WNFZ (94.3
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 ...
FM 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 ...
to
Powell, Tennessee
Powell, formerly known as Powell Station, is a census-designated place in Knox County, Tennessee, United States. The area is located in the Emory Road corridor ( State Route 131), just north of Knoxville, southeast of Clinton, and east of Oak R ...
, and serving the
Knoxville metropolitan area
The Knoxville metropolitan area, commonly known as Greater Knoxville, is a metropolitan statistical area centered on Knoxville, Tennessee, the third largest city in Tennessee and the largest city in East Tennessee. It is the third largest metro ...
. WNFZ is owned by
Midwest Communications
Midwest Communications is a Wausau, Wisconsin-based radio broadcasting company. It owns 82 radio stations located primarily within the Midwest United States, in Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Illinois and ...
. It airs an
adult hits 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, ...
, subscribing to the nationally
syndicated ''
JACK-FM
Jack FM is a radio network brand, licensed by Sparknet Communications, with the exception of the European Union where it is licensed by Oxis Media. It plays an adult hits format, in most cases not using DJs.
Format characteristics
Stations ...
'' service. It uses the slogan "Playing What We Want!" The General Manager is Randy Ross.
The
studio
A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...
s and offices are on Sharps Ridge Memorial Park Drive in Knoxville. 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 on the west side of Knoxville, off Sands Road.
History
Rock WATO-FM
In February 1967, the station
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 ...
as WATO-FM. The station's
city of license
In American, Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator.
In North American broa ...
was originally
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson and Roane counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of downtown Knoxville. Oak Ridge's population was 31,402 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Knoxville Metropolitan Area. Oak ...
. At first, it
simulcast
Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...
co-owned
AM 1290
AM or Am may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* A minor, a minor scale in music
* ''A.M.'' (Chris Young album)
* ''A.M.'' (Wilco album)
* ''AM'' (Abraham Mateo album)
* ''AM'' (Arctic Monkeys album)
* AM (musician), American musician ...
WATO (now off the air). By the late 1960s, WATO-FM began carrying a
progressive rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
format.
Easy Listening, Oldies, Country and Alternative
94.3 later changed to an
easy listening
Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...
format as WUUU. The slogan was "The Station For You". It was
off the air
In the broadcasting industry, a dark television station or silent radio station is one that has gone off the air for an indefinite period of time. Usually unlike dead air (broadcasting only silence), a station that is dark or silent does not eve ...
for a short time until January 18, 1982 when it switched its
call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...
to WETQ. It carried 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 known as "Q-94FM".
On March 25, 1985, the station changed to WKNF-FM and became "Magic 94," flipping to an
oldies
Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...
sound. In April 1993, it became a
classic country
Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country and western music hits from past decades.
Repertoire
The radio format specializes in hits from the 1950s through the early 1980s, and focus primarily on innov ...
station as "K-94". In September 1993, the station shifted to
CHR/Top 40
Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...
and changed the on-air position to "94Z".
On July 1, 1994, WKNF-FM switched to WNFZ to reflect on-air branding of 94Z and became 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 ...
station. Then in
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
, WNFZ refocused, becoming an
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 ...
outlet. Between 1994 and 2013 the station was branded variously "94Z", "The Planet", "94.3 Extreme Radio" and "94-3 The X."
Switch to Talk, Then Jack-FM
WNFZ simulcast former sister station 95.7
WVRX
WVRX (104.9 FM) is a Southern Gospel formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Strasburg, Virginia, serving the Northern Shenandoah Valley. WVRX is owned by Point FM Ministries. WVRX simulcasts sister station WVRS.
History
On January 31, ...
until October 31, 2013. At that point, The X alternative rock format moved to 95.7.
At Midnight on November 1, WNFZ flipped to a
Talk
Talk may refer to:
Communication
* Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people
* Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people
* Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct
...
format, formerly broadcast on WNOX-FM. The ownership switched to Oak Ridge FM, Inc. under the branding, "KnoxTalkRadio 94.3 WNFZ".
At noon on October 21, 2015, WNFZ returned to
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 ...
as "94Z".
On March 21, 2019, WNFZ was sold to
Midwest Communications
Midwest Communications is a Wausau, Wisconsin-based radio broadcasting company. It owns 82 radio stations located primarily within the Midwest United States, in Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Illinois and ...
and changed its format from alternative rock to
adult hits, branded as "94.3 Jack FM".
WNFZ Sold to Midwest; Flips to Jack FM
Radio Insight - March 21, 2019 It began carrying the JACK-FM
Jack FM is a radio network brand, licensed by Sparknet Communications, with the exception of the European Union where it is licensed by Oxis Media. It plays an adult hits format, in most cases not using DJs.
Format characteristics
Stations ...
format, similar to co-owned WCJK
WCJK (96.3 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Murfreesboro, Tennessee and serving the Nashville metropolitan area. It airs an adult hits radio format and is owned by Midwest Communications, Inc. It subscribes to the nationally ...
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
, one of that market's highest rated stations. The sale closed on June 4, 2019, at a price of $2 million.
References
External links
*
{{Midwest Communications
NFZ
Adult hits radio stations in the United States
Midwest Communications radio stations