WPTF (680
kHz
The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that on ...
) is a
commercial
Commercial may refer to:
* a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television)
** Radio advertisement
** Television advertisement
* (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...
AM radio station
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
broadcasting a
news/talk
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...
radio format
A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...
.
Licensed
A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit).
A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
to
Raleigh
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...
, the station serves the
Research Triangle
The Research Triangle, or simply The Triangle, are both common nicknames for a metropolitan area in the Piedmont region of North Carolina in the United States, anchored by the cities of Raleigh and Durham and the town of Chapel Hill, home to ...
area of
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
. It is owned by the
Curtis Media Group
Curtis Media Group is a broadcast media company based in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. The company owns and operates several North Carolina radio stations and television networks.
Broadcast Stations
Curtis Media Group owns and operates the fol ...
, with
studios
A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial d ...
located on Highwoods Boulevard in Raleigh. WPTF's
transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which i ...
site is a two-tower facility off East Chatham Street, near Maynard Road NE, in
Cary, North Carolina
Cary is a town in Wake and Chatham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is part of the Raleigh–Cary, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the 2020 Census, its population was 174,721, making it the seventh largest muni ...
.
WPTF is one of two AM radio stations in North Carolina, along with
WBT in
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...
, which operate fulltime with 50,000 watts, the maximum power for AM stations in the U.S. (As a Class A
clear-channel
A clear-channel station is an AM broadcasting, AM radio station in North America that has the highest protection from Interference (communication), interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. The syste ...
station, WBT has more protection from other stations than WPTF, which is classified as Class B.)
WPTF has a
non-directional daytime signal from a single tower, which provides a grade B signal as far west as the Charlotte suburbs, as far east as
Greenville and
Jacksonville
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
, and as far north as the
Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 100,011, making it the 8th most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond. It is lo ...
suburbs. Much of the eastern
Piedmont Triad
The Piedmont Triad (or simply the Triad) is a metropolitan region in the north-central part of the U.S. state of North Carolina anchored by three cities: Greensboro, North Carolina, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Winston-Salem, and H ...
, including
Greensboro
Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...
, gets city-grade coverage.
WPTF switches to a
directional signal at night from both towers that protects other stations on 680 kHz. Its nighttime signal is primarily required to protect the dominant Class A station on 680 kHz,
KNBR KNBR may refer to:
* KNBR (AM), a radio station (680 AM) licensed to serve San Francisco, California, United States
* KNBR-FM
KNBR-FM (104.5 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to San Francisco, California, serving the greater San ...
in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, and also must avoid interfering with several stations to the north on 680 kHz, including
WCBM
WCBM (680 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Baltimore, Maryland. It is owned by WCBM Maryland, Inc., and broadcasts a talk radio format, calling itself "Talk Radio 680 WCBM." The radio studios and offices are on York Road in Lutherville ...
in Baltimore,
WRKO
WRKO (680 AM) is a commercial news/talk
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly ho ...
in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
and
CFTR
Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is a membrane protein and anion channel in vertebrates that is encoded by the ''CFTR'' gene.
Geneticist Lap-Chee Tsui and his team identified the CFTR gene in 1989 as the gene linked wit ...
in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
. Even with this restriction, at night WPTF can be heard across much of the southeastern United States with a good radio.
To improve its nighttime coverage, WPTF programming is carried on three
FM translator
A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tran ...
stations: 98.5
MHz
The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...
in Cary, 98.7 MHz in
Rolesville
Rolesville is a town in northeastern Wake County, North Carolina, United States, a suburb of the capital city of Raleigh. It is the second oldest town in Wake County and has been one of the fastest-growing towns in the state of North Carolina for t ...
and 107.5 MHz in
Smithfield.
Programming
Weekday programs on WPTF include local news blocks in morning
drive time
Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this c ...
, noon and afternoons. Three
nationally syndicated talk shows are on the weekday line up:
Brian Kilmeade
Brian Kilmeade (born May 7, 1964) is an American television and radio presenter and political commentator for Fox News. On weekdays he co-hosts the morning show, ''Fox & Friends'', and he hosts the Fox News Radio program ''The Brian Kilmeade Sho ...
,
Jim Bohannon
James Everett Bohannon (January 7, 1944 – November 12, 2022) was an American broadcaster who worked in both television and radio. He is best known for hosting the nationally syndicated late night radio talk show ''The Jim Bohannon Show'' orig ...
show and ''
Red Eye Radio
''Red Eye Radio'' is a talk radio program currently hosted by Eric Harley and Gary McNamara. The program is syndicated nationwide by Westwood One, and originates from WBAP in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The show traces its history through ...
''.
WPTF's local coverage is supplemented by the
CBS Radio Network
CBS News Radio, formerly known as CBS Radio News and historically known as the CBS Radio Network, is a radio network that provides news to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by Paramount Global. It ...
,
AP Radio
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
, and the co-owned North Carolina News Network.
Weekends feature shows on health, money, gardening and home improvement, as well as repeats of some weekday shows. Tony Riggsbee, who retired from WPTF in 2004, had returned to the station on a part-time basis a few months prior. He currently helms WPTF's Saturday Morning News prior to "Eye on Health" and long-time staple "
Weekend Gardener" hosted by Mike Raley and Ann Clapp.
WPTF is the Raleigh/Durham affiliate of the University of North Carolina
Tar Heel Sports Network
The Tar Heel Sports Network is a radio network in the United States dedicated to broadcasting live events and programming relating to North Carolina Tar Heels athletics. It is operated by Tar Heel Sports Properties, a property of Learfield IMG ...
, sharing flagship status with
WCHL in
Chapel Hill Chapel Hill or Chapelhill may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Chapel Hill (Antarctica) Australia
*Chapel Hill, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane
*Chapel Hill, South Australia, in the Mount Barker council area
Canada
* Chapel Hill, Ottawa, a neighbo ...
. The station carries football and men's basketball games, along with the coaches' shows for both sports and the weekly Primetime In The ACC show.
History
Founding
![Wynne Radio Company, Raleigh, North Carolina, advertisement (1925)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Wynne_Radio_Company%2C_Raleigh%2C_North_Carolina%2C_advertisement_%281925%29.gif)
WPTF was first licensed on October 25, 1924, as WFBQ with 50 watts on 1190 kHz, to the Wynne Radio Company, owned by William Avera Wynne, at 226 Fayetteville Street in Raleigh. However, earlier that month the company had announced it was broadcasting World's Series reports, and later advertised that "We built and operated said Station long before we received the license" for WFBQ. The original call letters were randomly assigned from a sequential roster of available
call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...
s. WFBQ was the second Raleigh radio station, following the short-lived WLAC which was licensed to the
North Carolina State College
North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university ...
from August 31, 1922 to October 29, 1923.
William Wynne had long been a local technical leader. In 1899 he established the Raleigh Telephone Company, and prior to World War One built a radio receiver used to pick up nightly time signals broadcast by
NAA
NAA or Naa may refer to:
People
* Naa Ashorkor (born 1988), Ghanaian actress and radio/ TV broadcaster
* Naa Govindasamy (1946–1999), Singaporean Tamil-language writer and computer font developer
* Naa Someswara, Indian science writer and T ...
in Arlington, Virginia, in order to accurately set the timepieces at the Jolly-Wynne Jewelry Store. In 1922, at the age of 55, Wynne sold his telephone company and opened the radio equipment store. As of June 30, 1924, he held a license for amateur station 4RU, located at 323 Hillsboro Street in Raleigh.
In 1922, there was rapidly increasing interest by the general public in the recently introduced innovation of radio broadcasting. However, in 1924 there were no local Raleigh radio stations, so listeners were limited to nighttime reception of distant stations, which required more expensive equipment. The establishment of WFBQ provided Wynne Radio Company customers an additional, local, programming source, that could be picked up during daytime hours by less expensive receivers. WFBQ offices and broadcasting facilities were located in the Boone Building next to the
Wake County
Wake County is located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In the 2020 census, its population was 1,129,410, making it North Carolina's most-populous county. From July 2005 to July 2006, Wake County was the 9th-fastest growing county in the U ...
Courthouse.
On August 15, 1925 the call letters were changed to WRCO, for Wynne Radio Company. Operations were moved to the
Sir Walter Hotel
The Sir Walter Hotel is the oldest surviving hotel building in Raleigh, North Carolina. Constructed between 1923 and 1924 on Fayetteville Street and named after Sir Walter Raleigh, the hotel was nicknamed North Carolina's "third house of governme ...
, with the station's transmitting antenna strung between two towers constructed on the roof. The following year the power was increased to 250 watts. In June 1927 the station was assigned to 1380 kHz.
Durham Life Insurance
![Sir Walter Hotel-WPTF advertisement (1927)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Sir_Walter_Hotel-WPTF_advertisement_%281927%29.jpg)
In the summer of 1927, WRCO was purchased by the Durham Life Insurance Company, which moved the station to 720 kHz, now with 500 watts, and changed the call letters to WPTF, reflecting the new owner's motto of "We Protect The Family". New equipment was purchased and the operations were moved to the basement of the old Durham Life building. Following a series of test transmissions, WPTF made its formal debut on November 14, 1927.
["Raleigh's New Radio Station Goes on Air With Civic Club Program Monday Night", ''Raleigh News and Observer'', November 13, 1927, Third (radio) section, page 1.] On December 1, 1927 the station moved to 550 kHz, which was followed by a power increase to 1,000 watts. William Wynne initially stayed on as station engineer,
[ but later left, continuing to work in the radio industry, and in 1933 set up ]WEED
A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...
, the first radio station in Greenville.
On November 11, 1928, with the implementation of the Federal Radio Commission
The Federal Radio Commission (FRC) was a government agency that regulated United States radio communication from its creation in 1927 until 1934, when it was succeeded by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FRC was established by t ...
's General Order 40
The Federal Radio Commission's (FRC) General Order 40, dated August 30, 1928, described the standards for a sweeping reorganization of radio broadcasting in the United States. This order grouped the AM radio band transmitting frequencies into thre ...
, WPTF was assigned to 680 kHz. KPO in San Francisco was designated as the primary occupant of this "clear channel" frequency, so WPTF was restricted to "limited time" operation, which prohibited WPTF from operating after San Francisco sunset, unless special permission had been received to operate with reduced power for additional hours.
In the early 1930s, WPTF was a pioneer in educational radio. Students in area schools that had radios were able to listen to a daily broadcast, with topics that included "Citizenship", "Science", "Social Studies" and "Art, Music and Literature".
Although many attempts were made over the next several years, it was not until 1933 that the station was authorized to increase its power to 5,000 watts. WPTF purchased new equipment and moved its transmitter site to near Cary, North Carolina
Cary is a town in Wake and Chatham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is part of the Raleigh–Cary, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the 2020 Census, its population was 174,721, making it the seventh largest muni ...
, on US Highway 1
U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, making ...
. Two towers were built, that turned out to be defective, and in June of the next year winds from a thunderstorm collapsed one of the towers and damaged the other, requiring their replacement. These towers served as a prominent local landmark, and some nearby companies advertised their locations by noting their proximity.
Station upgrade
In June 1940, WPTF was authorized to operate unlimited hours, using a directional antenna to limit westward signals after sunset in San Francisco. A month later the station was granted a construction permit
Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building perm ...
to install new transmitter equipment and increase its power to 50,000 watts, the maximum for AM stations in the U.S. A new transmission plant was constructed at the Cary transmitter site, which included replacing the two existing towers with 370-foot (113 meter) Blaw Know towers. The upgrade to 50,000 watts was delayed when a fire destroyed a new transmitter before it could go into regular service. On May 24, 1941, WPTF began operating with a replacement 50,000 watt transmitter. The next day, the station held an "open house" at the transmitter site, to show off "the new equipment, as modern and powerful as any in the country".
As of 1948, WPTF became an affiliate of the NBC Red Network
The National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (known as the NBC Red Network prior to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in operation from 1926 through 2004. Along with the NBC Blue Network it was one of the first t ...
. That year the station also received permission to install a third, taller, tower, designed to support the antenna for a new FM station.
Since the 1960s
Bart Ritner went to work at WPTF in 1966, staying for 39 years. He hosted the morning show "Ask Your Neighbor", with people giving advice or recipes. His most popular show was "Open Line", an hour-long call-in-show started in 1966 and expanded to two hours in 1973. Don Curtis, whose company later bought the station called the show "one of the nation's first daily two-way talk programs". Ritner moved to news in 1980. He was the only reporter at a 1982 hostage
A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or ref ...
incident at Central Prison
Central Prison is a prison operated by the North Carolina Department of Public Safety in Raleigh, North Carolina. The prison, west of Downtown Raleigh, is on of land and is bounded by a double wire fence with a razor ribbon on top. The Departm ...
, helping to negotiate and end the standoff. Ritner returned to "Open Line" in 1986 and moved it from evenings to afternoons.[
By the 1970s, WPTF offered a "full service format with news, talk, and ]adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
music". Bob Kwesell, whose conservative views offended a number of listeners but attracted many newcomer and increased advertising, was dropped on November 17, 1986.
In 1991, Durham Life exited broadcasting in order to focus on its core insurance business. In 1996, the opening images of the music video for the Squirrel Nut Zippers
Squirrel Nut Zippers is an American swing and jazz band formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, by Jimbo Mathus, James "Jimbo" Mathus (vocals and guitar), Tom Maxwell (singer), Tom Maxwell (vocals and guitar), ...
song ''Hell'' included still photographs of the WPTF transmitter site in Cary, in order to establish the video's 1940s theme.
WPTF served as the flagship station for the NC State Wolfpack
The NC State Wolfpack is the nickname of the athletic teams representing North Carolina State University. The Wolfpack competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for college footb ...
sports network for more than 40 years, until in 2008 the Wolfpack Sports Marketing announced it had signed a ten-year deal to move to Capitol Broadcasting Company
The Capitol Broadcasting Company, Inc. (CBC) is an American media company based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Capitol owns three television stations and nine radio stations in the Raleigh–Durham and Wilmington areas of North Carolina and the Du ...
's WRAL-FM
WRAL (101.5 FM, "Mix 101.5") is a commercial radio station licensed to Raleigh, North Carolina, and serving the Research Triangle. It is owned by the Capitol Broadcasting Company and broadcasts an adult contemporary radio format, switching t ...
. NC State athletic officials cited their desire to be on an FM signal with a multi-year contract and the ability to collect more local advertising revenue, conditions that Curtis Media was unwilling to provide. Some Wolfpack fans around the East Coast were unhappy with the move because it cut the audience of Wolfpack sports, especially at night, because of the reduced power.
As of September 15, 2008, WPTF began streaming its local and syndicated line up. After the September 2008 death of Jack Boston, Scott Fitzgerald took over North Carolina Morning News. Parent company Curtis Media announced in August 2009 the acquisition of The North Carolina News Network The North Carolina News Network (sometimes called NCNN) is a news and information service established in 1942. It provides programming to approximately 75 radio stations, primarily in the state of North Carolina, and can also be heard by Internet st ...
from Capitol Broadcasting Company of Raleigh. On November 2, 2009, Curtis Media President Phil Zachary said that Rush Limbaugh's program would be leaving WPTF on December 31, 2009, after more than 20 years. The show moved to Clear Channel Communications
iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...
(now iHeartMedia's) FM talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...
station, 106.1 WRDU (now WTKK
WTKK (106.1 FM), known as "106.1 WTKK, More Stimulating Talk Radio", is a radio station that is licensed to Knightdale, North Carolina and serves the Raleigh-Durham media market (also known as the Research Triangle). WTKK airs a talk radio f ...
). The loss of long-time staples Limbaugh and Sean Hannity
Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30, 1961) is an American talk show host, conservative political commentator, and author. He is the host of ''The Sean Hannity Show'', a nationally syndicated talk radio show, and has also hosted a commentar ...
proved challenging for WPTF, and the station's ratings declined.
In December 2009, Brian Freeman, program director of sister station WSJS
WSJS (600 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and broadcasting to the Greensboro/Winston-Salem/ High Point media market. It airs a talk and sports radio format. WSJS is owned by the Truth Broadcastin ...
in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...
took over the same duties at WPTF and became the host of North Carolina's Morning News. WPTF aired NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
Sprint Cup Series
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971 ...
and Nationwide Series
The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
racing, starting with the 2011 Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...
.
WPTF's format was split on March 13, 2012, when much of its talk programming moved to sister station WPTK, which was branded as ''TalkRadio 850 WPTF''. WPTF shifted most of its daytime programming to all-news
All-news radio is a radio format devoted entirely to the discussion and broadcast of news.
All-news radio is available in both local and syndicated forms, and is carried on both major US satellite radio networks. All-news stations can run the ...
, retaining the ''NewsRadio 680 WPTF'' identity. The station continued to air '' The Dave Ramsey Show'' in the late morning hours until it was picked up by WTKK
WTKK (106.1 FM), known as "106.1 WTKK, More Stimulating Talk Radio", is a radio station that is licensed to Knightdale, North Carolina and serves the Raleigh-Durham media market (also known as the Research Triangle). WTKK airs a talk radio f ...
on June 15, 2013. In August 2015, WPTK dropped its talk show programs.
Until July 16, 2021 WPTF hosted a local talk show on weekday evenings with Tom Kearney. On July 28, 2021, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
's Tar Heel Sports Network
The Tar Heel Sports Network is a radio network in the United States dedicated to broadcasting live events and programming relating to North Carolina Tar Heels athletics. It is operated by Tar Heel Sports Properties, a property of Learfield IMG ...
switched its Raleigh/Durham affiliate from WTKK to WPTF beginning with the 2021 football season. The agreement also included broadcasts of men's basketball, along with the coaches' shows for both sports, and the weekly ''Primetime In The ACC'' show. This deal also made WPTF the new flagship station for the network.
Hurricane coverage
WPTF has historically provided hurricane coverage to residents of the Carolinas. WPTF first provided reports of Hurricane Hazel
Hurricane Hazel was the deadliest, second costliest, and most intense hurricane of the 1954 Atlantic hurricane season. The storm killed at least 469 people in Haiti before striking the United States near the border between North and South ...
and has covered most major storms ever since.
Because of WPTF's directional nighttime signal, the station assisted the residents of Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...
after Hurricane Hugo
Hurricane Hugo was a powerful Cape Verde tropical cyclone that inflicted widespread damage across the northeastern Caribbean and the Southeastern United States in September 1989. Across its track, Hugo affected approximately 2 million peop ...
hit the state in 1989. Most of coastal South Carolina, including the city of Charleston was without power, so local radio stations were knocked off the air. WPTF broadcast emergency information and even won several awards from the state of South Carolina for their assistance.
In 1996, WPTF provided coverage of Hurricane Fran
Hurricane Fran caused extensive damage in the United States in early September 1996. The sixth named storm, fifth hurricane, and third major hurricane of the 1996 Atlantic hurricane season, Fran developed from a tropical wave near Cape Verde on ...
even though the station was without utility power for nearly a week. The station and transmitter site ran on generator power, allowing residents in the Triangle and beyond to call in for storm and damage information and find out where to get needed supplies, such as ice, water, and food.
Sister stations
WPTF-FM
WPTF added an FM station on 94.5 MHz in 1949, with its antenna placed on the tallest of the AM station's three towers. At the beginning both stations operated from 410 South Salisbury street in Downtown Raleigh. The tower used by WPTF-FM when it signed on is currently used by WKIX-FM
WKIX-FM (102.9 Hertz, MHz) is a classic hits formatted radio station located in Raleigh, North Carolina, that plays hit music from the 1960s in music, 1960s, 1970s in music, 1970s, and 1980s in music, 1980s as "KIX 102". Its studios are located i ...
. WPTF-FM later moved to 94.7. The station played classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
before switching to album rock
Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock.
Album-orient ...
and the new call letters WQDR-FM
WQDR-FM (94.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Raleigh, North Carolina, broadcasting to the Research Triangle, including the cities of Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Fayetteville, Rocky Mount, Wilson, and Goldsboro. "94-7 QDR" presents a co ...
in 1973, and later became a Country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
station, still co-owned by Curtis Media.
WPTF-TV
In 1977, Durham Life bought the Triangle's longtime NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
affiliate, WRDU-TV (channel 28) and changed the call letters to WPTF-TV. All three stations were housed at studios in the Highwoods office park on Raleigh's north end. This station is now WRDC
WRDC (channel 28) is a television station licensed to Durham, North Carolina, United States, serving the Research Triangle area as an affiliate of MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside Raleigh-licensed CW affiliate WLFL ...
Channel 28.
Translators
References
External links
*
FCC History Cards for WPTF
(covering 1924-1980 as WFBQ / WRCO / WPTF)
*
*
*
WPTF station history
(wptf.com)
"Inside the WPTF Station: An Untouched Time Capsule from the 1940's"
April 13, 2018 (abc11.com)
"WPTF: The First 50 Years"
(1974 recording)
{{Authority control
PTF
Radio stations established in 1924
News and talk radio stations in the United States
1924 establishments in North Carolina