WDEL
Encyclopedia
WDEL is a news/talk radio station
in Wilmington, Delaware
. WDEL first signed on in 1922 and is one of the first 100 broadcast radio stations licensed in the US. WDEL is a class B (regional) station, currently operating at 5,000 watts.
For much of its history, WDEL was an NBC
affiliate. Prior to 1942, WDEL was co-owned with WILM with WDEL taking programs primarily from NBC's Red Network and WILM taking programs mostly from NBC's Blue Network
.
With the demise of old time network radio
in the 1950s, WDEL adopted a full service
format combining news, sports and middle of the road music. Among its personalities were disc jockeys Dick Graham, Bill Horleman and Arnold Zenker
, sports director Bill Pheiffer and news reporters Manning Kimmel http://www.wrhi.com/content/manning-kimmel, Joe Mosbrook http://www.clevelandseniors.com/people/mosbrook.htm, Burke Hully and Pat Ciarrocchi
http://cbs3.com/seenon/Pat.Ciarrocchi.Anniverary.2.308732.html.
In the mid-1980s, WDEL was the first Wilmington radio station to provide traffic reports. WDEL's "TrafficWatch on the 9's" remains on the air today. WDEL employs three TrafficWatch reporters - most notably Robin Bryson. Two of the reporters travel in vans and report from the roads.
In the mid-1990s, WDEL moved to a news/talk format broadcasting local news and a local call-in show in the morning, plus various nationally-syndicated programs including Dr. Laura, Rush Limbaugh
, Mitch Albom
and Sean Hannity
. In 2006, WDEL adopted a schedule of mostly local-live news and talk.
In 2004, WDEL was awarded by the National Association of Broadcasters with its prestigious Crystal Award for public service.
In 2005, WDEL became one of the first radio stations in the nation (if not THE first) to produce web-based news video for its website, WDEL.com.
WDEL has won several prestigious Edward R. Murrow awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association, including national awards in 2007 for Best Website and 2009 for Best Newscast. WDEL has also been named News Operation of the Year by the Chesapeake Associated Press Broadcasters Association numerous times.
In 2011, WDEL won a prestigious Marconi Award from the National Association of Broadcasters for "Medium market station of the year."
WDEL airs Philadelphia Phillies
baseball
, Philadelphia Eagles
football
, plus other local and national sports events. WDEL also airs Wesley College football and numerous New Castle County high school football and basketball games, including the state championship games for both sports.
WDEL is privately owned and operated by Delmarva Broadcasting Company
, which owns 11 stations in the region including Wilmington's WSTW
, the former WDEL-FM. Delmarva is a subsidiary of Steinman Enterprises, a family-owned Lancaster, Pennsylvania
newspaper and mining company.
WDEL once operated WDEL-TV, which became WVUE
and later went off the air. The former frequency of WVUE is now WHYY-TV
.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
in Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
. WDEL first signed on in 1922 and is one of the first 100 broadcast radio stations licensed in the US. WDEL is a class B (regional) station, currently operating at 5,000 watts.
For much of its history, WDEL was an NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate. Prior to 1942, WDEL was co-owned with WILM with WDEL taking programs primarily from NBC's Red Network and WILM taking programs mostly from NBC's Blue Network
Blue Network
The Blue Network, and its immediate predecessor, the NBC Blue Network, were the on-air names of an American radio production and distribution service from 1927 to 1945...
.
With the demise of old time network radio
Old-time radio
Old-Time Radio and the Golden Age of Radio refer to a period of radio programming in the United States lasting from the proliferation of radio broadcasting in the early 1920s until television's replacement of radio as the primary home entertainment medium in the 1950s...
in the 1950s, WDEL adopted a full service
Full service
Full service is a term that has many different uses. In general the term implies that the customer will receive as much service as is reasonably possible.-Gas station:...
format combining news, sports and middle of the road music. Among its personalities were disc jockeys Dick Graham, Bill Horleman and Arnold Zenker
Arnold Zenker
Arnold Zenker is a media broadcaster and public appearance counselor who gained brief stardom by sitting in for Walter Cronkite on the CBS Evening News in 1967. Zenker studied at the University of Pennsylvania, receiving an undergraduate and law degree. In 1967 at the age of 28, he was asked to...
, sports director Bill Pheiffer and news reporters Manning Kimmel http://www.wrhi.com/content/manning-kimmel, Joe Mosbrook http://www.clevelandseniors.com/people/mosbrook.htm, Burke Hully and Pat Ciarrocchi
Pat Ciarrocchi
Pat Ciarrocchi co-anchors the weekday noon newscast of CBS3 Eyewitness News on KYW-TV, alongside Ukee Washington. She joined the station in 1982. Previously she had served as anchor of the weekday morning and noon news for almost two decades. While at KYW-TV, she served as co-anchor of Evening...
http://cbs3.com/seenon/Pat.Ciarrocchi.Anniverary.2.308732.html.
In the mid-1980s, WDEL was the first Wilmington radio station to provide traffic reports. WDEL's "TrafficWatch on the 9's" remains on the air today. WDEL employs three TrafficWatch reporters - most notably Robin Bryson. Two of the reporters travel in vans and report from the roads.
In the mid-1990s, WDEL moved to a news/talk format broadcasting local news and a local call-in show in the morning, plus various nationally-syndicated programs including Dr. Laura, Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
, Mitch Albom
Mitch Albom
Mitchell David "Mitch" Albom is an American best-selling author, journalist, screenwriter, dramatist, radio and television broadcaster and musician. His books have sold over 30 million copies worldwide...
and Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity is an American radio and television host, author, and conservative political commentator. He is the host of The Sean Hannity Show, a nationally syndicated talk radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks. Hannity also hosts a cable news show, Hannity,...
. In 2006, WDEL adopted a schedule of mostly local-live news and talk.
In 2004, WDEL was awarded by the National Association of Broadcasters with its prestigious Crystal Award for public service.
In 2005, WDEL became one of the first radio stations in the nation (if not THE first) to produce web-based news video for its website, WDEL.com.
WDEL has won several prestigious Edward R. Murrow awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association, including national awards in 2007 for Best Website and 2009 for Best Newscast. WDEL has also been named News Operation of the Year by the Chesapeake Associated Press Broadcasters Association numerous times.
In 2011, WDEL won a prestigious Marconi Award from the National Association of Broadcasters for "Medium market station of the year."
WDEL airs Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, plus other local and national sports events. WDEL also airs Wesley College football and numerous New Castle County high school football and basketball games, including the state championship games for both sports.
WDEL is privately owned and operated by Delmarva Broadcasting Company
Delmarva Broadcasting Company
Delmarva Broadcasting Company is a privately owned radio company, which operates 11 radio stations in Maryland and Delaware. It is a wholly owned asset of the Steinman family of Lancaster, Pennsylvania...
, which owns 11 stations in the region including Wilmington's WSTW
WSTW
WSTW is a Pop Contemporary Hit Radio formatted radio station that broadcasts in the Wilmington, Delaware metropolitan area which is just south of Philadelphia. Although the station and transmitter are located in Wilmington, the signal is strong enough to provide city-grade coverage of most of...
, the former WDEL-FM. Delmarva is a subsidiary of Steinman Enterprises, a family-owned Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster is a city in the south-central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the county seat of Lancaster County and one of the older inland cities in the United States, . With a population of 59,322, it ranks eighth in population among Pennsylvania's cities...
newspaper and mining company.
WDEL once operated WDEL-TV, which became WVUE
WVUE
WVUE-DT, broadcasting on virtual channel 8, is a TV station in New Orleans, Louisiana, affiliated with the Fox Broadcasting Company. WVUE is owned by Louisiana Media Company, with studios in the Gert Town section of New Orleans and transmitter in Chalmette, Louisiana.- Digital television :WVUE-DT...
and later went off the air. The former frequency of WVUE is now WHYY-TV
WHYY-TV
For the former channel 12 in Wilmington, see WVUE .WHYY-TV, channel 12, is a non-commercial educational television station licensed to Wilmington, Delaware, USA...
.