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WGRQ is a Oldies/Classic Rock formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Colonial Beach, Virginia and serving the Fredericksburg area. WGRQ is owned and operated by Telemedia Broadcasting, Inc. In the mid-1970's the WGRQ call letters were licensed to an FM in Buffalo, New York - owned at that time by Taft Broadcasting. It was a basic top-40 station until Taft handed programming over to Lee Abrams - then a partner in Atlanta's Burkhardt-Abram (sp?) group. It was to be the first of many "Superstars" formatted stations coordinated by Abrams. As Program Director Abrams chose John McGhan and christened the station 'QFM-97.' McGhan was a first time programmer who, as it turned out, was the perfect choice. In his later career McGhan went on to become a driving force behind the creation of NBC's young adult network "The Source" and was a behind the scenes force in developing MTV. QFM-97 proved Abrams theory that key demo's of 25-34 were ready to listen to more than just the top hits from LP's. By playing additional cuts - 'deeper' cuts from those albums - the listeners stayed for longer periods, delivering greater TSL (Time Spent Listening) than competitors were recording. As for the negative - QFM was viewed by the music intelligentsia as 'selling out.' That was because, despite playing additional cuts from albums, the station did not play EVERYTHING from the albums. As QFM-97 the station lasted for a number of years before becoming WGRF-FM. It is still a strong force in Buffalo radio after all these years.
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In the mid-1970's the WGRQ call letters were licensed to an FM in Buffalo, New York - owned at that time by Taft Broadcasting. It was a basic top-40 station until Taft handed programming over to Lee Abrams - then a partner in Atlanta's Burkhardt-Abram (sp?) group. It was to be the first of many "Superstars" formatted stations coordinated by Abrams. As Program Director Abrams chose John McGhan and christened the station 'QFM-97.' McGhan was a first time programmer who, as it turned out, was the perfect choice. In his later career McGhan went on to become a driving force behind the creation of NBC's young adult network "The Source" and was a behind the scenes force in developing MTV. QFM-97 proved Abrams theory that key demo's of 25-34 were ready to listen to more than just the top hits from LP's. By playing additional cuts - 'deeper' cuts from those albums - the listeners stayed for longer periods, delivering greater TSL (Time Spent Listening) than competitors were recording. As for the negative - QFM was viewed by the music intelligentsia as 'selling out.' That was because, despite playing additional cuts from albums, the station did not play EVERYTHING from the albums. As QFM-97 the station lasted for a number of years before becoming WGRF-FM. It is still a strong force in Buffalo radio after all these years.
