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WNCX (98.5 FM) is a commercial
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 to
Cleveland, Ohio 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. ...
, featuring 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 ...
format known as "98.5 WNCX". Owned by
Audacy, Inc. Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corporation, it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning 235 radio stations across 48 media ...
, WNCX serves Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding
Northeast Ohio The region Northeast Ohio, in the US state of Ohio, in its most expansive usage contains six metropolitan areas ( Cleveland–Elyria, Akron, Canton–Massillon, Youngstown–Warren, Mansfield, and Weirton–Steubenville) along with eight m ...
as a co-
flagship station In broadcasting, a flagship (also known as a flagship station or key station) is the broadcast station which originates a television network, or a particular radio or television program that plays a key role in the branding of and consumer loyalt ...
for the Cleveland Browns Radio Network and the Cleveland affiliate for '' Little Steven's Underground Garage''. The WNCX studios are located at the
Halle Building The Halle Building, formerly known as the Pope Building and after 2014 as The Residences at Halle, is an 11-story Chicago School mixed-use structure located in the Downtown Cleveland central business district in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United Sta ...
in
Downtown Cleveland Downtown Cleveland is the central business district of Cleveland, Ohio. The economic and symbolic center of the city and the Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH Combined Statistical Area, it is Cleveland's oldest district, with its Public Square laid out b ...
, while the station transmitter resides in the Cleveland suburb of North Royalton. Besides a standard analog transmission, WNCX broadcasts over two
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 ...
channels, and is available online via Audacy.


History


Early years

The station first went on the air in 1948 as WERE-FM and was the FM outlet for , where it primarily simulcast the programming of its more popular AM sister station over the next 24 years. Founded by former Cleveland mayor
Ray T. Miller Raymond Thomas Miller, Sr. (January 10, 1893 – July 13, 1966), commonly known as Ray T. Miller, was an American politician who served as the 43rd Mayor of Cleveland, mayor of Cleveland, and the chairman of the Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyaho ...
's Cleveland Broadcasting Incorporated, WERE-FM actually signed on one year prior to its AM counterpart. During the 1950s, WERE, and by extension, WERE-FM, was the first popular
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 ...
station in the market, spearheaded by now-legendary personalities like Bill Randle, "Captain" Carl Reese, Phil McLean, Ronnie Barrett, Howie Lund and Bob Forster. Randle was the most influential of the group, as he was the first major-market disk jockey in the Northeast United States to play
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
and bolstered the careers of a number of up-and-coming musicians, including The Four Lads, Bobby Darin and Fats Domino. Future NBC announcer and voice-over artist Danny Dark also was a host on WERE in the early 1960s. After Ray T. Miller's death in 1966, Cleveland Broadcasting Incorporated was acquired by Atlantic States Industries (ASI) for a combined $9 million in May 1968. Due to ASI already owning five AM stations and one FM station and because of an interim policy/proposed rule by the
Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
(FCC) that prohibited the purchase of an AM and FM station in the same market—the "one-to-a-customer" policy—the FCC ordered the divestiture of WERE-FM, along with
WLEC WLEC (1450 AM) – branded as 1450 AM WLEC – is a commercial oldies/full service radio station licensed to Sandusky, Ohio. Owned by Fremont-based BAS Broadcasting, the station serves the Sandusky/ Norwalk/ Port Clinton market (collectively re ...
and WLEC-FM in Sandusky, to a third party. WLEC and WLEC-FM were divested to RadiOhio that December, and WERE-FM was sold to L. E. Chenault (of
Drake-Chenault Enterprises Drake-Chenault Enterprises (originally American Independent Radio Inc.) was a radio syndication company that specialized in automation on FM radio stations. The company was founded in the late-1960s by radio programmer and deejay Bill Drake (1937 ...
) concurrently; both deals fell through. WLEC AM/FM were ultimately retained by the sellers and spun off to a limited partnership, Lake Erie Broadcasting. KFAC and KFAC-FM in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
were given waivers to the "one-to-a-customer" policy, and the deal was approved by the commission on October 29, 1969, on the condition that WERE-FM would be sold "as soon as practicable."
General Cinema Corporation General Cinema Corporation, also known as General Cinema, GCC, or General Cinema Theatres, was a chain of movie theaters in the United States. At its peak, the company operated about 1,500 screens, some of which were among the first cinemas certif ...
acquired WERE-FM in May 1970 for $525,000, the deal was approved that July; ASI was later granted a tax break by the FCC with the sale.


WGCL G98

WERE-FM's call letters were then changed to WGCL on December 16, 1970, and programming changed from a fully automated format to
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 ...
as "G98". WGCL began as an affiliate of the Drake-Chenault ''Solid Gold'' and ''Hit Parade'' formats, which featured a Top 40/Oldies mix, but eventually went live and local with personalities such as Tim Davisson, David Mark and Mike Dix (formerly of the legendary WIXY 1260). Famed programmer Lee Abrams helmed the station and George Jay was its news director. General Cinema sold WGCL to Olivia-Neuhoff Broadcasting on August 9, 1976, for $2.5 million; the sale came in the wake of years of litigation over a proposed purchase and format change of WEFM in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
, as well as lost revenue and advertisers over a failed format change at WGKA, GCC's former AM station in Atlanta. Olivia-Neuhoff was headed up by George Olivia, Jr. and WERE general manager Paul Neuhoff; they had also acquired WERE from ASI for $3.1 million that April, reuniting both stations. Despite the sale, both stations kept "GCC Communications of Cleveland" as the licensee name until they were sold again in 1986. During the next 14 years, the station would go on to enjoy moderate success in the face of significant competition from crosstown rock juggernaut, WMMS. WGCL enjoyed some of the areas best-known air personalities over time, such as: J. Michael Wilson, Bumper Morgan, Dave Sharp, Eric Cramer & Uncle Vic. Of course, one of G98's most recognized air personalities throughout the 1980s was "Dancin" Danny Wright, who later had a long stretch in afternoon drive at country WGAR-FM. He later hosted a nationally syndicated show, Jones Radio Network's ''Danny Wright All Night''. WGCL's best showing in the Cleveland Arbitron ratings was in 1982 when they briefly overtook WMMS in the top overall position, but after WMMS re-tooled and recaptured first place a short time later, WGCL slowly lost ground.


The North Coast eXpress

WGCL and WERE were sold by George Olivia's GCC Communications to Detroit-based Metropolis Broadcasting on June 18, 1986, for a combined $10 million. After the deal was completed, Metropolis changed WGCL's call letters to WNCX on October 22, 1986 (WNCX was to have stood for "North Coast eXpress", but was downplayed entirely after Metropolis failed to
service mark A service mark or servicemark is a trademark used in the United States and several other countries to identify a service rather than a product. When a service mark is federally registered, the standard registration symbol ® or "Reg U.S. ...
the slogan and WMMS did). The planned new format for the station notably boasted a large on and off-air staff composed mostly of Cleveland radio veterans–eight of whom had directly departed WMMS. This included:
John Gorman John Gorman may refer to: * John Gorman (director) (1884–1936), American movie director *John Gorman (entertainer) (born 1936), English vocalist and musician *John Gorman (politician) (1923–2014), Northern Ireland politician *John Gorman (footb ...
, former WMMS program director, as WNCX operations manager; Denny Sanders, 15-year WMMS veteran, as WNCX program director and afternoon host; Rhonda Kneifer, former WMMS program coordinator, as WNCX music director; Paul Tapie, former WGAR (1220 AM) morning host, in the same capacity; former WHK (1420 AM) program director and air personality Bernie Kimble, as midday host; "Spaceman Scott" Hughes, formerly of WMMS, as evening host; and Nancy Alden, formerly of WKDD (96.5 FM) in Akron, as late night host. Recorded station IDs and imaging were created by acclaimed "Word Jazz" artist Ken Nordine. To signal a sign of the changes to come, after WGCL's CHR format was dropped on October 20, the station stunted by playing
Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...
records non-stop for 72-hours. WNCX's permanent eclectic rock/top 40 mixed format was unveiled afterward; Sanders and Gorman promised "a much different sound than other stations," and that they would "play a wide variety of music, 360 degrees of rock 'n' roll, from old to new to R&B," emphasizing new music, local records and included a Saturday night dance club music show. The station also billed itself as one of the first radio stations in Cleveland to have a complete on-air library made up of compact discs. Due to the last minute inability by Metropolis Broadcasting to buy out his contract (which Gorman and Sanders were promised) and his incompatibility with the new format, Danny Wright was moved to the overnight slot for several weeks as a board-op with no speaking role whatsoever to finish out his contract.


Switch to classic hits

Five months into the station's high-visibility launch, in February 1987, WNCX abruptly switched formats to
classic hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 1980s ...
; employing Mike McVay's consulting firm. While the existing staff remained in place at first, Gorman promptly departed, and later filed a
breach of contract Breach of contract is a legal cause of action and a type of civil wrong, in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party ...
lawsuit against Metropolis. By April, Rhonda Kiefer, Spaceman Scott and Nancy Alden left; followed shortly thereafter by Bernie Kimble, then Denny Sanders at the end of August; Paul Tapie was the only on-air staffer from the previous format that remained. WNCX's relaunch as a classic hits station at first featured a mix of pop-rock classic artists like
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
,
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
and
Cat Stevens Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His musical style consists of folk, pop, rock, and, later in ...
, with little promotion and dramatically reduced expenses under consultant Mike McVay; McVay had prior experience as former program director and general manager at WMJI. Most of the dismissed personalities enjoyed longevity and success in the market elsewhere: John Gorman became WMJI program director in 1991 and again at WMMS in 1994, later establishing internet radio station
oWOW Radio oWOW Radio, stylized and marketed as oWOW! Radio or oWOW! Cleveland, was a commercial internet radio station based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, that primarily served Greater Cleveland and surrounding Northeast Ohio. Independently owned ...
. Sanders joined WMJI in 1988 and succeeded Gorman as program director in 1996; Spaceman Scott went to WRQK in
Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...
as program director, then rejoined WMMS in the early 90s; Nancy Alden went to
WDOK WDOK (102.1 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, known as "Star 102" and featuring an adult contemporary format. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station serves Greater Cleveland and surrounding Northeast Ohio. WDOK's stud ...
later in 1987 and was a fixture at that station for many years; Bernie Kimble joined WNWV as program director; and newscaster Jack Speer is currently a news anchor for NPR in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
Throughout January 1987, Metropolis entered in negotiations to purchase WWDC and
WWDC-FM WWDC (101.1 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station in Maryland, near Washington, D.C. The station is owned by iHeartMedia through licensee iHM Licenses, LLC, and broadcasts an alternative rock radio format. Studios and offices are in Rockville, M ...
in Washington, D.C. for $53 million, but a tentative deal was never fully reached. As it turned out, Metropolis wound up exiting broadcasting completely within the next 18 months; WDTX in Detroit—their sole other station—was sold for $12 million in March 1988, and Metropolis co-owner Harvey Deutch died from cancer the following month. WNCX and WERE were then put on the block, leading most observers to conclude that Metropolis Broadcasting was poorly organized and financed right from the start. Cleveland-based Metroplex Communications, in a joint venture with area jeweler Larry Robinson, purchased both stations in July 1988 for $11.6 million. Metroplex was headed by Norman Wain and Bob Weiss, who once owned
WIXY WIXY (100.3 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station broadcasting a country music radio format. Licensed to Champaign, Illinois, United States, the station serves the Champaign-Urbana area. The station is currently owned by the Illini Radio G ...
and WDOK in the late 1960s; Robinson also had previous station ownership experience—having owned WIXY's successor WBBG, along with WMJI—in the early 1980s.


Evolution to classic rock

Despite having little promotion and advertising, in sharp contrast to the prior eclectic top 40/rock format, the classic hits format proved to be a ratings success with Cleveland audiences, eventually re-positioning itself with a harder-edged
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 ...
format centered on local personalities, several of which have had or continue to have lengthy tenures with the station. Cleveland native Walt Garrett joined the station in June 1987; under the name "Mr. Classic", Garrett hosted the ''Saturday Night Live House Party'' for 31 years (two of those years with Ron Sweed as co-host under his "The Ghoul" persona) until leaving in August 2018. Bill Louis, also a Cleveland native, took over as midday host on September 25, 1987, a time slot he hosted until he retired on December 31, 2021; Louis was promoted to program director in December 1996. Perhaps the station's best-known local personality, area rock musician Michael Stanley joined WNCX on September 17, 1990, to host an early-evening program entitled ''In the Heartland''. The success of that one-hour show eventually led to Stanley taking over the afternoon shift outright in May 1992, which he continued to host for nearly 29 years until his death on March 5, 2021. Paul Tapie continued on in morning drive, later paired with market veteran Bill Stallings as co-host, then with
Mike Trivisonno Mike Trivisonno (September 20, 1947 – October 28, 2021) was an American radio broadcaster, known for hosting his own self-titled afternoon talk show on Cleveland radio station WTAM AM 1100. He was widely referred to simply as "Triv" by callers a ...
as sportscaster. While a novice to broadcasting, Trivisonno had garnered notoriety in the market as "Mr. Know-It-All," a regular caller to Pete Franklin's ''Sportsline'' on WWWE (1100 AM) throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. Tapie left the station in April 1989; after WNCX posted several full-page ads advertising their morning-drive job opening, the position was filled with ''Those Guys in the Morning'':
Rick Rydell Rick may refer to: People *Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name *Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality *Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...
and Todd Brandt, with Trivisonno continuing as sportscaster. Hired by then-PD Paul Ingles (at the suggestion of consultant Andy Bloom) from
KMJK KMJK (107.3 FM) is an urban contemporary radio station serving the Kansas City metropolitan area. Licensed to North Kansas City, Missouri, the Cumulus Media, Inc. outlet operates at 107.3 MHz with an ERP of 100 kW from a transmitter ...
in Portland, Oregon, ''Those Guys'' had only marginal success in Cleveland and were regularly criticized by the local paper, often speculating on their departure date from WNCX; Ingles himself was relieved of his program director duties and replaced by Doug Podell. The station's next attempt at a morning show—''Mad Dogs and Englishmen''—launched on September 17, 1991, co-hosted by former
Humble Pie Humble Pie are an English rock band formed by guitarist and singer Steve Marriott in Moreton, Essex, in 1969. They are known as one of the first supergroups of the late 1960s and found success in the early 1970s with songs such as " Black Cof ...
drummer
Jerry Shirley Jerry Shirley (born 4 February 1952) is an English rock drummer, best known as a member of the band Humble Pie, appearing on all their albums. He is also known for his work with Fastway, Joey Molland from Badfinger, Alexis Korner, Billy Nicholl ...
, who had signed on as WNCX's evening host in December 1989. Shirley was joined by Paul Ingles and holdover Mike Trivisonno; Ingles soon left, and was replaced on the show by Skip Herman, while Paul Tapie returned as a sidekick within a few months of its debut. In addition to his new role headlining the morning show, Shirley also hosted a one-hour evening program titled ''The British Invasion''.


''The Howard Stern Show''

Following several months of rumors and competition from WENZ for the rights to the program, WNCX signed a deal in August 1992 to carry '' The Howard Stern Show'', based at WXRK in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, beginning that August 31; Skip Herman and Mike Trivisonno were dismissed and Jerry Shirley was reassigned to the overnight shift. Then-program director Doug Podell had worked with Howard Stern in the early 1980s at rock station WWWW in
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
prior to its switch to a
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 ...
format (an event depicted in Stern's autobiographical film '' Private Parts''). Andy Bloom, the same programming consultant who convinced Paul Ingles to hire ''Those Guys in the Morning'', was brought back to consult on the Stern start-up, as he had been the program director at WYSP in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
and KLSX in
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when both picked up Stern's show; Bloom would do the same for future affiliates as well. WNCX in Cleveland was just the sixth station (and the fifth affiliate after Stern's flagship WXRK) out of more than 60 nationally to carry ''The Howard Stern Show''. Among the most notorious Howard Stern programs/broadcasts occurred in Cleveland on June 10, 1994. Having taken his radio show from
Arbitron Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by mergin ...
ranked #13 to #1 among all radio listeners in less than two years, Stern promised to have a street party and to broadcast a "funeral" for his competition live from the streets of Cleveland. During this now infamous broadcast, an engineer from WMMS snipped a broadcast wire that was used to feed the
satellite uplink Satellite link is – according to ''article 1.113'' of the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) ITU Radio Regulations (RR)ITU Radio Regulations, Section IV. Radio Stations and Systems – Article 1.113, definition: ''satellite link'' ...
for the program, the engineer was subsequently caught, arrested and prosecuted. Stern continued on with the program over a phone line as engineers quickly patched the broadcast wire back together: WNCX enjoyed a great deal of success with the Stern show for the next 13 years. In October 2004, Stern announced that he would be leave terrestrial radio and move his radio program to Sirius Satellite Radio, a subscription radio service where he could avoid the content restrictions being forced on to him by the FCC. His final live broadcast aired on WNCX on December 16, 2005; program director Bill Louis reflected on the show's run, days after Stern's final broadcast: "It's difficult to imagine the mornings without him... what ternbrought was a very specialized and special form of entertainment that no one is ever going to duplicate."


Corporate radio

Metroplex Communications merged into
San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...
-based
Clear Channel Communications 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 ...
in a combined $54 million deal announced in October 1993, this included WNCX and WERE; Clear Channel would then take control of WENZ's sales operations in March 1994 via a
joint sales agreement In North American broadcasting, a local marketing agreement (LMA), or local management agreement, is a contract in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another party. In essence, it is a sort of lease or time ...
, eventually buying the station outright in 1996. Following passage of the
Telecom Act of 1996 The Telecommunications Act of 1996 is a United States federal law enacted by the 104th United States Congress on January 3, 1996, and signed into law on February 8, 1996, by President Bill Clinton. It primarily amended Chapter 5 of Title 47 of t ...
, Clear Channel announced a $4.4 billion merger with
Jacor Jacor Communications was a media corporation, existing between 1987 and 1999, which owned many radio stations in the United States. In 1998, Jacor was purchased by Clear Channel Communications, now iHeartMedia, for $2.8 billion. Jacor Communicat ...
in 1998; to comply with federal ownership guidelines, Clear Channel sold off WNCX to Infinity Broadcasting, while WERE and WENZ were sold to Radio One. In the wake of Stern's departure,
CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadc ...
(the renamed Infinity Broadcasting) launched a hot talk format titled
Free FM Free FM was a short-lived, mostly-talk-radio format and brand name for eleven FM CBS Radio stations in the United States, and was created because of Howard Stern's departure to Sirius Satellite Radio in January 2006. Free FM was given its name ...
; while WNCX did not adopt this brand or format, it did sign up for one of the regionally syndicated morning shows CBS offered under the banner: '' The David Lee Roth Show'', hosted by musician
David Lee Roth David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Best known for his wild, energetic stage persona, he was the original lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen across three stints, from 1974 to 1985, in 1996 and again fro ...
, which premiered on January 3, 2006. Due to very low ratings nationally and critical drubbings in the press, Roth's show was canceled on April 21; WNCX opted for a rotation of local hosts in the timeslot before hiring Mud (Wynn Richards), Kim Mihalik and newscaster Mike Olszewski in July 2006. Mud left the station in July 2008 and was replaced by Scott Miller; Kim Mihalik was dropped from the show that October; and Olszewski was replaced by local stand-up comedian Jeff Blanchard in April 2009. On October 27, 2010, WNCX announced the hiring of Maxwell (Ben Bornstein)—formerly of WMMS—as host of '' The Maxwell Show'', replacing both Scott Miller and Jeff Blanchard, along with producer Dave Jockers; Jockers had been the local producer for ''The Howard Stern Show'' and all subsequent morning shows, in addition to having been the station's assistant program director and music director from 1996 onward. Regarding their dismissal, program director Bill Louis commented, "sadly, this a bottom-line business." ''The Maxwell Show'' was cancelled on August 25, 2011; local media speculated that, in addition to "flagging ratings," the show was cancelled to make room for "a new, high-profile, multi-person morning show" at sister station
WKRK-FM WKRK-FM (92.3 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland Heights, Ohio, known as "Sports Radio 92.3 The Fan" and carrying a sports format. Owned by Audacy, Inc., WKRK-FM serves Greater Cleveland and surrounding Northeast Ohi ...
(92.3 FM) as that station transitioned to a
sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...
format. Local personality Slats (Tim Guinane), previously heard on WMMS and WXTM (WKRK-FM's predecessor), took over as morning host that November 7, where he remains to this day. * On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with Entercom. The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and was consummated on November 17.


Current programming

WNCX personalities Slats (Tim Guinane) Don "Nard" Nardella, Paula Balish and Joe Czekaj host the morning, midday, afternoon and evening shifts, respectively. Weekend programming includes: ''The Beatle Years'', hosted by Bob Malik (via Westwood One); ''The All Request Saturday Night''; ''Time Warp'', hosted by Bill St. James (via United Stations Radio Networks); and '' Little Steven's Underground Garage,'' hosted by Steven Van Zandt (also via United Stations Radio Networks). * *http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/104791/usrn-pulls-into-little-steve-s-underground-garage?ref=search The HD2
digital subchannel In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compress ...
also broadcasts a classic rock format under the brand "The Album Pod". George Lowe, perhaps best known as the voice of Space Ghost from ''
Space Ghost Coast to Coast ''Space Ghost Coast to Coast'' is an American adult animation, adult animated comedy talk show created by Mike Lazzo for Cartoon Network and hosted by a re-imagined version of the 1960s Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Space Ghost. In contrast t ...
'', provides station imaging for WNCX. As of May 1, 2013, WNCX is a co-flagship station for the Cleveland Browns Radio Network, sharing coverage with
sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...
WKRK-FM WKRK-FM (92.3 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland Heights, Ohio, known as "Sports Radio 92.3 The Fan" and carrying a sports format. Owned by Audacy, Inc., WKRK-FM serves Greater Cleveland and surrounding Northeast Ohi ...
, as well as AM
sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...
station WKNR.


References


Further reading

* * *


External links

*
Cleveland Broadcast Radio Archives: WNCX timeline
{{Entercom 1948 establishments in Ohio Classic rock radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1948 NCX Audacy, Inc. radio stations