 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 1480kHz |
| Branding | Faith 1480 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Christian talk and teaching |
| Affiliations | 3ABN Radio |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Charlotte Advent Media Corporation |
| History | |
First air date | January 18, 1955 (70 years ago) (1955-01-18) |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | With Grace For You (originally stood forGoofy duringRadio Disney era) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 10889 |
| Class | B |
| Power |
|
Transmitter coordinates | 35°17′05″N80°52′34″W / 35.28472°N 80.87611°W /35.28472; -80.87611 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Here |
| Website | www |
WGFY (1480 kHz) is acommercialAMradio station inCharlotte, North Carolina. The station is owned by the Charlotte Advent Media Corporation and it broadcasts aChristian talk and teachingradio format as anetwork affiliate ofLifeTalk Radio.[2] WGFY carries hourly newscasts from theSalem Radio Network (SRN News).
On May 25, 2016, WGFY was granted aFederal Communications Commissionconstruction permit to increase daytime power to 12,000watts.[3] At night, it reduces power to 5,000 watts to avoid interfering with other stations on1480 AM. WGFY uses adirectional antenna at all times.
On January 18, 1955, the stationsigned on with thecall sign WWOK. Initially adaytime only operation with 1,000 watts, the station added a directional antenna system and nighttime operation in the late 1950s. The station was Charlotte'sMutual Broadcasting Systemnetwork affiliate, and playedmiddle of the road music.
On March 27, 1964, Blackburn and Co. reported the sale of WWOK by Tarlow Associates ofBoston to WWOK Inc. for $400,000. No changes were planned according to general manager Herb Berg. At the time, the station was located at 215 Greystone Road.[4] In early 1965 Wells H. Barnette replaced Berg, who was promoted to commercial manager,[5] and WWOK began operating 24 hours a day.[6]
On August 30, 1965, WWOK switched from "good" music tocountry music.[7] In 1969, the station was purchased by Mission Broadcasting ofSan Antonio,Texas,[8] an early ancestor ofClear Channel Communications. Around this same time, Mission also purchasedMiamiR&B stationWAME ("The Whammy in Miami"). The company flipped the call letters on its two acquisitions, sending WWOK to Florida and bringing WAME to Charlotte.
WAME was part of a "new breed" of country and western stations "presenting it in a more sophisticated manner". The style of "Easy Ed" Robinson, for example, was more like that of big-city stations playing easy listening, described as "polished, metropolitan". One reason was that he was fromNew York City, not theSouth. In addition to the afternoon shift, he recorded commercials and reviewed music.[9] Morning host T. Tommy Stone portrayed different characters during the week, including cleaning lady Mrs. Wheately, seven-year-old Martha Godfrey and Andy Sweet with the pigeon report. He just played music on Saturdays.[10] Other popular DJs in WAME's country music days included Ed Galloway,[11] "Large" Larry English, Bill Alexander, John Sutton and Bob Brandon.[citation needed] On June 18, 1973, Bob Quay ofWWVA (AM) became the new morning host, replacing Robinson, who moved to afternoons and also served as program manager, while Rich Jones returned to evenings and John Lyon returned to Charlotte fromWWOK to do the overnight slot.[12] The phrases "Whammy"[13] and "Top Dog[14] in Charlotte Country" were used extensively to promote the station in those days.
As WAME, the station was responsible for one of the first radio controversies in Charlotte, when the station's billboards showed a woman in tight jeans (and little else) having the WAME logo branded on her posterior.[citation needed]
WAME became Charlotte's second full-timeChristian radio station at 11 P.M. December 31, 1978 afterJimmy Swaggart's Sonlife Broadcasting bought the station. The format was mostlyContemporary Christian Music such asB.J. Thomas, Dave Boyer andEvie Tornquist. Jeff Flanders, an official for Swaggart, called it "a blend of music that would not offend anyone", and he said the objective was to get listeners who would not otherwise listen to Christian music.[15] Galloway moved toWIST despite anoncompete clause.[11] In early 1980, Swaggart denounced Contemporary Christian Music through his publicationThe Evangelist,[citation needed] and WAME changed to "teaching programs and middle-of-the-road, family-oriented music."[16] By 1980 half the programming was "spoken word".[17] Popular DJs in WAME's Christian days wereDanny Dyer, Teresa Gardner and Bob Harris. By 1985, WAME was, (despite the ownership's known objections to CCM) playing Contemporary Christian music again, and continued to do so until 1990. Popular DJ's during the era were Jon Hamilton, Larry Avant, Bill Howard, Dan Edwards, and Rob Truslow.
In March 1990, WAME was sold to a subsidiary ofPat Robertson'sChristian Broadcasting Network, which changed the call sign to WCNT and began its own in-house syndicated talk network which included Harley David,Cliff Kincaid and Bob Kwessel.[18] Following the demise of the network shows, WCNT became a primarily localtalk radio station.Gerry Vaillancourt started his talk show on WCNT,[19] andH. A. Thompson did a daily show on the station for several months.
During 1991, on Saturday and Sunday evenings, WCNT airedWhen Radio Was, hosted byArt Fleming, withradio serials such asThe Shadow andFibber McGee and Molly.[20]
Late in 1991, WCNT began airing mostlysports talk. However, the station was never able to make a profit, with CBN taking the stationdark at 9 AM on November 6, 1991, and searched for a buyer.[21]
Early in 1993, new owners, the Christ Covenant Church ofMatthews, North Carolina, returned the station to the air as WCNV ("Charlotte's News Voice"), airing the audio portion ofCNN'sHeadline News Channel 24 hours a day. As with its previous format, unprofitability and expenses forced the station silent by year's end.
In 1994, the owners of WHVN took over the station's operations under alocal marketing agreement with Christ Covenant, and brought the station back on air as WIST with anadult standards format utilizing the "Stardust" format fromSatellite Music Networks (later part ofABC Radio Networks). (The WIST callsign had been used in Charlotte from 1947 to 1983, last residing on what is now WHVN.)[22] Talk shows and some sports programming were eventually added to the AM station after WIST added an FM frequency in 1995. John Sullivan was the most notable of the local hosts.[23] Both the AM and FM stations began using the WNMX call sign in 1996.
In July 1997, WNMX, the currentWAME inStatesville, andWAVO inRock Hill, South Carolina formed the "Total Radio Network". WNMX became WTLT, and WAME became WTLI.[24][25] The stations aired local and syndicated talk shows as well as news. But the format did not work,[26] and WTLT returned to playingadult standards in November, starting with Christmas music during the holidays, while continuing to air syndicated hosts until their contracts ended. WTLT simulcast the Christian programming of WHVN beginning in May 1998, before Disney bought it and adopted thechildren's/contemporary hit radio format of "Radio Disney" on September 1, and changed its callsign to the current WGFY call sign that stood for Disney characterGoofy on September 4.
On August 13, 2014, Disney put WGFY and twenty-two other Radio Disney stations up for sale, to focus on digital distribution of the Radio Disney network.[27][28] On January 26, 2015,Radio Disney Group filed to sell WGFY to the Charlotte Advent Media Corporation.[29] Charlotte Advent Media bought the station for $600,000.[30] The sale was consummated on May 5.[31] On the same day, WGFY dropped the Radio Disney programming and went silent.[32] The station resumed operations on June 9.[33] It is an affiliate of theSeventh-Day Adventist-alignedChristian radio networkLifeTalk Radio.[2]