WAZY-FM

WAZY-FM
Broadcast area Lafayette, Indiana
Branding Z96-5
Slogan The Lafayette Valley's New #1 Hit Music Station
Frequency 96.5 (MHz)
Format Contemporary hit radio
ERP 50,000 watts
HAAT 152 meters (499 ft)
Class B
Owner Artistic Media Partners
Website wazy.com

WAZY-FM, "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. . The studios are located at 3824 South 18th Street in Lafayette, Indiana.

Station broadcasting information

WAZY-FM broadcasts from a 499-foot tower near Greenhill, Indiana.[1] Originally the radio station broadcast at 96.7 MHz.[2] By 1978, WAZY-FM had moved to 96.5 mHz, with an increase in power from 3,000 watts to 50,000 watts.[3]

WAZY is the flagship station for Purdue University Football.

History

Owned by WAZY Radio Inc., WAZY-FM signed on the air October 1, 1964.[4] It joined sister AM radio station WAZY, today known as WSHY. J.E. Willis served as President and General Manager for WAZY Radio Inc. Both radio stations programmed a simulcast of Contemporary Top 40 music. This means that, at over 50 years, WAZY-FM is one of the oldest Top 40 programmed radio stations in the U.S.A.

On March 1, 1970, ownership of both radio stations transferred to Radio Lafayette, Inc. (Group Owner: the Peoria (IL) Journal-Star newspaper) with F. Patrick Nugent serving as Vice President and General Manager.[5] Hal Youart, later the station's General Manager, was widely regarded as the person who grew WAZY-FM into the successful station it was.

As the radio station began to grow, the sister AM station's influence lessened. 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. 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 Bobby Day, Dan Michaels, Lou Patrick, Scott Dugan, Bob Leonard, Keith Harris and Steve West.

By 1980, WAZY-AM was being programmed separately from WAZY-FM. The AM sister station format shifted to Adult MOR.[6] Lightfoot Broadcasting acquired WAZY-FM, along with the AM sister station now using the call letters WFTE on January 7, 1982. [7]

RadioVision Partners Ltd., later name University Broadcasting, now known as Artistic Media Partners acquired WAZY-FM in October 1986.[8] Thomm Kristi was Program Director. Steve Brigandi was News Director.

History making ratings (36 share) were achieved in the 80's with Jim Stacy as program director, and talent including Steve Louizos, Dr. Dave (Dave Gross), and Steve West which was featured on the cover of Friday Morning Quarterback.

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.

Chloe Dillon is the current WAZY Program Director and has been programming WAZY since 2013.

Programming

WAZY currently plays a Contemporary hit radio format.

WAZY is a Local Primary Source-2 for the Indiana Emergency Alert System.

WAZY is currently streaming online at their website

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, left 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 moved to Lima Ohio as PD of WWSR/WDOH and now is Operations Director at Grenax Broadcasting II in Flagstaff/Prescott AZ. Carley O' Kelly is now hosting mid-days in Clear Channel Madison WI. Beau Derek now hosts nights in Detroit, Michigan. Kim Iverson now hosts a nationally syndicated night show based in Austin, TX.

Chris Carter now directs promotions for WHHH, Hot 96.3 in Indianapolis, Indiana. 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, Indiana. Dana Marshall has left radio to pursue a career in Artist Management for Sally Anthony.

Sidney Sharp, the production director at Z96 in 1983-84 and an on-air personality until 1990, now works for an NPR affiliate in Richmond, Virginia. Long-time program director, Jim Stacy, is an independent record promoter working for Tri-State Productions in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Former OM/PD Jeff "Jeffrey Jay" Weber is Executive Vice-President/part owner of the Business TalkRadio Network and the Lifestyle TalkRadio Network in Greenwich CT, a position he has held since 2002.

Bill Raley aka Steve West later went to WXUS, WLZR, WPFR, WASK, WGLM (all Lafayette), KMXZ Tucson and KGVY Green Valley, Arizona (a Tucson Suburb). He was also a police officer while on air full-time. He was a Corporate Security Manager at Wabash National in Lafayette.[9][10]

Gary Spears aka Michael Ray (real name: Michael Raymond Frosch), who last broadcast from WAZY-FM in 1977 and had stints at WCOL/WXGT 92.3 Columbus, Ohio and WDJX 104 Dayton, Ohio before moving to WBBM-FM Hot Hits B-96 Chicago (1982-1984, 1990-1994), WAPP 103.5 Lake Success, New York (1984-1986), WRQX Q-107 Washington, DC (1986-1990), and WEZB B-97 New Orleans (1994-1996), was at KYSR/KIBB 98.7 Los Angeles (1996-1997), then middays at KIIS-FM 102.7 Los Angeles (1997-2004), then the afternoon drive at KBIG-FM 104.3 Los Angeles (2004-2007), then a few weeks later began co-hosting St. Jude Hospital weekly podcast "Casting Hope" with Pixie Monroe. Gary Spears began middays 10:00 am – 3:00 pm on WJMK 104.3 FM K-Hits Chicago on 21 March 2011 and, as of 27 February 2012, had moved to afternoon drive 3:00 pm - 7:00 pm.

References

  1. ↑ https://transition.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/fmq?state=&call=wazy&city=&arn=&serv=&vac=&freq=0.0&fre2=107.9&facid=&asrn=&class=&dkt=&list=0&dist=&dlat2=&mlat2=&slat2=&NS=N&dlon2=&mlon2=&slon2=&EW=W&size=9
  2. ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1965/B1-1965-YB-All.pdf
  3. ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1978/C-1-Broadcasting-Yearbook-1978-Full.pdf
  4. ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1965/B1-1965-YB-All.pdf
  5. ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1972/B%20Radio%20YB%201972%20All-10.pdf
  6. ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1980/C-1%20Radio%20Broadcasting%20Yearbook%201980.pdf
  7. ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1983/B-Radio-Ala-Mt-1983-YB.pdf
  8. ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1987/B1-BC-YB-1987.pdf
  9. ↑ "Bill Raley". Retrieved 2011-12-28.
  10. ↑ "Steve West". Tucson Weekly. Retrieved 2011-12-28.

Coordinates: 40°23′02″N 87°07′55″W / 40.384°N 87.132°W / 40.384; -87.132

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