WDEF-FM

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title: "WDEF-FM" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["bahakel-communications", "radio-stations-in-tennessee", "radio-stations-in-chattanooga,-tennessee", "mainstream-adult-contemporary-radio-stations-in-the-united-states", "radio-stations-established-in-1964", "1964-establishments-in-tennessee"] topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WDEF-FM" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox radio station"]

Field	Value
name	WDEF-FM
logo	WDEF Sunny92.3fm logo.png
logo_size	200px
logo_alt
caption
city	Chattanooga, Tennessee
area	Southeast Tennessee, Northwest Georgia, Northeast Alabama
branding	Sunny 92.3
frequency
airdate
last_airdate
format	Adult contemporary
erp	100,000 watts
haat	360 m
class	C0
facility_id	57827
coordinates
callsign_meaning	From its former sister stations, though there is no meaning to the call sign itself
owner	Bahakel Communications
licensee	Jackson Telecasters, Inc.
sister_stations
webcast
website
licensing_authority	FCC
::

WDEF-FM (92.3 MHz "Sunny 92.3") is a commercial radio station in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The station is owned by Bahakel Communications and airs an adult contemporary radio format, switching to Christmas music for much of November and December. WDEF-FM advertises itself as the "listening at work" station. Its studios are on Broad Street in Chattanooga.

WDEF-FM has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000 watts. Its signal can be heard around Southeast Tennessee, Northwest Georgia and Northeast Alabama. The transmitter is on Hampton Road in Signal Mountain, Tennessee, co-located with the tower for former sister station WDEF-TV Channel 12, along Walden Ridge.

History

WDEF-FM signed on the air on September 15, 1964. It was owned by noted broadcaster Roy H. Park. At first it simulcast co-owned WDEF (1370 AM; now WXCT); by the late 1960s, it had separate programming.

Park installed beautiful music formats on most of his FM stations, and WDEF-FM played instrumental cover versions of popular songs, as well as Broadway and Hollywood show tunes. As the 1980s ended, the format was seeing its audience grow older, while most advertisers seek young and middle aged listeners.

In the early 1990s, WDEF-FM made the transition from easy listening music to soft adult contemporary. Over time, WDEF-FM shifted to mainstream AC music.

Noted morning drive time disc jockey Luther Masingill was WDEF's morning host from December 31, 1940, until his death in 2014. He was on the air longer than any other host in U.S. radio history. He began working at WDEF AM and moved to WDEF-FM when the AM switched to a sports format. In 2012, Masingill was one of the first inductees into the new Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame. On November 12, 2012, Masingill was one of several radio personalities inducted into the national Radio Hall of Fame at a ceremony at the Chicago Museum of Broadcast Communications.

References

(October 6, 1940). "Engel Announces Radio Station Site: WDEF, City's 3d Broadcast Outlet, Will Be Located in Volunteer Life Building". The Chattanooga Times.
[https://transition.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/fmq?call=wdef&fileno=&state=&city=&freq=0.0&fre2=107.9&serv=&status=&facid=&asrn=&class=&list=0&ThisTab=Results+to+This+Page%2FTab&dist=&dlat2=&mlat2=&slat2=&NS=N&dlon2=&mlon2=&slon2=&EW=W&size=9 FCC.gov/WDEF-FM]
[https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1966/B-Section-Radio-All-BC-YB-1966.pdf Information] from [[Broadcasting & Cable. Broadcasting Yearbook]] 1966 page B-137
"News 12's Luther Masingill Passes Away At Age 92".

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