WZNF
| Broadcast area | Biloxi-Gulfport, Mississippi-Hattiesburg, Mississippi-Mobile, Alabama-Slidell, Louisiana |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 95.3 MHz |
| Branding | 95-3 Gorilla |
| Programming | |
| Format | CHR/Top 40 |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Coast Radio Group, Inc. |
| History | |
First air date | 1983 (as WLUN) |
Former call signs | WLUN (1983-1997) WLNF (1997-2002) |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 63486 |
| Class | C0 |
| ERP | 100,000 watts |
| HAAT | 434.7 meters |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | 953gorilla.com |
WZNF (95.3 FM, "95-3 Gorilla"), is a CHR/Top 40 radio station located in Gulfport, Mississippi and licensed to Lumberton, Mississippi. The station is owned by Coast Radio Group, Inc, and they broadcast with an effective radiated power of 100 kW. WZNF's upgraded 1,500-foot (460 m) tower with a 100,000-watt signal can reach east to Mobile, Alabama, west to New Orleans, Louisiana, and north to Laurel, Mississippi. Its transmitter tower is shared with sister station Kicker 108.
WZNF is one of two Top 40 stations in the market, the other being 107-1 The Monkey.
History
Live 95/Power 95-3
On September 1, 1997, WZNF started broadcasting from its 1,400-foot (430 m) tower in McHenry, Mississippi as a modern adult contemporary and modern rock outlet as WLNF - "Live 95.3". The station achieved moderate success with the format and featured The Big Show with Scott Sands, Darren Kies and Virginia McGrane in mornings.
On March 19, 1999, WLNF dropped the AC format for a CHR/Top 40 as "Power 95-3". The station was meant to pay homage to the old Power 108 and featured Crash Davis in mornings and market vet Patty Steele as Program Director and midday host. Later the station added Bob & Sherri for mornings.
Z95.3
With heated competition against 107-1 The Monkey, Power 95-3 never seemed to catch on with Gulf Coast listeners and on March 15, 2002, the station changed formats to Classic Rock as Z95.3. The call letters were also changed to WZNF.
The station immediately saw success with the format and was consistently #1 in morning ratings with Walton and Johnson. Other personalities on the station included Patty Steele in middays, Scott Bond doing afternoons and market vet Dr. Bob McCall on nights.
The station did see ratings decline after Walton & Johnson were replaced with John Boy & Billy.
95-3 Gorilla
On April 1, 2014, after struggling in the ratings for a few years, Z95.3 changed formats back to CHR/Top 40 as 95-3 Gorilla to once again go up against 107-1 The Monkey.
The station launched with 10,000 songs commercial free and Bo "Wildman" Walker in mornings, Kendall Taylor afternoons and Dakota Mendenhall at night.
95-3 Gorilla currently ranks at #11 (2.6) in the Gulfport-Biloxi market according to the Fall 2015 Nielsen ratings release.
On-Air Lineup
The current lineup (As Of October 2015) is as follows
- Morning Show (6am-10am): Danny Donut In The Morning - Danny Donut & Casey Lee
- Mid-Days (10am-3pm): Casey Lee
- Afternoon Drive (3pm-10pm): Jason "DJ Steen" Simane
- Overnights (12am-6am): Shawn "On The Rocks" Rooks
- Friday Nights (10pm-1am): The Baka Boyz
- Weekend's/Fill-ins: Justin King
- Program Director/Music Director: Danny Donut
- Assistant Program Director: Jason "DJ Steen" Simane
References
External links
- ‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion.› WZNF in the FCC FM station database
- WZNF in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
30°45′07″N 89°03′25″W / 30.752°N 89.057°W
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