WWDE-FM (101.3

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

) is a commercial radio station

licensed A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...

Hampton, Virginia Hampton is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 137,148 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, seve ...

, and serving the

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond, and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point near whe ...

area. WWDE-FM airs an

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

radio format. he station is owned and operated by

Audacy, Inc. Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corp., it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning over 220 radio stations across 47 media ...

WWDE-FM has studios and offices on Clearfield Avenue in

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the List of cities in Virginia, most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeaster ...

, and its

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 East Indian River Road in

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

History

The station first

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 June 1, 1962, owned by Dick Lamb, Larry Saunders and Gene Loving. During the 1970s, it was co-owned with WVEC (1490 AM, now WXTG) and

WVEC WVEC (channel 13) is a television station licensed to Hampton, Virginia, United States, serving the Hampton Roads area as an affiliate of ABC. The station is owned by Tegna Inc., and maintains studios on Woodis Avenue in Norfolk; its transmitte ...

-TV. Its call letters were WVHR, and it aired a middle of the road music format, sometimes

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...

with its AM

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

. Its longtime

format started on July 31, 1978, with Lamb and sidekick Paul Richardson hosting the "2WD Breakfast Bunch" until January 28, 2005. Both have moved to rival

WTWV-FM WTWV-FM (92.9 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Suffolk, Virginia, and serving Hampton Roads. The Station Flips to Christmas Music on November and December. WTWV-FM is owned and operated by Max Media. It airs an adult contemporary ...

. In May 1987, a WWDE overnight DJ, Debbie Dicus, was murdered in broad daylight while tending to her garden in a public park in Hampton. Her tragic murder is noted on a ''

Forensic Files ''Forensic Files'', originally known as ''Medical Detectives'', is an American documentary television program that reveals how forensic science is used to solve violent crimes, mysterious accidents, and outbreaks of illness. The show was origin ...

'' episode, "Garden of Evil". On December 26, 2006, WWDE shifted to

soft adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

, but retained the "2WD" moniker. On April 1, 2013, WWDE shifted back to mainstream

, and rebranded as "The New 101.3 2WD".

References

External links

* * Audacy, Inc. radio stations Hampton, Virginia Mainstream adult contemporary radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1962 WDE-FM {{Virginia-radio-station-stub