WBZX
Encyclopedia
- For the station that was once WRKZ, please see KDKA-FM in Pittsburgh
WRKZ (99.7 FM, "99.7 The Blitz") is primarily an active rock
Active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:...
radio station in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
owned by locally-based North American Broadcasting Company, Inc and is sister stations with WTDA
WTDA
WTDA is an FM radio station in Westerville, Ohio at 103.9 MHz. It currently broadcasts a Classic Hits format and is the Central Ohio radio broadcast home of the Pittsburgh Steelers....
and WMNI
WMNI
WMNI is a radio station in Columbus, Ohio that went on the air April 26, 1958 and carries a standards music format. WMNI is locally-owned by Columbus based North American Broadcasting Company, Inc.. It broadcasts with one kilowatt of power during the day, but reduces to 500 watts at night...
. The Blitz is one of 4 rock stations in the radio market in Columbus, the others being CD 101
WWCD
WWCD —currently branded CD101 @ 102.5—is a commercial modern rock radio station licensed to Baltimore, Ohio and serving the Columbus metro area....
, QFM 96
WLVQ
WLVQ is an FM radio station in Columbus, Ohio, United States, broadcasting on 96.3 MHz. Its brand identifier is Ohio's Best Rock, QFM 96. WLVQ is currently owned by Wilks Broadcasting and plays classic rock...
, and The Brew 105.7
WBWR
WBWR — The Brew 105.7 — is a commercial radio station in Columbus, Ohio airing a classic rock format. The Brew is the Columbus affiliate for the Cleveland Browns, and was also the English-language radio station of the Columbus Crew until the common ownership moved the broadcasts to WTVN in 2008....
.
The Blitz broadcasts from one of the highest radio antennas in Columbus (only WOSU-FM
WOSU-FM
WOSU-FM — branded 89.7fm NPR News — is a National Public Radio news and talk radio station licensed to Columbus, Ohio and serving the Columbus metro area. It is owned by Ohio State University. The station has multiple repeaters throughout the U.S...
is higher) and covers an area more than 125 miles in diameter. The station uses a state-of-the-art audio and radio transmission system. There are three on-the-air studios, four radio production rooms, an interview studio and a multi-track recording studio with a separate sound booth. Most of the programming on 99.7 The Blitz is produced on fully digital audio systems. Computer-controlled main and backup transmitter sites feature the latest equipment, backup power systems and high-tech environmental controls.
History
99.7FM went on the air in 1962. At that time, FM radio was not very popular and WMNI-FM (as it was known) mostly rebroadcast its sister AM station's easy listening music format. Like most stations, it has changed formats over the years. In the early 1980s the station call letters changed to WRMZ and started to broadcast a country music format. Joe Hill, now of Tucson AZ was the weekend overnight announcer from March to August 1983. In the late '80s and early '90s the station was known as WMGG, Magic 99.7 (spoken as "ninety-nine-seven"), and played predominantly '60s-era classic rock/oldies.The Blitz began July 4 weekend, 1992, and had an Active Rock
Active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:...
format. The call letters when the station went by this name was WBZX. It was also formerly the home of the syndicated The Howard Stern Show for several years before that show went to Sirius
Sirius
Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. With a visual apparent magnitude of −1.46, it is almost twice as bright as Canopus, the next brightest star. The name "Sirius" is derived from the Ancient Greek: Seirios . The star has the Bayer designation Alpha Canis Majoris...
Satellite Radio.
On April 3, 2008, The Blitz went off the air and was replaced with a miscellaneous jargon that sounded as if the radio was having trouble tuning. Intermittently, a voice would mention that the "station is rebooting". The last song played on The Blitz was Breaking Benjamin
Breaking Benjamin
Breaking Benjamin is an American rock band from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, currently consisting of Benjamin Burnley and Chad Szeliga. The band has released four studio albums to date and a greatest hits album that was released on August 16, 2011. The group initially went on indefinite hiatus due...
's "Until the End". The next day at 5:00pm (Eastern Time), 99.7FM changed to The Rock, along with the call letters changing to WRKZ. The new station premiered with "Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
's "Smells Like Teen Spirit
Smells Like Teen Spirit
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" is a song by the American grunge band Nirvana. It is the opening track and lead single from the band's second album, Nevermind , released on DGC Records...
". The Rock still had the Active Rock
Active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:...
format, but it focused less on new music and played popular rock music from the 1980s.
The station added Premiere Radio Network's syndicated "Bob and Tom" show during Morning Drive in December 2008.
During the last few months as The Rock, the station added rock songs from the '60s and '70s into its playlist, shifting it into a Mainstream Rock
Mainstream rock
Mainstream rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada.-Format background:...
direction. Only a few months later, the station hosted it's first-ever "Town Hall Meeting", with Program Director Hal Fish and on-air personalities Ronni Hunter and Blazor taking calls, emails and texts as to what Columbus area listeners wanted more and less of on 99.7. A week later, on April 1, 2010, they once again went to the airwaves and detailed an "Action Plan" as to what would happen on the station in the following weeks, including the return of such Blitz-era staples as "Choose It Or Lose It" as well as a showcase for local musical talent. Also a website was launched at http://blitzorrock.com blitzorrock.com to determine whether or not listeners wanted to keep the station named The Rock or for The Blitz to make a return.
On Thursday April 22, 2010, at a "Blitz or Rock Reveal Party" it was announced that the station would be once again called The Blitz. It premiered with Mudvayne
Mudvayne
Mudvayne is an American heavy metal band. Their work is marked by the use of sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate visual appearance, which has included face and body paint, masks and uniforms...
's "Happy?", followed by Disturbed's "Down with the Sickness
Down with the Sickness
"Down with the Sickness" is a song by American heavy metal band Disturbed. The song was recorded in 1999 and was released as the second single from their debut studio album, The Sickness. The song is one of Disturbed's best-known songs and is a concert staple, usually played as the last song...
". Along with the changes, it was also announced that the "Bob & Tom Show" would be dropped in a few weeks and be replaced by a local morning show. The show that replaced it was Blazor and Mo in the morning, which ironically was the same show that Bob & Tom replaced in December 2008.
DJs
Blazor and Mo (Weekday Mornings 6am-10am)
Theo (Weekdays 10am-3pm)
Ronni Hunter (Weekday Afternoons 3pm-7pm)
Nuber (Weekday Evenings 7pm-Midnight)
Thick Rick (Weekday Overnights Midnight-6am)
Yoli (Weekend Mornings 6am-Noon)
Mike James (Weekends Noon-Midnight)
BaRob (Friday Overnights Midnight-6am)
Tess (Weekend Overnights Midnight-6am)