WNOR

Last updated
WNOR
WNOR FM99WNOR logo.jpg
Broadcast area Hampton Roads; Northeastern North Carolina
Frequency 98.7 MHz (HD Radio)
BrandingFM99 WNOR
Programming
Format Mainstream rock [1]
Ownership
Owner
  • Saga Communications
  • (Tidewater Communications, LLC)
WAFX
History
First air date
July 19, 1962 (1962-07-19)
Former call signs
WNOR-FM (1962–2002)
Call sign meaning
Norfolk
Technical information [2]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 67080
Class B
ERP 46,000 watts
HAAT 166 meters (545.00 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
 36°50′4.9″N76°16′9.3″W / 36.834694°N 76.269250°W / 36.834694; -76.269250
Links
Public license information
Webcast Listen Live
Website fm99.com

WNOR (98.7 FM "FM99") is a radio station licensed to Norfolk, Virginia, United States, serving the Hampton Roads (Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News) radio market. WNOR is owned and operated by Saga Communications. It airs a mainstream rock radio format. [1]

Contents

WNOR broadcasts in the HD Radio (hybrid) format. Studios and offices are on Greenbrier Circle in Chesapeake; the transmitter is next to Riverside Memorial Park in Norfolk. [3] The Class B signal covers Southeastern Virginia and Northeastern North Carolina.

History

On July 19, 1962, WNOR-FM first signed on the air, owned by the Norfolk Broadcasting Company. It was the sister station to WNOR (1230 AM) and presented a mix of easy listening "semiclassical music" and show tunes. [4] WNOR-AM-FM was sold for $1.23 million in 1967 to Arnold and Audrey Malkan and Stanley Wilson. [5] The new owners then sued the sellers, claiming among other things that WNOR-FM used equipment that did not meet Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requirements. [6]

The station maintained an all-female air staff until 1974, when the general manager felt the concept had run its course; citing high turnover, he released two female DJs and reassigned others, telling Broadcasting , "Females and males alike would rather hear a male voice on the radio." [7]

In 1969, WNOR-FM began airing a progressive rock format at night. [8] Eventually, the rock music proved more popular than easy listening, with WNOR-FM abandoning the "split-format" approach in 1974. The station's Arbitron ratings quickly took off, culminating in the station's rise to number one in the rock radio ratings beginning in the early 1980s [9] and the total-market ratings from 1986 to 1988 as well as being the market's highest-billing station from 1986 to 1993. [10]

By the 1980s, the station had moved to an album-oriented rock format, based more on album sales than the previous progressive rock format. In 1980, Marvin Josephson Associates acquired the WNOR stations; [11] company president Edward K. Christian led a leveraged buyout of the Josephson radio stations in 1986, forming Saga Communications. [12] Saga decided to simulcast the FM station's rock format on the AM station. WNOR gained notoriety in 1992 when, as an April Fool's Day prank, it claimed that the Mount Trashmore landfill in Virginia Beach was about to explode; callers jammed the 9-1-1 telephone system in the area, and the station apologized at the behest of local police. [13] Saga then suspended the morning show hosts for two weeks in an effort to show, per CEO Ed Christian, that the station was "taking very seriously its obligation to refrain from deliberate distortion or falsification of programming"; [14] later that year, the FCC admonished the station. [15]

In 1994, Saga Communications acquired another FM station in the market, WAFX in Suffolk. WAFX had flipped to classic rock in 1989, with the two stations feuding over the use of the term in the market, [9] and the new station made a dent in WNOR's ratings. [16] While WAFX shifted to classic hits, [17] WNOR-FM evolved into a current-based, harder-edged direction, bringing it into the active rock format; the changeover in music mix was completed in February 1996. [8] In 1999, the AM station went to an adult standards format and changed its call sign to WJOI. [18] [19]

In 2019, Saga demolished the tower used to transmit WNOR and WJOI for 48 years; the new 545-foot (166 m) mast was completed in January 2020. [20]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KEXC</span> Public radio station in Alameda, California

KEXC is a non-commercial radio station serving the San Francisco Bay Area, licensed to Alameda, California, United States. It is owned by the non-profit entity Friends of KEXP, an affiliate of the University of Washington, and broadcasts an AAA format specializing in indie music programmed by its disc jockeys as "KEXP Bay Area", a near-total simulcast of Seattle, Washington–licensed KEXP-FM. The station's transmitter is located on Sutro Tower.

WTKR is a television station licensed to Norfolk, Virginia, United States, serving the Hampton Roads area as an affiliate of CBS. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside Portsmouth-licensed WGNT, an independent station. The two stations share studios on Boush Street near downtown Norfolk; WTKR's transmitter is located in Suffolk, Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WHRO-TV</span> PBS member station in Hampton–Norfolk, Virginia

WHRO-TV is a PBS member television station licensed to both Hampton and Norfolk, Virginia, United States. It is owned by the Hampton Roads Educational Telecommunications Association (HRETA), a consortium of 21 Hampton Roads and Eastern Shore school systems, alongside public radio stations WFOS, WHRV, and WHRO-FM (90.3). The four stations share studios at the Public Telecommunications Center for Hampton Roads next to the campus of Old Dominion University in Norfolk; WHRO-TV's transmitter is located in Suffolk, Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WTVZ-TV</span> MyNetworkTV affiliate in Norfolk, Virginia

WTVZ-TV is a television station licensed to Norfolk, Virginia, United States, serving the Hampton Roads area as an affiliate of MyNetworkTV. Owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, the station maintains studios on Clearfield Avenue in Virginia Beach, and its transmitter is located in Suffolk, Virginia.

WKSF is a country music station licensed to Old Fort, North Carolina, serving the Asheville area. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. and broadcasts from a tower on Mount Pisgah, southwest of Asheville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WJOI</span> Radio station in Wisconsin, United States

WJOI is a commercial radio station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is known on-air as "Joy 1340/98.7". WJOI is owned by Saga Communications, and operates as part of its Milwaukee Radio Group, with radio studios and offices on Milwaukee's West Side. The transmitter is on West Martin Drive in Milwaukee. Programming is also heard on 99-watt FM translator W254CU at 98.7 MHz.

WAFX is a commercial radio station licensed to Suffolk, Virginia. It serves the Hampton Roads radio market. WAFX is owned and operated by Saga Communications. It airs a classic rock radio format.

WFIR is a commercial radio station licensed to Roanoke, Virginia, and serving the Roanoke Valley. It airs a news/talk radio format and is owned and operated by Mel Wheeler, Inc. WFIR's studios and offices are on Electric Road in Roanoke. Programming is also heard on two FM translators: W297BC 107.3 MHz, off Catawba Valley Drive in Roanoke, and W233CK 94.5 MHz in Troutville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WUSH</span> Radio station in Virginia, United States

WUSH is a country music formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Poquoson, Virginia, serving Hampton Roads. WUSH is owned and operated by Sinclair Telecable, Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WNOH</span> Radio station in Windsor–Norfolk, Virginia

WNOH is a commercial radio station licensed to Windsor, Virginia, serving the Hampton Roads radio market in Virginia and Northeastern North Carolina. WNOH is owned and operated by iHeartMedia. The station airs an African American-oriented all-news radio format, as an affiliate of the Black Information Network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WKFS</span> Radio station in Ohio, United States

WKFS is a radio station in the Cincinnati, Ohio, market, licensed to nearby Milford. It broadcasts a gold-based Top 40 format and is owned by iHeartMedia. The WKFS studios are located in Kenwood Towne Centre, and the station transmitter is located in Mount Auburn, a neighborhood northeast of downtown Cincinnati.

WVBW-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Norfolk, Virginia, and broadcasting to the Hampton Roads area. WVBW-FM airs an urban adult hits radio format and is owned and operated by Max Media. The studios and offices are on Greenwich Road in Virginia Beach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WNOB</span> Radio station in Chesapeake, Virginia

WNOB is an adult hits formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Chesapeake, Virginia, serving Hampton Roads and Northeastern North Carolina. WNOB is owned and operated by Sinclair Telecable, Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WROX-FM</span> Radio station in Virginia, United States

WROX-FM is an alternative rock formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Exmore, Virginia, serving Hampton Roads and the Eastern Shore of Virginia. WROX-FM is owned and operated by Sinclair Telecable, Inc. WROX's studios are located on Waterside Drive in Downtown Norfolk, and its transmitter is located in Cape Charles.

WFOS is a non-commercial, listener-supported, public radio station licensed to Chesapeake, Virginia, and serving the Southside of Hampton Roads. WFOS is owned by Hampton Roads Educational Telecommunications Association. Its format includes oldies, Motown, adult standards and other past musical styles.

WFLS-FM is a country formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Fredericksburg, Virginia, serving Central Virginia, Northern Virginia, and Southern Maryland. WFLS-FM is owned and operated by Alpha Media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WTJZ (AM)</span> Radio station in Norfolk, Virginia

WTJZ is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Norfolk, Virginia, United States, and serving Hampton Roads. The station is owned and operated by Delmarva Educational Association. Branded as "Praise 104.9", it airs an urban gospel radio format.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WJYI (AM)</span> Radio station in Norfolk, Virginia

WJYI was a soft oldies and adult standards formatted radio station. It was licensed to Norfolk, Virginia and served the Hampton Roads region of Virginia. WJYI was owned by Saga Communications, Inc. and operated under their Tidewater Communications, LLC licensee. It featured programming from "America's Best Music" syndicated by Westwood One.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KNEK (AM)</span> Radio station in Louisiana, United States

KNEK was a radio station in Washington, Louisiana, United States, under ownership of Cumulus Media. The station simulcast sister station KNEK-FM, which broadcasts on the frequency of 104.7 FM. Its studios were located on Galbert Road in Lafayette, and its transmitter was located south of Washington, Louisiana. Because it shared the same frequency as clear-channel station XEWK-AM at Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, KNEK only operated during the daytime hours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WLES</span> Radio station in Virginia, United States

WLES is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Bon Air, Virginia, United States, serving the Greater Richmond Region. WLES is owned and operated by Stuart Epperson, through licensee Truth Broadcasting Corporation. It airs a Christian radio format as part of "The Truth Network", originating in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.Programming is also heard on FM translator station W249CI at 97.7 MHz.

References

  1. 1 2 "Arbitron Station Information Profiles". Nielsen Audio/Nielsen Holdings. Archived from the original on September 23, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WNOR". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ↑ "Radio-Locator.com/WNOR-FM". Archived from the original on 2023-09-23. Retrieved 2018-02-24.
  4. ↑ "Sixth FM Station To Go on Air". Ledger-Star. July 18, 1962. p. 20. Archived from the original on September 23, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Station sales total $10.7 million". Broadcasting. May 1, 1967. pp. 58–59. ProQuest   1014524080.
  6. ↑ "Hearing set in WNOR lawsuit". Broadcasting. April 15, 1968. p. 50. ProQuest   1014529946.
  7. ↑ "No time for Lorelei". Broadcasting. September 16, 1974. p. 36. ProQuest   1016878491.
  8. 1 2 Maxwell, Cyndee (August 1, 1997). "Targeting Norfolk's Active Rock Audience". Radio & Records. p. 80. ProQuest   1017298377.
  9. 1 2 "WNOR vs. WAFX: The war's on for classic-rock radio listeners". Daily Press. April 5, 1989. pp. C1, C4. Archived from the original on September 23, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Duncan, James H. Jr. (2004). "Norfolk". An American Radio Trilogy, 1975 to 2004 (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-09-23. Retrieved 2023-09-23.
  11. ↑ "MJA to purchase WNOR-AM & FM for $2.6 million". The Hollywood Reporter. December 3, 1980. p. 15. ProQuest   2598221963.
  12. ↑ Raphael, Steve (May 19, 1986). "Radio Chain's Buyer Seeks Acquisitions". Crain's Detroit Business. p. 3. ProQuest   212264215.
  13. ↑ Worrell, Kris (April 2, 1992). "WNOR prank explodes in station's face". Daily Press. p. A1. Archived from the original on September 23, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ Stone, Steve (April 4, 1992). "WNOR's morning team is suspended: April Fool's Day prank draws blast". The Virginian-Pilot . p. A1.
  15. ↑ Bonko, Larry (December 5, 1992). "WNOR admonished by federal agency over April Fools' Day hoax". The Virginian-Pilot . p. D3.
  16. ↑ Pryweller, Joseph (October 14, 1989). "Veteran WNOR returns to top". Daily Press. pp. F1, F4 . Retrieved September 23, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ Nicholson, David (February 5, 1994). "'Fox' shifts to a softer rock format". Daily Press. p. D7. Retrieved September 23, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ Bonko, Larry (October 31, 1999). "Local actors have role in new CBS miniseries". The Virginian-Pilot . p. E2.
  19. ↑ Bonko, Larry (December 12, 1999). ""The Sopranos" surprises Norfolk with high honor". The Virginian-Pilot . p. E2.
  20. ↑ Bonko, Larry (January 30, 2020). "WVEC welcomes new meteorologist". Daily Press. p. B10. Retrieved September 23, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.