WAAV (980 AM) is a

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

broadcasting a

News/Talk Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

format. Licensed to

Leland, North Carolina Leland is the most populous town in Brunswick County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 23,504 at the 2020 census, up from 13,527 in 2010. As of 2020, it is considered to be one of the fastest growing towns in North Carolina. It ...

, United States, it serves the Wilmington area. The station is currently owned by

Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 8 ...

History

WAAV debuted as an FM station in 1972 at 102.7, and would remain there until 1981, when Cape Fear Broadcasting from Fayetteville purchased WAAV and WGNI. At that time, the station flipped from FM to AM

1340 Year 1340 ( MCCCXL) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events * January 26 – King Edward III of England is declared King of France. * April 8 – Marinid galleys, un ...

; in 1984 the station moved to 980, where it remains today. The previous occupant of the 980 frequency was

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

WKLM, part of the Harold Thoms Group. Because of

FCC The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdictio ...

regulations regarding the number of stations one owner could have, WAAV had to be sold in 1988. Don Ansell, who was hosting the morning show "Talk Of The Town", bought the station and ran it until selling it to Cumulus in 1997. After

Hurricane Diana Hurricane Diana was a deadly tropical cyclone which struck Mexico in August 1990. The fourth named storm and second hurricane of the season, Diana developed from a tropical wave in the southwestern Caribbean on August 4. Forming as a tr ...

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. Bob Kwesell, whose conservative views offended a number of

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Sout ...

area listeners of

WPTF WPTF (680 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station broadcasting a news/talk radio format. Licensed to Raleigh, the station serves the Research Triangle area of North Carolina. It is owned by the Curtis Media Group, with studios located on Highwood ...

, began broadcasting "Wrestle with Kwesell" on WAAV and WFNC in Fayetteville on December 29, 1986. In September 1994, WAAV planned an FM station at 94.1 which would air

sports talk Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often- boisterous on-ai ...

. The AM station already had a number of sports programs. Roman Gabriel III, a

USFL The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

player and son of

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC Wes ...

quarterback

Roman Gabriel Roman Ildonzo Gabriel Jr. (born August 5, 1940) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL). He was the second overall pick in the 1962 NFL Draft and played for the Los Angeles Rams for eleven seaso ...

, began hosting the station's first five-day-a-week

program August 1, 1994. At that time, the station aired

UNC UNC is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to: Education * University of Northern California (disambiguation), which may refer to: ** University of Northern California (Santa Rosa), in Petaluma, California, United States ** University of No ...

and N. C. State football and basketball (including coaches' shows), " ACC Hotline",

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

races and talk shows, high school football, college football, "

Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, ...

", the NBA

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

, the

CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broad ...

baseball game of the week, The

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...

UNCW The University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW or UNC Wilmington) is a public research university in Wilmington, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina System and enrolls 17,499 undergraduate and graduate students eac ...

baseball and women's basketball, and

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is made up of state, U.S. territory, and overseas departments, and these are in turn made up of ...

baseball.Brian 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 the minor league baseball Port City Roosters. On April 30, 1997, Cumulus Broadcasting announced its purchase of WAAV, WWQQ-FM, WXQR-FM, and

WQSL WQSL (92.3 FM), also known as "The River", is a variety hits radio station licensed to Jacksonville, North Carolina. The station simulcasts on WQZL 101.1 FM Belhaven. History WQSL was "Q92" when it was Top 40 and then it was a Hot AC In the ear ...

. Ansell stayed as host of "Talk of the Town". After the purchase WAAV dropped UNCW sports. UNCW games moved first to WMFD and then to WLGX before returning to WAAV three years later. On December 21, 2006, Ansell retired after 22 years as WAAV morning host; on January 2, 2007, Marty Shirah took over, and remained there until May 28, 2010. On June 1, he moved to late afternoons. On June 1, 2010, Curtis Wright, conservative host of "The Morning Beat", previously heard on WLTT/ WNTB, debuted a new conservative talk radio morning show on the station and on Cumulus sister station WFNC in Fayetteville. Curtis' show lasted until Labor Day 2012. The Tyler Cralle Show moved from 5–7 p.m. to 6–10 a.m. on September 4, 2012. As is true for most corporate broadcast entities, shaving costs to increase the bottom line have cost the station much of its live programming and is providing less of its own news content, utilizing local TV station WECT for news updates. On May 3, 2021 Nick Craig took over morning's hosting "Wilmington’s Morning News with Nick Craig" from 6-9 a.m.

References

External links

official website
{{Cumulus Media AAV Radio stations established in 1957 1957 establishments in North Carolina Cumulus Media radio stations News and talk radio stations in the United States