City Bowling Green, Ohio Slogan "Faith with Frequency" First air date August 14, 2010 | Branding Annunciation Radio Frequency 89.7 mHz | |
Broadcast area Toledo Metropolitan Area | ||
WNOC (89.7 FM, "Annunciation Radio") is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to serve the community of Bowling Green, Ohio and serving the Toledo and Bowling Green areas with Catholic programming within the northern portion of the Toledo diocese. It is the second Catholic station to make its debut in the Toledo Diocese in the summer of 2010, the other being WJTA "Holy Family Radio" licensed in Glandorf, Ohio and transmitting from Leipsic. WNOC airs local programming in addition to programs from EWTN Radio, and Ave Maria Radio.
Contents
History
Annunciation Radio began in 2006 as a venture by Toledo businessman and Deacon Michael Learned who, on February 3, 2008, launched a Sunday afternoon program on Toledo daytime talk station WTOD 1560 AM. It was sold by Cumulus Media to CSN Radio in March 2010 (which is now WWYC). The program briefly moved to Cumulus-owned WLQR (1470 AM) until the new station signed-on on August 14, 2010. The construction permit was at first held by MCCR Inc. (Ministry for Catholic Charismatic Renewal.) While the new station was in its construction permit phase, a temporary working studio and office was set up at 2679 Brookford Drive in Toledo and a tower erected on Sugar Ridge Rd. near Bowling Green which is shared with WPFX.
In June 2010, two months before the station began broadcasting, Tim Kusner joined the radio station's staff. He was responsible for obtaining underwriters and gradually moved into producing, announcing, traffic management, managing the station Facebook page, and co-hosting the Friday morning live program Annunciation Radio Presents. WNOC serves the Bowling Green and Toledo areas while sister station WHRQ in Sandusky at 88.1 FM made it on-air debut on Monday April 25, 2011 (initially as a WNOC simulcast). The Annunciation Radio audiostream commenced on its website on August 26, 2010.
In May 2013 Annunciation Radio opened a permanent main studio and office located at 3662 Rugby Drive in south Toledo. In July 2013, it purchased WFOT 89.5 FM licensed to Lexington and serving the Mansfield area from its previous owner St. Gabriel Radio based in Columbus. The transition of WFOT programming from St. Gabriel Radio to Annunciation Radio took place at 3:00pm local time on Thursday July 11, 2013. WFOT has been on the air since 2007.
In September 2013, Annunciation Radio purchased the construction permit of WSHB, 90.9 mHz in Willard from the Mansfield Christian School which owns WVMC in Mansfield. Approval of the sale was granted by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission on December 23, 2013. WSHB took to the air on Christmas Day December 25, 2013.
Online sister stations
Annunciation Radio also operates two web based stations:
Call sign history
WNOC's call letters had been used at 94.1 FM in Old Forge New York (later WNOB now defunct), on Channel 26 in Jamestown, New York (which is now WNYB), on Channel 24 in Flora, Illinois (later WNOI-LP now defunct), at 720 AM in Wake Forest, North Carolina (defunct since 1986) and before that at 1310 AM in Norwich, Connecticut, the present-day WICH.
Repeaters of WNOC
Affiliates
Though both of the above stations are a near-simulcast of WNOC, both stations separately identify themselves legally at the top of the hour.