was "The Larry Berg Show," hosted by another advertising sales rep, Larry Berg, who joined WISR after completing a fourteen-year tenure as owner of then-competitor present-affiliate stations WBUT and WLER-FM. Berg's show continued until his retirement on February 1, 2001. The show was renamed "It's Your Turn" and today is hosted by morning show host Dave Malarkey.
Most low-powered daytime-only radio stations were granted permission by the FCC to begin limited nighttime power operations in 1988. WISR was one of these stations, and prior to the nighttime authorization, had never used satellite technology on the air, relying on world and national news via UPI wire service. After nighttime power was granted, WISR signed an affiliation agreement with CBS news, introducing satellite technology to its listeners.




= 1997: duopoly sale

=
Joel Rosenblum continued to operate WISR out of its original studio on North Main Street in downtown Butler until 1997, when he agreed to sell the station to Brandon Communications Systems, Incorporated. That company, headed by Robert C. Brandon and his brother Ronald, was the licensee of WISR's crosstown competitor, WBUT and WLER-FM, which first signed on the air in 1949.
Prior to the sale, WISR had programmed a format of both talk and adult contemporary music. In an effort to make the three stations compete less with each other, Brandon Communications switched the format from adult contemporary to one of MOR and easy listening music.
The station, which had progressed very little in terms of technology up to this point, invested in computerized hard-disk audio, provided by DCS.
WLER-FM evolved out of the former FM license that had been issued to WISR. The station had been originally known as WISR-FM until the Rosenblum ownership returned the license to the FCC, failing to make a go with it in these early years of FM. The license was recovered by WBUT's ownership years later.
Larry Berg, the former owner of competitor WBUT-AM-FM from 1964 until 1978, resurfaced at WISR a few years later, where he hosted his own afternoon talk show and sold airtime.




= Brandon ownership era ends

=

Brandon Communications Systems then changed its name to the Butler County Radio Network soon after the acquisition of WISR. A few years later, the Brandon brothers, one by one, sold their interests in the station to another ownership group made up of four local entrepreneurs, but the Butler County Radio Network remained the name of the licensee. In 2003, WISR moved from its longtime location at 357 North Main Street to a new location on Hollywood Drive in Pullman Commerce Center, located on the south edge of Butler just off Route 8 south, sharing space with WBUT and WLER. In late 2013, the trio of radio stations then moved from Pullman Center to its current location on Pillow Street.




WISR today


WISR's current format is a mixture of news, talk, sports, and classic hits music, and continues its affiliation with the CBS radio network, which it has maintained since being granted nighttime power. It is also Butler County's exclusive radio home to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Knoch High School sports. Longtime personalities Dave Malarkey and Pat Parker have each been with WISR for many years, with Malarkey first joining the station in 1973, and Parker in 1987.




External links


Facility details for Facility ID 7900 (WISR) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
WISR in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
• Source: Wisr

Wisr (ASX: WZR) is an Australian non-bank lender offering consumer lending services. It was known for being the first company of its type to be publicly listed in Australia. In March 2018, DirectMoney launched a major company rebrand to Wisr.




History


In March 2018 DirectMoney Finance Pty Ltd rebranded to Wisr Finance Pty Ltd and began an entirely new business model. In 2017 the company had ceased peer-to-peer lending, originating a wholesale off-balance sheet loan funding facility with 255 Finance.
In August 2018, Wisr launched Australia's first credit score comparison site, WisrCredit.
In March 2019, the company launched the Wisr App, Australia's first app that lets the user round-up digital spare change to pay down debt such as credit cards.
In March 2019, Wisr undertook a $15 million capital raise through Placement shares.
In November 2019, the NAB-backed Wisr Warehouse loan funding facility went live with an initial $50 million commitment. The Wisr Warehouse was increased from $95 million to $150 million in July 2020, $250 million in October 2020 and then $350 million in March 2021.
In January 2020, Wisr undertook a $36.5 million capital raise through Placement shares and a share purchase plan (SPP).
In March 2021, Wisr took a 5% ownership in EU-based fintech Arbor.
In May 2021, Wisr undertook an inaugural A$225M ABS transaction (asset-backed securities), supported by a pool of fully amortising unsecured consumer personal loans. The top tranche of the ABS transaction received a AAA Moody's rating.
In June 2021, supported by Goldman Sachs, Wisr undertook a $55 million capital raise through Placement shares and a share purchase plan (SPP). It was oversubscribed.
In August 2023, Wisr announced that it had terminated the employment of CEO Anthony Nantes. He was replaced by Andrew Goodwin. At the same time his brother, John Nantes temporarily recused himself from his position as chairman of the board to avoid perception of conflict of interest.




Listing


On 13 July 2015, Wisr listed on the Australian Securities Exchange through a reverse takeover of Basper Ltd, raising $AU11.2m at 20c per share.




See also


Peer-to-peer lending




References

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• WISR
• Wisr
• Reusability
• Butler, Pennsylvania
• Pittsburgh Steelers Radio Network
• WLER-FM
• List of radio stations in Pennsylvania
• Defense Department Advisory Committee on Women in the Services
• Butler County, Pennsylvania
• WMBA