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WPYR (1380 AM) is an American
radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting 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 rad ...
licensed to serve the community of
Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...
. The station currently airs a
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
programming format.


History

WPYR was originally WYNK, a country music outlet until its format was moved to the FM side. The station signed on in 1956 and was affiliated with ABC Radio and Mutual. In March 1998, WYNK switched to
Radio Disney Radio Disney was an American radio network operated by the Disney Radio Networks unit of Disney Branded Television within Disney General Entertainment Content, headquartered in Burbank, California. The network broadcast music programming ...
and briefly held the
WFMF WFMF (102.5 FM broadcasting, FM, ''102.5 WFMF'') is a commercial radio station owned by iHeartMedia and licensed to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It serves the Baton Rouge metropolitan area with a contemporary hit radio format. The studios are locate ...
callsign after the FM side became WLSS. Once WLSS returned to the WFMF callsign, 1380 reverted to WYNK. WYNK flipped to a syndicated talk format on April 22, 2002. In 2005, WYNK became the Baton Rouge affiliate of
Air America Radio Air America (formerly Air America Radio and Air America Media) was an American radio network specializing in progressive talk radio. It was on the air from March 2004 to January 2010. The network was founded as a left–wing alternative to coun ...
and changed call sign to WPYR. In late 2007, the station switched to Clear Channel's Hallelujah Contemporary Gospel music format. In 2008, WPYR was sold to Michael Glitner, who then exchanged WPYR for station WBZK in
York, South Carolina York is a city in and the county seat of York County, South Carolina, United States. The population was approximately 6,985 at the 2000 census and up to 7,736 at the 2010 census. York is located approximately southwest of Charlotte, North Ca ...
(now
WULR WULR (980 AM) is a commercial radio station in York, South Carolina, and serving the Charlotte metropolitan area. The station license is owned by Iglesia Nueva Vida of High Point. WULR broadcasts a Spanish language Christian talk and teaching r ...
), which was owned by
Pamal Broadcasting Pamal Broadcasting, Ltd. is a family-owned radio group with twenty-three stations in medium-to-small markets in the Northeast. Based in the Albany suburb of Latham, New York, Pamal Broadcasting was founded in 1987 as Albany Broadcasting Company, ...
and is near Glitner's new home in South Carolin

Following the station swap, WPYR returned with a new Spanish format. The station was broadcasting a simulcast of KGLA (AM), WFNO's "La Fabulosa 830". In August 2009, Catholic Community Radio, Inc. signed a purchase agreement with the
Davidson Media Group The Davidson Media Group (DMG) is a Charlotte-based broadcaster specializing in multi-cultural, community focused formats. The company runs stations in a number of markets in 10 states and also specializes in selling large blocks of time on some o ...
intending to buy the station and switch to a
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
format for the
Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...
are

On December 11, 2009, Catholic Community Radio, Inc. completed the sale of WPYR with
Davidson Media Group The Davidson Media Group (DMG) is a Charlotte-based broadcaster specializing in multi-cultural, community focused formats. The company runs stations in a number of markets in 10 states and also specializes in selling large blocks of time on some o ...
br>
The station is a
lay apostolate The lay apostolate is made up of Laity, laypersons, who are neither Consecrated life (Catholic Church), consecrated religious nor in Holy Orders, who exercise a ministry within the Catholic Church. Lay apostolate organizations operate under the gen ...
owned and operated by Catholic Community Radio, Inc. within the Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge. The station currently hosts 24-hour Catholic Talk format, begun in the 1st Quarter of 2010 drawing from local and national sources such as
EWTN The Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) is an American basic cable television network which presents around-the-clock Catholic programming. It is the largest Catholic television network in America, and is purported to be "the world's larges ...
Global Radio Network,
Ave Maria Radio WDEO is a radio station broadcasting on 990 kilohertz in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Broadcasting Catholic programming, WDEO is operated by Ave Maria Radio. Most programming is locally produced, but some daytime content comes from the EWTN Global Cat ...
, and
Relevant Radio Relevant Radio (corporate name Relevant Radio, Inc.) is a radio network in the United States, mainly broadcasting talk radio and religious programming involving the Catholic Church. Relevant Radio broadcasts "talk radio for Catholic life" over a ...
. WPYR began broadcasting a one-hour live morning program beginning at 7:00am called "Wake Up Baton Rouge! Live." When the live show began broadcasting in the New Orleans area via
WQNO WQNO is a station based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The station is owned by Catholic Community Radio, Inc. and broadcasts at 690 kHz with a power level of 9,100 watts daytime and 2,100 watts nighttime. The station mostly runs Roman Catholic ...
, the show's name changed to "Wake Up Louisiana."


References


External links

* * Catholic radio stations Radio stations established in 1956 1956 establishments in Louisiana Christian radio stations in Louisiana Catholic Church in Louisiana Mass media in Baton Rouge, Louisiana {{Louisiana-radio-station-stub