WVNN (770 kHz) is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

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 ...

licensed to

Athens, Alabama Athens is a city in and the county seat of Limestone County, in the U.S. state of Alabama; it is included in the Huntsville-Decatur-Albertville, AL Combined Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city is 25,406. Hist ...

, serving parts of North Alabama including Huntsville and Decatur. Owned by

Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is a broadcasting company of the United States and is the second largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States ahead of Audacy and behind iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdi ...

, it airs a

news/talk Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, interviews ...

format. Programming on WVNN is

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...

on WVNN-FM 92.5

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 ...

, which is licensed to Trinity, Alabama. Collectively, the stations are branded as "NewsTalk 770 AM/92.5 FM WVNN." The

studio A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal. Types Art The studio of any artist, esp ...

s and offices are on U.S. Route 72 East in Athens. WVNN is a

daytimer A clear-channel station is a North American AM radio station that has the highest level of protection from interference from other stations, particularly from nighttime skywave signals. This classification exists to ensure the viability of cross ...

station, broadcasting at 7,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s non-directional, with its

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 ...

located off Lee Highway ( U.S. Route 72) in Huntsville. Because AM 770 is a clear channel frequency reserved for 50,000 watt Class A WABC in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, WVNN must go off the air at night to avoid interference. It abandoned its limited night signal in 2020 and operates days only with pre-sunrise and post-sunset authorization (PSSA).

Programming

News and Talk

WVNN-AM-FM feature Alabama-based shows on weekdays, including The Dale Jackson Show. Nationally syndicated conservative talk shows are heard the rest of the day with Dan Bongino in middays, and at night Mark Levin,

Ben Shapiro Benjamin Aaron Shapiro (born January 15, 1984) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative political commentator, media host, and attorney. He writes columns for Creators Syndicate, ''Newsweek'', and ''Ami Magazine'', an ...

, Chris Plante and Red Eye Radio. Weekends feature shows on money, health, religion and the syndicated Kim Komando show on technology, as well as repeats of weekday shows. Most hours begin with an update from

ABC News Radio ABC News Radio is the news radio service of ABC Audio, a division of ABC News (United States), ABC News in the United States. Formerly known as ABC Radio News, ABC News Radio feeds, through Skyview Networks, five-minute newscasts on the hour ...

Sports

WVNN-AM-FM formerly carried University of Alabama Crimson Tide football and

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

during the fall, and Alabama Vipers

arena football Arena football is a variety of gridiron football designed to be played indoors. The game is played on a smaller field than American or Canadian football, designed to fit in the same surface area as a standard North American ice hockey rink, an ...

games in the spring, as part of a simulcast with

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

, WUMP "SportsRadio 730/103.9, The UMP". Aside from occasional

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

games, or some spillover games from WUMP, WVNN-AM-FM currently offer no sports programming.

History

WJMW and WKSR

WVNN is descended from two radio stations; one is WJMW, a

that first

signed on A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio broadcasting, radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonw ...

in 1948. WJMW's frequency was 1010 kHz. It was powered at only 250 watts and was required to go off the air at sunset. It was owned by the Athens Broadcasting Company, founded by Homer Felix "Pap" Dunnavant. The other station was also a daytimer; WKSR went on the air in 1947, on 730 AM in

Pulaski, Tennessee Pulaski is a city in and the county seat of Giles County, which is located on the central-southern border of Tennessee, United States. The population was 8,397 at the 2020 census. It was named after Casimir Pulaski, a noted Polish-born general o ...

, a town about 30 miles north of Athens. It was owned by the Pulaski Broadcasting Company and was a

Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Golden Age of Radio, ...

network affiliate In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or a ...

Move to 730 and to 770

In 1953, the Athens Broadcasting Company acquired the license for WJMW and got permission from the

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 ...

(FCC) to move it to Athens, putting WJMW on the lower frequency. This would give the station greater range, since lower frequencies travel farther. And the power was increased to 500 watts. But it remained a daytimer, because AM 730 is a Mexican clear channel frequency. At the same time, WKSR moved to 1420 kHz, also in Pulaski, Tennessee. The station made another move on the dial in the early 1980s, from AM 730 to AM 770. While WJMW had to now protect WABC in New York, it was more than 800 miles away. That was far enough for the FCC to allow the station to operate around the clock, with reduced power at night. The station switched its

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 ...

to WVNN on September 26, 1988. It changed to a news/talk format, using news from

and talk shows from the ABC TalkRadio Network.

Cumulus ownership

WJMW was owned and operated by the Dunnavant family of Athens for 55 years prior to being sold to

as part of a four station deal in 2003. The sale ended a 55-year presence in the market for Athens Broadcasting, founded in 1948 by Pap Dunnavant. Cumulus also acquired several other Huntsville-area stations, WHRP, WUMP, WVNN-FM, WWFF-FM and WZYP.

Past programming

Notable former WVNN air personalities include George Rose who, along with his alter-ego "Cousin Josh" character, hosted ''The Cousin Josh Jamboree'' on several North Alabama radio stations in a career that began in 1948 at then-WJMW and ended at WKAC with his death in 2006. Several well-known

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...

hosts spent early portions of their careers at WVNN, including

Sean Hannity Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30, 1961) is an American conservative television presenter, broadcaster and writer. He hosts ''The Sean Hannity Show'', a radio syndication, nationally syndicated talk radio show, has hosted a Hannity, sel ...

, Peter Thiele, Kevin Miller, Keith Larson, Darla Jaye, and Mike Church. Will Anderson hosted a show on WVNN until August 2007, then returned a few years later. Tim Knox hosted a show on WVNN until December 2007.

References

External links

FCC History Cards for WVNNNews/Talk 770 AM/92.5 FM WVNN official websiteCumulus Media corporate website
{{Cumulus Media VNN News and talk radio stations in the United States Limestone County, Alabama Radio stations established in 1948 1948 establishments in Alabama Cumulus Media radio stations