WLNZ (89.7 FM) is a

non-commercial A non-commercial (also spelled noncommercial) activity is an activity that does not, in some sense, involve commerce, at least relative to similar activities that do have a commercial objective or emphasis. For example, advertising-free community ...

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

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, making ...

, simulcasting the regional

Michigan Radio Michigan Radio is a radio network, network of five FM broadcasting, FM public radio stations operated by the University of Michigan through its broadcasting arm, Michigan Public Media. The network is a founding member of National Public Radio and ...

network of public radio stations. The station is owned by

Lansing Community College Lansing Community College is a public community college with its main campus in Lansing, Michigan. Founded in 1957, the college's main campus is located on an urban, site in downtown Lansing spanning seven city blocks approximately two block ...

History

Originally WLNZ wanted to be branded as WLNS, however, WLNS had already been taken by

WLNS-TV WLNS-TV (channel 6) is a television station in Lansing, Michigan, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which provides certain services to dual ABC/ CW+ affiliate WLAJ (channel 53) under a shared services agreeme ...

, a local

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

affiliate, so it landed on WLNZ.

Technical

The station began broadcasting in 1994 with 100 watts. Power was increased to 420 watts in 2001. WLNZ began broadcasting in HD in 2006.

Programming

Programming originally consisted mainly of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and

blues music Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

, but it changed formats to adult album alternative typically throughout the daytime hours weekdays, with different programming on the weekend. The station typically played "Triple-A" music, but ventured out to many genres of music, branding itself as the "True Variety Station". The station featured a lot of Michigan music and shows dedicated to Michigan artists throughout the day. These features ranged from the "Local Lunch Hour", where nothing but Michigan music was played, to the "M-89.7" artist spotlight, where one Michigan artist or band is chosen to be "spotlighted" through one whole month. Each morning there was a live local talk show called ''Coffee Break'', which was televised in the Lansing area on

Comcast Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...

local

public-access television Public-access television is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is narrowcast through cable television specialty channels. Public-access television was creat ...

. WLNZ's original jazz format continued on its HD2 subchannel, which was branded as Jazz Now!.

Closure

WLNZ ceased operations March 13, 2020 as a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. It announced June 18, 2020 that it would permanently sign off June 30, however the school's president contradicted this report on June 22.

Partnership with Michigan Radio

WLNZ started simulcasting the programs of

on November 15, 2021. As part of the deal between Lansing Community College and Michigan Radio, the college continues to provide locally produced programming every Saturday at 1 PM, and every Sunday at 6 PM.

References

External links

*
Michiguide.com - WLNZ History
LNZ Radio stations established in 1994 1994 establishments in Michigan News and talk radio stations in the United States Public radio stations in the United States {{Michigan-radio-station-stub