WTDR (AM)  WTDR (1350 AM) is an American radio station licensed to serve Gadsden, Alabama, United States. The station was established in 1947, and the broadcast license is held by Rainbow Media Group LLC, owned by Jeff Beck. The FCC-approved sale was completed October 24,2011. WGAD changed to a news/talk format on October 10, 2011. The "Gadsden's Gold" oldies format the station broadcast for many years was dropped, making it the second AM station in Gadsden to air news and talk programming. The new operators kept the 80's music and is featuring Big 80's & More weekends on Saturday and Sunday. In October 2012, the format again changed to simulcast country music from WTDR-FM, a sister station. This station was assigned the "WGAD" call letters by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) when it first went on the air in 1947. WGAD signed on with 1,000 watts day non-directional, and 1,000 watts at night with a two tower directional signal, towers located west of Gadsden proper in Attalla, Alabama. In 1949, Valley Broadcasting requested transfer of the license to General Newspapers for a reported price of $40,000. In 1954, Coos Broadcasting Company, headed by Dick Biddle, acquired WGAD for a reported $40,000   In 1957, WGAD was sold to a group of broadcasters consisting of Ed Z. Carrel - who also served as General Manager, Lavelle Jackson, and Congressman Albert Rains. The station's daytime power was raised to 5,000 watts. WGAD was Gadsden's only full-time station until 1960. The station was also the one of first to jump on the pop music bandwagon in the late 1950s, when it began broadcasting Top 40 music with ABC news and special programs. In 1961, WAVU announcer Bill Hagler accepted the job as program director of WGAD. In 1963, WGAD news reporter Charlie Hicks reported that an anonymous caller stated that civil rights activist William Lewis Moore was walking down the highway, and something newsworthy was about to happen. His body was located along the highway, shot in the head at close range. In 1985, WGAD switched to a news/talk radio format. In 2001, the station began broadcasting a satellite-fed oldies music format. Gerald Dilts purchased WGAD in 2002 then sold it to Dave Hedrick and the DR Radio Group in 2004.