History
On November 11, 1948, the station first signed on as WVKO.[3] Initially, it was a stand-alone FM station, not associated with any AM or TV station. It was owned by Skyway Broadcasting and had studios on South 3rd Street. It added a sister station in 1951, WVKO (1580 AM, now WWCD). Most of its early days, WVKO-AM-FM served Columbus' black community, with R&B music.
The station began broadcasting a soft adult contemporary format on August 6, 1982, when DJ Chuck Martin played The Beatles, "Here Comes the Sun" as the first song to launch "Sunny 95." It acquired the call sign WSNY to go with its Sunny branding.
Tom Collins, who consulted several Josephson International stations, was the Program Director who launched the new AC format for WSNY. The new jock lineup included long time Columbus radio personality Chuck Martin (from WVKO and WCOL) as morning host and Bob Simpson in afternoon drive time.[4][5]
Other notable personalities in the early "Sunny 95" days include Bob Lewis, Bob Nunnally, Tony Michaels and Perry Joos. Within the first year, legendary urban programmer Harry Lyles replaced Tom Collins as station Program Director. General Manager Steve Joos introduced computerized music research and an effective listener focus group program.
From the late 1990s through the 2010s, Dino Tripodis and Stacy McKay were the morning team, hosting "Sunny in the Morning with Dino & Stacy" for more than 20 years. In June 2018, Tripodis announced his departure from the station after 24 years on-air at WSNY.[6] However, Tripodis returned to WSNY in July 2021 after a three-year hiatus to co-host with McKay in mornings. Their current show is known as "Stacy & Dino."
