WNSL
Encyclopedia
WNSL is a Top 40 music formatted radio station
licensed to Laurel, Mississippi
, serving the Laurel-Hattiesburg Arbitron
market. It is also known as the Heritage Station of Laurel-Hattiesburg, although it is not the oldest.
. It is also an affiliate of the syndicated On Air with Ryan Seacrest
, Open House Party
, and Dawson McAllister Live
.
The weekday on-air lineup consisted of:
, the first radio station in Laurel, Mississippi. Walters was the General Manager of WNSL until 1983, and for most of those years reported the news in the morning drive slot. WNSL began a simulcast on FM 100.3 mHz shortly thereafter. For years, it had a country music format (the AM moniker was Dixie's 1260 for a time), and was famous for the "Masonite Whistle", a music and news program broadcast from 6:00 - 6:30 a.m. and sponsored by Masonite Corporation, for the benefit of its employees. A common phrase used in the program was "for those getting up or those getting in", presumably to cater to employees of the night and morning shifts. This program continued as a simulcast on both AM and FM stations, despite changes in formats and call letters, until 1984. At one point, the FM format was changed to R&B and was known as Soul-100, before adopting the current Top 40 format in the late 1970s. The AM format remained country until the change in FM format. Then, the AM station call letters were changed to WQIS, the format to R&B, and the moniker to "Super Q 1260". The FM station retained the WNSL call letters. In 1981, WNSL built a new transmitter tower near Moselle, Mississippi with an ERP of 33,000 watts. In 1985, when WNSL built a new transmitter tower near Ellisville, Mississippi; the transmitter in Moselle became the new transmitter tower for WQIS. WNSL successfully tapped into the Hattiesburg market, targeting students at the University of Southern Mississippi, competing with Top 40 station WHSY
"Y-104". In 1983, Granville Walters retired and sold his part in WNSL/WQIS to Bob Holladay, who was the son of Mr. Walters' partner, Ed Holladay of Meridian, Mississippi
. Under Bob Holladay's watch, the station gained prominence as a Top 40 station. Holladay managed to lure DJ's from other larger markets, particularly, Meridian, Mississippi, to WNSL. The new tower built in 1985 was 1000 feet over average terrain, and WNSL upgraded to an ERP of 100,000 watts. This new tower was capable of handling multiple stations, and initially shared transmission with WHER
FM 103.7 in Hattiesburg, an easy listening
FM station. Upon the inauguration of the new tower, WNSL changed its legal identification announcement to WNSL Laurel-Hattiesburg-Meridian in an effort to tap into the Meridian radio market and compete with Top 40 station WJDQ
"Q-101". As part of the campaign, Holladay hired Mike Golden, a former news anchor with WTOK-TV
in Meridian, as news director. The station also arranged for a relayed broadcast at 100.5 on cable in Meridian, as the radio signal was not strong in areas on the north side of Meridian. This campaign proved to yield little fruit and within 18 months, the legal identification was changed back to WNSL Laurel-Hattiesburg and Mike Golden was gone. Holladay expanded the company through acquisition of other stations, but eventually sold WNSL and WQIS to other broadcast interests before the stations were eventually owned by Clear Channel
.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
licensed to Laurel, Mississippi
Laurel, Mississippi
Laurel is a city located in Jones County in Mississippi, a state of the United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 18,393 although a significant population increase has been reported following Hurricane Katrina. Located in southeast Mississippi, southeast of...
, serving the Laurel-Hattiesburg Arbitron
Arbitron
Arbitron is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio audiences. It was founded as American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging with L.A. based Coffin, Cooper and Clay in the early 1950s...
market. It is also known as the Heritage Station of Laurel-Hattiesburg, although it is not the oldest.
Programming
SL100 is an affiliate of the syndicated Kidd Kraddick in the MorningKidd Kraddick in the Morning
Kidd Kraddick in the Morning is an American morning radio show hosted by Kidd Kraddick on Cumulus Media Networks...
. It is also an affiliate of the syndicated On Air with Ryan Seacrest
On Air with Ryan Seacrest (radio)
On Air with Ryan Seacrest is the name of an American syndicated radio program hosted by Ryan Seacrest. As of 2010, the daily morning radio show airs on Los Angeles top 40 station KIIS-FM and was launched at the same time as the television show with the same name, although Seacrest had hosted a...
, Open House Party
Open House Party
Open House Party is an American radio show hosted on Saturday nights by John Garabedian that promotes itself as "the biggest party on the planet". It focuses on playing contemporary hit radio music, also known as Top 40. The show differentiates itself from most Top 40 stations because it plays a...
, and Dawson McAllister Live
Dawson McAllister Live
Dawson McAllister Live is a talk radio show hosted by Dawson McAllister where teenagers and young adults talk about problems in life including divorce, depression, cutting, suicide, drug addictions, eating disorders, homosexuality, and family issues...
.
The weekday on-air lineup consisted of:
- Mornings: Kidd Kraddick in the MorningKidd Kraddick in the MorningKidd Kraddick in the Morning is an American morning radio show hosted by Kidd Kraddick on Cumulus Media Networks...
- Middays: Sheri Marengo
- Mid-Middays: "On Air with Ryan SeacrestOn Air with Ryan Seacrest (radio)On Air with Ryan Seacrest is the name of an American syndicated radio program hosted by Ryan Seacrest. As of 2010, the daily morning radio show airs on Los Angeles top 40 station KIIS-FM and was launched at the same time as the television show with the same name, although Seacrest had hosted a...
" - Afternoons: "Ya Boy" Don King
- Nights: Holmes and The Freak Show
- Overnights: Jo Jo on the Radio
History
WNSL began as an AM Station at 1260 kHz by Granville Walters in the 1950s. Walters was a former news reporter and host at WAMLWAML (AM)
WAML is an American radio station that is licensed to serve the community of Laurel, Mississippi. WAML operates with a licensed power limit of 1,000 Watts...
, the first radio station in Laurel, Mississippi. Walters was the General Manager of WNSL until 1983, and for most of those years reported the news in the morning drive slot. WNSL began a simulcast on FM 100.3 mHz shortly thereafter. For years, it had a country music format (the AM moniker was Dixie's 1260 for a time), and was famous for the "Masonite Whistle", a music and news program broadcast from 6:00 - 6:30 a.m. and sponsored by Masonite Corporation, for the benefit of its employees. A common phrase used in the program was "for those getting up or those getting in", presumably to cater to employees of the night and morning shifts. This program continued as a simulcast on both AM and FM stations, despite changes in formats and call letters, until 1984. At one point, the FM format was changed to R&B and was known as Soul-100, before adopting the current Top 40 format in the late 1970s. The AM format remained country until the change in FM format. Then, the AM station call letters were changed to WQIS, the format to R&B, and the moniker to "Super Q 1260". The FM station retained the WNSL call letters. In 1981, WNSL built a new transmitter tower near Moselle, Mississippi with an ERP of 33,000 watts. In 1985, when WNSL built a new transmitter tower near Ellisville, Mississippi; the transmitter in Moselle became the new transmitter tower for WQIS. WNSL successfully tapped into the Hattiesburg market, targeting students at the University of Southern Mississippi, competing with Top 40 station WHSY
WHSY
WHSY is a radio station broadcasting a news/talk/information format. Licensed to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, USA, the station serves the Hattiesburg-Laurel area. The station is currently owned by Southern Air Communications, Inc. and features programing from CBS Radio Network, Sporting News Radio,...
"Y-104". In 1983, Granville Walters retired and sold his part in WNSL/WQIS to Bob Holladay, who was the son of Mr. Walters' partner, Ed Holladay of Meridian, Mississippi
Meridian, Mississippi
Meridian is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi. It is the sixth largest city in the state and the principal city of the Meridian, Mississippi Micropolitan Statistical Area...
. Under Bob Holladay's watch, the station gained prominence as a Top 40 station. Holladay managed to lure DJ's from other larger markets, particularly, Meridian, Mississippi, to WNSL. The new tower built in 1985 was 1000 feet over average terrain, and WNSL upgraded to an ERP of 100,000 watts. This new tower was capable of handling multiple stations, and initially shared transmission with WHER
WHER (FM)
WHER is a radio station licensed to serve Heidelberg, Mississippi. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications and the license is held the Aloha Station Trust, LLC. It airs a classic country music format....
FM 103.7 in Hattiesburg, an easy listening
Easy listening
Easy listening is a broad style of popular music and radio format that emerged in the 1950s, evolving out of big band music, and related to MOR music as played on many AM radio stations. It encompasses the exotica, beautiful music, light music, lounge music, ambient music, and space age pop genres...
FM station. Upon the inauguration of the new tower, WNSL changed its legal identification announcement to WNSL Laurel-Hattiesburg-Meridian in an effort to tap into the Meridian radio market and compete with Top 40 station WJDQ
WJDQ
WKZB is a classic hits music formatted radio station broadcasting in the Meridian, Mississippi, Arbitron market. In one form or another, WKZB had been the heritage top 40 station of the market for over 20 years. Currently the station broadcasts on 95.1 but originally broadcast on 101.3...
"Q-101". As part of the campaign, Holladay hired Mike Golden, a former news anchor with WTOK-TV
WTOK-TV
WTOK-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for Meridian, Mississippi. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 11 from a transmitter south of the city along MS 145 . The station can also be seen on Comcast channel 6 and in high definition on digital channel 431. Owned by...
in Meridian, as news director. The station also arranged for a relayed broadcast at 100.5 on cable in Meridian, as the radio signal was not strong in areas on the north side of Meridian. This campaign proved to yield little fruit and within 18 months, the legal identification was changed back to WNSL Laurel-Hattiesburg and Mike Golden was gone. Holladay expanded the company through acquisition of other stations, but eventually sold WNSL and WQIS to other broadcast interests before the stations were eventually owned by Clear Channel
Clear channel
A clear-channel station is an AM band Radio station in North America that has the highest protection from interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. Usually known as class A stations since 1982, they are occasionally still referred to by their former...
.