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|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Washington metropolitan area |
| Frequency | 1500 kHz |
| Branding | Federal News Network |
| Programming | |
| Format | News talk |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| WBQH, WTOP-FM, WWWT-FM | |
| History | |
First air date | 1926 |
Former call signs |
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Former frequencies |
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Call sign meaning | "Federal News Radio" |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 74120 |
| Class | A |
| Power | 50,000 watts |
Transmitter coordinates | 39°2′31.39″N 77°2′45.92″W / 39.0420528°N 77.0460889°W |
| Translator(s) | 104.5 W283DG (Sterling, Virginia) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | federalnewsnetwork |
WFED (1500 AM) is a 50,000-watt Class A radio station in the Washington, D.C. region. The station, branded as "Federal News Network", broadcasts a news talk format focused on issues and news pertaining to members and staff of the United States government. Owned by Hubbard Broadcasting, the current WFED is the second in the Washington area to carry the Federal News Network format as WFED, as from 2004 until a transfer in 2008, this format and related call letters were used by a Silver Spring, Maryland station broadcasting on 1050 kHz.
WFED's studios are located at Hubbard's broadcast complex in northwest Washington, while its transmitter site is located at a three-tower array in Wheaton, Maryland. The station transmits fulltime with a power of 50,000 watts. A single transmitter tower, with a non-directional signal, is used during the day, providing at least secondary coverage to large portions of Maryland (including Baltimore) and Virginia.[2] At night, all three towers are used for a directional pattern, that mutually protects KSTP in St. Paul, Minnesota. This results in areas of Northern Virginia getting only marginal coverage at best.[3] Even with this restriction, WFED's signal can be heard across most of the eastern half of North America with a good radio.[citation needed]
WFED became a Primary Entry Point station for the Emergency Alert System in 2014.[4] In 2006, the station began broadcasting in digital "HD Radio".