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WNRN-FM

WNRN-FM
Broadcast areaCentral Virginia
Frequency91.9 MHz
BrandingWNRN
Programming
FormatAdult album alternative
Ownership
OwnerStu-Comm, Inc.
WHAN, WNRN, WNRS-FM, WRJR
History
First air date
September 1996; 28 years ago (1996-09)
Former call signs
  • WANJ (1995–1996)
  • WNRN (1996–2024)
[1]
Call sign meaning
"New Rock Now"
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID8710
ClassA
ERP320 watts
HAAT325 meters (1,066 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
37°58′55.5″N 78°29′2″W / 37.982083°N 78.48389°W / 37.982083; -78.48389
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websitewww.wnrn.org

WNRN-FM (91.9 FM) is a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station licensed to Charlottesville, Virginia, serving Central and Western Virginia.[3] The station has a board of directors consisting of local community members and is incorporated as the non-profit Stu-Comm, Inc.[4]

WNRN-FM has an adult album alternative (AAA) radio format. It is the only member of National Public Radio based in Charlottesville, and carries NPR's daily music program World Cafe, as well as locally produced specialty music shows on weekends.

WNRN-FM has a network of rebroadcasters and FM translators around Virginia, covering the Shenandoah Valley from Roanoke to Harrisonburg as well as Richmond, Williamsburg and Hampton Roads. It holds periodic fundraisers on the air to support the station and network. The main station has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 320 watts, with its transmitter at the Carter's Mountain antenna farm in Charlottesville.[5]

History

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Early years

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In 1993, Mike Friend, a former operations manager at WTJU (owned and operated by the University of Virginia), incorporated Stu-Comm, Inc. "with the purpose of building a non-commercial FM radio station for the Charlottesville-Albemarle area."[6] WNRN-FM took the call sign WANJ during the construction process.[7] WNRN-FM was originally registered as an "educational nonprofit".[6] It signed on the air as WNRN in September 1996; 28 years ago (1996-09).[8]

In 2006, the station gained a direct commercial competitor in pop-oriented AAA station WCNR (106.1 FM), branded as "106.1 The Corner". Founder and then-general manager Mike Friend banned the word "corner" from his airwaves for a time after WCNR signed on.[9]

Expansion

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In 2000, WNRN began expanding its service area outside of Charlottesville: first by renting airtime on WUDZ (now WNRS-FM), then the Sweet Briar College student radio station, followed by several purchases of translator stations in Lexington, Richmond, Harrisonburg and Lovingston in 2006 and 2007. Stu-Comm, Inc. purchased WNRS-FM outright in 2010, increasing its height and power in order to reach Lynchburg.[10] Although the main signal from Carters Mountain nominally has good coverage in the lower elevations to the east, including Richmond, interference from co-channel WGTS in Washington, D.C. cuts down on reception in those areas.[11]

Stu-Comm, Inc. took additional steps to improve its terrestrial signals in 2016, starting with the acquisition of WFTH (1590 AM) in Richmond, which enabled it to purchase and move in an additional FM translator under the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) "AM revitalization" program.[12] This new translator, W203CB on 88.5 FM from Midlothian, became WNRN's primary Richmond-area signal on February 2, 2018. W203CB replaced W276BZ (103.1 FM), which prompted listener complaints as it broadcast at only 10 watts and had difficulty covering the city.[13][14][15]

Hanover County-based WHAN (1430 AM), with a transmitter and FM translator (W275BQ, 102.9 FM) located in Ashland and covering the northern suburbs of Richmond, filed an agreement donating its license and facilities to Stu-Comm, Inc. on July 31, 2020; this gave WNRN a third and fourth signal covering the city. The action came concurrently with the FCC repeal of a longstanding rule prohibiting co-owned AM stations with substantial signal overlap from simulcasting each other.[16][17] WHAN came under Stu-Comm, Inc.'s control on October 14.[18]

In 2022, Stu-Comm entered the Hampton Roads market with the purchase of WRJR (670 AM), which is licensed to Claremont in Surry County but has a signal powerful enough to cover the entire region during the day. WRJR's companion FM translator W273DZ (102.5 FM) is located in Hampton and at least marginally covers Williamsburg, Newport News, Norfolk, and Virginia Beach. WNRN programming commenced on June 3.[19][20]

Stu-Comm purchased Staunton's WTON-FM (94.3 FM) and WTON (1240 AM) on September 25, 2023; the FM signal replaced the translators covering Staunton–Waynesboro and Harrisonburg and allows for full coverage of the lower Shenandoah Valley for the first time. The sale closed on December 4.[21][22] The two translators were sold along with WTON the following April.[23]

The station changed its call sign to WNRN-FM on January 2, 2024, with the WNRN call sign simultaneously moving to WFTH.

In the summer of 2024, Stu-Comm expanded WNRN's service area to Roanoke by purchasing WGMN (1240 AM) and its companion FM translator W258DN (99.5 FM). Programming began over the two stations on July 1.[24]

Programming

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WNRN is the only member of National Public Radio based in Charlottesville, though it is a member strictly to carry its music programs; full NPR news and talk service is provided to the city by repeaters of Roanoke-based WVTF and Harrisonburg-based WMRA. World Cafe airs at 6 p.m. on weekdays, and All Songs Considered and Alt.Latino air on Sunday mornings. Locally produced specialty shows heard on weekends include Bluegrass Sunday Morning, Fresh Roots, New Blues, Les Temps Perdu and Grateful Dead and Phriends. Outside of these shows, the station plays continuous adult album alternative music with live airstaff on duty from 6 a.m. to midnight daily.[25]

Personnel

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The station made local headlines when Mike Friend was unexpectedly fired as manager by the board of directors in April 2011, although he was kept on as the station engineer.[6] Friend left WNRN altogether in 2013 and founded Blue Ridge Free Media, the licensee of WXRK-LP (92.3 FM).[26] The station's assistant general manager, Anne Williams, became acting general manager.[6] Mark Keefe replaced Dave Benson as general manager and program director May 31, 2014.[27]

As of June 2020, Ian Solla-Yates served as development director[28] and Lauren Velardi as membership director. Desiré Moses was managing producer, host, and music writer.[29] Bob Mosolgo was Morning Host. Amber Hoback is music director.

Longtime "Acoustic Sunrise" host Anne Williams worked her last on-air shift on February 15, 2019, after a two-decade run as a cornerstone of the station's schedule. Williams took a management position at Knoxville Americana station WDVX.[30]

Repeaters

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WNRN 91.9 radio face logo from May 2009.

WNRN-FM's programming is aired full-time on five additional full-powered stations:

Call sign Frequency City of license Facility ID Power
W 		ERP
W 		Height
m (ft) 		Class FCC info
WGMN 1240 AM Roanoke, Virginia 37746 1,000 unlimited C FCC (WGMN)
WHAN 1430 AM Ashland, Virginia 8438 1,000 day
31 night		 D FCC (WHAN)
WNRN 1590 AM Richmond, Virginia 67683 5,000 day
19 night		 D FCC (WNRN)
WNRS-FM 89.9 FM Sweet Briar, Virginia 74157 1,100 169 m (554 ft) A FCC (WNRS-FM)
WRJR 670 AM Claremont, Virginia 68741 12,000 day
3 night		 D FCC (WRJR)
WTON-FM 94.3 FM Staunton, Virginia 50078 340 680 m (2,230 ft) B1 FCC (WTON-FM)

The seven low-powered translators are:

Call sign Frequency City of license FID ERP (W) Class FCC info Notes
W203CB 88.5 FM Richmond, Virginia 54972 170 D LMS Relays WNRN
W234BA 94.7 FM Lovingston, Virginia 157863 10 D LMS Relays WNRN-FM
W237DF 95.3 FM Lexington, Virginia 147184 10 D LMS Relays WTON-FM
W258DN 99.5 FM Roanoke, Virginia 202973 250 D LMS Relays WGMN
W273DZ 102.5 FM Norfolk, Virginia 201653 250 D LMS Relays WRJR
W275BQ 102.9 FM Ashland, Virginia 155027 250 D LMS Relays WHAN
W277EB 103.3 FM Williamsburg, Virginia 158513 250 D LMS Relays WRJR

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Call Sign History".
  2. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WNRN-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ^ "WNRN Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  4. ^ "Ownership Report". RECnet.
  5. ^ Radio-Locator.com/WNRN-FM
  6. ^ a b c d Cedermark, Andrew (13 July 2011). "Defriended: Is station founder Mike Friend out at WNRN? - C-VILLE Weekly". C-VILLE Weekly.
  7. ^ Provence, Lisa (September 26, 2002). "Friend or foe: Mike's still a radio wonder". The Hook.
  8. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 2000 page D-466, Broadcasting & Cable
  9. ^ Barnes, Lindsay (August 23, 2007). "Savage's beast: How 'The Corner' took a bite of local radio". The Hook. No. 634.
  10. ^ "WNRS-FM Facility Data". FCCData.
  11. ^ Curran, Colleen (February 27, 2018). "WNRN can now be heard on 88.5 FM in Richmond". The Daily Progress.
  12. ^ Venta, Lance (3 June 2016). "Station Sales Week Of 6/3: Multicultural Swaps Trust Assets In Los Angeles". RadioInsight. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  13. ^ "Boosting Our Richmond Signal!". WNRN.
  14. ^ "W203CB Facility Data". FCCData.
  15. ^ "W276BZ Facility Data". FCCData.
  16. ^ "Station Donation Agreement".
  17. ^ "FCC Report & Order Eliminates Radio Duplication Rule". Radio-Online. 6 August 2020.
  18. ^ "Deal Digest: EMF Buys 'Wink FM' In Suburban Washington". Insideradio.com. 15 October 2020.
  19. ^ Venta, Lance (24 June 2022). "Station Sales Week Of 6/24". RadioInsight.
  20. ^ "Assignment of Authorization". FCC LMS. 17 June 2022.
  21. ^ Venta, Lance (6 October 2023). "Station Sales Week Of 10/6". RadioInsight.
  22. ^ "Assignment (FCC LMS File No. 221648)".
  23. ^ Hite, Patrick (12 April 2024). "WTON sold: New owner plans to return local programming to Staunton radio station". Staunton News Leader.
  24. ^ Venta, Lance (17 June 2024). "WNRN Coming To Roanoke". RadioInsight.
  25. ^ "Music Schedule".
  26. ^ "New Alt/Active Rock Station Debuts In Charlottesville, VA". All Access.
  27. ^ "Mark Keefe Named New GM/PD at WNRN". All Access. Retrieved 2019-11-05.
  28. ^ Mosolgo, Bob. "Annual Reports". WNRN. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  29. ^ "A Virginia Music History Lesson With WNRN's Desiré Moses". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  30. ^ "On down the road: WNRN's longtime morning show host Anne Williams departs". C-VILLE Weekly. 13 February 2019.
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