WNNF (94.1

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 ...

, “Cat Country 94.1”) 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 ...

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. The station broadcasts 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, ...

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, ...

and is owned by

Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 87 ...

. Its

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 Montgomery Road in

Norwood, Ohio Norwood is the third most populous city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and an enclave of the larger city of Cincinnati. The population was 19,207 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Originally settled as an early suburb of ...

, with a Cincinnati address. WNNF has an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would hav ...

(ERP) of 16,000

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. 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 ...

site is on Highland Avenue at

Interstate 71 Interstate 71 (I-71) is a north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes/Midwestern and Southeastern region of the United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with I-64 and I-65 (the Kennedy Interchange) in Louisville, ...

, northeast of

Downtown Cincinnati Downtown Cincinnati is the central business district of Cincinnati, Ohio, as well the economic and symbiotic center of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. It also contains a number of urban neighborhoods in the low land area between the Ohio ...

, co-located with the

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

used for

WKRC-TV WKRC-TV (channel 12) is a television station in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, affiliated with CBS and The CW. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which provides certain services to MyNetworkTV affiliate WSTR-TV (channel 64) under a loca ...

History

Early years (1955-1970s)

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 ...

in 1955. In the early 1970s, it switched to a

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

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 ...

format.

Rock (1976-1981)

In 1976, the station became

WSAI WSAI (1360 AM) is a Cincinnati, Ohio commercial radio station. Owned and operated by iHeartMedia, its studios, as well as those of iHeartMedia's other Cincinnati stations, are in the Towers of Kenwood building next to I-71 in the Kenwood secti ...

-FM and played

Rock n Roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

Country (1981-1985)

In 1981, the station changed to a country format, and became WKXF ("Kix 94.1").

Top 40 (1985)

During late summer 1985, the station briefly switched to a CHR format branded as "K-Rock 94".

Adult contemporary (1985-1997)

Several weeks later on August 26, 1985, the station switched to

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

WWNK ("Wink 94.1").

Hot adult contemporary (1997-2006)

On September 19, 1997, WVMX ("Mix 94.1") made its debut with a

hot adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...

format that was patterned after then-sister station WMVX in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. In 2006, the station started leaning towards

Rhythmic AC Rhythmic adult contemporary, often abbreviated as rhythmic AC or RAC, is an adult contemporary radio format. The format focuses primarily on rhythmic hits aimed towards an adult audience, often resembling a mixture of the classic hits and hot adult ...

after the station had begun carrying

Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...

's ''

Wake Up With Whoopi ''Wake Up with Whoopi'' was a morning radio show that aired on various stations in the United States from July 31, 2006 until March 28, 2008. Whoopi Goldberg was the host of the program. The show was syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks out of Ne ...

'' show.

Modern adult contemporary (2007-2009)

The station became "Radio 94.1" at Noon on September 10, 2007, changed call letters to WNNF and dropped Goldberg's show as the station flipped to

Modern AC Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet s ...

. The first song on "Radio" was "

Possession Possession may refer to: Law * Dependent territory, an area of land over which another country exercises sovereignty, but which does not have the full right of participation in that country's governance * Drug possession, a crime * Ownership * ...

" by

Sarah McLachlan Sarah Ann McLachlan Order of Canada, OC Order of British Columbia, OBC (born January 28, 1968) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. As of 2015, she had sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is ''Surfacing ( ...

. On August 1, 2008, then-owners Clear Channel put WNNF up for sale, along with sister station WOFX, to settle regulatory issues involved with the company's sale to private equity firms. On January 3, 2009,

was chosen as a buyer and swapped five of the company's radio stations in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

to make this transaction complete.

Adult album alternative (2009-2011)

On March 8, 2009, the station began calling itself "Renew 94.1", asking listeners' input on what path the station should take on it
website
Later that month, it relaunched its format as "Frequency 94.1", but with a slight difference than what it was as "Radio". The station had a slight

adult album alternative Adult album alternative (also triple-A, AAA, or adult alternative) is a radio format. See pages 9 and 10Mills, Joshua. "A New Radio Music Format: Rock for Prosperous Adults" New York Times, Feb 28 1994, p. 2. ProQuest. Web. Accessed September 4, 2 ...

(AAA) lean, patterned from Cumulus's recently launched AAA stations in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

and

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 ...

, which later evolved into a full-fledged AAA in late

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, dropping most pop acts and leaving competitor

WKRQ WKRQ (101.9 MHz, "Q102") is a radio station located in the Cincinnati, Ohio area. The station is licensed to Cincinnati and broadcasts from the WKRQ Tower. It airs an adult-leaning Top 40 (CHR) format and is owned by Hubbard Broadcasting. Its ...

as the only hot AC station in Cincinnati. It was one of three commercial AAA stations in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, the others being

WNWV WNWV (107.3 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Elyria, Ohio, carrying an alternative rock format known as "107.3 Alternative Cleveland". Owned by Rubber City Radio Group, Inc., the station serves Greater Cleveland and much of surround ...

in Cleveland and

WLKR-FM WLKR-FM (95.3 MHz) – branded ''95-3 WLKR'' – is a commercial adult album alternative radio station licensed to Norwalk, Ohio, serving the Norwalk/ Sandusky/ Port Clinton area (collectively referred to as Vacationland and/or the Firel ...

in Norwalk. The station's ratings began falling during this time.

Hot adult contemporary (2011-2012)

On May 18, 2011, at noon, after playing "

Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town" is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam. The song is the tenth track on the band's second studio album, '' Vs.'' (1993). Although credited to all members of Pearl Jam, it was primarily wri ...

" by

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guita ...

, WNNF began stunting with a "wheel of formats" that was predominantly

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 ...

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 ...

, all

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

, CHR,

smooth jazz Smooth jazz is a genre of commercially-oriented crossover jazz and easy listening music that became dominant in the mid 1970s to the early 1990s. History Smooth jazz is a commercially oriented, crossover jazz which came to prominence in the 19 ...

urban oldies Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music on ...

and

urban AC Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music on ...

, as well as playing news and history bits from Cincinnati history. The station promoted a new format that would be launched on May 20 at 9:41 AM. At exactly the promised time, the station flipped back to

Hot AC Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet s ...

as "Journey 94-1: 90's, 80's, & Now!" with a heavy emphasis on 1980s and 1990s music. The first song aired on "Journey" was "

Don't Stop Believin' "Don't Stop Believin' is a song by American rock band Journey (band), Journey. It was released in October 1981 as the second single from the group's seventh studio album, ''Escape (Journey album), Escape'' (1981), released through Columbia Reco ...

" by

Journey Journey or journeying may refer to: * Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations ** Day's journey, a measurement of distance ** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road Animals * Journey (horse), a thoroughbred ra ...

. Throughout its run as "Journey", the station's ratings were not satisfactory, usually peaking below a 2 share (#18).

Country (2012-present)

On New Year's Day, 2012, at Noon, without warning, WNNF changed its format to

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

, branded as "Great Country 94.1". The final song on "Journey" was "

I Gotta Feeling "I Gotta Feeling" is a song recorded by American group the Black Eyed Peas for their fifth studio album ''The E.N.D.'' (2009). It was written by the group members with the song's producers David Guetta and Frédéric Riesterer. The song was rel ...

" by

The Black Eyed Peas Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie, who replaced Kim Hil ...

, while the first song on "Great Country" was " This Is Country Music" by

Brad Paisley Bradley Douglas Paisley (born October 28, 1972) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Starting with his 1999 debut album ''Who Needs Pictures'', he has released eleven studio albums and a Christmas compilation on the Arista Nashvil ...

. On February 7, 2014, at 5 p.m., after playing "Friday Night" by

Eric Paslay Eric Thomas Paslay (born January 29, 1983) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He has released one album for EMI Nashville, which contains the hit singles " Friday Night", " Song About a Girl", and " She Don't Love You". In addit ...

, WNNF rebranded as "Nash FM 94.1", following a trend established by other Cumulus-owned country music stations. The first song on "Nash" was "

Radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

" by

Darius Rucker Darius Carlos Rucker (born May 13, 1966) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He first gained fame as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, which he founded in 1986 at the University of South Ca ...

. On October 1, 2019, WNNF rebranded as "94.1 Cat Country" with no other changes to the schedule. The station's playlist also shifted to a model each hour where commercials play in a seven-minute block, with the remaining 53 minutes consisting of uninterrupted music. January 2022 Cat Country 94.1 Added the Kincaid and Dallas Morning Show and switched to a more gold format with the slogan Forever Country. Currently it is programmed by Patrick Scott

Other logos

Image:Wvmx mix941.jpg, Logo used from 1997 until September 2007 during the "Mix" era. Image:Wnnf-fm.jpg, Logo used from September 2007 until March 2009. Image:Journey941.png, Logo used as "Journey 94.1" from May 2011 to January 2012. Image:WNNF.jpg, Logo as Nash FM, January 2014 to October 2019.

References

External links

NASH 94.1
* {{Cumulus Media NNF Country radio stations in the United States Cumulus Media radio stations