WPUL History
WPUL is co-located with the family-owned African-American newspapers, The Daytona Times and The Florida Courier.
Charles Cherry founded the Daytona Times newspaper that has grown into a media company that covers Florida, Georgia and South Carolina with two newspapers and 11 radio stations, including WPUL. 
Cherry moved to Daytona in 1952 and embarked on a multi-faceted career in business and public service. He taught business administration for 25 years at Bethune-Cookman College, while working in other jobs which included real estate and the restaurant business. Charles Cherry was a civil rights leader, businessman, city commissioner and family man. In the 1960s, Cherry participated in sit-ins and other actions to bring about integration. He became president of the Volusia County-Daytona Beach Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, as well as president of the state branch and a member of the national board of directors.

Charles two sons often accompanied their father to St. Petersburg on business trips. They enjoyed the trips because they got to listen to  WTMP, that played black music. The sons often talked about the lack of a black radio station in Central Florida. The Cherry brothers bought WPUL in 1988. 

They purchased WPUL for $85,000. At the time the station was playing country. The Cherry's changed the format, to black oriented music. Their initial inventory was comprised of their personal albums. The station took off and others soon realized there was a market in Daytona for black music.

Then the FM stations came in, with competition from WJHM-FM 102 JAMZ, owned by Infinity Broadcasting, and STAR 94.5, owned by Cox Radio Inc. The two FMs are located in the Orlando, but are licensed to Daytona Beach.

The small AM wasn't strong enough to compete and soon the station fell in the ratings. They also lost the Tom Joyner Morning Show, STAR 94.5. The competition from the FMs forced a change in format to black gospel.

Son, Glenn W. Cherry, gave up a successful practice as a veterinarian to become president and chief executive officer of Tama Broadcasting Inc. His brother, Charles W. "Chuck" Cherry II, quit his law practice in Fort Lauderdale  so he could manage WPUL. Chuck Cherry majored in mass communications at Morehouse College in Atlanta and went on to law school at the University of Florida.