WNIC - kick ass AC

[Tin Can]

I have the pleasure of listening to this station online, and I gotta' say, even though it's a Clear Channel station it sounds nothing like my 94.9 Lite-FM. Mixing in some old S Club 7 with some Brian McKnight and Luther Vandross only our local Urban AC would touch. I just got to give my props to the staff at WNIC for such a great variety that isn't so whitebread like my two ACs here in the Big Peach. Kudos, keep on rockin'!

 

[kenhawk1160]

I have the pleasure of listening to this station online, and I gotta' say, even though it's a Clear Channel station it sounds nothing like my 94.9 Lite-FM. Mixing in some old S Club 7 with some Brian McKnight and Luther Vandross only our local Urban AC would touch. I just got to give my props to the staff at WNIC for such a great variety that isn't so whitebread like my two ACs here in the Big Peach. Kudos, keep on rockin'!

To Clear Channel's credit, they pretty much left this station alone when they acquired it. Jim Harper did one hell of a job keeping this station going for so many years. Because it's in the Motor City, of which I'm proud to be from, they're able to get away with mixing in some urban and 60's Motown in their format. It's a bold move, but it works because it's the birthplace of Motown records and a highly ethnic market. Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Jacksonville are examples of some markets where such a mix just may not fly.

 

[flipperzipper]

Kudos to Gary Berkowitz....one of the best in the business for his programming input to this great station 100.3 WNIC that does kick butt.

Gary is one of the best in the business and deserves the accolades.

 

[WarpFactor]

Gary Berkowitz hasn't had anything to do with WNIC in years. He was consulting WMGC when they signed on.

Darren Davis (now in Chicago) is the guy behind WNIC.

 

[ChrisInMI]

WNIC is definitely one of the better major-market ACs out there. I wouldn't say they're THE best, but I prefer them to Magic 105.1 because it seems to me like WNIC has a bigger library of songs, plays a better variety and is quicker to add new music. And as has already been mentioned, WNIC isn't afraid to mix it up a bit and include some songs that other ACs would shudder at even the prospect of playing.

One area where both stations receive high marks is in the evening shows. You have Alan Almond's Pillow Talk on WNIC and, on WMGC, the Magic Cafe with Johnny Williams (a veteran of CKLW The Big 8, and a former host of Pillow Talk). It would be so easy to just go with Delilah (as WMGC did when they first switched to AC in 2001) or John Tesh, but both stations keep it local, and they are to be commended for that. Can't say the same for WNIC's sister station WRVF (101.5 The River) in Toledo... they used to be local in the evenings with "The Quiet Storm," hosted by Detroit veteran Kim Carson (WDRQ, Z95.5), but now they run Tesh.

Of course, the way WNIC has treated Almond in the past, I'm surprised he keeps coming back to them... but I'm glad he does!

 

[kenhawk1160]

It would be so easy to just go with Delilah (as WMGC did when they first switched to AC in 2001) or John Tesh, but both stations keep it local, and they are to be commended for that. Can't say the same for WNIC's sister station WRVF (101.5 The River) in Toledo... they used to be local in the evenings with "The Quiet Storm," hosted by Detroit veteran Kim Carson (WDRQ, Z95.5), but now they run Tesh.

Of course, the way WNIC has treated Almond in the past, I'm surprised he keeps coming back to them... but I'm glad he does!

Agreed. I think Delilah has peaked in most of her markets, and in some cases, she's even being dropped by some affiliates. Once a show like that becomes TOO predictable, then it has a hard time retaining its listenership. It's different if it's local. Though you pretty much knew what to expect from Alan's show, he connects with the listener very well, and that drives the numbers he has in Detroit. It may not be so in Boston or other markets where he's syndicated.