The station airs news and talk shows from NPR during the day, with local news updates. From 8 p.m. to 4 a.m., the station turns to classical music programming. It produced the syndicated show Across the Blue Ridge.[1]
History
"WAKE Radio" redirects here. Not to be confused with WAKE (AM).
WFDD logo used until mid-November 2019
WFDD has its roots in a station operated by students at what was then Wake Forest College from a rooming house in the town of Wake Forest beginning in the fall of 1946.[2] The station was so popular students began asking for an official station. With the help of student fundraising, WAKE was fully licensed by 1948.[3]
After discovering that the WAKE letters were already in use, the station changed its letters to WFDD, which stood for "Wake Forest Demon Deacons". Since the schools' sports teams were an important part of the station's programming, this seemed appropriate. Other programs included "Deaconlight Serenade", a student music program which included the part of the name of a Glenn Miller hit. This program remained on the air as "Deaconlight" until 1981. The WAKE letters returned in the 1980s on a student-run AM station, which later became available on the Internet.[3]
After Wake Forest College moved to Winston-Salem, WFDD returned to the air with a 10-watt signal in 1961. The signal increased to 36,000 watts in 1967, the year the Corporation for Public Broadcasting began. WFDD became one of only 10 stations to have received federal funding from the new organization.[3] The signal boost resulted from efforts to raise funds after WYFS stopped playing classical music in May 1966.[4]
In 1958, Dr. Julian Burroughs, who had helped sign the station on and served as student station manager in the 1950-51 school year, became the station's first professional station manager, a post he held until 1981. His arrival began a transition to a more professional operation, culminating in 1961 when the station became a non-commercial educational radio station. On May 3, 1971, WFDD became a charter member of National Public Radio (NPR), the first affiliate of the network in the state. Burroughs added his knowledge to that of other station officials around the country to determine what NPR would become.[3]
On May 5, 1989, WFDD lost its tower along Business 40 in Winston-Salem when severe storms struck the area. The station returned to the air with reduced power, but did not fully cover the market until a new tower was completed north of Lexington, which would be shared with WWGL.[5] The tower was supposed to have taken 18 months to complete, but a station at 94.5 FM kept protesting that its signal would be affected. Once it was determined that would not be a problem, the tower was built and put into operation September 29, 1994.[6]
For two years in the 1990s, WFDD aired Wake Forest football and basketball games, but many listeners complained.[7]
For many years, WFDD's format was a mix of NPR programming and classical music. In 2005, WFDD began airing more talk programming from NPR, with no classical music during the day on most weekdays.[8] With less classical music, many classical music listeners protested the change by ceasing their donations; at the same time, the station saw an influx of new donors who appreciated the news and discussion programming.[9] The station added a 24-hour classical music station on its HD radio subcarrier.[10]
In 2009, WFDD began Radio Camp, a week-long experience for middle schoolers, where students learn the basics of conducting interviews, how to operate professional sound editing software, and create their own stories to be broadcast. The camp is held at the WFDD studio on Wake Forest University's campus.[11]
WFDD competes in much of its coverage area with WUNC-FM in Chapel Hill, the main NPR member for the Triangle. WUNC has long claimed the eastern Triad, including Greensboro, as part of its primary coverage area; its transmitter in Chatham County is roughly halfway between Greensboro and the core of the Triangle.
^"Classical Music Fund Under Way". Winston-Salem Journal. June 10, 1966.
^Susan Ladd, "WFDD Tower Extends Public Radio Station's Range," Greensboro News & Record, September 13, 1994.
^Sprouse, Catherine (October 10, 1994). "WFDD Vying To Win Back Guilford Listeners". Triad Business News. p. 7.
^William L. Holmes, "WFDD Kicks Out Sports Broadcasts Wake Forest Games Didn't Mesh Well with Music Shows," Winston-Salem Journal, January 20, 1998.
^Tim Clodfelter, "More News: WFDD Has Shifted Format Away from Classical Music," Winston-Salem Journal, February 3, 2005.
^Tim Clodfelter, "WFDD's Pledge Drive Falls 21 Percent Short of Its Goal," Winston-Salem Journal, April 7, 2007.
^Tim Clodfelter, "Clearly Different - As Broadcasters Go HD They're Hoping Radio Listeners Will Jump on the Trend," Winston-Salem Journal, December 3, 2007.
^"Radio Camp 2019". 88.5 WFDD. January 2, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
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