Radio is a fickle business. You find a station you love, you program the preset in your car, and you rely on those voices to get you through a soul-crushing commute on I-285. Then, one morning, you tune in and everything is different. If you’ve been hunting for Atlanta News Radio 106.7 lately, you already know that’s exactly what happened. The frequency is still there, sure. The signal still hits the towers. But the news? That's a different story.
Honestly, the disappearance of a dedicated 24/7 news format on the 106.7 FM frequency left a massive void in North Georgia. People got used to the rhythm of it. It wasn't just about the headlines; it was about that specific blend of local traffic, weather on the sixes, and the kind of deep-dive local reporting that you just don't get from national podcasts.
The Rise and Pivot of WYAY
To understand what happened to Atlanta News Radio 106.7, we have to look at the messy history of the station's call signs and owners. For a long time, 106.7 was known as WYAY. It went through more identity crises than a teenager in a thrift store. At one point, it was "Eagle 106.7," a country powerhouse. Later, it tried to be "True Oldies." But in 2012, Cumulus Media decided to take a massive gamble. They launched "All News 106.7."
It was an ambitious move. Running a 24-hour newsroom is incredibly expensive. You need a small army of anchors, reporters, editors, and producers working around the clock. They hired heavy hitters like Cheryl White and took a real run at WSB, the long-standing king of Atlanta radio.
For a few years, it actually worked. People liked the consistency. You knew exactly what you were getting when you turned it on. But the "all news" format is a beast that needs constant feeding. By 2014, the station started sprinkling in more talk shows. It became "News Radio 106.7." This was the era of Kim "The Kimmer" Peterson and other big personalities. It was less about hard news and more about news-adjacent conversation.
Then came 2019. This was the year everything changed for the 106.7 frequency. Educational Media Foundation (EMF) bought the station from Cumulus. EMF is a non-profit that operates K-Love and Air1. If you tune into 106.7 now, you aren't getting traffic updates or political analysis. You're getting contemporary Christian music.
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Why Atlanta News Radio 106.7 Still Matters to Locals
Even though the station has been gone for years, people still search for it. Why? Because the "News Radio" brand was more than just a frequency. It represented a specific era of Atlanta media.
Local news is shrinking. That’s not a secret. When a station like 106.7 flips formats, we lose more than just a few reporters. We lose a platform for local accountability. When the station was active, they were covering the Gold Dome, the Falcons' stadium drama, and the endless construction projects that define our city.
Most people don't realize how much work goes into a "traffic and weather" report. At 106.7, that was the heartbeat. Atlanta has some of the worst traffic in the country—no exaggeration. Having a dedicated FM signal that didn't require a subscription or a steady data connection was a lifeline for commuters in Gwinnett, Cobb, and North Fulton.
The "Kimmer" era also brought a specific type of grit to the airwaves. It was loud. It was opinionated. It was quintessentially Atlanta. Even if you didn't agree with every take, it felt like the city talking to itself. When that disappeared, a lot of listeners felt like they’d lost a friend at the dinner table.
Where Did the Talent Go?
When a station dies, the people don't just vanish into thin air. Many of the voices you remember from Atlanta News Radio 106.7 migrated to other platforms.
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- WSB Radio (95.5 FM/750 AM): This is where much of the news-hungry audience went. WSB remains the dominant force in Atlanta news and talk.
- WABE (90.1 FM): For those who wanted more NPR-style, deep-dive reporting, WABE picked up the slack, especially regarding local government and the arts.
- Podcasting: Several former 106.7 personalities launched their own shows. The Kimmer, for example, took his brand to the digital space, proving that an audience will follow a voice they trust, regardless of the frequency.
The Reality of the Atlanta Radio Market
The death of the news format on 106.7 wasn't about a lack of listeners. It was about the "math" of modern radio.
Streaming services changed everything. Spotify and Apple Music took the music listeners. Podcasts took the "deep dive" listeners. That left terrestrial radio in a tight spot. To survive, you either need a massive, loyal audience that advertisers will pay a premium for (like WSB), or you need a low-overhead model.
Music stations, especially those run by non-profits like EMF, have a much lower "cost-per-hour" than a newsroom. You don't need a reporter standing in the rain at a crime scene to play a worship song. It’s a sad reality of the business, but it's the reason why the 106.7 you remember is likely never coming back in its old form.
There’s also the "signal" factor. 106.7 has a massive footprint. It covers North Georgia beautifully. From an owner's perspective, wasting that kind of reach on a format that's struggling to stay profitable doesn't make sense. By switching to a proven, national network like K-Love, the new owners ensured a stable financial future for that frequency.
Common Misconceptions About 106.7
A lot of folks think the station was "shut down" by the government or because of some scandal. Nope. It was just a sale. Cumulus Media was going through a massive restructuring (including bankruptcy filings around that time), and selling off assets was part of the plan.
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Another weird rumor is that the news team "moved" to 106.3 or 106.1. While there are other stations in the area, none of them took the "Atlanta News Radio" mantle. The brand basically evaporated when the paperwork was signed.
How to Get Your News Fix Now
If you’re still mourning the loss of Atlanta News Radio 106.7, you have to change how you consume information. You can't just "set it and forget it" on the dial anymore.
You've got to be more proactive. Most of the local news reporting is now concentrated in digital spaces. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) has pivoted heavily toward their "Politically Georgia" brand, which includes a radio show and a podcast. It’s probably the closest thing to the high-level political reporting that 106.7 used to provide.
For traffic, most people have moved to Waze or Google Maps, but there’s still something to be said for a human traffic reporter. WSB still has the "Triple Team Traffic," and they are the only ones left with that level of infrastructure in the city.
Actionable Steps for Displaced Listeners
If you're looking to recreate that 106.7 experience, here's how you do it in 2026:
- Download the WSB Radio App: It’s the closest direct replacement for live, local news and traffic.
- Follow the Reporters on Socials: Many former 106.7 staff members are active on X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn. They often break news faster there than on the air.
- Subscribe to "Politically Georgia": If you liked the political talk on 106.7, this is the gold standard for Georgia power dynamics.
- Check out WABE's "City Lights": For the "community" feel that 106.7 occasionally captured, WABE does an excellent job of covering the actual culture of Atlanta.
The landscape has changed, and it's okay to be a little annoyed by it. We live in a world where information is everywhere, yet finding local information feels harder than ever. The loss of Atlanta News Radio 106.7 was a symptom of a larger shift in how we talk to each other as a city. While we can't bring back the frequency, we can still support the journalists who keep the lights on in other newsrooms across the A.
Stop looking for news on 106.7. It’s not there. Instead, find the specific journalists you liked and see where they are writing or speaking now. That’s how you stay informed in the post-radio era. High-quality local journalism is still happening in Atlanta; it’s just moved to your phone.