WPHH
Encyclopedia
WMRQ is an alternative rock
station based in Hartford, Connecticut
. The city of license is Waterbury, Connecticut
. WMRQ-FM broadcasts at 104.1 MHz with an effective radiated power
of 18 kW from West Peak in Meriden, Connecticut
(on a tower with WKSS
). Station soundwork is highly promoting the iBiquity
HD Radio channel WMRQ-HD1 on 104.1-1.
. In the early 70s, the station changed call letters and rebranded as "Nashville, Connecticut, W-104. They took the call letters WIOF. In 1978, the station dropped country to become Adult Contemporary formatted "Magic 104". During the switch to Magic 104, WIOF also upgraded its signal by moving its transmitter from near its studios in Prospect to West Peak in Meriden, CT. Lou Terri was the Program Director and midday host until his death in an automobile accident in 1989. Steve Wiersman later became Program Director until 1994. Morning announcers included Bill Cleveland, Greg O'Brien and Ray Petraca. Jack Carney, who was also the voice of WVIT
Channel 30 at the time, hosted the afternoon show. Jim Scott did nights, Rick O'Connor did middays, later replaced by Ron O'Brien (a.k.a. Ron O). Weekend DJ's included Greg LaPorta between 1990-1992. In 1992, they rebranded as "Star 104.1", WYSR. Other DJ's on Star 104.1 were Brett Provo-Mornings later Afternoons (now Afternoon Drive / Production Director at WMAS
Springfield, MA.), Paul DeFrancisco-Afternoons, Jay Hanson-weekends (now WFMX
Skowhegan, ME), Long John-Weekends (WEBE 108 Westport, CT alumni), Rich Kilbourne (a.k.a. Big Rich Baker-News, WKCI Hamden, CT alumni), Cathy Foxx-Middays, Neil Jackson-Mornings, Lee Gordon-Production Director, Race Bannon, who stayed on after October 31, 1994 for what became "Radio 104 Modern Rock". Bud Fisher became WMRQ's first sales manager. Bud had appeared on Magic 104 as "Gary Hunter". Ron O became WYSR PD after Steve Wiersman departed, until October 31, 1994 when the format changed to "Modern Rock" and all programming staff was released; Lee Gordon remained as Production Director. On October 31, 1994, the format flipped to modern rock/alternative outlet WMRQ "Radio 104". Personalities such as morning shows "Jake & Beth", Dee Snider
and Bubba The Love Sponge
were morning shows on the station at various points during the station's history, with Wilcow, Chaz, The Carlito Show, and Logan following after the mornings. The station also hosted popular annual events such as "The Big Day Off" and "104fest." Due to struggling ratings, WMRQ was flipped to WPHH, Power 104.1, in September 2003.
As a station playing Hip Hop and R&B music, Power 104.1 WPHH solidified its position as the only Mainstream Urban station in the Hartford/New Haven market; its main competitor was WZMX
(93.7 FM). Nicole Siedman served as Program Director for a short period until 2004. Mychal Maguire assumed the Program Director position thereafter. Spank Buda served as Assistant Program Director and night host for the entire duration of WPHH. Popular events included the "Hoop It Up" basketball tournament and the "Legends of Hip Hop" concert. Other DJ's on Power 104.1 were Mia Mendez, DJ Showtime, TT Torrez, DJ Londonn, and PJ.
On October 25, 2007, 104.1 again changed music formats. They returned to the previous Modern Rock
format. The station was programmed similar to WRFF
in Philadelphia. http://www.dcrtv.com/boston.html
On December 20, 2007 104.1 changed its calls to WURH. http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/call_hist.pl?Facility_id=74279&Callsign=WPHH
During May 2008, and almost six months after Clear Channel launched "FM 104-One" (WURH 104.1 Waterbury, CT), the station finally named a PD, Becky Pohotsky, who had been the station's APD/MD and de facto PD for most of its existence.
On August 4, 2008, Clear Channel
placed the station's assets into an entity called the Aloha Station Trust in order to sell off the station. This was due to Clear Channel being above the ownership limits by the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC). These limits were imposed when Clear Channel was officially taken private by Bain Capital Partners on July 30, 2008.
On Feb. 19, 2009, Ledyard, Conn.-based Red Wolf Broadcasting Corp. announced that it had agreed to buy WURH for 8 million dollars. Red Wolf's owner, John Fuller, said the station would join his other radio properties, including WBMW (106.5 FM) and WWRX (107.7 FM), both of which serve the New London, Conn., market. On May 14, 2009, local ownership Red Wolf Broadcasting took over control of the station. Their first action was to revert the station back to its WMRQ call letters, and modified name "Radio 104.1", which call was used by the station from 1995 - 2003 during its first run with Modern Rock. The new modern rock lineup includes Kaiser in the morning, Amy Gray middays, Fisch afternoons, and Ryan Smart evenings.
In November 2009, a Spanish tropical format, "La Bomba 97.5" ("The Bomb") was launched on WMRQ-HD2 through its Glastonbury, CT studio. The format is simulcast on 60-watt Bolton, CT translator W248AB on 97.5. Jorel Claudio is program director of "La Bomba." More recently, Jorel Claudio switched La Bomba 97.5 (W248AB) to La Bomba 97.1 (W246CC) to provide more coverage and more power. La Bomba 97.1 FM is now 100 watts, reaching as far as Springfield, MA.
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
station based in Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
. The city of license is Waterbury, Connecticut
Waterbury, Connecticut
Waterbury is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, on the Naugatuck River, 33 miles southwest of Hartford and 77 miles northeast of New York City...
. WMRQ-FM broadcasts at 104.1 MHz with an effective radiated power
Effective radiated power
In radio telecommunications, effective radiated power or equivalent radiated power is a standardized theoretical measurement of radio frequency energy using the SI unit watts, and is determined by subtracting system losses and adding system gains...
of 18 kW from West Peak in Meriden, Connecticut
Meriden, Connecticut
Meriden is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 59,653.-History:...
(on a tower with WKSS
WKSS
WKSS is a Top 40 Mainstream station based in Hartford, Connecticut.The city of license is Hartford-Meriden, Connecticut, a unique two-city legal identifier.The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications Their motto is All the Hits....
). Station soundwork is highly promoting the iBiquity
IBiquity
iBiquity Digital Corporation is a company formed by the merger of USA Digital Radio and Lucent Digital Radio, with the goal of creating an in-band on-channel digital radio system for the United States and around the world...
HD Radio channel WMRQ-HD1 on 104.1-1.
History
WMRQ began broadcasting as country formatted WWCO-FM, owned by Merv GriffinMerv Griffin
Mervyn Edward "Merv" Griffin, Jr. was an American television host, musician, actor, and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer who went on to appear in movies and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986 Griffin hosted his own talk show, The Merv Griffin Show on Group W Broadcasting...
. In the early 70s, the station changed call letters and rebranded as "Nashville, Connecticut, W-104. They took the call letters WIOF. In 1978, the station dropped country to become Adult Contemporary formatted "Magic 104". During the switch to Magic 104, WIOF also upgraded its signal by moving its transmitter from near its studios in Prospect to West Peak in Meriden, CT. Lou Terri was the Program Director and midday host until his death in an automobile accident in 1989. Steve Wiersman later became Program Director until 1994. Morning announcers included Bill Cleveland, Greg O'Brien and Ray Petraca. Jack Carney, who was also the voice of WVIT
WVIT
WVIT, virtual channel 30, is the NBC owned and operated television station for the state of Connecticut, licensed to New Britain. WVIT has its offices and studios located in West Hartford, and transmitter based in Farmington, Connecticut....
Channel 30 at the time, hosted the afternoon show. Jim Scott did nights, Rick O'Connor did middays, later replaced by Ron O'Brien (a.k.a. Ron O). Weekend DJ's included Greg LaPorta between 1990-1992. In 1992, they rebranded as "Star 104.1", WYSR. Other DJ's on Star 104.1 were Brett Provo-Mornings later Afternoons (now Afternoon Drive / Production Director at WMAS
WMAS-FM
WMAS-FM is currently an Adult Contemporary music formatted radio station licensed to Springfield, Massachusetts. In the late 1960's WMAS-FM was an "underground" radio station. Advertising revenue came from the hippie boutiques, head shops, concert venues, and music stores that catered to the...
Springfield, MA.), Paul DeFrancisco-Afternoons, Jay Hanson-weekends (now WFMX
WFMX
WMKS, "105.7 NOW" is a Rhythmic-leaning top 40 outlet serving the Piedmont Triad region. The station is a part of Clear Channel's cluster in the Greensboro/Winston-Salem market and is licensed to Clemmons, North Carolina.-History as WFMX:...
Skowhegan, ME), Long John-Weekends (WEBE 108 Westport, CT alumni), Rich Kilbourne (a.k.a. Big Rich Baker-News, WKCI Hamden, CT alumni), Cathy Foxx-Middays, Neil Jackson-Mornings, Lee Gordon-Production Director, Race Bannon, who stayed on after October 31, 1994 for what became "Radio 104 Modern Rock". Bud Fisher became WMRQ's first sales manager. Bud had appeared on Magic 104 as "Gary Hunter". Ron O became WYSR PD after Steve Wiersman departed, until October 31, 1994 when the format changed to "Modern Rock" and all programming staff was released; Lee Gordon remained as Production Director. On October 31, 1994, the format flipped to modern rock/alternative outlet WMRQ "Radio 104". Personalities such as morning shows "Jake & Beth", Dee Snider
Dee Snider
Daniel "Dee" Snider is an American singer-songwriter, screenwriter, radio personality, and actor. Snider is most famous for his role as the frontman of the heavy metal band Twisted Sister...
and Bubba The Love Sponge
Bubba the Love Sponge
Todd Alan Clem is an American radio personality better known by his Legal name Bubba the Love Sponge Clem. He is the host of The Bubba the Love Sponge Show on various Cox Radio and Beasley Broadcast Group stations, formerly on Sirius XM Howard 101, as well as on RadioIO.-Early career and the...
were morning shows on the station at various points during the station's history, with Wilcow, Chaz, The Carlito Show, and Logan following after the mornings. The station also hosted popular annual events such as "The Big Day Off" and "104fest." Due to struggling ratings, WMRQ was flipped to WPHH, Power 104.1, in September 2003.
As a station playing Hip Hop and R&B music, Power 104.1 WPHH solidified its position as the only Mainstream Urban station in the Hartford/New Haven market; its main competitor was WZMX
WZMX
WZMX, better known as "Hot 93.7" is a Rhythmic Contemporary station licensed to Hartford, Connecticut. The CBS Radio owned outlet broadcasts at 93.7 megahertz. The station's current slogan is Hartford's #1 Station For Hip-Hop and R&B...
(93.7 FM). Nicole Siedman served as Program Director for a short period until 2004. Mychal Maguire assumed the Program Director position thereafter. Spank Buda served as Assistant Program Director and night host for the entire duration of WPHH. Popular events included the "Hoop It Up" basketball tournament and the "Legends of Hip Hop" concert. Other DJ's on Power 104.1 were Mia Mendez, DJ Showtime, TT Torrez, DJ Londonn, and PJ.
On October 25, 2007, 104.1 again changed music formats. They returned to the previous Modern Rock
Modern rock
Modern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre...
format. The station was programmed similar to WRFF
WRFF
WRFF is a modern rock FM radio station located in and licensed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications and is known on-air as "Radio 104.5."-WRCP-FM:...
in Philadelphia. http://www.dcrtv.com/boston.html
On December 20, 2007 104.1 changed its calls to WURH. http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/call_hist.pl?Facility_id=74279&Callsign=WPHH
During May 2008, and almost six months after Clear Channel launched "FM 104-One" (WURH 104.1 Waterbury, CT), the station finally named a PD, Becky Pohotsky, who had been the station's APD/MD and de facto PD for most of its existence.
On August 4, 2008, Clear Channel
Clear channel
A clear-channel station is an AM band Radio station in North America that has the highest protection from interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. Usually known as class A stations since 1982, they are occasionally still referred to by their former...
placed the station's assets into an entity called the Aloha Station Trust in order to sell off the station. This was due to Clear Channel being above the ownership limits by 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...
(FCC). These limits were imposed when Clear Channel was officially taken private by Bain Capital Partners on July 30, 2008.
On Feb. 19, 2009, Ledyard, Conn.-based Red Wolf Broadcasting Corp. announced that it had agreed to buy WURH for 8 million dollars. Red Wolf's owner, John Fuller, said the station would join his other radio properties, including WBMW (106.5 FM) and WWRX (107.7 FM), both of which serve the New London, Conn., market. On May 14, 2009, local ownership Red Wolf Broadcasting took over control of the station. Their first action was to revert the station back to its WMRQ call letters, and modified name "Radio 104.1", which call was used by the station from 1995 - 2003 during its first run with Modern Rock. The new modern rock lineup includes Kaiser in the morning, Amy Gray middays, Fisch afternoons, and Ryan Smart evenings.
In November 2009, a Spanish tropical format, "La Bomba 97.5" ("The Bomb") was launched on WMRQ-HD2 through its Glastonbury, CT studio. The format is simulcast on 60-watt Bolton, CT translator W248AB on 97.5. Jorel Claudio is program director of "La Bomba." More recently, Jorel Claudio switched La Bomba 97.5 (W248AB) to La Bomba 97.1 (W246CC) to provide more coverage and more power. La Bomba 97.1 FM is now 100 watts, reaching as far as Springfield, MA.
External links
- WMRQ Website
- Dee Snider Radio - archives of morning show