WKMK

WKMK/WTHJ

City	WKMK: Eatontown, New Jersey WTHJ: Bass River Township, New Jersey
Broadcast area	Monmouth and Middlesex County at 106.3 FM Ocean, Burlington, Atlantic County at 106.5 FM
Branding	"Thunder 106"
Slogan	Rockin' Country
Frequency	WKMK: 106.3 MHz WTHJ: 106.5 MHz
Format	Country
ERP	WKMK: 1,100 watts WTHJ: 1,450 watts
HAAT	WKMK: 161 meters WTHJ: 208 meters
Class	WKMK: A WTHJ: A
Facility ID	WKMK: 72324 WTHJ: 49984
Transmitter coordinates	WKMK: 40°16′41.00″N 74°04′51.00″W / 40.2780556°N 74.0808333°W / 40.2780556; -74.0808333 WTHJ: 39°37′53.00″N 74°21′12.00″W / 39.6313889°N 74.3533333°W / 39.6313889; -74.3533333
Callsign meaning	WKMK: unknown WTHJ: THunder Country Jersey
Former callsigns	WKMK: WHTG-FM (1961–2010) WTHJ: WBBO (2006–2010) WKOE (1992–2006) WSLT (1981–1992)
Owner	Press Communications, LLC
Sister stations	WJLP-DT, KJLP-DT, WHTG, WWZY / WBHX, WBBO
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	thunder106.com

WKMK and WTHJ (106.3 and 106.5 FM, "Thunder 106") are two radio stations simulcasting a country music format. The stations are licensed to Eatontown and Bass River Township, New Jersey, respectively. The station is owned by Press Communications. WKMK's transmitter is located at exit 105 of the Garden State Parkway in Tinton Falls. WTHJ's transmitter is located on the tower of Philadelphia television station WWSI/62 located in Tuckerton in extreme southern Ocean County. The studios are located in Neptune, New Jersey.

The 106.3 WKMK signal reaches Staten Island to the north, Toms River to the south and Hightstown to the west. The 106.5 WTHJ signal reaches Brick Township to the north, Ocean City to the south and Philadelphia to the west.

History

WTHJ history

This facility was originally allocated to Ocean City and broadcast from that city as WSLT-FM on 106.3 MHz, beginning around 1970. The station broadcast with beautiful music, adult contemporary and classical formats until a local marketing agreement led to a country format and the new call sign of WKOE. More format changes ensued, but none of them made much of an impact on the Atlantic City market and the owners eventually applied to move the station to its present location and frequency. On July 6, 2006, WKOE swapped frequencies with WBBO, which had been simulcasting WHTG-FM on 98.5 FM and was known as B98.5 prior to that. From August 2005 to January 2009 it simulcasted G 106.3 in Ocean County and South Jersey. On January 19, 2009, the format switched to Top 40 along with WHTG-FM. On December 8, 2010 the WBBO call letters reverted to the FM station on 98.5 MHz licensed to Ocean Acres, NJ, near Manahawkin, NJ. Concurrently the station on 106.5 MHz in bass River Township, NJ, became WTHJ.

WHTG history

WHTG-FM first signed on at the 105.5 MHz frequency on October 11, 1961, as the sister station of WHTG (1410 AM). The station was named for Harold and Theo Gade, its first owners and operators. Eventually, the Gades' daughter Faye became general manager of the station. Faye Gade assumed ownership of the station in 1985.

Interference with WDHA in northern New Jersey resulted in the move to its current 106.3 MHz frequency in 1965, which had been vacated in 1963 when WFHA in Red Bank, NJ, discontinued operations.

Primarily a Beautiful Music station, it also broadcast Adult Standards (e.g. popular vocalists like Frank Sinatra) and big bands in the evenings alongside its sister station until 1983, then Adult Contemporary music up to the switch to Alternative rock in August, 1984. The AM station officially split off from the FM station in the summer of 1984 Kevin Dunn was named Program Director for the AM station. WHTG-AM began offering its own format of adult contemporary, and eventually, oldies music,using many of the personalities from its beautiful music days as a new airstaff was assembled to take over the rock music now the norm on the FM.

Air personalities on WHTG at this time included Jack Scott, Kevin Dunn, Don Brennan, Ray Knight, Jeff Michaels (now known as Jeff Rafter), Vince Hartnett, James Theadoracopulous (who used the air name "J.T. Copulous"), Chuck Weigel, Phil Matthews, Rich Robinson, Drew Williamson, Rich O'Reilly, Dave Mackey, Chuck Rossi, and Mike Marrone.

WHTG did not reach Ocean County until August 2005, when it began to be simulcast on 98.5 WBBO. The WHTG FM call letters were dropped on December 8, 2010, when the FM station on 106.5 MHz in Bass River Twsp, NJ, became WTHJ. There is an AM station in Eatontown, NJ, on 1410 kHz with the call letters WHTG.

On August 31, 2012 Modern Rock returned to the Jersey Shore airwaves on the familiar 106.3 FM frequency with the sign on of WJSE "The Rock Alternative".

Freeform

WHTG FM106.3 logo

In the very early FM 106–3 days, the station had somewhat of a free-form approach, with DJs who were alternative rock fans picking what music they played, from Pixies to Prince. During the mid-1980s, The Smiths and other Manchester Sound artists were especially favored by the station's jocks. By that time Rich Robinson had become program director and was slowly nudging ownership into a more contemporary format. DJ Matt Pinfield, who started at the station in 1984 and had, by the early nineties, become Program Director, was noted for being extremely knowledgeable of alternative and independent artist information when introducing tracks. He later was seen spouting that knowledge as the 2nd host of MTV's "120 Minutes".

In the 1980s, the station referred to itself as, Your Rock Alternative, FM 106.3. For a brief period in the early nineties, the station used a slogan of "Real Rock Radio, FM 106.3." In the nineties, its signature copy became, FM 106.3, Modern Rock at the Jersey Shore.

WHTG achieved its highest ratings ever in 1993 and 1994 when it received "favorite radio station" honor in Rolling Stone's annual readers' polls. The station garnered "underground" marketing support in the form of widespread application of the station's logo (at right) upon traffic signs throughout the state. The vinyl stickers were quite durable and available free at Jersey area independent music shops.

Ownership change

G-Rock logo

In November 2000, WHTG was sold to Press Communications. WHTG then became known as G106.3, and took on a format that could be described as a hybrid of alternative and modern adult contemporary. Later, WHTG had then evolved into an alternative rock station that played current and re-current alternative hits, as well as heritage artists such as The Cure and REM. Before the acquisition of WBBO, WHTG was referred to as G106.3, Your Rock Alternative, echoing—perhaps unwittingly—FM 106.3's original alternative-era slogan from 1985 to 1989.

G Rock Radio also featured special programming on weekend mornings. The Saturday Morning Breakfast Club took a nostalgic look at alternative rock from the 1980s, while Common Threads (a program that dates back to the FM 106-3 era and originally featured "theme" sets of songs) showcased modern acoustic music. With the acquisition of WBBO, G106.3 became known as "G-Rock Radio", with a simulcast on 106.3 and 98.5. In July 2006, WBBO's 98.5 signal was moved to 106.5. During this time, G-Rock was trimulcasted on 98.5, 106.3, and 106.5 to assist listeners in the frequency transition. G-Rock later dropped their weekday noon request show called "90's at Noon" for a more 80's influenced request show known as "The Retro Request Hour". Another specialty show heard on Sunday nights called The Underground, which featured indie bands as well as b-sides and unknown tracks from current played artists, which was dropped in March 2007. On June 24, 2007, specialty programming on Sunday nights returned with "The Punkyard", which consisted of two hours of punk music. By spring 2008, other weekend programming on G Rock included the all-request "Radio Kaos" from 7 pm – midnight Saturdays. There also was "Queens of Noise" on Sundays from 9-10 pm, which featured female-fronted bands and solo rock artists.

Hit 106

On January 19, 2009, the previous alternative rock format heard on WHTG and WBBO was dropped in the middle of the day with no advance notice in favor of a Top 40 format, known as "Hit 106". The last song was Le Disko by Shiny Toy Guns.

A Facebook group known as Bring Back GRock! formed to protest the format change. Membership in the group peaked at over 10,700. A protest outside of Press Communications was held the week of the change, attended by about 200 people.^[1] In a letter posted in response to the protest, CEO of Press Communications Robert McAllan lambasted the G Rock Radio fans for their perceived reluctance to fill out Arbitron surveys, adding that he hoped that they would tune into the new station, which counted Justin Timberlake, 50 Cent, Pink and Fall Out Boy among its core artists.^[2]

Hit 106 logo

Thunder 106

On September 15, 2010, at 3:00 p.m., Press Broadcasting's "Thunder" country format swapped formats and call signs with Hit 106, with "Thunder" now broadcasting on the renamed WKMK and WBBO-FM and the hit music format moved to the 98.5 frequency in Ocean Acres, now known as WHTG-FM.^[3] WHTG-FM is once again known as "B 98.5". WKMK was the closest radio station to New York City with a country format until January 21, 2013 when the format reappeared in the city on 94.7 FM.

This came only twenty months after the sudden format change on January 19, 2009, when both WHTG-FM and WBBO dropped the long-time alternative format and switched to the Top 40 format, identifying themselves as Hit 106.

Airstaff

The current lineup (as of August 4, 2011) is as follows

The Morning Tailgate (6–10 am): Brian Morelli
The BullShift (10 am – 3pm): Van Dusen
The Afternoon Ride (3–7 pm): Chris VanZant
Country Nights (7 pm–midnight): Rob Acampora
Weekends/Fill-ins: Joe Stephens
Program Director/Music Director: Chris VanZant

References

External links

Official website

Query the FCC's FM station database for WKMK

Radio-Locator information on WKMK

Query Nielsen Audio's FM station database for WKMK

Query the FCC's FM station database for WTHJ

Radio-Locator information on WTHJ

Radio stations in the Atlantic City–Cape May market

By FM frequency	88.1 88.7 88.9 89.1 89.7 90.3 90.5 90.5 91.3 91.7 92.7 93.1 94.3 95.1 96.1 96.9 97.3 98.3 98.7 99.3 100.7 101.5 102.3 102.7 103.7 104.9 105.5 106.3 106.5 107.3

By AM frequency	1020 1230 1340 1400 1450 1490 1580

By callsign	WAIV WAJM WAYV WBSS WCFA-LP WCMC WCZT WEHA WENJ WEZW WFPG WGBZ WGYM WIBG WIBG-FM WJPG WJSE WLFR WLOM-LP WMGM WMID WNJN-FM WNJZ WOND WPGG WPUR WRTQ WSJO WTHJ WTKU-FM WTTH WWAC WWCJ WWFP WXGN WZBZ WZXL

New Jersey radio markets Atlantic City–Cape May Middlesex–Somerset–Union Monmouth–Ocean Morristown Sussex Trenton Other New Jersey radio regions Vineland–Millville–Bridgeton See also List of radio stations in New Jersey

Radio stations in Monmouth and Ocean Counties, New Jersey

By AM frequency	1160 1310 1410

By FM frequency	88.1 88.1 88.3 88.9 89.7 89.9 90.3 90.5 90.7 91.1 91.9 92.7 94.3 95.9 98.5 99.7 100.1 103.9 105.7 106.3 106.5 107.1 107.9

By callsign	WADB WBBO WBNJ WBHX WBJB-FM WCHR-FM WHTG WJLK WJRZ-FM WKMK WMCX-FM WMDI-LP WNJM WNJO WOBM WOBM-FM WPDI WRAT WRDR WTHJ WVBH WWNJ WWZY WYGG WYRS WZBL

Defunct	WBGD 91.9 FM

New Jersey radio markets Atlantic City–Cape May Middlesex–Somerset–Union Monmouth–Ocean Morristown Sussex Trenton Other New Jersey radio regions Vineland–Millville–Bridgeton NYC Metro Markets Long Island Hudson Valley [partial] Poughkeepsie Middlesex-Somerset-Union Monmouth-Ocean Morristown Bridgeport Danbury New Haven Stamford-Norwalk Philadelphia Metro Markets Allentown Monmouth-Ocean Reading Trenton Wilmington See also List of radio stations in New Jersey

Radio stations in the Philadelphia market

By FM frequency	88.1 88.1 88.5 88.7 88.9 88.9 89.1 89.1 89.3 (Warminster) 89.3 (Coatesville) 89.5 89.5 89.7 90.1 90.5 90.9 91.5 91.5 91.7 91.7 91.7 92.5 93.3 93.7 94.1 (HD2) 94.5 94.9 95.7 96.5 97.3 97.5 98.1 98.5 98.9 99.5 99.9 100.3 101.1 102.1 102.9 103.9 104.5 105.3 106.1 106.5 106.9 107.9 Satellite radio local traffic/weather XM Channel 212 Sirius Channel 149

By AM frequency	560 610 640 690² 740 800 860² 900 950 990 1060¹ 1110 1180 1210¹ 1310² 1340² 1360 1370 1420 1440 1460 1480 1490 1520 1540 1590 1640 1680² ¹ Clear-channel stations with extended nighttime coverage ²Broadcast in Spanish

NOAA Weather Radio frequency	162.425 162.475

By callsign	KIH28 KYW¹ WBCB WBBO WBEB WBEN-FM WBMR WBYO WCHE WCHR WCOJ WCUR WDAS WDAS-FM WDNR WEMG² WEXP WFIL WFYL WHAT WHHS WHYY WIFI WIOQ (HD2) WIP-FM (HD2) WISX WJBR WKDN WKDU WKVP WMGK WMMR WNAP WNG704 WNJC WNJS-FM WNPV WNTP WNWR WOGL WPAZ WPEB WPEN WPHE² WPHI WPHT¹ WPNX700 WPPZ-FM WPST WPWA WQHS WRDV WRFF WRNB WRSD WRTI WRTJ WSRN-FM WSTW WTEL WTHJ WTMR WTTM² WURD WUSL WVCH WWDB² WWJZ WWLU WWTX WXPN WXTU WXVU WYBF WYPA WZMP WZZE

Defunct stations	WCAU-FM WCAU (AM) WDRE WDVR WEGK WLCE WQHS WSNI WTHK WYXR

Pennsylvania radio markets Allentown–Bethlehem Altoona Bradford–Coudersport Chambersburg–Waynesboro Erie Harrisburg–Lebanon–Carlisle Lancaster Montrose New Castle Philadelphia Pittsburgh Reading Sayre–Towanda–Mansfield–Wellsboro Wilkes-Barre–Scranton Williamsport York Other Pennsylvania radio regions Bedford Indiana Johnstown Lewistown–Mifflintown Meadville–Franklin Punxsutawney–DuBois St. Marys–Emporium–Kane State College Stroudsburg Sunbury–Selinsgrove–Lewisburg Warren Philadelphia Metro Markets Allentown Monmouth-Ocean Reading Trenton Wilmington See also List of radio stations in Pennsylvania Mass media in the Philadelphia Area Radio stations TV stations Newspapers

Country radio stations in the state of New Jersey

Stations	WCVH – Flemington WKMK/WTHJ – Eatontown/Bass River Township WNSH – Newark WPUR – Atlantic City

¹ = WNSH is licensed to Newark, New Jersey but serves the New York metropolitan area

See also adult contemporary classic hits college country news/talk NPR oldies religious rock sports top 40 urban other radio stations in New Jersey

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