WFNL (AM)
 |
|
| City | Raleigh, North Carolina |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area |
Raleigh/Durham Research Triangle |
| Branding | Funny 570 |
| Frequency | 570 kHz |
| First air date | 1962 (as WLLE) |
| Format | Comedy |
| Power | 1,000 watts day 40 watts night |
| Class | D |
| Facility ID | 61698 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 35°47′35″N 78°45′41″W / 35.79306°N 78.76139°W |
| Callsign meaning | We're Fun N Laughs |
| Former callsigns | WLLE (1962-1997) WRDT (1997-1999) WDTF (1999-2003) WDNZ (2003-2006) WDOX (2006-2010) WQDR (2010-2012) |
| Owner | Curtis Media Group |
| Sister stations | WKIX-FM, WQDR-FM, WBBB, WWPL, WPTF, WPTK |
| Website | Curtis Media Group Website |
WFNL "Funny 570" is an all-comedy radio station serving the Triangle area of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The station serves as the Triangle affiliate for the 24/7 Comedy radio network. Its studios are located in Raleigh, and the transmitter is co-located at the transmitter site of sister station WPTF in Cary.
WLLE ("Willie") could be heard as far away as Walkertown and Wallace-Rose Hill. Its DJs included Daddy O on the Radio, Big Bill Haywood, Brother James Thomas, Prince Ike Behind the Mike, Jimmy Johnson of JJ’s House Party, and Sweet Bob Rogers. Ray "Dr. Jocko" Henderson, who later became well known in Detroit, was popular with both black and white listeners in the 1960s. He is credited with helping Raleigh get through difficult times during integration of the schools and the death of Martin Luther King Jr. His style came from Douglas "Jocko" Henderson of Philadelphia and Durham's Dr. Jive of WSRC.
Wallace LaCrosse Hankin bought WLLE in 1966. WLLE became the station for Raleigh's black community, and it was the second most popular AM station.
In the early 1990s, "Let's Talk", hosted by Frank Roberts, aired five nights each week and dealt with the problems of blacks.
In 1997, WLLE was purchased by Mortenson Broadcasting of Kentucky, who changed its call letters to WRDT and began airing religious talk. Two years later, the station was picked up by Curtis Media and the call letters were changed once again to WDTF, continuing on with the religious talk format and adding inspirational music to the mix.
In 2003, the station changed its format to current general talk and call letters to WDNZ to match its one-time simulcast partner, Durham-based WDNC. The station continued to air much of the same programs as WDNC, save for mornings and sports broadcasts featuring the Carolina Mudcats, even though both stations had aired Charlotte Bobcats games briefly. All that changed in late 2005 when WDNC broke off the simulcast to become an all-sports station with an entirely separate staff, LMAed by McClatchey Broadcasting, owners of WRBZ, 850 AM.
...
Wikipedia