WAZY-FM, "Z96-5" is an FM radio station in Lafayette, Indiana, owned by Star City Broadcasting as part of a cluster with Fox/NBC affiliate WPBI-LD, ABC affiliate WPBY-LD, and sister radio stations WBPE, WSHY and WYCM. The station operates on the FM radio frequency of 96.5 MHz, FM channel 243. The studios are located at 3824 South 18th Street in Lafayette.
Station broadcasting information
WAZY-FM broadcasts from a 499-foot tower near Greenhill, Indiana. Originally the radio station broadcast at 96.7 MHz. By 1978, WAZY-FM had moved to 96.5 mHz, with an increase in power from 3,000 watts to 50,000 watts. WAZY is the flagship station for Purdue University Football.
History
Owned by WAZY Radio Inc., WAZY-FM signed on the air October 1, 1964. It joined sister AM radio station WAZY, today known as WSHY. J.Edward "Ed" Willis served as Owner, President and General Manager for WAZY Radio Inc. Both radio stations programmed a simulcast of Contemporary Top 40 music. This means that, at over 50 years, WAZY-FM is one of the oldest Top 40 programmed radio stations in the U.S.A. On March 1, 1970, ownership of both radio stations transferred to Radio Lafayette, Inc. with F. Patrick Nugent serving as vice president and general manager. Hal Youart, later the station's General Manager, was widely regarded as the person who grew WAZY-FM into the successful station it was. As the radio station began to grow, the sister AM station's influence lessened. Some of the talent and programming staff that worked for WAZY in the 1970s moved on to become programmers in New York City, Philadelphia, and Chicago. The tide really turned for the station when it flipped its Top Forty by day and AOR by night format to all Top Forty. Jeffrey Jay Weber, who later became one of the first PD's to make the move directly to GM when he left the station to go to an AM-FM in Terre Haute, was instrumental in the station's growth in the late seventies, along with jocks like Bobby Day, Dan Michaels, Lou Patrick, Scott Dugan, Bob Leonard, Keith Harris and Steve West. By 1980, WAZY-AM was being programmed separately from WAZY-FM. The AM sister station format shifted to Adult MOR. Lightfoot Broadcasting acquired WAZY-FM, along with the AM sister station now using the call letters WFTE on January 7, 1982. RadioVision Partners Ltd., later name University Broadcasting, now known as Artistic Media Partners acquired WAZY-FM in October 1986. Thomm Kristi was Program Director. Steve Brigandi was News Director. History making ratings were achieved in the 80's with Jim Stacy as program director, and talent including Steve West, Steve Louizos, Dr. Dave, which was featured on the cover of Friday Morning Quarterback. In 1995 under program director John Flint, WAZY switched from a Top 40 format to a Hot Adult Contemporary format, positioning themselves as "The Best Of the 80's and 90's." In the fall of 2000, WAZY decided to soften its musical approach and flipped to Adult Contemporary. On March 16, 2001, just 6 months after the switch to AC, WAZY returned to the Contemporary Hits Radio format. It remained 96.5 WAZY until September 28, 2006, when it switched to "Lafayette's #1 Hit Music Station - Z96-5". In 2004, Artistic Media Partners, as a part of company-wide sports programming realignment initiative, moved Purdue University Football and Men's Basketball off WAZY to their classic rock sister station, WSHP, and the following year to country sister, WLFF. This resulted in two frequency flip-flops between WLFF and WSHP in a less than 18 months. Beginning in the fall of 2007, WAZY once again became the flagship station for Purdue Football. Jared Boomer is the current WAZY Program Director and has been in the position since December of 2017. He also hosts Breakfast with Boomer weekdays on the station from 6 AM - 10 AM. Artistic Media Partners sold its Lafayette stations to Star City Broadcasting, owner of WPBI-LD, in 2016. The transfer to Lafayette TV, LLC was completed on January 3, 2017.
