WCPR-FM (97.9
FM) is a radio station licensed to
Wiggins, Mississippi
Wiggins is a city in and the county seat of Stone County, Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Me ...
. Its transmitter is located in
Saucier, Mississippi, on a 466-foot tower at 50,000 watts of power. WCPR plays primarily rock and alternative music. The station's signal reaches far west to
Covington, Louisiana
Covington is a city in, and the parish seat of, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 11,564 at the 2020 United States census. It is located at a fork of the Bogue Falaya and the Tchefuncte River. Covington is part of ...
, far east to
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...
, and far north as
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Hattiesburg is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, located primarily in Forrest County, Mississippi, Forrest County (where it is the county seat and largest city) and extending west into Lamar County, Mississippi, Lamar County. The city popu ...
.
History
US98/97-9 CPR
The station started out with a
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
format as US98 from 1994–1995. On September 20, 1995, the station dropped country for
Active Rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...
as "Real Rock 97.9 WCPR" and became the first new
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
station on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. WCPR was founded and conceived by New Orleans Radio veterans Kenny Vest, Scot Fox, and Weerd Wayne Watkins. Vest, Fox, Watkins, and Kyle Curley are all original staffers that are still at the radio station today, 22 years later.
In 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016, WCPR was nominated for a RadioContraband Rock Radio Award for "Small Market Radio Station of the Year"
In July 2014, station owner, Triad Broadcasting was sold to
Alpha Media along with sister stations,
WXYK,
WGBL,
WQBB and
WTNI
WTNI (1640 AM, 1640 AM broadcasting, AM) is a radio station licensed to Biloxi, Mississippi, which broadcasts an adult hits format as "Bob 106.3" with 10,000 watts daytime and 1,000 watts at night. The station is one of only six broadcasting stati ...
In December 2018, Alpha Media announced that it would be selling its Gulf Coast cluster to local Mississippi broadcast company,
Telesouth Communications Inc, who already owns
WOSM, The Biloxi affiliate of its
Supertalk Mississippi
Telesouth Communications Inc, also known as SuperTalk Mississippi Media, is an American, commercial radio network based in Jackson, Mississippi. Its stations across Mississippi broadcast either a music format, or conservative news / talk and sp ...
network in the market. The FCC approved the sale on February 12, 2019, and closed on March 1, 2019.
External links
*
*
CPR-FM
Radio stations established in 1995
{{Mississippi-radio-station-stub