WHNN
Encyclopedia
WHNN is an FM radio station
serving the Saginaw
-Bay City
-Midland
area and Flint
with its classic hits format. It broadcasts on FM frequency 96.1 and is under ownership of Cumulus Media
. The station's powerful 100,000-watt frequency blankets a large chunk of the central and eastern Lower Peninsula, from Mount Pleasant to the Thumb and from south of Flint to West Branch, but its signal toward the southwest is inhibited by co-channel WMAX-FM
in Holland, Michigan
.
format. In 1974 the calls were changed to WHNN and the station adopted a Top 40 format as "Super Win." Many listeners remember that for several years, WHNN boasted "a winner an hour, sometimes even more". At least once an hour they would award a prize to a designated caller, and announce the current tally of prizes awarded by gibing the winners name, hometown and announcing that he or she was "super-Win winner number 12,384 or whatever number the current count was. Many of the prizes were fast food meals or car washes, but occasionally better prizes such as concert tickets or meals at high end restaurants were awarded. When the hourly prizes were phased out in 1979, WHNN announced it was in "the interest of public safety" as they didn't want to overwhelm the phone company's resources.
WHNN evolved into an AOR station in 1976. In 1981, despite being the top rated station in the area at the time, the station changed format from AOR to adult contemporary, with the first song being Gino Vannelli
's "Living Inside Myself". Station owners stated at the time that this was because they could not sell enough ad time. As a popular AC station during the 1980s, the station was known as "Sunny 96, Lite Rock, Less Talk."
's song "Louie, Louie" including the hit version by The Kingsmen
. In recent years, WHNN, like many stations of its kind, has evolved from "traditional" oldies to a "classic hits" direction focusing on pop, rock and soul hits from roughly 1965-1990 in the hope of reaching younger demographics, and has dropped most if not all pre-1965 music from its playlist. Unlike other classic hits stations which are essentially hit-based versions of Classic rock
, WHNN is a Top 40 Classic Hits station.
Through the changes to the music, the station's ratings have remained high. Syndicated shows heard on WHNN during weekends include Casey Kasem
's American Top 40
(aired Sunday mornings; mainly the 1970s package, but the station also airs shows from the early 1980s on occasion) and Into the '70s with legendary WLS
jock John Landecker
.
WHNN garnered attention in the fall of 2006 when it switched to a format of all Christmas music
, in response to crosstown AC competitor 106.3 WGER
's announcement that they would not go all-Christmas that year. The switch also brought all-Christmas music radio to Flint, owing to continued dominance of the market's AC station, 107.9 WCRZ
(which continues with its regular format during the holiday season). WHNN switched to all-Christmas again in early November 2007; WHNN had originally planned to switch to all-Christmas on Thanksgiving Day but moved up the change when WGER opted to return to playing continuous Christmas music ahead of schedule. WGER has since switched to a Hot AC direction as "Mix 106.3" and no longer goes all-Christmas for the holiday season, but MacDonald Broadcasting's AC combo of WSAM 1400 AM and WSAG
104.1 FM ("The Bay") has taken up the Christmas music mantle in recent years to challenge WHNN.
Cumulus Media
acquired Citadel Broadcasting and WHNN in 2011. WHNN's Flint area sales offices are expected to relocate to 6317 Taylor Drive in Flint as a result; the sale also included WHNN's current studios on Champagne Drive in Saginaw.
In addition to its Tri-Cities sister stations, WHNN's other sister stations in its listening area are 92.7 WDZZ, 95.1 WFBE
, 1330 WTRX
, 1570 WWCK
and 105.5 WWCK-FM
, all licensed to Flint.
, who once worked with Burke, Citadel Broadcasting
(who owned WHNN at the time) made the decision to pull Burke from the air for several days.
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...
serving the Saginaw
Saginaw, Michigan
Saginaw is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw was once a thriving lumber town and manufacturing center. Saginaw and Saginaw County lie in the Flint/Tri-Cities region of Michigan...
-Bay City
Bay City, Michigan
Bay City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan located near the base of the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 34,932, and is the principal city of the Bay City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Saginaw-Bay City-Saginaw Township North...
-Midland
Midland, Michigan
Midland is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan in the Tri-Cities region of the state. It is the county seat of Midland County. The city's population was 41,863 as of the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Midland Micropolitan Statistical Area....
area and Flint
Flint, Michigan
Flint is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the 2010 population to be placed at 102,434, making Flint the seventh largest city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Genesee County which lies in the...
with its classic hits format. It broadcasts on FM frequency 96.1 and is under ownership of Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media, Inc. is the second largest Owner and Operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States, behind Clear Channel Communications, operating 570 stations in 150 markets as of September 16, 2011. The company also owns Cumulus Media Networks...
. The station's powerful 100,000-watt frequency blankets a large chunk of the central and eastern Lower Peninsula, from Mount Pleasant to the Thumb and from south of Flint to West Branch, but its signal toward the southwest is inhibited by co-channel WMAX-FM
WMAX-FM
WMAX-FM are the call letters of a radio station owned by Clear Channel Communications located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, transmitting on a frequency of 96.1 MHz....
in Holland, Michigan
Holland, Michigan
Holland is a city in the western region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated near the eastern shore of Lake Michigan on Lake Macatawa, which is fed by the Macatawa River ....
.
Super Win and Sunny 96
As WBCM-FM in the late 1960s and early 1970s, 96.1 FM broadcast a beautiful musicBeautiful music
Beautiful music is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s...
format. In 1974 the calls were changed to WHNN and the station adopted a Top 40 format as "Super Win." Many listeners remember that for several years, WHNN boasted "a winner an hour, sometimes even more". At least once an hour they would award a prize to a designated caller, and announce the current tally of prizes awarded by gibing the winners name, hometown and announcing that he or she was "super-Win winner number 12,384 or whatever number the current count was. Many of the prizes were fast food meals or car washes, but occasionally better prizes such as concert tickets or meals at high end restaurants were awarded. When the hourly prizes were phased out in 1979, WHNN announced it was in "the interest of public safety" as they didn't want to overwhelm the phone company's resources.
WHNN evolved into an AOR station in 1976. In 1981, despite being the top rated station in the area at the time, the station changed format from AOR to adult contemporary, with the first song being Gino Vannelli
Gino Vannelli
Gino Vannelli is an Italian-Canadian singer, songwriter, musician and composer.-Early years:Born in Montreal, Quebec, Vannelli is one of three sons born to Russ and Delia Vannelli. Russ, his father, was a big band musician. As a child, Gino's greatest passion was music, and he began playing...
's "Living Inside Myself". Station owners stated at the time that this was because they could not sell enough ad time. As a popular AC station during the 1980s, the station was known as "Sunny 96, Lite Rock, Less Talk."
WHNN Today
WHNN switched to the current oldies format in the fall of 1990 following a period of stunting with various versions of Richard BerryRichard Berry
Richard Berry was an African American singer, songwriter and musician, who performed with many Los Angeles doo-wop and close harmony groups in the 1950s, including The Flairs and The Robins....
's song "Louie, Louie" including the hit version by The Kingsmen
The Kingsmen
The Kingsmen is a 1960s garage rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States. They are best known for their 1963 recording of Richard Berry's "Louie Louie", which held the #2 spot on the Billboard charts for six weeks...
. In recent years, WHNN, like many stations of its kind, has evolved from "traditional" oldies to a "classic hits" direction focusing on pop, rock and soul hits from roughly 1965-1990 in the hope of reaching younger demographics, and has dropped most if not all pre-1965 music from its playlist. Unlike other classic hits stations which are essentially hit-based versions of Classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
, WHNN is a Top 40 Classic Hits station.
Through the changes to the music, the station's ratings have remained high. Syndicated shows heard on WHNN during weekends include Casey Kasem
Casey Kasem
Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem is an American radio personality and voice actor who is best known for being the host of the nationally syndicated Top 40 countdown show American Top 40, and for voicing Shaggy in the popular Saturday morning cartoon franchise Scooby-Doo.Kasem, along with Don Bustany and...
's American Top 40
American Top 40
American Top 40 is an internationally syndicated, independent radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds and Ron Jacobs. Originally a production of Watermark Inc...
(aired Sunday mornings; mainly the 1970s package, but the station also airs shows from the early 1980s on occasion) and Into the '70s with legendary WLS
WLS (AM)
WLS is a Chicago clear-channel AM station on 890 kHz. It uses C-QUAM AM stereo and transmits with 50,000 watts from transmitter and towers on the south edge of Tinley Park, Illinois....
jock John Landecker
John Landecker
John Records Landecker is a Top40/Oldies disc jockey best known for creating "Boogie Check," "Americana Panorama," and satirical songs and bits based on current events such as "Make a Date with the Watergate," and "Press My Conference." He currently hosts a TKO Radio Networks syndicated weekend...
.
WHNN garnered attention in the fall of 2006 when it switched to a format of all Christmas music
Christmas music
Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music normally performed or heard around the Christmas season, which tends to begin in the months leading up the actual holiday and end in the weeks shortly thereafter.-Early:...
, in response to crosstown AC competitor 106.3 WGER
WGER
WGER is a radio station licensed to Saginaw, Michigan broadcasting a hot adult contemporary format.WGER can be heard in the Tri-Cities, as their niche market. However, WGER is shared on the same frequency by CHKS-FM "K106.3" in Sarnia, Ontario...
's announcement that they would not go all-Christmas that year. The switch also brought all-Christmas music radio to Flint, owing to continued dominance of the market's AC station, 107.9 WCRZ
WCRZ
WCRZ is a radio station in Flint, Michigan, broadcasting an adult contemporary format. WCRZ is the top-rated heritage station in the market.-History:...
(which continues with its regular format during the holiday season). WHNN switched to all-Christmas again in early November 2007; WHNN had originally planned to switch to all-Christmas on Thanksgiving Day but moved up the change when WGER opted to return to playing continuous Christmas music ahead of schedule. WGER has since switched to a Hot AC direction as "Mix 106.3" and no longer goes all-Christmas for the holiday season, but MacDonald Broadcasting's AC combo of WSAM 1400 AM and WSAG
WSAG
WSAG in Linwood, Michigan, and WSAM in Saginaw, Michigan, are a pair of radio stations broadcasting a soft adult contemporary format, collectively known as The Bay....
104.1 FM ("The Bay") has taken up the Christmas music mantle in recent years to challenge WHNN.
Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media, Inc. is the second largest Owner and Operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States, behind Clear Channel Communications, operating 570 stations in 150 markets as of September 16, 2011. The company also owns Cumulus Media Networks...
acquired Citadel Broadcasting and WHNN in 2011. WHNN's Flint area sales offices are expected to relocate to 6317 Taylor Drive in Flint as a result; the sale also included WHNN's current studios on Champagne Drive in Saginaw.
In addition to its Tri-Cities sister stations, WHNN's other sister stations in its listening area are 92.7 WDZZ, 95.1 WFBE
WFBE
WFBE is a radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Flint, Michigan, it first began broadcasting in 1953....
, 1330 WTRX
WTRX (AM)
WTRX is an American radio station broadcasting a sports radio format in Flint, Michigan. It is the Flint affiliate for the Detroit Tigers, the Detroit Lions, the Detroit Red Wings, the Detroit Pistons, and the Michigan Wolverines, as well as ESPN Radio.The station first began broadcasting in 1947...
, 1570 WWCK
WWCK (AM)
WWCK is a radio station in Flint, Michigan broadcasting a talk radio format.The Cumulus Media-owned station features a roster of mainly syndicated talk show hosts including Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Neal Boortz, and Coast-to-Coast AM as well as local morning talk with Lou Lobsinger and news...
and 105.5 WWCK-FM
WWCK-FM
WWCK-FM is a radio station in Flint, Michigan, broadcasting an adult-oriented Top 40 format. The station is owned by Cumulus Media and has programmed its current format since 1989.-Early History: WMRP:...
, all licensed to Flint.
Controversy
WHNN was recently involved in a scandal when popular morning jock John W. Burke, better known as "Johnny Burke", was suspended without pay for making offensive comments on the stations website regarding Flint public schools. In light of the recent events with Don ImusDon Imus
John Donald "Don" Imus, Jr. is an American radio host, humorist, philanthropist and writer. His nationally-syndicated talk show, Imus in the Morning, is broadcast throughout the United States by Citadel Media and relayed on television by the Fox Business Network.-Personal life:Imus was born in...
, who once worked with Burke, Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the country...
(who owned WHNN at the time) made the decision to pull Burke from the air for several days.