WFNZ
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| WFNZ | |
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| City of license | Charlotte, North Carolina |
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| Broadcast area | Charlotte/Metrolina |
| Branding | 610 AM |
| Frequency | 610 |
| First air date | 1941 (as WAYS) |
| Format | Sports Talk |
| Callsign meaning | "The Franchise" |
| Owner | CBS Radio |
| Website | http://www.wfnz.com/ |
WFNZ (610 AM) is a Sports Talk radio station in Charlotte, North Carolina. It also operates a semi-satellite, WFNA, at 1660 kHz.
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[edit] History
WFNZ signed on in 1941 as WAYS (AM). For much of the 1960s through early 1980s, it was Charlotte's top-rated Top 40 station under the moniker "61 Big Ways." The morning show was aired on both WAYS and sister FM WROQ, and among the WROQ/WAYS DJs to become major celebrities were Robert Murphy, later the WKQX Chicago morning host, and actor Jay Thomas. Larry Sprinkle, a WCNC-TV morning weather personality, also worked at the stations[1]. In 1984, it became WROQ (AM) and simulcast its then-FM sister station (now WNKS). [2] In 1986, it changed its calls to WAES (a phonetic version of the old calls) with an oldies format, briefly bringing back its old "61 Big Ways" moniker[3]. However, it failed to make much headway in the ratings. With the debut of Magic 96.1, something else had to be done. After 18 months of the Oldies Channel satellite format, WAES began airing the "AM Only" adult standards satellite format (even older oldies, in other words) during the day, and talk show hosts Bruce Williams, Neil Myers and Larry King at night[4]. It brought back the WROQ calls in 1990, playing an album rock format similar to the one its FM sister used in its glory days[5]. In 1991, it became WGKL, simulcasting its FM sister's oldies format[6] . Later in 1991, it became WAQS (another phonetic play on its old calls) while keeping the oldies format.
Finally, in September 1992, it became Charlotte's first ever all-sports station as "Sports 610 AM WAQS." Gerry Vaillancourt, formerly of WCNT, debuted the station's first local sports talk program on September 14[7]. Another local host was Mickey Conley, who now goes by her real name Michelle Tafoya[8].The format took a while to take hold, but it got an assist when it was sold to the owners of popular rock station WRFX and became known as WRFX-AM (Fox 610 Sports). When WRFX was bought by Clear Channel, AM 610 was sold to American Radio Systems and renamed WFNZ in 1995. The ARS deal reunited it with its former longtime FM sister.
On April 1, 1996, Vaillancourt moved to WBT. One reason was that at WFNZ, he would have had to give up his role in Charlotte Hornets broadcasts[9].
WFNA went on the air in 2003, after the FCC expanded the AM radio band. It replaced CBS-owned gospel station WGIV (1600 AM), which left the air. (The WGIV call letters are now on a different station in the Charlotte area, under different ownership.)
The two stations simulcast for part of the broadcast day and have separate schedules for part of the day.
WFNZ operates the second-strongest signal in the Charlotte area, at 5,000 watts. During the day, it provides at least grade B coverage to 35 counties in North and South Carolina. However, it doesn't travel as far as 5,000-watt stations in other states due to the region's poor ground conductivity. At night, it must power down to 1,000 watts, making it hard to hear even in some parts of Mecklenburg County and all but unlistenable in the South Carolina portion of the market.
WFNZ runs a tailgate prior to Carolina Panthers home games at the station's "Doghouse" located near Bank of America Stadium.
[edit] Personalities
- Gary Williams: Co-host of "The Morning Sports Page"
- Jim Celania: Co-host of "The Morning Sports Page"
- Mark Yarbro: Producer of "The Morning Sports Page"
- Tom Reilly: Producer of "The Morning Sports Page"
- Chuck Howard: Host of "The Power Hour", former Sports Director at WCNC-TV
- Chris McClain: Host of "The Mac Attack"
- T-Bone: Producer of "The Mac Attack"
- JR Gump: Producer of "The Mac Attack"
- Mark Packer: Host of "Primetime with the Packman"
- QCB: Producer of "Primetime with the Packman"
- The Hitman: Producer of "Primetime with the Packman"
[edit] Past Personalities
- Sandy Penner
- Bill Rosinski
- The B.O.C. with Shawn and Tony
- Tom Carey
[edit] The Mac Attack
The "Mac Attack" is the station's mid day show. The "Mac Attack" is hosted by Chris McClain, (who is a girly man who watches dancing with the stars, sings Barry Manilow songs, and watches football in bed with his mom), and the show's wacky producers JR Gump, pot head and raving liberal, and T-Bone, still hasn't been laid, also contribute to the show. JR Gump frequently interrupts with his stuttering pro Hilary Clinton political views and T-Bone frequently drops callers who are Tar Heel fans and make better points than he does. Frequent guests to the "Mac Attack" include TNT's Nascar pit reporter Marty Snider, Mike Florio from ProFootballTalk.com, Brentson Buckner, sports genius Chapel Hill Clarence, grandfather Doug from Lawndale, and loud mouth True Blue. At the end of the show, McClain and T-bone drop in late hits where they update the audience on that day's weird sports and entertainment news. Gump used to have a late hit as well but it was dropped because the listeners to the "Mac Attack" voted that they eliminate Gump's late hit. The trio made their television broadcast debut on WCCB in the spring of 2008.
[edit] QCB
The QCB has two comic relief segments on Primetime with the Packman. In his first segment, QCB picks games against the spread against a caller to the show. QCB is labeled as the "kiss of death" because of his bad luck in picking games. QCB then rants on a variety on sports and entertainment subjects for the rest of his two segments. In addition to his contributions to the "Primetime with the Packman" show, QCB has a daily video blog called "QCB Unleashed" on his WFNZ web page. QCB is an accomplished comedian and has performed at the Laugh Factory in New York City.
[edit] References
- ^ Jeff Borden, "Disc Jockeys to Reunite Here," The Charlotte Observer, October 7, 1988.
- ^ http://thatwasradio.com/ways.html, Retrieved on 2008/05/07.
- ^ WROQ Changes WAYS - It's WAES Now," The Charlotte Observer, June 27, 1986.
- ^ Jeff Borden, "Station Turns to Larry King, Oldies," The Charlotte Observer, June 18, 1988.
- ^ Tim Funk, "WROQ Monkeys with Its Format," The Charlotte Observer, January 20, 1990.
- ^ Tim Funk, "WPEG Pumps Up Its Power, The Charlotte Observer, February 15, 1991.
- ^ David Poole, "AM Station to Go All-Sports," The Charlotte Observer, August 26, 1992.
- ^ David Poole, "Charlotte Was Launching Pad for 2 Rising Stars," The Charlotte Observer June 7, 1995.
- ^ David Poole, "Gerry Vaillancourt," The Charlotte Observer, March 8, 1996.
[edit] External links
- WFNZ official website
- QCB's official page on WFNZ's website
- The Mac Attack visits WCCB
- History of the station
- Query the FCC's AM station database for WFNZ
- Radio Locator Information on WFNZ
- Query Arbitron's AM station database for WFNZ
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