WLNT-LP
Encyclopedia
WLNT-LP is a low-power FM radio station
broadcasting from Loudon, Tennessee
. As of 2011, its format is a 50/50 mix of modern and traditional country music
. Licensed to Community Radio of Loudon County Inc., it serves Loudon County, Tennessee (including the cities of Loudon, Philadelphia
and Lenoir City
). The station is also audible in Roane, Monroe, Knox
and Blount
Counties. The station first began broadcasting in August 2002 and was originally owned by the Corporation For Radio Education, Inc.
1140 kHz
in Loudon in the spring of 1985. From 1987 to 1995, he worked for the father-son team of James C. and Randall W. Sliger (and family) in Athens, Tennessee
. Primarily on-air at WJSQ
and WLAR
, Lynn also helped with the construction of Sliger-owned station WYGO
(99.5 MHz FM), the purchase and reformatting of WCLE (AM)
1570 in Cleveland and the construction of its Calhoun, Tennessee
counterpart WCLE-FM
(104.1).
From 1995 to 2003, Lynn worked in management at the network-operations department for Scripps-Howard Broadcasting
at its Knoxville
-based Home & Garden Television Network
. He assisted the network when its programming temporarily originated from Atlanta, also creating backup facilities in Nashville. Lynn also assisted in moving and integrating the Food Network
from New York to Knoxville, and with construction of the DIY
and Fine Living Networks.
While WLNT was operating, Lynn became frustrated with the corporate world; he left Scripps in July 2003 to pursue a career in local radio, devoting nearly 20 hours per day to the station. Lynn was aided in WLNT's construction, operation and upgrades by Jim McGhee, another Loudon County resident who had recently retired as engineer and program director at WBIR-TV (channel 10) in Knoxville. McGhee retired from WLNT and the broadcast industry in 2005. The call letters WLNT were obtained from the old AM 1140 station in Loudon. AM 1140 used the call letters WLNT until 1985, when Gene Chrusciel and Doyle Lowe formed Loudon Broadcasters and bought the station. It was originally constructed in late 1982 by Tellico Broadcasting Company. TBC was founded by Jim McGhee and his business partner Howard Oberholtzer (a nuclear engineer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
). The pair sold the station in 1985 so McGhee could return to television. As of 2011, in retirement McGhee still stays in contact with WLNT and assists with projects. He spends several months per year at his condominium
in Florida with his hobbies, including satellite television
, radio DXing
and the internet.
In fall 2003, WLNT began broadcasting Loudon Redskins football games with Kent Everett, Eric Mitchell and David "Top" Dukes. That year, two other stations (WDEH
and WLIL
) also carried Redskins games. In 2004, WLNT continued broadcasting Redskins football; WLIL no longer covered the games, since its sportscaster Russell Mayes left for a career in education. Mayes is (as of 2011) media instructor at Fulton High School in Knoxville, and operates WKCS
FM (91.1) for the Knox County Schools
. In 2005, WLNT was the only station to broadcast the Redskins and began using the slogan "There's only one place to hear the Redskins". The station also began covering Loudon Redskins basketball and baseball in 2003.
WLNT has had the same call letters and format since its inception in August 2002, first broadcasting from a transmitter on Prospect Church Road. In December 2002, the station petitioned the Federal Communications Commission
to relocate its transmitter about 3500 feet (1,066.8 m) east-northeast to its present site on Matlock Ridge in Loudon. This move increased WLNT's coverage, since the Matlock Ridge site is line-of-sight
to a large part of the area's population.
WLNT utilizes studio/transmitter link
WPWW-390 at 951.5 MHz and remote pickup unit
WPVX-964 at 161.64, 161.67, and 161.70 MHz.
. Religious programs from local churches are broadcast Sunday mornings; churches include Watson's Chapel, Blairland Baptist Church, Loudon Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Crossway Baptist Church and First Baptist Church of Loudon.
WLNT's music-programming announcers include Gene Chrusciel, Lynn Richards, Bill Fortune, Chip Lynn, Jeff Jackson and Dr. Doctor Thayer. The station broadcasts from studios in downtown Loudon, at the corner of Atlanta Avenue and Mulberry Street in the Fergosun Machine Shop. WLNT moved into new studios in the machine shop in mid-2009. The station maintains two off-site backup studios in the event of civil unrest, natural disaster or other disruption of service. On November 22, 2005 translator
W235AZ in Sweetwater, Tennessee
began operation, repeating WLNT's programming on 94.9 MHz. W235AZ broadcasts from Linwood Drive, off Vonore Road, in Sweetwater and is owned by Charles Lynn. W235AZ reaches all of Monroe County and parts of Loudon, McMinn and Rhea
Counties. Virgil Wyrick owns the building and property where the translator is located, and oversees its equipment and operation.
A construction permit for a translator on 96.5 MHz in Lenoir City, Tennessee was granted to Jim McGhee in March 2005. With McGhee in Florida much of the year, it was transferred to Charles Lynn on December 27, 2007. The station is in the process of being moved from near the Loudon–Knox County line, closer to Lenoir City. The station is projected to be on the air at a new location in June 2009. An agreement with a tower owner in Lenoir City is being negotiated.
In July 2008 a microburst
struck WLNT's transmitter site, destroying the transmitter building and all equipment inside except for the transmitter, FM antenna and studio-transmitter-link. The station temporarily operated from a portable building until a new structure could be built. Because WLNT maintains backup equipment (including a spare antenna), downtime was less than 12 hours. Don Burgraff, former transmitter and studio engineer at WBIR-TV
(channel 10) in Knoxville, is WLNT's engineer for transmitter and RF issues. Burgraff is also chief cngineer and board member for the Cumberland Communities Communications Corporation and its non-commercial station (WDVX
(89.9 MHz), licensed in Clinton, Tennessee
and is a contract engineer for several radio stations and translators in eastern Tennessee
.
In mid-2008, WLNT was transferred from the Corporation For Radio Education to Community Radio of Loudon County. The divestment
was required so the CRE could begin construction on two more FM stations: WLNQ-FM in Spring City, Tennessee
and WLNB-FM in Wartburg, Tennessee
. WLNQ is slated to begin broadcasting in the fall of 2009, and WLNB is scheduled to begin broadcasting in early 2010. In March 2009, WLNT began carrying local and regional news during the morning and afternoon drive time
s.
WLNT is one of two stations which program for the residents of Loudon County; the other is WLIL-AM (730 kHz) in Lenoir City. Other stations (WNML-FM 99.1, WLOD-AM 1140, WFIV-FM 105.3, and WBLC-AM 1360) carry satellite programs or aim for more of a regional coverage and presence without specifically serving the residents of Loudon County. Only WLNT, WBLC and WLIL have offices and studios within the county. In May 2010, at Loudon High School's graduation cerermony, Chip Lynn was awarded the 2009-2010 Alumnus of the Year Award for his continuing support of Loudon High School and the Redskins.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
broadcasting from Loudon, Tennessee
Loudon, Tennessee
Loudon is a city in and the county seat of Loudon County, Tennessee, United States. Its population was 4,476 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Knoxville, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is located in eastern Tennessee, southwest of Knoxville, on the Tennessee River...
. As of 2011, its format is a 50/50 mix of modern and traditional country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
. Licensed to Community Radio of Loudon County Inc., it serves Loudon County, Tennessee (including the cities of Loudon, Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Tennessee
Philadelphia is a city in Loudon County, Tennessee, United States. Its population was 533 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Knoxville, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Philadelphia is located at...
and Lenoir City
Lenoir City, Tennessee
Lenoir City is a city in Loudon County, Tennessee, United States. Its population was 8,642 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Knoxville Metropolitan Area....
). The station is also audible in Roane, Monroe, Knox
Knox County, Tennessee
Knox County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Its 2007 population was estimated at 423,874 by the United States Census Bureau. Its county seat is Knoxville, as it has been since the creation of the county. The county is at the geographical center of the Great Valley of East Tennessee...
and Blount
Blount County, Tennessee
Blount County is a U.S. county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Its population was 123,010 at the United States Census, 2010. The county seat is at Maryville, which is also the county's largest city....
Counties. The station first began broadcasting in August 2002 and was originally owned by the Corporation For Radio Education, Inc.
History
WLNT was founded by Richard "Chip" Lynn, a lifelong resident of Loudon County. Lynn began his radio career at WLOD (AM)WLOD (AM)
WLOD is a daytime-only radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format. Licensed to Loudon, Tennessee, USA, the station is currently owned by Blount Broadcasting Corporation and features programing from CBS Radio Network and Westwood One....
1140 kHz
Hertz
The hertz is the SI unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon. One of its most common uses is the description of the sine wave, particularly those used in radio and audio applications....
in Loudon in the spring of 1985. From 1987 to 1995, he worked for the father-son team of James C. and Randall W. Sliger (and family) in Athens, Tennessee
Athens, Tennessee
Athens is a city in McMinn County, Tennessee, United States. It is the county seat of McMinn County and the principal city of the Athens Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the larger Chattanooga-Cleveland-Athens Combined Statistical Area. The population was 13,220 at the 2000...
. Primarily on-air at WJSQ
WJSQ
WJSQ is a radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Athens, Tennessee, USA, the station is currently owned by Randall W. Sliger, Administrator and features programing from Citadel Media and Motor Racing Network....
and WLAR
WLAR
WLAR is a radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Athens, Tennessee, USA, the station is currently owned by Randall W. Sliger, Administrator and features programing from Citadel Media and Motor Racing Network....
, Lynn also helped with the construction of Sliger-owned station WYGO
WYGO
WYGO is a radio station licensed to serve Madisonville, Tennessee, USA. The station is owned by Major Broadcasting Corporation. It airs a hot adult contemporary music format....
(99.5 MHz FM), the purchase and reformatting of WCLE (AM)
WCLE (AM)
WCLE is a radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format. Licensed to Cleveland, Tennessee, USA, the station is currently owned by Hartline, LLC and features programing from CNN Radio, Motor Racing Network, and Premiere Radio Networks....
1570 in Cleveland and the construction of its Calhoun, Tennessee
Calhoun, Tennessee
Calhoun is a town in McMinn County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 496 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Calhoun is situated along the north bank of the Hiwassee River, which flows down from the Appalachian Mountains to the east and empties into the Chickamauga Lake impoundment of the...
counterpart WCLE-FM
WCLE-FM
WCLE-FM is a radio station broadcasting an adult contemporary music format. Licensed to Calhoun, Tennessee, USA, the station is currently owned by Hartline, LLC and features programing from Fox News Radio and Motor Racing Network....
(104.1).
From 1995 to 2003, Lynn worked in management at the network-operations department for Scripps-Howard Broadcasting
E. W. Scripps Company
The E. W. Scripps Company is an American media conglomerate founded by Edward W. Scripps on November 2, 1878. The company is headquartered inside the Scripps Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its corporate motto is "Give light and the people will find their own way."On October 16, 2007, the company...
at its Knoxville
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
-based Home & Garden Television Network
HGTV
HGTV , is a cable-television network operating in the United States and Canada, broadcasting a variety of home and garden improvement, maintenance, renovation, craft and remodeling shows...
. He assisted the network when its programming temporarily originated from Atlanta, also creating backup facilities in Nashville. Lynn also assisted in moving and integrating the Food Network
Food Network
Food Network is a television specialty channel that airs both one-time and recurring programs about food and cooking. Scripps Networks Interactive owns 70 percent of the network, with Tribune Company controlling the remaining 30 percent....
from New York to Knoxville, and with construction of the DIY
DIY Network
DIY Network is a channel owned by Scripps Networks Interactive that focuses on do it yourself projects at home.Television stations air local versions with local hosts with segments produced by the network. Branded DIY Network programming is also broadcast in Japan and the Philippines...
and Fine Living Networks.
While WLNT was operating, Lynn became frustrated with the corporate world; he left Scripps in July 2003 to pursue a career in local radio, devoting nearly 20 hours per day to the station. Lynn was aided in WLNT's construction, operation and upgrades by Jim McGhee, another Loudon County resident who had recently retired as engineer and program director at WBIR-TV (channel 10) in Knoxville. McGhee retired from WLNT and the broadcast industry in 2005. The call letters WLNT were obtained from the old AM 1140 station in Loudon. AM 1140 used the call letters WLNT until 1985, when Gene Chrusciel and Doyle Lowe formed Loudon Broadcasters and bought the station. It was originally constructed in late 1982 by Tellico Broadcasting Company. TBC was founded by Jim McGhee and his business partner Howard Oberholtzer (a nuclear engineer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a multiprogram science and technology national laboratory managed for the United States Department of Energy by UT-Battelle. ORNL is the DOE's largest science and energy laboratory. ORNL is located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, near Knoxville...
). The pair sold the station in 1985 so McGhee could return to television. As of 2011, in retirement McGhee still stays in contact with WLNT and assists with projects. He spends several months per year at his condominium
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
in Florida with his hobbies, including satellite television
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
, radio DXing
DXing
DXing is the hobby of tuning in and identifying distant radio or television signals, or making two way radio contact with distant stations in amateur radio, citizens' band radio or other two way radio communications. Many DXers also attempt to receive written verifications of reception from the...
and the internet.
In fall 2003, WLNT began broadcasting Loudon Redskins football games with Kent Everett, Eric Mitchell and David "Top" Dukes. That year, two other stations (WDEH
WDEH
WDEH is a radio station broadcasting a religious format. Licensed to Sweetwater, Tennessee, USA, the station is currently owned by Horne Radio, LLC....
and WLIL
WLIL
WLIL "The Legendary AM 730" is a radio station broadcasting "East Tennessee's Country Classics." Licensed to Lenoir City, Tennessee, it serves the Knoxville, Tennessee area.-History:...
) also carried Redskins games. In 2004, WLNT continued broadcasting Redskins football; WLIL no longer covered the games, since its sportscaster Russell Mayes left for a career in education. Mayes is (as of 2011) media instructor at Fulton High School in Knoxville, and operates WKCS
WKCS
WKCS is a student-operated high school radio station in Knoxville, Tennessee, broadcasting an oldies radio format.The station is owned and operated by Fulton High School, and was included in the school's charter in 1951...
FM (91.1) for the Knox County Schools
Knox County Schools
Knox County Schools is the school district that operates all public schools in Knox County, Tennessee.- History :Before the 1987-1988 school year, the city of Knoxville and Knox County operated separate school districts...
. In 2005, WLNT was the only station to broadcast the Redskins and began using the slogan "There's only one place to hear the Redskins". The station also began covering Loudon Redskins basketball and baseball in 2003.
WLNT has had the same call letters and format since its inception in August 2002, first broadcasting from a transmitter on Prospect Church Road. In December 2002, the station petitioned the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
to relocate its transmitter about 3500 feet (1,066.8 m) east-northeast to its present site on Matlock Ridge in Loudon. This move increased WLNT's coverage, since the Matlock Ridge site is line-of-sight
Line-of-sight propagation
Line-of-sight propagation refers to electro-magnetic radiation or acoustic wave propagation. Electromagnetic transmission includes light emissions traveling in a straight line...
to a large part of the area's population.
WLNT utilizes studio/transmitter link
Studio/transmitter link
A studio-transmitter link sends a radio station's or television station's audio and video from the broadcast studio to a radio transmitter or television transmitter in another location....
WPWW-390 at 951.5 MHz and remote pickup unit
Remote pickup unit
A remote pickup unit or RPU is a radio system using special radio frequencies set aside for electronic news gathering and remote broadcasting. It can also be used for other types of point-to-point radio links....
WPVX-964 at 161.64, 161.67, and 161.70 MHz.
Progamming
WLNT operates two mirror websites, WLNTFM.com and REDSKINRADIO.com. Syndicated programming on the station includes "The Country Oldies Show" with Steve Warren and "Country Hitmakers" and "American Country Gold" with Freddie Carr. WLNT broadcasts sports from Loudon High School including football, basketball and baseball. Mike Thompson, Kent Everett, DeWayne Arp, Randy Davis, Clayton Stamey and Chip Lynn produce sports programming for the station. WLNT broadcasts national newscasts from the USA Radio NetworkUSA Radio Network
The USA Radio Network is a syndicator of talk radio programming established in 1985. It provides programming to approximately 1,100 radio stations around the world, plus the American Forces Network and XM Satellite Radio, and can be heard on the internet from USA Radio's website.On March 5, 2008,...
. Religious programs from local churches are broadcast Sunday mornings; churches include Watson's Chapel, Blairland Baptist Church, Loudon Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Crossway Baptist Church and First Baptist Church of Loudon.
WLNT's music-programming announcers include Gene Chrusciel, Lynn Richards, Bill Fortune, Chip Lynn, Jeff Jackson and Dr. Doctor Thayer. The station broadcasts from studios in downtown Loudon, at the corner of Atlanta Avenue and Mulberry Street in the Fergosun Machine Shop. WLNT moved into new studios in the machine shop in mid-2009. The station maintains two off-site backup studios in the event of civil unrest, natural disaster or other disruption of service. On November 22, 2005 translator
Broadcast relay station
A broadcast relay station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator , rebroadcaster , or repeater is a broadcast transmitter which relays, repeats, or reflects the signal of another radio station or television station, usually to an area not covered by the signal of the originating station...
W235AZ in Sweetwater, Tennessee
Sweetwater, Tennessee
Sweetwater is a city in Monroe and McMinn counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the most populous city in Monroe County. The population was 5,586 at the 2000 census. Sweetwater is the home of the Craighead Caverns which contains the Lost Sea, the United States' largest underground...
began operation, repeating WLNT's programming on 94.9 MHz. W235AZ broadcasts from Linwood Drive, off Vonore Road, in Sweetwater and is owned by Charles Lynn. W235AZ reaches all of Monroe County and parts of Loudon, McMinn and Rhea
Rhea County, Tennessee
Rhea County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 28,400. Its county seat is Dayton.-Geography:According to the U.S...
Counties. Virgil Wyrick owns the building and property where the translator is located, and oversees its equipment and operation.
A construction permit for a translator on 96.5 MHz in Lenoir City, Tennessee was granted to Jim McGhee in March 2005. With McGhee in Florida much of the year, it was transferred to Charles Lynn on December 27, 2007. The station is in the process of being moved from near the Loudon–Knox County line, closer to Lenoir City. The station is projected to be on the air at a new location in June 2009. An agreement with a tower owner in Lenoir City is being negotiated.
In July 2008 a microburst
Microburst
A microburst is a very localized column of sinking air, producing damaging divergent and straight-line winds at the surface that are similar to, but distinguishable from, tornadoes, which generally have convergent damage. There are two types of microbursts: wet microbursts and dry microbursts...
struck WLNT's transmitter site, destroying the transmitter building and all equipment inside except for the transmitter, FM antenna and studio-transmitter-link. The station temporarily operated from a portable building until a new structure could be built. Because WLNT maintains backup equipment (including a spare antenna), downtime was less than 12 hours. Don Burgraff, former transmitter and studio engineer at WBIR-TV
WBIR-TV
WBIR-TV, channel 10, is the NBC affiliate television station in Knoxville, Tennessee. The station is licensed to the Gannett Pacific Corporation, a subsidiary of the Gannett Company...
(channel 10) in Knoxville, is WLNT's engineer for transmitter and RF issues. Burgraff is also chief cngineer and board member for the Cumberland Communities Communications Corporation and its non-commercial station (WDVX
WDVX
WDVX is a Knoxville, Tennessee, FM radio station broadcasting at 89.9 and 102.9 MHz.WDVX plays American roots music, including bluegrass, Americana, classic country, alternative country, Western swing, blues, old-time and traditional mountain music, bluegrass gospel, Celtic, and...
(89.9 MHz), licensed in Clinton, Tennessee
Clinton, Tennessee
Clinton is a city in Anderson County, Tennessee, United States. Its population was 9,409 at the United States Census, 2000. It is the county seat of Anderson County. Clinton is included in the "Knoxville, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area".-Geography:...
and is a contract engineer for several radio stations and translators in eastern Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
.
In mid-2008, WLNT was transferred from the Corporation For Radio Education to Community Radio of Loudon County. The divestment
Divestment
In finance and economics, divestment or divestiture is the reduction of some kind of asset for either financial or ethical objectives or sale of an existing business by a firm...
was required so the CRE could begin construction on two more FM stations: WLNQ-FM in Spring City, Tennessee
Spring City, Tennessee
Spring City is a town in Rhea County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,025 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Spring City is located at ....
and WLNB-FM in Wartburg, Tennessee
Wartburg, Tennessee
Wartburg is a city in Morgan County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 890 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Morgan County.-Geography:...
. WLNQ is slated to begin broadcasting in the fall of 2009, and WLNB is scheduled to begin broadcasting in early 2010. In March 2009, WLNT began carrying local and regional news during the morning and afternoon drive time
Drive time
Drive time is the daypart analog to prime time for radio broadcasting. It consists of the morning hours when listeners wake up, get ready, and/or head to work or school, and the afternoon hours when they are heading home and before their evening meal. These are the periods where the number of...
s.
WLNT is one of two stations which program for the residents of Loudon County; the other is WLIL-AM (730 kHz) in Lenoir City. Other stations (WNML-FM 99.1, WLOD-AM 1140, WFIV-FM 105.3, and WBLC-AM 1360) carry satellite programs or aim for more of a regional coverage and presence without specifically serving the residents of Loudon County. Only WLNT, WBLC and WLIL have offices and studios within the county. In May 2010, at Loudon High School's graduation cerermony, Chip Lynn was awarded the 2009-2010 Alumnus of the Year Award for his continuing support of Loudon High School and the Redskins.