WNNX

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This article is about the current WNNX (Rock 100.5). For the former WNNX (99X), see 99X (Atlanta).
WNNX
City of license College Park, Georgia
Broadcast area Atlanta metropolitan area
Branding Rock 100.5
Slogan "Atlanta's Classic Rock"
Frequency 100.5 MHz (also on HD Radio)
First air date 1947 (as WHMA-FM in Anniston, AL)
January 12, 2001 (as WWWQ)
Format Classic rock
ERP 12,500 watts
HAAT 298 meters (978 ft)
Class C2
Facility ID 73345
Callsign meaning Ninety-Nine X (previous moniker on 99.7 FM)
Former callsigns Anniston, AL:
WHMA-FM (1947-2001)
College Park, GA:
WWWQ (2001-2008)
Owner Cumulus Media Inc.
(Radio License Holding SRC LLC)
Sister stations WWWQ, WKHX, WYAY, W255CJ, W250BC, WCNN (Managed by Cumulus)
Webcast Listen Live
Website atlantasclassicrock.com

WNNX (100.5 FM, "Rock 100.5") is an Atlanta radio station airing a classic rock format. It is owned and operated by Cumulus Media. The station broadcasts from the same building as its other Cumulus Atlanta sister stations WWWQ ("Q100"), W255CJ-FM 98.9 "98.9 The Walk", W250BC-FM 97.9 "Q100 20 @ 97-9", WKHX-FM 101.5 "Kicks 101-5", WYAY FM 106.7 "News 106.7", and Dickey Broadcasting's WCNN-AM and W229AG-FM "680 The Fan" in Sandy Springs near the Georgia Highway 400 and Interstate 285 interchange. WNNX's main transmitter is located in downtown Atlanta atop the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel, the skyscraper well known for its reflective glass cylinder shape.

History[edit]

The 100.5 frequency has been in metro Atlanta, licensed to College Park, since early 2001. Before then, the station was licensed to Anniston, Alabama as WHMA-FM, broadcasting as country music station "Alabama 100". (After the move, that callsign shifted to another existing station in that area becoming WHMA-FM "The Big 95", 95.5 MHz)

Interested in moving the station to Atlanta, owner Robert Gammon proposed that it be re-licensed to Sandy Springs, and remain at 100,000 watts ERP (class C). An agreement had already been made with the nearest co-channel station, WSSL-FM in upstate South Carolina for it to move further away, however that station was sold to Clear Channel Communications in the interim and the agreement was negated. Additionally, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ruled that Sandy Springs was "not a community", citing its unincorporated status and letters of support from local organizations in Sandy Springs that had "Atlanta" as the address, as it laid out in unincorporated Fulton County at the time until Sandy Springs became an incorporated city in 2006.

After exhausting his funds in pursuit of the reallocation, Gammon sold the station to Susquehanna Radio.[1] In a revised application before the FCC, Susquehanna proposed a different city of license, College Park. The FCC approved the application, mostly because the new application changed the class of the station from C (up to 100 kW at 600 meters or 1968 feet) down to C3 (up to 25 kW at 100 meters or 328 feet) to protect the licensed broadcast range of WSSL. Susquehanna was also forced to slightly null the station's signal in the direction of WSSL to stay in compliance with spacing rules. The move created spectrum space for two new radio stations in Alabama, but forced Southern Polytechnic State University low-power station WGHR and Georgia Public Broadcasting repeater W264AE (both 100.7 MHz FM) off the air in the Atlanta area. (Ironically, the 99x brand would later itself be moved to such a low-power repeater station.)

W250BC FM 97.9 is a broadcast translator licensed to Riverdale, although its original 6 watts reached only Morrow, Lake City, most of Jonesboro, and part of Forest Park, skimming only the eastern edge of Riverdale. In early February 2009 it was issued a construction permit to move to the "Richland" site in North Druid Hills and go up to 250 watts (but still not reach Riverdale within its official service contour). In November 2007, the FCC approved the sale of the station by Clark Atlanta University (WCLK FM 90.1) to Extreme Media Group LLC of Woodstock, Virginia. It was then transferred via asset exchange to Cumulus Licensing LLC in mid-February 2009, in return for WZBN FM 105.5 in Camilla, Georgia. In January 2009 it requested special temporary authority (STA) to remain "silent" (off-air) for 60 days due to technical issues. On April 17, the translator station began to rebroadcast the signal of 99X on 97.9 MHz using common analog FM. Recent FCC regulatory decisions permit such use of a broadcast translator to rebroadcast in standard analog FM the content of a digital-only HD Radio subchannel of another radio station. Some consider such an arrangement to be a loophole in the intent of the FCC regulations, as the regulations were, they argue, designed to require broadcast translators to be used to fill in for reception gaps inside an existing station's licensed coverage area, not to make channels previously accessible only with less common HD Radio receivers now also available to those with standard, analog-only FM radios.

Q100[edit]

Main article: WWWQ

100.5's first format in Atlanta was top-40 station WWWQ ("Q100"), which made its debut on January 12, 2001. Despite its more limited signal, Q100 grew to the point that it often received higher Arbitron listenership ratings than several of its 100,000-watt competitors, including sister station 99X.

Susquehanna continued to pursue a larger signal for the station, eventually earning approval from the FCC to upgrade from class C3 to class C2. The upgrade occurred on October 24, 2005 at 5:00 PM, and is also when the station moved from the Turner tower to the Westin building.

In 2006, Cumulus acquired Susquehanna, including both 99X and Q100.

Rock 100.5[edit]

On January 11, 2008, Cumulus announced that Q100 would move to the 100,000-watt signal at 99.7 MHz. The transition began on January 21, when The Bert Show was simulcasted on both stations (as 99X's morning show was permanently cancelled the week before). 99X would sign off of 99.7 FM/HD1 and move to 99.7-HD2 at 5:30 AM on January 25. On the same day, after simulcasting until 6 AM, 100.5 began stunting, first with singer Beyoncé Knowles singing "To the Left" (from her song "Irreplaceable") and Bert Weiss redirecting listeners to the new frequency. At 10 AM, the stunting then switched to "Atlanta's Radio Idol", a loop where 8 different formats were presented. Listeners had the option to call the station and vote on which was their favorite. On Monday, January 28, 2008 at 5:45 AM, The Regular Guys announced the debut of "Rock 100.5", carrying a radio format similar to their previous station WKLS (formerly "96 Rock"), which itself changed formats to active rock as "Project 9-6-1". Rock 100.5's first song was "Baba O' Riley" by The Who. The two stations swapped callsigns on January 29.

In 2010, Rock 100.5 became the FM flagship station of the Atlanta Braves along with WCNN.[2]

Throughout the station's existence, WNNX has shifted to different degrees of rock. From its sign-on until April 2009, the station aired a predominantly album-oriented rock format. At that time, the station leaned towards adult album alternative. In 2010, the station shifted back to its broad-based AOR format, which would last until late 2011, when the station shifted towards classic rock. Ratings for the station have been shaky, as the station usually ranks near a 2 share.

WNNX returned to a mainstream rock direction in 2012, following the flips of WKLS from active rock to contemporary hit radio and WZGC from adult album alternative to sports in the Fall of that year.

Merger with "98.9 The Bone"[edit]

On January 28, 2013, WNNX and sister station W255CJ ("98.9 The Bone") began promoting changes to the two stations on their Facebook and Twitter pages, promoting a "bigger and better change" to come starting February 1. The rumors stated the Cumulus Atlanta management were planning a possible merger of the two formats on one frequency, presumably on 100.5. These changes were confirmed two days later as the two stations merged on the 100.5 frequency. The official change took place on that Friday, February 1, at Midnight, when 98.9 and 100.5 began simulcasting. At 10 AM, the official relaunch took place, as WNNX shifted to active rock (the first song after the relaunch was "Chalk Outline" by Three Days Grace). The simulcast lasted until February 4 at Noon, when 98.9 flipped to a new format, Christian country, under the name "The Walk." [3][4]

"Atlanta's Classic Rock"[edit]

After broadcasting an active rock format for barely a year, the station flipped formats once again and began broadcasting classic rock on January 3, 2014, competing with rival station WSRV ("97.1 The River"). The station's playlist is now similar to what it was in 2012, prior to its shift to active rock.[5]

Disc jockeys[edit]

The Regular Guys[edit]

Rock 100.5 is the flagship station for The Regular Guys morning show. The show currently features Larry Wachs, "Southside" Steve Rickman and Tim Andrews, who is also the show's executive producer. Rickman and Andrews have been on the show since its debut on the station but were later added as official members of the show. Rickman was first as the "3rd Regular Guy" in the beginning of 2009. Then Andrews was added as "4th Regular Guy" later in the year.

The Regular Guys had a two successful runs at cross-town rival and Clear Channel owned 96 Rock before being fired twice. The first firing happened in 2004 when they accidentally aired explicit audio of a discussion with pornographic film actress Devin Lane over a commercial. That audio was intended be played backwards in a bit called "backwards smut" when they returned from the break, mocking the FCC indecency crackdown at the time stemming from the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy. Wachs and Von Hasessler were rehired by Clear Channel at sister station news-talk WGST in March, 2005, before moving back to 96Rock for a second stint starting that summer, but were fired again in 2006 for secretly taping co-workers' conversation in the restroom. The co-workers were 2 DJs from a sister station who tried to sue Wachs over the recording and its broadcast but the case was later dropped for having no merit.

Regular weekly staff[edit]

  • Lyndsey Marie. Became the official midday replacement on June 1, 2011. She is from Florida, by way of Michigan, and used to work at K-Rock 96.1 in Ft. Myers, Florida.
  • "Axel" Lowe. Hosts the afternoon drive time slot. He was previously on Rock 100.5 from the station's launch in 2008 through 2010. He started at sister-station at 99X/The Bone and returned to the station for a second stint to do the morning show (and later, middays) before its merger with Rock 100.5.
  • Tommy McNulty. Hosts evenings from 7 PM to Midnight and also does a local Atlanta music show on Sunday nights during the 10 PM hour. He previously hosted on weekends before going to 99X/The Bone before returning to do weekends again. Tommy is also a local Atlanta musician.

Former staff[edit]

  • Matt C and Lewis. Briefly was the Rock 100.5 evening DJ team from the launch of the station until February 2008. The Matt C and Lewis team originally started on 99X in 2007. Prior to becoming "on-air" talent, both Matt C and Lewis worked on 99X's promotional staff. Lewis later returned to evenings until being fired in October 2013.
  • English Nick. Hosted evenings replacing the Matt C and Lewis show from February 2008 until being fired in June 2009. Previously worked at 99X, starting in 2006, from 96 Rock before that. Also host to Metalsome Mondays. He is now at cross-town rival WSRV "97.1 The River."
  • Erin Watson. Became midday host in March 2008 until the beginning of May 2011. Previously hosted mid-days at Rock 103 in Columbus, GA. Erin now broadcasts online at Garage 71 internet radio.

Rock 100.5 shows[edit]

  • Organic Sunday on Rock 100.5 with Matt Jones. Specialty show that features acoustic, live, and lighter rock hosted by Matt Jones. The show originated in 1996 as Organic X on 99X. Organic Sunday debuted on February 3, 2008.

Promotions and concerts[edit]

  • Unplugged in the Park- A recurring free summer concert series presented at Park Tavern on the edge of Piedmont Park. Originated as a 99X event featuring national and regional artists in an unplugged (acoustic) performance. Noted performances included the Frey, Regina Spektor, Blue October, Pete Yorn, Matt Costa and Missy Higgins among others.

Former DJs (pre-2008)[edit]

Q100.5[edit]

  • Adam Bomb. The longest running night jock from 2006–2010, had the highest ratings ever at night on both 100.5 and the current 99.7. Currently hosting "The Adam Bomb Show", a syndicated night show carried by Cumulus' Top 40 stations.
  • Caroline. The first on-air personality on "Hot Hits Q100" in 2001. Hosted various weekend and fill in shifts.
  • JT. Left rival station 95-5 The Beat in early 2001 to join Q100. Hosted weekends, fill in shifts and street promotions.
  • Amy. Did weekends and fill-in.
  • Lindsay Brien. Mornings. Before joining Q100's Bert Show, appeared as a cast member on MTV's The Real World Seattle season. Currently in Tampa working in television.
  • Jet Davis. Weekender. Left in November 2002 for MD/Nights at WRVW in Nashville, now OM/PD for Renda Broadcasting Tulsa's CHR KHTT and Variety KBEZ as Jet Black.
  • Dylan Sprague. Program director (from January 2002) and afternoon drive (from July 2002). Left Q100 in January 2008 to program Alice 105.9 In Denver. Now PD of WXKS Kiss 108 & WJMN Jam'n 94.5 Boston, Mass.
  • "Mister Ed" Lambert. Program manager and midday drive back in Q100's beginning in 2001.
  • Geller. Nights. Currently nights at G105 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
  • KJ. Currently Afternoon Drive on XM Satellite Radio's 20 on 20. Was part of staff at WIHT Hot 99.5 Washington D.C.(2007–2009)
  • Jamie Massey. Covered morning and afternoon traffic for both Q100 and 99X. Massey is currently at KNIX in Phoenix,Arizona. .[6]
  • Jeff Miles. Music Director and evening host. Went to San Francisco to handle afternoon drive for Energy 92.7 before heading to KHKS-FM/Dallas, Texas as "Cruz." He has since transitioned to WPLJ in New York as their Mid-Day host. He joined Q100 again as mid-day host in 2012 but left in mid-2013.
  • Mark Owens (AKA "Phil Terrana"). Producer of The Bert Show. He worked as board operator and traffic personality for the Regular Guys until 2012, when he joined 92.9/The Game as a producer.
  • Nicole Nilson Schaffrich. Weekends/overnights. Previously, she appeared on CBS's Big Brother 2 reality TV show, finishing second. [1]
  • Tracy St George. Left in December 2006 for the afternoon drive position at 97-9 WRMF in West Palm Beach, Florida
  • Kevin Steele. Now programing director at WGMG and WPUP. Also current on-air personality weekday afternoons at Magic 102.1. Works weekends/fill in on WKHX Kicks 101.5.
  • Suzy Tavarez. Nights. A former Miami Dolphins cheerleader. Most recently[when?] at KIIS/Los Angeles. Posed for Playboy magazine's "Women of Radio" pictorial in late 2004/early 2005.

References[edit]

External links[edit]


Coordinates: 33°45′36″N 84°23′20″W﻿ / ﻿33.760°N 84.389°W﻿ / 33.760; -84.389
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