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===Fights and shootings===
===Fights and shootings===
In February 2005 gunfire erupted in front of the offices of Hot 97 between [[50 Cent]]'s security guards and [[The Game (rapper)|The Game]]'s entourage. A member of The Game's entourage was wounded with a bullet wound in his leg.
In February 2005 gunfire erupted in front of the offices of Hot 97 between [[50 Cent]]'s entourage and [[The Game (rapper)|The Game]]'s entourage. A member of The Game's entourage was wounded with a bullet wound in his leg.


Other controversies have included Hot 97 broadcasts in which women slapped each other on the air for money and prizes, three shootings, and two false bomb threats. In 2004, as a result of continued indecency complaints, Hot 97's corporate owner [[Emmis Communications]] signed a consent decree with the FCC and paid the US government $300,000.
Other controversies have included Hot 97 broadcasts in which women slapped each other on the air for money and prizes, three shootings, and two false bomb threats. In 2004, as a result of continued indecency complaints, Hot 97's corporate owner [[Emmis Communications]] signed a consent decree with the FCC and paid the US government $300,000.

Revision as of 18:38, 24 July 2006

WQHT
Hot97logo.PNG
Broadcast areaNew York City
Frequency97.1 (MHz)
Branding"Hot 97"
Programming
FormatRhythmic Contemporary Hit Radio
(Urban Contemporary Hit Radio)
Ownership
OwnerEmmis Communications
History
First air date
Mid 1960s
Call sign meaning
W Q HoT
Technical information
ClassB
ERP6,700 watts
Links
Websitehttp://www.hot97.com

WQHT, also known as "Hot 97", is a high-profile Mainstream Urban radio station in New York City under the corporate ownership of Emmis Communications. Known for its regular exclusive interviews with major hip-hop artists like P. Diddy, DMX, Jay-Z, Lil' Kim, and Foxy Brown, the station claims to be the premier hip-hop radio station in the United States.

The station broadcasts on 97.1 FM and first signed on the air in the summer of 1986 as Hot 103 (103.5 FM).

See also: Media of New York City

History

WNBC-FM and variants

The history of the 97.1 frequency goes back to 1940, when station W2XWG first came on the air. After several frequency and call letters changes, WNBC-FM was established at 97.1 by 1948. It usually simulcast WNBC's AM programming. In 1954 it changed its call letters to WRCA-FM, but reverted back to WNBC-FM in 1960.

WNBC-FM played classical music in the 1950s; it later switched to pop music. It ran automated network programming for some time, such as the NBC Monitor weekend show. By the 1970s it was playing a pop/rock format. Beginning on June 4, 1973, it experimented with a fully-automated programming scheme with local inserts known as "The Rock Pile," but technical glitches were frequent and listenership dropped. For a brief period starting in late 1974, the station attempted a fully-automated beautiful music format for a younger demographic, called "The Love of New York."

NBC Radio then came up with the notion of the NBC News and Information Service (NIS), an unusual attempt to place an all-news format on the FM band. Thus on June 18, 1975, the station became WNWS and branded itself "NewsCenter 97." This failed miserably and on January 1, 1977, 97.1 dropped "all news" and adopted an Adult Contemporary format with a rock lean (to compete against WKTU), under the moniker "Y-97." The calls WNWS were still in use at the time of the change but shortly afterwards the station became known as WYNY.

WYNY

Ratings were fair at best and by the end of 1978, after toying briefly with an all-Beatles format, WYNY evolved to a MOR format featuring Frank Sinatra, Carpenters, Elvis, Barry Manilow, Tony Bennett, Neil Diamond, soft songs by artists like Elton John and Billy Joel, etc. They were an easy listening station without all the elevator music heard on WRFM or WPAT-AM-FM. Ratings went up gradually.

By 1980, WYNY moved away from Frank Sinatra and The Lettermen though they continued running "Saturday Night with Sinatra" hosted by Sid Mark. Musically they added Motown songs, more Beatles, Beach Boys, Eagles, Billy Joel, Doobie Brothers, some well known disco songs, soft hits by hard rockers, etc.

By 1981, they were a Gold Based AC playing the Pop Hits from 1964 to what was then Current Product. They occasionally played a pre-64 rock & roll song but their intent was to be like CBS FM with slightly more current hits and very little if any pre-64 product. The ratings shot up in 1981 through 1983. By 1982 WYNY mixed in hotter currents than most AC stations played at the time. They trimmed the 60's music very slightly. They were known as more of a Hot AC by the end of 1982. Some of the air personalities included Dan Daniel, Bill St. James, Bruce Bradley, Randy Davis, Carol Mason, Mike McCann, Floyd Wright, Steve O'Brien, Bill Rock, and many others. On Sunday evenings, the station aired a pioneering advice show, Sexually Speaking, which made its host, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, a national celebrity. Sid Mark continued hosting a Frank Sinatra show even after the evolution to Hot AC which stayed on until WYNY dropped AC in 1987.

In 1983, though, they lost their younger listeners to Z-100 and WPLJ as those stations adopted CHR formats and many listeners used WYNY as a CHR station prior to the Z-100 days. WYNY still hung on to its Hot AC format. Then in January 1984 Lite FM 106.7 WLTW signed on taking away older listeners. WYNY softened slightly in 1984 and then moved back to Gold Based AC in 1985. Ratings plummeted due to the amount of competition in the market. In 1986 the station was revamped with the music staying Hot AC but marketed as a "Z-100 for Yuppies". The station had new jingles and imaging and known as "The NEW 97.1 WYNY". The format, though, was the same pop hits from 1964 to the then present. The station continued to rate low. NBC had problems with their sister station 66 WNBC as well. Then in April of 1987, WHN 1050 announced their plans to drop Country music and go sports full-time as WFAN on July 1. At that point WYNY announced the change to Country Music would occur that same day.

This format change was announced to the press well in advance but not announced over the air except on "Saturday With Sinatra." At 12:01 AM July 1, WYNY ended their AC format with "Hello Goodbye" by The Beatles and went Country playing "Think About Love" by Dolly Parton. The airstaff all remained though some people gradually left later in the year.

Still Dan Daniel (who left WYNY in the mid-80's and actually returned), Randy Davis, Carol Mason, Lisa Taylor, Floyd Wright, and others survived the format change and remained with WYNY's Country unit long after it would leave 97.1 FM and move over to 103.5 until its 1996 demise. (A still different WYNY playing country music at the 107.1 frequency would start up later in 1996 and last until 2002.)

In 1987 Emmis agreed to buy NBC radio stations giving them 97.1, 103.5, 660, and 1050. Emmis opted to sell AM 1050 to SBS and then it would be sold to a Jewish Group and become WEVD. They would keep 660 AM and shut down ratings troubled WNBC and move the WFAN intellectual unit to 66 AM.

On FM Emmis sold 103.5 FM to Westwood One and the Intellectual Country 97 WYNY unit would move there. Emmis kept 97.1 amd moved Hot 103.5's Intellectual WQHT unit there.

WQHT Hot 103

See WKTU for a full history of the 103.5 frequency.

After the original 92.3 WKTU signed off the air in 1985, New Yorkers demanded a Dance music station. Indianapolis-based Emmis Broadcasting purchased WAPP-FM and transformed it to Hot 103 in 1986. It played a variety of R&B, Pop music, Hip-Hop, Freestyle, House and Rock recordings. Hot 103 was the first radio station to play Latin Hip-Hop (Freestyle) regularly. The station played hits by Freestyle singer Shannon known for her recordings "Let The Music Play," "Give Me Tonight," "My Heart's Divided," "Do You Want To Get Away," and more. It also broke ground for new artists such as Judy Torres, TKA, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, Expose, the Cover Girls, and George Lamond, among others. These artists were played in the same rotation as Michael Jackson, Madonna, Whitney Houston, Belinda Carlisle, etc.

One special thing about Hot 103 is the fact that they played 12-inch singles usually heard in clubs around New York. Urban Contemporary stations WBLS and WRKS were playing long versions of the records played as well.

The station was in the Top 5 in the ratings from 1986 to 1988. Hot 103's major competitors, WHTZ, WPLJ as well as WBLS and WRKS, responded by adding more Dance music to their playlists. In the fall of 1988, Emmis purchased 97.1 WYNY from NBC. That same day the stations did a frequency swap with Hot 103 moving to 97.1 and WYNY to 103.5. Hence, Hot 103 became known as Hot 97 and continued with the dance/freestyle format and featured full-length versions of the records played.

WQHT Hot 97 1988-present

Hot 97's ratings fell slightly in 1989. The station started to lean towards Top 40 artists such as Milli Vanilli, MC Hammer, New Kids on the Block, and more. In the summer of 1993, Hot 97 decided to target a share of WRKS-FM's (98.7 Kiss FM) hip-hop audience by playing rap songs. They also added Ed Lover and Doctor Dre as its morning hosts. The ratings rose to number three in just one rating period.

File:Old Hot97 logo.jpg
WQHT logo from 1995-2000

From the summer of 1993 to the spring of 1994, the station gradually abandoned its Dance music format and became New York's new Urban Contemporary (rap) station which put them into a battle with WRKS-FM. Kiss FM responded to the rivalry by adding more mix shows and moved Wendy Williams to the morning drive time. Kiss was still number one in the ratings. The Summit Communications Group was selling seven of their radio stations including Kiss to concentrate on technology and internet services. Emmis discussed purchasing the station from Summit for integration between the stations but needed federal approval to own two FM stations in the same market. In December of 1994 the purchase was approved and Kiss FM's format was changed a newly formed Urban Adult Contemporary format.

In 1995 Hot 97 once again became New York's top station in the Arbitron ratings. For a few years, Hot 97 was the only radio station in New York for hip-hop until mid-1997 when WBLS reintroduced rap on its playlists. In March 2002, Clear Channel Communications lauched WWPR-FM (Power 105.1 FM) to challenge Hot 97. It made no sense for Emmis to purchase Kiss FM for Hot 97 to become the city's only rap station. Power 105.1 went to number five in the ratings.

In the fall of 2005 Power 105.1 edged slightly ahead of Hot 97 for the first time ever during the same period of time as the Tsunami song parody. Even still Hot 97 has remained a force to be reckoned with, for 35 straight ratings books HOT 97 has remained the #1 station in NYC. With the exception of Miss Jones losing to WWPR's Star & Buc Wild morning show.

Controversies

Under the corporate ownership by Emmis Communications Hot 97 has seen many controversies. Citing a litany of recorded complaints and controversies, including violence and disagreements over station security, the landlord of Hot 97's Greenwich Village studios in May 2006 moved to evict the station. The case is pending in the courts.

Mocking death of Aaliyah

In September 2001 morning host DJ Star played sound effects of a woman screaming in a crashing airplane to mock the death of R&B vocalist and actress Aaliyah. On August 25, 2001, Aalyiah's plane nose-dived during take off and all nine people aboard the plane were killed. Hot 97's broadcast drew criticism and the Hot 97 morning team, including DJ Miss Jones, were suspended without pay for two weeks.

Tsunami Song and racial epithets

On January 17, 2005, Hot 97 DJ Miss Jones provoked a controversy by airing a song entitled "USA for Indonesia" a month after approximately 187,000 people died in the Asian tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. The song, a parody sung to the 1985 tune "We Are The World," was criticized for overtly racist mocking of the Asian and East African victims; the song lyrics contain the racially derogatory words "chinks" and "Chinamen," and calls the drowning victims "bitches." Some of the lyrics included the words "Go find your mommy. I just saw her float by, a tree went through her head. And now your children will be sold. Child slavery."

Miss Info, a fellow DJ of Korean descent, was outraged and spoke against the song on the station. She excluded herself from producing the song and said it was wrong for it to be played. Miss Info immediately found herself subjected to a four-minute, on-air lambasting from the other DJs. Miss Jones accused Miss Info of always distancing herself from the antics of the others, and of acting superior because she is Asian. Another jock on the show named Todd Lynn muttered "I'm gonna start shooting Asians."

Following angry protests from the Asian-American community, bloggers, and networking sites, and other New Yorkers, Miss Jones, DJ Envy (whose wife, ironically, is half Black and half Asian), and Tasha Hightower were suspended while Todd Lynn and Rick Del Gado (the writer of the song) were fired. The station issued an apology on its website. Both Sprint and McDonald's pulled their advertising from the station. The suspended employees' pay was diverted to charities helping victims of the tsunami. Miss Jones has since been reinstated.

Fights and shootings

In February 2005 gunfire erupted in front of the offices of Hot 97 between 50 Cent's entourage and The Game's entourage. A member of The Game's entourage was wounded with a bullet wound in his leg.

Other controversies have included Hot 97 broadcasts in which women slapped each other on the air for money and prizes, three shootings, and two false bomb threats. In 2004, as a result of continued indecency complaints, Hot 97's corporate owner Emmis Communications signed a consent decree with the FCC and paid the US government $300,000.

On May 2, 2006, the company that owns the building which houses Hot 97 filed a lawsuit demanding the station's eviction. The lawsuit came after the shooting of rapper Gravy a week earlier, as the New York City District Council of Carpenters cited concerns about the safety of those in the building's neighborhood as the reason for the lawsuit. Hot 97 has responded to the lawsuit and plans to win.

DJ Envy and DJ Star feud

DJ Star, whose real name is Troi Torain, previously worked at Hot 97 before switching to rival hip hop station Power 105 and had a running on-air feud with Hot 97's DJ Envy, whose real name is Raashaun Casey.

In a May 3, 2006 broadcast, Torain mentioned DJ Envy's wife and two children and threatened to find and sexually abuse Casey's 4-year old daughter. Torain said he would pay $500 to any listener who told him where the girl attended school. Torain, who is black, also used racial and sexual epithets about DJ Envy's wife, Gia Casey, who is part Asian.

After protests by the New York City Council, detectives from the New York City Police Department's Hate Crimes Unit charged Torain with endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor, and required him to surrender his target pistol license and 9-millimeter handgun.

Miss Jones Vs. Mary J. Blige

Another controversy heated up on June 4, 2006 at the stations' annual Summer Jam, where performer Mary J. Blige made shout outs to the airstaffers of Hot 97. But one person was omitted from getting the props...Miss Jones! Ironically Jones took that incident as a dissing and on her morning show on June 6, 2006, she lashed out against the singer by calling Blige a "Bitch" because she failed to aknowledge her at the show.

Current Line-Up

Monday-Thursday

  • Miss Jones in the Morning with E-Bro - 6-10AM
  • Fatman Scoop - 10AM-3PM
    • Throwback at Noon with Mister Cee (mix show) - 12-12:30PM
  • Angie Martinez "The Voice of New York" - 3-7PM
    • The Rush Hour (mix show) with DJ Enuff - 5-6PM
  • Ridin' with Funkmaster Flex - 7PM-Midnight

Overnights

  • Monday Night Mix Tap - 10PM-2AM (Mondays)
  • Absolute Heat with DJ Absolute - Midnight-2AM (Tuesdays)
  • In Da Lab with DJ Green Latern - Midnight-2AM (Wednesdays)
  • The Drama Hour with Kay Slay - Midnight-2AM (Thursdays)

Friday

  • Mister Cee - 2-4AM
  • Miss Jones in the Morning with E-Bro - 6-10AM
  • Fatman Scoop - 10AM-3PM
    • Throwback at Noon with Mister Cee (mix show) - 12-12:30PM
  • Angie Martinez - 3-5PM
  • The Rush Hour (mix show) with DJ Enuff - 5-8PM
  • Ladies Night with DJ Jazzy Joyce, Cocoa Chanelle, & LaLa - 8PM-Midnight
    • Heavy Hitter Hour with DJ Camilo - 7-8PM
    • Funkmaster Flex - 10PM-2AM

Saturday

  • Big Dennis - 4-8AM
  • Miss Info - 8AM-Noon
  • Cipha Saturdays with Cipha Sounds - Noon-4PM
  • Ralph McDaniels - 4-7PM
  • Saturday Night Mix with Funkmaster Flex - 7PM-Midnight

Sunday

  • Taking It to da Streets with DJ Camilo Midnight-4AM
  • Big Dennis & Mega - 4-9AM
  • Raqiyah Mays - Noon-5PM
  • DJ Envy - 5-9PM
    • Lights Out with DJ Camilo - 8-9PM
  • Street Soldiers with Lisa Evers - 9-10PM
  • On Da Reggae Tip with Bobby Konders and Jabba - 10PM-1AM

Station Management

  • General Manager Barry Mayo
  • Program Director John Dimick
  • Music Director E-Bro
  • Public Affairs Director Lisa Evers
  • Sales Manager Alex Cameron
  • Webmaster Unknown

Notable DJ's, past and present

Lists of Artists Played on Hot 97

1986-1994 Freestyle music

Dance music/Pop/House Music

Hot 97's 20th Anniversary (1986-2006)

Hot 97 is currently celebrating its' anniversary. There is no news that officials at the station will throw a 20th birthday party for the station although sister station 98.7 Kiss FM is celebrating 25 years on the air.

See also

References

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