1030 WGSF(AM), the longest-running Spanish-language radio station in Memphis, is working to rebuild its transmitter site after it was ransacked in a May copper theft.
The station, owned by Butron Media, was left with a myriad of critical components either rendered missing or destroyed, but it has rebounded with the launch of an FM translator from the same transmitter site.
On May 18, the station’s Jackson Ave. tower site was targeted. Memphis Police said that Kyle Walton, Terrence Goodman and Jonathan Yarbrough were arrested two days later after they were caught burning the copper cables from the WGSF tower site in front of a house on National Street — less than half a mile from the tower site, according to WREG(TV) in Memphis.
Engineer Steven Lara told Radio World approximately 85% of the station’s Kintronic Labs phasor is gone. Coaxial lines coming out of the transmitter were sliced, and its three ATU units were also vandalized by the thieves. WGSF estimated that just replacing the stolen copper wiring and componentry will cost approximately $170,000 — not including engineering fees.
A special temporary authority the station filed on May 28 mentioned that the equipment inside the three transmitter-site doghouses was about 50% destroyed. “The thieves took as much copper as they could carry,” the STA, filed by Steve Crissey of Bromo Communications — Butron’s technical consultant — said.
Today, WGSF’s AM signal is back on the air with reduced power, and it started broadcasting on its 101.5 FM translator on June 11 after its FCC license was granted.
WGSF had operated with 50 kW during the day and 10 kW during critical hours from one tower, non-directional. At night, it ran 1 kW using a directional three-tower array, all located at the same Jackson Ave. site.
The station runs a Spanish-language Regional Mexican format with the “Radio Ambiente” slogan.
Anger, Sadness But Support
Radio World spoke with co-owner Sergio Butron and employee Daniella Garcia. Ivette Butron Ramos is the company’s CEO, while husband Sergio is president.
Initially, Butron and Garcia said they felt angry. Then came sadness.
“It was more than a decade of work — more than just monetary value,” they told Radio World on Friday. What hurt most was the disruption of the connection with listeners, many of whom were asking why the station was off the air, they said.
Local TV stations picked up the story the week of June 9, but the outpouring of support from listeners had already begun.
“The community started with their support the very next day,” Garcia said.
Listeners were concerned and upset. Some even offered to donate money — which Butron declined.
“We didn’t just want to take their money,” Garcia said. “But we were overwhelmed by the support.”
Still, the financial impact is significant.
Former Engineer Lends a Hand
WGSF hired three engineers to work on restoration since the theft, including Lara, chief engineer at Flinn Broadcasting, which previously owned the station. He helped transition the station’s equipment when Burton purchased it in 2023.
As a bilingual engineer, Lara was the first person Butron contacted. Although he no longer has a vested interest in WGSF, he was happy to help.
“It’s a minority-owned station with a massive signal, and I couldn’t imagine the hurdles they would have to go through to get the signal restored,” Lara said.
Butron said the station’s first step after the incident was filing for the STA to operate 1030 AM at a reduced power of 100 watts.
A Beacon of Hope on FM
WGSF’s pending FM translator, 101.5 W268DP Memphis, was granted its license on June 11 under special operating conditions. Since the FM is licensed to broadcast from the same site as the AM signal, it had required a proof-of-performance test before and after translator construction. Due to the theft, the FCC waived that requirement for a 12-month period.
The 101.5 translator had been previously associated with Butron’s other AM station, 1180 WGUE(AM), licensed to Turrell, Ark.
Butron made a Facebook Live video explaining the situation and announcing the launch of the 101.5 FM signal.
In a small bit of luck, Lara said the coaxial line leading to the FM antenna had been pulled violently, possibly shifting the antenna — but not enough to disconnect it nor disrupt it from producing its licensed transmitter power output of 34 watts.
The vandals would have needed to cross a fence to reach the FM antenna directly.
“They went for what was visible and directly in their sight,” Lara said.
But the damage was already extensive.
“One piece of a phasor costs thousands,” he said.
Based on how equipment was moved around at the site between his visits, Lara believes the vandals returned a second time after the initial break-in. Memphis Police told WREG they got a tip that men were seen dragging cables toward National Ave. the day of the burglary, and then another tip that several people were seen burning the copper wiring.
Lara is in contact with Kintronic Labs about rebuilding the phasor cabinet or purchasing a new one, along with a replacement tuning unit, on the long road back to restoring the station’s full-power AM signal.
Butron and Garcia said that for now, WGSF is airing music only, but full programming will resume this week.
Hispanic Community Voice Silenced
Lara said the station is unique to the area, one of only two Spanish-langauge stations on the dial, with Butron’s 1180 AM “La Jefa” being the other. “That is a big facet of the Memphis community that they serve,” he said. “They didn’t deserve this.”
The Butron website explains that the couple, originally from Oaxaca, Mexico, traveled to Tennessee beginning in 1999 for vacations and fell in love with its culture. They observed a language barrier between immigrants in the area and natives. That motivated them to close the communications gap.
The couple had previous operated WGSF, dating back to 2014, under a time brokerage agreement, before purchasing it outright from Flinn Broadcasting.
Ivette Butron Ramos is noted as the first Hispanic in Memphis and second statewide to operate and own a radio station. She was named one of the top 10 “Women of the Bluff” by the website We Are Memphis in March.
Copper Thievery Cases Continue
Walton, Goodman and Yarbrough were charged with burglary of a building, theft of property, and tampering with evidence, according to WREG(TV).
Court proceedings are ongoing. Butron and Lara were present at a hearing on June 13. Lara said that camera footage from around when the incident occurred is still being reviewed.
[Related: “Letter: How We Caught Copper Thieves With an FBI Assist”]
Radio World noted an apparent increase in reports of copper thefts at transmitter sites within the last year at both AM and FM stations. One reader said their station had been hit three times in a five-year period.
utron urges other broadcasters to remain vigilant. He said he’s already heard from station owners in West Memphis, Knoxville and Little Rock who’ve also experienced copper theft.
They all agree: Stations need to keep security tight. Keep fences locked and cameras running.
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