WNWZ (1410 AM, "Magic 104.9") is a

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

broadcasting an

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contemporary r ...

format, licensed to

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

. The station is simulcast on FM translator W285FO (104.9), licensed to Grand Rapids.

History

WGRD

The station first began broadcasting under the WGRD call sign in 1948. As AM 1410 was originally a daytime-only station, the WGRD calls stood for Grand Rapids Daytime. The station adopted the

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

music format in 1959 and was a top-rated station in the Grand Rapids market during the late 1950s and early 1960s, though the station had lost ground to WLAV 1340 and WZZM-FM 95.7 by the end of the decade. WGRD made a number of format adjustments in the mid-1960s in response to its falling ratings, shifting to an

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

format in 1964 and then to a Top 40/oldies mix the following year before tweaking back to Top 40 in 1967. WGRD reclaimed its market dominance after it added an FM signal at 97.9 MHz in 1971 (formerly WXTO), though AM 1410 was relegated to being a simulcast of the FM signal mornings and afternoons. For part of that time middays were "shadowcast." Same format, different dj.

WXQT/Great Gold 14-K

In 1981, WGRD dropped its simulcast (middays were shadowcast) of the FM station and switched to a "Big Band"

Music of Your Life Music of Your Life is an American syndicated music radio format featuring adult standards music. First created by recording executive Al Ham in 1978, the format achieved popularity in the 1980s among AM radio stations in the United States and Ca ...

format as WXQT. In 1984, WXQT flipped to oldies as "GREAT GOLD 14-K", which stood for "14 Karat Gold", focusing on pop oldies from 1958-1972. Under the direction of PD Allen Jackson, "The NEW 14-K" featured Jack Stack (who had done mornings on WGRD and WLAV back in the 1960s) mornings, Rich Kennedy middays, Larry Olek afternoons and Pugs Stella evenings. The station earned a respectable 2.4 share 12+ in the Summer 1984 Arbitron. In 1986, the local lineup was dropped in favor of the ABC/Satellite Music Network "Pure Gold" satellite format. Ratings crashed to a 0.9 share in the summer of 1986 Arbitron, under the new call sign WKTH.

More changes

In 1988, the station adopted Satellite Music Network's

Z-Rock Z Rock was a nationally Broadcast syndication#Radio syndication, syndicated radio network based in Dallas, Texas, that, from the mid-1980s through the mid-1990s, played Heavy metal music, heavy metal and hard rock music. The format was one of ...

format, keeping the WKTH call letters. The station reverted to the WGRD calls in 1991, moving back to a simulcast of 97.9 FM's CHR format (which changed to

Modern Rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. ...

in 1994). In 1996, WGRD changed calls to WRCV and switched to ABC Radio's syndicated "Real Country" format. The station continued to be a non-factor in the ratings. In September 1998, 1410 changed its calls to WNWZ and adopted a simulcast of

CNN Headline News HLN is an American basic cable network. Owned by CNN Worldwide, the network primarily carries true-crime programming, recently drifting away from limited live news programming. The channel was originally launched on January 1, 1982, by Tur ...

, which was replaced by News/Talk in October 2001 (mostly syndicated from the Michigan Talk Radio Network).

La Maquina Musical

A Spanish pop hits format was adopted on January 1, 2003, and was somewhat successful in the ratings given its poor signal, often ranking as Grand Rapids' third most popular AM station (behind only WOOD and WBBL) (see
1
. WNWZ was the first radio station to cater to the Spanish-speaking community in Grand Rapids 24 hours a day. In August 2010, a reunion of more than 60 former WGRD staff members was held in Grand Rapids, which included market legend Bruce Grant, the original program director from 1948, and dozens of other personalities from the AM 1410/97.9 history.

Funny 1410

On November 14, 2011, the station changed its format to comedy calling itself "Funny 1410".

Touch 1410

On August 3, 2013, WNWZ flipped to

Urban Adult Contemporary Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music on ...

, branded as "The Touch". The station became the West Michigan home of the

Steve Harvey Broderick Stephen Harvey Sr. Also aired August 16, 2015. (born January 17, 1957) is an American comedian, television host, actor, writer, and producer. He hosts ''The Steve Harvey Morning Show'', ''Family Feud'', ''Celebrity Family Feud'', '' ...

Morning Show and remains as such today. Outside of the morning show, the station aired

Westwood One Westwood One, Inc. is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1976. The co ...

's " The Touch" full-time.

Magic 94.1

On June 10, 2016, WNWZ began simulcasting on FM translator W231DD (94.1, licensed to Grand Rapids), and rebranded as "Magic 94.1." The station also dropped the "Touch" feed for locally originated programming.

Magic 104.9

On October 24, 2016, WNWZ rebranded as "Magic 104.9" as translator W231DD moved from 94.1 FM to 104.9 FM as W285FO and raised power from 88 watts to 250 watts. In March 2020, WNWZ began adding more hip hop tracks, and shifted to

, while retaining the "Magic" moniker.Magic 104.9 Grand Rapids Makes Music, Morning Changes
Radioinsight - March 23, 2020

Previous logo

(WNWZ's logo under previous 94.1 translator frequency) (WNWZ's logo under previous

format)

References

Michiguide.com - WNWZ History
*{http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/120963/wnwz-gets-the-touch

External links

FCC History Cards for WNWZ
* * {{coord, 42, 59, 14, N, 85, 37, 26, W, type:landmark_region:US, display=title NWZ Radio stations established in 1948 Urban contemporary radio stations in the United States Townsquare Media radio stations