WAPI (AM)

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WAPI (1070 AM) is a silent radio station in Birmingham, Alabama. Owned by Cumulus Media, it formerly aired a talk radio format and was simulcast with its FM sister, 99.5 WZRR, as “Talk 99.5.” Studios are on Goodwin Crest Drive in Homewood, with the transmitter in Forestdale. When active, WAPI broadcast at 50,000 watts by day and 5,000 watts at night, using a two-tower directional array after sunset. It also offered HD Radio and carried local talk shows, national programs from Westwood One, ABC News Radio updates, and Auburn Tigers sports.

History in brief:
- Began in 1922 as WMAV in Auburn, licensed to the Alabama Polytechnic Institute (API).
- Renamed WAPI in 1925 (standing for API) and moved to Birmingham in 1928–29.
- Affiliated with NBC, then CBS; changed frequencies several times.
- FM and TV outlets grew over the years (WAFM, WAFM-TV, later WABT and WVTM-TV).
- The station and its sister outlets changed owners several times; WAPI evolved from full-service and adult contemporary to all-news in 1996, then to talk radio.
- In 2010, WAPI-FM (100.5) began simulcasting, later becoming WJQX in 2013; WAPI’s news/talk programming largely shifted to the AM side.
- On March 10, 2025, WAPI went silent. The talk format continues on WZRR (99.5 FM).