WAWZ

WAWZ
City of license	Zarephath, New Jersey
Broadcast area	Middlesex, New Jersey
Branding	Star 99.1
Frequency	99.1 (MHz) (Also on HD Radio) 99.1-2 FM for Teaching and Preaching
First air date	1954
Format	Contemporary Christian/Gospel
ERP	28,000 watts
HAAT	200 meters
Class	B
Callsign meaning	W Alma White Zarepath
Owner	Pillar Of Fire International
Website	www.star991fm.com

WAWZ-FM or "Star 99.1" broadcasts live at Zarephath, New Jersey and plays contemporary Christian music. They are a commercial radio station owned by Pillar of Fire Church. The station serves the suburban New York City/northeastern New Jersey/Eastern Pennsylvania area. The calls for the station were named after its AM counterpart which went off the air in 1984, and Pillar Of Fire's founder, Alma White. Star 99.1 started airing this format on February 3, 2003, before then, it was known as WAWZ - Your Voice of Faith and Inspiration, and featured Christian Teaching and Talk/Inspirational contemporary Christian music.
Its daily on air schedule includes Johnny Stone In The Morning with Co-host Stacey Stone(they are now married) and support from David A. Dein "Morning Show Funny Guy and Keeper of the Rubber-Band ball" and producer Dawn Wheeler, followed by middays with Beth Bacall (Married To former WKTU-FM , current WCBS-FM DJ, Broadway Bill Lee), and the Family-Friendly Afternoon Show with Keith Stevens. Shadow Traffic reports air during both the morning and afternoon shows. As of Mid-May 2007; WAWZ has ceased airing most of its Christian talk programs, with the exception of an hour between 10-11pm (featuring Key Life with Steve Brown, Focus on the Family, and Bridging the Gap with Lloyd Pulley). These programs have been replaced with More Music with Dave Moore, an evening music program.

History

WAWZ was founded over 70 years ago by Alma White and the Pillar of Fire Church, International. They were a Denver, Colorado based organization that was given land in Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey. The station was on 1380 AM for many years, sharing time with WBNX in New York City, until 1984 when the church sold its AM license to the owner of WBNX. The station began broadcasting on FM in 1954.

The Old WAWZ-FM Logo

For many years WAWZ carried teaching programs, talk shows, church services, and traditional Chistian Music; the schedule ran about 70% programs to 30% music. Most of the programming came from outside ministries with a large amount of it coming from Chicago's Moody Broadcasting service. The station ran "share-a-thons" about twice a year to solict support from listeners. In the 1980s WAWZ began mixing in softer songs by Contemporary Christian artists. By 1990 the music mix was about half traditional and half contemporary, and by 1994 the music was Inspirational Comtemporary Christian. However, non-musical programming still occupied most of the WAWZ schedule in these years. Major changes began on Thanksgiving day in 2002, as WAWZ began playing wall to wall Christmas music by Contemporary Christian and Traditional Christmas artists. After Christmas, the station started airing Hot Adult Contemporary Christian Music with non-musical elements reduced to 4 hours per day. Finally in February of 2003 WAWZ added a new airstaff and reimaged itself as "STAR 99.1". The station started to accept advertising at that time; however, advertising revenues do not completely fund the operation, and WAWZ still has a Share-a-thon near the end of each year to encourage listeners to help the station stay on the air.

HD2

On April 2006, WAWZ-FM Started HD2 Operations As Star 99.1-2. The eight hour block of teaching programs mimcs to the old WAWZ in the mid 1990's. Right down to retaining WAWZ old tagline - Your Voice of Faith and Inspiration.

HD3

In 2007, 991-3 The Energy was launched to coincide with Star 99.1's annual youth festival Autumn Blaze 2007. The Energy is a cutting edge melding of Christian Rock, Pop, Hip Hop and R&B.

External links

• Star 99.1 FM's Official Website
• Query the FCC's FM station database for WAWZ
• Radio Locator information on WAWZ
• The Energy Star 99.1 FM's HD-3 Channel