The top-of-the-hour legal I.D. for WTLP-FM Braddock Heights is misleading. The announcer swallows the L so that it sounds like he’s saying WTOP. It’s safe to assume that there won’t be any complaints about the pronunciation prestidigitation. WTLP is a 24-hour-a-day simulcast of WTOP-FM Washington, as is WWWT-FM Manassas.
WTOP is hugely successful. It has the highest ratings in the market and the highest billing in the whole country. A few years ago, the industry took notice when the station dropped the word “radio” from one of its slogans. They changed it to “news, traffic, weather, on-air, online, mobile.”
I often listen to WTOP online. Their anchors are able to inject some personality into the format. I like David Burd’s features and the Redskins updates. The staff’s enthusiasm for the Washington Nationals is fun too. I’ve also been known to text my kids if I hear of a traffic or weather situation that could affect them.
