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STATION CALL LETTERS
- Thread starter BIG APE
- Start date
Here are a few from the former RDU RadioWaves website. Please forgive any repitition with older posts. Some are obvious while other meanings are harder to decipher at first glance.
WARR,Warrenton-Represents the first four letters of the station's location and city of license.
WAUG,St. Augustines College-Partial acronym of the school which owns the station.
WAZZ,Easy-Fuquay-Varina's 103.9 FM was known as "Easy 103.9" with an easy listening format under these calls in the late 1980s. These calls now reside at the 1490 AM dial position in Faetteville, NC, which airs a standards format.
WBIG,We Believe In Greensboro-These call letters belonged to Greensboro's first radio station which signed on in 1925. When the station went off the air in 1986, 102.1 FM out of Redisville briefly assumed them under a country format. The letters now reside in the District of Columbia.
WBOB,Bob-For one week in April 2004, 93.3 FM in Washington, NC, had these calls which represented their handle, before reverting back to WERO.
WBTM,World's Best Tobacco Market, World's Biggest Textile Mill-These call letters represent both Danville, Virginia's one-time tobacco supremacy and formerly Danville-based Dan River Fabrics.
WCAS,Class -Handle of an AC station which used to operate here, now known as WFXK.
WCHL,Where Chapel Hill Listens-Acronym representing a former slogan for the station that also incorporates its city of license.
WCKB,Where Carolina Keeps Building, Where Christians Keep Believing-The former was used when the Dunn station signed on in 1946; the latter, following its shift to a Southern gospel format.
WCOG,Wonderful City Of Greensboro-Meaning behild call letters of Greensboro's AM 1320.
WCPE,Though many think this classical station's call letters represent composer Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach, they actually stand for nothing. The station didn't have the extra money to apply for specific call letters.
WCPS,Coastal Plains Station-Refers to the region in which city of license Tarboro is located.
WDBS,Duke Broadcasting Service-Former sponsor of the station when Duke University operated it. WDBS is now known as WFXC.
WDNZ, WDNC-When the station, now WDOX, simulcast Durham's WDNC and adapted call letters to roughly match.
WDOX, Docs-A reference to this talk station being the "Home of the Doc's", as in Dr. Joy Brown and Dr. Laura Schlessinger.
WDRU,WTRU-letters that sound similar to sister station WTRU, who's letters stand for "The Truth".
WDTF,Dedicated To Family -Described the format of this former Christian station. Also bore a striking resemblance to owner Curtis Media's flagship AM WPTF. The station is now WDNZ.
WDUR and WDNC,Durham, North Carolina-The city of license for both stations.
WDWG,Dog-The handle of this country station.
WERO,Arrow -This station once had an "all rock and roll oldies" (A.R.R.O) format, and was called "Arrow 93.3".
WESQ,Wesleyan -Derivation of North Carolina Wesleyan College, which once owned the station at 90.9 FM, now known as WRQM.
WETC,We Entertain Tobacco Country-Reference to the prominent cash crop of North Carolina at the time.
WEWO,Wonderful Environment, Wonderful Opportunity-Interesting slogan for the current WFLB while a Laurinburg FM.
WFJA,Frank James Abbott-The late founder/owner of this Sanford station.
WFMA,FM-Reference to the FM radio band on which the station, now known as WRVA-FM, was found.
WFTC,World's Finest Tobacco City-Another set of tobacco-era call letters, these referring to Kinston, NC's chief industry.
WFTK,Working For The King, Fifty Thousand (K) Watts -Described both the format and the daytime power of this Christian station, now known as WDRU
WFVG,Watch Fuquay Varina Grow-Represented the communities of Fuquay Springs and Varina that this station, at AM 1460, served. The two towns merged as Fuquay-Varina in the 1960s. The station was later known as WAKS, WNBR and WCRY before being permenantly deleted by the FCC in 2004.
WFXC and WFXK,Foxy-Variations on the handle of this station.
WFXF,Fox-Former handle of High Point's 100.3 FM.
WFXQ,Fox-Former handle of this station, now known as WCMC.
WGBR,Goldsboro-Describes the station's city of license.
WGPL,Witnessing God's Precious Love-Call letters of Winston-Salem's 93.1 when it aired a Southern gospel format.
WHEV,Henry E. Vail-former owner of the Garner station now known as WRTG.
WHHT,H. H. Toms -Former owner of a Durham station once heard at 1580 and later 1590 AM before signing off the air in 1951.
WHLF,Halifax-The station is located in Halifax County, Virginia.
WHNC,Henderson, North Carolina -The station's city of license.
WHPE,High Point Enterprise, Where His Praises Echo-Station was once owned by the High Point Enterprise newspaper, but is now owned by the Bible Broadcasting Network, which found a more- format appropriate meaning for the call sign.
WHSL,Whistle-Former handle of High Point's 100.3 station, when it played country as "Whistle 100". The call sign also saw use in Wilmington, NC
WICE,Ice-"Cool" was the handle of the station, and ice definitely fits that description.
WITN,Washington -Variation of the station's city of license, Washington, NC. The call letters are still in use on TV channel 7 in Eastern North Carolina.
WJLC,JLC Properties-The former owner of these stations, founded by the late James L. Cole, Jr., thus the letters "JLC" (WJLC has occupied three spots on the dial, 97.5, 95.3 and 98.3).
WKIX and WKXU,Kicks -Slogan associated with the legendary Top 40 outlet at 850 AM, later associated with the country format. The call sign WKIX has been at seven separate spots on the dial since its inception to the area in 1959: Raleigh's 850 AM from 1959-1994, Raleigh's 96.1 FM from 1959-1974 (with the "-FM" suffix) and 1994-1998 (standalone), Goldsboro's 96.9 FM from 1998-2001, Goldsboro's 102.3 FM from 2001-2007, Kinston's 97.7 FM from 2006-2008, back at Goldsboro's 102.3 again from 2008 to 2010 and, currently, at both 102.9 FM (with the "-FM" suffix) and again at 850 AM. WKXU found a a new home on the dial at 102.5 FM, then a Louisburg station, in 2004 when 101.1 FM became talk WZTK. The calls were replaced in 2010 when 102.5 moved to Hillsborough as WPLW (Pulse 102).
WKNC,Wolfpack-North Carolina-Derivative of the university's mascot.
WKNS,Kinston, North Carolina-Represents this station's city of license.
WKRX and WRXO, Roxboro, North Carolina-The stations' city of license.
WKSI,"Kiss"-Former call letters of Greensboro's 98.7 FM, which was once known as "98.7 Kiss FM", and later "98.7 Kiss Country". Now known as WSMW-FM
WKSL,"Kiss"-Call letters of Raleigh's 93.9 FM, which is known as "93.9 Kiss FM".
WKTC,Katie Country -Handle of a station which used to operate here, now known as WYMY.
WKVE and WKVK,K-Love-This Semora-licensed station is an affiliate of K-Love Christian Music Network, and the WKVE (2000-2009) and later WKVK (2009-present) calls are a derivation of the network's name.
WLHC,Life in the Heart of Carolina-Acronym for the station's slogan.
WLLE,Willie-Handle of this R&B station now known as WDOX.
WLUS,"U.S."-Handle of this country station. The "L" might possibly stand for owner Lakes Media.
WNAO,News and Observer-Represented the newspaper which founded and owned the stations now known as WBBB and WRBZ.
WNBR,News and Business Radio-Now permenantly silent AM 1460 in Fuquay-Varina was known by these call letters briefly when they aired a business news format.
WNOH,N.O. Harris-The founder of the station, which is now known as WCLY. The same family which owns present-day Harris Beer Distributors in Raleigh.
WNCT,North Carolina Television-Once co-owned with WNCT-TV, one of the state's earliest TV stations.
WNCU,North Carolina Central University -Represents the station's owner, North Carolina Central University. The station had also unsuccessfully applied for WNCC.
WNND and WWND,The Wind -The "wind" handle originated in this area with Fuquay-Varina's 103.9 FM, which brought the smooth jazz format to the Raleigh area. The station dropped the handle and call letters in 1995 before dropping the jazz format the next year. Curtis Media copied the smooth jazz format and the "wind" handle at 102.9 FM in 1998 under the calls WWND. They gave the handle, format and call sign up in early 2001.
WOXF,Oxford-The station's city of license and location. Now known as WCBQ.
WOZN,"Zone"-The station's handle was "98-7 The Zone". They're now known as WSMW "98-7 Simon".
WPCM,We Play Country Music, We Play Carolina's Music -Former call letters of the country station now known as WKXU. These call letters, now on Burlington's 920 AM, currently give reference to the beach music heard here and made popular along the Carolina coast.
WPJL,We Proclaim Jesus Lord -Represents the mission of this Christian station.
WPWZ,Power-The handle of this urban station.
WPXX,Picks-Referenced the handle of this station before it became WKVE (now WKVK).
WPYB,We Promote Your Business-The station's slogan.
WQDR,Quadrophonic Rock -An unsuccessful sound transmission system used by this former rock outlet which employed four channels of audio instead of the two used with stereo. When the station switched from its critically acclaimed album rock format to country in 1984, rock fans said the call letters really stood for "We Quit Doing Rock".
WQMG,Quality Music for Greensboro-Apparently a former slogan.
WRAL and WRNC,Raleigh or Raleigh, North Carolina-The stations' city of license. The WRNC calls now belong to an expanded band AM station in Warner-Robbins, Georgia.
WRBX,WKBX-Original owner Stuart Epperson owned WKBX 1500 AM in Winston-Salem and wanted similar calls for his new station. WRBX was later known as WRTP and is now WLLQ.
WRBZ,Raleigh's Buzz-Represented the handle of this station.
WRCO,Wynne Radio Company-In 1924, William A. Wynne's Raleigh-based radio company started what is now WPTF and adopted call letters to reflect the company name.
WRDT,Raleigh Durham's Talk-Represented a short-lived Christian talk format at this dial position, now known as WQDR (AM).
WRDU,Raleigh-Durham-Reference the radio market served by the station and the FAA code for the local airport, Raleigh-Durham International. These call letters once belonged to local television station WRDC, channel 28, from its sign on in 1968 through 1977.
WREV, The Reidsville Review-Though it appears these call letters represent the station's city of license at first glance, they actually represent the first three letters of the Review, the name of the newspaper which once owned the station , now WJMH.
WRJD,Rejoice Durham-The Durham station has an inspirational/black gospel format.
WRQM and WRMT,Rocky Mount-Derivation of the station's city of license.
WRSN,Raleigh's Sunny-Represented the station's handle, adopted in 1996 when the former WZZU dumped classic rock for soft adult contemporary. Often criticized when they played classic rock, they format change to soft rock didn't make any long-time listeners happy, especially when the popular syndicated "John Boy and Billy" was without a local outlet for a short time after the switch. Former listeners said derisively that the new letters stood for "We Really Stink Now".
WRTP and WRTG,Research Triangle Park -Refers to area served by these stations
WRVA,River-Represents the handle of 100.7 FM's new Triple-A/Hot AC hybrid format. These call letters are also used by Virginia's first radio station, the 50,000-watt AM 1140 WRVA in Richmond. Both are owned by Clear Channel. Due to the Richmond station, the suffix "-FM" is added to the local one.
WSAY,Say-Represented the slogan of this station, now WDWG.
WSGH,Winston-Salem, Greensboro, High Point-Represented the three cities served by Winston-Salem's 107.5 FM.
WSHA,Shaw University -Represents the station's owner, Shaw University.
WSJS,Winston-Salem Journal Sentinel-Acronym for the newspaper founder and former owner of this station.
WSML,Smiles-This Graham station, now a repeater of Winston-Salem's WSJS, was once known as "Radio Smiles".
WSMW,Simon-A loose reflection of the station's handle.
WSTS,Winning Souls Through Song-The meaning of the call letters for the Southern Gospel station, though it is doubtful if this acronym was in use during the station's Laurinburg days.
WTIK,Where Tobacco Is King-Reference to Durham's former status as a major tobacco center.
WTCD,Triangle's CD-Represented the handle of this NAC/Smooth Jazz station, when it was CD-103.9. This was a fidelity-intensive format, so the handle made reference to compact discs, known for their exact replication of audio. WTCD is now black gospel WNNL.
WTEB,Dr. Thurman Elias Brock-The parent station of Public Radio East is located on the campus of Craven Community College, which was founded by Dr. Brock. Dr. Brock was also a big proponent of bringing public radio to eastern North Carolina. The acronym, "Where Tomorrow's Education Begins" has also been associated with the station.
WTRG,Triangle or Triangle Radio Gold-The first refers to the region served by the station, now known as WRVA-FM; the second is a reported acroynm which may have also been used.
WTSB,Where Tobacco Sells Best, then Triangle Sports Broadcasters and now Where The Stories Break-Named for the former licensee of this Selma station. New owners Lamm Broadcasting use the call letters as an acronym promoting the station's commitment to local news. These same call letters originally belonged to a now silent station in Lumberton, NC at 580 AM, where they stood for "Where Tobacco Sells Best".
WUNC,University of North Carolina-Station is owned by the University of North Carolina Board of Governors.
WVBZ,Buzzard-High Point station was known as "The Buzzard 100.3", now "100.3 The Buzz"
WVTF,Virginia Tech Foundation-Name of the non-profit group running Virginia Tech's public radio outlet.
WWMO,William Manson Oliver-Initials of the station's co-founder and owner. This station is now known as WJMH.
WXJC,The "Cross" of Jesus Christ-Nifty set of call letters that belonged to Calvary Satellite Radio's Raleigh station from 2001-2002; the "X" represents the cross. The station was later known as WAJC and is now WVRD.
WYFL,Where You'll Find Love-References the station's Christian format. According to a 25th anniversary publication, the founders of the station's parent network, the Bible Broadcasting Network, bought a Norfolk station, WYFI, unaware that call letters could be changed. With the exception of High Point affiliate WHPE and former Atlanta-area affiliate WAVO, the network has requested call letters in the WYF_ and KYF_ format, later assigning meanings to them.
WYLT,Lite-Described the format of this station when it was lite A/C.
WYRN,We're Your Radio Neighbor-An acronym reflecting a former slogan.
WYYD,Wide-Chosen to describe the sound quality available with quadraphonic sound, an unsuccessful form of FM stereo using four channels instead of two. Now known as WBBB
WXDU and WDUK,Duke University -Both acronyms epresent the school in Durham. WDUK, a commercial station not affiliated with Duke, merged with WTIK in 1951. WXDU is Duke's Campus station.
WARR,Warrenton-Represents the first four letters of the station's location and city of license.
WAUG,St. Augustines College-Partial acronym of the school which owns the station.
WAZZ,Easy-Fuquay-Varina's 103.9 FM was known as "Easy 103.9" with an easy listening format under these calls in the late 1980s. These calls now reside at the 1490 AM dial position in Faetteville, NC, which airs a standards format.
WBIG,We Believe In Greensboro-These call letters belonged to Greensboro's first radio station which signed on in 1925. When the station went off the air in 1986, 102.1 FM out of Redisville briefly assumed them under a country format. The letters now reside in the District of Columbia.
WBOB,Bob-For one week in April 2004, 93.3 FM in Washington, NC, had these calls which represented their handle, before reverting back to WERO.
WBTM,World's Best Tobacco Market, World's Biggest Textile Mill-These call letters represent both Danville, Virginia's one-time tobacco supremacy and formerly Danville-based Dan River Fabrics.
WCAS,Class -Handle of an AC station which used to operate here, now known as WFXK.
WCHL,Where Chapel Hill Listens-Acronym representing a former slogan for the station that also incorporates its city of license.
WCKB,Where Carolina Keeps Building, Where Christians Keep Believing-The former was used when the Dunn station signed on in 1946; the latter, following its shift to a Southern gospel format.
WCOG,Wonderful City Of Greensboro-Meaning behild call letters of Greensboro's AM 1320.
WCPE,Though many think this classical station's call letters represent composer Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach, they actually stand for nothing. The station didn't have the extra money to apply for specific call letters.
WCPS,Coastal Plains Station-Refers to the region in which city of license Tarboro is located.
WDBS,Duke Broadcasting Service-Former sponsor of the station when Duke University operated it. WDBS is now known as WFXC.
WDNZ, WDNC-When the station, now WDOX, simulcast Durham's WDNC and adapted call letters to roughly match.
WDOX, Docs-A reference to this talk station being the "Home of the Doc's", as in Dr. Joy Brown and Dr. Laura Schlessinger.
WDRU,WTRU-letters that sound similar to sister station WTRU, who's letters stand for "The Truth".
WDTF,Dedicated To Family -Described the format of this former Christian station. Also bore a striking resemblance to owner Curtis Media's flagship AM WPTF. The station is now WDNZ.
WDUR and WDNC,Durham, North Carolina-The city of license for both stations.
WDWG,Dog-The handle of this country station.
WERO,Arrow -This station once had an "all rock and roll oldies" (A.R.R.O) format, and was called "Arrow 93.3".
WESQ,Wesleyan -Derivation of North Carolina Wesleyan College, which once owned the station at 90.9 FM, now known as WRQM.
WETC,We Entertain Tobacco Country-Reference to the prominent cash crop of North Carolina at the time.
WEWO,Wonderful Environment, Wonderful Opportunity-Interesting slogan for the current WFLB while a Laurinburg FM.
WFJA,Frank James Abbott-The late founder/owner of this Sanford station.
WFMA,FM-Reference to the FM radio band on which the station, now known as WRVA-FM, was found.
WFTC,World's Finest Tobacco City-Another set of tobacco-era call letters, these referring to Kinston, NC's chief industry.
WFTK,Working For The King, Fifty Thousand (K) Watts -Described both the format and the daytime power of this Christian station, now known as WDRU
WFVG,Watch Fuquay Varina Grow-Represented the communities of Fuquay Springs and Varina that this station, at AM 1460, served. The two towns merged as Fuquay-Varina in the 1960s. The station was later known as WAKS, WNBR and WCRY before being permenantly deleted by the FCC in 2004.
WFXC and WFXK,Foxy-Variations on the handle of this station.
WFXF,Fox-Former handle of High Point's 100.3 FM.
WFXQ,Fox-Former handle of this station, now known as WCMC.
WGBR,Goldsboro-Describes the station's city of license.
WGPL,Witnessing God's Precious Love-Call letters of Winston-Salem's 93.1 when it aired a Southern gospel format.
WHEV,Henry E. Vail-former owner of the Garner station now known as WRTG.
WHHT,H. H. Toms -Former owner of a Durham station once heard at 1580 and later 1590 AM before signing off the air in 1951.
WHLF,Halifax-The station is located in Halifax County, Virginia.
WHNC,Henderson, North Carolina -The station's city of license.
WHPE,High Point Enterprise, Where His Praises Echo-Station was once owned by the High Point Enterprise newspaper, but is now owned by the Bible Broadcasting Network, which found a more- format appropriate meaning for the call sign.
WHSL,Whistle-Former handle of High Point's 100.3 station, when it played country as "Whistle 100". The call sign also saw use in Wilmington, NC
WICE,Ice-"Cool" was the handle of the station, and ice definitely fits that description.
WITN,Washington -Variation of the station's city of license, Washington, NC. The call letters are still in use on TV channel 7 in Eastern North Carolina.
WJLC,JLC Properties-The former owner of these stations, founded by the late James L. Cole, Jr., thus the letters "JLC" (WJLC has occupied three spots on the dial, 97.5, 95.3 and 98.3).
WKIX and WKXU,Kicks -Slogan associated with the legendary Top 40 outlet at 850 AM, later associated with the country format. The call sign WKIX has been at seven separate spots on the dial since its inception to the area in 1959: Raleigh's 850 AM from 1959-1994, Raleigh's 96.1 FM from 1959-1974 (with the "-FM" suffix) and 1994-1998 (standalone), Goldsboro's 96.9 FM from 1998-2001, Goldsboro's 102.3 FM from 2001-2007, Kinston's 97.7 FM from 2006-2008, back at Goldsboro's 102.3 again from 2008 to 2010 and, currently, at both 102.9 FM (with the "-FM" suffix) and again at 850 AM. WKXU found a a new home on the dial at 102.5 FM, then a Louisburg station, in 2004 when 101.1 FM became talk WZTK. The calls were replaced in 2010 when 102.5 moved to Hillsborough as WPLW (Pulse 102).
WKNC,Wolfpack-North Carolina-Derivative of the university's mascot.
WKNS,Kinston, North Carolina-Represents this station's city of license.
WKRX and WRXO, Roxboro, North Carolina-The stations' city of license.
WKSI,"Kiss"-Former call letters of Greensboro's 98.7 FM, which was once known as "98.7 Kiss FM", and later "98.7 Kiss Country". Now known as WSMW-FM
WKSL,"Kiss"-Call letters of Raleigh's 93.9 FM, which is known as "93.9 Kiss FM".
WKTC,Katie Country -Handle of a station which used to operate here, now known as WYMY.
WKVE and WKVK,K-Love-This Semora-licensed station is an affiliate of K-Love Christian Music Network, and the WKVE (2000-2009) and later WKVK (2009-present) calls are a derivation of the network's name.
WLHC,Life in the Heart of Carolina-Acronym for the station's slogan.
WLLE,Willie-Handle of this R&B station now known as WDOX.
WLUS,"U.S."-Handle of this country station. The "L" might possibly stand for owner Lakes Media.
WNAO,News and Observer-Represented the newspaper which founded and owned the stations now known as WBBB and WRBZ.
WNBR,News and Business Radio-Now permenantly silent AM 1460 in Fuquay-Varina was known by these call letters briefly when they aired a business news format.
WNOH,N.O. Harris-The founder of the station, which is now known as WCLY. The same family which owns present-day Harris Beer Distributors in Raleigh.
WNCT,North Carolina Television-Once co-owned with WNCT-TV, one of the state's earliest TV stations.
WNCU,North Carolina Central University -Represents the station's owner, North Carolina Central University. The station had also unsuccessfully applied for WNCC.
WNND and WWND,The Wind -The "wind" handle originated in this area with Fuquay-Varina's 103.9 FM, which brought the smooth jazz format to the Raleigh area. The station dropped the handle and call letters in 1995 before dropping the jazz format the next year. Curtis Media copied the smooth jazz format and the "wind" handle at 102.9 FM in 1998 under the calls WWND. They gave the handle, format and call sign up in early 2001.
WOXF,Oxford-The station's city of license and location. Now known as WCBQ.
WOZN,"Zone"-The station's handle was "98-7 The Zone". They're now known as WSMW "98-7 Simon".
WPCM,We Play Country Music, We Play Carolina's Music -Former call letters of the country station now known as WKXU. These call letters, now on Burlington's 920 AM, currently give reference to the beach music heard here and made popular along the Carolina coast.
WPJL,We Proclaim Jesus Lord -Represents the mission of this Christian station.
WPWZ,Power-The handle of this urban station.
WPXX,Picks-Referenced the handle of this station before it became WKVE (now WKVK).
WPYB,We Promote Your Business-The station's slogan.
WQDR,Quadrophonic Rock -An unsuccessful sound transmission system used by this former rock outlet which employed four channels of audio instead of the two used with stereo. When the station switched from its critically acclaimed album rock format to country in 1984, rock fans said the call letters really stood for "We Quit Doing Rock".
WQMG,Quality Music for Greensboro-Apparently a former slogan.
WRAL and WRNC,Raleigh or Raleigh, North Carolina-The stations' city of license. The WRNC calls now belong to an expanded band AM station in Warner-Robbins, Georgia.
WRBX,WKBX-Original owner Stuart Epperson owned WKBX 1500 AM in Winston-Salem and wanted similar calls for his new station. WRBX was later known as WRTP and is now WLLQ.
WRBZ,Raleigh's Buzz-Represented the handle of this station.
WRCO,Wynne Radio Company-In 1924, William A. Wynne's Raleigh-based radio company started what is now WPTF and adopted call letters to reflect the company name.
WRDT,Raleigh Durham's Talk-Represented a short-lived Christian talk format at this dial position, now known as WQDR (AM).
WRDU,Raleigh-Durham-Reference the radio market served by the station and the FAA code for the local airport, Raleigh-Durham International. These call letters once belonged to local television station WRDC, channel 28, from its sign on in 1968 through 1977.
WREV, The Reidsville Review-Though it appears these call letters represent the station's city of license at first glance, they actually represent the first three letters of the Review, the name of the newspaper which once owned the station , now WJMH.
WRJD,Rejoice Durham-The Durham station has an inspirational/black gospel format.
WRQM and WRMT,Rocky Mount-Derivation of the station's city of license.
WRSN,Raleigh's Sunny-Represented the station's handle, adopted in 1996 when the former WZZU dumped classic rock for soft adult contemporary. Often criticized when they played classic rock, they format change to soft rock didn't make any long-time listeners happy, especially when the popular syndicated "John Boy and Billy" was without a local outlet for a short time after the switch. Former listeners said derisively that the new letters stood for "We Really Stink Now".
WRTP and WRTG,Research Triangle Park -Refers to area served by these stations
WRVA,River-Represents the handle of 100.7 FM's new Triple-A/Hot AC hybrid format. These call letters are also used by Virginia's first radio station, the 50,000-watt AM 1140 WRVA in Richmond. Both are owned by Clear Channel. Due to the Richmond station, the suffix "-FM" is added to the local one.
WSAY,Say-Represented the slogan of this station, now WDWG.
WSGH,Winston-Salem, Greensboro, High Point-Represented the three cities served by Winston-Salem's 107.5 FM.
WSHA,Shaw University -Represents the station's owner, Shaw University.
WSJS,Winston-Salem Journal Sentinel-Acronym for the newspaper founder and former owner of this station.
WSML,Smiles-This Graham station, now a repeater of Winston-Salem's WSJS, was once known as "Radio Smiles".
WSMW,Simon-A loose reflection of the station's handle.
WSTS,Winning Souls Through Song-The meaning of the call letters for the Southern Gospel station, though it is doubtful if this acronym was in use during the station's Laurinburg days.
WTIK,Where Tobacco Is King-Reference to Durham's former status as a major tobacco center.
WTCD,Triangle's CD-Represented the handle of this NAC/Smooth Jazz station, when it was CD-103.9. This was a fidelity-intensive format, so the handle made reference to compact discs, known for their exact replication of audio. WTCD is now black gospel WNNL.
WTEB,Dr. Thurman Elias Brock-The parent station of Public Radio East is located on the campus of Craven Community College, which was founded by Dr. Brock. Dr. Brock was also a big proponent of bringing public radio to eastern North Carolina. The acronym, "Where Tomorrow's Education Begins" has also been associated with the station.
WTRG,Triangle or Triangle Radio Gold-The first refers to the region served by the station, now known as WRVA-FM; the second is a reported acroynm which may have also been used.
WTSB,Where Tobacco Sells Best, then Triangle Sports Broadcasters and now Where The Stories Break-Named for the former licensee of this Selma station. New owners Lamm Broadcasting use the call letters as an acronym promoting the station's commitment to local news. These same call letters originally belonged to a now silent station in Lumberton, NC at 580 AM, where they stood for "Where Tobacco Sells Best".
WUNC,University of North Carolina-Station is owned by the University of North Carolina Board of Governors.
WVBZ,Buzzard-High Point station was known as "The Buzzard 100.3", now "100.3 The Buzz"
WVTF,Virginia Tech Foundation-Name of the non-profit group running Virginia Tech's public radio outlet.
WWMO,William Manson Oliver-Initials of the station's co-founder and owner. This station is now known as WJMH.
WXJC,The "Cross" of Jesus Christ-Nifty set of call letters that belonged to Calvary Satellite Radio's Raleigh station from 2001-2002; the "X" represents the cross. The station was later known as WAJC and is now WVRD.
WYFL,Where You'll Find Love-References the station's Christian format. According to a 25th anniversary publication, the founders of the station's parent network, the Bible Broadcasting Network, bought a Norfolk station, WYFI, unaware that call letters could be changed. With the exception of High Point affiliate WHPE and former Atlanta-area affiliate WAVO, the network has requested call letters in the WYF_ and KYF_ format, later assigning meanings to them.
WYLT,Lite-Described the format of this station when it was lite A/C.
WYRN,We're Your Radio Neighbor-An acronym reflecting a former slogan.
WYYD,Wide-Chosen to describe the sound quality available with quadraphonic sound, an unsuccessful form of FM stereo using four channels instead of two. Now known as WBBB
WXDU and WDUK,Duke University -Both acronyms epresent the school in Durham. WDUK, a commercial station not affiliated with Duke, merged with WTIK in 1951. WXDU is Duke's Campus station.
WBBO Forest City We Build Business Opportunities (93.3 fm now in SC)
1520 AM WGMA Spindale Greatest Music Always
My favorite is a post someone made on a similiar thread on Medialine years ago, claiming that the staff had dubbed WDBL as We'll Do Better Later...
1520 AM WGMA Spindale Greatest Music Always
My favorite is a post someone made on a similiar thread on Medialine years ago, claiming that the staff had dubbed WDBL as We'll Do Better Later...
T
The Legend
Guest
;D ;D ;D ;DWBMO: "Blow Me".....You can't get any more specific than that GT. Oh....please....go away!
RadioDze said:
Would this be the same Bishop Willis that has run a number of stations into the ground? I've read a number of posts about him on the Mississippi board in the past.
WNND ended up in Chicago a number of years ago when it was known as Windy 100. WTCD is currently part of the SuperTalk Mississippi network, serving the Mississippi Delta.
BIG APE said:
WSOC - We Serve Our City
I was there on the 50th anniversary of the station and heard the GM say not once but twice, "It used to stand for We Serve Our City, but it doesn't stand for anything anymore." I guess he didn't realize how it sounded but it made me wince both times. Today WSOC-AM is WYFQ Bible Broadcasting Network headquarters.
M
Mr_Winston-Salem
Guest
WFMY never stood for anything. If somebody tells you it's FaMilY, they are guessing.
WGHP is Winston-Salem Greensboro High Point. Southern owned it and it replaced UHF WTOB 26. They couldn't get another VHF in Winston-Salem and High Point fought to keep it all in High Point. There's a good and long story with WGHP.
WGHP is Winston-Salem Greensboro High Point. Southern owned it and it replaced UHF WTOB 26. They couldn't get another VHF in Winston-Salem and High Point fought to keep it all in High Point. There's a good and long story with WGHP.
BIG APE said:
Better late than never! Shows how long this stuff stays around, and how short our memories are!
Mr_Winston-Salem said:
WFMY was originally an FM station owned by the Greensboro Daily News and when TV was starting up they decided to apply for a license and dumped the radio. WFMY are great call letters for an fm station.
And it was on 97.3.
Here's some from Northern and Central Pa.
WMPT Williamsport
WWPA Williamsport Pa.
WLYC Lycoming (County)
WKAD Kelly, Alan, Dave (Founders)
WATS Waverly, Athens, Towanda, Sayre
WHLM Harry L MaGee (Founder)
WBLF Belefonte
WRAK Rudolph A King (I believe that is correct)
WENY Elmira New York
WELM Elmira
WEHH Elmira Horseheads
WCLI Corning Leader Inc.
WESG (Later WENY) Elmira Star Gazette
WETM Elmira Times Mirror
WLEZ Where the listenings easy (EZ)
WTTC Towanda Troy Canton
Those are just a few that come to mind
WMPT Williamsport
WWPA Williamsport Pa.
WLYC Lycoming (County)
WKAD Kelly, Alan, Dave (Founders)
WATS Waverly, Athens, Towanda, Sayre
WHLM Harry L MaGee (Founder)
WBLF Belefonte
WRAK Rudolph A King (I believe that is correct)
WENY Elmira New York
WELM Elmira
WEHH Elmira Horseheads
WCLI Corning Leader Inc.
WESG (Later WENY) Elmira Star Gazette
WETM Elmira Times Mirror
WLEZ Where the listenings easy (EZ)
WTTC Towanda Troy Canton
Those are just a few that come to mind
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