WNOP (AM)

WNOP
Newport, Kentucky;
Broadcast area	Greater Cincinnati, Covington
Frequency	740 kHz
Branding	Sacred Heart Radio
Programming
Language(s)	English
Format	Catholic talk/services
Affiliations	EWTN Global Catholic Radio Network
Ownership
Owner	Sacred Heart Radio Inc.
Sister stations	WPFB;
History
First air date	1948
Call sign meaning	Newport
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	15881
Class	D
Power	2,500 watts day; 30 watts night;
Transmitter coordinates	39°5′41.21″N 84°34′58.8″W / 39.0947806°N 84.583000°W
Links
Public license information	Public file; LMS;
Webcast	sacredheartradio.com/live
Website	sacredheartradio.com

WNOP is a radio station located in Newport, Kentucky, that can be heard in and around the Cincinnati area. It now broadcasts for Cincinnati's Catholic community and archdiocesan base and is an affiliate of EWTN radio for most (if not all) of its programming.

WNOP was a jazz station for 38 years, except for a brief run as a CNN Headline News affiliate from 1992 to 1994.^[2] WNOP's current religious talk format started on December 31, 2000.

History

Startup

The station was first on the air with combined country music and pre-recorded radio shows, receiving its Federal Communications Commission (FCC) license on May 29, 1947. The first broadcasts were on August 21, 1948. Jimmie Skinner hosted a radio program, which featured singer Connie Hall.

Jazz era (1962–2000)

Despite its relatively weak signal (not to mention almost bumping right into AM powerhouse WLW), WNOP had a core audience of loyal listeners during the years when its musical programming was mostly jazz. Its studios were on Monmouth St., in Newport, Kentucky where Ty Williams bravely played music during a studio fire. From there they moved to the "Jazz Ark' - floating studios on the Ohio river. It was not all jazz, however. Sometimes breaks between songs were filled with recordings of stand-up comedians. For the favorite comedy cuts the punch lines would be saved to a Gates ST-101 Spot Tape machine. They could be played as the DJ felt appropriate anytime between music tracks, or commercial voice-over.

From Monmouth St. the station moved to studios that were a tiny floating facility on the Ohio River, called "the jazz ark." Also known as "Free and Floating WNOP", the studios consisted of three 20,000-gallon fuel drums welded together with crosswalks and outfitted with all the necessary gear.^[2]

Unique for its time and place, the station maintained an on-air irreverence that could jolt you without warning. For instance, it sometimes identified itself as being "just a little to the right of WLW," while at other times, it claimed to be "Radio Free Newport," and Shelly Berman would often announce the call sign "WNOP - We're North Of Paraguay". On winter days when Cincinnati was hit with large amounts of snow and most stations announced school and workplace closings, morning on-air personality Leo Underhill instead would inform listeners which bars were closed due to bad weather.^[3]

Sacred Heart Radio (2000–present)

Sacred Heart Radio assumed ownership of the station on January 1, 2001. The program format was changed from jazz to Christian talk radio, much of it coming from EWTN Global Catholic Radio. The last song played before the switch was "The Vatican Rag" by Tom Lehrer.

The Son Rise Morning Show which airs weekday mornings on EWTN Radio originates from WNOP's studios, which are now located at Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Center (the former St. Gregory's Seminary) at 5440 Moeller Avenue in Norwood.

On August 24, 2010, WHSS, 89.5 MHz in Hamilton, was sold by the Hamilton City Schools to Sacred Heart Radio. It was an FM repeater of WNOP reaching the northern Cincinnati region of Hamilton, Middletown, Mason and the surrounding area. The channel was sold to ClassX radio in 2023.^[4]

In April 2016, Sacred Heart Radio Inc. purchased WPFB, 910 AM in Middletown from Northern Kentucky University to serve Middletown and the Dayton area. On June 3, 2016, WPFB commenced Sacred Heart Radio's programming.

On-air talent

Talent prior to 1962 (country music era)

Bob Anderson, sportscaster^[5]
Roy Moss
Jimmie Skinner

On-air staff (1962–2000)

Marc T. Bolin
"Downtown" Scott Brown
The Darksoldier (Phil Tucker)
Jim Edwards
Robyn Carey (Allgeyer)
Angelo Catanzaro
Jack Clements
Val Coleman
Dee Felice
Kristi Heitzman
Gary Keegan
Wilbert Longmire
Dennis "The Ironman" Michaels
Bob NaveDa
Geoff Nimmo
Dick Pike
Jim Planky
Mike Roberts
John Royer
Brian Schwab
Ray Scott
Jean Shepherd
Mark Stevens (Mark Schlachter)
Bunky Tadwell (Walt Harrell)
Oscar Treadwell
Leo (Old Undies) Underhill
Chris Wagner
Max Warner
Christopher Geisen
Stew Williams
Ty Williams
Dave Worford
Carmen "Catman" Catanzaro
Candy McGinnis

• Scott McKay (Scott Marinoff) . Clint Powers (Clint Stortz)

On-air talent (after 2001)

Brian Patrick
Bill Levitt
Anna Mitchell
Matt Swaim
Paul Lachmann
Rev. Rob Jack

References

^ "Facility Technical Data for WNOP". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
^ ^a ^b [1] ^{[dead link‍]}
^ [2] ^{[dead link‍]}
^ Pitman, Michael. "Longtime Big Blue radio station WHSS 89.5 FM purchased, is now ClassX". Journal News. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
^ Sies, Luther F. (2014). Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920–1960, 2nd Edition, Volume 1. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-5149-4. P. 9.

External links

Facility details for Facility ID 15881 (WNOP) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
WNOP in Nielsen Audio's AM station database

39°05′41″N 84°34′59″W / 39.09472°N 84.58306°W / 39.09472; -84.58306

[1] "Facility Technical Data for WNOP". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.

[WNOP2008-2] [1] ^{[dead link‍]}

[3] [2] ^{[dead link‍]}

[4] Pitman, Michael. "Longtime Big Blue radio station WHSS 89.5 FM purchased, is now ClassX". Journal News. Retrieved 6 March 2024.

[sies1-5] Sies, Luther F. (2014). Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920–1960, 2nd Edition, Volume 1. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-5149-4. P. 9.

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