First air date October 17, 1967 HAAT 306 meters Frequency 99.5 MHz Owner iHeartMedia Inc | Class C0 City of license New Orleans Branding News Talk 99.5 WRNO | |
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Format Talk radio, All-news radio Slogan The News and Talk of New Orleans | ||
WRNO-FM (99.5 FM) is a news/talk formatted radio station servicing New Orleans, Louisiana. The iHeartMedia, Inc. station broadcasts at 99.5 MHz with an effective radiated power of 100 kilowatts. Its transmitter is located in Chalmette, Louisiana, and its studios are located in downtown New Orleans.
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History
Although its previous slogan was "We're the Rock of New Orleans," the station's call letters stand for "Westbank Radio New Orleans." The station operated a popular business selling rock t-shirts, records and other music related items called the WRNO "Rock Shop" on the ground level of the studio. Since its inception in 1967, WRNO endured many incarnations with different rock music formats, finally adopting the Classic rock format in 1997. WRNO was also home to a popular shortwave radio service in the 1980s and 1990s called WRNO Worldwide, now owned by a Christian broadcaster.
On November 13, 2006, at 4:00 AM (CST), after signing off with The Doors' "The End," WRNO flipped to an interactive Talk radio format as "The New 99.5FM.com." As explained in the official mission statement posted at its website, "The station is committed to providing listeners with everything they need to know on the radio at 99.5 FM and on demand at thenew995fm.com." On the same day Sister station KHEV would pick up "the Rock of New Orleans" slogan and use it as their new slogan for their flip from gospel to Active Rock.
On April 1, 2008, the station switched to "Rush Radio," all day repeats of The Rush Limbaugh Show and a tape loop of Rush's theme song, the instrumental from My City Was Gone by The Pretenders, during times when the show was not playing. The stunt was to celebrate the acquisition of the show from longtime affiliate WWL. The station resumed its regular schedule on April 7 and now only plays Limbaugh live except for one Saturday replay.
The Limbaugh program had previously aired on WRNO Worldwide, which Limbaugh called "The EIB World Service" on the air (in joking reference to the BBC World Service). The stations are no longer co-owned.
Notable programming includes Jim Bohannon's America in the Morning, New Orleans Morning News with Gerry V, Glenn Beck Program, The Rush Limbaugh Show, The Sean Hannity Show, Michael Berry, Mark Levin, and George Noory.
Notable station alumni include Bill Burkett, E.Alvin Davis, Joe Clark, Bobby Reno (now on WTIX FM owned by Michael Costello, Joe's brother), Captain Humble, Doug Christian, and Russ Boney.
WRNO alumni also include former PD Michael Costello "Michael In The Morning"/"M&M" (brother of late WRNO founder/owner Joseph Mark Costello III); Jim White; DJ-turned-actor John Larroquette ; Soxless Scott Seagraves; Jeff "JD The DJ" Douglas, famous for his "Rock 'n' Roll Flight To Midnight"; Tom Owens; Jimbo Roberts :Johnny Tyler; "Weerd" Wayne Watkins (Now a Program Manager at L&L Broadcasting in Gulfport-Biloxi, MS); Mary London; Lyn Taylor (Now a Program Manager at CBS Radio Detroit); and writer-producer Vance DeGeneres. (Douglas and Costello are currently jocks at WTIX-FM, which Costello is owner.) Steve Suter (Now on Magic 101.9) did the Morning show with sidekick Kevin Carlile. They became the "Morning Dudes" are were hired away to Baton Rouge after 2 years.'
In September 2014 WRNO rebranded as "News Talk 99.5 WRNO".