WSNR
Encyclopedia
WSNR, AM 620, is a radio station in the New York metropolitan area
with a brokered time format owned by Blackstrap Broadcasting. On Saturdays and Sundays (10 a.m. to midnight), the station airs a Caribbean format, One Caribbean Radio.
WSNR is licensed to Jersey City, New Jersey
and transmits 3,000 watts days/7,600 watts night from towers in Lyndhurst, New Jersey
, but has an application pending with the FCC to relocate its transmitter to the New Jersey Meadowlands and increase power to 15,000 watts day and night.
, the station played Broadway show music and mostly vocal based easy listening music. WVNJ had evolved into an adult standards
format by the early 1970s, playing artists like Frank Sinatra
, Benny Goodman
, Mills Brothers
, Barbara Streisand, Tony Bennett
, Ella Fitzgerald
, Ray Charles
, Andrews Sisters, Nat "King" Cole, Peggy Lee
, Artie Shaw
, Carpenters, Vic Damone
, Sammy Davis Jr., Connie Francis
, Patti Page
, Johnny Mathis
, Dinah Shore
, among others. By the late 1970s, WVNJ featured a pur big band show playing only music from the 1920s, 1930's, 1940's, and early 1950s weekdays between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. This show was hosted by Danny Stiles. WVNJ 620 was marketed as a standards station to accompany its then-co-owned FM station WVNJ FM which played Beautiful Music
. In 1980, when WRVR New York dropped Jazz for Country WKHK, WVNJ-FM adopted a night-time jazz format keeping easy listening instrumentals and a vocal per 20 minutes during the day. At that point, WVNJ 620 picked up the beautiful music format for night-time hours while keeping big bands and standards during the day. Ratings were low on WVNJ 620 due to the fact it had a weak signal and 1130 WNEW
was also doing a big band based format by 1981.
In August 1983, WVNJ-FM was sold to Malrite and became a CHR
format in a new location with a new staff and known as Z 100 WHTZ
. WVNJ was sold that October and became a Spanish Adult Contemporary station. They became WSKQ and were owned by Spanish Broadcasting Corporation. They also moved to a new location in Manhattan
. After SBS bought an FM station, WSKQ became WXLX and employed a Mexican regional music format beginning in 1990. In 1996, the station was sold to One On One Sports and picked up that sports talk programming becoming WJWR. After One-on-One Sports merged with the Sporting News newspaper, the network would be renamed Sporting News Radio and WJWR would become WSNR. It was around this time that WSNR would also be re-licenced to Jersey City, NJ. WJWR and WSNR were the flagship for the New York Islanders
, and at various times carried the play by play for the New York Liberty
of the WNBA, the New York CityHawks of the Arena Football League
, and the Brookly Cyclones
of the New York - Penn League
From 2001 to 2006, the station was owned by Paul Allen
's Vulcan Ventures
and was the local affiliate of Sporting News Radio
. The station was also briefly an MRN
affiliate and was the only New York metro area station broadcasting NASCAR events.
Daytime programming consists of Russian news/talk shows as Davidzon Radio. Nighttime is leased to various other ethnic and specialty programmers.
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New York metropolitan area
The New York metropolitan area, also known as Greater New York, or the Tri-State area, is the region that composes of New York City and the surrounding region...
with a brokered time format owned by Blackstrap Broadcasting. On Saturdays and Sundays (10 a.m. to midnight), the station airs a Caribbean format, One Caribbean Radio.
WSNR is licensed to Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
and transmits 3,000 watts days/7,600 watts night from towers in Lyndhurst, New Jersey
Lyndhurst, New Jersey
Lyndhurst is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 20,554.Lyndhurst was originally formed as Union Township on February 19, 1852 from portions of Harrison Township...
, but has an application pending with the FCC to relocate its transmitter to the New Jersey Meadowlands and increase power to 15,000 watts day and night.
History
First signed on in 1947 or 1948. In the 1950s through 1970's, as WVNJ licensed to Newark, New JerseyNewark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
, the station played Broadway show music and mostly vocal based easy listening music. WVNJ had evolved into an adult standards
Adult standards
Adult standards is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations.Adult standards is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly those persons over 50 years of age, but it is mostly targeted for senior citizens...
format by the early 1970s, playing artists like Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Benny Goodman
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...
, Mills Brothers
Mills Brothers
The Mills Brothers, sometimes billed as The Four Mills Brothers, were an American jazz and pop vocal quartet of the 20th century who made more than 2,000 recordings that combined sold more than 50 million copies, and garnered at least three dozen gold records...
, Barbara Streisand, Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
, Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
, Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
, Andrews Sisters, Nat "King" Cole, Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...
, Artie Shaw
Artie Shaw
Arthur Jacob Arshawsky , better known as Artie Shaw, was an American jazz clarinetist, composer, and bandleader. He was also the author of both fiction and non-fiction writings....
, Carpenters, Vic Damone
Vic Damone
Vic Damone is an American singer and entertainer.- Early life :Damone was born Vito Rocco Farinola in Brooklyn, New York to French-Italian immigrants based in Bari, Italy—Rocco and Mamie Farinola. His father was an electrician; and his mother taught piano. His cousin was the actress and singer...
, Sammy Davis Jr., Connie Francis
Connie Francis
Connie Francis is an American pop singer of Italian heritage and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1950s and 1960s. Although her chart success waned in the second half of the 1960s, Francis remained a top concert draw...
, Patti Page
Patti Page
Clara Ann Fowler , known by her professional name Patti Page, is an American singer, one of the best-known female artists in traditional pop music. She was the best-selling female artist of the 1950s, and has sold over 100 million records...
, Johnny Mathis
Johnny Mathis
John Royce "Johnny" Mathis is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standards, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum status, and 73 making the Billboard charts...
, Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore was an American singer, actress, and television personality...
, among others. By the late 1970s, WVNJ featured a pur big band show playing only music from the 1920s, 1930's, 1940's, and early 1950s weekdays between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. This show was hosted by Danny Stiles. WVNJ 620 was marketed as a standards station to accompany its then-co-owned FM station WVNJ FM which played Beautiful Music
Beautiful music
Beautiful music is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s...
. In 1980, when WRVR New York dropped Jazz for Country WKHK, WVNJ-FM adopted a night-time jazz format keeping easy listening instrumentals and a vocal per 20 minutes during the day. At that point, WVNJ 620 picked up the beautiful music format for night-time hours while keeping big bands and standards during the day. Ratings were low on WVNJ 620 due to the fact it had a weak signal and 1130 WNEW
WNEW
WNEW may refer to:*WNEW , a radio station licensed to Jupiter, Florida, United States*WBBR, a radio station licensed to New York, New York, United States, which used the call sign WNEW until December 1992...
was also doing a big band based format by 1981.
In August 1983, WVNJ-FM was sold to Malrite and became a 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 in a new location with a new staff and known as Z 100 WHTZ
WHTZ
WHTZ — branded Z100 — is a commercial pop/contemporary hit radio radio station licensed to Newark, New Jersey serving the New York metropolitan area. The station is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications...
. WVNJ was sold that October and became a Spanish Adult Contemporary station. They became WSKQ and were owned by Spanish Broadcasting Corporation. They also moved to a new location in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. After SBS bought an FM station, WSKQ became WXLX and employed a Mexican regional music format beginning in 1990. In 1996, the station was sold to One On One Sports and picked up that sports talk programming becoming WJWR. After One-on-One Sports merged with the Sporting News newspaper, the network would be renamed Sporting News Radio and WJWR would become WSNR. It was around this time that WSNR would also be re-licenced to Jersey City, NJ. WJWR and WSNR were the flagship for the New York Islanders
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
, and at various times carried the play by play for the New York Liberty
New York Liberty
The New York Liberty is a professional basketball team based in New York City, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was one of the eight original franchises of the league...
of the WNBA, the New York CityHawks of the Arena Football League
Arena Football League
The Arena Football League is the highest level of professional indoor American football in the United States. It is currently the second longest running professional football league in the United States, after the National Football League. It was founded in 1987 by Jim Foster...
, and the Brookly Cyclones
Brooklyn Cyclones
The Brooklyn Cyclones is a minor league baseball team in the Short-Season A classification New York - Penn League, affiliated with the New York Mets. The Cyclones play at MCU Park just off the Coney Island boardwalk in the New York City borough of Brooklyn....
of the New York - Penn League
New York - Penn League
The New York – Penn League is a minor league baseball league which operates in the northeastern United States. It is classified as a "Short-Season A" league; its season starts in June, after major-league teams have signed their amateur draft picks to professional contracts, and ends in early...
From 2001 to 2006, the station was owned by Paul Allen
Paul Allen
Paul Gardner Allen is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. Allen co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates...
's Vulcan Ventures
Vulcan Inc.
Vulcan Inc. is an investment and project management company founded in 1986 by Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, to manage his investments...
and was the local affiliate of Sporting News Radio
Sporting News Radio
Yahoo! Sports Radio, formerly Sporting News Radio is a United States sports radio network that broadcasts sports news, talk, scores, and highlights 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. On August 1, 2011, it was announced the network would change its name to Yahoo! Sports Radio, effective...
. The station was also briefly an MRN
Motor Racing Network
The Motor Racing Network is the principal radio broadcasting operation of NASCAR, promoting themselves as "The Voice of NASCAR." It broadcasts coverage of most major NASCAR races at the top three levels of NASCAR at tracks owned by International Speedway Corporation as well as Dover International...
affiliate and was the only New York metro area station broadcasting NASCAR events.
Daytime programming consists of Russian news/talk shows as Davidzon Radio. Nighttime is leased to various other ethnic and specialty programmers.
External links
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