WVRK (102.9 FM) 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 a

mainstream rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent a cross between classic rock, active rock and alternativ ...

format. Licensed to

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee ...

, United States, the station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The station had previously been owned by M&M Partners Inc. and

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 ...

before selling to Clear Channel (now iHeartMedia) in 2000. Its studios are in Columbus east of downtown, and its transmitter is in

Cusseta, Georgia Cusseta ( ) is a city in Chattahoochee County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Columbus, Georgia-Alabama Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, metropolitan statistical area. The population was 9,565 in 2020. The city is the county seat ...

, south of

Fort Benning Fort Benning (named Fort Moore from 2023–2025) is a United States Army post in the Columbus, Georgia area. Located on Georgia's border with Alabama, Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve compone ...

. WVRK signed on in 1949 as WRBL-FM simulcasting the programming of WRBL-AM 1420 (now WRCG) which had a conventional programming format of CBS Radio shows, pop and country music, personality, sports and local news. In 1977, the TV and radio stations went their separate ways after the death of longtime station owner Jim Woodruff, Jr. The AM became WRCG while the FM became WVOC. WVOC, known as V-103, would feature adult contemporary music from 1978 to around 1982 when the station would switch to country music. The station, along with KFMI in Great Falls, Montana and WCMB in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, became the first radio stations to pick up Drake-Chenault's Lite Country. The format, incorporating a few pop tunes to tap country fans of the post-World War II generation, would become part of WVOC's country programming. Then at the end of 1984, WVOC would become WNKS and adopt the CHR format known as 102.9 Kiss FM. WNKS would become WVRK in 1989.

References

Featured Programming includes a mention of WVOC as one of the stations adopting Drake-Chenault's Lite Country format

External links

* VRK Mainstream rock radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1965 IHeartMedia radio stations {{GeorgiaUS-radio-station-stub