KNRK

KNRK
City Camas, Washington
Broadcast area Portland
Salem, Oregon
Vancouver, Washington
Branding 94/7 Alternative Portland
Slogan It's Different Here
Frequency 94.7 MHz (also on HD Radio)
First air date November 1, 1992 (as KMUZ-FM)
Format Modern AC-leaning Alternative rock
HD2: Local/NW bands
ERP 6,300 watts
HAAT 403 meters
Class C2
Facility ID 51213
Transmitter coordinates 45°29′20″N 122°41′40″W / 45.48889°N 122.69444°W / 45.48889; -122.69444Coordinates: 45°29′20″N 122°41′40″W / 45.48889°N 122.69444°W / 45.48889; -122.69444
Callsign meaning K New RocK
Former callsigns KMUZ-FM (1992-1995)
Owner Entercom Communications
(Entercom License, LLC)
Sister stations KGON, KYCH, KWJJ, KRSK, KMTT, KFXX
Webcast Listen Live or .PLS File
Listen Live (HD2)
Website 947.fm

KNRK is a commercial, modern AC-leaning Alternative rock music radio station broadcasting to the Portland, Oregon area on 94.7 FM. KNRK's studios are located near downtown Portland and its transmitter is located in Portland's west hills.

History

Originally, 94.7 MHz was KMUZ-FM, broadcasting an easy listening music format.

On March 6, 1995, KMUZ-FM switched to modern rock and was re-branded as "94-7 NRK". In the years following its debut, the station's format consisted almost entirely of alternative rock music by bands including The Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam and Nirvana. Radio personalities Stephanie Steele and Mike Chase hosted a morning show dubbed "S & M."[1] A DJ who only goes by his middle name, Gustav, hosted a show during the afternoon hours on weekdays. Gradually, however, the station's format began to shift towards harder rock music in the late 1990s. Moderate on-air DJs like Gustav and Daria O'Neill were gradually replaced by "shock-jocks." Music from bands like Limp Bizkit, Korn, Puddle of Mudd and Godsmack made up the playlist.

The station's harder edge came to an end on May 12, 2004. Two morning DJs played audio recordings of Nick Berg's violent death on the air and added their own snide commentary.[2] Hundreds of angry phone-calls and e-mails flooded into the station. KNRK's General Manager fired both of them, along with their producer.[3]

Following the incident, KNRK temporarily pulled all of its DJs off the air and played non-stop music and commercials, in addition to the talk-show Loveline in the evenings. Brief messages by station program director Mark Hamilton aired explained the changes and plans to reshape the station. Listeners were encouraged to submit their ideas via an online survey or to call in with their own suggestions.[4]

Soon thereafter, KNRK became "94/7 FM." Some of the station's established personalities who were let go prior to late 1990s transition, such as Gustav, returned joining new hires like Tara Dublin and morning host Greg. Other on-air personalities like "Squid" and Jamie Coolely retained their positions with the station. KNRK placed a higher emphasis on music with less bantering and more musically-oriented conversations from their on-air staff. Both Jamie Cooley and Tara Dublin were later laid-off due to corporate cutbacks. Harder alternative rock songs were mostly scrubbed off the playlist in favor of a modern rock mix of indie rock, dance rock, electronica rock, blues rock and garage rock. Music from Alt-J, The Black Keys, Coldplay, Foo Fighters, Jack White, Muse, Tegan and Sara and others made up a good chunk of the playlist.

The station now airs rock music recorded between the 1970s and 2010s ranging from David Bowie to Of Montreal. It also features specialty shows such as "Passport Approved," which focuses on international rock music[5] and Greasy Kid Stuff, a Saturday morning program specializing in music for kids.[6] The alternative rock band They Might Be Giants recorded a song in honor of the latter.

In 2007, KNRK introduced "94/7 Too," an online station focusing entirely on bands based or initially established in the Pacific Northwest. It was added to terrestrial radio on 910 AM in July 2010.[7] The station flipped format to sports talk in 2013, with 94/7 Too moving to 94.7FM's HD2 signal and streaming online.[8] In 2016 Daria returned to 94/7 for various reasons, one of which was listener demand to have her back on air.

References

  1. ↑ Schulberg, Pete (March 19, 1996). "Raunchy radio". The Oregonian.
  2. ↑ "DJs Who Laughed at Recording are Fired". KATU. 2004.
  3. ↑ "Oregon DJs fired for playing tape of Berg's death". NBCNews.com. May 14, 2004. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  4. ↑ Williams, Lee (January 19, 2005). "KNRK is Singing a Different Tune". The Oregonian.
  5. ↑ "Shows - 94/7". KNRK. 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
  6. ↑ Carlin, Peter Ames (2 October 2010). "Portland Couple Keeps "Greasy Kid Stuff" Going for Fifteen Years and Counting". The Oregonian. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
  7. ↑ Mannheimer, Michael (8 June 2010). "94.7 KNRK Introduces "Northwest Bands Only" AM Station". Retrieved 18 December 2010.
  8. ↑ http://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=24 HD Radio Guide for Portland
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