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 ...

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 radi ...

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 ...

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 was compelle ...

, 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 Station ...

'' service. It uses the slogan "Playing What We Want!" The General Manager is Randy Ross. The studios 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. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the ...

is on the west side of Knoxville, off Sands Road.

History

Rock WATO-FM

In February 1967, the station signed on 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 br ...

was originally Oak Ridge, Tennessee. 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, simulta ...

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. In ...

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 e ...

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 assign ...

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 ...

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 mainstream or commerci ...

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 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 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

as "94Z". On March 21, 2019, WNFZ was sold to

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

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, 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