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Research dossier · Places & Architecture

WPLY (AM)

sports radio station in Roanoke, Virginia, United States

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 22, 2026
Entity authorityQ7956749 ↗
Source-derived summary

WPLY (1390 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. WPLY features a sports format and, prior to September 30, 2025, simulcast with WPLY (610 AM) in Roanoke. Both stations are owned and operated by Mel Wheeler, Inc. Most programming is supplied by Fox Sports Radio.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “WPLY (AM)” is sports radio station in Roanoke, Virginia, United States. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through WPLY, sports and radio, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewMost useful as a place-based finding aid connecting the present description to earlier jurisdictions, maps and built evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1390, 2025—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1940-01-01. For this dossier, WPLY, sports and radio is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “sports radio station in Roanoke, Virginia, United States” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7956749. Authority coordinates are 37.303, -80.043. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1390 and 2025.

Critical limits

A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “WPLY (AM)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow WPLY (AM) primary sources, WPLY (AM) archive and WPLY research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “WPLY (AM)”?
  2. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
  3. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “WPLY (AM)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.