WSNX
Encyclopedia
WSNX-FM is a radio station
located in Clear Channel Communications
' Grand Rapids, Michigan
headquarters. The station has a rhythmic-leaning
Top 40 (CHR)
format. The 104.5 dial position is licensed to Muskegon, in Western Michigan
with the station serving the Grand Rapids area, and is one of two contemporary hit radio
stations in Grand Rapids, the other being WHTS.
format to Top 40 and used the moniker "Sunny-FM" on-air. (The WQWQ calls and easy-listening format moved to 101.7 FM and continued there until the station became WMRR
.) Goodrich Radio located the studios at 875 E. Summit in Norton Shores
, just outside Muskegon. The antenna was upgraded to get a city-grade signal into Grand Rapids.
WSNX moved to Grand Rapids (at 2610 28th Street) in 1996, where it was occupying the same offices of sister station (107.3) WODJ
Oldies
format and (1140) WKWM Urban AC. It would also drop the "Sunny FM" moniker and simply go by 104.5 WSNX. It was around this time that the CHR formatted station added an apparent hip-hop or urban feel musically, as well as adding local music.
During the late 1980s, WSNX was one of several competing CHR stations in the area, with the dominant "Grand Rapids #1 Hit Music Station" 98 WGRD and 94.5 WKLQ
. By the mid-1990s, WGRD had switched to alternative rock and WKLQ had long since switched to album-oriented rock, and the CHR battle was between WSNX and Federated Media's adult-leaning "Mix 96" WAKX at 96.1. In 1998, Clear Channel purchased 96.1 from Federated Media and flipped it to "Continuous Hit Music I-96" as WVTI. Goodrich aimed WSNX directly at I-96, competing with them on the air and through promotions. The station identified itself as "Grand Rapids' Hottest Music 104.5 WSNX".
WSNX moved again to downtown Grand Rapids after it was purchased by Clear Channel Radio in 1999, and took the "Continuous Hit Music" moniker and a slightly more mainstream, though still rhythmic-leaning, CHR format, as I-96 was retooled as a Hot AC to compete with 95.7 W-Lite
. In 2006
, the station dropped the "Continuous Hit Music" slogan, and the point from "104.5" and the station simply branded itself as 104-5 WSNX, virtually the same time when contemporary hit radio
rival WHTS was launched. In 2011, the station has started using the "West Michigan's Party Station" slogan, but this is not used on-air and only used on the station's website.
WSNX was the first radio station in both the Grand Rapids and Muskegon markets to broadcast in HD Radio
, as it does today. Its HD2 subchannel originally carried the Dance Top 40 Club Phusion
format but switched to urban in late 2009. The HD2 is a rebroadcast of Clear Channel's iHeartRadio
hip-hop/R&B format known as "The Beat."
concert as presents for Valentine's Day
through a contest called "False Confessions". In the contest, callers had to make prank call
s to family members and make fake confessions to them (for example, one girl had to admit to her grandmother that she was a lesbian
). If the caller could get the family member to say "I still love you", the caller would receive the tickets.
One caller was told she would win the tickets if she could (falsely) tell her husband that he was not actually the father
of their 9-year-old son. During the call, the husband let slip that he had been having an affair with the caller's sister. This caused a large amount of outrage among the show's viewers and at least one person reportedly threatened to sue the radio station over it. However, no lawsuit took place and the Puddin' Playhouse program continued until its host Justin Barclay left the station in December 2009 for WDZH "AMP Radio" in Detroit.
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...
located in Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
' Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...
headquarters. The station has a rhythmic-leaning
Rhythmic Contemporary
Rhythmic contemporary, also known as rhythmic top 40, rhythmic contemporary hit radio or rhythmic crossover, is a music radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary rarely uses rock music or country music in its airplay, but it may...
Top 40 (CHR)
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. The 104.5 dial position is licensed to Muskegon, in Western Michigan
Western Michigan
West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for an arbitrarily selected region in the U.S. state of Michigan in its Lower Peninsula. There is no official definition for what constitutes "West Michigan." The area of West Michigan may also include parts Southern Michigan.-Definition:In general,...
with the station serving the Grand Rapids area, and is one of two 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...
stations in Grand Rapids, the other being WHTS.
History
What is now 104.5 WSNX began life as Beautiful Music station WQWQ (the "Q" stood for "Quality") in 1971. Goodrich Radio Marketing purchased the frequency in 1984 and quickly changed the Beautiful MusicBeautiful music
Beautiful music is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s...
format to Top 40 and used the moniker "Sunny-FM" on-air. (The WQWQ calls and easy-listening format moved to 101.7 FM and continued there until the station became WMRR
WMRR
WMRR is a radio station broadcasting a mainstream rock format. Licensed to Muskegon Heights, Michigan, it first began broadcasting under the WKJR call sign....
.) Goodrich Radio located the studios at 875 E. Summit in Norton Shores
Norton Shores, Michigan
Norton Shores is a city in Muskegon County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 22,527 at the 2000 census.-Overview:Norton Shores is located on the shores of Lake Michigan in Muskegon County...
, just outside Muskegon. The antenna was upgraded to get a city-grade signal into Grand Rapids.
WSNX moved to Grand Rapids (at 2610 28th Street) in 1996, where it was occupying the same offices of sister station (107.3) WODJ
WODJ
WKLQ is a talk radio station licensed to Whitehall, Michigan. The station broadcasts at 1490 kHz, and is owned by Cumulus Media.As WUBR , the station has played adult standards. Later, the format changed to sports, carrying ESPN Radio. In December 2005, the station switched to the current talk...
Oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
format and (1140) WKWM Urban AC. It would also drop the "Sunny FM" moniker and simply go by 104.5 WSNX. It was around this time that the CHR formatted station added an apparent hip-hop or urban feel musically, as well as adding local music.
During the late 1980s, WSNX was one of several competing CHR stations in the area, with the dominant "Grand Rapids #1 Hit Music Station" 98 WGRD and 94.5 WKLQ
WTNR
WTNR , is a country radio station located in Holland, Michigan, owned by Cumulus Media. It was established in October 2004, as a station that focueses mostly on new country music, with songs from the 1990's and early 2000's. It competes with B-93...
. By the mid-1990s, WGRD had switched to alternative rock and WKLQ had long since switched to album-oriented rock, and the CHR battle was between WSNX and Federated Media's adult-leaning "Mix 96" WAKX at 96.1. In 1998, Clear Channel purchased 96.1 from Federated Media and flipped it to "Continuous Hit Music I-96" as WVTI. Goodrich aimed WSNX directly at I-96, competing with them on the air and through promotions. The station identified itself as "Grand Rapids' Hottest Music 104.5 WSNX".
WSNX moved again to downtown Grand Rapids after it was purchased by Clear Channel Radio in 1999, and took the "Continuous Hit Music" moniker and a slightly more mainstream, though still rhythmic-leaning, CHR format, as I-96 was retooled as a Hot AC to compete with 95.7 W-Lite
WLHT
WLHT-FM, also known as "CHANNEL 95-7" , is a hot adult contemporary music formatted radio station in Grand Rapids, Michigan owned by Townsquare Media. Until late April 2006, the station was the home of the husband-and-wife morning team of Dave & Geri.-WKLW, WZZM-FM, and WZZR:The station signed on...
. In 2006
2006 in radio
The year 2006 saw a number of significant events in radio broadcasting.-Events:*January 3 - The BJ Shea Morning Experience switches to KISW in Seattle, Washington, from the former FM Talk station KKWF....
, the station dropped the "Continuous Hit Music" slogan, and the point from "104.5" and the station simply branded itself as 104-5 WSNX, virtually the same time when 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...
rival WHTS was launched. In 2011, the station has started using the "West Michigan's Party Station" slogan, but this is not used on-air and only used on the station's website.
WSNX was the first radio station in both the Grand Rapids and Muskegon markets to broadcast in HD Radio
HD Radio
HD Radio, which originally stood for "Hybrid Digital", is the trademark for iBiquity's in-band on-channel digital radio technology used by AM and FM radio stations to transmit audio and data via a digital signal in conjunction with their analog signals...
, as it does today. Its HD2 subchannel originally carried the Dance Top 40 Club Phusion
Club Phusion
Club Phusion is a HD2 Dance Top 40 station, one of three Dance-formatted HD2 stations programmed by Clear Channel Communications through their Format Lab, a new division set up to expand music formats over their HD2 subcarriers...
format but switched to urban in late 2009. The HD2 is a rebroadcast of Clear Channel's iHeartRadio
Iheartradio
iHeartRadio is a Clear Channel Radio network to aggregate local radio brands, personalities and on-demand content. It is best known as a mobile application...
hip-hop/R&B format known as "The Beat."
False Confessions controversy
During February 2008, WSNX's program "Puddin' Playhouse" gave away tickets to a Kanye WestKanye West
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
concert as presents for Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day
Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496...
through a contest called "False Confessions". In the contest, callers had to make prank call
Prank call
A prank call is a form of practical joke committed over the telephone. Prank phone calls began to gain an America-wide following over a period of many years, as they gradually became a staple of the obscure and amusing cassette tapes traded amongst musicians, sound engineers, and media traders...
s to family members and make fake confessions to them (for example, one girl had to admit to her grandmother that she was a lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
). If the caller could get the family member to say "I still love you", the caller would receive the tickets.
One caller was told she would win the tickets if she could (falsely) tell her husband that he was not actually the father
Father
A father, Pop, Dad, or Papa, is defined as a male parent of any type of offspring. The adjective "paternal" refers to father, parallel to "maternal" for mother...
of their 9-year-old son. During the call, the husband let slip that he had been having an affair with the caller's sister. This caused a large amount of outrage among the show's viewers and at least one person reportedly threatened to sue the radio station over it. However, no lawsuit took place and the Puddin' Playhouse program continued until its host Justin Barclay left the station in December 2009 for WDZH "AMP Radio" in Detroit.