WGNZ

For sports event, seeNew Zealand Winter Games.

WGNZ

Fairborn,Ohio
Broadcast area	Dayton metropolitan area
Frequency	1110kHz
Programming
Format	Christian talk and teaching-Southern Gospel music
Ownership
Owner	L & D Broadcasters Inc.
History
First air date	October 26,1968(as WELX)
Former call signs	WELX (1968–1984) WMMX (1984–1993)
Call signmeaning	GoodNewz1110
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	36075
Class	D
Power	5,000wattsday 1,700 wattscritical hours 2 watts night
Transmitter coordinates	39°39′53″N83°56′38″W
Translator(s)	104.3 W282CD (Dayton, Ohio)
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Website	www.wgnz.com

WGNZ(1110kHz"Good News 1110" ) is acommercialAMradio stationlicensed toFairborn, Ohio,withradio studiosinDaytonand itstransmitterinXenia(the originalcity of license). It airs aChristian talk and teachingradio formatwithSouthern Gospel music.The owner is L & D Broadcasters, Inc.

By day, WGNZ transmits with 5,000watts.Because1110 AMis aclear channel frequencyreserved forClass AWBTCharlotteandKFABOmaha,WGNZ must reduce power to 1,700 watts duringcritical hoursand to only 2 watts night. WGNZ is heard around the clock onFM translatorW282CD on 104.3 MHz in Dayton.

History

WGNZ was founded in 1968 as 250-wattdaytimerusing thecall signWELX. It was owned by West Central Ohio Broadcasters Inc., and it was the AMsister stationof WHBM (nowWZDA). The WELX call letters stood for:Ernie andLowell, along with the city ofXenia. Ernie and Lowell were the sons of founders Harry and Ernestine Miller.

The station was sold in 1979 to L&D Broadcasters Inc. and returned to the air in 1980 airingUrban Gospelmusic in the morning and early evenings andSouthern Gospelin the afternoons.

Rev. Norman Livingston of Dayton, a local independent church pastor who also promoted Southern Gospel Music concerts, began to work with WELX and became the afternoon co-host. He eventually moved into managing and promoting the station in 1981 when urban gospel music was dropped in favor of full-time southern gospel music. In 1984, the station switched the call sign from WELX to WMMX to stand for "Message Music Radio" or "Gospel Music's Best MIX."

Eventually that call sign was replaced with WGNZ and its new slogan "Good News 1110". The released call sign "WMMX" was taken by 107.7 FM. As of November 1, 2008, the old tower site has been razed. In the Summer of 2008, WGNZ built a new state of the art transmitter and tower facility.

Programming

WGNZ is one of the last locally owned commercial stations in the Dayton, Ohio market. The station features National and Local pastors providingChristian talk and teachingprograms. It is also the only radio station in the Miami Valley that is primarily Southern Gospel, but also features Bluegrass and Local Artists. WGNZ has streamed its programming on the internet since July 9, 1996. WGNZ was at that time the second Christian radio station in Ohio to stream on the internet.

TheWELXcallsign is now used at an FM station in Isabella, Puerto Rico.

External links

• Official WGNZ site (with streaming audio)
• Facility details for Facility ID 36075 (WGNZ)in theFCCLicensing and Management System
• WGNZinNielsen Audio's AM station database
• Website of Greenview Calvary Tabernacle
• Greater Cincinnati Radio Guide
• FCC History Cards for WGNZ