WCHL-AM

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WCHL is a radio station based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina broadcasting at 1360 AM. It is the flagship station of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill radio sports broadcasts and an affiliate of both Air America Radio and the CBS Radio Network. Much of its programming is geared towards the Chapel Hill/Carrboro community, with a focus on local news and community affairs programming.

[edit] History

Chapel Hill's oldest continuous broadcaster signed on January 25, 1953 under the ownership of Sandy McClamroch, who went on to become the town's longest-serving mayor. Originally a 1,000 watt station, the station boosted its daytime power to 5,000 watts in 1978. WCHL served as the launching point for the Village Broadcasting Companies, which bought Burlington's WBAG-FM in 1983, moving it to Raleigh as WZZU (now WKSL "Kiss 93.9"). Over the years, the station developed a loyal following for being highly community-oriented. The WCHL news department brought home many Associated Press awards. WCHL played top 40 music, and later adult contemporary before going news/talk in the early 1990s. In 1997, The Village Companies (now Vilcom) sold WCHL to the Raleigh-based Curtis Media Group for $400,000. Curtis moved WCHL's studios to the WDNC studios at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park and dumped the highly acclaimed local news and community-driven talk for an automated middle-of-the-road/oldies format, limited news and a simulcast morning show with co-located WDNC. However, in 2002, Vilcom took back control of their former property's sales and programming under a local marketing agreement, moved the station to Chapel Hill and returned the station's format to local news and talk on November 25, 2002, just two months before the station celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2003. In June of 2004, Vilcom bought the station back from Curtis Media Group for $775,000.

[edit] Transmission

WCHL's 5,000-watt non-directional daytime signal cuts back to 1,000 watts directional toward the southeast at sunset. Even with all the changes in recent years, the station has continuously broadcast from its two-tower array on Franklin Street, noticeable for being emblazoned with metal call letters on one and frequency on the other.