WFDD

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For the collegiate athletic teams, see Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
WFDD
Broadcast areaNorth Carolina and Virginia
Frequency88.5 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding88.5 WFDD, Public Radio for the Piedmont
Programming
FormatPublic Radio - News - Talk
Subchannels
Affiliations
Ownership
OwnerWake Forest University
History
First air date
April 19, 1948; 76 years ago (1948-04-19) (Sign-on in Wake Forest, moved to Winston-Salem in 1956.)
Former call signs
WAKE (April 1948)
Call sign meaning
Wake Forest Demon Deacons (nickname of Wake Forest University sports teams)
Technical information
Facility ID70708
ClassC1
ERP60,000 watts
HAAT285 meters (935 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
35°55′2.00″N 80°17′37.00″W / 35.9172222°N 80.2936111°W / 35.9172222; -80.2936111
Translator(s)100.1 W261CK (Boone)
Links
WebcastListen Live (FM/HD1)
Listen Live (HD2)
Listen Live (HD3)
Websitewfdd.org
Photo of WFDD building at Wake Forest University

WFDD (88.5 MHz) is a non-commercial, public radio station licensed to Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It is the National Public Radio (NPR) network affiliate for the Greensboro - Winston-Salem - High Point media market, also called the Piedmont Triad. Owned by Wake Forest University, WFDD serves 32 counties in Central North Carolina and South-Central Virginia. It holds periodic fundraisers on the air and accepts donations on its website.

WFDD is a Class C1 station. It has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 60,000 watts. The transmitter tower is on Old Evans Farm Road in Welcome, North Carolina.[1] Programming is also heard on 10-watt FM translator, W261CK on 100.1 FM in Boone. WFDD broadcasts using HD Radio technology. Its HD2 digital subchannel plays classical music and on HD3, the BBC World Service is heard.

Programming[edit]

On weekdays, WFDD carries news and talk programming from NPR and other public radio networks, with local news updates. The shows include Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Fresh Air, 1A, Here and Now, The World, On Point and Marketplace. Late nights, it carries the BBC World Service. WFDD produces a weekday one-hour news and interview program, Due South, airing live at 10 a.m. and repeated at 8 p.m.

On weekends, WFDD carries public radio specialty shows, including This American Life, The New Yorker Radio Hour, On The Media, The Splendid Table, The TED Radio Hour, The Moth Radio Hour, Travel with Rick Steves and Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Weekend music programs include American Routes and The Thistle and Shamrock. Freddie Jenkins hosts Back Porch on Friday and Saturday evenings, WFDD's folk, blues, bluegrass and acoustic music show.

History[edit]

"WAKE Radio" redirects here. Not to be confused with WAKE (AM).
WFDD logo used until mid-November 2019

Wake Forest College[edit]

WFDD has its roots in a station operated by students at what was then Wake Forest College. It was set up in a rooming house in the town of Wake Forest beginning in the fall of 1946.[2] The experimental station was so popular students began asking for an official station. With the help of student fundraising, WAKE was fully licensed by 1948.[3] The station uses as its official sign-on date April 19, 1948; 76 years ago (1948-04-19).

After discovering that the WAKE letters were already in use, the station changed its call sign to WFDD, which stood for "Wake Forest Demon Deacons," the nickname of the university's sports teams. Since coverage of school sports was an important part of the station's programming, this seemed appropriate. Other programs included "Deaconlight Serenade", a student music program which included the part of the name of a Glenn Miller hit. This program remained on the air as "Deaconlight" until 1981. The WAKE call letters returned in the 1980s on a student-run AM station, which later became available on the Internet.[3]

Move to Winston-Salem[edit]

After Wake Forest College moved to Winston-Salem, WFDD returned to the air with a 10-watt signal in 1961. The signal increased to 36,000 watts in 1967, the year the Corporation for Public Broadcasting began. WFDD became one of only 10 stations to have received federal funding from the new organization.[3] The signal boost resulted from efforts to raise funds after WYFS stopped playing classical music in May 1966.[4]

In 1958, Dr. Julian Burroughs, who had helped sign the station on and served as student station manager in the 1950-51 school year, became the station's first professional station manager, a post he held until 1981. His arrival began a transition to a more professional operation, culminating in 1961 when the station became a non-commercial educational radio station. On May 3, 1971, WFDD became a charter member of National Public Radio (NPR), the first affiliate of the network in the state. Burroughs added his knowledge to that of other station officials around the country to determine what NPR would become.[3]

On May 5, 1989, WFDD lost its tower along Business Route 40 in Winston-Salem when severe storms struck the area. The station returned to the air with reduced power, but did not fully cover the market until a new tower was completed in Welcome, North Carolina, which was shared with WWGL.[5] The tower was supposed to have taken 18 months to complete, but a station at 94.5 FM kept protesting that its signal would be affected. Once it was determined that would not be a problem, the tower was built and put into operation September 29, 1994.[6]

Programming changes[edit]

For two years in the 1990s, WFDD aired Wake Forest football and basketball games.[7] But some listeners complained about the interruption to the station's usual classical music and news programming.

For many years, WFDD, like many public FM radio stations, aired a mix of NPR programming and classical music. In 2005, WFDD began scheduling mostly news and talk programming from NPR, with no classical music during the day on most weekdays.[8] With less classical music, many classical music listeners protested the change by ceasing their donations. At the same time, the station saw an influx of new donors who appreciated the news and discussion programming.[9] The station added a 24-hour classical music station on its HD radio subcarrier.[10] Some listeners can also receive classical stations 89.9 WDAV in Davidson or 89.7 WCPE in Raleigh.

In 2009, WFDD began Radio Camp, a week-long experience for middle schoolers. Students learn the basics of conducting interviews, how to operate professional sound editing software, and create their own stories to be broadcast. The camp is held at the WFDD studio on Wake Forest University's campus.[11] For its official sign-on date, WFDD uses {{start date and age|

Until 2019, WFDD produced the syndicated show Across the Blue Ridge.[12] The program specialized in bluegrass and folk music. WFDD currently airs that music on Friday and Saturday evenings, during a program called Back Porch.

Other public radio stations[edit]

WFDD shares some of its coverage area with 91.5 WUNC-FM in Chapel Hill, a public radio station owned by the University of North Carolina. WUNC-FM is the primary NPR member station for the Research Triangle, including Raleigh and Durham. Its transmitter in Chatham County gives primary grade coverage to Greensboro and can also be heard in other parts of the Piedmont Triad.[13] Some of WFDD's signal also goes into WUNC-FM's territory.

Meanwhile, 90.7 WFAE can be heard in the southern section of the Triad.[14] WFAE is an NPR member station based in Charlotte with its 100,000 watt transmitter in Mecklenburg County. So WFAE and WFDD's signals overlap in Salisbury and Kannapolis.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Radio-Locator.com/WFDD
  2. ^ Glasgow, Jesse (1948). "Station W-A-K-E". The Wake Forest Student. 61.
  3. ^ a b c d "WAKE, WFDD, Wake Radio: 'The Radio Voice of Wake Forest University'". Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  4. ^ "Classical Music Fund Under Way". Winston-Salem Journal. June 10, 1966.
  5. ^ Susan Ladd, "WFDD Tower Extends Public Radio Station's Range," Greensboro News & Record, September 13, 1994.
  6. ^ Sprouse, Catherine (October 10, 1994). "WFDD Vying To Win Back Guilford Listeners". Triad Business News. p. 7.
  7. ^ William L. Holmes, "WFDD Kicks Out Sports Broadcasts Wake Forest Games Didn't Mesh Well with Music Shows," Winston-Salem Journal, January 20, 1998.
  8. ^ Tim Clodfelter, "More News: WFDD Has Shifted Format Away from Classical Music," Winston-Salem Journal, February 3, 2005.
  9. ^ Tim Clodfelter, "WFDD's Pledge Drive Falls 21 Percent Short of Its Goal," Winston-Salem Journal, April 7, 2007.
  10. ^ Tim Clodfelter, "Clearly Different - As Broadcasters Go HD They're Hoping Radio Listeners Will Jump on the Trend," Winston-Salem Journal, December 3, 2007.
  11. ^ "Radio Camp 2019". 88.5 WFDD. January 2, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  12. ^ Correspondent, Eddie Huffman Special. "Brown's 'Across the Blue Ridge' to end Dec. 29; show was in second incarnation after 17 year break". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
  13. ^ Radio-Locator.com/WUNC
  14. ^ Radio-Locator.com/WFAE

External links[edit]

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