WRVA (AM)
FCC | |
Facility ID | 11914 |
---|---|
Class | A |
Power | 50,000 watts unlimited |
Transmitter coordinates | 37°24′13.0″N 77°18′59.0″W / 37.403611°N 77.316389°W |
Translator(s) | 96.1 W241AP (Midlothian relays WTVR-FM HD2) |
Repeater(s) | 98.1 WTVR-FM HD2 (Richmond) |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Webcast | Listen live (via Audacy) |
Website | www |
WRVA (1140
Established in 1925, WRVA is one of Virginia's oldest radio stations, and the most powerful AM station in the Commonwealth. For much of its history, WRVA billed itself as the "Voice of Virginia."WRVA is a
Weekdays begin with "Richmond's Morning News with John Reid." Afternoon
History
Early years
Although three-letter
The early WRVA facilities were a small studio in a corner of a warehouse on Richmond's
New facilities
In 1935, WRVA built a new transmitter in Mechanicsville, a small community located northeast of Richmond. The new tower for the antenna at this location was the first all-wood self-supporting radio tower in North America.[5] Field tests conducted later indicated that the new tower produced "a 400% increase in dependable night-time service area and a three-fold increase in the daytime area."[6]
However, it was only a short time before a much larger facility was to be placed on-line. WRVA's 1939-era transmitter building in
In the late 1940s, WRVA's facilities extended beyond Richmond. An ad in a 1947 issue of the trade magazine "
FM station
An FM outlet was established in Norfolk, on June 6, 1948, when WRVC began broadcasting on 102.5 MHz, "airing shows of CBS, duplicating parts of the WRVA schedule and originating some of its own programs."[8] Because few people owned FM receivers in that era, the experiment was short-lived.
WRVA began an FM operation in Richmond in 1948. On August 12, WRVB (now WRVQ) began broadcasting on 94.5 MHz. WRVB simulcasted the AM station's programming "with a few exceptions."[9]
In 1961, the "Western" transmitter, as it came to be known by the WRVA staff, was replaced with an RCA BTA-50H Ampliphase after serving for more than 30 years but was kept as a back-up transmitter. It was powered-up and used at least once a week to keep it in operational condition for another 20 years.
In the early 1980s, the Western Electric transmitter was removed and replaced with a 50,000 watt Continental. The Ampliphase was then made the back-up. In the 1990s, the Ampliphase was then replaced by a newer Harris transmitter and the Continental was made as the back-up. During the 1970s, WRVQ installed its transmitters in the building.
The Voice of Virginia: a "clear channel" station
By 1930, WRVA was broadcasting 24 hours a day. Its 50,000 watt power was intended to reach rural areas. Its daytime signal provides at least secondary coverage to most of the eastern portion of Virginia, from Hampton Roads to Fredericksburg.
At night (when the AM signals travel farther), WRVA can be heard across most of the eastern half of North America with a good radio. This includes most of the United States east of the Mississippi River, as well as part of Canada.
Past personalities
From 1946 to 1957, the station carried The Old Dominion Barn Dance, a popular live country music program.
Two of WRVA's more popular personalities were fictional characters. In the 1950s and 1960s, when the studio was located across Capitol Square from the
One of WRVA's better known real-life personalities was long-time host
Because of AM radio signal reach, nighttime hosts enjoyed a listenership at considerable distances such as the former head of the Virginia Chapter of the NAACP, host Jack Gravely, whose evening show was heard hundreds of miles away well into neighboring states overnight. An overnight country music program headed by "Big John" Trimble targeted truckers in the 1970s, again taking advantage of the large nighttime coverage area of the clear channel station. Broadcasting from a remote studio located at Jarrell's Truck Stop in Doswell, Virginia, the show ran for eighteen years. It made Big John into a national radio personality.[10]
Helicopter crash
In 1974, the WRVA traffic
Virginia News Network, Metro Traffic
The Virginia News Network (VNN) was founded in 1977 when Charlottesville Broadcasting Corporation began distributing newscasts to a handful of affiliates via telephone line from its flagship station,
In the early 1990s, WRVA turned over its
Television
WRVA and WRVB acquired a television sister station in 1956, when WRVA-TV began broadcasting on channel 12. WRVA's parent company, Larus and Brother, sought a TV station after two other TV outlets had signed on the air in Richmond. It competed with a newspaper publishing company. Because the FCC was trying to avoid TV-newspaper cross ownership in the 50s, Larus and Brother were awarded the license. WRVA-TV (now WWBT) signed on the air on April 29.
After simulcasting with WRVA during its first two decades, management decided to give WRVA-FM its own programming. The call sign switched to WRVQ, becoming one of Richmond's first FM stations to switch to a Top 40 hit music format.
Ownership changes
In 1966, the death of Larus and Brother's longtime president, William Reed, prompted his heirs to break up Larus and Brother's various interests. However, they were very selective about potential buyers, and were only willing to enter talks with established broadcasters with a legacy of community service. In 1968, WRVA-TV was sold to Jefferson Standard Broadcasting (later Jefferson-Pilot), owner of WBT, WBT-FM, and WBTV in Charlotte, North Carolina. Reflecting the connection to WBT, WRVA-TV's call sign was changed to WWBT. Raycom Media later purchased the television station.[13] Jefferson Standard would have been interested in buying the radio stations as well. However, WBT, like WRVA, was a 50,000-watt "flamethrower"; the two stations' nighttime signals would have blanketed most of the eastern half of the continent between them. At the time, the FCC normally did not allow common ownership of clear-channel stations with overlapping nighttime signals. When it became clear that the FCC and Justice Department would not even consider a waiver that would have given one company control of two of the South's most powerful AM stations, Jefferson Standard decided against buying the AM station.
The radio stations went through several owners after Larus and Brother, including Southern Broadcasting,
In November 2004, a station using the call sign WRVA-FM began serving the
On November 1, 2017, iHeartMedia announced that WRVA, along with its sister stations in Richmond and
WRVA at Library of Virginia
WRVA is the subject of a major exhibit at the Library of Virginia in Richmond. Featured are historical documents, sound files, print artifacts, and such local interest items as the shoes of the late announcer Alden Aaroe, who founded an annual program that has raised over $5.6 million to provide shoes for needy children over a 36-year period.
FM translator
On May 5, 2014, WRVA began simulcasting on
On January 1, 2018, after Entercom acquired the station, WRVA began simulcasting on FM translator W241AP (96.1 MHz) in Midlothian, again using WTVR-FM's HD2 subchannel.[17] The translator had previously rebroadcast Liberty University's WRVL and a classic rock format.[18]
Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | HAAT |
Class | Transmitter coordinates | FCC info |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W241AP | 96.1 FM | Midlothian, Virginia | 139538 | 145 | 255.2 m (837 ft) | D | 37°30′31.5″N 77°34′37.0″W / 37.508750°N 77.576944°W | LMS |
See also
- Alden Aaroe
- John Harding
- Millard the Mallard
- Library of Virginia online exhibit "WRVA - The Voice of Virginia"
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WRVA". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "WRVA Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
- ^ Radio-Locator.com/WRVA
- ^ Radio-Locator.com/W241AP
- ^ "WRVA's New Wood Antenna" (PDF). Broadcasting. June 15, 1935. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
- ^ "Stronger WRVA Signal Credited to Wood Tower" (PDF). Broadcasting. October 15, 1935. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
- ^ a b "WRVA ad" (PDF). Broadcasting. September 1, 1947. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
- ^ "WRVC (FM) Norfolk Begins Programming" (PDF). Broadcasting. June 14, 1948. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
- ^ "WRVB (FM) in Richmond Is Launched on 94.5 mc" (PDF). Broadcasting. August 23, 1948. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
- ^ "Big John Trimble's East Coast Opry: Meet Big John Trimble". Archived from the original on February 8, 2004.
- ^ "Listen to Your Favorite Music, Podcasts, and Radio Stations for Free!".
- ^ "WRVA – Richmond, Virginia | Hibblen Radio".
- ^ Raycom Grabs Lincoln Financial Stations by Michael Malone, Broadcasting & Cable, November 12, 2007
- ^ "Entercom Trades Boston & Seattle Spin-Offs To iHeartMedia For Richmond & Chattanooga - RadioInsight". radioinsight.com. November 1, 2017. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- ^ "Consummation Notice". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. December 19, 2017. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- ^ "WRVA Adds FM Signal - RadioInsight". radioinsight.com. May 5, 2014. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- ^ WRVA Returns to FM Radioinsight - January 4, 2018
- ^ "New Radio Station Signs on".
External links
- Official website
- WRVA in the FCC AM station database
- WRVA in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
- FCC History Cards for WRVA
- WRVA Sound Collection
- FM translator