WRCQ

Infobox Radio station
name = WRCQ


city = Dunn, North Carolina
area = Fayetteville, Metropolitan Area
branding = "Rock 103"
slogan = "Carolina's Best Rock"
airdate =
frequency = 103.5 MHz
format = Modern/Classic Rock Hybrid
power = 48,000 Watts
class = C2
HAAT = 153 meters
facility_id = 34826
coordinates = coord|35|03|9|N|78|38|54|W|type:landmark
callsign_meaning = Call letters to have stood for Rock
former_callsigns =
owner = Cumulus Media
licensee = Cumulus Licensing, LLC
sister_stations = WFNC, WFVL, WQSM
webcast =
website = [http://www.rock103rocks.com www.rock103rocks.com]
affiliations =

WRCQ (103.5 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a Rock music format. Licensed to Dunn, North Carolina, USA, it serves the Fayetteville area. The station is currently owned by Cumulus Media.

History

Lincoln "Uncle Linc" Faulk, a longtime general manager and announcer at WCKB, helped start WQTI ["Former Mayor of Lillington, Faulk, Is Dead," "The Fayetteville Observer", October 2, 1997.] , which played easy listening music [Michael Futch, "Sounds for the Soul," "The Fayetteville Observer", October 19, 1997.] . In 1976, Robie Butler and his mother, Mrs. Walton Baggett, sold WQTI to Rev. Gardner Altman and his son, Gardner Altman, Jr. The elder Altman would later own several Fayetteville-area stations, including WFLB and WFAI.

William Belche Sr. changed the letters from WQTI to WIDO ("D-103") in 1982. In 1985, Belche sold WIDO to Maurie Webster and Dean Landsman, who changed the letters to WDKS [Daisy Maxwell, "1991: Troops Return from Saudi Arabia," "The Fayetteville Observer", March 3, 2001.] [Michael Futch, "Scanning Across the Dial," "The Fayetteville Observer", March 18, 2001.] . The transmitter was in Dunn, but sales and management offices were in Fayetteville in 1989. The format was urban contemporary.

Metropolitan Broadcasting of North Carolina Inc., a partnership of real estate developers, bought WDKS in 1989 for $2 million from Landsman Media of New York City, which had already applied for a power increase from 3000 watts to 50,000 and a frequency change from 103.1 to 103.5 [David Bourne, "Partnership Seeks to Buy D-103 Radio Station," "The Fayetteville Observer", July 18, 1989.] .

Late in 1989, WDKS increased its power, changed to the letters WRCQ, and began playing classic rock [David Bourne, "Radio Stations Spinning New tunes," "The Fayetteville Observer", May 20, 1990.] . WRCQ aired the same programming as WZNS briefly in 1993 [Paul Woolverton, "WRCQ Owners to Purchase Competitors," "The Fayetteville Observer", November 2, 1993.] .

Metropolitan Broadcasting sold WRCQ to Kinetic Communications Inc. of Florida, in a $2.8 million deal announced in 1994, to focus on real estate [Paul Woolverton, "Florida Firm Plans to Buy WRCQ Radio," "The Fayetteville Observer", November 30, 1994.] . The new owners focused more on new artists and less on the classics. As general manager Howard Johnson explained it, "It was sitting here next to a military base with all these men, and this station wasn't doing well. ... My station is doing well. The station is profitable [Michael Futch, "Is 'Classic Rock' Going the Way Of the Dinosaur?", "The Fayetteville Observer", October 13, 1995.] ."

In March 1997, WRCQ added Howard Stern. Former morning hosts Mad Max, Bogie and Matt Patrick moved to afternoons [Michael Futch, "Rock Station Adds Stern's Morning Show," "The Fayetteville Observer", March 9, 1997.] . In 1998, Cape Fear Broadcasting, owner of three area stations, announced its purchase of WRCQ, which was describing its format as modern rock [Catherine Pritchard, "Local Company to Buy WRCQ," "The Fayetteville Observer", April 8, 1998.] .

In 1999, Cape Fear Broadcasting announced the sale of its stations to Cumulus. This sale was challenged by Ocean Broadcasting of Wilmington, North Carolina because it would give Cumulus 6 FMs and an AM in Wilmington, and about 55 percent of market revenue [Michael Futch, "For Cumulus, the Wait Continues," "The Fayetteville Observer", September 10, 2000.] . Even before Cumulus owned WRCQ, Stern was dropped December 31, 1999 [Michael Futch, "Howard Stern Show Pulled off the Air," "The Fayetteville Observer", January 9, 2000.] first for music and then Lex and Terry [WRCQ Brings Back Talk in the Morning," "The Fayetteville Observer", December 3, 2000.] . The sale was completed in May 2001Michael Futch, "Radio Host Jordan Resigns," "The Fayetteville Observer", June 16, 2001.] and when WFNC stopped doing daily editorials, WRCQ was one of the stations that aired taped editorials instead [Michael Futch, "WFNC Drops Its Daily Editorials," "The Fayetteville Observer", July 8, 2001.] .

John Boy and Billy replaced Lex and Terry when WKQB, also purchased by Cumulus, dropped classic rock in 2002 [Michael Futch, "'B107' is now 'Power 107'", "The Fayetteville Observer", March 17, 2002.] .

References

External links

* [http://www.rock103rocks.com/ official website]
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