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WQHT-FM(Redirected from WQHT)
WQHT-FM also known as Hot 97 is a New York based radio station. It claims to be the United States's premier hip hop radio broadcaster. It was signed on the air in the summer of 1986 as Hot 103 (103.5 FM).
HistoryAfter WKTU signed off the air in 1985, New Yorkers demanded a Dance music station. Indianapolis-based Emmis Broadcasting purchased WAPP-FM and transformed it to Hot 103 in 1986. It played a variety of R&B, Pop music, Hip Hop, Freestyle, House and Rock recordings. Hot 103 was the first radio station to play Latin Hip Hop (Freestyle) regularly. The station played hits by Freestyle singer Shannon known for her hits Let The Music Play, Give Me Tonight, My Heart's Divided, Do You Want To Get Away, and more. It also broke ground for new artists such as Judy Torres , TKA , Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam , Expose, the Cover Girls, George Lamond, and more. The station was number one in the ratings from 1986 to 1988. In the fall of 1988 Emmis purchased 97.1 WYNY-FM from NBC. That same day the stations did a frequency swap with Hot 103 moving to 97.1 and WYNY to 103.5. Hence Hot 103 became known as Hot 97 and continued with its Dance music format. 1988-PresentHot 97's ratings fell in 1989. The station freshened its sound with Milli Vanilli, MC Hammer, New Kids on the Block, and more. But the ratings still were low. In the fall of 1993 Hot 97 decided to target a share of WRKS-FM's (98.7 Kiss FM) hip hop audience by playing some rap songs. They also added Ed Lover and Doctor Dre as its morning hosts. The ratings rose to number three in just one rating period. In the spring of 1994 the station banned its Dance music format and became New York's new rap station. Kiss FM responded to the rivalry by adding more mix shows and moved Wendy Williams to the morning drive time. Kiss was still number one in the ratings. The Summit Communications Group was selling seven of their radio stations including Kiss to concentrate on technology and internet services. Emmis discussed purchasing the station from Summit to end the rivalry between the stations. The purchase needed federal approval to own two FM stations in the same market. In December of 1994 the purchase was approved and Kiss FM's format was changed a newly formed Urban Adult Contemporary format. In 1995 Hot 97 once again became New York's top station in the Arbitron ratings. For seven years Hot 97 was the only radio station in New York for hip hop until March 2002 when WWPR-FM (Power 105.1) was launched. It made no sense for Emmis to purchase 98.7 Kiss FM for Hot 97 to become the city's only rap station. Power 105.1 went to number five in the ratings. Most recently Power 105.1 edged slightly ahead of Hot 97 for the first time ever due to the Tsunami song parody. In another issue Hot 97 is known for having shootouts in front of their offices involving rival rap groups. Numerous advocates urged Emmis Broadcasting's chairman Jeffrey Smulyan to change the format. In a response the company would not change it because of the revenue it receives. Tsunami song parodyThis station has been known for some of its radical "shock jocks," -- DJs whose purpose is to shock and disturb people. On week of January 17, 2005, a jock named Miss Jones played a song that used racial slurs and profanity to mock the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. Miss Info, a fellow DJ who also happens to be of Korean descent, was outraged and spoke against the song on the station. She excluded herself from producing the song and said it was wrong for it to be played. Miss Info immediately found herself subjected to a four-minute, on-air lambasting from the other DJs. Miss Jones accused Miss Info of always distancing herself from the antics of the others, and of acting superior because she is Asian. Another jock on the show named Todd Lynn muttered "I'm gonna start shooting Asians." The station issued an apology on its website on January 22, 2005 after a burst of outrage came from the Asian American community as well as from many bloggers and networking sites. Following angry protests from Asian-Americans and other New Yorkers, Miss Jones, DJ Envy, and Tasha Hightower were suspended indefinitely while Todd Lynn and Rick Del Gado (the writer of the song) were fired, and both Sprint and McDonald's had pulled their advertising from the station. The suspended employees' pay would be diverted to charities helping victims of the tsunami. A rapper named Jin had written a song criticizing Miss Jones' actions. British parliamentarians signed an early day motion sponsored by Linda Perham MP in the House of Commons in the Palace of Westminster deploring Hot 97's racist tsunami song. EDM 638 stated: 'That this House deplores the racist Tsunami Song aired on Hot 97 radio station in New York; calls upon Richard Cummings, President of Emmis Radio, to take firm action against those who aired the song beyond the temporary suspension; and commends the heartfelt tsunami song composed by British Sri-Lankan Nimal Mendis.' Hot 97's tsunami song was perceived to be both cruel and racist by people in the tsunami affected areas. The tsunami was no joke to those who suffered bereavement and to those who lost their livelihoods. Many called for the sacking of Miss Jones and the entire team who were responsible for the tsunami song. Formal complaints have been made to the Federal Communications Commission in Washington DC in the United States. Sri Lanka lost over 40,000 people in the tsunami and 2 million were made homeless. Hot 97's tsunami song caused an uproar on the island of Sri Lanka. Writing in the Sunday Island newspaper in Colombo, the Sri Lankan journalist NAN said it was 'disgusting racism, inuendo and sheer bad taste.' Sri Lankans were calling for the resignations of Richard Cummings, President of Emmis Radio for letting the song be aired for over a week and Miss Tarsha Jones who spearheaded the airing of the tsunami song. US President George Bush has been asked to intervene and fine Emmis Radio and Hot 97.Sri Lankans raised the matter with President Clinton and President George Bush.Sr who visited the tsunami hit countries in February 2005. President Clinton who is the UN Envoy for the tsunami region was asked to speak out against Hot 97's cruel song. Several demonstrations took place outside Hot 97 in New York. Among the high profile groups were Afrika Bambaataa and the Zulu Nation. References
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