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Our History

Baton Rouge-based Guaranty Broadcasting, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Guaranty Corporation, came into existence in 1964 when a unique opportunity presented itself to Guaranty President George Foster, Jr. WAFB-TV Channel 9 – which at the time was headquartered in the red brick Guaranty Income Life Insurance Building – was to be sold to the owners of New Orleans TV station WDSU when, at the last minute, the owners of Channel 9 approached their landlord with a chance to own WAFB if he acted fast. Less than 24 hours later, Guaranty Broadcasting was born and was the proud owner of Baton Rouge’s first television station.

First Steps

In 1968, Guaranty under George Foster sought to resurrect a long-dormant radio license which had been granted to the previous owners of the TV station. WAFB-FM was launched on 98.1 FM in the newly-realized FM Stereo process. For years afterward, 98.1 sought the right formula to take the 100kw station to the top of the radio market, with attempts in various formats: easy listening, soft rock, even disco.

In 1984, the call letters of WAFB-FM were changed to WGGZ and a rock-leaning top 40 station was unleashed on the city. Z98 quickly came to dominate Baton Rouge Radio with its emphasis on long blocks of music and just the right amount of personality.

As the eighties gave way to the nineties and the musical climate began to shift, 98.1’s format and identity was adjusted to “Oldies 98” in 1991. Five years later, it was decided to update both the format and the call letters, and WDGL-FM, “Eagle 98.1,” was born. Around that time, Guaranty secured the coveted rights and became the flagship broadcast outlet for LSU Sports, with football, basketball and baseball all airing on Eagle 98.1. As LSU won its two national championships in the early 2000’s, Eagle 98.1 was there.

Also in 1996, Guaranty began a series of strategic acquisitions to build the company’s station portfolio. Today, Guaranty owns and operates four radio stations on five frequencies alongside Eagle 98.1: Country-formatted WTGE/”100.7 The Tiger,” two-frequency Sports-talk simulcast WNXX/KNXX, “104.5/104.9 ESPN Baton Rouge,” and WBRP/”Talk 107.3 FM,” which since 2011 has been the Capitol City’s first and only full-time FM news-talk station.

Message from the President

“We have the Listeners, Viewers, Readers, and Followers you need and nobody can deliver them to your business better than we can. Take a look at all of the opportunities we offer to market your business. We can help you reach your goals.

We are Baton Rouge’s only locally owned radio group. We know the community and we know you are the key to our success. How can we help?” – Flynn Foster, President

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Testimonials

Don’t just take our word for it – see what local business owners have to say about working with Guaranty Media!

  • Mike Ward’s Liberty Safes: Candace Ward

    Mike Ward’s Liberty Safes in Louisiana has been using Guaranty Media for the last six years. Over this time Guaranty Media has provided services that far exceed their competitors. We have used other companies, but they are not local and the sales team does not provide the same services or knowledge.
    I know that the money we spend with Guaranty is the best investment that we can make. Our customers let us know how the hear about us. Guaranty has amazing Stations, DJs, Social Media Presence, Lives, Remotes, and so much more. Mike Ward’s Liberty Safes using all of them. We have a set schedule that we run year around. This is important because if you are not consistent with how you market the customers will remember the company that is.
    Guaranty Media has a new company which they have just added which is Gatorworks. Gatorworks is a digital marketing agency. Now this has just happened, but we look forward to moving all of the digital side of our marketing to them. The reason is very simple they can do every thing that we need in house. It does not matter what business that you have, but the only thing that matters is who you align yourself with.

  • Louisiana Land Bank: Rusty Jenkins

    People tell me all the time that they hear our commercials on Eagle 98.1 and ESPN 104.5. This means we are advertising on the right stations and to the right audience.

  • Graham Group: Denise Bishop

    Guaranty Broadcasting of Baton Rouge, with its group of consistently successful radio stations, delivers listeners that will match a client’s desired target demographic to achieve results. Our account executive, Mike, keeps me abreast of the latest changes within the market, and works as an extension of our agency to maximize effectiveness of each schedule. It is sincerely a pleasure doing business with Guaranty!

  • Snelling Staffing Services: Stephanie Smith

    Since we started advertising with Guaranty Broadcasting, we have seen a significant increase in calls from prospective clients and candidates. They are a pleasure to work with and have guided us every step of the way, from helping us plan an effective advertising strategy to developing a jingle that delivers a clear message to our target audience. We truly value our partnership with Guaranty.

  • Better Business Bureau: B.J. Militello

    Since we started advertising with Guaranty Broadcasting, we have seen a significant increase in calls from prospective clients and candidates. They are a pleasure to work with and have guided us every step of the way, from helping us plan an effective advertising strategy to developing a jingle that delivers a clear message to our target audience. We truly value our partnership with Guaranty.