Former logo
| Broadcast area | Saginaw-Bay City-Midland-Flint |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 96.1 MHz |
| Branding | 96.1 WHNN |
| Programming | |
| Format | Adult contemporary |
| Affiliations | Premiere Networks Westwood One |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WILZ, WIOG, WKQZ | |
| History | |
First air date | 1947 (as WBCM-FM) |
Former call signs | WBCM-FM (1947-1973) |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 37458 |
| Class | C0 |
| ERP | 100,000 watts |
| HAAT | 311 meters |
Transmitter coordinates | 43°33′10″N83°41′24″W / 43.55278°N 83.69000°W |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | whnn.com |
WHNN (96.1 FM, "96.1 WHNN") is a radio station serving the Saginaw, Bay City, Midland and Flint, Michigan areas with an adult contemporary format. The transmitter for WHNN is located on Dutcher road near Van Buren Rd, in the northwest corner of Tuscola County. WUCX, a Central Michigan University owned NPR member station, also occupies the same tower as WHNN.
WBCM-FM was one of Michigan's pioneer FM stations, initially signing on in 1947. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, 96.1 FM broadcast a beautiful music format. On August 27, 1973 the calls were changed to WHNN and the station adopted a Top 40 format as "Super Win." The first program director was Bruce Buchanan (Big Jim Edwards air name) and the first song played was American Band. Many listeners remember that for several years, WHNN boasted "a winner an hour, sometimes even more". At least once an hour they would award a prize to a designated caller, and announce the current tally of prizes awarded by giving the winners name, hometown and announcing that he or she was "super-Win winner number 12,384 or whatever number the current count was. Many of the prizes were fast food meals or car washes, but occasionally better prizes such as concert tickets or meals at high end restaurants were awarded. When the hourly prizes were phased out in 1979, WHNN announced it was in "the interest of public safety" as they didn't want to overwhelm the phone company's resources.
WHNN evolved into an AOR station in 1976. In 1981, despite being the top rated station in the area at the time, the station changed format from AOR to adult contemporary, with the first song being Gino Vannelli's "Living Inside Myself". Station owners stated at the time that this was because they could not sell enough ad time. As a popular AC station during the 1980s, the station was known as "Sunny 96, Lite Rock, Less Talk."
WHNN switched to an oldies format in the fall of 1990 following a period of stunting with various versions of Richard Berry's song "Louie, Louie" including the hit version by The Kingsmen. As time went on, WHNN, like many stations of its kind, evolved from "traditional" oldies to a "classic hits" direction focusing on pop, rock and soul hits from roughly 1965-1990 in the hope of reaching younger demographics, and dropped most if not all pre-1965 music from its playlist. Unlike other classic hits stations which are essentially hit-based versions of Classic rock, WHNN became a Top 40 Classic Hits station. Through the changes to the music, the station's ratings remained high.
WHNN garnered attention in the fall of 2006 when it switched to a format of all Christmas music, in response to crosstown AC competitor 106.3 WGER's announcement that they would not go all-Christmas that year. The switch also brought all-Christmas music radio to Flint, owing to continued dominance of the market's AC station, 107.9 WCRZ. WHNN switched to all-Christmas again in early November 2007; WHNN had originally planned to switch to all-Christmas on Thanksgiving Day but moved up the change when WGER opted to return to playing continuous Christmas music ahead of schedule. WGER has since switched to a Hot AC direction as "Mix 106.3" and no longer goes all-Christmas for the holiday season, but MacDonald Broadcasting's AC combo of WSAM 1400 AM and WSAG 104.1 FM ("The Bay") has taken up the Christmas music mantle in recent years to challenge WHNN. WHNN, however, continued to be Flint's only Christmas music station until November 2018, when WCRZ switched to all-Christmas music for the first time.
Cumulus Media acquired Citadel Broadcasting and WHNN in 2011. WHNN's Flint area sales offices are expected to relocate to 6317 Taylor Drive in Flint as a result; the sale also included WHNN's current studios on Champagne Drive in Saginaw.
In addition to its Tri-Cities sister stations, WHNN's other sister stations in its listening area are 92.7 WDZZ, 95.1 WFBE, 1330 WTRX, 1570 WWCK and 105.5 WWCK-FM, all licensed to Flint.
On January 15, 2016, shortly before 5 pm (EST), WHNN flipped to adult contemporary as "My 96-1". The last song on 96 WHNN was "Changes" by David Bowie, while the first song on My 96-1 was "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi. [1] While morning hosts Johnny Burke and Blondie were fired with the change, the rest of the airstaff is expected to stay.[ needs update ] [2] Johnny and Blondie later established their own morning show via Periscope and their website. This led to both Johnny And Blondie filing lawsuits against WHNN for age discrimination, while WHNN sued for stealing advertisement from local businesses as well as potentially using former morning show content. [3] The station launched "My 96-1" by running commercial-free throughout that weekend. On January 18, at 5:30 a.m., when the former Johnny Burke and the Morning Crew was supposed to be on the air, the song "Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)" by Green Day was aired, rather fitting considering the nature of the show's departure. In the last few months Johnny and Blondie worked at WHNN, and according to some of the information of the lawsuit, Johnny and Blondie indicated ideas of bringing a younger music format to WHNN which were ignored by airstaff and station management. They later realized that the actions of the station management and air staff meant that they were being set up. [4]
The format change resulted in no Classic Hits formatted radio stations available over the air in either the Tri-Cities or Flint radio markets. Adult Hits station WMJO and gold-based AC combo WMPX/WMRX-FM are the only remaining stations in the immediate Saginaw-Bay City-Midland market playing hits from the 1960s through 1980s. In the Flint market, classic rock WRSR of Owosso continues to play some of the music formerly heard on WHNN. In March 2017, former WHNN morning show host Johnny Burke and news director Hal Maas began hosting the morning show at WRSR. [5]
WRQN is an American radio station licensed to broadcast from Bowling Green, Ohio. Though licensed to Bowling Green, its primary market and its studios are in the nearby city of Toledo. The station broadcasts at 93.5 on the FM dial, and plays classic hits music. Its transmitter is located near Haskins, Ohio.
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WJMK is a radio station broadcasting an oldies format, serving the Saginaw/Bay City, Michigan market from its transmitter in Bridgeport, its city of license. WJMK is owned by Northern States Broadcasting. WJMK broadcasts with a power of 5,000 watts daytime, 1,100 watts at night, directed towards the north.
WMYX-FM is a commercial radio station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US. Calling itself "99-1 The Mix," it was the first station in the U.S. to use the "Mix" moniker. WMYX-FM has been airing roughly the same hot adult contemporary radio format since late 1981. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc., along with sister stations WXSS-FM and WSSP. WMYX's studios and transmitter are co-located in Hales Corners. The playlist consists of current hits and recent hits from the 2000s and 2010s. WMYX is responsible for the activation of the Milwaukee metropolitan area Emergency Alert System.
CING-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts at 95.3 FM in Hamilton, Ontario. The station airs a hot adult contemporary format. CING's studios are located on Main Street West in Hamilton, while its transmitter is located atop the Niagara Escarpment near Upper Centennial Parkway. CING is owned by Corus Entertainment.
KSPF is a commercial radio station licensed to Dallas, Texas, and serving the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. KSPF is owned by Audacy, Inc., and airs a classic hits radio format.
WLXT is an adult contemporary radio station licensed to Petoskey, Michigan, at an ERP of 100,000 watts, covering most of northern Michigan. It is owned by Trish MacDonald-Garber, whose family has owned the station for over 30 years. Between mid-November and December each year, WLXT switches to an all-Christmas music format.
WTRY-FM, is a commercial radio station licensed to Rotterdam, New York. It airs a classic hits format. WTRY-FM serves the New York State Capital District in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy radio market. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, and broadcasts at 6,000 watts ERP from a tower in between Altamont and Duanesburg off U.S. Route 20. Studios and offices are on Troy-Schenectady Road in Latham.
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WHTT-FM is a commercial radio station in Buffalo, New York, serving Western New York. It is owned by Cumulus Media and broadcasts a classic hits format, calling itself "104.1 WHTT". The studios and offices are on James E. Casey Drive in Buffalo.
WFLB is a classic hits radio station located in Fayetteville, North Carolina, owned by Beasley Broadcasting Group, Inc., through licensee Beasley Media Group, LLC. The WFLB studios are located east of downtown Fayetteville, and its transmitter is located north of Lumberton, North Carolina.
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WCRZ is a commercial radio station in Flint, Michigan, broadcasting an adult contemporary format and switching to Christmas music for much of November and December. WCRZ is the top-rated heritage station in the market. Its studios and offices are on East Bristol Road in Burton, east of Flint.
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WSAM is a radio station licensed to Saginaw, Michigan and broadcasting at 1400 kHz with 1,000 watts of power. The station is simulcasted with FM sister station WSAG-FM at 104.1 MHz and are collectively known as The Bay, in reference to their close proximity to the Saginaw Bay.
WSGW-FM is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Carrollton, Michigan, and serving the Tri-Cities. It is owned by Alpha Media and simulcasts a news-talk radio format with sister station WSGW 790 AM. The two stations identify themselves as "100.5 and 790 Newsradio WSGW." The studios are on Tittabawassee Road in Saginaw.
WRSR is a radio station broadcasting a classic rock format. Licensed to Owosso, Michigan, it first began broadcasting in 1965 under the WOAP-FM call sign. Its transmitter is located east of Owosso, while its studios are located in Flint Township. It also broadcasts Detroit Lions games.
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WTOC is a radio station licensed to Newton, New Jersey. Owned by Centro Biblico of NJ, Inc. with a Spanish-language Christian format. Until August 17, 2011, they aired an oldies music format with songs from the 1960s and 1970s along with a small number of oldies from 1955 to 1964 and a small number of hits from the 1980s, a full-time affiliate of Scott Shannon's True Oldies Channel from ABC Radio. The station was owned by Clear Channel Communications from 2001 until 2011. From the station's 1953 sign-on until July 1, 2008, the radio station was known as WNNJ.
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