WFDD celebrates 75th anniversary
A guest post from 88.5 WFDD 
88.5 WFDD, the NPR affiliate station licensed to Wake Forest University, is marking its 75th anniversary throughout 2021. The public radio station, which serves 32 counties in the Piedmont and High Country, as well as southern Virginia, traces its roots to an inaugural 1946 broadcast by two students from their rooming house on the old Wake Forest College campus in Wake Forest, NC. Those two students, Al Parris and Henry Randall, continued their pirate broadcasts with growing support from the campus community, until—with the support of the College—they received an FCC license. The first legal sign-on took place in 1948 as WAKE, but shortly thereafter, the station was required to change its call letters, as WAKE was already assigned to another station. The call letters became WFDD, for “Wake Forest Demon Deacons.”
WFDD continued as a student-run station through its move, along with Wake Forest University, to Winston-Salem, NC. In the late 1950s, under the leadership of the station’s first non-student station manager, Wake Forest College associate professor of speech and communications Julian Burroughs, WFDD transitioned to a professional station. In 1970, it was one of 86 stations in the country to join the National Public Radio network at its inception. The following year saw the inaugural broadcast from National Public Radio on April 20, 1971: coverage of Senate hearings on the Vietnam War. On May 3, 1971, NPR’s flagship program, All Things Considered, premiered and was carried by WFDD. The program remains on the air today. Read more
Categories: Guest Post, Inside WFU
After 12 Years, WFDD’s BackPack Campaign remains a symbol of community support
The following message is shared on behalf of 88.5 WFDD.
88.5 WFDD has concluded its annual BackPack Campaign, reaching its goal to contribute to the filling of 1,300 backpacks of food for children at risk of hunger, thanks to listeners’ support. The backpacks were made possible through the support of Kaplan Early Learning Company and will be distributed through Second Harvest Food Bank’s BackPack Program; they will provide the equivalent of 5,200 meals for children in the Piedmont and High Country who are in need.
WFDD has held an annual BackPack Campaign in December for the last 12 years. This special fundraiser provides support for the public radio station, while also filling backpacks of food for children in the Piedmont and High Country at risk of hunger, through Second Harvest Food Bank’s BackPack Program.
Categories: Inside WFU
WFDD wins prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award
The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) has awarded 88.5 WFDD a National Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in Innovation for its Community Conversation on Mental Health. This comes after the station received three Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for Large Market Radio in Region 8, which encompasses Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
Murrow Awards, among the most prestigious in broadcast and digital news, are presented to news organizations that demonstrate the spirit of excellence that Murrow set as a standard for the profession of broadcast and digital journalism.
Categories: Inside WFU, Staff News
WFDD announces program changes to begin in February
This is a guest post from 88.5 WFDD:
88.5 WFDD, the public radio station licensed to Wake Forest, recently announced programming changes, slated to begin in February. Included in these changes is combining the Triad Arts and News teams into one unit.
WFDD News Director Emily McCord said that bringing the Triad Arts staff into the News Department will allow more flexibility in news and arts reporting and it paves the way for new projects that will deepen our relationship with the community. “We’re excited about the opportunity to find amazing stories and share them with our audience in the way only public radio can,” said McCord.
In addition, the station announced some new programs being added to the schedule, while others will be heard at new times. Assistant General Manager Molly Davis said, “We hope that our listeners have had a chance to hear new episodes of Across the Blue Ridge with Paul Brown. Starting on Feb. 6, Mountain Stage will join the weekend lineup, creating a nice block of roots and traditional music on Saturday and Sunday evenings.” The station has also added Bullseye with Jesse Thorn, described as a curated guide to culture, on Sunday afternoons.
Programs moving time slots include The Tavis Smiley Show, Fresh Air Weekend, Marketplace Weekend, and Ask Me Another. Listeners will now hear Here and Now, the live midday news program from NPR and WBUR, from noon until 2 p.m., Monday through Friday.
WFDD General Manager Tom Dollenmayer said, “WFDD carefully studies audience data and listening trends. These changes are an effort to integrate arts coverage into our news coverage and to add oft-requested programs to our schedule.”
WFDD’s complete program schedule is available at wfdd.org.
Categories: Guest Post
WFDD to re-launch 'Across the Blue Ridge' radio program
This is a guest post from 88.5 WFDD:
88.5 WFDD, the public radio station licensed to Wake Forest University, is partnering with former 88.5 WFDD news director and NPR newscaster Paul Brown to re-launch “Across the Blue Ridge,” a program created by Brown at WFDD in the late 1980s. “Across the Blue Ridge” tells some of America’s most fascinating stories through the lens of Appalachian music and cultural history. It focuses on the southern Blue Ridge region known as a hotbed of old-time, bluegrass, blues, and country music. The show previously ran on WFDD for more than a decade until Brown left WFDD for NPR in Washington, DC.
Brown said, “I’m thrilled to collaborate with WFDD to bring ‘Across the Blue Ridge’ back to the airwaves, to the web, and to live performance venues. This is an amazing period in our music history, with a new generation of hot performers taking off in wonderful directions. I hope listeners will join me in sharing a truly fascinating, always-evolving story about the American south, its music, and connections to the wider world.”
88.5 WFDD has planned a January 2016 launch of the re-envisioned show, and has introduced an Indiegogo campaign to raise funds to support the production of the program. “Producing a weekly radio program is costly,” said WFDD General Manager Tom Dollenmayer, “and we hope that our listeners who remember ‘Across the Blue Ridge’ fondly will want to contribute to aid in bringing back the show.”
Categories: Guest Post
