WKOO (710 AM, "100.5 Kix FM") is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Rose Hill, North Carolina. The station broadcasts classic country music.
Coverage WKOO's main signal on 710 AM reaches all of Duplin County as well as the cities of Benson, Burgaw, Clinton, Elizabethtown, Goldsboro, Greenville, Kinston, Jacksonville, New Bern, Smithfield, and Wilmington. Depending on weather conditions, WKOO can be heard as far away as Durham, Fayetteville, Raleigh, and even Florence (South Carolina).
Similar to radio stations such as WOR in New York City and KIRO in Seattle, 710 AM is Class A clear-channel station.
History The original construction permit for 710 AM in Rose Hill, North Carolina, was applied for on August 13, 1966, by Duplin County Broadcasters, founded by Jeff Barnes Wilson, and was granted on June 9, 1970. The callsign WEGG was assigned on December 28, 1970. The call letters were intended to reflect the poultry industry, which was next door to the radio station, as well as the local landmark, The World's Largest Frying Pan. WEGG first began broadcasting in August 1975 with 250 watts daytime-only.
The Wonderful Egg 710 WEGG started as a country music station, eventually becoming full service, and began incorporating Southern Gospel music as well. WEGG was originally branded as “The Wonderful Egg”. The station carried programming from ABC News, The North Carolina News Network, and Southern Farm Network. James Kenan High School football and Wake Forest sports were part of the programming as well. Since much of the sporting events, especially High School Football, occurred after the nightly sign-off. WEGG would broadcast the play-by-play of the game, the next day.
The station operates at 710 AM, which is designated a clear channel, in which WOR in New York City has priority over the frequency in the night hours. One of the liners on WEGG was "Clear Channel Radio 71", even though the station itself is not classified as a clear channel station.
In 1981, WEGG began airing Gospel music and Bible Teaching programs seven days a week in addition to country music. Charlie Robinson hosted a daily afternoon program called All Gospel For All People, which featured traditional black gospel and coined the call letters as standing for "Where Everyone Glorifies God". “Thru The Bible Radio” with Dr. J. Vernon McGee was part of the programming throughout Wilson's ownership of the station. Jerry Falwell's program was also a part of the lineup. Many local churches aired their ministries on the station as well.
In 1993, Duplin County Broadcasters added FM sister station WBSY 104.7 FM, which allowed WEGG's programming to broadcast 24 hours a day.
Country Bear In 1995, Jeff Barnes Wilson died, and Duplin County Broadcasters sold WEGG and sister station, WBSY, to Conner Media Corporation on June 7, 1996. Shortly afterwards, WEGG & WBSY became “Country Bear”, simulcasting WZBR 97.7 in Goldsboro.
All Gospel Radio and La Caliente In 1999, WEGG and WBSY broke away from the simulcast. WEGG flipped to traditional black gospel. One of WEGG's notable personalities during this time was Patricia "Ann" Pratt. WBSY became a part of the Go Mix! Network, before becoming regional Mexican with the call letters WZUP, and relocating to Kinston, North Carolina. Though WBSY was no longer simulcasting WEGG, WEGG continued to use invoice forms, in which the letterhead read, "WEGG 710 AM / WBSY 104.7 FM" until 2014.
In June 2005, WEGG flipped to a regional Mexican format. The format change resulted in a backlash against the station, and a local minister organized a committee to bring gospel music back to the radio station, which failed. WEGG also received threats of the NAACP potentially getting involved.
Christian formats In December 2005, WEGG dropped the regional Mexican format, and became a part of the Fundamental Broadcasting Network, an Independent Fundamental Baptist radio network based in Newport, North Carolina. During this time, WEGG was granted a construction permit for a power increase to 2,500 watts.
After Fundamental Broadcasting Network elected not to renew its lease in July 2006, Conner Media Corporation intended to close WEGG. However, general manager Suzanne Wilson, in an attempt to save the radio station, brought back the traditional black gospel music format, along with the former on-air personality, Ann Faison. WEGG also began carrying IRN/USA Radio Network news. Ultimately, Conner Media Corporation decided to complete the power upgrade and replaced the original Collins 300G transmitter with a Broadcast Electronics AM2.5E transmitter. As soon as the upgrade was completed, WEGG was put up for sale and remained on the market until 2014.
In October 2007, Media East built WSTK 104.5 FM and acquired WLGT 98.3 FM. These two stations, along with WEGG, became known as "The Light", with a Contemporary Christian Music format under LMA, broadcasting from a studio above the Pepsi Store in New Bern, North Carolina.
In March 2008, The Light brand was dropped from WSTK and WLGT. WSTK, WLGT, and WEGG were rebranded as "Glory Radio", with all three stations operating separately. WLGT 98.3 FM and WEGG 710 AM offered a Traditional Black Gospel format, while WSTK 104.5 FM offered a Southern Gospel format. In June 2008, WEGG and WSTK were rebranded with the moniker “Joy”, offering a traditional black gospel music format, simulcasting 1490 WWIL (AM).
In October 2008, WWIL terminated their LMA with WEGG and WSTK; WSTK went silent, while WEGG reverted to branding as "Glory Radio" with a traditional black gospel music format, now broadcasting from the WEGG studio in Rose Hill, North Carolina.
In May 2009, WSTK resumed broadcasting, simulcasting WEGG. WEGG added a new FM translator W240BN at 95.9 FM. W240BN was located on the 710 AM tower and broadcast with 250 watts of power. The station was rebranded as “The Gospel Superstation”.
In January 2011, WEGG was branded “Your Christian Radio 710 & 95.9” with a traditional black gospel music format. 104.5 FM WSTK also used the same moniker but offered a Christian Talk format.
Sermons from local ministers were broadcast daily. Local ministers also participated in the "Noon Day Prayer" each day at noon, during which time a local minister would offer a 15 to 20-minute prayer, and afterward, listeners could call in and request prayer from the minister or share a testimony. The station also featured church announcements and local obituaries read throughout the morning.
From March 2011 to December 2011, WEGG rebroadcast the audio from "The Great Awakening" revival services at The River Church in Tampa, Florida, with an immediate repeat overnight.
In early 2013, W240BN was relocated, changed frequencies, sold, and eventually became WHQR's Classical HQR 96.7. A new translator, W263BE at 100.5 FM, was launched in its stead, broadcasting from a taller tower outside of Wallace to provide improved reception in Duplin County.
Surge 100 In August 2014, Ken Santarelli, former co-owner of "The Surge of SoCal", a then-defunct Dance Hits formatted internet radio station based in Los Angeles, California, began talks with Conner Media Corporation about possibly purchasing the radio station. On October 22, 2014, Surge Media, LLC was organized, and an agreement was proposed that Surge Media, LLC would purchase FM translator W263BE, and operate WEGG via local marketing agreement for a time, and then Surge Media, LLC would purchase WEGG as well. The station would use the Surge Radio brand. Ken Santarelli and Christian Mergliano have the Surge Radio brand trademarked with the United States Patents and Trademarks Office and have been using the brand since April 2005.
On November 1, 2014, Conner Media Corporation entered into an LMA with Surge Media, LLC. On November 4, 2014, an application was filed with the FCC to transfer ownership of translator W263BE from Conner Media Corporation to Surge Media, LLC. On November 15, 2014, Surge Media, LLC flipped the format rhythmic hot adult contemporary as “Surge 100”, under guidance by Michael Oaks, owner of internet radio station Energy 98, former Program Director at KNRJ-Energy 92.7 & 101.1 in Phoenix, Arizona and former Music Director at KVBE-Vibe 94.5 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Your Christian Radio 710 and 100.5 signed off with "You Can Search" by the Angelic Gospel Singers, and Surge 100 signed on at 2 p.m. with "Hello" by Martin Solveig & Dragonette. WEGG also began streaming online for the first time in its history.
Surge 100 immediately began offering mix shows from some of the former DJs who were a part of the lineup on The Surge of SoCal. These included DJ Mirage and DJ Beatz from the Los Angeles area, Garage Sound System from Moscow (formerly on the Europa Plus network in Russia), and Rohit Bangera of Mumbai (currently living in College Park, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C.).
After the format change, the radio station received many calls from former listeners hoping to get the gospel format back on the air. However, Ken Santarelli, owner and manager of Surge Media, refused, stating that the new format was to reach a larger group of people, better serve the needs of the community, and build a stronger income to help keep the radio station alive. WEGG continued to offer Gospel music and Christian talk programming from local ministries on Sundays.
As of January 2015, “Garage Sound System” from Moscow on Saturday nights was replaced by DJ Perry from Phoenix, Arizona, and “House of Grooves Radio” with Miss Kay Dee and Audio Jacker. Both of these programs were originally on The Surge of SoCal. Surge also added a mix show from Justin Dohman. “The Listening Room with Mikeo” (Michael Oaks), which also runs on Mike's other stations Energy 98 and KXJM-HD2-Too Wild 107.5-HD2, was added on Sunday nights. “The Listening Room” plays tomorrow's potential Dance Hits and allows listeners to rate the music. Gospel Tunes with Robert Osborne (formerly of the now-defunct WTRQ in Warsaw, North Carolina) was added to the Sunday lineup. Osborne also hosted another program on Saturdays, titled “The Fantastic Voyage”, which blends the regular playlist with more of an Urban Contemporary flavor.
After January 2, 2015, DJ Beatz, who was a resident DJ at The Surge of SoCal since 2012, was replaced by “Seduction Mixshow” with Mickey Bono of The Beat Thrillerz, another program that was formerly broadcast on The Surge of SoCal.
On January 7, 2015, the FCC approved the sale of FM translator W263BE to Surge Media, LLC. On January 13, 2015, Conner Media Corporation closed on the sale of FM translator W263BE 100.5 FM to Surge Media, LLC. Starting the week of January 27, 2015, Surge 100 began adding dance currents during the daytime.
In late February 2015, WEGG, once again, began airing content from Southern Farm Network, after 20 years. At the beginning of April 2015, WEGG ended its affiliation with IRN/USA Radio Network and had no news service for the rest of the month. WEGG began carrying North Carolina News Network once again, on May 11, 2015.
In Fall 2015, WEGG began broadcasting high school football, which had been absent from the station since 1996. WEGG covered selected games at Wallace-Rose Hill High School, James Kenan High School, East Duplin High School, Clinton High School, and Harrells Christian Academy. On December 4, 2015; WEGG broadcast the Wallace-Rose Hill High School vs. James Kenan High School playoff championship game, nicknamed the "Duplin County Super Bowl," where Wallace-Rose Hill High School won the championship.
In October 2015, WEGG closed the original studio and office on Highway 117 just north of Rose Hill and opened a new office on Main Street in Downtown Wallace. Shortly after, Robert Osborne discontinued his Saturday afternoon program and took over weekday afternoons. Amber Rose became the midday personality, and Turtle took the evenings.