WNRN

src: www.wnrn.org

WNRN (91.9 FM) is a Public Radio, Adult album alternative, and formatted radio station licensed to Charlottesville, Virginia, serving Central and Western Virginia. WNRN is owned and operated by Stu-Comm, Inc.

Video WNRN

History

WNRN signed on August 29, 1996, after taking the callsign WANJ during the construction process. Principally, WNRN broadcasts adult album alternative (triple-A) music, with specialty shows at night and on the weekends such as Bluegrass Sunday Morning, and The Grateful Dead and Phriends. WNRN is a triple-A reporter, submitting charts to Billboard, Mediabase, and FMQB. WNRN is a member of NPR and the Charlottesville affiliate for NPR's national triple-A show World Cafe. The station is a non-commercial operation, with a board of directors consisting of local community members and incorporated as the non-profit Stu-Comm, Inc.

In 2000, WNRN began expanding its service area outside of Charlottesville: first by renting airtime on WUDZ (now WNRS-FM), then the Sweet Briar College student radio station, followed by several purchases of translator stations in Lexington, Richmond, Harrisonburg and Lovingston in 2006 and 2007. Stu-Comm, Inc. purchased WNRS-FM outright in 2010, increasing its height and power in order to reach Lynchburg. Although the main signal from Carter Mountain nominally has good coverage in the lower elevations to the east, including Richmond, interference from co-channel WGTS in Washington, D.C. cuts down on reception in those areas.

Although WNRN remains popular in Charlottesville, in 2006 it received a commercial competitor in pop-oriented AAA station WCNR (106.1 FM), branded as "106.1 The Corner". Founder and then-general manager Mike Friend famously banned the word "corner" from his airwaves for a time after WCNR signed on. The station made local headlines again when Friend was unexpectedly fired by the board of directors in April 2011, although he was kept on as the station engineer. Friend left WNRN altogether in 2013 and founded Blue Ridge Free Media, the licensee of WXRK-LP (92.3 FM).

Stu-Comm, Inc. took additional steps to improve its terrestrial signals in 2016, starting with the acquisition of WFTH (1590 AM) in Richmond, which enabled it to purchase and move in an additional FM translator under the Federal Communications Commission's "AM revitalization" program. This new translator, W203CB on 88.5 FM from Midlothian, became WNRN's primary Richmond-area signal on February 2, 2018. W203CB replaced W276BZ (103.1 FM), which prompted listener complaints as it broadcast at only 10 watts and had difficulty covering the city. Stu-Comm has also applied to boost WNRN's signal from Carter Mountain to 560 watts.

Maps WNRN

Repeaters

WNRN's programming is aired full-time on two additional full-powered stations:

There are also five low-powered translators. Through a partnership with the Virginia Tech Foundation, two are fed by HD subchannels of Radio IQ stations.