Agri Broadcast Network
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| Type | Radio Network |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Availability | State of Ohio, Surrounding Region |
| Slogan | Ohio's Voice for Agriculture |
| Owner | Agri Communicators Inc. (1972-2001) Clear Channel Communications (2001-2007) AdVance Broadcast and Communication Ltd. (2007-2010) |
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Launch date
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1972 |
The Agri Broadcasting Network (ABN) was a radio news network in the U.S. state of Ohio. ABN programming was heard on more than 60 radio stations statewide, including the major markets of Canton, Toledo, and Columbus. Its direct successor to the original ABN, the Ohio Ag Net now airs on most of the original affiliates.
The Network was founded in 1972 by the late Ed Johnson, President of Agri Communicators Inc., which included the Agri Broadcasting Network (ABN Radio), Ohio's Country Journal, a monthly farm newspaper, and the television program AgriCountry. Johnson, a well-known farm broadcaster formerly of WRFD in Columbus, Ohio, launched the network with a small number of radio stations, and delivered programming over the telephone from his farm in Ostrander, Ohio. His unmistakable enthusiasm, passion for agriculture, and unique broadcast style won a faithful following, and the network grew. The network, by the late 1970s finally leased a land line loop to affiliates which also fed programming from the Ohio News Network and Sports Ohio Network (now ONN Sports). By the mid-1980s, the ABN became a satellite operation.
Adding the television program to his efforts in 1982, Johnson's fame grew from that of a well-respected agricultural journalist to a household name in Ohio. In 1992, he launched the magazine Ohio's Country Journal. The size and scope of the ABN Radio network also grew, expanding to a footprint exceeding 72 radio stations in Ohio, Indiana, and West Virginia.
Following Johnson's death in 2001, the Johnson family sold the ABN to Clear Channel Communications, who moved network operations from Columbus and merged the network and programming into its Lima, Ohio cluster. In early 2007 Advance Broadcast & Communication Ltd, parent company of the Buckeye Ag Radio Network (aka: "the BARN") acquired the ABN, reintroduced Johnson's well-known preference for broadcasting "from the farm," and in early 2009 returned broadcast operations to Columbus.
In December 2010 Advance Broadcast and Communications ceased operations as mentioned on its website (now defunct and now redirects to AndyVance.com).
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Wikipedia