Carl Venters began his career in broadcasting as a DeeJay at a radio station in Jacksonville, NC as a teenager.  While attending college at the UNC Chapel Hill he was manager of the university FM radio station. Upon graduation he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps commissioned as a second lieutenant then rising to the rank of Major completing four years of service. 

Carl resumed his broadcasting career at UNC-TV in Chapel Hill, NC, as program director where he not only programmed the station but was the weatherman for newscasts as part of UNC-TV news programs at that time.

In 1960 Carl purchased his first radio station WFAG in Farmville, NC whose call letters stood for ‘Watching the Farmville Area Grow’.   He managed and operated WFAG for more than 10 years to then become president of Durham Life Broadcasting Inc. owners of powerhouse radio station WPTF-AM and WPTF-FM. 

In 1972 he decided to chart a different course for the FM signal changing the classical music format of WPTF-FM to play ‘album rock’ from groups like the Who, Pink Floyd, and the Doors, whose music had previously only been available on low power college radio stations and through in-store record album purchases.

The new Album Oriented Rock (AOR) format station WQDR-FM (QDR standing for Quadraphonic Rock) rocketed the station to second place in the ratings within weeks.  FM stations around the country scrambled to copy the new AOR format that become the top-rated FM music format in the country.

Following his tenure at Durham Life Broadcasting, Mr. Venters subsequently owned and operated 13 more radio stations throughout the next two decades, including Voyager Communications, Wilmington Broadcasting LLC, and Ocean Broadcasting. retiring in 2015.

Mr. Venters is a past president of the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters, is a member of NCAB’s Hall of Fame and a recipient of their Distinguished Service Award.  Carl with wife Linda, reside in Wilmington, NC.