History of 97.5
97.5 started life, initially on January 10, 1949, then officially on April 19, 1949, as WTOA. It was owned by the Mercer Broadcasting Company, which was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Trenton Times newspaper. WTOA started out broadcasting from 3pm to 11pm, with an ERP of 14,500 watts. Its original coverage area reached as far north as Brooklyn, New York, and as far west as Reading, Pennsylvania.
97.5 became WPST on September 13, 1971. The WPST calls originally stood for "Passport Stereo Trenton," a slogan of the station at the time. WPST is known for its mainstream CHR format, which they've had for many years. Tom Taylor was the PD who launched the format in the mid 1970s, and did mornings on the station until 1987.
In August 1975, owner Herb Hobler hired Phil Gieger as the General Manager. Along with Tom Taylor, they revamped the station and coined the phrase, "From The Shore To The Poconos, The Music Is On The FM 97.5 WPST." They initially established an Adult Rock format, and by the fall of 1975, the station took off and eventually became the number one station in the market.
Some WPST DJs over the years included John Mellon (aka Walt Ballard), Ed Johnson, Doug James, John Brown, Eddie Davis, Trish Merelo, Andy Gury, Brian Douglas, Mel Toxic, Jay Sorensen, Dave Hoeffel, Tom Cunningham, Michelle Stevens, Eric Johnson, Mark Sheppard,Bob Sorrentino,Lee Tobin,Lori Johnson, André Gardner, Phil Simon, Steve Trevelise, Joel Katz, Rich DeSisto and Scott Lowe.
On February 14, 2005, at 5pm, 97.5 "switched" frequencies and formats with 94.5 WTHK. In August 2005, 97.5's city of license was changed from Trenton to Burlington. WTHK 97.5 The Hawk signed off the air forever on November 15, 2006 at 7 PM EST. Smooth Jazz WJJZ took over the spot two days later at 6 PM EST. In the meantime, Greater Media aired a simulcast of WMGK, The Hawk's one-time competitor, on 97.5. Because WMGK is also a classic rock station, WTHK was ultimately discontinued in favor of WJJZ.
Read more about this topic: WTHK (defunct)
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