WNKI Wink 106 is a radio station

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 a contemporary hit radio

Contemporary hit radio

Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...

 format. Licensed to Corning, New York

Corning (city), New York

Corning is a city in Steuben County, New York, United States, on the Chemung River. The population was 10,842 at the 2000 census. It is named for Erastus Corning, an Albany financier and railroad executive who was an investor in the company that developed the community.- Overview :The city of...

, USA, the station serves the Elmira-Corning area. The Arbitron #1 rated station in the market. The station is currently owned by Backyard Broadcasting and licensed to Backyard Broadcasting Elmira Licensee, LLC.

History

The station went on the air as WKNP in the 1940s under the ownership of the Corning Leader newspaper. Its original frequency was 95.1 FM. By 1950, it had moved to another frequency, then the current 106.1 FM. A sister AM

Amplitude modulation

Amplitude modulation is a technique used in electronic communication, most commonly for transmitting information via a radio carrier wave. AM works by varying the strength of the transmitted signal in relation to the information being sent...

 station, WCLI, signed on in 1947.

It broadcast from a building at Erie Avenue (now Dennison Parkway) and Walnut Street in Corning. The Erie Railroad

Erie Railroad

The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, originally connecting New York City with Lake Erie...

 mainline passed nearby and passing freight and passenger trains used to shake the building -- and the recorded music on the turntables, according to Leader columnist Dick Peer. http://www.the-leader.com/about_us/

Disc jockey

Disc jockey

A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...

 Bob Shaddock, who became one of the market's iconic radio personalities, developed the skill of picking up the needle from the 78 RPM

Revolutions per minute

Revolutions per minute is a measure of the frequency of a rotation. It annotates the number of full rotations completed in one minute around a fixed axis...

 records

Gramophone record

A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...

 and making announcements while trains passed, according to Peer.

The newspaper sold the stations in 1953.

On 1980-10-20, the station changed its call sign to WZKZ

WZKZ

WZKZ is a radio station broadcasting a Country music format. Licensed to Alfred, New York, USA. The station is currently owned by Pembrook Pines, Inc. and features programing from AP Radio and Jones Radio Network....

. Known as KZ-106, the station played a live-assist automated adult contemporary format

Drake-Chenault

Drake-Chenault Enterprises was a radio syndication company that specialized in automation on FM radio stations. The company was founded in the late-1960s by radio programmer and deejay Bill Drake , and his business partner, Lester Eugene Chenault...

. It was the top-rated

Arbitron

Arbitron is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio audiences. It was founded as American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging with L.A. based Coffin, Cooper and Clay in the early 1950s...

 station in the Elmira-Corning market for much of the decade.

In 1993, Pro Radio Inc. bought the stations. The FM call letters were switched on Oct. 8, 1993, to the current WNKI The change was controversial in that several popular personalities were let go as Pro Radio launched a top 40 format under the name Wink 106 with a staff of air personalities who were popular on other stations in the market. The change made some unwanted headlines when a presumably irate listener got into the main office (then at 99 W. First St.) after hours and doused it with fox urine.

Pro Radio eventually sold to Backyard Broadcasting, the current owner, which moved the stations to Elmira Heights

Elmira Heights, New York

Elmira Heights is a village in Chemung County, New York, United States. The population was 4,170 at the 2000 census.The Village of Elmira Heights is primarily within the Town of Elmira, but part of the village is in the Town of Horseheads. The village is a northern suburb of the City of Elmira...

. In 1997, the AM and FM split, with Backyard selling WCLI to Eolin Broadcasting, which also owned WCBA

WCBA (AM)

WCBA is a radio station in the Elmira-Corning market of New York state. It broadcasts at 1000 watts day and night on 1350 kHz from studios in South Corning, NY. It is a sports talk station....

, WCBA-FM

WENI-FM

WENI-FM is a radio station broadcasting a Adult Contemporary format. Licensed to Big Flats, New York, USA. The station is currently owned by Group a Licensee, LLC and features programing from ABC Radio and Premiere Radio Networks.-History:...

, and WGMM

WGMM

WGMM is a radio station licensed to serve Corning, New York, USA. The station is owned by WS Media and licensed to WS2K Radio LLC.It broadcasts a classic hits music format to the Elmira, New York, metropolitan area.-History:...

.

Programing

• Mornings - The Wink Wakeup Crew: Scott and Ally in the Morning
• Afternoons - TJ
• Middays - Chase Daniels
• Nights Gone Wild - Shawn Kennedy