The Light, formerly WQLU (90.9 FM), is a

non-commercial A non-commercial (also spelled noncommercial) activity is an activity that is not carried out in the interest of Profit (economics), profit. The opposite is Commerce, commercial, something that primarily serves profit interests and is focused on bu ...

internet radio Internet radio, also known as online radio, web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio and IP radio, is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not ...

station in

Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner and Abolitionism, abolitionist John Lynch (1740–1820), J ...

. It broadcasts a

Contemporary Christian Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from about 1945 to the present. In the social sciences, contemporary history is also continuous with, and related t ...

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...

and is owned and operated by

Liberty University Liberty University (LU), known simply as Liberty, is a Private university, private Evangelicalism in the United States, evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservativ ...

. The station aired Liberty University Flames athletics. WQLU was licensed for an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would ha ...

(ERP) of 100 watts. The

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

is off Candlers Mountain Road in Lynchburg. It operated from 1993 until its license was canceled in 2023. Today The Light Radio Station is solely an

station. The Light Radio station has tons of programming. They broadcast Liberty University's Convocation Service on Wednesday and Friday Mornings. They also broadcast Liberty University's Campus Community Service on Wednesday Evenings. The Light is also home to Liberty Flames Ice Hockey.

History

Liberty University (then known as Liberty Baptist College) got its first student-run radio station in 1980, on the AM dial. It was a

carrier current Carrier current transmission, originally called wired wireless, employs guided low-power Radio frequency, radio-frequency signals, which are transmitted along electrical conductors. The transmissions are picked up by receivers that are either conne ...

station available on

550 AM The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 550 kHz, which the Federal Communications Commission classifies as a regional frequency. Argentina * La Primera in Neuquén, Neuquén. (still have no call sign assigned) Bolivia * CP ...

but only covering the campus. On October 8, 1992, the

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

(FCC) granted the school a

construction permit Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to bu ...

to build an FM station at 100 watts on 90.9 MHz. Its original

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

was WWMC (for "Wall to Wall Music"). The station

signed on A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio broadcasting, radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonw ...

the air on February 1, 1993. During off-hours, a Christian music service from

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

was broadcast, when Liberty student DJs were not available. After a transmitter fire, the station was off the air from June to August 1993. In 1999, the station switched from its mainstream Christian contemporary sound to a more youthful, upbeat Christian Top 40

playlist A playlist is a list of video or audio files that can be played back on a media player, either sequentially or in a shuffled order. In its most general form, an audio playlist is simply a list of songs that can be played once or in a loop. ...

. In 2003, the station began holding on-the-air

fundraiser Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

s for listener support. The station changed its call sign to WQLU in the spring of 2015. On September 29, 2023, the FCC issued an order cancelling WQLU's license to broadcast, and requiring the university to pay a fine of $10,000, after discovering that the station had been broadcasting "from a different tower and at different geographic coordinates (...) than specified in the Station’s license." The license holder was also sanctioned for making "incorrect statements" to the FCC. After 90.9 The Light went off of the radio airwaves, the radio station rebranded and is now The Light, where it only broadcasts over the internet as an

station.

References

External links

90.9 The Light Online
* {{Liberty University Radio stations established in 1993 Radio stations disestablished in 2023 1993 establishments in Virginia 2023 disestablishments in Virginia QLU Liberty University Defunct religious radio stations in the United States QLU