WPST

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**WPST**

City of license	Trenton, NJ
Broadcast area	Philadelphia, PA
Branding	"94 POINT 5 PST"
Slogan	Today's Hit Music
First air date	2/14/05
Frequency	94.5 (MHz)
Format	Top 40
ERP	50,000 watts
Callsign meaning	Passport Stereo Trenton
Owner	Nassau Broadcasting
Website	www.wpst.com

WPST is a radio station located at 94.5 FM with a top 40 format. The station is licensed to Trenton, New Jersey and is owned by Nassau Broadcasting. The transmitter is located in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania on US-1.

1 On Air Lineup
2 Previous Hosts/Shifts
3 History of 94.5
4 History of 97.5
5 Trivia
6 External link

[edit] On Air Lineup

Monday through Friday

5:00am-10:00am PST Wake Up Crew with Tommy Jordan, Chris Rollins, Newman, and Nikki Nelson
10:00am-3:00pm Toni Ryan
3:00pm-7:00pm Matt Sneed
7:00pm-12:00mid PST Totally Interactive Night Show with Shinn and Jon C.

[edit] Previous Hosts/Shifts

Mornings

Chris Centore/Chris Rollins (2005-2006)
Mark Vanness/Chris Rollins (1998-2005)
Eddie Davis/Chris Rollins (1995-1998)
Eddie Davis/Chris Gamble (1994-1995)
Eddie Davis/Janet Dunagan
John French
Tom Taylor

Middays

Gabrielle Vaughn (1998-2006)
Dan Kelly (1996-1998)
Michelle Stevens (1992-1996)
Dave Hoeffel

Afternoons

Matt Sneed (2003-2006)
Joel Katz (1996-2003)
Dan Kelly (1995-1996)
Scott Black (1995)
Andy Gury
Tom Cunningham
Trish Merelo

Nights

Tommy and Shinn (2004-2006)
Tommy Jordan (2001-2004)
Chris Puorro (1998-2001)
Jason (1996-1998)
Joel Katz (1994-1996)
Alex Valentine
Eddie Davis

Late Nights/Overnights

Wade
Tommy Jordan
Jason
Dave McKay
Mike Kaplan

[edit] History of 94.5

94.5 in Trenton began on August 7, 1965 as WCHR with a religious format. But after 33 years, that all changed when Nassau Broadcasting bought the station. November 10, 1997 saw the beginning of things to come when WCHR began to simulcast on 920 AM in Trenton (see NJ AM Page 4) in preparation for a format change. On February 27, 1998, WCHR started stunting with construction sound effects and on March 2, 1998 94.5 became "New Jersey's Oldies Station." The WNJO calls were assigned on March 26, 1998. On November 1, 2001, WNJO switched to a classic hits format as "94.5 The Hawk." Calls changed to WTHK on August 1, 2002 - and slowly evolved into a classic rock station. On February 14, 2005, at 5pm, 94.5 "switched" frequencies and formats with 97.5 WPST.

[edit] History of 97.5

97.5 started life, initially on January 10, 1949, then officially on April 19, 1949, as WTOA. It was owned by the Mercer Broadcasting Company, which was a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Trenton Times newspaper. WTOA started out broadcasting from 3pm to 11pm, with an ERP of 14,500 watts. Its original coverage area reached as far north as Brooklyn NY and as far west as Reading, PA. 97.5 became WPST on September 13, 1971. The WPST calls originally stood for "Passport Stereo Trenton," a slogan of the station at the time. WPST is known for its mainstream CHR format, which they've had for many years. Tom Taylor was the PD who launched the format in the mid 1970s, and did mornings on the station until 1987. In August 1975, owner Herb Hobler hired Phil Gieger as the General Manager. Along with Tom Taylor, they revamped the station and coined the phrase, "From The Shore To The Poconos, The Music Is On The FM 97.5 WPST." They initially established an Adult Rock format, and by the Fall of 1975, the station took off and eventually became the number one station in the market. Some WPST DJs over the years included John Mellon (aka Walt Ballard), Ed Johnson, Doug James, John Brown, Eddie Davis, Trish Merelo, Andy Gury, Brian Douglas, Mel Toxic, Kris Gamble Jay Sorensen, Dave Hoeffel, Tom Cunningham, Michelle Stevens, Eric Johnson, Mark Sheppard, Andre Gardner, Phil Simon, Mike Kaplan, Steve Trevelise, Joel Katz, Rich DeSisto, Jason Barsky, Scott Lowe, Joe LeCompte, Jeff Ryan, Mark Van Ness, Gabrielle Vaughn and Chris Puorro. Caricatures of the WPST DJs, circa 1977, can be found here. On February 14, 2005, at 5pm, 97.5 "switched" frequencies and formats with 94.5 WTHK. In August 2005, 97.5's city of license was changed from Trenton to Burlington. The 97.5 transmitter is located in downtown Trenton, New Jersey. The tower from which 97.5 broadcasts is the tallest structure in the City of Trenton.

Recently, 97.5 announced that it had plans to move its transmitter to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and also that it was switching over to the smooth jazz format, broadcasting as the second incarnation of WJJZ. The original WJJZ (106.1 FM), owned and operated by Clear Channel Communications, was one of Philadelphia's most popular radio stations until August 2006, when it was flipped to Rhythmic AC, adopted the call letters WISX, and renamed "Philly's 106.1."

The "New" WJJZ began broadcasting on November 17, 2006. Four members of the former 106.1 airstaff have returned to its 97.5 replacement, and Michael Tozzi, the program director at the first WJJZ, has been hired by the new version for the same position he had held before. The other three are Gerald Veasley, Teri Webb and Greg Purcell.