Ƶapp

About Ƶapp News

Senior digital editor, Colleen Kelleher and mid-day producer, Joslyn Chesson work from the editor’s desk inside the Ƶapp studios headquartered in Chevy Chase, MD. (IMG/Gensler)

 

Ƶapp delivers the latest local news, traffic and weather information to the Washington, D.C., region across multiple platforms.

Washington’s Top News broadcasts on 103.5 FM in the D.C. metro area. It can also be heard on 107.7 FM in Virginia and on 103.9 FM in Frederick, Maryland. Ƶapp’s radio station can be heard west to Warrenton, Virginia, north to Baltimore, Maryland, east to the Chesapeake Bay and south to Fredericksburg, Virginia. Ƶapp’s live broadcast is also available on Ƶapp.com and , as well as HD Radio (103.5 HD-1). Click here for a full list of content and signals.

Ƶapp News is also distributed via our website, Ƶapp.com, our app, which can be downloaded on Apple and Android devices, and social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Ƶapp and its sister stations, and , are owned and operated by . The Minnesota-based, family-owned company purchased Ƶapp in April 2011.

Ƶapp is committed to reporting relevant news for our region through continuously evolving brands across a growing number of distribution platforms. Ƶapp provides news and information on-air and online 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

With some of the worst commutes in America, commuters in the D.C. region rely on Ƶapp’s traffic and weather reports “every 10 minutes on the 8’s, and when it breaks.”

History

The station first went on the air in September 1926 and switched to the call letters “Ƶapp” in 1943. Its new call letters were inherited from a police radio station in Tiffen, Ohio, thus TOP, Tiffen Ohio Police.

After going through a number of format changes in the 1960s, Ƶapp Radio went to an all-news format on March 9, 1969.

Ƶapp’s website, Ƶapp.com, launched in 1996.

Awards

Ƶapp has received a multitude of awards for its news coverage over the years, including the 2018 National Edward R. Murrow Award for Overall Excellence. Ƶapp was honored with the same distinction in 2017 as well as the National Murrow for Best Website. Overall, Ƶapp has received 22 National Murrow Awards for on-air and website combined in recent history.

In 2020, Ƶapp was honored with four Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards by the Radio Television Digital News Association, including one for overall excellence. In the Digital category, Ƶapp.com nabbed a regional award for coverage of 2020 news events, such as the summer racial justice protests and the coronavirus pandemic. Ƶapp was also recognized for coverage of the June 1, 2020 clearing of protesters from Lafayette Square. J.J. Green and Chris Core — hosts of Colors: A dialogue on Race in America — won in the Podcast category.

In 2019, Ƶapp received six regional Edward R. Murrow Awards: Best Newscast, Overall Excellence, Feature Report, Hard News Report, Podcast and Excellence in Social Media.

In 2018, Ƶapp received the National Association of Broadcasters Marconi Radio Award for News/Talk Station of the Year. It marked the sixth Marconi for Ƶapp.

Ƶapp won three National Headliner Awards in 2018, adding to its list of 25 total for on-air and web products.

Year after year, Ƶapp has also been recognized with regional Murrow Awards, Chesapeake Associated Press Broadcasters Association Awards and Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Awards for excellence in broadcasting and website coverage of local news.

In 2018, the National Association of Broadcasters venerated Ƶapp with its esteemed Crystal Heritage Award — an honor that only six other radio stations have gotten in the history of the awards. To be recognized with the Heritage Award, radio stations must have won a total of five Crystal Radio Awards for year-round community service efforts.

In the community

Ƶapp has a history of serving its community, partnering with a variety of organizations including the Komen National Race for the Cure, March of Dimes, Make-a-Wish Foundation and dozens more.

Listeners can ask elected officials and community leaders questions directly on Ƶapp programs such as “Ask the Governor.”

Mission & Vision statements

Ƶapp’s Mission Statement:
Deliver high-quality, unbiased news that shapes our region and connects our community across all media platforms.

Ƶapp’s Vision Statement:
To be the No. 1 news choice for our Washington, DC region by offering continuously updated coverage of Top News – 24/7/365.

Ƶapp also has diversity mission and vision statements:

Ƶapp’s Diversity Vision Statement:
To be an industry leader and set the standard for equality and inclusivity for all races, genders, ages, ethnicities, abilities, sexual orientations and religions by creating and fostering principles that integrate our core values.

Ƶapp’s Diversity Mission Statement:
To be proactive in providing a welcoming, professional environment; free of harassment, discrimination and marginalization with on-going habits that incorporate our unique experiences into the overall success and continuous evolution of this organization.

 

You can read Ƶapp’s news philosophy here.

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