Vernon McGee, Albert Pendarvis, Ken Hagin and local pastors. WAEC also broadcasts health, lifestyle, and entertainment programs.Originally a 1,000-watt daytime-only station, in the mid-1980s WAEC increased power to 5,000 watts, then was licensed for a 24-hour signal with 500 watts during nighttime hours and 2,500 watts during critical hours. The station uses a non-directional antenna during daytime and critical hours, and a directional antenna system at night. The broadcast towers are located near the Flat Shoals Road exit of Interstate 20 in Atlanta.HistoryWERDWERD was the first radio station owned and operated by African Americans. The station was established in Atlanta, Georgia in 1948. Though WDIA in Memphis was on the air a year earlier carrying black-oriented programming, the station was not owned by African Americans.Jesse B. Blayton Sr., an accountant, bank president, and Atlanta University professor, purchased WERD in 1949 for $50,000. He changed the station format to "black appeal" and hired his son Jesse Jr. as station manager. "Jockey" Jack Gibson was hired soon after, and by 1951 was the most popular DJ in Atlanta. The station was housed in the Masonic building on Auburn Avenue, then one of the wealthiest black neighborhoods in the United States. Located in that same building was the headquarters of the new Southern Christian Leadership Conference, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.. It has been said that King would beat the roof of the office with a broomstick as a signal to send the microphone down when he wanted to make public addresses.
