WNIS

Last updated
WNIS
WnisLogo.png
Broadcast area Hampton Roads
Frequency 790 kHz
BrandingAM 790 WNIS
Programming
Format Talk radio
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
  • Sinclair Telecable, Inc.
  • (Commonwealth Radio, LLC)
WNOB, WROX-FM, WTAR, WUSH
History
First air date
September 1952;71 years ago (1952-09)
Former call signs
 WRAP, WTAR
Former frequencies
  • 1050 kHz (1952–1956)
  • 850 kHz (1956–1997)
Call sign meaning
"News and Information Station"
Technical information [1]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 4671
Class B
Power 5,000 watts unlimited
Transmitter coordinates
 37°4′25.0″N76°17′31.0″W / 37.073611°N 76.291944°W / 37.073611; -76.291944
Links
Public license information
Webcast Listen Live
Website wnis.com

WNIS (790 AM) is a commercial radio station in Norfolk, Virginia, and serving the Hampton Roads radio market. WNIS is owned and operated by Sinclair Telecable, Inc. [2] It airs a talk radio format.

Contents

WNIS has studios and offices on Waterside Drive in Norfolk. [3] Its transmitter is off Hall Road in Hampton. [4] It transmits with 5,000 watts around the clock, using a directional antenna with a three-tower array.

Weekdays, WNIS has local morning drive time talk and information shows called "Marcrini's Morning News" and the “Karen and Mike Show.” Other weekday hours feature nationally syndicated shows from Sean Hannity, Brian Kilmeade, "Clay Travis & Buck Sexton," Mark Levin, "Coast to Coast AM with George Noory" and "This Morning, America's First News with Gordon Deal." Weekends feature shows on money, health, cars and fishing, with syndicated hosts including Kim Komando, Guy Benson, Rudy Maxa, Mike Imprevento, "Live on Sunday Night, It's Bill Cunningham" and "Somewhere in Time with Art Bell." Most hours begin with world and national news from Fox News Radio.

History

The station signed on in September 1952 as WRAP, a daytimer at 1050 kHz, with a power of 500 watts. [5] It was required to sign-off at sunset to avoid interfering with other radio stations on AM 1050, primarily XEG in Monterrey, Mexico.

In 1956, another Norfolk daytimer, 860 WCAV, left the air, allowing WRAP to relocate to AM 850. On the new frequency, WRAP could broadcast around the clock. The daytime power was increased to 5,000 watts and the nighttime power to 1,000 watts. [6]

WRAP was programmed to Norfolk's African-American community. Its call sign used the word "RAP," an African-American English word for "talk" or "discussion." (It would be several decades before "rap" began referring to a musical style.) An advertisement in the 1957 edition of Broadcasting Yearbook , using the descriptions of the era, said "Survey figures show the most Negroes in the Norfolk area listen most to WRAP." It added that WRAP, at 850 kilocycles, was "the only all-Negro station in Norfolk." For more on the history of the station, see WRAP (Norfolk).

In 1987, WRAP was acquired by local cable TV company Clinton Cablevision (later Sinclair Telecable). [7] The new owner flipped the format to talk. The call sign was changed to WNIS, meaning "News and Information Station". WNIS picked up programming from ABC Talkradio, NBC Talknet and the Mutual Broadcasting System's Larry King Show.

In July 1997, WNIS and its sister station, WTAR, switched facilities. WNIS moved to AM 790, while WTAR took over the 850 kHz spot on the dial. [8] 850 has the stronger signal, broadcasting at 50,000 watts by day, the highest power authorized for AM stations by the Federal Communications Commission. At night it runs 25,000 watts, while 790 kHz transmits 5,000 watts day and night. Both stations had talk formats, although 850 WTAR is now a sports radio station and network affiliate of Fox Sports Radio.

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WRAP was an historic black-oriented radio station in Norfolk, Virginia, on the air from 1952 to 1989. It served the Tidewater region, including Portsmouth, Newport News, Hampton and Virginia Beach. It began as one of only a handful of American radio stations broadcasting full-time to the African American community, featuring R&B, soul music and black gospel, along with news and talk programs.

References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WNIS". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ↑ "WNIS Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  3. ↑ WNIS.com/contact
  4. ↑ "WNIS-AM Radio Station Coverage Map". radio-locator.com.
  5. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1953 page 303
  6. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1957 page 268
  7. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1991 page D-247
  8. ↑ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1998 page D-461


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