WBRF
Encyclopedia
WBRF is a Classic Country
/Bluegrass
/Americana
formatted broadcast
radio station
licensed to Galax, Virginia
.
WBRF's powerful signal covers the Piedmont Triad
area of North Carolina
, along with the New River Valley
area of Virginia
, and the Bluefield
-Beckley
area of West Virginia
. The station can be heard in parts of the Tri Cities
and into areas of eastern Kentucky.
WBRF is owned and operated by Blue Ridge Radio, Inc.
).
WBOB-FM began its Country/Bluegrass/Americana format around the same time it was purchased by Blue Ridge Radio Inc. in April 1985. At the same time, the station switched its callsign to WBRF. The station billed itself as "Blue Ridge Country 98.1".
In 1990, the WBRF transmitter moved and the power increased to 100,000 Watts from Fisher Peak in Surry County
, just across the Virginia/North Carolina border.
On June 15, 2009, Toby Young returned to radio with his "Aunt Eloise" character who was part of WTQR
radio for 23 years.
The changes led to the end of Bruce Hodges' "NightRide USA" program, which ran from 11 P.M. to 6 A.M. weekdays, with an emphasis on patriotism
and spirituality
, and included lots of listener calls. Under new operations director Tom Collins, the number of calls would have been reduced and Hodges would have had less control over music played. Many listeners complained about the show ending, and Hodges hoped to bring back his program online and possibly as a syndicated program. The changes proved to be almost the death of WBRF-FM as a popular local listener-geared Classic Country station. Listeners revolted and many advertisers left the station. Many changes such as removal of CBS RADIO News Live on the hour, every hour took place. D.J.`s were unhappy and threned to quit if something wasn`t done about Collins. On November 26, 2010 Director Of Operations Tom Collins was relieved of his duties. Collins was put working on local live remotes. WBRF-FM Owner Debbie Epperson took over his duties. Slowly, his changes were reversed and many more of the Country Oldies, requests and listeners live on the air was returned. As a result, employee morale also picked up at the station. By Feb. 2011, Tom Collins was let go totally by WBRF-FM. The moinker "The Legend" was also removed. Also, CBS Radio News every hour returned. By March of 2011, the station was mostly restored to the format that it had for many years before Tom Collins changed it. Listeners and advertisers returned.
WBRF-FM 98.1 is the flagship station for Wake Forest Demon Deacons
basketball and football.
Classic country
Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country hits from past decades.This genre generally follows one of two formats: those specializing in hits from the 1920s through the early 1970s, and focus primarily on innovators and artists from country music's Golden...
/Bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
/Americana
Americana (music)
Americana is an amalgam of roots musics formed by the confluence of the shared and varied traditions that make up the American musical ethos; specifically those sounds that are merged from folk, country, blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll and other external influential styles...
formatted broadcast
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
licensed to Galax, Virginia
Galax, Virginia
Galax is an independent city in the southwestern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is bounded to the northeast by Carroll County and to the southwest by Grayson County. The population was 7,042 as of 2010...
.
WBRF's powerful signal covers the Piedmont Triad
Piedmont Triad
The Piedmont Triad, or Triad, is a north-central region of the U.S. state of North Carolina that consists of the area within and surrounding the three major cities of Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point. This close group or "triad" of cities lies in the Piedmont geographical region of the...
area of North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, along with the New River Valley
New River Valley
The New River Valley is a region in the eastern United States along the New River in the Commonwealth of Virginia . The valley comprises the counties of Montgomery , Pulaski, Floyd, Giles and the independent City of Radford...
area of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, and the Bluefield
Bluefield, West Virginia
Bluefield is a city in Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 10,447 at the 2010 census. It is also the core city of the Bluefield WV-VA micropolitan area which has a population of 107,342.-Geography & Climate:...
-Beckley
Beckley, West Virginia
Beckley is a city in Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States, which was founded on April 4, 1838. The 2008 population was estimated to be 16,832 by the U.S. Census Bureau. Early in its history, the town was known as Beckleyville and Raleigh Court House...
area of West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
. The station can be heard in parts of the Tri Cities
Tri-Cities, Tennessee
In Tennessee and Virginia the name "Tri-Cities" refers to the region comprising the cities of Kingsport, Johnson City and Bristol and the surrounding smaller towns and communities in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia...
and into areas of eastern Kentucky.
WBRF is owned and operated by Blue Ridge Radio, Inc.
History
WBRF signed on December 15, 1961 at 5:15pm as WBOB-FM with a power of 6,000 watts. WBOB-FM shared studios with WBOB-AM (now WWWJWWWJ
WWWJ is a Southern Gospel formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Galax, Virginia, serving Carroll and Grayson counties in Virginia. WWWJ is owned and operated by Twin County Broadcasting Corporation.-History:...
).
WBOB-FM began its Country/Bluegrass/Americana format around the same time it was purchased by Blue Ridge Radio Inc. in April 1985. At the same time, the station switched its callsign to WBRF. The station billed itself as "Blue Ridge Country 98.1".
In 1990, the WBRF transmitter moved and the power increased to 100,000 Watts from Fisher Peak in Surry County
Surry County, North Carolina
Surry County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2010, the population was 73,673. Its county seat is Dobson.- History :The county was formed in 1771 from Rowan County...
, just across the Virginia/North Carolina border.
On June 15, 2009, Toby Young returned to radio with his "Aunt Eloise" character who was part of WTQR
WTQR
WTQR is a country music station licensed to Winston-Salem, North Carolina and serves the Piedmont Triad region, including Greensboro and High Point. The Clear Channel Communications outlet broadcasts at 104.1 MHz with an ERP of 100 kW...
radio for 23 years.
2010 Changes
Late in 2010, WBRF-FM 98.1 changed its format drasticly, dropping newer country music (though it previously emphasized the classics anyway) and changing its name to "Classic Country 98-1" and "The Legend". The station became much more "Cookie Cutter" with the D.J. talk greatly reduced to liner cards and all requests stopped. Listeners were also no longer put live on the air to chat to D.J.s live on-air.The changes led to the end of Bruce Hodges' "NightRide USA" program, which ran from 11 P.M. to 6 A.M. weekdays, with an emphasis on patriotism
Patriotism
Patriotism is a devotion to one's country, excluding differences caused by the dependencies of the term's meaning upon context, geography and philosophy...
and spirituality
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
, and included lots of listener calls. Under new operations director Tom Collins, the number of calls would have been reduced and Hodges would have had less control over music played. Many listeners complained about the show ending, and Hodges hoped to bring back his program online and possibly as a syndicated program. The changes proved to be almost the death of WBRF-FM as a popular local listener-geared Classic Country station. Listeners revolted and many advertisers left the station. Many changes such as removal of CBS RADIO News Live on the hour, every hour took place. D.J.`s were unhappy and threned to quit if something wasn`t done about Collins. On November 26, 2010 Director Of Operations Tom Collins was relieved of his duties. Collins was put working on local live remotes. WBRF-FM Owner Debbie Epperson took over his duties. Slowly, his changes were reversed and many more of the Country Oldies, requests and listeners live on the air was returned. As a result, employee morale also picked up at the station. By Feb. 2011, Tom Collins was let go totally by WBRF-FM. The moinker "The Legend" was also removed. Also, CBS Radio News every hour returned. By March of 2011, the station was mostly restored to the format that it had for many years before Tom Collins changed it. Listeners and advertisers returned.
Programming
WBRF-FM broadcasts its Friday night shows at the Rex Theatre in Galax. It also broadcasts from the Old Time Fiddler's Convention every August in Felt's Park, also in Galax.WBRF-FM 98.1 is the flagship station for Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Originally, Wake Forest's athletic teams were known as the Fighting Baptists, due to its association with the Baptist Convention...
basketball and football.