968 WNOP Decreasing the station’s dependency on university funding was one of the two goals general manager David Arnold was presented with when he was hired in 1991; the second was attracting more listeners. When focus group studies identified that a large proportion of WNKU’s audience lived in Ohio and Indiana, the station’s news coverage was broadened to include areas within the I-275 loop (see Expressways). That same year, music director Dan Reed modified WNKU’s former all-folk programming by adopting a more progressive “Triple A” format—musical selections with an adult, album, and alternative focus. In keeping with the station’s new direction, WNKU touted itself as “The Natural Alternative” and as “A New Direction in Acoustic Music.” As it made these changes, WNKU carefully preserved its tremendously popu lar niche programs, such as Katie Laur’s bluegrass show Music from the Hills of Home, Kathy Costello’s A Celtic Afternoon, and Bob Beemon’s Mr. Rhythm Man. In 1995 WNKU’s 10-year anniversary celebration was buoyed by listeners’ positive responses to the station’s expanded news and music programming. The popu lar public radio station boasted a weekly audience of 25,000 to 30,000 listeners, a significant increase from its 1991 totals, which averaged between 15,000 and 20,000. General manager Ben Singleton, hired in 2003, cited an even more impressive figure: 38,200 listeners per week were tuning in to 89.7 FM. Singleton also noted that the percentage of Ohio listeners—over the years averaging 80 percent, to Kentucky’s 20 percent—had evolved in recent years along with population shifts; Kentucky listeners accounted for approximately 40 percent of the station’s audience. The station has also taken advantage of developing technology to expand its broadcasting schedule and enhance audience accessibility. In January 2003, after purchasing a digital audio delivery system, WNKU began 24-hour broadcasting; in February 2006 the station began offering on-demand features and podcasts via its Web site. Local publications have also affirmed the station’s tremendous public appeal; Cincinnati CityBeat, Cincinnati Magazine, and Everybody’s News have recognized WNKU as the “Best Station in Cincinnati.” Under the longtime leadership of news director Maryanne Zeleznik—who, just before her August 2005 departure, was the only original WNKU employee—the station’s news department won numerous national, regional, and local awards and honors. The Public Radio News Directors Inc., Ohio’s Society of Professional Journalists, and the Kentucky Associated Press and Radio-Television News Directors Association are among the prestigious organizations that have repeatedly honored the WNKU News Department in many areas, including broadcast and feature writing, newscasting, and investigative reporting. When WGUC-FM purchased public radio station WVXU-FM, WNKU lost Zeleznik and fellow news veteran Jay Hanselman to WGUC. General manager Singleton seized the opportunity to make programming and personnel changes that enable
WNKU to maintain its long-standing commitment to Northern Kentucky news and public affairs coverage while also reshuffling and reshaping its winning mix of music and nationally syndicated program offerings. In December 2007 Chuck Miller became station manager. WNKU’s current slogan “NPR and great music!” clearly identifies the programming pillars upon which the station’s award-winning reputation has been built. The station has been under the banner of NKU’s University Advancement Division since 1999. In addition to WNKU, the division includes the Office of University Development, the Office of Marketing and Communications, the Office of Alumni Programs, the Office of Special Events, and the NKU Foundation. These dynamic offices work collaboratively to advance NKU’s mission of “becoming a preeminent learner-centered, metropolitan university recognized for its contributions to the intellectual, social, economic, cultural and civic vitality of its region and of the Commonwealth.” “FM Radio Station Approved for Northern,” KP, January 24, 1983, 10K. Hall, Gregory A. “Fine-Tuning Sound of Public Radio—WNKU General Manager Hopes to Find Format, News Focus in Station’s Roots,” KP, June 25, 1991, 10K. Kiesewetter, John. “WNKU Celebrates a 20-Year Musical Mix,” KE, April 28, 2005, E1. Kreimer, Peggy. “WNKU’s Pender Leaving Station,” KP, August 8, 1985, 9K. Miller, N. Edd. Letter to members regarding WNKU’s one-year anniversary, Kentucky Folk Radio (WNKU newsletter/pamphlet), April 1986. Pender, Rick. “All Grown Up: Over 20 Years, Bouncing Baby WNKU Matures into Popu lar Radio Station,” Cincinnati CityBeat, 2005, www.best-of -cincinnati.com/ (accessed August 3, 2006). University Advancement. “Welcome to University Advancement.” Northern Kentucky Univ. http:// advancement.nku.edu/page.asp?p=0110000 (accessed August 3, 2006). “WNKU-FM: On the Air for 10 Years,” KP, April 24, 1995, 1K. Zeleznik, Maryanne. Telephone interview by Jan Mueller, February 22, 2005.
Janice Mueller
WNOP. Radio station WNOP-AM originated in 1946 in the minds of a handful of businessmen of the Tri-City Broadcasting Company of Newport. The group, headed by James Lang, former sheriff of Campbell Co., sought a radio station operating at 1110 kilocycles with one kilowatt of power for the daytime only, a so-called sunrise station. At the time of their application to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), another station was being proposed at Dayton, Ohio, using the same frequency. In early November 1946, hearings were held in Washington, D.C., and on May 29, 1947, the FCC granted a license to Tri-City Broadcasting and denied the application for the Ohio station. The call letters for the new radio station in Newport were to be WWNL. It appeared that Tri-City Broadcasting would be able to proceed with plans, but they had to be put on hold
when the Dayton, Ohio, group appealed the FCC decision. In the meantime, Tri-City’s newly purchased transmitting equipment was destroyed in a warehouse fire in Fort Thomas. Finally, after months of renegotiating and reengineering, TriCity Broadcasting applied for construction of a station operating on 740 kilocycles, which was approved May 14, 1948. The transmitter was constructed in a field at Cold Spring, off Johns Hill Rd., and the studio was located on the second floor of the building at 606 Monmouth St. in Newport, above the old Mustang Bar. At 12:10 p.m., August 21, 1948, WNOP signed on the air for the fi rst time. The fi rst announcer introduced A. B. “Happy” Chandler (Kentucky governor 1935–1939 and 1955–1959), who was on hand for the occasion. WNOP was not affi liated with a radio network; the original format was a combination of radio shows and country music programming. In 1956 Ray Scott, who later became one of the top 25 country disc jockeys in the nation, joined the team at WNOP. In 1962, amid pressure to compete and gain a more stable and loyal audience, the station changed its the format to all jazz. Oscar Treadwell was one of the station’s well-known jazz personalities. In 1972 the original owners sold the station to Cincinnatian Al Vontz, owner of a beer distributorship in Ohio. Immediately, the rent charged the studio in Newport was raised, and Vontz made a major change in the station. He teamed with designer David Ziegler and arranged to have a new studio built. The Jazz Ark, the new studio’s nickname, was constructed out of three oil tanks welded together, each 12 feet in diameter and 20 feet long. Together they held five rooms on two floors with interconnecting doors and stairs. The ark was built at Tucker Marine. Each tank was equipped with 20,000 pounds of ballast, and the facility was placed in the Ohio River to become a floating studio. It was anchored at the Stadium Marina, just east of the mouth of the Licking River. Windows made to look like large portholes gave the studio a bird’s-eye view of the Cincinnati skyline. Above the studio were the large red neon letters WNOP; they produced an amazing sight at night, glimmering on the river. From there, Carolyn Rose, wife of Cincinnati Reds player Pete Rose, broadcast her show on WNOP. The Jazz Ark, also known as “Radio Free Newport,” continued until 1989, when the station decided to move from its tiny offices to a larger space in Cincinnati. The ark was donated to the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati. Then in 1992, to accommodate the growing interest in national news, the station dropped its jazz format and adopted Ted Turner’s CNN Headline News format from 6:00 a.m. to dusk daily. In 1994 the jazz format returned, and it continued until Sacred Heart Radio purchased the station at the end of 2000. On January 1, 2001, the WNOP format became religious programming. In January 2006 the new station, with the same WNOP call letters, celebrated five years of success; its studio is at the Holy Spirit Center in Norwood, Ohio.