- WAAV
Infobox Radio station
name = WAAV
city =Leland, North Carolina
area = Wilmington
branding =
slogan = "Newstalk/Sports AM 980"
airdate =
frequency = 980kHz
format =News/Talk
power = 5000Watt s
erp =
haat =
class = B
facility_id =
coordinates = coord|34|14|54|N|78|00|6|W|type:landmark
callsign_meaning =
former_callsigns =
owner =Cumulus Media
licensee =
sister_stations =WGNI ,WKXS-FM ,WMNX ,WWQQ-FM
webcast =
website = http://www.980waav.com
affiliations =WAAV (980 AM) is a
radio station broadcasting aNews/Talk format. Licensed toLeland, North Carolina , USA, it serves the Wilmington area. The station is currently owned byCumulus Media .History
WKLM was a
Top 40 station at 740 AM. The station later moved to 980 and increased power to 5000 watts, though it was daytime-only [http://www.alhardee.net/entertainment.html, Retrieved on 2008/07/24.] .Because of FCC regulations regarding the number of stations one owner could have, WAAV had to be sold in 1984. Don Ansell bought the station and ran it until selling to Cumulus in 1997. Among those he interviewed over the years:
Velma Barfield , the first woman executed inNorth Carolina after the return of capital punishment.After Hurricane Diana hit the area in September 1984, WAAV had just started its news/talk format, and it was the only radio station on the air, using a diesel generator named "Old Bessie." Ansell stayed on the air for 24 hours using a flashlight and a telephone. Ansell said, "It put us on the map." He said to
The Star-News back then, "'It's quite a bit different when there are no crutches. No tapes, no music, no commercials - just your voice."Bonnie Eksten, "Voice, Over - He's Interviewed Murderers, Politicians and Smelly Radicals. After 22 Lively Years, WAAV Host Donn Ansell Unplugs the Mic," "Star-News", December 21, 2006.] .Starting in September 1994, WAAV planned an FM station at 94.1 which would air
sports talk . The AM station already had a number of sports programs. Roman Gabriel III, a USFL player and son of Los Angeles Rams quarterbackRoman Gabriel , began hosting the station's first five-day-a-weeksports talk program August 1, 1994. At that time, the station aired UNC and N. C. State football and basketball (including coaches' shows), "ACC Hotline,"NASCAR races and talk shows, high school football, college football, "Monday Night Football ," theNBA Charlotte Hornets, theCBS Radio baseball game of the week, TheWorld Series , UNCW baseball and women's basketball [Chuck Carree, "TV and Radio Sports/WJKA Will Carry ACC Football; New Talk Show Highlights WAAV Offerings," "Star-News", August 1, 1994.] , andAmerican Legion baseballBrian Hendrickson, "UNCW on the Radio; Seahawks' Games Go Back to WAAV," "Star-News", May 18, 2000.] . For their two years in the area, WAAV also aired the games of theminor league baseball Port City Roosters [Chuck Carree, "Minor League Baseball; Awakened Public Quick to Pick Up Rooster Tickets," "Star-News", February 17, 1995.] [Chuck Carree, "Waves Baseball; Sports Station to Carry All Games," "Star-News", November 16, 2000.] .On April 30, 1997, Cumulus Broadcasting announced its purchase of WAAV,
WWQQ ,WXQR , andWQSL [Tricia Vance, "WAAV, 'Q' GROUP; 4 Radio Stations Are Sold," "Star-News", May 1, 1997.] . Ansell stayed as host of "Talk of the Town". After the purchase WAAV dropped UNCW sports. UNCW games moved first to WMFD [Carter Strickland, "WMFD Replaces WAAV; Seahawks Find a New Radio Outlet for Games," "Star-News", September 13, 1997.] and then to WLGX before returning to WAAV three years later.On December 21, 2006, Ansell retired after 22 years as WAAV morning host.
References
External links
* [http://www.980waav.com official website]
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