WHJY
 | |
| City of license | Providence, Rhode Island |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Providence metropolitan area |
| Branding | 94HJY |
| Slogan | "The Home of Rock & Roll" |
| Frequency |
94.1 MHz (also on HD Radio) 94.1-2 FM Alternative Rock (HD Radio) |
| First air date | March 14, 1966 |
| Format | Mainstream rock |
| ERP | 50,000 watts |
| HAAT | 139 meters |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 72298 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 41º49'40"N, 71º22'9"W |
| Callsign meaning | JoY (former format). |
| Former callsigns | WHIM-FM (1966-1978)[1][2] |
| Affiliations |
Premium Choice iHeartRadio |
| Owner |
Clear Channel Media and Entertainment (Capstar TX) |
| Sister stations | WHJJ, WSNE-FM, WWBB |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | whjy.com |
WHJY is a commercial radio station in Providence, Rhode Island owned by Clear Channel Media and Entertainment that broadcasts at 94.1 MHz (Channel 231). WHJY plays classic and mainstream rock, and has been doing so since September 4, 1981. Its broadcast center, along with its sister stations, is at 75 Oxford Street, just west of Interstate 95 in Providence, and its transmitter is located at 115 Eastern Avenue in East Providence. (The station's studio is located on the northeast corner of the building, facing traffic, and is sometimes referred to by D.J.s as "the Ghetto Penthouse."). WHJY transmits HD Radio[3] with the HD2 airing Clear Channel's Premium Choice channel "The Alternative Project"[4][5][6]
Current Disc Jockeys
- Paul & Al: Paul Fuller and Al Matthews are currently the longest-tenured D.J.s on the station, having been around since the late 1980s. They frequently feature skits and fake recordings, having made fun of many of the local politicians (including, notably, imitations of Rhode Island Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy which compare him to Beaver Cleaver). The duo also hosts a "Stump the DJ" hour on Thursdays, where callers call in with jokes and Paul & Al attempt to get the punchlines before the caller. They also are involved in annual trips, including a whitewater rafting trip in Maine and a trip to the annual New England Patriots-Miami Dolphins game in Miami. Regular contributions come from "Kevin The Lowly Stuntboy", with news by Kristen Lessard and Jim Shorts on Sports (real name Steve McDonald, who also serves as radio announcer for URI basketball on sister station WHJJ).
- Jenn: Midday broadcaster since late 2003, and host of The Classic Lunch, which includes older tracks, and finishes with "Hair in Your Lunch," a featured hair metal song.
- Geoff Charles: Geoff Charles has been with the station since the 1990s. First as the evening host, then as the drive home DJ. Charles' show is fairly popular, featuring a daily 4:20 Club, "Stuff I Know That You Don't Know," "Human Tricks," and "Quick Ones". The latter three being a collection of random facts. For the past several years, Charles has hosted a trip to Amsterdam, which originally fell during the week of the Cannabis Cup festival (before Thanksgiving), and currently falls the week between Christmas and New Year's Day. Charles also has begun airing a daily blog, which is called "Diary of a Psychotic," which usually deals with current events or other topics (the February 20, 2008 blog, for example, was about late DJ Mike "Doctor Metal" Gonsalves, who was one of the 100 victims of the Station nightclub fire-see below). He is currently joined by Scarpetti. With former co-hosts being Mike Brangiforte, (who was released for the same financial reasons as Quinn and Cantera), John Laurenti and Steve Conti, a.k.a. "The Troll."
- Doug Palmieri: Doug Palmieri returned to WHJY in 2013,[7] after being laid off in 2006.[8] Palmieri replaced Matt Battle who left WHJY to work in Philadelphia.[9] Doug hosts the week night broadcasts from 7p-midnight.
- Big Jim: Big Jim has been with the station since 1999. He got his start hosting the "Wrestling Report". He is also the host of the Metal Zone. The Metal Zone is a late-night program that airs on Saturdays. It features harder metal acts. The program was started by Doug Frye in 1985. Frye was later replaced by Doctor Metal, (Michael Gonsalves)around 1987. Jim also hosts Sound Check. which features local talent.
The station also plays several weekly shows on the weekends, including The House of Hair with Dee Snider, Hard Drive with Lou Brutus (the station's 3-7P.M. D.J. in the late 1980s and early 1990s), Little Steven's Underground Garage, In The Studio with RedBeard and others.
History
WHJY signed on March 14, 1966 as WHIM-FM, simulcasting 1110/WHIM, a country music station. The WHIM simulcast lasted through the 1970s until the FM station broke with the AM and became WHJY, "Joy 94", a beautiful music/easy listening station. At Midnight on September 4, 1981, the station flipped to album rock (the first station of its kind in the market), branded as "94 HJY". The first song on "94 HJY" was "Fire Down Below" by Bob Seger. Over the years, the station gradually shifted to its current format.
WHJY and The Station Night Club Fire
WHJY was not the sponsor of the Great White concert at the Station Night Club in West Warwick, Rhode Island on February 20, 2003 but they promoted the event with DJ Michael "Doctor Metal" Gonsalves as emcee. A pyrotechnics display triggered a massive fire, killing Gonsalves and 99 other people and destroying the club. In his memory, the radio station has set up "The Doc Fund," a scholarship with Rhode Island College (his alma mater) to support the victims and families of those affected who attend the school.
Technical
WHJY transmits a 50,000 watt signal from a 550 foot tower[10] at the end of Eastern Avenue in East Providence, RI. WHJY and WBRU are combined into an Electronics Research Inc. (ERI) SHPX-4BC, 4 bay FM antenna at the top of the tower.[11] The tower is also used as part of the WPMZ AM array, which has a skirt on the tall FM tower, and a shorter, second tower, at the same location.[12] WHJY transmits an HD Radio digital signal from this transmitter site as well, and has been since 2006[13]
References
- ↑ 1978 Broadcasting Yearbook showing WHIM-FM on page C-192.
- ↑ 1979 Broadcasting Yearbook showing WHJY on page C-194.
- ↑ http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=1132723
- ↑ http://www.iheartradio.com/mediaplayer/?station=IHM-IP&action=listenlive&stream_id=4390&channel_title=The%20Alternative%20Project
- ↑ http://www.whjy.com/cc-common/hdradio/
- ↑ http://radiotime.com/region/c_100505/Rhode_Island.aspx
- ↑ http://www.94hjy.com/pages/DougPalmieri.html
- ↑ http://www.fybush.com/NERW/2006/061120/nerw.html
- ↑ http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/116493/matt-battle-joins-wip-as-commercial-production-dir
- ↑ http://www.fccinfo.com/CMDProASRLookup.php?tabSearchType=ASR+Search&sASR=1022392&HorizAMSL=170&CallLetters=WHJY
- ↑ http://www.fccinfo.com/CMDProFacLookup.php?sCurrentService=FM&sKilometers=.1&sLatitude=41-49-40.0&sLongitude=71-22-7.0&tabSearchType=Within+Search
- ↑ http://www.fccinfo.com/CMDProEngine.php?sCurrentService=AM&tabSearchType=Appl&sAppIDNumber=40099&sHours=D
- ↑ http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=1132723
External links
- WHJY website
- Query the FCC's FM station database for WHJY
- Radio-Locator information on WHJY
- Query Nielsen Audio's FM station database for WHJY
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
Coordinates: 41°49′40″N 71°22′9″W / 41.82778°N 71.36917°W