WNIO

Infobox Radio Station
name = WNIO


area = Youngstown, Ohio
branding = 1390 WNIO
slogan = America's Best Music
airdate = 1939 as WFMJ
frequency = 1390 (kHz)
format = Adult standards
power = 9,500 watts daytime
4,800 watts nighttime
class = B
owner = Clear Channel Communications
website = [http://www.wnio.com/ www.wnio.com]
callsign_meaning = NIles, Ohio (the COL for WNIO's original home at 1540-AM, now WRTK) |

WNIO is an AM radio station in Youngstown, Ohio, USA broadcasting at 1390 kHz with an adult standards format. WNIO also carries Ohio State University football and basketball, Cleveland Cavaliers basketball and Mahoning Valley Scrappers minor league baseball.

History

The station was founded in 1939 as WFMJ by William F. Maag, Jr. from whose initials the call letters were derived. Maag was also publisher of the "The Youngstown Vindicator". It was originally at 1420 kHz, and moved to 1450 kHz during the NARBA frequency shift on March 29, 1941. It moved to its present location 1390 kHz during the mid 1940s. During the 1940s and early 1950s WFMJ was an affiliate of the Blue Network and its successor ABC.

In 1948, Maag launched WFMJ-FM at 105.1 MHz; the FM station is now WQXK. On March 8, 1953, Maag started Youngstown's second television station WFMJ-TV on channel 73. The television station moved to its present location, channel 21, on August 7, 1954.

The AM station changed its callsign to WHOT on April 23, 1990, when it sold by its original owners to the owner of WHOT-FM, and it used the historic call sign from the former Top 40 AM station the originally broadcast daytime only on 1570 kHz and later full time on 1330 kHz. Four years later, it was sold to Connoisseur Communications, and it changed to WRTK on February 15, 1995.

In order to obtain Justice Department approval to purchase WQXK (FM) and WSOM (AM), [ [http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/1997/October97/441at.htm.html #441: 10-23-97 - Connoisseur Communications Gets Justice Department Clearance to Acquire Two Youngstown, Ohio Radio Stations ] ] Connoisseur was forced to sell WRTK as well as WBBG (FM). The stations were sold on February 23, 1998 to a subsidiary of Bain Gocom, the Boston venture capital company that was a major investor in WKBN-TV's former parent company. The station became WNIO on November 1, 1999, swapping formats and callsigns with the 1540 kHz facility in Niles, Ohio (that station has retained the WRTK calls).

Clear Channel Communications purchased WNIO along with WNCD (FM) and WAKZ (FM) from Bain in 2005, after it had dropped its petition on January 14, 2004 to purchase those three stations along with WICT due to FCC objections [http://www.business-journal.com/archives/20040311andreawood.asp]

chedule

Weekdays

*5:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.: Dan Gonder
*10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.: Carol King
*2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.: Vince Camp

References

External links

* [http://www.maag.ysu.edu/oralhistory/cd1/OH236.pdf WFMJ Oral History, Transcript of interview of Bill Crooks]
*AMQ|WNIO