WRNL

Infobox Radio station
name = WRNL


city = Richmond, Virginia
area =
branding =
slogan =
airdate =
frequency = 910 AM HD Radio
format = sports talk
power = 5000 Watts (day)
1500 Watts (night)
erp =
class = B
callsign_meaning =
former_callsigns = WRTD, WRVH
owner = Clear Channel Communications
licensee =
sister_stations =
webcast = [http://www.sportsradio910.com/cc-common/streaming_new/index.html Listen Live]
website = http://www.sportsradio910.com
affiliations =

WRNL (910 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a
sports talk format. Licensed to Richmond, Virginia, USA, it serves the Richmond, Virginia area. The station is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications. It broadcasts Virginia Tech football and basketball games and Richmond Braves baseball games.

History

The station signed on in 1937 as WRTD, owned & operated by the "Richmond Times Dispatch", and broadcasting from the paper's facility on Franklin St in Richmond. By the 1950s the calls had changed to WRNL (after the sister evening paper "The Richmond News Leader") and it was broadcasting from facilities in Henrico County on Wilkinson Rd doing a mix of news, talk, music, and sports, and other live programming. The old WRTD Franklin Street studios were later used for the now-defunct Times Dispatch Radio News Service, which operated from about 1999 until 2006. The station for most of its existence, with a few exceptions, has been the home station for the local Richmond Braves Baseball team.

During the early days of the station, Roger Mudd, who later was a national news anchor for both CBS & NBC, worked at WRNL during their early years.

In the late 1950s the station (which had by that time signed on a sister station, WRNL-FM at 102.1 FM) moved to larger facilities on Bethlehem Road in western Henrico County. (The old facility was donated to a new sign-on, non-commercial WRFK-FM. The facility is now being used by Religious WAUQ.)

In the 1960s WRNL became a "Middle Of The Road" station, also called "MOR", playing popular music from artists like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Perry Como, and Bing Crosby, breaking for news and the occasional sports broadcast. Tony Sposa, who later ran a local broadcast school, was the station's best known DJ during the 1960s.

During the 50s, 60s, and early 70s, local radio legend Frank Soden was a frequent sports & newscaster on the station as well as a frequent play by play man for the various sports events the station broadcast.

In 1970 the stations were sold to Rust Communications and in 1971 the station made a brief but unsuccessful attempt at Top 40. By the end of 1971 the station had settled into a soft adult contemporary format. Gus Travers , who was later a well known voice on local commercials, along with Andy Andrews & Jay Moore, were some of the DJs on WRNL during this period.

In the mid 70s, former crosstown WLEE-AM Manager/Morning host Harvey Hudson started a nightly talk show that became very popular. During this time, the station billed itself as " Music & More ".

In 1975 the station became affiliated with NBC News and Information Network broadcasting a 24 hour a day all news format.

By 1977, NBC had shut down the News & Information Network and WRNL returned to an adult contemporary format, with more uptempo and rock leaning music. Jim Jacobs, Lucy St. James, Bill Bevins ( who in the nineties became the top morning person in Richmond at WTVR-FM ), Steve Hendrix, Mike Kelly,and Lee Micheals were personalities on WRNL during this period.

In 1980, WRNL briefly became the Richmond affiliate for the locally produced and nationally syndicated "Rock & Roll Roots" program , which had been on crosstown WRVQ since 1977. The show was also at that time being produced at WRNL by host & creator Jack Alix and his partner, Bob Somers, who was STILL Production Director and midday host at WRVQ, although Somers was never heard on the show. Somers' "outside activities" at a crosstown competitor was a said to be a bit "disconcerting" to his bosses at WRVQ. The show ended later that same year.

In late 1980, seeing the absence of a full-time country music station in Richmond, WRNL went to a country music format. Local comedian Garet Chester became a local legend as a part of the "Capt. Mike & Chester Show" (and later as part of crosstown WRVQ's "Morning Zoo"). Some of the other better known DJs on WRNL during their country music period were "Captain" Mike Anderson, Bev Davis, Dick Grant, Ruth Richards, "Large" Larry English, Scott Swingle, and Denis Day (aka Denis Reidy) Nights.

By 1982 WRNL had new FM competition with WTVR-FM, but was able to hold good ratings for most of the mid 80s. The reason that WRNL was able to keep good ratings during this period was that WTVR-FM was a mostly automated station using aged equipment and only using inexperienced live DJs occasionally, where as WRNL was a totally live station almost 24 hours a day with veteran personalities

Also in 1982 the stations were sold to North Carolina based Capital Broadcasting, who demolished the aging Bethlehem Rd building and built a new larger facility just around the corner on Basie Rd. (This facility was later expanded in 2000 and is now Richmond Headquarters to Clear Channel Radio, Richmond.)

In 1985, WRNL got a new competitor with former Petersburg FM country station WKHK, who had moved to a tower with a more powerful signal in suburban Chester , Va (and had also stolen popular WRNL jock Bev Davis). The increased FM competition caused the station to change to an oldies format in 1986. English, Richards, and Swingle, stayed on into the new format, and were later joined by Greg Rodriguez, Bob Stevens, and Eric Stanley. Many weekend DJs who worked for sister station WRXL also did double duty at WRNL in the late 80s .

In 1988, WRNL got a new FM competitor in the oldies format with WVGO-FM, and in 1990, a second FM oldies competitor with WDCK-FM. That year, WRNL dropped it's oldies format, and became a simulcast of sister FM rock station WRXL, except during sports broadcasts on the AM. ("Large" Larry English briefly went to do weekends at WVGO, but left after just a few weeks when informed that the station had been sold and a new format would be replacing the Oldies format on WVGO.)

In 1991 the station began selling shows to local hosts who wanted to do a sports talk show. One of the new hosts was former insurance salesman "Big" Al Coleman , who eventually became the most popular host, eventually ending up on morning drive. WRNL eventually evolved into an all-sports station.

In 1993 the stations were sold to Clear Channel Communications. In 1994 Clear Channel moved WRNL in with new sister WRVA in their Church Hill studios and changed the call to WRVH (attempting to create WRVA 1140 & WRVA 910). But eventually the calls were switched back to WRNL. (Co-owned WRVQ-FM at that time moved out to Basie Rd and took over WRNL's vacant studio, which, unlike most other AM stations, had been built with stereo equipment in the 80s, when a plan to go AM stereo had been considered, but that plan was never implemented.)

In the late 90s, the station briefly aired the syndicated "Don & Mike" show for a few weeks in the afternoon slot , but the duo indicated on the air they did not want to be on the station. The reasoning why they disliked being on WRNL was never made clear, but the scuttlebutt among local media insiders was that Clear Channel had originally made the the deal for "Don & Mike" for WRNL's more popular sister FM station, Top 40 music formatted WRVQ, but at the last minute made an 11th hour decision against the idea, and, stuck with the contract, put the show on lower rated WRNL-AM. It was said that decision did not it well with the duo , who were hoping for a wider regional audience on WRVQ's powerful 200,000 watt signal, instead, they were put on WRNL's limited 5000 watt directional signal. After a few weeks, by mutual agreement, the station dropped the show.

During the late nineties, the station continued with The Big Al Morning Show, and also carried G. Gordon Liddy, The Fabulous Sports Babe, and The Scott Ferrall Show .

In 2000 the station moved back to new studios in the Clear Channel Basie Road location.

In 2001 the station fired Big Al Coleman, Program Director Bob Black, and host Terry Sisisky. Coleman moved his Sportsphone show briefly to WARV-FM before settling in as program director and then show host on crosstown WXGI. Sisisky is heard on crosstown WBBT-FM as the voice of VCU while continuing his long-time affiliation with Petersburg High School sports. Black worked on Richmond Braves broadcasts, then on WXGI, before becoming the voice of University of Richmond Spiders sports.

By the end of 2001, WRNL was the Richmond affiliate of Fox Sports Radio, a network operated by parent company Clear Channel's Premiere Radio Networks.

The Richmond Braves returned to WRNL in 2007 after a few years on WXGI, when WXGI became the Richmond affiliate of the Washington Nationals radio network.

Programming

The station is listed by the Atlanta Braves as an affiliate of their radio network, but hasn't aired an Atlanta game since getting the Richmond Braves back. In 2007 , The Richmond Braves announced the team would be leaving Richmond . The team's broadcasts will end upon it's departure . The City Of Richmond is expected to replace the Braves with another minor league baseball team , and WRNL is expected to be the anchor station for the new replacement team.

The station's backbone is its Fox Sports Radio affiliation. The station also carries the Dan Patrick and Jim Rome shows, along with a local afternoon show hosted by Wes McElroy.

References

External links

* [http://www.sportsradio910.com Official site]
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