former WJSV transmitter, now WTOP, 2115 University Blvd, Wheaton, MD, built 1940, style: International

In 1940, WJSV's operating power was increased to 50,000 watts, with a new transmitter site built in Wheaton, Maryland. (That site is still in use today.) On March 29, 1941, with the implementation of NARBA, WJSV moved its broadcast frequency from 1460 to 1500 kHz. WTOP is an all-news formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Washington, D.C., serving Metropolitan Washington, DC area. WTOP is owned by Bonneville Holding Company and operated by Bonneville International Corporation, a broadcasting company wholly owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In January 2011 Hubbard Broadcasting announced plans to buy WTOP, pending approval from federal regulators. WTOP is one of two all-news stations in the Washington, D.C. area, the other being sister station WFED, which is aimed at federal government employees. The station's primary signal is at 103.5, with simulcasts on WTLP 103.9 FM from Braddock Heights, Maryland and WWWT 107.7 FM from Manassas, Virginia. All stations in the WTOP "network" broadcast in monaural to increase their coverage areas. WTOP's origins trace back to Brooklyn, New York, as station WTRC (operated by the Twentieth [District] Republican Club), going to air September 25, 1926, on 1250 kilocycles with a power of 50 watts. The Twentieth Republican Club, and the station, were run by the Ku Klux Klan; pressure by the federal government on the Klan forced WTRC to move out of the New York area. Ironically, the station moved to the federal government's backyard; on August 2, 1927, WTRC migrated to Mount Vernon Hills, Virginia as WTFF (which stood for the Klan's newspaper "The Fellowship Forum") at 1470 kHz. In November 1927, the power of WTFF was increased to 10,000 watts and the frequency changed to 1480 kilocycles. On January 10, 1929, the call sign was changed to WJSV, reflecting the initials of James S. Vance, who was publisher of "The Fellowship Forum" and a Grand Wizard in Virginia. Realizing the expense of running a 10,000-watt radio station, Vance quickly worked out a deal with the nascent Columbia Broadcasting System to become the new network's primary station in Washington, DC. CBS took over all of WJSV's programming and engineering costs, with an option to renew or purchase the station after five years. Soon realizing they were affiliated with the Klan, negotiations began for CBS to purchase the station outright.