WRNQ (92.1 MHz "Q92") 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 ...

licensed to

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeeps ...

and serving the Mid-

Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley (also known as the Hudson River Valley) comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York. The region stretches from the Capital District including Albany and Troy south to ...

of New York state. The station is owned by

iHeartMedia, Inc. 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 ...

and broadcasts an

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 ...

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 ...

, switching to

Christmas music Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject ...

for much of November and December. WRNQ 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 h ...

of 520

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 ...

s, transmitting from the

Illinois Mountain Illinois Mountain is a mountain located south of the Catskill Mountains of New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a sta ...

master tower in Highland, New York to which it moved in 2000. Unlike other Class A stations on that tower, WRNQ's signal is directional to protect first adjacents 92.3

WINS-FM WINS-FM (92.3 MHz) is a radio station licensed to New York, New York and owned by Audacy, Inc. WINS-FM simulcasts an all-news radio format branded as "1010 WINS on 92.3 FM"; with the call sign phonetically pronounced as "wins". The station ...

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 ...

and 92.3

WFLY WFLY (92.3 MHz, "FLY 92.3") is a Top 40/CHR radio station licensed to Troy, New York, and serving the Capital District. The station is owned by Pamal Broadcasting and is considered the company's flagship station. The radio studios and office ...

Troy, New York Troy is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County, New York, Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Huds ...

History

The original

construction permit Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building perm ...

for what became WRNQ was awarded in December 1985, several years after the FCC amended the table of allotments to allow for the 92.1 frequency to become active in Poughkeepsie. Around 1987, the frequency was awarded to

WKIP WKIP (1450 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Poughkeepsie, New York. The station is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts at 1,000 watts from a two-tower array adjacent to its radio studios in the Arlington section of the Town of Pou ...

owner Richard Novik, gained the WLMS ("Lite Music Station") calls and announced that the station would take on a format near-identical to that which hit the air. Due to potential ratings confusion with

WLTW WLTW (106.7 FM) is an adult contemporary radio station licensed to New York City and serving the New York metropolitan area. WLTW is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts from studios in the former AT&T Building in the Tribeca neighborhood o ...

("Lite FM") from

the call letters were replaced with WRNQ in 1989, a decision made by then-General Manager Don Verity. The difficulty obtaining a transmitter site in the market also was a problem and Novik eventually settled on a site in

Lagrangeville, New York LaGrange ( ) is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 15,975 at the 2020 census. The town was named after the estate of the Marquis de Lafayette. History The town was originally established in 1821 as "Freedom" ...

, east of Poughkeepsie, unlike most stations which broadcast on mountain peaks in

Ulster County Ulster County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 181,851. The county seat is Kingston. The county is named after the Irish province of Ulster. History ...

. WRNQ, better known as "Rockin' Easy, Q-92", hit the air on June 30, 1989, and made a splash with former WKIP morning man Van Ritshie anchoring an otherwise satellite-fed format (Unistar's "Format 41)." With no real competition in the format (

WHUD WHUD (100.7 FM) is an adult contemporary music radio station licensed to Peekskill, New York, United States. The station is owned by Pamal Broadcasting and broadcasts at 50,000 watts ERP. Its transmitter facility is located in Philipstown, New ...

was still

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, ...

and WKIP had changed to all-talk programming), Q-92 reached top of the ratings its first year on the air. Eventually, the station added the hugely successful "Love Songs on Q" a locally hosted evening love songs program hosted by Pete Clark (currently at WVKR and

WPDH WPDH (101.5 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Poughkeepsie, New York, and serving the Hudson Valley and Catskills. The station is owned by Townsquare Media and broadcasts a classic rock radio format. Its studios and offices are on P ...

) and later by Rick Buser, formerly of

. In 1996, Novik sold WRNQ, WKIP, and new sister station

WNSX WNSX (97.7 MHz Star 97.7) is a commercial FM radio station broadcasting a classic hits radio format. The station signed on in 1999 as WNSX. Licensed to Winter Harbor, Maine, the station's studios and offices are on Maine State Route 3 (High St ...

("Modern Rock, The X 96.1") to Straus Media (owned by Eric Straus, heir to former owner of

WMCA WMCA may refer to: *WMCA (AM), a radio station operating in New York City * West Midlands Combined Authority, the combined authority of the West Midlands metropolitan county in the United Kingdom *Wikimedia Canada The Wikimedia Foundation, ...

) who in turn replaced the satellite-fed time periods with all-local programming, much of which came from Straus stations in

Ellenville Ellenville is a village within the town of Wawarsing, Ulster County, New York, United States. Its population was 4,135 at the 2010 census. Geography The village of Ellenville is about 90 miles northwest of New York City and 90 miles southwest ...

and Hudson. With this, the station picked up Delilah After Dark evenings. The pickup of Delilah, later picked up by rival WHUD, was allowed via a geographic loophole (WHUD and WRNQ are technically in different markets) which also allowed the two rivals to have the same jingle package for several years. Eric Straus decided to leave radio ownership in 2000 to start two online ventures (Regional Help Wanted and Cupid.com), selling the cluster to

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 ...

. The next year, Van Ritshie retired from radio, and was replaced by Joe Daily (formerly of WBNR) in the morning slot. In 2002, WRNQ began airing Christmas music in the months before Christmas copying a programming move popular in other radio markets. At the end of Christmas music in 2003, the station relaunched under the ''"LiteFM"'' brand of popular sister

in New York City in a move of "branding unity" which also was ironic considering the station's pre-signon change done to minimize confusion with WLTW. Outside of some music refocusing and the addition of a Saturday night dance programming, no major changes were made until October 2011, when WRNQ switched to

Premium Choice The majority of programming syndicated by iHeartMedia is distributed through its subsidiary, Premiere Networks, owned by the company since 1999 and purchased by antecedent Jacor in 1997. However, several music and talk shows originated on iHeartM ...

and

Premiere Networks Premiere Networks (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an American media company, a wholly owned subsidiary of iHeartMedia, for which it currently serves as its main original radio content distribution and production arm. ...

for content outside of Joe Daily in Morning Drive. A variation of WRNQ's format, without the

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, simul ...

and with different

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobil ...

s, had been broadcast on 98.5 WCTW in Catskill, New York. From March 2005 until November 2006, WRNQ's format and programming was "shadowcast" on 99.3 WFKP in

Ellenville, New York Ellenville is a village within the town of Wawarsing, Ulster County, New York, United States. Its population was 4,135 at the 2010 census. Geography The village of Ellenville is about 90 miles northwest of New York City and 90 miles southwest ...

, which aired the same air talent as WRNQ (and carried WRNQ's "Joe Daily in the Morning"). On September 8, 2014, WRNQ returned to its original "Q92" branding.WRNQ Returns to its Q92 Roots
Radioinsight - September 8, 2014

Previous logo

(WRNQ's logo under previous "Lite FM" branding)

References

External links

Q92 website
* {{coord, 41.719, N, 73.996, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title Dutchess County, New York RNQ Radio stations established in 1989 IHeartMedia radio stations