WAZY-FM
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| WAZY | |
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| Broadcast area | Lafayette, Indiana |
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| Branding | Z96-5 |
| Slogan | Lafayette's #1 Hit Music Station |
| Frequency | 96.5 (MHz) |
| Format | Contemporary hit radio |
| ERP | 50,000 watts |
| Class | B |
| Owner | Artistic Media Partners |
| Website | wazy.com |
WAZY, "Z96.5" is an FM radio station owned by Artistic Media Partners in Lafayette, Indiana. The station operates on the FM radio frequency of 96.5 MHz, FM channel 243. [1]. The studios are located at 3824 South 18th Street in Lafayette, Indiana.
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[edit] Station broadcasting information
The station broadcasts from a 499 foot tower near New Greenhill, Indiana. [2] Originally the station broadcast at 96.7 MHz, but shortly after it changed to 96.5 MHz. [3]
WAZY-FM is the oldest top 40 station still in existence.
WAZY is the flagship station for Purdue University Football.
[edit] History
In 1938, the first radio station to sign on the air was WLAF-AM.[citation needed] Located at 1180 on the dial, the station broadcasted local programming and the popular BLUE network. In 1952, the father of Top 40 radio Todd Storz (Storz Radio) purchased the AM station and built his first FM signal, WAZY-FM. Lafayette was the first city in the United States with a Top 40 FM radio station. In 1955, Storz sold the combo to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, which intended to move the AM station to a higher frequency so that WOWO Fort Wayne could expand its service. In 1956, Westinghouse sold WAZY-FM to Hillebrand Toledo who owned a few stations in surrounding states. In 1964, WAZY-FM was reunited with WLAF-AM and they began sharing station call letters.
In 1964, Fischer Communications purchased the combo and moved it to its current location on South 18th Street in Lafayette. At the time, Fischer also owned the WFBM group in nearby Indianapolis. Fischer sold the radio stations to the Peoria Journal Star newspaper group. It was later purchased in the early 80's by Lightfoot Broadcasting, headquartered out of Connecticut. Rob Ford was hired from the WASK group to run the stations. Hal Youart, the station's GM for many years, was widely regarded as the person who grew WAZY-FM into the successful station it was. The tide really turned for the station when it flipped its Top Forty by day and AOR by night format to all Top Forty. Jeffrey Jay Weber, who later became one of the first PD's to make the move directly to GM when he left the station to go to an AM-FM in Terre Haute, was instrumental in the station's growth in the late seventies along with jocks like Lou Michaels, Keith Harris and Steve West (who became a police officer and now is the Corporate Security Manager at Wabash National).
In the 1970s WAZY-FM began to grow, and the need for an AM station became less in the community. Some of the talent and programming staff that worked for WAZY in the 1970s moved on to become programmers in New York City, Philadelphia, and Chicago. Gary Spears [4], aka Michael Ray (real name: Michael Frosch), who last broadcast from WAZY-FM in 1977 and later went to WBBM Chicago, was the afternoon drive at KBIG-FM 104.3 in Los Angeles until 20 April 2007, then a few weeks later began co-hosting St. Jude Hospital weekly podcast "Casting Hope" with Pixie Monroe.
In 1984, Lightfoot Broadcasting sold the AM signal to First Assembly of God Church of Lafayette. In 1987 Lightfoot Broadcasting's Indiana stations, including WAZY A/F and WXLX A/F Columbus, were purchased by University Broadcasting, which would become Artistic Media Partners of Lafayette. Since that period, WAZY-AM (now WSHY) has been reunited once again with the FM station.
In 1995 under program director John Flint (Harrison), WAZY switched from a Top 40 format to a Hot Adult Contemporary format, positioning themselves as "The Best Of the 80's and 90's." In the fall of 2000, WAZY decided to soften its musical approach and flipped to Adult Contemporary. On March 16, 2001, just 6 months after the switch to AC, WAZY returned to the Contemporary Hits Radio (Top 40) format. It remained 96.5 WAZY until September 28, 2006, when it switched to "Lafayette's #1 Hit Music Station - Z96.5".
In 2004, Artistic Media Partners, as a part of company-wide sports programming realignment initiative, moved Purdue University Football and Men's Basketball off WAZY to their classic rock sister station, WSHP, and the following year to country sister, WLFF. This resulted in two frequency flip-flops between WLFF and WSHP in a less than 18 months. Beginning in the fall of 2007, WAZY once again became the flagship station for Purdue Football.
[edit] Programming
WAZY currently plays a Contemporary hit radio format.
Weekend programming includes Open House Party weekend evenings and American Top 40 Sunday mornings.
WAZY is a Local Primary Source-2 for the Indiana Emergency Alert System. [5]
[edit] Where are they now?
Former WAZY morning show hosts Gavin Todd and Stephanie Patterson left WAZY during the fall 2006 ratings sweep. Todd now works in Hawaii, while Patterson, who was with the station for 5 years, then left country WLFF to become the Community Relations Coordinator at the Tippecanoe Community Health Clinic.
Scotty Blades has decided to return to the educational field in Kentucky, Dan "Tyler" Baisden is now the VP/Programming for Maverick Media of Ohio's WWSR/WDOH. Carley O' Kelly is now hosting mid-days in Clear Channel Madison WI. Beau Derek now hosts nights in Detroit, MI.
Chris Carter now directs the WTWO Prime Edition on WFXW and WTWO Late Edition for television station WTWO-TV in Terre Haute. General Manager Rick Prusator is a sales manager for WLFI in Lafayette. Chris Cruise is hosting nights at WJFX Fort Wayne. JJ Davis is now hosting nights in Kokomo. Dana Marshall has left radio to pursue a career in Artist Management for Sally Anthony.
[edit] External links
- Z96.5 Website
- Artistic Media Website
- Query the FCC's FM station database for WAZY
- Radio Locator information on WAZY
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