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WSNX-FM (104.5
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 ...
"104-5 SNX") is a Top 40 (CHR)
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 ...
located in
iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...
, Inc.
Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...
headquarters. The station has a Top 40 (CHR) format. The station is licensed to
Muskegon Muskegon ( ') is a city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Muskegon County. Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, pleasure boating, and as a commercial and cruise ship port. It is a popular vacation destination because of the expan ...
, in
Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for an arbitrary region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Most narrowly it refers to the Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, Michigan, Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region a ...
with the station serving the Grand Rapids area, and is one of two Top 40/CHR stations in Grand Rapids along with
WHTS WHTS (105.3 FM), licensed to Coopersville, Michigan, is a Top 40 (CHR) radio station in the Grand Rapids, Michigan market. WHTS is owned and operated by Cumulus Media and transmits with an ERP of 20,000 watts. It is heard as far north as Tustin, ...
. The studios are located at 77 Monroe Center in Downtown Grand Rapids while its
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 near Sherman Blvd and Ensley Rd outside of Muskegon.


History

What is now WSNX began life as
Beautiful Music Beautiful music (sometimes abbreviated as BM, B/EZ or BM/EZ for "beautiful music/easy listening") is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in North American radio from the late 1950s through the 1980s. Easy listening, elevator musi ...
station WQWQ (the "Q" stood for "Quality") in 1971. Goodrich Radio Marketing purchased the frequency in 1984, and quickly changed the beautiful music format to Top 40 and used the moniker "Sunny-FM" on-air. (The WQWQ calls and easy-listening format moved to 101.7 FM and continued there until the station became
WMRR WMRR (101.7 FM, "Rock 101-7") is a radio station broadcasting a classic rock format. Licensed to Muskegon Heights, Michigan, it first began broadcasting under the WKJR call sign. WMRR identifies itself hourly with the slogan ''Broadcasting from ...
.) Goodrich Radio located the studios at 875 East Summit in Norton Shores, just outside Muskegon. The antenna was upgraded to get a city-grade signal into Grand Rapids. Sunny FM on-air personalities in the 1980s included Jim Biggins, J.J. Duling, Diamond Dave, Jo Jo Girard, Mark Frost, Ranger Bob and T.R. McCoy. WSNX moved to Grand Rapids (at 2610 28th Street) in 1996, where it was occupying the same offices of sister stations WODJ and WKWM. It would also drop the "Sunny FM" moniker and simply go by "104.5 WSNX". It was around this time that the CHR-formatted station added an apparent hip-hop or urban feel musically, as well as adding local music. During the late 1980s, WSNX was one of several competing CHR stations in the area, with the dominant
WGRD WGRD-FM (97.9 MHz) is a mainstream rock radio station in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The station is owned by Townsquare Media. It is the flagship station of '' The Free Beer and Hot Wings Show'', a comedy/talk program, on weekday mornings. It consi ...
and WKLQ. By the mid-1990s, WGRD had switched to alternative rock and WKLQ had long since switched to album-oriented rock, and the CHR battle was between WSNX and Federated Media's adult-leaning "Mix 96" (
WAKX WAKX (98.7 FM, "KIX Country 98.7") is a radio station licensed to serve the community of Palm Coast, Florida. The station is owned by Flagler County Broadcasting and the broadcast license is held by Flagler Broadcasting, LLC. WAKX shares radio s ...
). In early 1997, Clear Channel purchased WAKX from Federated Media and flipped it to "Continuous Hit Music I-96" as WVTI. Goodrich aimed WSNX directly at "I-96", competing with them on the air and through promotions. The station identified itself as "Grand Rapids' Hottest Music, 104.5 WSNX" or just SNX in jingle form. WSNX moved again to downtown Grand Rapids after it was purchased by Clear Channel Radio in September 1999, and took the "Continuous Hit Music" moniker and a slightly more mainstream, though still rhythmic-leaning, CHR format, as WAKX was retooled as a Hot AC to compete with
WLHT WLHT-FM (95.7 MHz) is a hot adult contemporary music formatted radio station in Grand Rapids, Michigan owned by Townsquare Media. WLHT's studios are located on Ottawa Avenue Northwest in downtown Grand Rapids, while its transmitter is located i ...
.http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1990s/1999/RR-1999-09-03.pdf In 2006, the station dropped the "Continuous Hit Music" slogan, and the point from "104.5", with the station simply branding itself as "104-5 WSNX", virtually the same time when rival
WHTS WHTS (105.3 FM), licensed to Coopersville, Michigan, is a Top 40 (CHR) radio station in the Grand Rapids, Michigan market. WHTS is owned and operated by Cumulus Media and transmits with an ERP of 20,000 watts. It is heard as far north as Tustin, ...
was launched. In 2011, the station started using the "West Michigan's Party Station" slogan, but this is not used on-air and only used on the station's website. WSNX was the first radio station in both the Grand Rapids and Muskegon markets to broadcast in
HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for an in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. It generally simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD Radio is used ...
, as it does today. Its HD2 subchannel originally carried the
Dance Top 40 Dance radio is a format that consists of current and recent dance and electronic music. While the format is popular in Europe and Asia, it has yet to make an impact in North America, although there are several top 40 and rhythmic radio stations ...
"
Club Phusion Club Phusion was a radio station on Clear Channel HD2's across the country that plays commercial free Dance music 24/7 from 2006 to 2013. History Club Phusion was launched on March 31, 2006, over the subcarrier channel of Top 40 Mainstream KZCH/Wi ...
" format, but switched, in late 2009, to a format known as "The Beat". By 2014, this changed to a 24/7 Black comedy format, and then, during September 2022, all HD2 services were discontinued.


Jingles and imaging

The late '90s saw WSNX use 3 jingle packages from Reelworld.
KDWB KDWB-FM (101.3 MHz) is an American commercial radio station broadcasting in the Twin Cities region of Minnesota, licensed to suburban Richfield. KDWB's radio format is Top 40/CHR. Its transmitter is located in Shoreview, while its studios ar ...
1996, KDWB 1997, and
WZPL WZPL (99.5 FM) is a radio station licensed to Greenfield, Indiana, and serving the Indianapolis metropolitan area. The station airs a Top 40 (CHR) format. WZPL is owned by Cumulus Media. Its studios are located on North Shadeland Avenue on the ...
. In 2001, the station used N2 Kiss, Dallas. This started a long 10-year jingle deal that would see WSNX use every KDWB jingle package N2 Effect released. The deal ended in 2010, and WSNX has not used any jingles since. The station's imaging voices were Brian James until 1999, then Saint John until 2007, and Doctor Dave from 2007–present.


References


Michiguide.com - WSNX-FM History


External links


WSNX official website
* {{IHeartMedia Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States Muskegon, Michigan SNX-FM Radio stations established in 1986 1986 establishments in Michigan IHeartMedia radio stations