1130 kHz is a clear-channel frequency shared by three North American stations (CKWX, KWKH, and WBBR), requiring WQFX to operate on a daytime-only basis on the AM band.

On May 8, 1974, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) awarded a construction permit to Robert Barber, Jr., George Sliman, and F. M. Smith, doing business as the Gulf Broadcasting Company, for a new 500-watt daytime-only radio station on 1130 kHz at Gulfport.

[2] The country format was jettisoned in 1983 in favor of all-news, utilizing the programming of CNN Radio with local reporters and inserts.

As Steere steered toward bankruptcy, in 1992, Faith Tabernacle of Praise in Biloxi began operating the station as a gospel music outlet, part of a larger mission to start new Black-owned businesses in the area; the station's studios moved from Gulfport to a former church office in Biloxi.

In 1993, a bankruptcy trustee sold WQFX-AM-FM to Southern Horizons Broadcasting Corporation;[14] the FM station, which had continued under Steere operation, was described as "in turmoil" by its new owner.