WQOF
The first sound from 525 Eleventh Street emerged on the 22nd of December 1924. A tiny transmitter with only fifty watts of power hummed to life inside a third-floor studio at the Radio Parlor building. This new station carried the call letters WRHF and stood for Washington Radio Hospital Fund. Its initial mission targeted shut-ins in Washington who could not read newspapers or magazines themselves. Daily broadcasts lasted just one hour and consisted entirely of current events and short stories. Broadcasting equipment was a rebuilt unit originally intended for the YMCA building at 17th and G Streets NW. The Federal Communications Commission deleted the license briefly on the 28th of November 1925 before reauthorizing it the following January 26th. Ownership transferred to an insurance agent named Leroy Mark operating as the American Broadcasting Company unrelated to later networks. On the 11th of November 1928, the station moved to 1310 kHz and changed its call sign to WOL.
WOL became the Washington network affiliate of the Mutual Broadcasting System during radio's golden age. It fed the Fulton Lewis Jr nightly newscast to the wider network. On the 22nd of September 1938, the station increased power while moving to 1230 kHz. In March 1941, stations on 1230 kHz including WOL shifted to 1260 kHz under the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement. A 1948 advertisement showed the station still using the WOL call letters. The Federal Communications Commission approved the sale of WWDC by Capital Broadcasting in early 1950. Peoples Broadcasting Corporation bought the station from Cowles Broadcasting and announced a swap of call letters with WWDC. This change took place the 20th of February 1950. WOL lost its Mutual affiliation to WEAM in Arlington Virginia during this transition. The WWDC call letters remained at 1260 AM for the rest of the century.
Radio personalities like Jimmy Dean and Fred Fiske hosted programs on this station throughout the 1960s. The format settled into middle-of-the-road music during that decade. WWDC made history as the first American radio station to play a Beatles song. It aired I Want to Hold Your Hand in December 1963. During the 1970s, WWDC became a moderately popular top 40 station. In 1981, the station began simulcasting morning and afternoon drive shows on sister FM rock station WWDC-FM. Separate shows played different formats while other dayparts shared the same music. In 1984, it broke off the simulcast completely and became an adult standards station. WWDC changed its call letters to WGAY in 1999 following the discontinuation of the long-time beautiful music format on 99.5 WGAY-FM. That station later became WJMO-FM and then WIHT.
Clear Channel Communications acquired 1260 AM as part of its merger with AMFM Inc in 2000. On the 2nd of April 2001, the standards format dropped and the station switched to business news under the WWRC call sign. The format moved from 570 AM which became talk radio station WTNT. In early 2003, the station ended the business format and became a full-time audio relay of CNN Headline News. This change coincided with the start of the Iraq War. On the 17th of January 2005, WWRC shifted to progressive talk radio and became an Air America Radio affiliate. Hosts during this era included Lionel, Stephanie Miller, Ed Schultz, Bill Press, Rachel Maddow and Ron Reagan. The Washington Post reported WWRC's December 2006 ratings as an almost imperceptible audience. The station booked a .4 rating in summer 2008 and a .1 rating in winter 2008. Red Zebra Broadcasting purchased WTNT, WTEM and WWRC from Clear Channel in a deal announced in 2008. On the 15th of September 2008, WWRC was branded as Obama 1260 while maintaining its progressive talk format.
WWRC was sold to Salem Communications in April 2010. Upon taking control on May 15, Salem relaunched the station with conservative talk radio format. It revived the WRC branding as 1260 WRC. Prior to Salem's purchase, the station aired Washington Redskins and Notre Dame football games as an affiliate. In late October 2014, WWRC carried promos alluding to a rebranding after the 2014 midterm elections. The rebranding took place the 4th of November 2014, with the station taking Salem's common major-market branding of The Answer. On the 20th of November 2017, Salem moved the talk programming and WWRC call sign to 570 AM. The former WSPZ frequency had been purchased by Salem the prior May. The station spent two weeks airing a loop identifying itself as WSPZ and directing listeners to 570 AM. A sale to Immaculate Heart Media was announced the 25th of March 2019 at a purchase price of $750,000. The sale consummated the 14th of May 2019 with the call sign changed to WQOF.
The call sign changed to WQOF on the 14th of May 2019 when the sale to Immaculate Heart Media closed. The station began airing Relevant Radio's Catholic programming immediately following this transition. WQOF is now a commercial radio station licensed to Washington DC serving the metro area. Its transmitter sits in Silver Spring Maryland. Owned and operated by Relevant Radio, the station maintains its Catholic format today. This final transformation marked the end of decades of political talk and music formats. The frequency has served shut-ins since 1924 before evolving into network affiliates and top 40 stations. It played the first Beatles record in America before becoming progressive talk and conservative opinion. Now it delivers religious content to listeners across the capital region.
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Common questions
When did WQOF first begin broadcasting?
The first sound from 525 Eleventh Street emerged on the 22nd of December 1924. This new station carried the call letters WRHF and stood for Washington Radio Hospital Fund.
What was the original purpose of WQOF when it started in 1924?
Its initial mission targeted shut-ins in Washington who could not read newspapers or magazines themselves. Daily broadcasts lasted just one hour and consisted entirely of current events and short stories.
How many times has the call sign of WQOF changed since 1924?
WQOF began as WRHF, then became WOL, WWDC, WGAY, WWRC, and finally WQOF after a sale to Immaculate Heart Media. The call sign changed to WQOF on the 14th of May 2019 when the sale to Immaculate Heart Media closed.
Who owns WQOF today and what format does it air?
Owned and operated by Relevant Radio, the station maintains its Catholic format today. The station began airing Relevant Radio's Catholic programming immediately following this transition.
Where is the transmitter for WQOF located now?
Its transmitter sits in Silver Spring Maryland. WQOF is now a commercial radio station licensed to Washington DC serving the metro area.