| Currently Silent | |
|---|---|
| |
| Broadcast area | Raleigh–Durham–Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Frequency | 1410kHz |
| Branding | La Verdad Durham-Raleigh |
| Programming | |
| Format | SpanishChristian |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
Former call signs | WSRC (1954–2006) |
Call sign meaning | "Rejoice Durham" (reference to former gospel format and city of license) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 17761 |
| Class | B |
| Power |
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| Links | |
Public license information | |
WRJD (1410AM) is aradio station based inDurham, North Carolina, which currently silent its last broadcast was aSpanishChristian format. It was a heritage radio station that went by WSRC for over half a century.
The station signed on the air as WSRC on October 15, 1954, a day most locals remember as the dayHurricane Hazel roared through Central and Eastern North Carolina, causing a great deal of damage and destruction. Despite that initial setback, WSRC managed to continue broadcasting as the first radio station in theRaleigh-Durham market to serve theblack community. An FM station signed on at 107.1 in 1965, but was later sold toDuke University in 1968 as WDBS-FM (nowWFXC).
Throughout much of its lifetime, WSRC has played a mix ofgospel,soul, andR&B music. Along the way, the station has attracted a wealth of talented personalities, including Norfley Whitted, Jimmy "Dr. Jive" Byrd, Durham nativeShirley Caesar, and formerWTVD news reporter Ervin Hester.[2] WSRC segued to a mostly gospel and inspirational format in the mid-1980s.
On March 16, 2006,Davidson Media Group (who also owned another Durham station,WTIK assumed ownership of WSRC and changed its call letters to WRJD.[3] "Rejoice 1410" operated under a Local Marketing Agreement with Greensboro-based event promotions firm Unwind Productions. Prior to the station changing hands from previous ownerWillis Broadcasting (who had been going through serious financial difficulties over the past few years), local gospel group The Cooper Four performed its final live Sunday afternoon broadcast on March 12. The group had been with WSRC since its early beginnings.[4] The Cooper Four would come back to the rechristened WRJD "Rejoice 1410 AM" where they were still heard Sunday mornings at 8:15.
On February 1, 2011, WRJD began simulcasting on co-ownedWOLI 910 AM, in Spartanburg, South Carolina, as "Rejoice Radio". While the simulcast lasted only a few months, WRJD would continue to identify both stations at the top of each hour for the remainder of its time as "Rejoice". During this time, Rejoice 1410 was nominated for 2011 Medium Market Station of the Year by theStellar Awards.[5] However, Davidson Media ended its LMA with Unwind Productions on December 26 that year and WRJD went off the air. The station resumed broadcasting a week later as Poder 1410, airing a Spanish Christian format.
On July 13, 2015, both WRJD and WTIK were sold to TBLC Media as part of a twelve-station deal with Davidson Media, which included stations in Charlotte, Greensboro, Richmond, Spartanburg, and Kansas City.[6] The sale, at a price of $3.5 million, was consummated on November 5, 2015.
Effective May 6, 2021, TBLC Media sold WRJD and WTIK to Stuart Epperson's Truth Broadcasting Corporation for $200,000.
On July 11, 2007, WRJD announced a partnership withNorth Carolina Central University in Durham to broadcast all eleven games of the 2007 football season, its first in the NCAADivision I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA).[7] This arrangement abruptly ended just ahead of the 2011 football season kick-off.[8]
On January 23, 2008, WRJD became the new flagship station forDurham Bulls radio broadcasts, replacing WDNC who had been carrying Bulls games continuously since 1981.[9] However, that arrangement would not last long, as the Bulls reached an agreement to broadcast games on99.9 the Fan (owned by Bulls ownerCapitol Broadcasting) beginning with the 2009 season.[10]
WRJD also airedWashington Redskins football in 2010, andAtlanta Falcons football in 2008 and 2009, and was an affiliate of theCharlotte 49ers at the time of the station's demise.
In 2017, WRJD began airing Spanish-language sports programming.
Durham nativeErnie Barnes incorporated the former WSRC calls into his best-known paintingSugar Shack, which was featured in the credits of the TV sitcomGood Times as well as the cover ofMarvin Gaye's 1976 albumI Want You. Oddly enough, WSRC was erroneously listed as "620 on your dail (sic)', which is the frequency for fellow Durham radio stationWDNC.
36°1′44.52″N78°50′59.03″W / 36.0290333°N 78.8497306°W /36.0290333; -78.8497306