WOLX-FM (94.9

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

) is a commercial radio station licensed to Baraboo, Wisconsin, and serving the Madison metropolitan area, owned by Audacy, Inc. The station airs a classic hits format, its studios and offices are on Ganser Way in Madison. WOLX broadcasts from a

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

in Devil's Lake State Park near Baraboo in

Sauk County, Wisconsin Sauk County is a county in Wisconsin. It is named after a large village of the Sauk people. As of the 2020 census, the population was 65,763. Its county seat and largest city is Baraboo. The county was created in 1840 from Wisconsin Territor ...

. WOLX-FM broadcasts in

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History

The station first started experimental broadcasts in 1945 and was licensed as WWCF in 1947. It was the sister station to WIBU in Poynette, Wisconsin, which went on the air in 1925. At first, WWCF mostly simulcast WIBU. By the 1970s it separated its programming from WIBU, airing a beautiful music format, using the

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

WLVE meaning "Love". In 1984, it moved to

soft 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 ...

as WNLT with the LT standing for "Lite Music". In May 1985, the call letters changed to WILV. WOLX2007

On April 3, 1989, WILV flipped to an

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

format, initially concentrating on 1950s and 1960s music. Branded "Oldies 94.9", the station changed its call letters to WOLX-FM. The new format proved immediately successful; in the Spring 1989

Arbitron Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by mergin ...

report, WOLX-FM jumped to second place among adults 25–54 in the Madison market from eleventh in the same period the previous year. In May 1996, long-time owner Shockley Communications, headed by Terry K. Shockley, sold WOLX-FM to Dubuque, Iowa-based Woodward Communications for $10.5 million. In May 2000, Woodward sold all of its Madison stations – WOLX-FM, WMMM-FM, and WYZM — to Entercom for $14.6 million. As the 2000s progressed, WOLX-FM adjusted its format to classic hits, dropping the "Oldies 94.9" moniker in favor of "94.9 WOLX" and featuring primarily music from the 1970s thru the 1990s. Syndicated programming on WOLX-FM includes '' Dick Bartley's Classic Hits'', ''America's Greatest Hits'' hosted by Scott Shannon, and ''

M. G. Kelly Gary D. Sinclair (born 1952), known professionally as Michael Gary "M.G." Kelly and Machine Gun Kelly, is an American actor, disc jockey, and radio personality. In addition to hosting several radio programs over the years, Kelly has held severa ...

's Classic Hit List''.

Superpower status

As one of the oldest FM stations in Wisconsin, WOLX-FM operates at a higher effective radiated power (ERP) than would be granted today. It is a grandfathered "superpower" Class B FM station, operating at 37,000 watts from a height above average terrain (HAAT) of . Under

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

rules, a Class B FM station at the same HAAT would be allowed a maximum ERP of 6,700 watts. The station once used the slogan "High atop the Baraboo Bluffs in Greenfield Township". WOLX-FM's signal can reach 33 of Wisconsin's 72 counties, including those along the

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shoreline on clear days, though reception is usually blocked by the Kettle Moraine hills northeast of Madison. The station can also be heard in the western suburbs of

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, in Sheboygan County, and in portions of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

and

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

References

External links

* * {{Entercom 1945 establishments in Wisconsin Audacy, Inc. radio stations Baraboo, Wisconsin Classic hits radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1945 OLX-FM