Urban talk radio station in Washington, D.C.
WOL
(1450
kHz
) is an
urban talk
AM
radio station
in
Washington, D.C.
This is the flagship radio station of
Radio One
. It is co-owned with
WKYS
,
WMMJ
,
WPRS
, and
WYCB
and has studios located in
Silver Spring, Maryland
. The transmitter site is in
Fort Totten
in Washington.
A Baltimore version of this station,
WOLB
, was created in the early 1990s and shares some of the same programming as WOL.
History
[
edit
]
WWDC
[
edit
]
The station was granted a construction permit, as WWDC, by the
Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) on October 29, 1940, for a new station to broadcast with 250 watts on 1420 kHz. In March 1941, most stations assigned to this frequency, including WWDC, were reassigned to 1450 kHz, under the provisions of the
North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement
.
WWDC made its debut broadcast at 8 p.m. on May 3, 1941, airing programming from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. Studios were at 1000 Connecticut Avenue.
[3]
An independent station with no network affiliation, the station advertised it would broadcast Associated Press newscasts five minutes before every hour, and "through NBC
transcriptions
, Station WWDC will present a wide choice of big names in orchestras and radio entertainers from the NBC roster of stars".
[2]
On January 26, 1950, the FCC approved the sale of WWDC by Capital Broadcasting, which had just bought
WOL
(1260 AM) from
Cowles Broadcasting
, to
Peoples Broadcasting Corporation
, an affiliate of the local People's Drug Stores, and announced the two stations would be swapping call letters.
[4]
The change took place February 20, 1950.
[5]
This swap moved the WOL call letters to 1450 AM.
In 1965, the Sonderling Broadcasting Corporation bought WOL and changed the format from
easy listening
to
rhythm and blues
. That year, WOL also became the first rhythm and blues station in Washington to have
public affairs
programming.
[6]
"No other medium in the city had WOL's influence and credibility among black Washingtonians from 1965 to about 1975...With finger-popping, hand-clapping and foot-stomping, they were the broadcasters of gospel-influenced, inner city culture,"
The Washington Post
observed. WOL helped popularize "Chocolate City" as a nickname for Washington, according to the
Post
.
[7]
Originally simulcast on its FM sister station
WMOD
for more extensive coverage, they later changed the FM station to an
oldies
format. The station slowly deemphasized its music programming and evolved into an
African-American
based
talk
station.
For many years the pair was owned by
Sonderling Broadcasting
, who later sold its assets to
Viacom Broadcasting
. (After Viacom took over, WMOD-FM became country station
WMZQ-FM
)
Competition from FM stations that had stronger signals and
stereo
sound reduced WOL's ratings in the late 1970s.
[6]
By 1976, the
Federal Communications Commission
concluded an investigation of allegations of
payola
against WOL and other black stations around the U.S.
[6]
[7]
In late 1979, the Almic Corporation, headed by Dewey and
Cathy Hughes
, purchased the station. Dewey Hughes told
The Washington Post
: "The day of the rapping jock is over. Radio is generally toning down because of a new concern about
contemporary adult
music."
[7]
During the 1960s and 1970s, WOL was home to
Petey Greene
, a former convict turned popular talk show host, comedian, and activist, who began his professional broadcasting career at WOL. His story was portrayed in the 2007 film
Talk To Me
.
Notable hosts
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Facility Technical Data for WOL"
.
Licensing and Management System
.
Federal Communications Commission
.
- ^
a
b
WWDC (advertisement)
,
Washington (D.C.) Evening Star
, May 3, 1941, page A-11.
- ^
"Station WWDC Goes On Air First Time Tomorrow Night"
,
Washington (D.C.) Evening Star
, May 2, 1941, page A-10.
- ^
"WNEW, WWDC Sales Given Approval By FCC"
,
Broadcasting
, January 30, 1950, page 26.
- ^
"Listeners Face Three-Station Mix-Up in Radio Switch Feb. 20"
,
Washington (D.C.) Evening Star
, February 4, 1950, page A-19.
- ^
a
b
c
Milloy, Courtland (March 28, 1977).
"WOL a sad ship after FCC hearing"
.
The Washington Post
. Retrieved
May 25,
2019
.
- ^
a
b
c
Milloy, Courtland (December 2, 1979).
"WOL"
.
The Washington Post
. Retrieved
May 25,
2019
.
External links
[
edit
]
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News & Talk
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All-News Radio
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By frequency
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