WRNL
Richmond News Leader (former owner) | |
Technical information[3] | |
---|---|
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 11960 |
Class | B |
Power |
|
Transmitter coordinates | 37°36′50.0″N 77°30′53.0″W / 37.613889°N 77.514722°W |
Translator(s) | 105.1 W286DJ (Richmond) |
Repeater(s) | 94.5 WRVQ-HD2 (Richmond) |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Webcast | Listen live (via Audacy) |
Website | www |
WRNL (910
By day, WRNL has a power of 5,000
Programming
Weekday mornings begin with "The
History
WLBG and WPHR
WRNL is among the oldest stations in Richmond. Station WLBG, broadcasting on 332.5 meters (902 kHz) with 100 watts from Petersburg, was granted a license on December 13, 1926. The owner was Robert Allen Gamble.[1][2] In 1931, WLBG, Inc. was created to hold the license, and Gamble sold it to local tobacco businessmen the following year.[9]
On August 27, 1935, WLBG, Inc. was sold to a group of three –
As WPHR, a
WRNL
On November 14, 1937, the station began broadcasting from Richmond as WRNL, with the call sign referring to The Richmond News Leader. It broadcast on a frequency of 880 kHz at 500 watts, still daytime-only.
WRNL was granted round-the-clock operation in September 1940.[2][11][12] Its studios were at 323 East Grace Street in Richmond, and the transmitter was in Henrico County, Virginia.[2][13][14]
Newspaper ownership merger
On September 1, 1940, The Richmond News Leader merged with The
With the
In the late 1940s, the 111 Building (at 111 North Fourth Street) was built for WRNL.[17] In 1949, it added an FM station, WRNL-FM at 102.1 MHz. For the first couple of decades, WRNL-FM simulcast its AM counterpart. By 1970, it had switched to a progressive rock format, later changing its call letters to WRXL.
MOR, oldies, sports
As network programming moved from radio to television around 1960, WRNL became a
In 1993, WRNL and WRXL were bought by
On November 1, 2017, iHeartMedia announced that WRNL, along with its sister stations in Richmond and
On February 4, 2019, WRNL rebranded as "910 The Fan", matching the branding and logo as co-owned WJFK-FM 106.7 The Fan in Washington, D.C.[22] In May 2019, the station added FM translator W286DJ and is branded as "Sportsradio 910 the Fan and now on 105.1 FM".
Notable personalities
Carter sisters
WRNL provided one of the first broadcasting opportunities on a U.S. radio station for the country/folk group The Carter Family. Beginning June 1, 1943,[23] Maybelle Carter and her daughters Helen, June and Anita using the name "The Carter Sisters and Mother Maybelle," had a program on WRNL that was sponsored by Nolde Brothers Bakery.[24] June Carter of the daughters would later marry country singer Johnny Cash and become June Carter Cash. The Carter Sisters and Mother Maybelle would move on to WRVA radio in Richmond when WRNL moved their studios from the old World News Leader newspaper (WRNL) building to a new studio they built in Richmond and the star on the WRVA's Old Dominion Barn Dance until June 1948
Douglas Southall Freeman
In addition to being a journalist and historian, Douglas Southall Freeman was part-owner of WRNL.[15] The editor of The Richmond News Leader, he extended his journalistic activities to broadcasting with twice-daily newscasts at 8 a.m. and noon.[25][26] Among those interviewed by Freeman was poet Robert Frost, in what Frost said was his first time to knowingly appear on radio.[27] Biographer Charles Johnson wrote about Freeman's first broadcast of each day: "He steps up to the microphone at 8:00, and thousands of Virginians mark the beginning of their day. ... They might just be beginning their day, but he has been observing the world for more than five hours and will tell them what they need to know."[26]
Harmonizing Four
A Gospel quartet that began when its members were students at an elementary school in Richmond, the
Roger Mudd
Mudd joined the staff of the News-Leader in 1953, then shifted to broadcast journalism with WRNL, where he became news director. That led to a career in network news with CBS and, later, NBC.[30]
Ray Schreiner
Schreiner came to WRNL in 1950. Among other duties, he had a program, "The Mailbag."[31] Schreiner also served as program director[32] and covered farm news, winning a Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters' award for his work in 1959.[33]
Frank Soden
"A large portion of Richmond’s baby-boom generation grew up with Mr. Soden’s distinctive descriptions of baseball, basketball and football games percolating in the background on radio station WRNL."
Eddie Weaver
Organist Eddie Weaver, who played at the famous Byrd Theater in Richmond, was also heard in many homes via WRNL. His weekday morning program, "Eddie Weaver's Open House," featured music and chatter. The program began in September 1949 and was still going strong a decade later.[35]
Honors
Year | Recipient | Award | Organization |
---|---|---|---|
1951 | Dr. Douglas Southall Freeman | Best news commentary over larger radio stations | Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters[36] |
1951 | Howard Hamrick | Best comprehensive news broadcast over Class 1 stations | Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters[36] |
1955 | WRNL | Douglas Southall Freeman Award for public service in radio journalism | Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters[37] |
1966 | WRNL | Douglas Southall Freeman Award for public service in radio journalism | Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters[38] |
1966 | Ken Collins | Metropolitan radio interview | Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters[38] |
1969 | WRNL | Best documentary—metropolitan radio | Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters[39] |
1970 | WRNL | Douglas Southall Freeman Award | Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters[40] |
References
- ^ a b "Radio Service Bulletin" (PDF). Department of Commerce, Bureau of Navigation. December 31, 1926. p. 18.
- ^ a b c d e f "Facility No. 11960 History Card" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WRNL". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "WRNL Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
- ^ Radio-Locator.com/WRNL-AM
- ^ "Station Search Details".
- ^ Radio-Locoatr.com/W286DJ
- ^ InsideRadio.com "Sports Junkies Added to Mornings at WRNL" Jan. 28, 2019
- ^ "WLBG In New Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting. June 1, 1932. p. 13.
- ^ "[Virginia Broadcasting System Ad]" (PDF). Broadcasting. February 1, 1936. p. 5.
- ^ ISBN 9780786454242.
- ^ "[Virginia Broadcasting System Ad]" (PDF). Broadcaasting. February 1, 1936. p. 5.
- ^ Alicoate, Jack, Ed. (1938). The 1938 Radio Annual. Radio Daily Corp. P. 383.
- ^ "New Station In Richmond, WRNL, Now on the Air" (PDF). Broadcasting. December 1, 1937. p. 22.
- ^ a b "WRTD, Richmond, Quits Operation; WRNL Full-Time" (PDF). Broadcasting. September 1, 1940. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
- ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1943 page 150
- ^ Rayner, Bob (September 7, 2000). "Downtown Richmond, Va., Building to Undergo Renovations". Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. Archived from the original on March 29, 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
- ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1970 page B-213
- ^ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2000 page D-474
- ^ "Entercom Trades Boston & Seattle Spin-Offs to iHeartMedia for Richmond & Chattanooga". November 2017.
- ^ "Consummation Notice". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. December 19, 2017. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- ^ "WRNL Richmond To Become 910 The Fan". RadioInsight. 28 January 2019.
- ^ Ruhlmann, William (2001). "Carter Family, The". Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians. Farmington Hills, Michigan.: Gale Group, Inc. Archived from the original on 2015-03-29. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
- ISBN 9780415928267. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
- ^ Stoddard, Brooke C. "Words Read 'Round the World". Virginia Living. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
- ^ ISBN 1-58980-021-4. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
- OCLC 56726112.
- ISBN 978-0-415-87569-1. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
- ^ Harrison, Don. "Lonnie's Boys". Style Weekly. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
- ^ "State Press Group Honors Roger Mudd". The Virginian-Pilot. July 20, 1997. Archived from the original on March 29, 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
- ^ "air-casters" (PDF). Broadcasting. July 31, 1950. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- ^ Alicoate, Jack, Ed. (1961). The 1961 Radio Annual. Radio Daily Corp. P. 593.
- ^ "Virginia AP Men Present News Awards" (PDF). Broadcasting. May 4, 1959. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- ^ a b Dorr, Vic (October 22, 2013). "Broadcast legend Frank P. Soden dies". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
- ^ "(photo caption)". Richmond.com. Richmond Times-Dispatch. 14 May 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
- ^
- ^ "Va. AP Honors WRNL, WSVS For Public Service in Radio". Broadcasting. November 14, 1955. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
- ^
External links
- Official website
- WRNL in the FCC AM station database
- WRNL in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
- W286DJ in the FCC FM station database
- W286DJ at FCCdata.org