WQNQ

Infobox Radio station


name = WQNQ
city = Fletcher, North Carolina
area = Western North Carolina
branding = "Star 104.3"
slogan = "Asheville's Best Mix Of The 80s and Today"
airdate = 1991
frequency = 104.3 FM
format = Hot Adult Contemporary
power =
erp = 470 watts
class = A
callsign_meaning =
former_callsigns = WDLF (1991–1996) WMXF (1996–1999) [ [http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/call_hist.pl?Facility_id=71341&Callsign=WQNQ Call Sign History] , CDBS Public Access, Media Bureau, Federal Communications Commission. Accessed on line February 26, 2007.]
owner = Clear Channel Communications
sister_stations =
webcast =
website = http://www.star1043.com/main.html
affiliations =

WQNQ is a United States FM radio station operating on 104.3 MHz serving the Asheville, North Carolina area. The station currently has a hot adult contemporary music format and is owned by Clear Channel. The station is commonly called "Star 104.3."

It features the morning show of Mark Andrews & Tricia Kelly [http://star1043.com/pages/mornings.html] , [Kim Mathews] [http://star1043.com/pages/personality_KimMathews.html] handles middays, then On Air with Ryan Seacrest [http://star1043.com/pages/onairwithryanseacrest.html] , Josh Michael [http://star1043.com/pages/joshmichael.html] is the afternoon drive and Kendall [http://star1043.com/pages/Kendall.html] does nights.

Licensing

WQNQ is licensed in Fletcher, North Carolina just outside of Asheville. The station broadcasts at an effective radiated power of 470 watts from a transmitter located 349 meters (1,245 feet) above the average surrounding terrain.

History

WDLF-FM signed on in Old Fort, North Carolina in October, 1991 with a soft adult contemporary format known as "Delightful 104". The studio's were actually located in Marion, North Carolina. The station was sold to Blue Dolphin Communications in November, 1996. At that time, the station made an attempt to move into the Asheville market as the format was changed to Hot Adult Contemporary as "Mix 104.3" under the new call letters of WMXF. They also switched from live DJ's to satellite which caused a lot of public dissaproval. The original company they contracted with was Jones Satellite out of Colorado. Another station in the area--WKBC-FM--also carried Jones Hot AC during the day and the overnight, meaning both stations played the same songs and had the same DJ's. Jones was dropped for this reason, and for not being contemporary enough, and ABC Radio Networks hot AC was added. When Mix 104 went to satellite they added the Bob and Sheri morning show from WLNK, which was dropped abruptly by station management, due to public complaints. They added Scott and Todd in the Morning from New York City which was not greeted well due to the market. In late 1998 the studiio was moved from Marion to Asheville soon after the tower was moved from Wildcat Mountain outside of Old Fort to a tower outside of Asheville. Because of the mountainous terrain in the Asheville market, the station signal range was still limited.

On September 20th, 1999, the Hot AC format was dropped and 104.3 began to simulcast WQNS 104.9 FM from Waynesville as WQNQ, with a format change to Classic rock as "Rock 104". This meant the two stations would cover a larger area than either one could separately. John Boy and Billy would be heard on the station in the morning. Dawn Creasman made the move from Mix 104. [Tony Kiss, "Local Radio Station Gets New Format, Programming," "Asheville Citizen-Times", September 19, 1999.] The WMXF call sign was moved to the co-owned AM in Waynesville as that station switched to Adult Standards. All three of these Blue Dolphin-owned stations, plus WTZY, were sold to Clear Channel Communications by 2001. [Mark Barrett, "Company Bets on Future of Radio," "Asheville Citizen-Times", January 10, 2001.]

In 2005, WQNQ's signal was upgraded and a decision was made to have separate programming. The tower was moved to the Fletcher area, and the city of license was moved into Asheville by swapping with sister station WKSF. [Tony Kiss, "Clear Channel Asheville Debuts New Radio Station," "Asheville Citizen-Times", March 18, 2005.] The change gave WQNQ a significant boost in listener numbers. ["Kiss Country Again Tops Radio Ratings; Star 104.3 Gets Big Boost in Ratings After Format Change," "Asheville Citizen-Times", August 12, 2005.]

References

External links

* [http://www.star1043.com/ Star 104.3 web site]
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