WPTF

Infobox Radio Station
name = WPTF


city = Raleigh, North Carolina
area = Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill
branding = News/Talk 680 WPTF
slogan = "The Triangle's News and Information Station"
airdate = 1924
frequency = 680 (kHz)
format = Talk radio
power = 50,000 watts
class = B
facility_id = 21630
coordinates = coor dms|35|47|38|N|78|45|41|W|type:landmark
callsign_meaning = We Protect The Family (named for the slogan of the station's original owners, Durham Life Insurance Company)
owner = Curtis Media Group
sister_stations = WQDR, WBBB, WYMY, WWMY, WDOX, WCLY
website = [http://www.wptf.com www.wptf.com] |

WPTF, News-Talk 680, is a general talk radio station serving the Triangle area of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The station is owned by Curtis Media Group. Its call letters date back to the former longtime owner of the station, Durham Life Insurance Company, whose motto was "We Protect The Family."

Programs on WPTF include national talk show hosts Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Clark Howard, Dr. Dean Edell, and Mark Levin, and programs such as Coast to Coast AM. In addition, the station also hosts local programming with Scott Fitzgerald, Tom Kearney, and afternoon host Bill LuMaye [http://www.wptf.com/programming.asp, Retrieved on 2008/04/22.] [Danny Hooley, "WPTF-AM's Boston Diagnosed with Leukemia," "The News and Observer", October 12, 2006.] .

WPTF is the former call sign of local TV channel 28, the longtime NBC affiliate in the Triangle. That station is now WRDC, "MyRDC," an affiliate of MyNetworkTV.http://www.geocities.com/rdurw/wqdr.html, retrieved on 2008/04/22.] [http://www.tv-signoffs.com/NC_raleigh.htm, Retrieved on 2008/04/22.]

WPTF's 50,000-watt signal is non-directional during the day, but the nighttime directional signal is hard to hear 50 miles to the north in Virginia, while to the south WPTF can supposedly be picked up in Venezuela.http://www.geocities.com/rduhistory/wptf.html, Retrieved on 2008/04/22.]

Early History

WPTF was originally called WFBQ, and was the second radio station in Raleigh (N. C. State had the first, WLAC, but it did not last), going on the air September 22, 1924 at 1190 AM, broadcasting at 50 watts. The station was owned and operated by the Wynne Radio Company, owned by William A. Wynne, and the offices and broadcasting facilities were located in the Boone Building next to the Wake County Courthouse. After a year of successful operationFact|date=April 2008, the station had its call letters changed to WRCO, for Wynne Radio Company. On August 19, 1926 the station was authorized to increase its power to 100 watts. Being a more powerful station, they moved their operations to the Sir Walter Hotel. The following year the power was increased to 250 watts. They signed on the air each morning at sunrise and signed off the air at sunset each day. Early in 1927 the station requested from the government 500 watts of power. In June of that year they received word that their request would not be granted, however, they were given authority to move to 1380 on the dial, along with unlimited time on the airFact|date=April 2008. In 1927, The Durham Life Insurance Company purchased WRCO outright from the Wynne Company and the station's call letters were altered to WPTF. The new owners were given a permit to increase their power to 500 watts and to move to 720 on the dial. New equipment was purchased and the operations were moved to the basement of the old Durham Life building. Things moved rather rapidly for the new owners. On November 16, 1927, WPTF moved to 550 kilocycles, remaining there until November 1, 1928, when it changed to 680. In 1928, the station was granted another increase in power, this time to 1,000 watts, but was required to sign off at sunset. Although many attempts were made over the next several years, it wasn't until 1933 that the station increased its power to 5,000 watts. With this authority, WPTF purchased new equipment and moved to Cary, North Carolina, on US Highway 1. In June, 1940, WPTF was given authority to operate unlimited hours and a month later was granted a construction permit to install new transmitter equipment and increase its power to 50,000 watts. Almost a year later on a late spring evening, listeners heard these words from the announcer on duty: "Ladies and Gentlemen, there will be a few moments of silence while engineers switch from WPTF's 5,000 watts transmitter unit and begin operation for the first time with its new 50,000 watts transmitter." Thus on May 24, 1941, WPTF began a new era in broadcasting.Fact|date=April 2008

As of 1948, WPTF was an affiliate of NBC Radio. WPTF-FM signed on at 94.5 in 1949 using the tallest of the AM station's three towers off N.C. Highway 54, near the present-day Interstate 40. The FM station later moved to 94.7,. Both stations operated from 410 South Salisbury street in Downtown Raleigh. The tower used by WPTF-FM when it signed on is currently used by WWMY.

By the 1970s, the AM station offered a "full service format of adult contemporary, local/state news and neighborly talk," and the FM was playing classical music before switching to album rock and the call letters WQDR in 1972. [http://www.geocities.com/rduhistory/_.html, Retrieved on 2008/04/22.]

WPTF-TV, a nine-year-old station previously called WRDU-TV when Durham Life bought it, joined the two radio stations at their Highwoods Boulevard studios on the north end of Raleigh.

In 1991, Durham Life sold its broadcasting stations. Don Curtis, who bought all of WQDR, had a "controlling interest" in WPTF.

Recent Developments

WPTF had served as the flagship station for the NC State Wolfpack sports network for more than 40 years until Wolfpack Sports Marketing announced it had signed a ten-year deal to move its flagship to Capitol Broadcasting Company's WRAL-FM. [http://www.gopack.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=9200&ATCLID=876362, Retrieved on 2008/04/22.] NC State athletic officials cited their desire to be on an FM signal with a multi-year contract and the ability to collect more local advertising revenue, conditions that Curtis Media was unwilling to provide. [http://northcarolinastate.scout.com/2/639158.html, Retrieved on 2008/04/22.]

Local host Bill LuMaye has been under fire as of late, both from listeners and staff within the same building, for comments made on his program. He has been highly critical of illegal immigration, which doesn't sit well with some at Curtis Media. Curtis also owns Spanish-language WYMY-FM (La Ley 96.9).

Jack Boston no longer hosts North Carolina Morning News (he died of leukemia on 22 Sep 2008), Scott Fitzgerald is now the morning host 5:30-9:00am.

As of September 15th of 2008, WPTF began streaming Rush Limbaugh as well as the rest of their local and syndicated line up.

References

External links

* [http://www.wptf.com Streaming Rush Limbaugh]
* [http://www.geocities.com/rduhistory/wptf.html WPTF history on RDU Radio Waves]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00HOIg8q0Y4 Recording of "WPTF: The First 50 Years" (1974)]
*AMQ|WPTF
*AML|WPTF
*Geolinks-US-buildingscale|35.793285|-78.760863