WGIV

Infobox Radio station
name = WGIV


city = Pineville, North Carolina
area = Charlotte
branding =
slogan = "Rejoy Radio Network"
airdate =
frequency = 1370 kHz
format = Gospel
power = 16,000 watts day
450 watts night
erp =
haat =
class = D
facility_id = 22027
coordinates = coord|35|12|45.00|N|80|52|6.00|W|region:GB_type:city
callsign_meaning =
former_callsigns =
owner = Frank Neely
licensee =
sister_stations =
webcast =
website = [http://www.wgiv1370.com www.wgiv1370.com]
affiliations =

WGIV is a Urban Inspiration/Gospel radio station currently found at 1370 on the AM radio dial. Its city of license is Pineville, North Carolina. Its programming is simulcast on Chester, South Carolina studios of co-owned WGCD-AM.

History on 1370 AM

The station on 1370 originated in Gastonia, North Carolina in the late 1940s as a daytime operation with the call letters WLTC, which stood for "World's Largest Textile Center", a slogan for the City of Gastonia. For most of the WLTC years, the station broadcast country music, except for the midday show which was Southern Gospel music with popular host "Miss Tillie" Lowery.

In the late 1980s the station was acquired by Ford Broadcasting of China Grove, North Carolina, which began full-time operation of the station with a format of Southern Gospel Music. "Miss Tillie" retired in 1995 after hosting the midday show for more than 25 years.

Ford Broadcasting sold WLTC to Frank Neely, owner of WGCD, in 1998, and the station's format changed to urban contemporary gospel music. The station retained the WLTC call letters until early in 2005. Shortly after acquiring the WGIV call letters, the station changed its city of license to Pineville, built a new transmitter site in Charlotte, North Carolina and increased its daytime power to 3000 watts. They have recently increased daytime power to 16,000 watts, which makes the station the second most powerful AM radio station broadcasting from within the corporate limits of Charlotte.

History on 1600 AM

The WGIV calls have a much more extensive history in Charlotte, North Carolina. The 1600 frequency first appeared in that city with the WGIV call letters in 1947. It was the first station in that city to target black listeners. [Kay McFadden, "Museum Tunes in History of Radio in the Carolinas," "The Charlotte Observer", September 21, 1997.] Popular DJ's of the station in the 1950s and 1960s included "Genial Gene" Potts, Chattie Hattie and "Rockin' Ray" Gooding.

WGIV was a popular station in the city throughout the 1970s. In 1979, serious competition for Urban listeners appeared in the form of Concord-licensed WPEG. By the early 1990s the owners of WPEG had purchased what was left of WGIV. Late in 1991, WPEG and WGIV were airing the same programming [Tim Funk, "Hear Ye, Hear Ye: Radio Stations Are Bustling with Activity," "The Charlotte Observer", December 14, 1991.] . Later, WGIV changed to a solid gold soul format with the call letters WBAV. The owners of the two stations had also purchased Gastonia, North Carolina-based Kiss 102 and changed it to an Adult R&B format under the calls WBAV-FM. [Tim Funk, "Station Targets Black Adults with New Format, Ownership," "The Charlotte Observer", January 26, 1994.]

When the soul music format proved not to be successful, pressure from Charlotte's urban community forced the owners to change the station in 1997 to a Urban Gospel format and to re-adopt the WGIV call letters. [Kay McFadden, "Plugged In - Black Charlotte Radio Flourishes by Remaining Tuned in to the Community," "The Charlotte Observer", October 26, 1997.] The station call letters and format then remained unchanged for nearly a decade, until 2003 when the station's owners surrendered the license in favor of an expanded band frequency on 1660 AM. The new station was given the call letters WFNA and paired with WGIV's co-owned sports outlet WFNZ.

Therefore, the 1600 frequency went silent in Charlotte after nearly 56 years of continuous service. [Mark Washburn, "Black Radio Dynamo Fades Away - WGIV's Sound Transformed From R&B to Gospel to Silence," "The Charlotte Observer", December 3, 2003.]

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