© 2024
Virginia's Public Radio
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

WVTF & Radio IQ Station History

RADIO IQ | By David Seidel
Published February 8, 2023 at 11:39 AM EST
  • 1973
    Aug. 23 - WVWR, the predecessor of WVTF, signs on. The station is
    professionally operated by Virginia Western Community College and broadcast at 90.1 from a low power transmitter on the campus (the roof of Fishburn Hall). The reception area is limited to the Roanoke Valley. Chris Ryg is the station manager. It broadcasts a mix of local and NPR cultural, music and news programs. (Source: VWCC archive & newspaper)
    Inside WVWR's production studio, likely 1973
    1 of 22  — WVWR Audio Board
    Inside WVWR's production studio, likely 1973
    Image courtesy Virginia Western Community College
    WVWR logo
    2 of 22  — WVWR Logo
    WVWR logo
    Image courtesy Virginia Western Community College
    Gary Anderson works inside WVWR's production studio, 1973
    3 of 22  — WVWR Studio
    Gary Anderson works inside WVWR's production studio, 1973
    Image courtesy Virginia Western Community College
    Inside the WVWR studio, 1973
    4 of 22  — WVWR Studio 3
    Inside the WVWR studio, 1973
    Image courtesy Virginia Western Community College
    Gary Anderson works inside WVWR's production studio, 1973
    5 of 22  — WVWR Studio 2
    Gary Anderson works inside WVWR's production studio, 1973
    Image courtesy Virginia Western Community College
    In 1975, WVWR installed a more powerful transmitter and colocated it on WBRA public television's tower on Poor Mountain in Roanoke County.
    6 of 22  — WVWR Tower
    In 1975, WVWR installed a more powerful transmitter and colocated it on WBRA public television's tower on Poor Mountain in Roanoke County.
    Image courtesy Virginia Western Community College
    Virginia Western Community College President Harold Hopper begins the first radio reading service broadcast on July 27, 1979.
    7 of 22  — Hopper WVWR Radio Reading Service
    Virginia Western Community College President Harold Hopper begins the first radio reading service broadcast on July 27, 1979.
    Image courtesy Virginia Western Community College
    Climbers work on WVWR's transmitter on Poor Mountain.
    8 of 22  — WVTF Transmitter
    Climbers work on WVWR's transmitter on Poor Mountain.
    Wayne Michie
    WVWR engineer Wayne Michie checks the station's transmitter on Poor Mountain.
    9 of 22  — Wayne Michie
    WVWR engineer Wayne Michie checks the station's transmitter on Poor Mountain.
    Wayne Michie
    Dan Smith (center) and Elizabeth Montgomery record a radio essay.
    10 of 22  — Dan Smith Essay
    Dan Smith (center) and Elizabeth Montgomery record a radio essay.
    Dan Smith
    Operations manager & engineer Bart Prater works on a piece of equipment in 1999.
    11 of 22  — Bart Prater
    Operations manager & engineer Bart Prater works on a piece of equipment in 1999.
    Paxton Durham
    News director Rick Mattioni works in the news production studio in 1999.
    12 of 22  — Grand news control
    News director Rick Mattioni works in the news production studio in 1999.
    Paxton Durham
    A live broadcast from Hotel Roanoke; l to r: Rick Mattioni, Charlie Perkinson, Paul Colley, Jim Cook
    13 of 22  — Hotel Roanoke broadcast
    A live broadcast from Hotel Roanoke; l to r: Rick Mattioni, Charlie Perkinson, Paul Colley, Jim Cook
    Paxton Durham
    Ben Martin works in a production studio in 1999.
    14 of 22  — Ben Martin
    Ben Martin works in a production studio in 1999.
    Paxton Durham
    WVTF General Manager Glenn Gleixner speaks at a celebration of the station's new facility on Kingsbury Lane in Roanoke on Sept. 19, 2003.
    15 of 22  — WVTF Kingsbury Opening 1.jpg
    WVTF General Manager Glenn Gleixner speaks at a celebration of the station's new facility on Kingsbury Lane in Roanoke on Sept. 19, 2003.
    WVTF archives
    (L to R) Virginia Tech Vice President Larry Hincker, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, Roanoke Mayor Ralph Smith, Virginia Tech President Charles Steger and WVTF General Manager Glenn Gleixner cut a ceremonial ribbon at the new broadcast facility on Sept. 19, 2003.
    16 of 22  — WVTF Kingsbury Opening 2.jpg
    (L to R) Virginia Tech Vice President Larry Hincker, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, Roanoke Mayor Ralph Smith, Virginia Tech President Charles Steger and WVTF General Manager Glenn Gleixner cut a ceremonial ribbon at the new broadcast facility on Sept. 19, 2003.
    WVTF archive
    Chief engineer Paxton Durham in a studio in the Kingsbury Lane broadcast center.
    17 of 22  — Paxton Durham
    Chief engineer Paxton Durham in a studio in the Kingsbury Lane broadcast center.
    Paxton Durham
    A satellite studio and newsroom opened in downtown Charlottesville in 2009.
    18 of 22  — Charlottesville Studio 2009
    A satellite studio and newsroom opened in downtown Charlottesville in 2009.
    Paxton Durham
    Program and news director Rick Mattioni in a studio in 2005.
    19 of 22  — Rick Mattioni at board
    Program and news director Rick Mattioni in a studio in 2005.
    Paxton Durham
    Music host Steve Brown works in a studio in 2013.
    20 of 22  — Steve Brown
    Music host Steve Brown works in a studio in 2013.
    Paxton Durham
    A band performs in the performance studio in 2005
    21 of 22  — Performance Studio Bluegrass
    A band performs in the performance studio in 2005
    Paxton Durham
    Signage at our Roanoke studios was updated in 2023.
    22 of 22  — Station Sign for history gallery
    Signage at our Roanoke studios was updated in 2023.
    David Seidel / Radio IQ
  • 1974
    May 1 - WVWR becomes an AP subscriber (Source: VWCC newspaper)
  • 1975
    Sept. 2 - WVWR increases power to 100kw on 89.1 with a transmitter co-located on WBRA Public Television’s tower on Poor Mountain. This expands reception to a much larger portion of southwest Virginia. (Sources: FCC, VWCC archive & newspaper)
  • 1979
    July 27 - Virginia Western Community College President Harold Hopper begins WVWR’s radio reading service for the visually impaired. The volunteer-run service still operates today through WVTF. (Source: VWCC archive, Roanoke Times)
    Virginia Western Community College President Harold Hopper begins the first radio reading service broadcast on July 27, 1979.
    Image courtesy Virginia Western Community College
    Virginia Western Community College President Harold Hopper begins the first radio reading service broadcast on July 27, 1979.
  • 1982
    Facing a loss of funding from Virginia Western, the Virginia Tech Foundation purchases the station. The call letters are changed to WVTF. The station continues to broadcast from the Virginia Western studio until new space is ready in the Grand Pavilion building on Electric Road in Roanoke County. (Sources: The Roanoker, FCC)
  • 1990
    Nov. - WVTF begins broadcasting on a full power transmitter in the Charlottesville area. WVTU is the station’s second full-power transmitter. Programming had been available in a smaller portion of the Charlottesville area via a translator since 1984. A third transmitter, located at Marion in Southwest Virginia, is added in 1991. (Source: Paxton Durham)
  • 1998
    WVTF begins a news content sharing partnership with other public radio stations in Virginia. In 2003, the partnership is formalized as Virginia Public Radio, a grant-funded content generation and sharing partnership. It is still active today. (Source: Rick Mattioni)
  • 2003
    WVTF begins broadcasting from its newly constructed broadcast center on Kingsbury Lane. A grand opening is held Sept. 19th. (Source: WVTF archive)
    (L to R) Virginia Tech Vice President Larry Hincker, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, Roanoke Mayor Ralph Smith, Virginia Tech President Charles Steger and WVTF General Manager Glenn Gleixner cut a ceremonial ribbon at the new broadcast facility on Sept. 19, 2003.
    WVTF archive
    (L to R) Virginia Tech Vice President Larry Hincker, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, Roanoke Mayor Ralph Smith, Virginia Tech President Charles Steger and WVTF General Manager Glenn Gleixner cut a ceremonial ribbon at the new broadcast facility on Sept. 19, 2003.
  • 2003
    An all news and information stream, Radio IQ, is launched on some frequencies. The main programming stream remains a mix of music and news/information. (Source: WVTF archive)
  • 2009
    Dec. - WVTF opens a satellite studio and newsroom on Water Street in downtown Charlottesville. Today it’s staffed by a reporter and a corporate support representative. (Source: Paxton Durham)
  • 2017
    July - Program streams and frequencies are switched so that the Radio IQ news and information stream is available on the most powerful frequencies. WVTF Music programming moves to the other frequencies. (Source: WVTF archive)
  • 2022
    WVTF/Radio IQ wins the national Edward R. Murrow Award for Overall Excellence in the small market radio category. The award from the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) is among the most prestigious in broadcast news. (Source: WVTF archive, RTDNA)
  • Today
    WVTF Music and Radio IQ broadcasts across nearly two-thirds of Virginia on more than 20 transmitters and translators. It’s also available around the world through its website and apps.
David Seidel
David Seidel is Radio IQ's News Director.
See stories by David Seidel