WIZN (106.7

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...

) is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

Vergennes, Vermont Vergennes is a city located in the northwest quadrant of Addison County, Vermont, United States. The municipality is bordered by the towns of Ferrisburgh, Panton, and Waltham. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,553. It is the smalle ...

, serving the

Champlain Valley The Champlain Valley is a region of the United States around Lake Champlain in Vermont and New York extending north slightly into Quebec, Canada. It is part of the St. Lawrence River drainage basin, drained northward by the Richelieu River into ...

and

Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

Plattsburgh Plattsburgh ( moh, Tsi ietsénhtha) is a city in, and the seat of, Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the 2020 census. The population of the surrounding ...

radio market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television station, television and radio broadcasting, ra ...

. The station broadcasts a

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...

branded as ''The Wizard''. It is owned by

Hall Communications Hall Communications, Inc. is a broadcasting company based in Lakeland, Florida. The company currently owns 17 radio stations in Polk County, Florida; eastern Connecticut; New Bedford, Massachusetts; and Burlington, Vermont. History The company w ...

. Studios and offices are on Joy Drive in

South Burlington South Burlington is a city in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. Along with neighboring Burlington, it is a principal city of the Burlington metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 20,292. It is home to the head ...

. The

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which i ...

is located off Church Hill Road in

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

History

WIZN

signed on Signing may refer to: * Using sign language * Signature A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on do ...

the air in October 1983, owned by Radio Vergennes, Inc. The station began broadcasting from the Stevens House in Vergennes, with an original line up of DJs Artie Lavigne, Russ Kinsley, Joel Bolton, Mary L. Collins, and Bill Henk. Lavigne served as the president and general manager. Kinsley was also the program director and music director. WIZN was a local

album rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. Album-orient ...

station in the Vergennes area, powered at only 710

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...

s on a Class A regional frequency, 106.3 MHz. By the late 1980s, the station increased power to its current 50,000 watts, and changed its dial position to 106.7, making it a Class C station. The power boost gave WIZN coverage of Burlington, Vermont's largest city, and much of the Champlain Valley. But it kept its original rock format and ownership for several decades. From the late 1990s until 2005, WIZN was the region's longtime home of

The Howard Stern Show ''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The show has aired on Howard 100 a ...

before Stern left radio syndication and moved to

Sirius XM Radio Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...

. In 2005, Hall Communications paid $17 million for WIZN. Hall moved the station from a mix of contemporary and classic rock to all classic rock, while co-owned 99.9

WBTZ WBTZ (99.9 MHz "99.9 The Buzz") is a commercial FM radio station in Plattsburgh, New York, broadcasting to the Burlington, Vermont–Plattsburgh radio market, heard around the Champlain Valley and into Montreal. The station is owned by Hall Comm ...

concentrates on younger rock fans, airing an

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

format.

Programming

Current on-air staff includes Mel Allen, who hosts ''The Highway To Mel'' in morning

drive time Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this c ...

, Dave Marshall middays, and Joey Vega with ''The Rockin Ride Home''. Weekends feature "Double Shots" combining two songs by the same artist, typically a hit song paired with a

B side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

with the exception of the following Sunday programs: "Mr. Charlie" hosts "Blues for Breakfast" on Sunday mornings. The station also airs the syndicated

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

-focused show '' The Grateful Dead Hour'' from 9 pm - 10 pm and the syndicated

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

-focused show ''

Floydian Slip ''Floydian Slip'' is a weekly, one-hour syndicated radio program produced by Random Precision Media LLC (RPM), exclusively devoted to the music and history of the British rock band Pink Floyd. The show has an affiliate base of around one hundred ...

'' from 10 pm - 11 pm.

References

External links

106.7 WIZN Facebook
* * IZN Classic rock radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1983 1983 establishments in Vermont {{Vermont-radio-station-stub