Wednesday, March 15, 2017

NC Radio: Hackers Strike Talk WJNC, WTKF In Jacksonville

Talk radio WJNC 1240 AM heard locally in Jacksonville on the AM dial and simulcast on sister station WTKF 107.1 FM, was experiencing technical difficulties with its signal tower located in Atlantic at 8:54 a.m. on Monday. Station engineers and on-air broadcasters in the Morehead City studio began transmitting the station’s signal over the internet to WJNC using a BARIX system. BARIX is a Switzerland-based communications and control technology company.

Within moments, on-air host Bell Ball, co-host of Morning Daybreak, began receiving calls from Jacksonville listeners informing the 17-year broadcast veteran that instead of his voice they were hearing something else.

“We began getting calls about five minutes to the hour,” Ball said. “Listeners who called us said it sounded like a hip-hop song with repeating the words ‘F-Trump’ and other phrases.”

According to The Daily News, the station was able terminate the signal and the hacked message at 9:28 a.m. Regular programming resumed on both frequencies at 10:30 a.m., according to co-owner Lockwood Phillips.

WTKF 107.1 FM (46 Kw) Red=Local Coverage Area
While this hack is a first for Phillips, several radio stations around the country have experienced similar interruptions in recent weeks with pirate broadcasters filling the airwaves with Los Angeles-based recording artist Nipsey Hussle’s anti-President Donald Trump rap song titled: “FDT.” The Associated Press reports stations throughout the country — including some in South Carolina, Texas, California and Indiana — have been hacked.

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