 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Metro Richmond |
| Frequency | 590kHz |
| Branding | Truth Radio 590 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Christian Talk |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WTRU,WDRU,WCRU,KUTR | |
| History | |
First air date | September 28, 1959 (1959-09-28), inLawrenceville |
Former frequencies | 580 kHz (1959–2014) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 72504 |
| Class | D |
| Power | 1,000Watts daytime 58Watts nighttime |
Transmitter coordinates | 37°30′52.0″N77°30′28.0″W / 37.514444°N 77.507778°W /37.514444; -77.507778 |
| Translator(s) | 97.7 W249CI (Bellwood, Virginia) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | WLES Webstream |
| Website | truthnetwork.com |
WLES (590kHz) is acommercialAMradio stationlicensed toBon Air, Virginia, United States, serving theGreater Richmond Region. WLES is owned and operated by Stuart Epperson, through licensee Truth Broadcasting Corporation.[2] It airs aChristian radioformat as part of "The Truth Network", originating inWinston-Salem, North Carolina.Programming is also heard onFMtranslator station W249CI at 97.7 MHz.
WLES began as a daytime-only radio station inLawrenceville in September 1959. It primarily broadcast acountry music format. The station was moved into the Richmond area in the 2010s.
WLES began broadcasting on 580 kHz fromLawrenceville, near theVirginia-North Carolina border, on September 28, 1959.[3] It was a 500-watt, daytime-only outlet.[4] The station was founded by Harry A. Epperson Sr. and was sold to Elton N. Doyle and William C. Link in 1966.[5] Doyle became mayor of Lawrenceville in 1970; he sold his interest in the station in 1980, with Link becoming the sole owner,[4] and remained mayor another decade.[6]
Link sold WLES andWHFD (105.5 FM) to Willis Broadcasting Corporation in 1999. At that time, both stations broadcastcountry music.[7] Within a year, Willis opted to retain the FM outlet and sold the AM station to Chesapeake-Portsmouth Broadcasting Corporation, owned by Nancy Epperson.[8] By 2005, the station was airing anoldies format.[9]
Chesapeake-Portsmouth Broadcasting filed a request in July 2007 to transfer the license of WLES to Truth Broadcasting, headed by Nancy's son Stu Epperson, Jr.,[10] but withdrew the request in August 2007.[11] Subsequently, a construction permit request was filed to conduct a frequency swap with nearby stationWLVA, which is owned by Truth Broadcasting and operated on the adjacent frequency of 590 kHz; the frequency change would also see WLVA move from Lawrenceville toBon Air, a suburb ofRichmond.[12] The swap was completed in 2011. The station was issued a license to operate on 590 kHz on March 28, 2014.
Effective May 21, 2019, Chesapeake-Portsmouth Broadcasting sold WLES to Truth Broadcasting Corporation for $75,000; Truth was already providing its programming.[13]
In addition to the main station, WLES is relayed by an FM translator.[14] The translator was acquired from another Epperson company, Delmarva Educational Association, for $100,000 in 2022 but was broadcasting WLES beforehand.[15]
| Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | HAAT | Class | FCC info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W249CI | 97.7 FM | Bellwood, Virginia | 143583 | 240 | 131 m (430 ft) | D | LMS |