WAQI (710 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Miami, Florida, United States, featuring a Spanish-language talk format known as . Owned by Latino Media Network and operated by Uforia Audio Network, the radio division of TelevisaUnivision, under a transitional agreement, the station broadcasts with 50,000 watts and serves as South Florida's designated primary entry point for the Emergency Alert System, one of three in the state. The studios are located at Univision's Miami headquarters, and the transmitter is located at the intersection of U.S. 41 and Florida State Road 997, near the edge of the Everglades.
The history of today's WAQI begins with the establishment of WFTL in Fort Lauderdale in 1939. The tiny local station raised its profile by switching to its present frequency in 1943 and becoming the highest-power station in Florida at the time. It was acquired by George B. Storer in 1944 after a controversial acquisition that resulted in government scrutiny, moving to Miami the next year. WGBS grew into a 50,000-watt station, and Storer became headquartered in Miami, starting first an FM station and an ill-fated TV station. It generally aired an adult music format after the 1950s. When Storer opted to exit radio at the end of 1978, Jefferson-Pilot Communications purchased its Miami radio properties, converting the low-rated WGBS to a talk format in February 1983.
In 1985, Jefferson-Pilot sold WGBS to buy WNWS (790 AM), then its direct competitor, merging the two stations' programming on the 790 frequency that had a better signal into Broward County. The 710 facility, with its strong signal into Cuba, was then spun off to Cuban-American businessman Amancio Suárez, resulting in the foundation of WAQI Radio Mambí. Known for its hardline anticommunist stance from the start, Mambí has ranked among the most popular Spanish-language stations in South Florida and is also jammed by the Cuban government; however, it has also been criticized for disseminating disinformation, particularly by groups on the left. Sales of Radio Mambí in 1995 and 2022 have attracted attention in political circles.
WFTL in Fort Lauderdale
On January 10, 1939, Tom M. Bryan filed for a construction permit to build a new local radio station to serve Fort Lauderdale on the frequency of 1370 kHz, with 250 watts during the day and 100 at night. The Federal Communications Commission granted Bryan the permit on July 12, 1939, and on December 3, 1939, WFTL made its first broadcasts from studios and a transmitter site on Andrews Avenue. Bryan had brought other pioneering local businesses to Lauderdale prior to building WFTL; these included the city's first ice plant and telephone company. The station upgraded nighttime power to 250 watts in 1940 and moved to 1400 kHz in 1941 with the frequency changes of NARBA.
In February 1941, Bryan filed to sell WFTL to Ralph A. Horton. While there was concern that the association of Horton with a local newspaper, the morning Fort Lauderdale Times, could block the sale, the FCC approved on July 1. Within months of Horton acquiring WFTL, the station joined the Mutual Broadcasting System, becoming the closest Mutual station to Miami, and in October, Horton filed to move to 710 kHz and increase power to 10,000 watts from a new transmitter site west of the city, which the FCC approved on January 6, 1942. At the time, one Miami station (WIOD) broadcast with 5,000 watts, and a second, WQAM, was slated to join it. Materials restrictions associated with the outbreak of World War II slowed work, but by late 1942, the building expansion had been completed, as had the necessary three-tower array. Not only was the station increasing its power to become the largest in Florida, it announced it would set up Miami studios in the Mayfair Theater, quarters originally used by the Miami Conservatory of Music.
The upgrade and new frequency took effect on February 24, 1943, bringing a full-power Mutual signal to Miami.
WGBS
Storer purchase and move to Miami
Two months after activating the 10,000-watt facility and new Miami studios, Horton—later citing his lack of knowledge of the radio business—announced he would sell WFTL to the Fort Industry Company, led by George B. Storer, for $275,000; Storer would move the station on a full-time basis to Miami, where he owned a home in Surfside. The FCC slated the transaction for hearing, during which time it was revealed that Fort Industry was keeping the station afloat while the transaction was pending.