Media in Richmond, Virginia
According to nielsenmedia.com statistics for 2011–2012, the Richmond, Virginia market area is the 57th largest Designated Market Area in the United States, with 559,390 households. Richmond is served by a variety of communication media:
Print media
Daily
The local daily newspaper in Richmond is the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
National Newspapers available for purchase include the Washington Post, the New York Times and USA Today at some hotels.
Weekly
Style Weekly is an alternative tabloid that publishes weekly. It is owned by Landmark Communications which also owns The Virginian-Pilot in Hampton Roads and was the former owner of The Weather Channel.
Brick was an alternative weekly that launched in September 2006 and folded in July 2010. Brick was what Style Weekly editor Jason Roop called a "faux alt weekly," as it was owned by Richmond Times-Dispatch publisher Media General. At one point, Brick was edited by Pete Humes , the former editor of defunct weekly alternative "Punchline."
Monthly / Bi-monthly / Quarterly
Richmond Magazine bills itself as the official magazine for the capital of Virginia and the surrounding Central Virginia region. It is published monthly and reaches readers across the state. It is on more than 1,200 newsstands across Virginia, and the subscribers are paid-circulation customers. Along with publishing a monthly magazine, it produces the annual newcomer's Complete Sourcebook and a Corporate Relocation Guide used by the Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Richmond Partnership and many major corporations. In addition, Richmond Magazine publishes the Richmond Metropolitan and Convention Bureau's official Visitors Guide, with a print run of more than 300,000, and it publishes the annual Who's Who Directory of Richmond businesses for the Chamber of Commerce.
Whurk is a monthly full-color tabloid dedicated to the arts in Virginia. It features interviews with artists, musicians, and other cultural innovators from the Richmond and the rest of the Commonwealth. Poetry, short fiction, and comics by Virginian authors are also regularly featured.
Chesterfield Living, West Ends Best, Hanover Lifestyle are three bi-monthly full color magazines that are mailed specifically to high income and high home value residents and available free at newsstand locations throughout Richmond, Henrico, Chesterfield and Hanover Counties. Owned by Advertising Concepts,Inc. Online editions for all three magazines available for viewing at www.richmondnavigator.com Combined mailed circulation over 63,000 and 18,000 newsstand.
Boomer Magazine is a bi-monthly full-color magazine distributed free through grocery stores and doctor's offices. It was founded in 2007 by former Richmond Times-Dispatch columnist Ray McAllister, and is published by Ross Publishing. As the name indicates, it is aimed at Richmond's "baby boomer" generation.
Greater Richmond Grid Magazine is a bi-monthly full-color magazine distributed free through various outlets including grocery stores and workout facilities. It was started in 2009 by Ted Randler (Palari Publishing) as a print vehicle to highlight the people, businesses, and events in the City of Richmond and its surrounding communities. Richmond Grid also features the active social media community in the Richmond area.
RVA Magazine is a quarterly full-color publication which focuses on the cutting edge art, music, events, and culture of the area. RVA Magazine has also been involved in putting together and sponsoring cultural events including the Falling From Grace music festival, Halloweek (which included Richmond's first Halloween Parade by puppet theatre troupe All the Saints), and the Carytown NYE Bash (New Year's Eve street event which drew close to 20,000 people-a first of its kind for Richmond). It is free to the public, both in print form, and in multiple digital formats on their web page.
News and newsmagazines
The Richmond Free Press and the Richmond Voice are weekly newspapers that cover the news from a predominantly African American perspective. The only Hispanic magazine in the state La Voz Hispana de Virginia provides significant cultural and news content in both English and Spanish. There are also two major publications from the Jewish community of Richmond, published in English, The Reflector is the semi-weekly newspaper of the Jewish Federation of Richmond and Virginia Jewish Life (formerly, Virginia Jewish News) is an independent monthly magazine published by the Chabad community of Richmond, but highlighting stories of general Jewish interest in Virginia. City Edition was a civic-minded newspaper that lists municipal and council related events, issues, and results, and which stopped publication in October 2007. . Richmond.com is also an online newsmagazine with a wide readership. Other local topical publications include Richmond Parents Magazine and V Magazine for Women, the voice of women in Richmond . Richmond Guide is a quarterly that is targeted toward visitors. The Virginia Defender is a quarterly statewide community newspaper with a press run of 16,000 distributed through nearly 300 distribution sites in Richmond, plus 16 other Virginia cities and five counties.
Regional and County Newspapers include the following:
- The Goochland Courier for Goochland County, Virginia
- The Chesterfield Observer for Chesterfield County, Virginia
- The Herald Progress for Hanover County, Virginia
- The Henrico Citizen for Henrico County, Virginia
- The Goochland Gazette for Goochland County, Virginia
- The Hopewell News for Hopewell, Virginia
- Petersburg Progress-Index for Petersburg, Virginia
- Virginia Living is a glossy magazine published bi-monthly that covers Virginia events.
- RVA Magazine
- The Amelia Bulletin Monitor for Amelia County, Virginia
Student
VCU, VUU, and University of Richmond have student-run newspapers, including VCU's Commonwealth Times, Ink, Amendment, Comicality, and Poictesme.
Television
Richmond is also served by several television stations.
Broadcast
Richmond's over-the-air television stations:
| Analog | Digital | PSIP | Cable | Callsign | Licensed To | Primary Network(s) |
Digital Subchannel(s) |
Ownership | Website |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n/a | 25 | 6 | 9 | WTVR | Richmond | CBS | 6.2 - Antenna TV 6.3 - Xtra Weather | Tribune Broadcasting | http://www.wtvr.com |
| n/a | 22 | 8 | 8/10† | WRIC | Petersburg | ABC | 8.2 - Live Well Network | Media General | http://www.wric.com |
| n/a | 12 | 12 | 12 | WWBT | Richmond | NBC | 12.2 - Me-TV 12.3 - Escape | Raycom Media | http://www.nbc12.com |
| 17 | 14* | n/a | n/a | WXOB | Richmond | Religious Independent | n/a | KM Broadcasting | none |
| n/a | 42 | 23 | 23 | WCVE | Richmond | PBS | 23.2 - WCVE Create 23.3 - MHz Worldview | Commonwealth Public Broadcasting Corporation | http://www.ideastations.org/tv |
| n/a | 26 | 35 | 11 | WRLH | Richmond | Fox | 35.2 - MyNetworkTV/ThisTV | Sinclair Broadcast Group | http://www.foxrichmond.com http://www.mytvrichmond.com |
| 39 | 28* | n/a | n/a | WWBK-LP | Richmond | TBN | n/a | National Minority TV | http://www.tbn.org |
| n/a | 45 | 45 | 71 | WZTD | Richmond | Telemundo | n/a | ZGS Communications | http://www.holaciudad.com |
| n/a | 48 | 48 | n/a | WRID | Richmond | Daystar | n/a | Word of God Fellowship (Daystar) | http://www.daystar.com |
| n/a | 44 | 57 | 24 | WCVW | Richmond | PBS | none | Commonwealth Public Broadcasting Corporation | http://www.ideastations.org/tv |
| n/a | 47 | 65 | 13 | WUPV | Ashland | CW | 65.2 - Bounce TV 65.3 - GritTV | Southeastern Media Holdings operated by Raycom Media | http://www.cwrichmond.tv |
* These low-power stations have construction permits to move to new digital channels in the near future.
† WRIC is generally carried on cable 8 north of the James River, and cable 10 south of the James.
Cable
Comcast is the primary cable television provider for the Richmond area (Richmond city proper, Chesterfield, Henrico County) and the Tri-Cities (area includes Petersburg, Colonial Heights, Hopewell and the counties of Dinwiddie and Prince George). In the city and Henrico County, it is the successor to the franchise originally held by Continental Cablevision, then MediaOne, then AT&T Broadband, before Comcast acquired AT&T Broadband. In Chesterfield, it is the successor to the franchise originally held by Storer Cable. In the nearby Tri-Cities area, it is the successor to the franchise originally held by Sammons Communications, then Marcus Cable, then Tele-Media, then Adelphia, before Comcast acquired Adelphia.
Verizon now offers television through its fiber-optic system, FiOS TV, in Richmond City and Henrico and Chesterfield Counties and is currently expanding its services farther into the outlying Richmond area.
Radio
The metropolitan area is also served by a variety of radio stations, serving a wide variety of musical and other interests.
AM
There are also several AM stations serving a variety of music, talk, and sports topics, including the following:
| Frequency | Callsign | Licensed To | Nickname | Format | Owner | Web site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 590 | WLES | Bon Air | The Truth | Religious | Chesapeake-Portsmouth Broadcasting | http://www.wles590.com |
| 800 | WSVS | Crewe | Virginia's Country Legend | Classic Country / Sports | Gee Communications | http://www.wsvsam.com |
| 820 | WNTW | Chester | 820 The Answer | Christian Talk | Delmarva Educational Association | http://www.820theanswer.com |
| 910 | WRNL | Richmond | FOX Sports Radio 910 | Sports radio | iHeartMedia | http://www.foxsportsrichmond.com |
| 950 | WXGI | Richmond | ESPN 950 | ESPN Radio | Red Zebra Broadcasting | http://www.espn950am.com |
| 990 | WLEE | Richmond | Newstalk 990 | News/Talk | Davidson Media Group | http://www.wlee990.am |
| 1140 | WRVA | Richmond | Newsradio 1140 WRVA | News/Talk (50,000 watts) | iHeartMedia | http://www.wrva.com |
| 1240 | WTPS | Petersburg | Newstalk 1240 The People's Station | Urban Talk/Classic Soul | Radio One | http://www.urbanpetersburg.com |
| 1290 | WDZY | Colonial Heights | WRN | Religious | Wilkins Radio Network | http://wilkinsradio.com/wdzy-richmond-va/ |
| 1320 | WVNZ | Richmond | La Selecta | Spanish | Davidson Media Group | http://www.selecta1320.com |
| 1340 | WHAP | Hopewell | Fox Sports Radio 1340 | Sports/Variety/Talk | PT Brown Broadcasting | http://www.sportsradio1340.info/ |
| 1380 | WBTK | Richmond | Radio Poder | Hispanic Religion | Mt. Rich Media | http://www.wbtk.com/ |
| 1430 | WHAN | Ashland | Your Hometown Voice | Lifestyle Talk/Bluegrass | Fifth Estate | http://www.whanradio.com |
| 1450 | WCLM | Highland Springs | Heart & Soul Of Richmond | Urban Oldies/Religion/Variety | World Media | http://www.wclmradioonline.com |
| 1480 | WTOX | Glen Allen | La Gran-D | Spanish | Davidson Media Group | http://www.lagrand1480.com |
| 1540 | WREJ | Richmond | Rejoice Radio | Gospel | Davidson Media Group | http://www.rejoice1540.com |
| 1590 | WFTH | Richmond | The Light | Gospel | Tri-City Christian Radio | none |
| 1620 | WPQE514 | n/a | Highway Advisory | Road Condition Reports | Commonwealth Of Virginia | none |
FM
On the FM dial, some of the popular music stations include the following:
| Frequency | Callsign | Licensed To | Nickname | Format | Owner | Web site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 88.9 | WCVE-FM | Richmond | Community Idea Stations | Public Radio | Commonwealth Public Broadcasting Corporation | http://ideastations.org |
| 89.7 88.1 | WAUQ-FM WRIH-FM | Charles City Richmond | American Family Radio | Religious | American Family | http://www.afr.net |
| 90.1 | WDCE-FM | Richmond | 90.1 FM | Student-run Alternative Music | University Of Richmond | http://www.wdce.org |
| 90.1 | WKYV-FM | Colonial Heights | K-LOVE | Contemporary Christian | Educational Media Foundation | http://www.klove.com |
| 90.5 102.5 102.7 | WJYJ-FM | Fredericksburg Richmond Petersburg | Virginia's Positive Hits | Christian and gospel | Positive Alternative Radio | http://www.wper.org |
| 91.1 | WHCE-FM | Highland Springs | Mix 91 | Henrico County Student-run Contemporary Music | County Of Henrico | http://www.mix91.com |
| 91.3 | WVST-FM | Petersburg | The Source | R&B/Urban/Jazz/Public affairs/Sports | Virginia State University | http://www.vsu.edu/pages/112.asp |
| 91.7 | KAWZ | Lakeside | CSN International | Christian | Calvary Chapel of Twin Falls (Translator for KAWZ-FM/Twin Falls, ID) | http://www.csnradio.org |
| 92.1 | WCDX-FM | Mechanicsville | iPower 92 | Mainstream Urban | Radio One | http://www.ipower921.com |
| 92.5 | WVTF-FM | Richmond | Radio IQ | NPR/BBC Talk (Translator for WTVW-FM/Charlottesville) | Virginia Tech Foundation | http://www.radioiq.org |
| 93.1 | WWLB | Ettrick | 93.1 Hank FM | Classic Country music | Alpha Media | http://www.931hankfm.com |
| 93.5 | WBBC-FM | Blackstone | Bobcat Country | Country / Sports | Denbar Communications | http://www.bobcatcountryradio.com |
| 93.7 | WCFC-LP | Richmond | Christian | Crusade for Christ Temple Church of God in Christ | http://www.cfcfamily.org/ | |
| 94.5 | WRVQ-FM | Richmond | Q94 | Top 40/CHR | iHeartMedia | http://www.q94radio.com |
| 94.9 104.1 106.9 | WRVL | Richmond Petersburg Midlothian | Victory FM | Christian | Liberty University (Translator for WRVL-FM/Lynchburg) | http://www.victoryfm.net |
| 95.3 | WKHK-FM | Colonial Heights | K95 | Country music | Summit Media | http://www.k95country.com |
| 96.1 | W241AP | Midlothian | 96.1 The Planet | Classic rock | iHeartMedia | http://www.961theplanet.com |
| 96.5 | WKLR-FM | Fort Lee | Classic Rock 96.5 | Rock | Summit Media | http://www.rock965klr.com |
| 96.9 | WWUZ-FM | Bowling Green | 96-9 The Rock | Classic rock* | Star Publishing Co. | http://www.969therock.com |
| 97.1 | WPAR | Crewe | Spirit FM | Christian | Positive Alternative Radio (Translator for WPAR-FM/Salem) Sold to Gee Communications and will switch to translating for WSVS-AM/Crewe in summer 2014 | http://www.spiritfm.com |
| 97.3 | WRIR-LP | Richmond | Richmond Indie Radio | Specialty Music Programs & Community focused programming | Virginia Center For The Public Press | http://www.wrir.org/ |
| 97.7 | WLES | Bellwood | The Truth | Religious | Delmarva Educational Association (Translator for WLES/Bon Air) | http://www.wles590.com |
| 98.1 | WTVR-FM | Richmond | Lite 98 | Soft Adult Contemporary | iHeartMedia | http://www.lite98.com |
| 98.5 | WRVA | Richmond | Newsradio 1140 WRVA | News/Talk (50,000 watts) | iHeartMedia (Translator for WRVA/Richmond) | http://www.wrva.com |
| 98.9 100.3 | WLFV WARV-FM | Midlothian Petersburg | 98.9 & 100.3 The Wolf | Country Music | Alpha Media | http://www.989wolf.com |
| 99.3 105.7 | WKJS-FM WKJM-FM | Petersburg Richmond | 105.7 & 99.3 Kiss FM | Urban Adult Contemporary | Radio One | http://www.kissrichmond.com |
| 99.9 | WYFJ-FM | Ashland | FM 100 | Christian and gospel | BBN | http://www.bbnradio.org |
| 100.5 | WZEZ-FM | Goochland | The Truth | Christian Talk | Delmarva Educational Association (Relay of WLES-AM/Bon Air) | http://www.wles590.com |
| 100.9 | WHTI-FM | Lakeside | Easy 100.9 | Soft AC | Summit Media | http://www.easy1009.com |
| 102.1 | WRXL-FM | Richmond | XL102 | Modern Rock | iHeartMedia | http://www.xl102richmond.com |
| 102.9 | WHAN | Ashland | Your Hometown Voice | Lifestyle Talk/Bluegrass (Translator for WHAN-AM/Ashland) | Fifth Estate | http://www.whanradio.com |
| 103.1 | WNRN-FM | Midlothian | Modern Rock, No Commercials | Modern Rock (Translator for WNRN-FM/Charlottesville) | Stu-Comm | http://www.wnrn.org |
| 103.7 | WURV-FM | Richmond | 103.7 PLAY | Hot Adult Contemporary | Summit Media | http://1037play.com |
| 104.7 | WPZZ-FM | Crewe | Praise 104.7 | Urban Gospel | Radio One | http://www.praise1047.com |
| 106.1 | W291CL | Richmond | Hot 106.1 | Top 40/CHR | Summit Media | http://www.hot1061radio.com |
| 106.5 | WBTJ-FM | Richmond | 106.5 The Beat | Mainstream Urban | iHeartMedia | http://www.1065thebeat.com |
| 106.9 | WAFX-FM | Suffolk | 106.9 The Fox | Classic Rock | Saga | http://www.1069thefox.com |
| 107.3 | WBBT-FM | Powhatan | 107.3 BBT | Classic Hits | Alpha Media | http://www.1073bbt.com |
Internet Media
While electronic is a new category of media, several outlets compete for online readership. A number of neighborhood news sites have come online in 2007.
- "AllNightRVA.com"
- RichmondBizSense.com
- DowntownShortPump.com
- RichmondGrid.com
- RVANews.com
- Richmond.com
- RVAPlaylist.com
- TalkRVA.com
- Richmond City Watch
- Church Hill People's News
- West of the Boulevard News
- Carver & Jackson Ward News
- Fan District Hub
- North Richmond News
- Hills and Heights
- Near West End News
- richmond.indymedia.org indymedia
- River City Rapids
- Punchline Magazine comedy site, now defunct underground culture newspaper
- richmond.craigslist.org Craigslist
- community.livejournal.com/rva LiveJournal
- www.richmondliberty.org
- South Richmond News
- RVA Magazine (http://Rvamag.com)
- Virginia Christmas News
- {Spyed} (http://spyedrichmond.com)
Media Corporations
Radio ownership in Richmond is concentrated among six companies:
- Clear Channel -- ( WRVA-AM, WRVQ, WTVR-FM, WBTJ, WRXL, WRNL-AM )
- Summit Media -- (WKLR, WMXB, WDYL, WKHK)
- Radio One -- ( WCDX, WKJS, WKJX, WPZZ, WTPS-AM )
- Davidson Media Group -- ( WNVZ, WLEE, WREJ, WTOX )
- Main Line Broadcasting -- ( WWLB, WBBT, WARV, WLFV ) (sale pending to Alpha Media, the product of a merger between L&L Broadcasting and Alpha Broadcasting)
- Chesapeake-Portsmouth Broadcasting -- ( WLES, WZEZ, WGGM-AM )
Two other media corporations are based in Richmond and own a substantial number of stations in Richmond and around the country:
- Commonwealth Public Broadcasting Corporation,is the owner of several stations in Richmond, ( WCVE-TV, WCVE-FM, WCVW-TV ),along with translators in Charlottesville, and another station in Northern Virginia, and is headquartered in Richmond.
- Media General has its corporate headquarters in Richmond and formerly owned The Richmond Times-Dispatch newspaper.
Communication Schools in Richmond
Richmond is home to the VCU School of Mass Communications. The School was founded in 1978 and offers both bachelor's degrees and master's degrees in journalism, advertising and public relations. The School is accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). The school houses Capital News Service, VCU InSight as well as the VCU Create-A-thon
External links
- Richmond Media - A Richmond, VA media company specializing in web design and broadband video
- 2005 Mediaweek review of Richmond-Petersburg Media
- www.nielsenmedia.com DMA rankings
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